Chapter 28: There Is Only Widowhood, Never Divorce
Page (1/3)
Su Yao and Mu Xingjue waited for a while, and only after they could no longer hear any noise did they leave.
“Yang Hui really got what she deserved. Her heart is simply too vicious.”
“Mm. She even dared to set her sights on me. Wife, you’ll have to keep a close eye on me from now on. I’m yours, so you can’t let anyone else steal me away.”
His pitiful expression made Su Yao laugh. “Don’t worry. You’re mine. No one can take you from me.”
“My wife really does care about me.” Mu Xingjue tilted his head and leaned against Su Yao affectionately, not caring in the slightest that it might damage his tall, handsome image.
The moment they reached home, they heard an extraordinarily familiar voice from next door. Both of them were utterly stunned, then tiptoed quietly back into their room.
“Your good buddy certainly moves fast. I originally told Simin to keep him hanging a little longer.”
Mu Xingjue looked somewhat disdainful. “He’s just an idiot. He thought Simin liked me, so he didn’t dare confess his feelings. He even followed me to the countryside, claiming that he was there to look after me for Simin. Such generosity.”
“Hmph.”
The moment he saw that something was wrong with his wife’s expression, Mu Xingjue panicked.
“Don’t be angry, wife. Listen to me. I only think of Simin as a younger sister. That girl is crazy too. Because she thought she liked me, she blocked every other female comrade from getting close to me. Since I found those women annoying anyway, I let her fend off my admirers.
“Whenever she and Xingyu are together, they either quarrel or bicker. Whenever Xingyu and I have some disagreement, she always advises me to yield and not lose my temper. She says we’re brothers and shouldn’t let anything affect our relationship. Every time, she chooses Xingyu without even realizing it. Those two really are blind—they can’t see that the other likes them.”
“Sounds like you have quite a lot of admirers,” Su Yao said through clenched teeth.
Seeing her jealousy, Mu Xingjue happily revealed two small canine teeth. “Don’t worry, wife. No matter how many admirers I have or how beautiful they are, you’re the only flower I’ll ever pick and keep in my heart.”
Su Yao raised her hand and let it wander over Mu Xingjue’s body, from his cheek down to his chest. The tingling sensation left him utterly unable to resist, and he immediately pressed her onto the bed.
Su Yao blocked him with her elbow. “Comrade Mu Xingjue, are you certain you want to register our marriage? In my dictionary, there is only widowhood—divorce does not exist. You’d better think it through carefully.”
“Comrade Su Yao, likewise. For the rest of this life, you can only stay by my side. Even if you’re unwilling, I’ll tie you to me and keep you here.”
The two gazed deeply into each other’s eyes, as though a thousand years had passed in a single glance. Their emotions deepened, the atmosphere grew increasingly charged, and they clung to each other until the village’s first rooster crowed. Only then did they finally fall into a deep sleep.
When they awoke again, it was already noon. The two felt inexplicably awkward—not because of what they had done the previous night, but because neither of them had gone to ask the brigade captain for leave. They had also drunk a little and were afraid his family might think too much of it.
Page (1/3)
Page (2/3)
“It’s fine. Xingyu and Simin probably went to ask for leave for us.”
Su Yao thought that made sense. The two women got dressed and rose to prepare breakfast. The moment the door opened, the door next door opened as well. The four of them stared at one another and spoke at the same time.
“You didn’t go either? We thought you’d ask for leave for us.”
Su Yao and Ye Simin exchanged a glance, then simultaneously pushed the two men outside.
“You two go tell the brigade captain and ask for leave.”
The two men went to the brigade captain’s house helplessly. After returning home, the four of them had drunk a little and slept past the hour, so they simply took the day off.
Once the men had left, Su Yao asked inquisitively, “What happened between you two yesterday? Sounds like things went quite well.”
Ye Simin blushed. “We had a little to drink last night, and as we talked, we gradually opened up. Then we… Well, you know.”
“Now that you’re together, you should tell your families. If possible, we could hold our weddings together.”
Ye Simin felt a little regretful when she heard that. “When they come back, we’ll eat first and then go to town together. I can send a letter home and tell them about him.”
After eating, the four of them went to town together. Xu Xingyu and Ye Simin both sent letters to their families. Then the four of them went to see a movie. Naturally, the films of this era could not compare with those made several decades later, but it was better than nothing.
Most of the moviegoers were young people. When they entered, they all looked perfectly solemn, but once the film began, they could hardly wait to cling to one another.
The two couples were no exception. Mu Xingjue pulled Su Yao directly into his arms and fed her little snacks while watching the movie.
Xu Xingyu followed his example, determined not to let the young woman in his arms envy anyone else.
After the movie, the four of them went to the supply cooperative and the farmers’ market to buy a few things. Then they had dinner at a state-run restaurant before walking home beneath the setting sun.
By the time they reached the village, darkness had fallen. However, the moonlight was especially bright in that era, and they could still see the road clearly without a flashlight.
Halfway there, they saw quite a few people coming out of Li Zhaodi’s house.
Ye Simin looked over curiously. “Whose home is that? Are they holding some kind of event?”
“That’s Jiang Guo’s house. Today is the day he and Yang Hui are getting married,” Su Yao explained.
“No wonder there are so many people.”
They had actually forgotten that today was Yang Hui and Jiang Guo’s wedding day. But it did not matter. They were no longer living in the educated-youth compound, so they had little contact with Yang Hui. Besides, she now regarded them as enemies.
Page (2/3)
Page (3/3)
With that money, they might as well have spent it on a good meal or bought themselves something instead of giving it away as a social courtesy.
After washing up, Su Yao lay on the bed, feeling utterly speechless. This man had truly begun treating the place as his permanent residence. Ever since he had slept here, she had not entered her personal space even once.
She could not go inside, nor did she dare take anything out. It was giving her an enormous headache.
“What’s wrong, wife?”
“Nothing. Go to sleep early. We have to go to work in the fields tomorrow.”
That night, the two of them did nothing and simply slept peacefully. They rose early the next morning.
They had thought they would finally be able to work in the fields that day, but early in the morning, a car slowly drove into the village, causing an uproar throughout the entire community.
It was rare for a car to come by, so the brigade captain did not urge everyone to hurry back to work. Since it was not yet time for the autumn harvest and there was not much work to do, he decided everyone might as well enjoy the spectacle.
Ren Daiyun rolled down the car window and asked a child standing nearby, “Do you know where the educated youths live?”
“The educated youths live in two places, one to the north and one farther ahead. Who are you looking for? I can take you there.” The boy was called Little Douzi and was the brigade captain’s grandson.
“Thank you, little friend. Here, have some candy.” Ren Daiyun took a small handful of sweets from her bag and gave them to Little Douzi.
Little Douzi was overjoyed at the sight of the candy. But remembering the adults at home teaching him not to be greedy, he took one piece and held the rest out to Ren Daiyun.
Ren Daiyun had not expected the child to be so well-mannered. She pushed the candy back toward him. “Keep it. It’s a reward for helping me.”
Little Douzi glanced at his grandfather in the distance. The brigade captain nodded, and only then did the boy happily accept the candy and put it in his pocket.
“Thank you, Auntie.”
“Oh, what a sweet little mouth! I’m old enough to be your grandmother.” Ren Daiyun laughed so hard that she could hardly close her mouth. The child certainly had good taste.
Little Douzi led the way ahead while the car followed slowly behind.
Page (3/3)