Chapter 36: Gu Ye, Stop It! I Don’t Want It Anymore!

“What’s wrong with your arm?” Gu Ye asked while washing the dishes, noticing Jiang Yue rubbing her arm. He had seen her shaking her arm when she left after lunch earlier that day.

“I was carrying something, it’s so sore!” It even hurts!

Jiang Yue would never admit that she was too weak to carry anything heavy. Her arms felt like they were filled with lead, and she suspected she wouldn’t be able to lift them by tomorrow.

Gu Ye lowered his gaze and didn’t speak. There were only the two of them eating, and with few dishes to wash, he quickly cleaned everything and placed the dishes in the basin to drain.

“Come here!” Gu Ye stood up.

“Huh?” It took Jiang Yue a second to realize Gu Ye was speaking to her.

Jiang Yue eagerly followed Gu Ye, her ponytail swaying behind her, and she happily thought: Gu Ye is calling her over—could there be something good?

Gu Ye glanced at Jiang Yue. His handsome face remained cold and indifferent.

However, to Jiang Yue, Gu Ye’s attitude towards her had improved significantly compared to when she first arrived. At least he no longer pricked her with a sharp remark after every sentence.

“What are you doing?” Jiang Yue looked up at Gu Ye. He was very tall, while she only reached his shoulder. The height difference between 166 cm and 186 cm seemed like the cutest height gap in her previous world.

“Sit down!”

A blush appeared on Jiang Yue’s porcelain-white face. Gu Ye was asking her to sit down. Did that mean—?

“Give me your arm!” Gu Ye also pulled out a chair and sat down across from Jiang Yue. He looked at her with a strange expression, not understanding why her face was red. Was it hot?

“Huh? What?” Jiang Yue froze for a moment. Her arm?

Before Jiang Yue could gather her thoughts, Gu Ye had already grabbed her right arm and began applying some technique that seemed to be designed to push her limits. Immediately, a piercing scream echoed through the courtyard: “Ah—It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!”

“Gu Ye, let go! Let go of me!” Jiang Yue tried to retract her arm, but Gu Ye’s grip was like a vice, and she couldn’t move. The pain made her face turn pale.

“Can’t even handle a little pain?” Gu Ye continued without stopping. Seeing Jiang Yue struggle, he scolded her: “If my soldiers were all like you, I would have kicked them out long ago!”

“But I’m not one of your soldiers!” Jiang Yue’s tears flowed uncontrollably. She slapped Gu Ye twice with her other hand, but when he glared at her, she quickly pulled her hand back behind her. 

Gu Ye was being too harsh. She strongly suspected he was intentionally punishing her.

Jiang Yue’s fleeting romantic thoughts had completely vanished at this moment. All she could think about now was how to end this as quickly as possible.

Finally, Gu Ye released Jiang Yue’s arm. Jiang Yue wiped away her tears and tried to get up and run, but Gu Ye was one step ahead of her, grabbing her left arm.

“Ah, Gu Ye, I don’t want it anymore! Stop it!” Jiang Yue screamed.

Gu Ye was getting a headache from Jiang Yue’s constant screaming, but he gritted his teeth and said: “Endure a little longer! It’s almost over!”

Regiment Commander Zhao had some matters to discuss with Gu Ye, so after dinner, he casually walked toward Gu Ye’s house. Sister-in-law Zhao happened to have nothing to do, so she took off her apron and followed him, planning to chat with Jiang Yue.

Their youngest son, Zhao Yuanqi, saw his parents heading to Uncle Gu Ye’s house and immediately remembered the sugar pancake from yesterday. He couldn’t help but swallow his saliva. He had heard that Ningning wasn’t home, so the pancake might still be there. Zhao Yuanqi started scheming and followed them.

As they got a little closer to Gu Ye’s house, suddenly Zhao Yuanqi tugged on Sister-in-law Zhao’s sleeve. “Mom, I hear a woman crying!”

By now, the sky had darkened, and the Family Residential Compound had no streetlights, so it was pitch black. When Sister-in-law Zhao heard what Zhao Yuanqi said, she immediately listened more closely and indeed heard faint sounds of a woman crying—soft whimpering noises that were especially eerie in the middle of the night.

“Oh my, Lao Zhao, don’t tell me we’ve encountered some evil spirits!” Sister-in-law Zhao had grown up hearing ghost stories from the village elders, and upon hearing the crying, she immediately thought of a female ghost. She shivered, her eyes filled with fear, and goosebumps popped up on her skin.

Zhao Yuanqi, hearing his mother mention evil spirits, actually believed in them and widened his eyes, looking around. “Where? Where?”

Regiment Commander Zhao was a firm believer in proletarian materialism and never believed in ghosts or supernatural beings. Hearing this, he glared and scolded: “What nonsense! There are no evil spirits! It’s just someone crying!”

Sister-in-law Zhao was still scared, but with her husband by her side, she felt a little more reassured. After thinking for a moment, she said: “It could be that the Gu family is having an argument. It sounds like Jiang Yue, doesn’t it?”

“Let’s go, let’s take a look!” Regiment Commander Zhao quickly walked ahead. He knew that Gu Ye and his wife’s relationship hadn’t been the best. Although their relationship seemed to have improved a bit in recent days, it was possible that Jiang Yue was just acting out of guilt, trying to show that things were better. People’s true nature doesn’t change that easily. Sure enough, it hadn’t even been a few days before things seemed to return to the way they were.

Meanwhile, the couple, Regiment Commander Zhao and Sister-in-law Zhao, were worried. They hurried forward, and as they approached Gu Ye’s courtyard, they were just about to knock on the door when they suddenly heard Jiang Yue crying loudly, calling out: “Gu Ye, stop it! I don’t want it anymore!”

Gu Ye said: “Endure a little longer! It’s almost done!”

Jiang Yue screamed again: “Ah! It hurts, it hurts, I can’t take it anymore!”

Regiment Commander Zhao and Sister-in-law Zhao exchanged a glance, their faces full of silent confusion.

“Dad, Mom, why are you running so fast?” Zhao Yuanqi asked.

He was small with short legs, and when his parents suddenly started running, he was left behind. Now, panting and catching up, he saw his parents standing at the door, thinking they were waiting for him to knock. So, he reached out to knock on the door.

Regiment Commander Zhao and Sister-in-law Zhao hurriedly covered their ears, pulled at each other’s hands, and covered their mouths, frantically dragging their youngest son away to hurry back home.

“Oh my, Sister-in-law Zhao’s face turned bright red from embarrassment. The day hadn’t even completely darkened, and yet Jiang Yue and Gu Ye were already—”

Still in the courtyard!

Regiment Commander Zhao, on the other hand, walked along with a chuckle, amused by the situation. Despite Gu Ye’s outwardly serious demeanor and his cold, indifferent expression that made him seem like he was perpetually annoyed with everyone, he hadn’t expected Gu Ye to be so skilled. It seemed that things were happening in the courtyard.

He realized that his earlier concerns about Gu Ye and Jiang Yue arguing had been completely unnecessary!

“Mmm, mmm!” Zhao Yuanqi struggled, utterly confused. Wasn’t he supposed to be visiting Uncle Gu Ye’s house? Why were his parents acting so strange? They reached the door but didn’t go in and wouldn’t let him go in either. And his sugar pancake—ahhh!

Neither Jiang Yue nor Gu Ye knew that there had just been a little “tourist group” passing by outside the courtyard. Gu Ye, ever vigilant, had sensed a sound from outside, but Jiang Yue’s loud cries had completely distracted him, messing with his judgment.

By the time Jiang Yue’s arms had been fully massaged, her face was covered in tears. Her almond-shaped eyes were still holding back two teardrops that seemed like they would fall any second. Pouting, she glared at Gu Ye with an expression that seemed to accuse him of everything.

“Gu Ye, if you want to take revenge on me, just say it outright. My arms feel like they’re going to snap!”

Gu Ye’s lips twitched, and he motioned to Jiang Yue. “Try raising your arm.”

“It hurts so much! I can’t lift it!” Jiang Yue turned her head in frustration and muttered.

But despite saying that, she tried to lift her arm. Something miraculous happened. Just a few minutes ago, her arms had been stiff and painful, making even the slightest movement excruciating. Now, although she didn’t feel completely pain-free, it wasn’t hurting as much, and the aching had eased up. In fact, she felt a kind of relaxation and comfort she hadn’t expected.

“Eh?” Jiang Yue shook her arms and said in surprise: “It really doesn’t hurt anymore!”

She sniffled and glanced at Gu Ye. Gu Ye shot her a look that seemed to say: “Are you still going to say I nearly broke your arm?”

“No, no, I won’t say it anymore!” Jiang Yue quickly shook her head, her lips pursed. Feeling a little guilty, she thought to herself that if she had known Gu Ye could do something like this, she would have held back from crying no matter what.