Gu Shiwei drank the brown sugar water in a daze, then wandered back to her room in a daze.
It must have been the brown sugar water. Too sweet. Why else would she feel like she was hallucinating? Was Sister-in-law still Sister-in-law?
So she reached out and pinched her own thin arm, hard.
It hurt.
Lunch was made by Su Wanwan. Gu Shiwei tried to take over, but Su Wanwan wouldn’t let her.
In the book, the person Su Wanwan went mad and hurt was Gu Shiwei. Gu Shiwei’s health had always been poor to begin with. She lured the girl out of the Gu household, then sold her to a human trafficker. Although she was later found, the girl was ruined.
No wonder Gu Shiyan flew into a rage and sent the original host into the deep mountains to fend for herself.
Su Wanwan wanted to punch the original host too.
When reading the book, the person she felt most sorry for was Gu Shiwei. Such a pure, kind person, yet she suffered the deepest wounds. Now that she had transmigrated into the original host, she would treat Gu Shiwei well from now on.
“Little sister, I’m heading out.”
Su Wanwan re-combed her hair, weaving her black strands into a loose side braid that rested on her shoulder. A few wispy strands escaped at her forehead and temples, adding a touch of playfulness.
Lunch was steamed buns made from mixed grains and white flour.
Don’t let Gu Shiyan’s lean frame fool you. He ate a lot. Su Wanwan packed three steamed buns, a bowl of eggplant mixed with potatoes, a plate of pickles to go with the meal, and a bowl of the leftover corn grits porridge from breakfast. She loaded it all into a bamboo basket, covered it with a faded blue cloth, and headed out.
It was high noon. The village dirt road had cracked under the sun, hot through the soles of her shoes.
Su Wanwan carried the basket on one arm, walking slowly so the porridge wouldn’t spill. When she passed the big locust tree at the village entrance, someone called out to her.
“Wan girl, bringing your man his lunch?”
“Well, well. Marriage really changes a girl. Look at you, all virtuous now.”
A few aunties spotted her and burst into hearty laughter.
“Guess a pretty face really does have its perks.”
Ever since Gu Shiyan married Su Wanwan, he wasn’t as ostracized in the village as before. After all, he’d married a girl from Xiahe Village, which made him Xiahe Village’s son-in-law. One of their own.
Not that he’d slacked on any of his work.
Su Wanwan smiled and kept walking.
Those aunties were the backbone of the village gossip squad.
White could be spun into black, black could be spun into flowers, and everything eventually turned dirty. Better to say less. The more she said, the more chances to slip up.
After about ten minutes, she reached the fields.
She spotted Gu Shiyan from a distance. A tall, lean man, standing out sharply among the dark, stocky laborers.
The noon sun beat down. He’d taken off his white shirt and wore only a tank top. Sweat soaked a large patch down his back, the fabric clinging to his spine, the outlines of his shoulder blades visible.
A man working nearby spotted Su Wanwan first and elbowed Gu Shiyan.
“Your wife’s here.”
Su Wanwan?
Gu Shiyan straightened and turned. When he saw the graceful figure walking toward him, surprise flickered in his dark eyes.
It really was Su Wanwan.
His little sister had always brought his meals before. Why the change today? Could it be…
At the thought, Gu Shiyan’s expression darkened. He strode over to Su Wanwan in two or three steps.
“What happened to Weiwei?”
The moment she heard that, Su Wanwan knew he’d gotten the wrong idea. She tilted her head and shot him a glare. “Nothing happened. I just saw she’s too thin and told her to stay home and rest.”
With that, she ignored him, set the basket on the field ridge, and pulled off the blue cloth.
“Eat.”
She deliberately didn’t look at the man beside her and fanned her face with her hand.
Seeing her little face drawn tight, Gu Shiyan’s thin lips moved. He apologized first.
“Sorry. I misunderstood.”
Then he took off his battered straw hat and fanned her for a while before picking up his chopsticks.
Su Wanwan couldn’t help but turn and look at him. He ate neatly, unhurried, like the man himself, never rushed. Watching him, her own heart gradually settled.
Seeing her staring at him without speaking, Gu Shiyan broke off a piece of steamed bun and held it to her lips.
Before Su Wanwan could respond, a scoff came from nearby.
“Well, well, well. Am I seeing things? The delicate young lady actually braved the blazing sun to bring lunch to the fields. The sun really must be rising in the west today.”
Two young women walked over side by side.
The one who spoke was Xu Yueru. Beside her stood Su Wanwan’s cousin, Lin Zhixia.
Information about the two flashed through Su Wanwan’s mind automatically.
The original host and her cousin Lin Zhixia had never gotten along.
After Lin Zhixia’s parents died, she moved into the Su household. The Su family treated her well. Her aunt, the original host’s mother Qin Shuanglan, treated her sister’s child as her own, doting on her like a daughter.
But Lin Zhixia was an ingrate.
Outwardly gentle and obedient, inwardly dark and twisted.
She believed the Su family only treated her well out of pity.
Especially toward the original host. She always competed with her without realizing it.
Even the husband she now had was the original host’s first love.
Back then, the original host and her first love, Zhou Mingyuan, liked each other. They were one step away from confessing. But Lin Zhixia cut in, seducing Zhou Mingyuan outright.
The two married.
And the feud between the original host and Lin Zhixia was sealed.
Su Wanwan narrowed her eyes and sized up Lin Zhixia. A classic little white flower look. Bland and watery, nothing worth a second glance. The only striking feature was a pair of almond eyes, and even those were full of scheming.
Her gaze shifted to Lin Zhixia’s sidekick, Xu Yueru. Su Wanwan gave a light laugh.
“You’re not seeing things. You’re just blind.”
“What, your master brought you out for a walk again?”
Xu Yueru’s eyes bulged with rage.
“Who are you calling a dog?!”
“Whoever’s barking, that’s who. Xu Yueru, you’ve got a human mouth but you can’t speak like a human. ‘Young lady’ this and ‘young lady’ that. What, are you trying to revive capitalism, or are you trying to go against the government?”
It was 1979. The spring breeze of reform and opening had already begun to blow.
But the shadows of the past hadn’t dispersed. At a time like this, the word “young lady” was definitely not a good thing.
Xu Yueru wanted to pin a label on Su Wanwan. Su Wanwan just handed her a heavier one.
Capitalism. Going against the government. Xu Yueru couldn’t afford either charge.
Sure enough, she didn’t dare make a sound. Her face twisted purple as an eggplant.
Lin Zhixia hurried to smooth things over in a gentle voice.
“Wanwan, don’t be angry. Yueru meant no harm. She was just joking with you.”
There it was again.
Su Wanwan was sick to death of it.
The favorite catchphrase of green tea bitches and white lotuses.
No harm meant. Just joking. If you take it seriously, you’re the petty, narrow-minded one. Screw that.
She wasn’t about to indulge her.
“Joking? Then let me joke too.”
“Xu Yueru, yesterday I saw you sneaking into the woods with Er Gouzi from our village…”
Before she could finish, Lin Zhixia’s face abruptly darkened. Righteously, she declared, “Wanwan, a girl’s reputation is more important than the heavens. How can you joke about something like that!”
Then her gaze shifted to Gu Shiyan.
“Brother-in-law, Wanwan has really gone too far. You ought to keep her in line.”