Chapter 10
Wen Yue followed Zhou Yao out of the Wen household in a daze. It took her more than ten seconds before her emotions finally caught up—and then her eyes lit up with excitement.
“We really got the land and the money back? They actually agreed to return it? What if they trick us?”
She had come here fully prepared to be turned away. In her impression, her aunt-in-law Li Huahong had always been a notoriously difficult, stingy woman.
Zhou Yao glanced at her sideways, lifting a brow.
“They wouldn’t dare.”
Wen Yue’s eyes sparkled with admiration. “Zhou Yao, you’re amazing!”
“Not bad.” At her adoring gaze, he unconsciously straightened his back a little, hands shoved into his pockets, pretending to be nonchalant. “It’s nothing. If anything like this happens again, just tell me.”
Wen Yue’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she nodded eagerly.
Even after they left the courtyard, they could still hear Li Huahong and Wen Guoqiang arguing inside.
She glanced back. Through the open gate, she caught sight of a girl stepping out from the room beside the main hall.
Probably awakened by the commotion.
The girl wore a neat blue square-neck dress, her long hair loosely draped over her shoulders. She walked slowly and gracefully, completely out of place in the rural courtyard.
That should be her cousin, Wen Xiaoyu.
No wonder she was the high school student of this era—she carried herself differently, confident and composed, as if she naturally belonged somewhere better.
As if sensing something, the girl turned her head toward the gate. But they were too far away; Wen Yue couldn’t make out her expression clearly.
She withdrew her gaze and turned back to Zhou Yao, continuing their conversation.
…
Inside the Wen household’s main hall, Li Huahong wailed at the top of her lungs.
“Wen Guoqiang! That was a thousand yuan—one thousand! And you just gave it back like that?!”
“How am I not heartbroken?” Wen Guoqiang roared through clenched teeth, veins bulging at his temples, his eyes bloodshot. “I told you long ago—stop picking fights with Wen Yue for no reason! She’s just a girl. She’s going to marry out sooner or later, so why do you keep making things difficult for her?”
“If you’d treated her better, would this even have happened? Now look—both the money and the land are gone. Are you satisfied? I must’ve been cursed eight lifetimes over to marry you!”
Li Huahong snapped back immediately. “I did it for who? For this family! And now you’re blaming me? Why didn’t you stop me back then? They asked for it and you just gave it away—how generous of you!”
Wen Guoqiang let out a cold, humorless laugh. “You really don’t know what kind of person Zhou Yao is, do you? If you didn’t pay up, he could’ve turned around and gone after Hua Zi instead. You think he’s someone you can just refuse?”
That shut her up.
Li Huahong stiffened, unable to respond.
But her heart still hurt unbearably. One thousand yuan—how many years would it take to save that much?
“If anything, we should’ve let Xiaoyu marry him instead,” Wen Guoqiang muttered bitterly. “It’s all your fault for stopping it. Useless woman.”
Wen Xiaoyu had just reached the doorway when she heard that sentence.
She froze.
Inside the mess of the main hall, she frowned slightly. “Dad, Mom… what happened?”
Li Huahong immediately poured everything out, spitting every detail with gritted teeth.
“That damn Wen Yue—ever since she got married off, she’s grown wings! She actually brought Zhou Yao here to take things from us!”
“One thousand yuan! That heartless little—if I’d known—”
Wen Xiaoyu understood what her mother was about to say.
She pressed her lips together, silent.
But in her mind, Zhou Yao’s tall, striking figure flashed past.
Something unfamiliar stirred in her chest.
Truthfully, she liked his looks.
Rebellious, sharp-featured, masculine and strong—there wasn’t anything to fault except his background.
If he were from the city… if she had been asked whether she’d marry him back then, she wouldn’t have hesitated for even a second.
She would have said yes.
But he wasn’t.
Wen Xiaoyu’s ideal was to marry a man with an urban household registration—to escape her rural identity, to climb upward, to change her fate.
Not to marry a man who would spend his entire life in a village.
Thinking of this, her expression firmed.
She pushed down the faint regret and softly comforted her parents.
“Mom, Dad, don’t be angry. If it’s gone, it’s gone. I’ll definitely find a wealthy and powerful husband in the future.”
“When that happens, let alone a thousand yuan—even two thousand or three thousand won’t matter.” Her tone was calm but confident. “Zhou Yao is just a rural man. That’s his ceiling. But if I marry into the city, we’ll have everything. Don’t waste energy being angry over something so small.”
Her gentle, composed voice soothed their frustration.
Li Huahong immediately agreed. “Xiaoyu is right. How can Zhou Yao compare to city men? Our Xiaoyu is a high school student—she might even go to university someday. What kind of man can’t she find?”
“As for Zhou Yao? He’s violent, has a bad temper—he isn’t even worthy of carrying shoes for her!”
Wen Guoqiang thought about it and felt slightly better. With a deep breath, he stood up.
“Forget it. It’s done. No point talking about it now. I’m going to work in the fields. Clean up the house.”
…
“Zhou Yao, I actually have another favor to ask you.”
Wen Yue blinked at him, smiling innocently.
Zhou Yao glanced at her, thinking she really was good at pushing her luck. Still, he responded lazily, “What is it?”
“That land… can you help me ask around and see if anyone wants to buy it? I want to sell it.”
Her tone was light, almost cheerful.
Even though she now had the original owner’s memories, she still wasn’t familiar with the village. It felt awkward to ask around herself.
“Sell it?” Zhou Yao repeated.
“Yes.” She nodded. “I don’t know how to farm, and I want to go back to school.”
Her face scrunched slightly in complaint. “Before my grandma passed away, my aunt-in-law promised she’d support my education as long as I wanted to study. But less than a month after she died, they forced me to drop out and come home to work.”
Zhou Yao gave a faint smile. “Then why didn’t you refuse?”
Wen Yue recalled Li Huahong’s terrifying expression and shuddered under the bright daylight.
She shook her head quickly.
“I wouldn’t dare.”
The original owner wouldn’t dare. And honestly… neither would she.
“Coward.” Zhou Yao clicked his tongue, glancing at her. “People like that—if you’re afraid of the soft ones, you’ll get bullied. If you’re afraid of the bold ones, they’ll push you around. If you’re afraid of the ruthless ones, they’ll step on you. As long as you’re more shameless and more stubborn than them, then they’re the ones who’ll be afraid of you.”
Wen Yue thought about it. “So you’re shameless, stubborn, and ruthless?”
Zhou Yao stopped walking.
He turned to face her fully, his sharp, slightly upturned eyes locking onto hers. The gaze was dark, piercing, and oddly unreadable.
Wen Yue suddenly felt nervous and tugged at her clothes.
Did she say something wrong?
Then he spoke.
“Then why aren’t you afraid of me—but you’re afraid of your aunt-in-law? Am I not scarier than her?”
He didn’t sound angry.
Wen Yue let out a small breath of relief and answered honestly.
“You wouldn’t hit me. She would. I can’t beat her.”
Li Huahong was a woman who worked in the fields all year round. Her strength wasn’t something a thin, undernourished girl like Wen Yue could match.
Zhou Yao frowned in disgust. “…Useless.”
“Fine. I’ll ask.”
Wen Yue’s eyes lit up instantly. “Thank you~”
Zhou Yao pulled out the one thousand yuan they had just retrieved from Wen Guoqiang. His fingers were long, knuckles defined—hands so striking they almost looked unreal.
Wen Yue glanced at them for a second too long before snapping back to reality.
“…For me?”
“My dad gave it to my wife. You’re my wife. Of course it’s yours.” His tone was calm, like it meant nothing at all.
But Wen Yue faintly sensed his mood wasn’t great.
“It’s too much,” she hesitated. “I can’t take it.”
A thousand yuan was a fortune in this era.
She had once read online that a hundred yuan could last months if you were careful. Factory workers only earned a few dozen yuan a month.
How could she accept something like this?
Zhou Yao’s expression didn’t change.
“Don’t want it? I’ll throw it away.”
He lifted his hand, as if about to toss the money straight into the ditch.
“Hey—!” Wen Yue’s eyes widened. Her brain hadn’t even caught up before her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.
His skin was warm, solid. Beneath her fingertips, she could feel the faint, raised line of his veins—strangely soft yet powerful at the same time.
She suddenly thought: this man probably even has muscles that feel stubbornly hard.
In her mind, she muttered at him.
What kind of person throws away money like that? Even rich people wouldn’t be this ridiculous. His brain is definitely not normal.
She clung to his arm, snatched the money from his hand, and shoved it messily into her pocket.
The thick stack made a noticeable bump against her leg.
“I’ll take it! Is that okay?!”
She huffed in frustration.
Zhou Yao watched her expression, then suddenly said, “What, planning to ride on my arm forever? Want me to carry you home?”
“……”
Only then did Wen Yue realize she was practically hanging off him.
His arm was firm and steady, supporting her weight effortlessly.
She panicked and let go immediately, stumbling back two big steps. Her face flushed deep red.
“I—I can walk on my own!”
She looked almost… disgusted.
Zhou Yao clicked his tongue, inexplicably annoyed, and walked ahead.
Wen Yue stayed silent and followed behind him.
Her face was still burning as she touched her cheek.
Her thoughts started drifting uncontrollably.
His arms were really strong. Probably chest muscles too… and abs, right? How many? Six-pack? Eight-pack?
And that waist-to-shoulder ratio… broad shoulders, narrow waist—wasn’t that what people called a “wolf waist”?
She even remembered some comments she’d seen online about not wearing pants—
Her face went even hotter.
Zhou Yao glanced back and saw her flushed cheeks deepening in color.
He frowned. “Why is your face so red? You’ve got a fever?”
“No.” She quickly shoved the thoughts away and mumbled, “It’s just the sun. It’s hot.”
Zhou Yao looked up at the mild afternoon light.
“…?”
