Seeing that Liu Huifang was about to vent her anger on her daughter again, Xiao Bigui quickly diverted her attention and sent Xiao Daya away.
Liu Huifang didn’t know what was going on, but the more she looked at Xiao Daya, the more she felt like she was looking at an enemy—she found her extremely irritating.
“Xiao Lao’er, I haven’t even settled accounts with you yet! And you still have the nerve to ask me to apply medicine for you? Didn’t you say you wanted a divorce? Go find your dear sister-in-law then! Let that shameless fox spirit treat your wounds!”
As she cursed, she grabbed a bottle of alcohol, roughly pouring some onto his wounds and rubbing it hard.
“Damn woman, be gentler! Are you trying to murder your husband? It hurts like hell!”
“It was just a joke! You know I’ve got a foul mouth. I only care about you! Hey—softer, softer!”
Lu Miaomiao walked out of Niu Cuihua’s room and happened to hear noises coming from Xiao Bigui’s room.
She raised an eyebrow. It seemed this “Second Brother” wasn’t completely useless after all—at least he knew how to protect his children.
As for this so-called second sister-in-law… she really was hopeless—she had already forgotten the beating she’d received not long ago. Hmph. She definitely needed some discipline.
Snapping back to reality, she heard Xiao Bigui’s screams again and turned back into the room.
The next morning.
“Miaomiao, Bi’an, it’s time to eat!” Niu Cuihua called gently from outside. She had cooked breakfast that morning.
If Lu Miaomiao hadn’t had sharp hearing, she might not have even noticed. She immediately woke up, sat up, and couldn’t help but yawn. Looking down at Xiao Bi’an, who had just opened his eyes, her mood instantly brightened.
So handsome!
As expected of the man she had picked at first sight.
It was their first time sharing a bed. Although she liked his looks very much, her instincts from years of surviving in the apocalypse kept her alert, and she couldn’t fall asleep at all.
In the end, she came up with a solution—she wrapped herself tightly around him like an octopus, arms and legs securing him firmly before she finally felt safe enough to sleep.
Fortunately, Xiao Bi’an’s body was cool and comfortable. Otherwise, she might have had to knock him unconscious to sleep.
“Mom, we’re getting up soon!”
Xiao Bi’an met her starry-eyed gaze and awkwardly avoided her eyes. Thinking of how she had clung to him all night like a tightly wrapped octopus, almost making it hard for him to breathe, he felt both helpless and amused.
This wife’s sleeping posture really wasn’t great.
“Muah! Good morning, darling!”
Before he could react, Lu Miaomiao hooked her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek with a loud smack.
Then she shamelessly pointed at her own cheek, signaling for a return kiss.
“Good morning, wife,” Xiao Bi’an said, still somewhat shy, and lightly kissed her cheek in return.
Hmm… somehow it felt like their roles were reversed.
Just as they were eating breakfast, someone knocked on the door.
Everyone was confused—who would come at meal time?
“I’ll get it!” Liu Guilan stood up and went to open the door.
“Hey, Uncle Wang, and Comrade Public Security—what brings you here so early?” she asked nervously when she saw the village party secretary Wang Chunshu and a policeman in uniform.
In this era, ordinary people rarely sought out the police, and when the police came to your home, it usually meant something serious.
“Guilan, don’t be nervous,” Wang Chunshu said with a serious expression. “We’re here about what happened in the village yesterday. This is Comrade Qian Yangguang.”
The officer added politely, “Don’t be afraid. We’d like to ask about Lu Miaomiao and Liu Huifang. We need to understand the situation.”
“Oh, yes, they’re here, they’re here! Our family are all honest people—we don’t do anything bad,” Liu Guilan replied nervously.
At that moment, clatter—Liu Huifang’s chopsticks slipped from her hand onto the table as she strained to listen.
“Big Sister-in-law, don’t block the doorway. Invite the comrades in,” Lu Miaomiao said, glancing at the visibly guilty Liu Huifang with a cold snort before smiling and reminding the flustered Liu Guilan.
The rest of the Xiao family exchanged uneasy glances. Although they hadn’t gone to see the incident themselves, they had all heard bits and pieces about it.
Only Xiao Bi’an looked slightly confused. He had just returned and hadn’t been told anything. The only time he tried to go out, he was stopped by his second sister-in-law, Liu Huifang. So he had no idea what had happened.
“Oh, right, right! Please come in, come in!” Liu Guilan quickly stepped aside, letting them enter the courtyard.
“Uncle Wang, Comrade Qian, have you eaten? How about having a bite before we talk?” she offered.
“No need, thank you,” the officer replied politely but firmly. “We should get straight to business. This matter has caused very bad influence. We need to clarify everything as soon as possible and resolve it quickly.”
“This comrade, what does this matter have to do with my wife, Lu Miaomiao?” Xiao Bi’an asked, lifting his eyes to the middle-aged police officer.
He was worried that Lu Miaomiao might be scared, so he gently patted her hand to comfort her.
Lu Miaomiao glanced at him, at the hand lightly patting hers. She wanted to say she wasn’t afraid—this was nothing to her, just small stuff.
But seeing the concern in his eyes, she found it quite enjoyable and decided to play along, pretending to be a little scared while secretly holding his long fingers and taking advantage of him.
“Don’t worry, it’s just a routine inquiry,” Officer Qian said patiently. “Anyone who went to the riverbank two nights ago will be interviewed. Your household is the last one.”
“Then let’s go inside to talk,” Lu Miaomiao said, nodding at Xiao Bi’an and leading Officer Qian and Party Secretary Wang toward the main room. “Comrade Qian, what would you like to ask? I will tell you everything I know. Of course, I was only there to watch the commotion that day, so I don’t know much.”
“It’s fine. Just tell us truthfully what you saw,” the officer replied.
Liu Huifang quickly swallowed a few bites of corn bun and, under the village secretary’s signal, followed them inside.
After everyone sat down, Lu Miaomiao called out toward the yard:
“Xiaocao, bring two cups of sugar water for Comrade Qian and Uncle Wang to quench their thirst.”
“Okay!” Xiaocao immediately ran to the kitchen to get the water.
“Thank you, Comrade Lu!” Officer Qian said. “Plain water is fine, no need to add sugar.”
He had already visited most households yesterday and continued all morning today—he was genuinely thirsty.
“I really don’t know anything about this, Comrade Public Security. Asking me won’t help!” Liu Huifang added quickly, clearly feeling guilty.