Not long after, Village Chief Yang Yongqing returned. Yang Wanyun had already prepared the meal and called out to Xu Zifan. However, Xu Zifan had just finished eating and didn't feel hungry, so he didn't go out out to maintain his persona.
Yang Yongqing frowned, his expression displeased. He had lost two sons in infancy, and now only this one daughter remained, which naturally touched his heart. When Yang Wanyun went into the water to save Xu Zifan, he only agreed to the marriage because he thought Xu Zifan was a decent person and didn't object to it. He figured marrying a cultured man with a good temper was better than ruining his reputation by marrying a rejected son.
Who knew Xu Zifan would be perfectly fine at the time, but on his wedding day, he looked completely unwilling, and after the wedding, he acted as if he had a grudge against them, always giving them the cold shoulder. If he had known it would turn out like this, he would have preferred to find a son-in-law to live with his daughter rather than let her suffer like this. Now Xu Zifan still needs to take the college entrance exam and is determined to return to the city. What will happen to his daughter?
Seeing this, Yang Wanyun smiled and served him a bowl of porridge. She then started talking about the amusing stories of the village's young people, which softened Yang Yongqing and Feng Yuying's expressions, and they finished their meal with smiles. After the meal, Yang Wanyun tidied the house neatly, fetched hot water for her parents, and then carried a basin of hot water back to the room. She placed it on the floor beside the kang (heated brick bed) and said softly, "Brother Fan, you can wash your feet."
Xu Zifan was lying down, lost in thought, when he heard this and paused, turning his head to look at the steaming water in the basin, then at Yang Wanyun who had turned and left. He sat up uncomfortably. In this day and age, women in the village actually had to bring their husbands water to wash their feet. Luckily, the original owner of this body had a very bad relationship with Yang Wanyun, and he always washed and poured out the water himself, otherwise he felt he might have lost his powers.
After Xu Zifan finished washing his feet and poured out the water, Yang Wanyun also finished washing up, changed her clothes, and came into the room. She turned off the light, somewhat awkwardly climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), lay down against the wall, then took a pillow and placed it between herself and Xu Zifan, covered herself tightly with the quilt, and prepared to sleep.
Thinking of Xu Zifan's inexplicable words earlier, Yang Wanyun asked in a low voice, "Brother Fan, do you have some misunderstanding about me? My mom didn't bring up the time I saved someone out of gratitude; she was just a little angry because we don't get along. Actually, I'm quite puzzled too. Do you think I was being nosy by saving you?"
Xu Zifan stared at the ceiling, hands behind his head, and said with disgust, "You're not just using this to get something in return, but you keep bringing it up? Are you afraid I won't remember? Isn't this your goal? Don't pretend to be so innocent. There's a saying, 'If you don't want others to know, don't do it in the first place.' You wanted me to marry you, and you've succeeded now, but if you want me to even look at you, don't dream about it!"
Yang Wanyun sat up abruptly, looked at him in disbelief, and exclaimed, "Who wanted you to marry me? Who wanted you to fall for me? Xu Zifan! Why do you think of me like that? I saved you out of kindness, I didn't have any ulterior motives! Explain yourself, why are you saying this!"
Xu Zifan sat up and said coldly to her, "Everyone has told me that you orchestrated my falling into the water. You deliberately passed by there pretending to be a hero, and then forced me to marry you. Isn't that because you've taken a liking to me? Using such despicable means is truly shameful!"
Yang Wanyun's chest heaved with anger as she pointed at him and shouted, "You're talking nonsense! So what if you're good-looking? What can you do? You can't even lift a bucket of water, and you're always sickly. Why would I be interested in you? Tell me, who said I schemed against you? We'll confront him tomorrow. I want to see who's so despicable as to frame me behind my back!"
Xu Zifan was startled. He thought Yang Wanyun was the kind of person who was gentle on the outside but tough on the inside, but he didn't expect her to be such a feisty little devil!
He coughed twice, looked away, somewhat embarrassed that he had bullied the little girl, but still continued, "You're the village chief's daughter, who dares to confront you? You've been pretending for so many days, and now you've finally shown your true colors, haven't you? Stop pretending to be a virtuous wife and loving mother. You caused me to fall into the water, and I will never forgive you!"
"You! You're being unreasonable!" Yang Wanyun slapped him hard, then lay down on the bed facing the wall, leaving him with her back to him. She was absolutely furious. If Xu Zifan looked down on the villagers or on her, that was one thing. But for Xu Zifan to falsely accuse her of harming people was something she absolutely couldn't accept. If she found out who had framed her, she would definitely settle the score!
Xu Zifan touched his nose and lay down. This was the first time he had ever teased his mission target. Luckily, the little girl didn't cry, or he wouldn't know how to comfort her. He glanced at the gauze curtains hanging on both sides of the kang (a heated brick bed), but decided against lowering them. After all, they weren't a real couple yet, and lowering the curtains would make the space feel too cramped and too intimate.
He rolled over, back to back with Yang Wanyun, and suddenly chuckled, finding it quite amusing. Thinking about it, it's perfectly normal for Yang Wanyun to have a fiery temper; after all, her mother is that kind of person, and she's the only child in the family, spoiled since childhood. It's impossible for her to be truly gentle and mild-mannered. Yang Wanyun's usual behavior is probably just because she's sensible and doesn't want her parents to worry, so she always tries her best to mediate the family's conflicts.
It was precisely because Yang Wanyun was so sensible that she felt even more guilty after her parents became the laughingstock of the whole village following the original owner's escape. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so distracted and not watching where she was going, tripping and falling hard. She was just too unlucky; she actually hit her head on a rock and died. Xu Zifan felt he should teach Yang Wanyun self-defense so she could at least save herself if she fell. But for now, he should hurry up and go to sleep; otherwise, he'd probably get hungry again, and he'd only eaten so little.
Xu Zifan quickly fell asleep, his breathing steady. Yang Wanyun was even angrier when she found out. It turned out that only she was unhappy; Xu Zifan was doing whatever he wanted without being affected at all. It was infuriating. She decided not to boil eggs for him tomorrow, there was no more sugar water, and no more pancakes in the morning. She would only give him thin porridge, since he hadn't done any work.
After thinking about it for a while, Yang Wanyun felt a little calmer and slowly fell asleep.
The next morning, while Yang Wanyun was cooking, Feng Yuying went into the kitchen and asked her quietly, "Didn't you two have a fight last night? I could hear it from my room. What happened? Did Xu Zifan bully you?"
Yang Wanyun paused for a moment, her expression remaining unchanged. "No, Mom, I just think he's too stubborn. Maybe it's because we spoil him. So I told him that if he doesn't do any work, he should eat less." She turned to Feng Yuying and smiled. "It's okay, Mom, don't worry. I won't let anyone bully me. I have you and Dad protecting me, so he wouldn't dare."
Feng Yuying thought for a moment and nodded, "That's fine. He's been recuperating for so long, he's almost done. He doesn't appreciate our kindness, so we won't try to please him. But I don't think he's good at any kind of work. He's married to you after all. I've discussed it with your dad and we'll see if we can get him a teaching job. People are all human, he'll gradually understand what kind of people our family is."
Feng Yuying sighed and stroked Yang Wanyun's hair tenderly, "It's just that you've suffered, please bear with it a little longer."
Yang Wanyun pursed her lips and smiled, saying, "I'm sorry to have troubled you. I'll definitely be able to live a good life from now on."
When the food was served, Xu Zifan came out to eat with them without greeting them. He looked down at his bowl and frowned, "Why don't I have any pancakes?"
Yang Wanyun smiled and said, "You're lying at home, so don't eat so much. Your parents work hard in the fields every day, so I divided your portion of bread in half to give to them. You're an educated person, so you must be very filial, right?"
Xu Zifan saw the smugness in her eyes and found it amusing. He glanced at his parents-in-law, said nothing more, and simply ate his porridge with a displeased expression. After finishing the porridge, he stood up and said, "Hurry up and eat. Today I'll go with you to the back mountain to gather firewood and dig for wild vegetables, so you won't say I'm not working."
The three members of the Yang family looked up at him in surprise. Xu Zifan, with a cold face, took the bamboo basket and tools, sat on the small stool by the wall, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes to rest. The morning sunlight shone on Xu Zifan's face, adding a touch of radiance to his overly handsome features, making him seem like an immortal descended to earth, completely out of place in this dilapidated little mountain village.
Yang Wanyun was momentarily lost in thought, and her eating speed slowed considerably. She suddenly realized that Xu Zifan indeed had reason to be proud; his entire demeanor was unlike that of someone who could live in a village. He was bound to go to higher and farther places in the future, so what exactly was their relationship? They had even gotten their marriage certificate.
The meal was short-lived. Yang Yongqing and Feng Yuying finished eating and rushed off to work in the fields. Yang Wanyun also had to work; she had to gather pig feed. After gathering the pig feed, she would come home to sweep the floor, wash clothes, cook, feed the chickens, and feed the pigs. She had a lot of chores to do every day. Xu Zifan was the only one in the Yang family who was not working. He had fallen into the water and needed to recuperate. With his pale complexion and thin body, no one wanted him to do any work.
So when the villagers saw Xu Zifan carrying a bamboo basket and following behind Yang Wanyun, they were all incredibly surprised. Recently, Yang Wanyun had become the laughingstock of the village. A young woman jumped into the water to save someone, and now she was forced into marriage, only to be rejected by the man she was supposed to marry. Her future was sure to be difficult. The worst part was that many men had previously proposed to the Yang family, but the couple had refused, saying they wanted to wait two more years—meaning they hadn't found any suitable suitors. Now she'd married this good-looking but useless educated youth; who knows if she regretted it?
Yang Wanyun greeted them and then focused on her work, ignoring their scrutinizing gazes. However, she still felt a little uncomfortable and just wanted to finish her work quickly so she could go home.
Xu Zifan watched for a while, and after figuring out how to do it, he stepped forward, grabbed the farm tools, and said to Yang Wanyun, "You go and rest, let me show you whether I can do the work."
Yang Wanyun frowned and said in a low voice, "What are you doing? Don't mess things up!"
Xu Zifan had already started working quickly, and said coldly, "I'm just as good as you. Don't say I can't work in the future."
Yang Wanyun was relieved to see that Xu Zifan had indeed done a good job. However, she looked at him with surprise. Was he sulking? Was he angry that she wouldn't give him any food because he wasn't working? If she could get him to work by reverse psychology, that would be pretty good. Yang Wanyun smiled and went to sit in the shade of a tree.
An elderly woman nearby asked her, "Wanyun, is your Xu Qingqing feeling better? Is he able to work now?"
Yang Wanyun smiled and nodded, "He's almost fully recovered. He came over to try it out. If he can do it, my dad will arrange some work for him. After all, everyone is working hard, and he can't just rest all the time. If he hadn't been injured before and hadn't been fully recovered, he wouldn't have been able to take so long to recover."
"Oh, that's a good thing. It's just that this young man isn't very strong, otherwise he could help your parents a bit more."
"He's only been in the village for a few months, so he might not be used to it yet. He'll get used to it eventually."
The old lady suddenly thought of the college entrance examination and asked curiously, "I heard that these students can take the college entrance examination again and can go back to the city. Xu Zhiqing must have to go back too, right? What will you do then? Go with them? Your parents will miss you terribly."
As soon as she said that, several people nearby looked at Yang Wanyun.
Yang Wanyun smiled slightly and said, "We haven't discussed this yet. Let's see how it goes after we get into university. We don't even know where we'll get into right now."
The group exchanged glances, all agreeing that the Yang family was definitely preventing Xu Zifan from taking the college entrance exam. Everyone knew Xu Zifan had a falling out with the Yang family; they clearly looked down on Yang Wanyun, and if he actually took the exam, he'd just run away. Besides, the news of the resumption of the college entrance exam had just come out, and Xu Zifan was already out working—who knows what might have happened? The Yang family was probably going to cause more trouble.
No one was optimistic about Xu Zifan and Yang Wanyun's marriage. Yang Wanyun kept smiling, and suddenly a surge of energy arose within her. She was determined to live a good life, better than anyone else, and make everyone swallow the gossip behind her back!