After leaving the village, they came to a long uphill stretch.
Without needing to say anything, the two of them got off the bicycle and walked side by side, pushing it uphill.
The winter wind was not particularly strong, but the air was bitterly cold, and every breath came out in a faint white mist.
After walking for a while, Lu Huaiyuan spoke. “There’s something I’m rather curious about.”
Shen Zhixia turned her head to look at him. “What?”
“Forget that your stepmother treats you badly, but your father is your biological father, isn’t he? Why doesn’t he stand up for you either?”
Shen Zhixia gave a soft laugh. “Haven’t you heard the saying? Once there’s a stepmother, there’s a stepfather.”
Seeing the smile on Shen Zhixia’s face, Lu Huaiyuan could not help reaching over and gently ruffling her hair. “If you don’t feel like smiling, then don’t.”
His expression was unusually serious, and there was a hint of comfort in his eyes.
Shen Zhixia froze for a moment before coming back to herself.
So he was actually feeling sorry for her.
He must have been someone who had grown up surrounded by love.
In her previous life, Shen Zhixia had grown up in an orphanage and had never experienced genuine parental love.
She tried to put herself in the place of the original Shen Zhixia and, in turn, comforted Lu Huaiyuan.
“I’m fine. My father has spent his whole life scratching a living from the fields. He has little education and has never seen much of the world, so he simply doesn’t know how to raise a daughter.”
“In his eyes, raising children is a woman’s responsibility. Whatever his wife says goes.”
Lu Huaiyuan finally felt a little better. “I can agree with the part about listening to your wife.”
“But…”
“When it comes to choosing a wife, my judgment is still the best.”
Shen Zhixia was speechless.
Lu Huaiyuan looked completely justified. “Look at you. You’re pretty, clever, and you know how to manage a household.”
He leaned a little closer, a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “If I can marry a wife like you, who else could be more capable than me?”
Shen Zhixia was somewhat exasperated. “Are you complimenting me or yourself?”
“Both. That’s what you call a match made in heaven. We’re perfect for each other.”
Seeing that he was in a better mood, Shen Zhixia stopped paying attention to him.
They were almost at the top of the slope when Lu Huaiyuan suddenly asked another question.
“What about you?”
“Hm?”
“Why were you willing to marry me?”
Shen Zhixia seemed to recall something. “Want the honest answer?”
“Obviously!”
“Because you didn’t look much like a good person.” Her tone was utterly sincere.
Lu Huaiyuan stopped in his tracks and narrowed his eyes as he called her by her full name. “Shen Zhixia!”
“Say that again?”
Shen Zhixia immediately tried to smooth things over. “No, listen to me first.”
“What I mean is that you didn’t look like the kind of person who would let others bully you.”
She paused before continuing, “Do you remember when we first met? Actually, I went there that day specifically to try my luck. I had heard that you often appeared around that area, so I wanted to secretly see what kind of person you really were.”
“And then you took a liking to me?” A glimmer flashed through Lu Huaiyuan’s eyes.
“What are you talking about? I saw how you scared those local thugs away with just a few words, and I thought that if I married you, at least I wouldn’t be completely at the mercy of my stepmother.”
“Hmph, at least you have good judgment.” The man whose temper had just been soothed instantly looked pleased again.
“Speaking of the first time we met, I remember something. Comrade Shen Zhixia, you still owe me two pears, you little thief.”
“You’re an educated man. How can you call it stealing?”
“Grrr…”
She was about to argue further when an extremely untimely sound suddenly rang out.
Shen Zhixia awkwardly covered her stomach.
They had left early that morning, and she had been so busy fighting with the people at the Shen household that she had not even had a sip of water. Now that it was already past lunchtime, her stomach had begun to protest.
They had reached the top of the slope by then.
“Let’s rest for a while.”
Lu Huaiyuan chuckled, stopped the bicycle, and pulled a paper-wrapped parcel from his coat pocket before handing it to her.
Inside were several pieces of hard, dry flatbread.
“There’s no water, so eat a little for now and put something in your stomach. Don’t choke.” Lu Huaiyuan broke off a small piece and handed it to her.
Does this man have a treasure bag hidden somewhere? How does he have everything?
Shen Zhixia grumbled inwardly as she accepted the dry ration and took a bite.
It had a faint aroma of wheat, though it certainly took some effort to chew.
Shen Zhixia nibbled at it slowly. Once there was some food in her stomach, she felt much more at ease.
After they returned to the city, Lu Huaiyuan became noticeably busier.
Sometimes, when Shen Zhixia woke in the morning, the half of the bed beside her was already cold. At other times, she would only vaguely sense the man, still carrying the chill of the night, slipping into bed in the middle of the night.
Shen Zhixia never asked. From her observations and judgment, Lu Huaiyuan did not seem like the kind of person who would do anything truly harmful or immoral.
The reason he was being so secretive was probably because he was involved in some business dealings that did not entirely comply with the policies of the time.
Every day, Shen Zhixia continued to eat when she was hungry and sleep when she was tired, leisurely enjoying her little life.
Then, one night, Lu Huaiyuan returned home in the middle of the night and discovered a small lamp left on top of the cabinet in their room. Beneath the light sat a cloth bag.
When he opened it, he found neatly wrapped pieces of dried meat inside, each one carefully packed in oil paper. Even before tasting them, they smelled delicious.
Remembering how he had also returned in the middle of the night the previous night and had been so hungry that he had only been able to chew on a few pieces of dry ration, he looked back at the small mound beneath the blankets on the bed.
At that moment, Lu Huaiyuan felt as though his heart had been soaked in a warm spring, becoming so soft that it seemed to melt completely.
Before they knew it, the twelfth lunar month had arrived, and the New Year was just around the corner.
The streets and alleys of Jinxi County were gradually filling with the festive atmosphere of the coming New Year.
Su Ya took Shen Zhixia to the Department Store, the mother and daughter in law shopping happily together for New Year goods.
“Zhixia, come and try this coat!”
At the clothing counter on the second floor, Su Ya held up a red woolen coat with a ring of fur around the collar and compared it against Shen Zhixia.
“Mom, this color is too bright. It doesn’t suit me…” Shen Zhixia repeatedly waved her hands.
“Nonsense. A young newlywed should dress in bright red for the New Year! And with this cape, you’ll look absolutely gorgeous.”
Without giving her a chance to refuse, Su Ya stuffed the coat and matching cape into her hands. “Go on, try them on.”
Unable to resist, Shen Zhixia obediently went to change.
As the saying went, clothes made the person and the saddle made the horse.
After being well cared for at the Lu household for more than a month, Shen Zhixia had filled out a little, and her complexion had become much rosier.
Once she put on the bright red new clothes, they made her fair skin and graceful figure stand out even more.
At eighteen or nineteen, she had a fresh and radiant beauty that was full of youthful vitality.
“Oh my, no wonder I envy families who have daughters! She looks like a little porcelain doll. She’s truly beautiful!” Su Ya beamed with delight.
Shen Zhixia was just about to change out of the clothes when a slightly shrill female voice suddenly came from nearby.
“Oh, Aunt Su, shopping for clothes?”
Shen Zhixia turned her head and saw a young woman walking toward them in a dark navy double breasted woolen coat, her hair styled in fashionable curls.
The woman was fairly attractive, but her slightly raised chin and the way she looked people over revealed an unmistakable air of arrogance.
When she saw Shen Zhixia, she looked her up and down, a hint of jealousy flashing in her eyes as an ambiguous smile appeared on her lips.
The smile on Su Ya’s face immediately faded, and her tone became distant. “So it’s Wanjun.”
Lin Wanjun walked over in low heeled leather shoes, her gaze unabashedly settling on Shen Zhixia.
“This must be the new wife Huaiyuan brought back from the countryside, right?”
“I didn’t expect a country girl to be so pretty and fresh looking. It’s just a pity…”
She deliberately drew out the last few words, leaned closer, and lowered her voice so that only Shen Zhixia could hear.
“It’s a pity I heard that Lu Huaiyuan can’t perform as a man.”