Chapter 11: Encountering a Scumbag

The next morning, Xu An was woken up by the irritating clattering sounds outside the room.

She took a deep breath, turned over and burrowed into the inner side of the bed, trying to escape the noise.

But the noise got louder and louder, and she could only sit up, propping herself up on the bed.

A cold breeze came in from somewhere, Xu An’s back felt chilly.  She quickly struggled to put on her clothes.  The thick quilt on her body was already cold, even though she had deliberately chosen a thick one, it wasn’t enough to keep her warm.

She got out of bed, put her fingers into her hair and tied it into a ponytail.  Xu An pulled her neck into her collar and walked out of the inner room.  Zhou Yu wasn’t outside, she didn’t know where he had gone again.

She yawned, covering her mouth, and opened the door.  She found the person who had been making a racket early in the morning.

Pan Hehua was sweeping the courtyard with a big broom.  The scraping sound was sharp and irritating, and she would occasionally spit loudly.  Xu An frowned, feeling disgusted, and avoided her gaze.

Her eyes fell on the stove at the door. Xu An was a little cold, she took the clothes rack off the stove.  Zhou Yu must have changed the honeycomb coal, she picked up the stove and was about to go back to the room.

“Second son’s wife, come here.”

Pan Hehua noticed Xu An and immediately stopped what she was doing, calling out to Xu An.

Xu An turned to look at her, she didn’t move from this not-too-close-not-too-far distance. She said, “What is it?”

Pan Hehua was angry, staring at that beautiful face.

Originally, she had just found a random country girl for her second son.  Even if they split up, she would be easy to control and serve her.

The eldest son’s wife had a job, she couldn’t order her around.  But this country girl from Nancheng didn’t take her seriously either.

“What is it?  You sleep like a pig.  Come over and sweep the floor.”

Zhou Yu wasn’t here, Xu An used his name to lie. “Mom, Zhou Yu doesn’t let me sweep the floor. He said sweeping is his job.  We listen to him in our family. You don’t want us to get divorced so soon after we got married, do you?”

“Bah!  You’re trying to fool me.”

Pan Hehua didn’t believe her lies at all.

Xu An’s lips moved, she was about to make up a story, but her gaze suddenly shifted to the man who was limping into the courtyard.  She met his playful eyes, and she nervously lowered her head.

She was caught lying by the person involved.  She was so unlucky.

As soon as Pan Hehua saw Zhou Yu enter, she shouted, “Second son, control your wife.  She doesn’t even know how to sweep the floor. How can you two have a good life!”

She was lazy, greedy, and spendthrift.  How could she have found such a useless person.

Zhou Yu walked up to Xu An and handed her the bun in his hand. Xu An didn’t take it immediately, she looked up at Zhou Yu’s face.

Zhou Yu smirked and said casually, “Don’t let it kill you.”

That wasn’t what Xu An meant, but Zhou Yu wasn’t angry now. She quickly took it, afraid that he would get angry the next second.

Sure enough, Zhou Yu handed the bun to Xu An, his relaxed expression turned cold. He turned back and stared at Pan Hehua.

“Zhou Hongguang’s wife, and your little daughter, have they swept the floor for a day?  Don’t just think about making my wife do all the chores.”

“She hasn’t eaten a single meal from you, if you want to order someone around, go order those dead people.”

Zhou Yu’s eyes were cold, he swept across Zhou Dandan and Zhou Shuwen, who were hiding in the room and peeking.  His words were like ice needles, piercing their hearts.

“I’m saying this now, don’t try to order my wife around.  I say no, I mean no.  If you want to serve someone, that’s your business.  Don’t try to control my wife.”

He didn’t care that Pan Hehua was trembling with anger, unable to speak.  He turned back, grabbed Xu An, and went into the house, slamming the door shut.

Xu An sat by the stove and finished the bun.  There was no more noise outside.  Sure enough, Zhou Yu was the one who could control the Zhou family.

She looked up at the man in front of her and said softly, “Zhou Yu, are you going out again later?”

Zhou Yu glanced over, his voice cold. “Something else?”

“Yeah.” Xu An nodded. “I’ve been in Kyoto for a few days, and I haven’t sent a letter home yet.”

She looked up at Zhou Yu and asked, “Can you take me to the post office?  I want to send a letter home to let them know I’m safe.”

She couldn’t go back now, no matter what, she had to contact Xu’s family in Nancheng first, to put their minds at ease.

“Do you have anything to bring?”

Xu An raised her eyes and shook her head. “No.”

Zhou Yu opened the door, clicked his tongue, “Let’s go.”

Xu An immediately stood up from the chair, then bent down and picked up the stove.

Zhou Yu frowned, staring at the stove she was carrying.

Xu An explained softly, “It’s not good to keep it burning inside, it’s easy to get carbon monoxide poisoning.”

Zhou Yu took two steps forward, took the stove from her, and walked towards the door.  Xu An immediately followed behind him.

She turned back to lock the door and followed Zhou Yu’s steps.

Xu An had walked down this alley twice, and she was already a little familiar with it.

Zhou Yu took Xu An to the side of the road, stood at the bus stop, and waited for a while.  An orange old-fashioned bus stopped at the bus stop.  Zhou Yu took a few steps and got on from the front door.  Xu An followed behind.  Zhou Yu had already handed the ticket seller thirty cents and received two tickets to the post office.

He led Xu An inside, found an empty seat in the back, and raised his chin at her.  Xu An’s eyes couldn’t help but fall on Zhou Yu’s leg. “Zhou Yu, you sit.”

The man’s face suddenly turned cold. “Don’t stare at me like that.”

This guy couldn’t tell good from bad.  Xu An could only sit down.

Zhou Yu stood beside her, his body completely blocking Xu An from the aisle.  His hand rested on the handrail behind Xu An, and his other hand squeezed his limp leg.  His eyes fell on the woman’s beautiful face, and he clenched his jaw.

Xu An sat in her seat, the shadow beside her completely enveloped her.  She huddled up, not speaking to Zhou Yu.

The journey was quiet, and when they arrived at the stop, Xu An only felt the back of her chair being patted hard.  She looked up and saw Zhou Yu walking towards the back door.  She stood up and followed.

They got off the bus, and Xu An followed behind Zhou Yu until she saw the sign for the post office.

They walked into the post office together.  Xu An asked the staff for stationery and a ballpoint pen.  She sat on a green wooden chair, spread out the stationery neatly, picked up the pen, and then she felt a little speechless.

How should she tell her family that she had gotten married just a few days after coming here?

Zhou Yu propped one hand on the table, leaned against it, and watched Xu An with a lazy posture.

“Don’t waste time, if you have nothing to say, go back.”

He had taken the initiative to speak, although his temper was still terrible.

Xu An let out a soft sigh.  Zhou Yu was so impatient with her, she was worried that their relationship wouldn’t last.  She should delay telling Xu’s family the truth.

Xu An racked her brains, she finally wrote a page, she didn’t tell her family that she had gotten married.  She just said that she had come to Kyoto to broaden her horizons, she wanted to stay here for a while, she had found a place to live, and asked them not to worry.

Zhou Yu casually glanced at the beautiful handwriting on the table, his eyes were unclear.

After Xu An finished writing, she went to the counter, handed the letter to the staff, paid, and then left the post office with Zhou Yu.

As soon as they left, her eyes fell on a man and a woman who were about to enter the post office.  Her heart skipped a beat, she instinctively grabbed Zhou Yu’s arm, buried her head in his chest, quickened her pace, and pulled the reluctant man beside her, quickly leaving the post office.

It wasn’t until they were far away that the man beside her pulled her arm away and stared at her coldly.

“Crazy?”

Xu An knew she had acted crazy just now, she shook her head and looked back at the post office.

If she wasn’t mistaken, those two people were the scumbag and his girlfriend from Xu An’s memories.  She didn’t expect to run into them at this time.  Her first reaction was to avoid them.

Xu An had grown up with Gao Jinchen, the scumbag, in her previous life.  She had changed so much in just a few days, she was afraid the scumbag would recognize her.  Thankfully, he didn’t see her.

She breathed a sigh of relief.  Xu An turned back and ran to catch up with Zhou Yu, who was impatiently walking towards the bus stop.  She dug her nails into her palm, feeling a little apologetic.

It wasn’t until they got on the bus going back that Xu An, sitting by the window, called out to the system in her mind.

“System, I’ve successfully stayed in Kyoto. What are the criteria for making the scumbag regret it?”

After saving her own life, Xu An had forgotten about the system.  It was only until she saw the scumbag now that the image of Xu An’s frozen body on that cold winter night appeared in her mind.  The sight of the scumbag and his girlfriend entering the hotel together was too cruel.

She couldn’t avoid it anymore.

“According to the data, the necessary condition for the scumbag to regret is that the host needs to be beautiful and outstanding enough.”

“The 001 system reminds the host that the first task is a continuous task, and the second task is a phased task.  The host needs to improve herself as soon as possible to meet the conditions for making the scumbag regret it.  Of course, the system will also provide corresponding rewards to help the host better complete the task.”

The cold mechanical voice made Xu An’s heart skip a beat.  She didn’t want to face it now, but the image of Xu An’s cold body and the scumbag’s affectionate couple’s image intertwined in her mind.  Xu An suppressed her anxiety and continued to speak in her mind.

“System, since it’s a phased task, what is my current task?”

…

She waited for a long time, the 001 system was like it had crashed, it didn’t respond.

Xu An frowned.  After a while, she heard the system’s slightly stuttering and hesitant voice.

“Improve yourself.  This is something the host needs to do proactively.”

Xu An suspected that the 001 system was a half-finished product, but she had no evidence.

However, this was more beneficial to her.  Whether she did the task or not would depend on her mouth.  It would be best if she could get some rewards from the system.  A half-finished product was quite humane.

“Get off!”

The man’s cold and impatient voice beside her brought Xu An back to reality.  She realized that the bus had already stopped at the station.  She quickly got off the bus, following behind Zhou Yu.

“Go back yourself.” As soon as they got off the bus, she heard the man’s cold voice beside her.

She frowned. “Aren’t you going back?”

Zhou Yu didn’t answer her, his dark eyes glared at her, as if warning her not to meddle.

Xu An looked at the alley not far away. “I don’t know the way, you can send me back… or I can go with you to do something.”

It was freezing cold, she didn’t want to waste time getting lost.

Zhou Yu stared at her coldly for a while, then clicked his tongue impatiently and started walking. “Troublesome.”

Xu An followed behind Zhou Yu. This time, she tried hard to remember every fork in the alley, hoping to find her way back next time.

Seeing the man in front of her, she ran a few steps to catch up with him and walked side by side. She said softly, “I didn’t mean to grab your arm just now.  I was just… too happy after sending the letter home.  If you’re not happy, I won’t do it again.”

After saying this, Xu An muttered softly, “Besides, we’re married, right?  Holding your arm won’t make you lose any flesh.”

Was he still angry about it?

Zhou Yu felt a tingling sensation in the arm that had been grabbed.  He heard the woman muttering beside him, and his expression became even more impatient.

“Stop talking nonsense, go back yourself.”

This man was acting like a wronged woman. Xu An didn’t say anything else, she focused on remembering the way back, hoping to be more confident next time.