Chapter 10: I don’t want your money

Even if rumors painted Su Ai in the worst light, he knew she wasn’t like that.  Her personality was merely a protective shell.

But now, the clear scratch marks on her neck and the sounds of her washing up last night…

Ji Yang, whose mind was already muddled from a sleepless night, was completely thrown.

What did she mean by that statement last night?

Did she mean, “I’ve never wronged you before, so I’m going to start wronging you now?”

Su Ai offered Ji Yang the chamber pot, but he didn’t reach for it.

After a long silence, Su Ai stepped forward to lift his blanket, causing Ji Yang to react violently, pushing her back two steps.

“Don’t touch me!”

The disgust and disdain in his crimson eyes made Su Ai silent for a few seconds.  In her past life, seeing this look in Ji Yang’s eyes had felt like a thousand arrows piercing her heart.

Even in her second life, she wasn’t immune.

But it was better than last time; she wouldn’t react irrationally.

Putting herself in his shoes, if she were married to a man with her kind of personality idle, lazy, irresponsible, gambling, and fooling around and he had gotten injured and even died because of her recklessness, she wouldn’t give him a good look.  She might even want to kill him.

She had made her own bed, and now she had to lie in it.

Su Ai calmly offered the chamber pot again.

“Then you do it yourself.”

“Do you need to have a bowel movement?”

Ji Yang didn’t take the pot or answer Su Ai’s question: “Get out!”

Su Ai ignored him: “If you need to have a bowel movement, it’s best to do it at home. I’ll help you clean up. After that, we need to get up and catch the bus.”

“I’m taking you and Lele to the city hospital today.”

“To treat your leg.”

“We can’t delay this any longer. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to heal.”

Ignoring Ji Yang’s harsh words, Su Ai focused on the important matter.

The mention of going to the hospital eased Ji Yang’s anger considerably.

He wasn’t unreasonable.

Although his tone was still cold, it was much softer than before.

“Treatment in the city will cost a lot of money. We don’t have that much money right now. Let’s not go.  But if my leg remains crippled, I’ll be able to do less, and Lele will need money to grow up. You…”

Speaking of Su Ai, Ji Yang sighed.

“You know your own situation.”

“So, we don’t need to go to a big hospital. I’ll get some medicine and do acupuncture.  It won’t be a full recovery, but I’ll be able to walk.”

“We don’t need to waste the money.”

But as soon as Ji Yang finished speaking, Su Ai pulled out a thick wad of money from her pocket and handed it to him.

“I said I’d get your leg treated, and I’ll do it. I won’t allow you to be a cripple for life.”

“This should be enough. If it’s not, I’ll find a way.”

The thick wad of money was probably over a thousand yuan!

Ji Yang looked up at Su Ai in disbelief.

His gaze fell again on the scratch marks on her neck, and the sound of her showering last night echoed in his mind.  He understood.

Su Ai, who couldn’t do anything, what could she do to earn a thousand yuan in one night?

Along with Su Ai’s strange statement last night, Ji Yang grabbed her wrist.

His voice was strained: “What exactly were you doing last night?”

Su Ai didn’t understand the sudden change of topic.

Weren’t they talking about treating his leg just now?

“I told you, I wasn’t fooling around last night. I had important business!”

“Where did you get all this money?” Even in his anger, Ji Yang kept his voice down, not wanting to wake Lele or let him hear this.

“Are you worried I did something illegal?”

“Don’t worry, the source of this money isn’t exactly glorious, but it’s perfectly fine to spend it!”

“I worry? What am I supposed to worry about?!”

“Su Ai, you’re demeaning yourself! I don’t want this money, and I’d rather not treat my leg!”

“Even if I remain crippled for life, I won’t take your prostitution money!”

“You’re my wife.  Making you sell yourself to get money for my treatment—am I still human? I’m a beast!”

Ji Yang trembled with anger, lying weakly on the bed, tears streaming down his face.

He was angry at Su Ai’s recklessness and at his own uselessness for letting her go to such lengths to get money for his treatment.

If only he had said more last night. He’d rather keep his broken leg than let Su Ai do something so terrible.

But Su Ai was completely bewildered.  Prostitution money?

What was he talking about?

“Who told you this money is from prostitution?”

“You think I went out selling myself last night? And earned a thousand in one night?”

“Ji Yang, please use your brain!”

“First, I’m not a virgin. Second, I’m not drop-dead gorgeous.”

“According to your thinking, even if I worked myself to death last night, do you think I could earn a thousand yuan?  I couldn’t even earn that much dying in bed.”

“The money didn’t come from that.”

“And you didn’t listen to what I said last night, did you?”

“I told you, Su Ai has never wronged you before, and I won’t do anything to wrong you in the future.”

“As long as you’re willing, I’ll be your only wife for life.”

One moment they were discussing serious matters, and the next, her last sentence sounded like a confession, making Ji Yang blush again.

His heart skipped a beat, but he quickly refocused.

“Really not?”

“Really not.”

The sincerity in Su Ai’s eyes calmed Ji Yang.

“Then where did this money come from?”

Seeing Su Ai hesitant to speak, he said,

“If you don’t tell me where this money came from, I won’t use it to treat my leg.”

Su Ai sighed and looked at the chamber pot.

“It can’t be explained in a few words. Before I do, can you take care of your business?”

“I’ll ask again, do you need to have a bowel movement?”

In the dim light, Su Ai saw Ji Yang blushing again.

She found it amusing.  She hadn’t realized her husband was so easily embarrassed and innocent.