Chapter 2: The Cripple Marries the Fool

Xu An’s straightforward words stunned Pan Hehua and the others in the room. The look in their eyes was filled with disdain.

“She’s from the countryside, after all, crude and shameless.”

However, Pan Hehua could only put on a smile, slapped her thigh and said happily, “I told you, you two are so perfect for each other.”

She took out the red booklet she had just received from her pocket and handed it to Zhou Yu, “I’ve already gotten the certificate for you two.”

Then she quickly turned to Zhou Dandan, who was sitting by the stove, roasting herself, and said with a smile, “Dandan, it’s still early, go to your elder brother’s factory and call him back.”

“Old man, you go too, call Shuwen back. He’s probably at the bookstore reading. We have a happy occasion at home today.”

Zhou Dandan reluctantly stood up, her face full of ill will as she stared at Xu An. She looked at Xu An’s rustic floral cotton coat and her dazed and silly expression, a complete village girl. Then she looked at her second brother’s lame leg.

“A cripple and a fool, what a perfect match.”

She couldn’t believe that her mother actually found a lid to match her second brother’s broken pot.

Xu An naturally noticed her gaze and shifted her eyes away from the man in front of her, turning to look at the girl of eighteen or nineteen in front of her.

She had the popular curly hair, exaggerated and fluffy, wearing a plain cotton coat and a red scarf, with exaggerated makeup on her face. Her eyes looked at Xu An without any respect.

Meeting her gaze, she glared fiercely at her and ran out of the door.

Zhou Youlu’s cloudy eyes looked at Xu An with disdain. Obviously, Xu An wasn’t the daughter-in-law he had in mind. However, since his second son came back from prison, he had become annoying and disruptive to the family. The girls in the alley were out of the question, so he just needed to find someone to make him settle down and get him out of the house as soon as possible.

“Buy some window decorations and paste them up later, and go to the street to buy her some clothes.”

Even though he didn’t like this daughter-in-law, he had to at least save face. She couldn’t wear this outfit for the wedding, it would be a disgrace in the alley, people would laugh at him.

Pan Hehua didn’t really want to buy anything. The certificate had already been issued, they could just send her away and let her live her own life. But she knew Zhou Youlu was always concerned about face, so she could only agree.

“Okay, I’ll buy her everything.”

After giving his instructions, Zhou Youlu bent over and walked out.

The room was instantly left with only three people.

The space seemed to freeze, the cold wind blowing in from outside, chilling people to the bone.

Xu An stood stiffly near the door. Until now, Pan Hehua hadn’t let her sit down.

Zhou Yu held the red booklet in one hand, flipping through it casually. After a while, he sneered, his gaze meeting Xu An’s.

“Twenty-three?”

Xu An didn’t know what he meant, so she gently nodded.

Zhou Yu looked at Pan Hehua, with a nonchalant expression,

“You found a country girl who’s a year older than me to stuff me with, aren’t you ashamed?”

Before Pan Hehua could argue, he stared at Xu An again, revealing his white teeth, “Big sister, you’re a year older than me, you’re so eager to marry into the city, aren’t you ashamed?”

Xu An was so angry that her face was distorted. She had never been called “big sister” so disrespectfully in her life.

And by a gangster-like man who was a year younger than her.

Taking a deep breath, she could only force herself not to get angry. The man in front of her had been in prison, she was afraid of him, she didn’t dare to retort.

Pan Hehua was afraid that her son would scare away the person she had painstakingly found, and the marriage would be off. This son was impossible to get rid of.

She quickly comforted Xu An, “Don’t listen to him, a woman three years older brings good fortune, what’s wrong with being a year older?”

She wanted to get things done today, before anything else happened. Looking at the two people in the room, she said, “You two young people talk for a while, cultivate your feelings, Mom will go buy you clothes.”

Pan Hehua went into the bedroom, and after a while, she came out. Seeing the two people standing in the room, she turned back and locked the bedroom door before greeting Zhou Yu and quickly ran out of the door.

The wooden door slammed shut, blocking out the cold air from outside.

Now, only Xu An and Zhou Yu were left in the room.

Logically speaking, a man and a woman alone in a room should be a bit romantic.

But thanks to Zhou Yu’s previous harsh and sarcastic words, Xu An felt only apprehension and fear when she was in the same space as him, and she couldn’t think of anything else.

Xu An didn’t want to talk to Zhou Yu. She looked around and found a spot by the stove and sat down.

Zhou Yu closed the marriage certificate and walked over to Xu An in two steps.

It was only when the man was walking that you could clearly see that one of his legs was moving unnaturally, one step deep and one step shallow, his right leg slightly raised but unable to put any weight on it.

It completely ruined the beauty of the man who was originally tall and handsome, revealing his ugliness.

Xu An glanced at it, then casually shifted her gaze, staring at the cramped room. The room was crammed with things, every available space was fully utilized.

Until the man’s cold voice came from above, “How much did she pay you to marry me?”

“No benefits.”

Xu An raised her eyes, looking at the imposing man in front of her, she told the truth,

“I want to stay in Kyoto.”

“Tsk, for the sake of coming to the city, you’re willing to marry a cripple who’s been in prison?”

Xu An didn’t want to argue with him. Zhou Yu in front of her was not someone who could have a normal conversation. She just nodded casually, softly saying, “Hmm.”

“Willingly.”

The man in front of her remained silent for a while. Xu An lifted her eyes inexplicably, seeing the man’s dark and unclear eyes staring at her.

What… what expression was he making? Was he going to hit her? Xu An felt a little apprehensive.

Zhou Yu slammed the marriage certificate onto the stove, turned around and limped away. As he reached for the door, his expression paused slightly, unable to pull it open.

Xu An looked at the man standing at the door in confusion. The next second, she saw the man’s hand clutching his right thigh, his left hand slamming the door impatiently with a bang.

Bang, bang, bang.

It was like each punch was hitting Xu An’s heart directly. Xu An’s lips moved slightly, tentatively asking, “Zhou… Zhou Yu, is the door locked?”

Zhou Yu stopped banging on the door and sneered, “Heh.”

Even a fool could guess who locked it. Was she so afraid of him running away?

He really didn’t want to marry her. Xu An understood. They hadn’t even met, and if she hadn’t been in this dead end, she wouldn’t have agreed to marry a man who was both fierce and had been in prison.

“Zhou Yu, I know you don’t want to marry me.”

“How about this, when I find a way to live in Kyoto long-term again, you can divorce me, okay?”

The marriage certificate was her guarantee to stay in Kyoto, she could only hope that the man in front of her would agree.

The man stopped, turned around and limped back, his cold gaze falling on Xu An, making Xu An feel even colder.

“Using me?”

The damp cotton gloves on Xu An’s hands were getting hot, so hot that even her cold hands felt the heat.

She moved her lips nervously, “I’ll be good to you.”

She looked up at him, “We’ll get married, I won’t take advantage of you, the dowry and the three major items, none of that is necessary.”

“Tsk, no wonder.”

Zhou Yu didn’t say what he was wondering about. He stared at the woman bundled up in front of him and said calmly, “If you really want to marry me, you can.”

Xu An’s eyes lit up, only to hear the man continue, “The three major items can’t be missing, the dowry is 1200, ask the Zhou family for it, don’t back down.”

Xu An’s eyes widened, “You’re willing to give me all that?”

Zhou Yu’s face was full of mockery, “I’m not willing, I don’t have the money, you ask the Zhou family for it.”

“Oh.” Xu An thought silently, it seemed that Zhou Yu’s relationship with the Zhou family was terrible, he could unhesitatingly ask the Zhou family for money for a stranger he had just met.

“Then… I’ll try my best.”

Zhou Yu’s body pressed forward, his thick black eyebrows narrowed as he stared at Xu An, his voice hoarse and sharp, “Not try your best, it’s a must.”

As soon as he finished speaking, voices came from the courtyard.

“Brother, Mom really found a country wife for Second Brother, a broken pot with a broken lid, I think it’s a perfect match.”

“Dandan, don’t talk nonsense.”

The woman’s voice was clear and carefree, while the man’s voice was steady and helpless.

Xu An clearly felt that the person in front of her was radiating a chilling coldness, his eyes instantly became deep, as if the people outside the door were not relatives, but enemies.

The door was opened from the outside soon after, and the three people outside pushed their way in, only to see Zhou Yu and Xu An standing close together in the room.

Zhou Dandan’s eyes flashed with disdain, she turned her face to look at the gentle and graceful woman beside her, this was her sister-in-law, a country bumpkin was no match.

Zhou Hongguang, who stood in front of the two, walked into the room, looking more mature and steady than the unruly Zhou Yu.

“Second Brother, I heard from Little Sister on the way here, Mom has been working hard for your marriage.”

His gaze fell on Xu An, a hint of satisfaction flickered in his eyes, he quickly walked over, his expression calm and kind.

“Although the girl is from the south, she’s simple-minded, you can tell she’s a good girl.”

His words made Xu An frown. Although he was saying good things, a woman he had just met and didn’t know at all was going to marry his own brother, and he could still say good things without a hitch, making people feel insincere.

Zhou Yu crossed his arms, his voice lazy and scattered, “If Big Brother thinks she’s good, then you can take another one, anyway… you and Big Sister have been married for three years, and you don’t even have a child.”

Zhou Hongguang and Feng Yirou got married the same year that Zhou Yu was in prison. Three years had passed, and they still didn’t have a child.

Zhou Yu’s words hit a sore spot.

Feng Yirou didn’t like this second brother, he had been in prison and had a gangster’s demeanor,

“Second Brother, your words are too harsh, you don’t look like a Zhou family member at all.”

Her tone was a bit angry, but she still wanted to show that she was different from this uncouth person.

“That’s right, Second Brother, Big Brother is clearly doing it for your own good. You’re lame and have been in prison, which girl in Kyoto would be willing to marry you? Now they found you a country girl, and it’s still not good enough.”

Zhou Dandan was the youngest in the family, she was the most quick-witted and said whatever came to mind.

“For my own good?” Zhou Yu stared at Zhou Hongguang leisurely, “Didn’t I also do it for Big Brother’s good?”

“Second Brother, don’t say these kind words, today is your wedding, no matter what, Big Brother hopes you can have a good life in the future.”

Zhou Yu’s lips curled, his dark eyes fixed on Zhou Hongguang, he said word by word, “Of course I’ll have a good life, as Big Brother wishes.”

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room became tense.

Zhou Hongguang felt as if he was being entangled by a venomous snake, his pupils contracted, and he avoided Zhou Yu’s gaze.