Chapter 47: Chapter 47 Pitiable, Ms. Su
The moon was dark and the wind was high that night as he made his way through the forest path, circling around to enter Zhongtao Village.
Chen Jie had been to Ma Liu’s house before, so he quickly found the place with the large pagoda tree.
The gate was locked. Chen Jie climbed over the wall into the courtyard, found a shovel, and felt his way under the large pagoda tree, where he began to dig until he uncovered a small wine jar.
He shook it; there was movement inside, sounding like silver.
Chen Jie looked around and, finding no one, tilted the jar and several pieces of broken silver fell out. In total, they were precisely five taels.
Having gained the money.
Chen Jie buried the jar back in place, tread lightly, and easily scaled the courtyard wall. Then he leaped onto a nearby haystack and, with a few moves, disappeared without a trace.
Upon leaving Zhongtao Village, he didn’t rush home but made his way to Lower Peach Village instead, fearing he might be followed.
It wasn’t until after two in the morning that he finally arrived home.
He opened the courtyard gate and gently pushed open the door to find it unlocked. Chen Jie frowned slightly—hadn’t he told them to lock it?
He tiptoed into the house, careful not to wake the Su sisters. Orıginal content can be found at novèlfire.net
Just as he entered, a timid voice suddenly sounded from inside the room, “Is that you, husband?”
Chen Jie was startled, “Yunjin?”
Exhaling, Chen Jie lit the oil lamp and saw Su Yunjin curled up in their bed, clutching a rolling pin, looking very tense.
“Why haven’t you slept yet!”
Su Yunjin nodded lightly.
Her body trembled slightly, a fear borne from staying long periods in the dark; in an attempt to save money, she even refrained from lighting the oil lamp.
Thus, she kept solitary watch through the night.
She didn’t dare sleep, worried sick that her husband wouldn’t return.
In her mind, it was like watching a movie with tumultuous scenes after scenes unfolding.
Scenes of Chen Jie lying dead outside, Chen Jie being hunted for murder, Chen Jie’s limbs broken and crawling in a pool of blood…
In short, all manner of terrifying thoughts had surfaced in her mind.
Until this moment, when light once again returned to the world.
Su Yunjin looked up, her eyes brimming with tears, yet the strong-willed woman did not cry.
Seeing this, Chen Jie felt moved and embraced her, “It’s alright, everything’s okay now.”
He gently patted her back, soothing her emotions.
It was only then that Su Yunjin’s expression began to relax. Chen Jie took the rolling pin from her hand and said, “If you were scared, why didn’t you bolt the door?”
“I… I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to open the door when you came back!”
Chen Jie laughed, “So you were planning to defend yourself with this? Which villain would be afraid of a rolling pin? You should’ve grabbed a kitchen knife.”
Su Yunjin said, and Chen Jie, with fondness, cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs wiping the tears from her cheeks.
“Next time, remember to bolt the door.”
Su Yunjin, “There’s a next time?”
Chen Jie grew silent, “Though I wish I could say there won’t be a next time, I don’t want to lie to you, my wife. In this world, if we don’t make a change, we’ll always be the ones who get hurt.”
“So for this family, for you and Ruirui, your husband must do certain things, do you understand?”
Su Yunjin gazed at Chen Jie’s earnest face and the determination in his eyes.
That sense of a man’s responsibility and the protective instinct for his family moved her. This was the husband she had chosen to marry.
Everything her husband had done was for the sake of their family, and she could not, by any means, become a burden to him.
She was moved, filled with emotion, and she took the initiative to kiss Chen Jie.
Chen Jie looked at Su Yunjin in surprise. By now, her face was as red as an apple, her eyes brimming with tenderness and incredibly enticing.
With her head lowered, that bashful yet reluctant expression made Chen Jie’s heart flutter.
He had seen women before; in his past life, he ran a live streaming company and had encountered all types of flirtatious women, but he had never seen a woman quite like Su Yunjin.
The women of the future society rarely possessed such purity and simplicity, and to him, who had seen through the coquettish vices, such beauty was truly priceless.
By way of comparison, this kind of woman was suited to be a main wife.
As for the others, they were fun for a fling, but marrying them? Forget it.
The next day, Chen Jie woke up to find Su Yunjin lying beside him, still clothed as they slept.
A smile graced his face; the previous night hadn’t descended into sordidness, not because Chen Jie couldn’t, but because he did not want to.
If it were one of those enchantresses from his company in the past life, he would now be naked, deep in carnal pleasure.
But for this woman who had suffered so much, he wanted to be gentle, to take it slow.
He hoped their love would develop naturally, not out of lust, but for love to blossom into physical intimacy.
And now, they had already taken the most crucial step, sleeping together.
All that remained was a sheet of paper apart, something Chen Jie could pierce through at any moment, wishing only for a bit of a special sense of ceremony.
In his youth, all he wanted was speed, but after experiencing the glitz and returning to simplicity, he realized the process itself was what pleased him most.
Chen Jie’s stirring gently awakened Su Yunjin.
Her scattered hair fell across her mouth, adding to her charming and unique laziness.
She rested on Chen Jie’s arm, her blouse partly open at the chest.
She blushed deeply as she recalled the previous day’s madness; their kisses intertwined, from lips to ear to neck.
His hands, too, were restless, wandering about.
It was only at the final step that he tenderly asked her, “Are you ready?”
She hesitated, not because she did not like him but because there was some fear in her heart…
That step, they had never taken before.
Before she turned eighteen, her stern mother-in-law insisted on following her grandfather’s directive: she must remain untouched.
After she turned eighteen, her mother-in-law passed away, he gave himself over to gambling, hardly ever came home, and when he did, he was drunk, treating her with nothing but abuse and vitriol. He even believed the rumors that she was a jinx, bringing bad luck to whomever she touched.
He, a gambler, held that belief firmly and feared that she might ruin his fortune; so, he never touched her.
Thus, in the year they were married, she remained pure, a strange irony.
Although he had changed now, willing to touch her, she still harbored fear regarding her first time, coupled with everyone saying she was a jinx; she too feared cursing Chen Jie’s luck.
So she hesitated yesterday, not letting him take that final step, yet he remained as tender as ever.
“Wife, if you don’t wish for it, I will not force you.”
“Husband, if you really want to, I…”
“It’s okay, I hope you can let go of your burdens.”
“Husband, give me a little time, I…”
“Hmm, I will wait until you’re willing to give yourself to me completely. It’s getting late, let’s sleep.”
And so, last night, she slept in his broad embrace, and they held each other through the cold, dark night, giving each other the greatest warmth.
That night, he was like a beam of light, illuminating her heart, and she even regretted not being more proactive. For such a man, what was there to hesitate about?
And so, the day dawned…
The day broke, so swiftly…