Chapter Six: Iron Will and Tenderness Woven at the Fingertips (6)

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His friend scrambled up from the ground, screaming, while his wife stood behind him with her hands on her hips, roaring like a tigress from Hedong: “Don’t think I didn’t hear that! Da Gui is a big shot official, loyal and capable since childhood. And you? All you do is smoke all day long—I swear, if you don’t quit, I’ll strangle you! Didn’t I tell you if I catch you smoking again, I’ll twist your ears off? Have you forgotten?”

His friend begged for mercy, while Gao Dingzhong laughed heartily, secretly imagining the day when Fansi Jin would grab his ears and roar like that.

He already quite enjoyed when she tugged his ears, though she was small and not very strong, and spoke gently. Sometimes when she teased him, Gao Dingzhong felt as if pink bubbles floated before his eyes. Her tone never changed, her speed of speech stayed the same, yet she was so tender—it was torturous in the most delightful way. His heart felt as sweet as if he had eaten sugar.

Ah... why did he love his little wife so much?

Watching the couple bicker and fuss, Gao Dingzhong smiled and bid farewell to his friend. As he stepped out of the convenience store, he could still hear the wife nagging about making him buy her a skirt, which made Gao Dingzhong chuckle even more.

As he passed the bridgehead and was about to turn a corner, a white figure suddenly appeared before him, startling him greatly.

He thought he had encountered a ghost and blamed Fansi Jin for dragging him to watch all those horror movies. She was brave and never scared, but he—his memory was sharp; once he saw something terrifying, it stuck with him forever.

In the middle of the night, and there stood someone wearing a white dress...

Upon closer inspection, it was Chen Chuchu.

“Da Gui Ge...” Chen Chuchu’s eyes were filled with sorrow, her voice trembling as if about to cry, tenderly gazing at him, her nose quivering slightly.

Bathed in moonlight, her features looked even more delicate and charming—no wonder so many young men in the village admired her.

Gao Dingzhong sensed trouble, stepped back cautiously, and said sternly, “My name is Gao Dingzhong now. Don’t call me that so affectionately anymore, or my wife might misunderstand.”

Changed his name?! Chen Chuchu was stunned—he hadn’t changed his name in their previous life, had she remembered wrong?

But she quickly pushed the question aside and continued softly, “Da Gui Ge, I know you’re still upset with me...”

“I’m not upset with you, really,” Gao Dingzhong almost wanted to reach into his chest to prove his sincerity.

“Not only am I not upset, I want to thank you. If you hadn’t broken off the engagement back then, how could I have had the chance to be with Fansi Jin? Thank you. What’s done is done; there’s no need to bring it up. We’re strangers now.” With that, he strode past Chen Chuchu.

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But Chen Chuchu followed him.

She knew Gao Da Gui was an honest man who wouldn’t push her away.

Though she was partly right, she was only half correct.

When Chen Chuchu lunged to embrace Gao Dingzhong, he didn’t shove her away but merely waved her off gently.

Come on, after all those years of life and death struggles, could he really be tripped up by just one woman?

“Da Gui Ge! Don’t go! Listen to me!” Chen Chuchu abandoned all decorum, lifted her skirt, ran up to Gao Dingzhong, and spread her arms to block his path again.

“I truly know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have treated you like that, making you lose face in front of your comrades... I was young and foolish then. Are you still angry with me?”

Gao Dingzhong’s face twisted in expression but said nothing.

Chen Chuchu thought he was still mad, tears spilling over: “I knew it, I knew you’re still angry... It’s my fault, but it’s okay—I’ll make it up to you. Whatever you want me to do, I will! Just give me a chance to make amends, please?”

Gao Dingzhong suddenly froze. The reason was that he had recently been dragged by Fansi Jin to watch idol dramas. This scene was all too familiar: the male lead once faithful to the heroine suddenly falling for another; the heroine, full of regret, returning to beg forgiveness, blaming herself for everything... Yet if anyone really blamed her, someone else would always step in to defend her, while the heroine sobbed and repented on the sidelines, and everyone urged the male lead to forgive.

But the problem was, he and Chen Chuchu weren’t any sort of romantic leads. Besides the broken engagement, they barely met or spoke; their words together could be counted on one hand.

Moreover, being young was no excuse for causing harm and then begging forgiveness. They were adults now—what kind of childish excuse was that?

His little wife was even younger than Chen Chuchu. She went abroad before she was an adult, never did anything wrong, was never led astray, and never hurt anyone.

Not to mention, Chen Chuchu’s penchant for acting like an idol drama heroine—his little wife did not have that flaw.

His wife could truly be called a princess: noble birth, natural beauty, brilliant intellect, internationally renowned at a young age... Gao Dingzhong couldn’t find a word to describe Chen Chuchu, but years later, he heard a term—“princess syndrome.”

True princesses didn’t suffer from princess syndrome. Why did this false princess, who broke promises and had a shady record, act out this delicate, heartbroken role?

Seeing Gao Dingzhong remain silent, Chen Chuchu thought her words had taken effect.

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She didn’t know what kind of woman Gao Dingzhong liked, but that day she had seen Fansi Jin’s fragile appearance and guessed that was the type he favored. So she deliberately acted pitiful and endearing.

What she didn’t know was that Fansi Jin’s weakness was all a façade; Gao Dingzhong was nearly bullied to death by her.

If he hadn’t come to his senses just as Chen Chuchu reached to grab him, Gao Dingzhong would have smashed the vinegar bottle in his hand over her head.

What was wrong with this woman? She had knelt before him, begging him to let her love go, calling him frightening and selfish, condemning arranged marriages as unlawful—and now she stood before him, full of affection, claiming she was young and foolish...

No, how desperate must Gao Dingzhong have been to go back for something so unpalatable?

At that critical moment, a crisp yet resolute voice rang out nearby: “If you dare touch my man again, don’t blame me for being rude.”

From the darkness, a figure approached gracefully.

It was Fansi Jin.

Gao Dingzhong quickly stepped around Chen Chuchu and obediently took shelter behind Fansi Jin.

Though he felt he had done nothing wrong, her gaze made him involuntarily feel guilty.

“That young lady, do you still have any shame? You begged Gao Dingzhong not to marry you back then. What’s this pathetic act now? If you truly want to atone, don’t appear in front of the Gao family. Spare them the disgust—I might even thank you for that.”

“You... you...” Chen Chuchu still maintained her shy and helpless posture, looking at Gao Dingzhong for support. She knew he had a strong sense of justice since childhood and hated bullies the most.

“Da Gui Ge...”