Chapter 574: 574 Yue’er, I’m worried about you
He sighed, “After my face was disfigured, the Xiao Family had too many problems. Chuan’s health was not good, and Fourth Brother… The men of the Xiao Family couldn’t find a wife, and none of us could afford or manage to marry a wife individually. No one was willing to marry into our family. But the Xiao Family’s ancestral line must not end. After buying you from the Zhu Family, I didn’t have much hope. But ever since you came back from the town with severe injuries, my feelings for you… became different. I can see that not only me but also Third Brother and Fourth Brother have unusual feelings for you.”
She listened quietly. She knew what Second Brother was talking about.
“I used to have feelings for Liu Haitang. After so many years, those feelings have become almost numb with indifference,” he said, gazing at her with deep emotion. “But she looked down on me because of my disfigurement, leaving a shadow in my heart. Yue’er, do you know? It’s you who brought my dead heart back to life. How afraid I was that you would be like her, disdaining my appearance. How scared I was that you would look at me with contempt… Whenever I thought about it, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy and miserable…”
Su Qingyue glanced at his bearded face, “That’s why Second Brother, who didn’t have a beard originally, grew one.”
He looked slightly uneasy, “You noticed it?”
“I’ve known it for a long time.” She smiled, “With a full beard, Second Brother really looks like a wild man. There is really no need to use a beard to hide the scar on your left face.”
He asked, “Does Yue’er not like my beard?”
“Shave it off,” she said. “You’ll be more comfortable without it.”
“Yue’er, I’m sorry…” There was deep remorse in his eyes, “I was really afraid that you’d look down on me. I thought, based on your character, you wouldn’t be like that… Cuihua said you despised me and that you admitted it yourself…”
Su Qingyue thought back to the situation at that time, “Cuihua meant well. She told me that everyone in the village said I looked down on you, so she asked me if I really did. At that time, I didn’t know you were my… husband, and I thought it had nothing to do with me. So I didn’t bother to explain, which led to the misunderstanding.”
“I see.” He finally breathed a sigh of relief. “But even if you knew I was your husband, you never explained when I asked you in person…”
“Do you know why I didn’t explain?” Her expression was indifferent. “I don’t care about appearances. When Second Brother asked me that question, he’d already denied my character. Since you’d already made up your mind, why should I waste my breath explaining?”
It was like when she poked Third Brother twice. If he didn’t believe her and thought she was vengeful, then she was too lazy to explain.
His heart leaped with joy, finally sure of her feelings, “Yue’er, you mean you don’t mind!”
She smiled slightly, nodding her head.
He sat on a stone, leaning slightly towards her, looking at her with a touched expression, “Yue’er… you’re so kind!”
“Second Brother, you’re flattering me. I’m not that good.”
His deep eyes were filled with pain and guilt, “These days, I’ve been frightened that you’d disdain me… Listening to Third Brother calling you ‘wife’ every day, I didn’t even dare to call you ‘wife’ myself. I was suffering so much, my nerves were on edge, and I almost… forced myself on you…”
“Second Brother, don’t be in the future.” There was a warning in her eyes.
Seeing her guardedness against him, his heart ached, “Yue’er, are you still blaming me for not handling the matter with Mrs. Qian Zhang properly?”