Chapter 10: A Sharp Tongue, Not a Poisonous Heart

The milky white soup was boiling. Xu An finally put the cabbage into the pot.

“Zhou Yu, get the casserole.”

Zhou Yu lazily got the casserole and placed it on a clean stool next to the stove. Seeing the woman about to do it herself, he frowned, snatched the towel from Xu An’s hand, wrapped it around one ear of the iron pot, and poured the soup into the casserole.

He put the pot back on the stove and casually threw the towel aside.

Xu An rubbed her slightly hot fingertips, rinsed the pot with water, and heated the oil.

Zhou Yu stared at the woman’s porcelain-white face and her focused eyes. A wave of anger surged through him. He clicked his tongue impatiently.

“She’s so damn particular.”

Xu An sat on the chair. When the oil was hot, she put the sliced meat into the pan. When it turned color, she took it out.

She put the scallions and garlic into the pan, added the chili peppers, stir-fried them for a few seconds, then put the meat back in, added seasonings, and simmered it over high heat.

The bursting aroma of meat was richer than the fragrance of the eggs earlier. Xu An finished and looked up at Zhou Yu, who was beside her. She said, “Wash your hands, let’s eat.”

The aroma of food filled her nostrils, and through the mist, she saw the woman’s smiling face.  Zhou Yu swallowed, he was a little hungry.

It was still cold outside. Xu An asked Zhou Yu to carry the food into the room.  The honeycomb coal stove was still at the door.  After washing their hands, they both sat on chairs. Xu An took a bowl, scooped a bowl of rice, and handed it to Zhou Yu.  The man didn’t take it.  His face was cold, as if someone had angered him. He scooped his own rice.

He had such a temper.  Xu An didn’t say anything.  Looking at the food she had made, this was the first decent meal she had had in two days. She was happy, she didn’t have the energy to care about anything else.

She couldn’t wait to pick up a piece of stir-fried pork and put it in her mouth. Xu An was so satisfied that she almost couldn’t help but sway.  She was enjoying it immensely.

Zhou Yu scooped his own rice, sat not far from Xu An, and finished a fifth of the stir-fried pork in one bite.  The taste was better than anything he had eaten before, much better than the lunch he had.  He glanced at the woman beside him, surprised, and started to eat like a wolf.

Seeing this, Xu An swallowed lightly and sped up her pace.

The two of them were eating in the room, when a loud clattering sound suddenly came from outside.  It was Pan Hehua washing dishes, and the bowls and chopsticks were smashed with a deafening clang.

Xu An raised her eyebrows, and the sharp sound made her eat even more deliciously.  Pan Hehua couldn’t control her, and she couldn’t control the rest of the Zhou family.  She was old, and she was still the only one cooking and washing dishes.

Thinking about this, Xu An’s eyes fell on the man beside her, who was eating heartily. She coughed lightly. “Zhou Yu.”

Seeing the man glance over, Xu An pointed to the food on the stool. “I cooked this.”

Zhou Yu raised his eyebrows, his unruly face fixed on her.

Xu An negotiated. “I cook, you should wash the dishes.  Fair distribution, no one is tired.”

She saw the man freeze, he didn’t respond at all, and ate even faster.  Her brows furrowed slightly, and she also sped up her pace.

Xu An put down her chopsticks before Zhou Yu, gracefully wiped her mouth, and stared at Zhou Yu, her eyes sparkling. “I’m finished, you wash the dishes.”

She didn’t look at Zhou Yu’s expression, she stood up from the stool, and ran into the inner room, finding something to do, closing the open window.

She listened carefully to the sounds outside, sneaking around like a thief until she heard the man pick up the bowls. Xu An raised her eyebrows.  Zhou Yu could be reasoned with.

“Second son!  What kind of family makes a grown man wash dishes? Where’s your wife?”

It was Pan Hehua’s voice, it was so loud that it hurt Xu An’s ears.  She hid in the room and didn’t go out, she listened secretly.

“I’m useless, I learned to wash dishes in prison.”

Zhou Yu’s sarcastic tone came through.  Xu An pursed her lips, trying not to laugh.

“Second son’s wife, how can you be such a wife?  Come out and wash the dishes.”

Xu An lightly pouted.  This Pan Hehua was suffering herself, but she couldn’t stand to see others suffer.  Thankfully they had split up, otherwise, she would have had to deal with her.

“I’m the head of the house in my family.  I can do whatever I want.  If you want to wash the dishes for those cripples for a lifetime, that’s your business.  My wife doesn’t have that ability.”

Xu An secretly gave Zhou Yu a thumbs up.  It was so satisfying when he didn’t curse her, but cursed others.

Pan Hehua clattered the water as she poured it out, she was angry and helpless, and went back to the main room.

Xu An heard no sound outside, so she quietly walked to the door and saw Zhou Yu washing the dishes, leaning on one leg.

It was dark outside. Xu An wanted to change into her new clothes.  She discussed it with Zhou Yu. “Zhou Yu, I want to take a bath.”

Now that they had split up, she didn’t know if she could still use the Zhou family’s bathroom.

“Wait.” The man’s voice was calm, but he didn’t refuse.

Xu An nodded and obediently waited by the stove, watching Zhou Yu quickly wash the pots and bowls, putting them neatly in the cabinet.

Then he took a bucket and went to the courtyard to fetch water.  He carried it to the bathroom.  Xu An quickly went back to the room to get her new clothes and followed him to the bathroom.

She ran into Zhou Dandan, who was also going to the bathroom.  Zhou Dandan saw what Xu An was carrying and guessed what she was going to do. She pinched her nose in disgust.

“Second sister-in-law, you’re going to take a bath again? Don’t stink up the bathtub.”

“The bathtub can’t be as smelly as you, you’re full of sourness.”

Zhou Yu was plugging in the electric water heater for Xu An. He sneered at Zhou Dandan.

“Second brother! Why are you helping an outsider scold your own sister?”

“You’re still calling her second sister-in-law, you’re really something, calling her an outsider.”

Zhou Yu pulled Xu An, who was standing at the door, into the room and slammed the door shut in front of Zhou Dandan.

He ignored Zhou Dandan’s angry voice outside.

Zhou Yu lazily stared at Xu An, saying calmly, “What, you’re mute now? You don’t know how to scold people, do you?”

Xu An looked up at him. “You were talking too fast, I didn’t have a chance.”

Zhou Yu’s slanted gaze fell on Xu An, he snorted. “What, you want me to give you another chance?”

She was a little lamb, couldn’t bargain, couldn’t scold, but she was good at spending money.

He raised his chin towards the door. “The person is still outside, do you want me to open the door for you?”

Seeing that Zhou Yu was willing to do it, Xu An quickly reached out and grabbed his hand, shaking her head. “No, this is fine.”

Zhou Yu’s gaze fell on the woman’s fingers that were covering his knuckles.  They were long, white, and delicate, a stark contrast to his rough and calloused hands.  It stung Zhou Yu’s eyes, and he coldly pulled his hand away.

“The water is ready, hurry up and wash.” He left with those words, his figure limping.

Xu An turned back, locked the bathroom door, poured the boiled water into the bathtub, adjusted the temperature, and then took off her clothes, letting the warm water soak her skin.  Xu An sighed contentedly.

After showering, she changed into the new clothes she had bought today.  Xu An put the dirty clothes in a bucket, opened the bathroom door, and almost bumped into Zhou Yu, who was still standing at the door.

Zhou Yu’s gaze fell coldly on Xu An. “Finished washing?”

Xu An nodded blankly. Zhou Yu picked up another bucket of water and put it on the stove. “Wash your clothes yourself.”

His attitude was really bad, but seeing the bubbling hot water, Xu An, who had warm water to wash her clothes, could accept it.

Xu An washed her clothes, wrung them out with difficulty, and carried the bucket back to the east room.

She managed to hang the clothes on the clothesline at the door, but they were still dripping.

Zhou Yu took them down, wrung them out again, and hung them on the honeycomb coal stove before he was done.

Xu An went back to the inner room, sat on the bed, took out the money from her clothes, and carefully counted it.

As soon as Zhou Yu entered the room, he saw the woman’s white face in the dim light, her body sitting upright on the bed he had made.  He deliberately stomped his good leg heavily to make a sound.

Xu An heard the sound, looked up in confusion, and saw the man entering.  She said a little embarrassedly, “Zhou Yu, I have 956 yuan and 6 cents left from the 1,600 yuan dowry.”

She had thought everything was cheap when she was buying it, but after she finished, she realized the money was gone.  Xu An blinked, a little unsure.  Could it be that she was really a spendthrift, as Zhou Yu said?

She hesitated and handed the money to Zhou Yu, her brows furrowed slightly. “Otherwise… you can manage the money.”

Prices had changed so much, she didn’t really understand money anymore.  Maybe she wasn’t suitable to manage the family’s money.

Zhou Yu stared at the money the woman handed him, raised his eyebrows, and walked over to the bed on his own.  He sat down casually, but he didn’t take it.

“You can’t even manage the money I give you, and you want to rely on me?  You’re… quite beautiful, thinking that.” He stared at the woman’s plain and beautiful face, and for once, he stopped his sarcastic remarks.

Xu An felt that the nine hundred yuan in her hand was a hot potato.  She wanted to pass it on, but the recipient wouldn’t take it.

She tilted her head and looked at Zhou Yu, who was lying on the bed. She wrinkled her nose and said softly, “You’re the one who didn’t take it.  If I spend it all recklessly, we’ll only have the wind to eat later. Don’t blame me.”

She had to make it clear in advance, so she would have less responsibility if they went bankrupt.

Seeing that the man didn’t say anything, Xu An could only tidy up the money and hide it.  She turned around and saw Zhou Yu lying on the bed, his hand on the switch. “Zhou Yu, lie down, I’m turning off the light.”

The man grunted impatiently and lay down on the outer side of the bed.

Xu An turned off the light, groped her way over, and her hand first touched the bed.  She slowly climbed up, and as she crawled to the inner side, her hand accidentally touched the person lying on the outer side.  Her wrist was suddenly grabbed.

“Xu An!”

The man’s restrained voice came through the darkness and reached Xu An’s ears.  Xu An quickly crawled to the inner side of the bed, lay down straight, and pulled the blanket over her completely.

“Sleep.”

After saying this, Xu An held her breath and paid attention to the person beside her.  Zhou Yu’s rough breathing filled her ears.  Xu An burrowed further into the blanket.

“You’re the one who wants to sleep on the outside, it’s too dark, I can’t see.”

“Heh, I thought you were blind.”

Xu An was silent for a moment, then muttered softly, “Zhou Yu, you have a sharp tongue.”

The man’s voice was full of indifference. “What, afraid I’ll poison you?”

After a while, she heard the woman’s almost self-talk.

“No, a sharp tongue doesn’t mean a poisonous heart.”

“A sharp tongue can protect yourself, a poisonous heart will harm others.”

After the whispers, the room was quiet and dark, only the sound of light breathing.  No one spoke again to break the silence.