Chapter 15: What the—It’s a Man?!

On this end, Wang Xifeng was still kicking the door, completely unaware of the danger looming.

Just as she stepped back to gather force for another kick, the door opened.

Caught off guard, she couldn’t stop herself in time and fell flat forward.

Her whole plump body landed on the ground with a thud, jiggling as she hit.

“Ugh! Damn it, who the hell opened the door—nearly killed me!” Wang Xifeng lay sprawled on the ground, grumbling.

Su Tangxue quickly recognized the visitor—it was Wang Xifeng, the lovesick supporting female character from the book who was hopelessly infatuated with the male lead.

Her older brother worked at a factory in town, which made her act all high and mighty. In the village, she fancied herself the most beautiful woman.

She hadn’t worked in days, being pampered at home by her parents, and as a result, she had gained a ton of weight.

Yet she thought her body was perfect now. Any criticism from others was just jealousy, she believed—they envied that she could be well-fed and cared for in the future, unlike those skinny women who looked like monkeys and clearly couldn’t bear sons.

Su Tangxue had been back in the village for two days and hadn’t seen Wang Xifeng. She thought maybe Wang had already given up on Lu Qinglin and gotten married.

Who would’ve thought she’d show up today and try to kick down her door?

Wang Xifeng picked herself up, and when she saw the beautiful woman standing before her, she instantly wanted to scratch her face off in rage.

In this village, there could only be one beauty, and no one was allowed to steal her spotlight.

But then she quickly noticed something odd—why was this woman living in Qinglin’s house? And what was her relationship with him?

“You vixen! How dare you seduce Brother Qinglin! I’ll kill you—”

As she yelled, Wang Xifeng lunged with claws ready to strike.

But Su Tangxue reacted quickly, grabbed the broom beside her, and smacked her right in the face.

Wang Xifeng was hit squarely with the broom before she could react.

Su Tangxue silently regretted that the broom hadn’t been used to sweep chicken poop earlier—would’ve made it more effective.

“Ptooey! You cheap little vixen! You even dare to fight back? Just wait till Brother Qinglin comes home, I’m gonna tell him to throw you out!”

Su Tangxue stopped attacking, placed her hands on her hips, and stood her ground. “This is my house. Who gets thrown out is still up for debate.”

She had made up her mind—if Lu Qinglin dared to take Wang’s side when he got back, she’d throw him out and then buy a train ticket to return to the city.

So what if her reputation took a hit? At least she still had a dad she could mooch off. Her future wouldn’t be that bad.

Wang Xifeng suddenly realized something was off. “Wait, you’re Su Tangxue?!”

“Correct, Miss Wang.”

At that moment, Wang Xifeng’s face looked like someone had knocked over a tray of paint—jealousy, fear, hatred—every color showed.

If it had only been about that face, she would’ve torn it to pieces. But knowing that it belonged to Su Tangxue made her want to rip her apart completely.

Brother Qinglin had always been biased toward Su Tangxue since they were young. Now that she had become even more beautiful, what chance did Wang Xifeng have?

“Hmph! Su Tangxue, be smug all you want! When Brother Qinglin comes back, I’m telling him you bullied me!”

Her voice started trembling as she spoke, like she was about to burst into tears.

Su Tangxue rolled her eyes. “Get lost! This is my house. If you wanna cry, go cry outside.”

She already hadn’t napped well—now she had to deal with this violent, ugly monster crying in front of her? She felt nauseated.

Without mercy, Su Tangxue kicked Wang Xifeng out the door. The more Wang thought about it, the angrier she became. She glared at Su Tangxue with wide eyes, then covered her face and ran home crying.

Su Tangxue watched the whole scene unfold, her brows furrowed so tightly they could squash a mosquito. She felt nothing.

She shut the door and went back to sleep.

Her grandmother was hard of hearing and sound asleep, completely unaware that Wang Xifeng had caused a scene.

That afternoon, Lu Qinglin hurried home with a large bundle of firewood on his back. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he sensed something was off—the place was oddly quiet, and there was damage near the doorframe.

He dropped the firewood and rushed inside. Seeing Su Tangxue resting peacefully on the bed, he finally relaxed. He had worried that someone might have caused trouble for her while he was gone.

Thinking about what life would be like once he returned to the army, he realized he had to teach her some basic survival skills.

At the very least, she needed to learn how to cook.

When Su Tangxue woke up, she heard knocking and banging outside. Fearing it was a thief, she grabbed a broom and quietly crept to the door.

Peeking through the crack, she saw a figure squatting by the gate tinkering with something. When the man turned around, she realized it was Lu Qinglin.

Embarrassed, she quickly put the broom back, relieved she hadn’t rushed out in a panic.

Lu Qinglin heard her behind him and paused his repair work, turning to look at her.

“What happened while I was gone today?”

Su Tangxue was about to ask why when she suddenly remembered what happened before her nap and told him about Wang Xifeng kicking the door.

Seeing that his expression didn’t change, she added:

“Don’t fix the door just yet—I need to keep the evidence and demand compensation from her family!”

“Okay, after dinner, I’ll go with you.”

“You’re not angry?” Su Tangxue probed.

Lu Qinglin looked at her calmly. “Angry about what?”

“About me hitting her.”

“I’m not angry. She broke in. You hitting her was the right thing to do.”

Realizing Lu Qinglin was siding with her, Su Tangxue immediately felt great and broke into a smile.

Later in the afternoon, as it was nearing dusk, her fourth brother Lu Shan came looking for her.

Su Tangxue informed Lu Qinglin and left with Lu Shan.

According to her brother, there was a small stream in the village with fresh river creatures—it was not only fun to visit, but they could also catch something to eat.

The idea intrigued Su Tangxue. She had grown restless at home and welcomed the distraction.

“Fourth Brother, don’t you have work today?”

“I skipped. Wanted to take you out, relive some childhood memories.”

He had worked with Second Uncle Lu all morning. If Uncle hadn’t been watching him like a hawk, he would’ve escaped sooner.

“Okay!”

The two of them ran down the village path, as if transported back to their childhood days.

Even though it wasn’t her original childhood, Su Tangxue felt joy experiencing a life without cell phones for once.

Meanwhile, someone else had skipped work too—Li Sui. His father had watched him closely in the morning, leaving him no chance to see his “Little Snow Sister.”

But that afternoon, he made his escape under the excuse of using the toilet.

Li Sui went home, changed his clothes, and even picked a bunch of wildflowers in the fields—red, white, and yellow.

Satisfied, he finally made his way to the Su household.

Lu Qinglin was in the house making dinner when he suddenly heard knocking. Thinking Su Tangxue had returned, he dropped everything and went to open the door.

But to his surprise, he found Li Sui standing there with a bunch of wildflowers in his mouth, posing dramatically at the door.

Lu Qinglin’s face darkened instantly. He almost shut the door right then and there, but out of neighborly courtesy, he restrained himself and asked calmly:

“Who are you looking for?”

Li Sui had been expecting his beloved Little Snow Sister to answer the door, and had been so focused on striking the perfect pose, he didn’t even look up.

He was shocked to hear a man’s voice.

Confused, he quickly spat out the flowers from his mouth and blurted,

“What the—It’s a man?!”