A delicate beauty takes a place in a marriage, while a cold, rough man seduces her every night.

Twilight fell.

When it was completely dark, Chen Xiuying took Qiao Yi home slowly.

She spent the entire day visiting relatives and friends, wandering around aimlessly, without paying any attention to her family.

Qingyan had already made up a bed in her original room and gone to sleep. Hearing the noise outside, she got dressed and got up.

"What are you doing here?" Chen Xiuying asked.

Qingyan looked at her coldly: "My father is so sick, and you haven't cared about him all day?"

Chen Xiuying looked indifferent and curled her lip: "It's just an old cough, isn't it? I'm not medicine. How can just sitting next to him stop his cough?"

"You two are a couple; the point of living together is to be there for each other through thick and thin, to take care of one another. I'm not asking you to do anything else, but in the dead of winter, at least make him some hot soup. You're out having a good time all day, leaving him alone at home with a sick person—what kind of life is that?"

"Go ahead and serve him if you want, he's your dad, not mine!"

Chen Xiuying rolled her eyes, grabbed Qiao Yi's arm, and pulled him outside: "Come on, Xiao Yi, let's sleep somewhere else. Don't be a nuisance here!"

"You—" Qingyan was annoyed, but finally stopped arguing with her.

Qiao Nianshan had just taken his medicine and gone to sleep. The medicine had the effect of stopping coughs and promoting sleep. If he were woken up again now, he would have difficulty falling back asleep.

After they left, Qingyan closed the door and went back to her room to rest.

Chen Xiuying led Qiao Yi straight to her daughter's house.

Nowadays, Chen Xiaomeng and Jiang Runsheng are merely a couple in name only, living together in name only.

Jiang Runsheng used the training as an excuse to stay in the township dormitory, only managing to go home once every seven or eight days.

Chen Xiaomeng didn't care at all. As long as Jiang Runsheng sent the money back on time every month, she didn't care about anything else.

After Chen Xiaomeng was released from the detention center, Wei Yongqiu and Jiang Decheng refused to live with her and moved to their old house.

The old house was left by Jiang Runsheng's grandfather. Although it was old and dilapidated, the old couple felt it was better than living with their daughter-in-law who caused trouble and embarrassed them everywhere.

The once grand Jiang family house is now empty and desolate, with only Chen Xiaomeng living there alone.

In the stillness of the night, the mother and her two children lay on the warm earthen bed.

After Qiao Yi beside her had finished breathing evenly and was completely asleep, Chen Xiuying lowered her voice and said to her daughter beside her:

"That slut went home to take care of her father."

"The old man had been sick for several days, so I deliberately ignored him. Sure enough, his daughter came and stayed at home."

Chen Xiaomeng was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Mom, I'll go find Zhang Laizi first thing tomorrow morning. You can come home as usual tomorrow afternoon, but remember to leave the door open for him secretly at night."

A venomous glint flashed in her eyes: "Zhang Laizi has contracted a venereal disease, and none of the prostitutes in town are willing to touch him. Before he dies, he just wants to find a woman to have some fun with. I want to see if Jiang Runsheng and Xiao Jingye will still treat Qiao Qingyan like a treasure if she is defiled by Zhang Laizi."

Chen Xiuying hesitated for a moment: "Xiao Jingye is no pushover. What if he comes looking for trouble with us? He's a big, burly guy; he could kill someone with one punch."

Chen Xiaomeng smiled smugly: "Mom, don't worry, I've already inquired beforehand. Xiao Jingye has been busy in the city these days and hasn't had time to come back at all."

"Besides, it was Zhang Laizi who broke into our house at night to commit evil deeds. What does it have to do with us?"

Chen Xiuying immediately understood her daughter's meaning: "Yes, yes, my daughter is the best at planning. We'll just tell everyone in the village that she was being provocative, which is why Zhang Laizi had designs on her."

"In this rural area, a woman's reputation is of utmost importance. Once she's smeared and her innocence is ruined, she'll never be able to recover for the rest of her life! Not only will she be kicked out of her husband's family, but she'll also be expelled from school. Qiao Nianshan will lose face, so naturally he won't care about her. We'll just wait for her to be completely disgraced!"

"At that time, all of Qiao Nianshan's savings will be ours."

-

The next day, as dawn broke.

Qingyan got up early and started a fire to cook a pot of sweet potato porridge for Qiao Nianshan.

The cough medicine he took yesterday was very effective, and Qiao Nianshan's cough has lessened considerably. However, his low-grade fever has not subsided, and he is still weak and fatigued.

At noon, Aunt Qian from next door carried a plate of steaming dumplings into the yard, smiling broadly as she spoke:

"Qingyan, it's rare for you to come back, and it's really not easy to see you now."

Aunt Qian was in her fifties, petite, with gentle eyes and a kind face.

When Qingyan was a child, she was often scolded and reprimanded by the mean-spirited Chen Xiuying. When she felt wronged and helpless, it was Aunt Qian who would quietly call her to her home and coax and comfort her with food.

Of all the neighbors, Qingyan was most grateful to the kind-hearted Aunt Qian.

She quickly stepped forward to take the dumplings, her voice sweet and sincere: "Thank you, Auntie! Your cooking is still so good; the dumplings look delicious."

"Eat it while it's hot. My son Xiaojun is back today, so I made extra. I'll steam some more buns this afternoon and bring you some more. You and your dad don't need to cook tonight, just make some soup."

"No need, no need, you can eat at home."

"You silly child, why are you being so polite with your aunt? When your mother was alive, we were very close, like sisters." Her eyes swept around the yard. "Your stepmother is nothing compared to your mother."

"Fortunately, your father still has such a kind and sensible girl like you..."

Aunt Qian made a few casual remarks and then turned and left.

Qingyan divided the dumplings into two portions and brought them to her father. After Qiao Nianshan ate the dumplings and took his medicine, he fell into a deep sleep again.

As darkness fell, Chen Xiuying led Qiao Yi back.

Upon entering the house, I saw the father and daughter eating steamed buns. I forced a smile and said:

"I was planning to rush back to cook, but since you've already started eating, I won't lift a finger. Qingyan, Mom will cook you a nice meal tomorrow."

Although Qiao Nianshan was ill and frail, his mind was clear. He sneered, "You still remember this family, and you still know to come back?"

He knew that his illness was entirely caused by Chen Xiuying. Her constant infidelity was driving him crazy.

Qiao Nianshan had considered divorce, but in the conservative rural area, divorce was a huge disgrace, enough to make one be pointed at and talked about by neighbors and unable to hold one's head up.

Furthermore, after the divorce, Qiao Yi is so young, who will take care of him without his mother by his side?

Qiao Nianshan endured the disgust of living with her, but he never expected that she would not change her ways and would even dare to let Jia Er come to the house.

The more Qiao Nianshan thought about it, the more his blood boiled. He grabbed an enamel mug from the side and smashed it in the direction Chen Xiuying was standing.

Chen Xiuying instinctively dodged, and by sheer coincidence, the vat hit Qiao Yi on the forehead.

With a loud "bang," the force of the flying object was quite heavy. Qiao Yi was hit in pain and immediately covered his head and started crying.

Chen Xiuying was heartbroken and immediately shouted, "Qiao Nianshan! This is your son! How could you hurt a child so badly?"

Qiao Nianshan never expected the cup to hit his son. He felt regret and self-blame, and sighed repeatedly as he looked at his broken home.

"Stop crying," Qingyan called out to Qiao Yi. "What's a little hurt to a real man? Don't cry all the time!"

Chen Xiuying was seething with anger and was about to retort when she thought about what was going to happen tonight and realized that she wouldn't be able to keep up the act for long.

She glanced coldly at Qingyan and led Qiao Yi to wash up.

Only after the mother and son had left the room did Qiao Qingyan speak:

"Father, if you don't want to live like this, then cut it all off right now. If you want to continue living like this, then turn a blind eye and endure it."

After saying that, she didn't say anything more, turned around and walked out of the main house, returning to her temporary room.

Qiao Nianshan has recovered his spirits, and now Chen Xiuying has also returned.

Qingyan originally wanted to go home, but it was freezing cold and pitch black outside, so she could only wait until tomorrow morning to go back.

Home is of course Xiao Jingye's home; this place is no longer her home.

Lying on this kang (heated brick bed), it always feels hard and cold; it's never as comfortable as sleeping on my own kang at home.

The new kang (heated brick bed) that she and Xiao Jingye had built was commissioned by her mother-in-law before their marriage.

The room was bright and clean, and the bedding was always dry and warm with a faint fragrance, a hundred times more comfortable than here. Only when Qingyan lay on her own kang (heated brick bed) could she sleep soundly.

She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down.

Just bear with it one more night, get through tonight, and go back as soon as it's light.