Chapter 25.2

In the afternoon, when Li Xiao returned, Jiang Rou told him about her brother’s visit. After hearing this, he looked at Jiang Rou, seeing her frown. He paused for a moment and said, “I’ll go and check it out tomorrow.”

Jiang Rou hadn’t expected him to say this and looked up at him.

Li Xiao raised an eyebrow and asked, “What are you looking at me for?”

Jiang Rou suddenly smiled and shook her head, feeling a bit warm inside, realizing that he was doing this for her sake.

She recalled that when she first came here, he seemed to dislike “Jiang Rou’s” family a lot.

After some thought, she added, “If something happens to my second sister, you can take care of it, but if there’s nothing serious, just stay out of it.”

She didn’t want Li Xiao to get into trouble because of her.

Among the three daughters of the Jiang family, the eldest was weak, the second was strong-willed, and the third, “Jiang Rou,” balanced the two. Outwardly appearing weak and easily bullied, she was actually quite strong-willed inside.

So, Jiang Rou wasn’t surprised at all to hear that her second sister chose to go on a hunger strike for a divorce.

Li Xiao responded casually, not really taking the matter to heart.

Lately, the weather has been steadily getting colder. Every night before bed, Jiang Rou would soak her feet in hot water.

Her original body had a weak constitution, and whenever her menstruation came, she would suffer from stomach pains. If she didn’t take care of herself, the pain would worsen.

Furthermore, the southern winters were damp and cold. If the quilts weren’t aired out in the sun daily, they would become damp, which wasn’t good for one’s health.

The little girl used to sleep in a rocking bed, but now Jiang Rou is worried she might be cold sleeping alone, so she places her between them at night.

Li Xiao had a strong body, which helped keep both mother and daughter warm.

When Jiang Rou soaked her feet, Li Xiao would often join her. His feet had been suffering from frostbite lately, so Jiang Rou would add moxa leaves to the basin. She wasn’t sure if it would help, but she had used it during her confinement period and thought it might be good for Li Xiao too.

The water was a bit hot, so Jiang Rou shamelessly stepped on the back of Li Xiao’s feet, dipping down now and then to test the temperature. Li Xiao was accustomed to this; he found Jiang Rou to be somewhat overbearing at times. There were things she could do that he couldn’t, and this was one of those moments.

When it came to eating as well, if she didn’t like something, she was very generous. If she liked something, she would secretly eat it before giving him some.

Li Xiao held their daughter in his arms and gently flew her around. Recently, she had become fond of this game, wanting to be flown around every night before bed, just like her mother, who was also domineering.

Because she was having so much fun, An An’s face was especially sweet, and she even stuck out her pink little tongue.

After playing with her for a while, Li Xiao noticed the water had cooled down, so he put An An on the bed, ready to stop soaking and start drying her feet. However, An An wasn’t happy and waved her little arms, calling out, “Ah ah ah,” as if protesting that she wanted to keep playing.

Li Xiao couldn’t resist and squeezed her little fist, saying, “We’ll play more later.”

He took the towel that Jiang Rou used to dry her feet, wiped it casually on his own feet, and then got out of bed to refill the water.

When he returned, Jiang Rou reminded him, “Remember to apply the medicine.”

A couple of days ago, Jiang Rou noticed that his frostbite was quite severe and went to buy some ointment from an old doctor on the street. However, Li Xiao always forgot to apply it.

Sure enough, if Jiang Rou hadn’t reminded him, Li Xiao would have forgotten again. He turned around to look for the ointment on the table but couldn’t find it after searching for a long time. “Have you seen it? I forgot where I put it.”

Jiang Rou rolled her eyes at his back, put down the book, and stretched her neck to look. “Is it on that cabinet?”

She couldn’t see clearly from a distance.

Li Xiao heard this and turned to look at the cabinet. He indeed found the red bottle on top.

He took it directly to the bed to apply it, only putting it on his feet. After finishing, he placed the bottle on the bedside bench.

Then, he continued to play with his daughter. An An grinned and laughed happily, but even as she yawned, she refused to sleep. Whenever Li Xiao stopped, she would wave her arms.

She neither cried nor made a fuss; she just called out with “ah ah ah,” staring at him with her big, shiny eyes as if asking why he stopped.

Even though Li Xiao was firm, he couldn’t resist.

It wasn’t until An An had fallen asleep unknowingly that Li Xiao put her into the quilt, took off his outer clothes, and covered himself with the blanket.

Perhaps because she had had so much fun, An An’s mouth was still slightly turned up in a smile after she fell asleep.

Every time this happened, Jiang Rou would put down the book and go to bed. 

After so many times, Li Xiao suspected that this woman was doing it on purpose—pretending to read a book just to avoid putting An An to sleep.

The little one was very well-behaved after falling asleep. Jiang Rou touched her little hands and feet. They were warm, so she pressed down the blankets on both sides before lying down to sleep next to her.

Li Xiao also turned off the light and lay down.

Since An An slept beside them, Jiang Rou usually didn’t sleep deeply at night. She would wake up at the slightest noise.

In the middle of the night, Jiang Rou heard a rustling sound next to her. She frowned and opened her eyes. Her first reaction was to touch the little one next to her. An An was sleeping soundly, and the quilt on her body was well covered.

Jiang Rou then looked at Li Xiao on the outer side. The room wasn’t completely dark, so she could vaguely see that the man was rubbing his hands and feet, seemingly very itchy, and the sound of his scratching was quite loud.

But the person didn’t wake up; he just didn’t sleep very well.

Seeing this, she knew his frostbite had flared up.

Jiang Rou glanced around and carefully climbed out of bed, making sure to get off at the end. Sometimes, when she needed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, she would do this to avoid disturbing anyone.

After getting off the bed, she walked to the outer side, squatted down, and found the small medicine bottle on the stool near the head of the bed. She unscrewed the lid, scooped out some green ointment, and then gently took hold of Li Xiao’s large hand, which was resting outside the quilt. After feeling for the right spot, she carefully applied the ointment.

The coolness of the ointment felt soothing to Li Xiao, but it also woke him up.

He opened his eyes groggily and saw a figure squatting by the bed.

After Jiang Rou finished applying the ointment to both of his hands, she moved to the end of the bed and was about to lift the quilt.

Li Xiao, realizing what she was doing, said in a hoarse voice, “I’ll do it myself.”

When Jiang Rou heard his voice, she turned her head, glanced at him, and whispered gently, “You go back to sleep; I’ll finish applying it soon.”

She gently pulled off the socks on his feet. He had already applied the ointment once before bed, as she had instructed him earlier. He would wear socks after applying the ointment to avoid staining the bed.

Li Xiao didn’t move, but he wasn’t asleep either. He simply watched her with his eyes lowered.

Her touch was so gentle that it felt slightly ticklish.

Jiang Rou covered his feet with the quilt and whispered, “Alright, go back to sleep.”

“Yeah,” Li Xiao murmured, closing his eyes. He wasn’t sure if it was because the medicine was so effective or if it was something else, but his hands and feet really didn’t itch anymore.

Even so, he found that he couldn’t fall asleep at all.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The next day, Jiang Rou went to visit Aunt Wang’s house and heard that Li Xiao’s stepfather’s son had returned the previous night. Jiang Rou thought that her unkind stepmother-in-law would probably cause trouble again.

Sure enough, just after lunch, while she was walking in the yard with An An, she saw Lin Meiru rushing over. As soon as they met, Lin Meiru asked, “I heard that Zhu Qiang asked you to work at Jiangnan Mountain Villa, but you refused. Is that true?”

Jiang Rou couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional; Lin Meiru’s stepson seemed like he was born to be a gossip columnist. As soon as he came back, he had learned everything.

Lin Meiru, infuriated, pounded her thigh. “Are you out of your mind? You didn’t want such a good job. I heard that they pay ten yuan a day there, which amounts to three hundred yuan a month.”

She thought her foolish daughter-in-law must have had her brains kicked by a donkey. She worked herself to exhaustion every day and earned just over two hundred yuan a month.

The more she dwelled on it, the angrier she became, and she couldn’t help but scold, “Do you even realize how easy the work is there? You just serve food and drinks all day, and there aren’t many customers. It’s like a gift from the heavens, yet you turn it down. Do you know how many people are fighting to get that job? Why didn’t Li Xiao stop you?”

Jiang Rou found herself both irritated and amused, puzzled by why Lin Meiru was getting so worked up. Hadn’t she claimed she wouldn’t interfere with their decisions anymore?

Hadn’t she declared before that she wouldn’t meddle in their lives again?

In the middle of her scolding, Lin Meiru suddenly asked, “Why don’t you go and tell Zhu Qiang to let me take your place?”

Jiang Rou was embarrassed. “…”

Noticing the hopeful look on her face, Jiang Rou hesitated before saying, “Uh, it seems like the waitresses there are supposed to be young and beautiful. It’s part of the villa’s image. Mom, you might not be a fit for that. How about applying for a cleaning job instead?”

Lin Meiru frowned. “Who wants to do that? It’s dirty and exhausting.”

“…” She was picky as well.

Jiang Rou was speechless.

Seeing Jiang Rou’s silence, which resembled her mute son, Lin Meiru was instantly enraged. She couldn’t help but scold, “You’re so brainless. You don’t want such a good job, so what do you want? Even your belly is useless; you can’t even give me a grandson.”

Jiang Rou felt that Lin Meiru was going too far. She could be scolded, but not An An. She was about to retort when she looked up and saw Li Xiao standing at the gate of the yard, his face dark and gloomy. It was unclear how long he had been listening, but his expression was extremely unpleasant.

Jiang Rou’s anger dissipated instantly. Meeting his gaze, she feigned grievance, bit her lip, and then lowered her head.

Seeing Jiang Rou in this state, Lin Meiru felt a wave of relief wash over her. Just as she was about to say a few more words, she suddenly seemed to sense something and instinctively turned her head. Her eyes met the gloomy face of her son.

She was instantly taken aback.

Li Xiao shot her a cold glance, dropped what he was holding, turned on his heel, and walked away with long strides.

Both Jiang Rou and Lin Meiru were caught off guard. Jiang Rou was puzzled, while Lin Meiru realized what had happened a moment later. She anxiously slapped her thigh and exclaimed, “This is bad.”

Without a second thought, she hurried after him.

Jiang Rou blinked, then looked down at An An, who was gazing up at her with wide, innocent eyes. She couldn’t help but laugh, thinking that this mother-and-son duo was rather amusing.

After a while, Li Xiao still hadn’t returned, but Aunt Wang came hurriedly and said, “Not good. Xiao Rou and Little Xiao beat up the He father and son. Your mother-in-law couldn’t stop him.”

Jiang Rou was thrilled to hear this. “Good job!”

She had long been fed up with the actions of the father and son. No one could control them, so it was fine if Li Xiao vented his anger.

Even if it escalated, it would only be a family dispute.

Who doesn’t have such a chaotic family quarrel?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

That evening, Jiang Rou cooked all the ingredients she had bought that day. She was originally planning to make two meals, but then she decided to treat Li Xiao well because she was in a good mood.

While eating, Li Xiao said to her, “If she comes again, just let me know.”

The implication was that if she came again, he would beat the father and son again.

Dealing with his mother and He Wenhua with reason was useless; it had to be settled with fists.

Jiang Rou reminded him, “Just don’t be too harsh. It will be bad if something happens.”

Li Xiao nodded slightly, saying, “I know what I’m doing.”

As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, a sharp pain tugged at the corner of his mouth, causing him to let out a soft hiss.

Jiang Rou heard the sound and looked at him, noticing the scratch on the corner of his mouth. She furrowed her brow and asked, “Did you get scratched?”

Li Xiao sneered coldly, “That son of a bitch, He Wenhua, fights like a woman.”

He had been scratched and clawed in several places.

Jiang Rou was dissatisfied. “Why? Do you still look down on women? ”

Just curse He Wenhua out; what does it have to do with us women?

“…”

However, after finishing his evening wash, Jiang Rou still had him sit close and apply medicine to him.

Li Xiao sat in front of her, slightly lifting his face.

On his otherwise flawless face, the scratches on his lips stood out sharply, some even bleeding. Jiang Rou carefully disinfected the wounds with iodine before applying ointment.

Since An An’s birth, Jiang Rou has always kept a supply of medical essentials at home, just in case the child got hurt.

As she applied the medicine, Jiang Rou asked about how things were at her mother’s house.

Li Xiao had come home early today on purpose. Earlier, when she went out to buy groceries at noon, she mentioned she would stop by her mother’s place. She didn’t know how her mother was doing, so she just thought to ask now.

Li Xiao responded, “I don’t know. She was at the table during lunch and ate quite a bit.”

“…” Jiang Rou thought it was probably just another excuse for him to get a free meal.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The next morning, Li Xiao left early. She had thought that Lin Meiru would have learned her lesson after yesterday, but to her surprise, she came back this morning with half her face swollen.

She came in angrily and said, “Can’t you control him? Look at what he did; old He father and his son can’t even get out of bed today.”

Jiang Rou looked at her swollen face and frowned, not believing that Li Xiao was the culprit. Li Xiao was always angry with his mother, but he had never raised his hand.

Unable to help herself, she asked, “Did you get hit by the man from the He family?”

Lin Meiru covered her face angrily after hearing this: “It’s because Li Xiao was too much yesterday that Old He took his anger out on me.”

Jiang Rou was at a loss for words. She took a deep breath and asked, exasperated, “Mom, what are you really after? People get married either for money or for love, but what about you? You didn’t get any money, and you ended up with a man who you’re supporting while raising someone else’s kids. And now, he even beats you. What on earth are you thinking?”

In her frustration, she unintentionally slipped into the northeastern dialect she had picked up from her roommates over the years.

Lin Meiru’s expression soured at her words, but she couldn’t find a way to argue back. Finally, she snapped, “It’s a disgrace for a woman to be unwanted. You just don’t get it.”

“…”

Jiang Rou was out of patience.

After sending her away, Li Xiao came back in the afternoon, and she didn’t hesitate to tell him about the incident.

Anyway, it was Li Xiao’s own request last night.

Li Xiao was probably annoyed and finally sneered, “It’s okay, she won’t come again in the future.” 

And indeed, she really didn’t come again.

Because after dinner that night, he went and beat up his father and son once again.