Chapter 24 – Useless Thing

Huo Yunshu originally thought he’d only have to pay five or ten yuan, but he never expected Gu Yun to take sixty from him in one go—sixty yuan! That was his savings from the past few years, gone just like that!
Heaven, earth, someone call the police, he was robbed!

And Gu Yun still wasn’t satisfied. He carried off a small sack of flour and a big piece of cured meat from Huo Yunshu’s room, then warned him:

“Stay away from my sister-in-law from now on. Otherwise, next time the thing I take will be your dog head.”

Huo Yunshu: “……” …Grass. (A plant.)

After finally sending this Buddha-of-a-man away, Huo Yunshu hurried to boil some water and wash the filth off himself.

Not long after, Ruan Xiaodie arrived. Seeing him like this, her heart ached terribly.
“Yunshu, how could they treat you like this? They’ve gone too far!”

“I think all of this was orchestrated by Cousin. She hates you because she once loved you, so she wants you to look even more pitiful—just to highlight her own nobility. She even had Gu Yun humiliate me in public. You have no idea how excessive she’s been…”

Ruan Xiaodie rattled on endlessly. She wanted to keep talking, but the stench coming off Huo Yunshu hit her, and she simply couldn’t go on.

Ugh, she wanted to vomit.

But Huo Yunshu found her words quite pleasing, so he said:
“Mm, mm. That’s why I have to make Ruan Jiaojiao fall in love with me again, marry her, and then torment her every single day!”

“Mm…” The outcome was exactly what Ruan Xiaodie wanted, yet she still felt a trace of unwillingness.

Why? Why should Ruan Jiaojiao, who had treated him so badly, end up being the one he married, while she could only ever remain his secret lover?

Ruan Xiaodie bit her lip hard.

After a while, Huo Yunshu said to her:
“Xiaodie, help me wash my clothes. I need to bathe and don’t have the time.”

Ruan Xiaodie: “???” Did he really just ask her to wash his clothes? She couldn’t have heard that right!

She tried, “Yunshu… I don’t wash very cleanly. Maybe you should do it yourself…”

“No, I can’t. I don’t know how.”

“Then who washed your clothes before?”

“Before I came here, my mom did. After I got here, Ruan Jiaojiao did. I’m a man, and a sent-down youth at that—my hands are meant for writing, how could they be used for washing clothes?”

Ruan Xiaodie: “……” Her temples throbbed.

Oh my god, was he treating her like a maid?

Still, Huo Yunshu knew how to CPU (sweet-talk). He said:
“Xiaodie, you’re so capable. You’ve been used to hardships since childhood, so you must be especially hardworking. Whoever marries you would be blessed for lifetimes. You can manage a household, cook, fight mistresses and stand up to hooligans, right?”

Ruan Xiaodie: “Yes!”

She loved being praised for her smarts.

Her looks were only passable, so she relied on her brains to crush others!

“Good, then wash.”

So Ruan Xiaodie obediently began washing his clothes. Halfway through, she realized something was wrong—why on earth was she doing his laundry?

But she couldn’t stop midway either. After all, she had gone through so much effort to steal Huo Yunshu away from Ruan Jiaojiao; there was no way she would hand him back.

So, with pent-up frustration, Ruan Xiaodie kept scrubbing.

And still, Huo Yunshu wasn’t satisfied—
“The clothes you wash aren’t even half as clean as the ones Jiaojiao washed.”

Of course! Back then, Ruan Jiaojiao had spoiled him rotten, using expensive soapnuts like they were free, making sure every one of his shirts was spotless and fragrant.

But Ruan Xiaodie had no money. And even if she did, she wouldn’t waste it on him. So his clothes, after drying, looked stiff and gave off a strange smell, which disgusted Huo Yunshu.

Ruan Xiaodie was unhappy, but she dared not protest. She could only say:
“Yunshu, once you trick Ruan Jiaojiao back, you can have a rich young lady washing your clothes. Now that would be a real pleasure, right?”

Huo Yunshu was quickly swayed, nodding eagerly.

He felt he should have the spirit of perseverance—never let small setbacks defeat him. He was, after all, a youth of the new era!

Ruan Jiaojiao? Ha. Since you’re destined to like me, you won’t escape. I’ll allow you your little tantrums for now, but later, I will never treat you well.

And so, the delusional man and the prideful woman reached a consensus, daydreaming about oppressing Ruan Jiaojiao.

——Meanwhile, what was Ruan Jiaojiao doing?

Fu Ting was very angry. Extremely angry. He sent the two little ones outside to play, then tied Ruan Jiaojiao to the bedpost.

Ruan Jiaojiao: “……”

“You—you, what are you doing?”

“Doing.”

Fu Ting pressed over her. His rugged body carried the scent of snow, his lips cold to the touch. He hugged Ruan Jiaojiao and bit at her greedily, his rough fingertips grazing her delicate skin, leaving streaks of red behind.

Ruan Jiaojiao grew flustered, her pale feet twitching restlessly. But soon, Fu Ting suddenly stopped.

He pulled her close, apologizing:
“Jiaojiao, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I was too impulsive…”

Ruan Jiaojiao: “……”

Fu Ting continued:
“I just thought about the things you did in the past, and then Huo Yunshu showed up today, so I lost my temper. But the past is past. Even if I’m angry, I shouldn’t take it out on you. I wasn’t gentle enough with you. Jiaojiao, hit me, scold me, whatever makes you feel better… Jiaojiao, are you mad at me?”

Ruan Jiaojiao: “……” Yes. Mad—because you suddenly stopped halfway.

For the sake of her remaining shred of dignity, she bit back her words and said instead:
“No, it’s fine. I’m not mad. My husband is the best—how could I ever be angry with you?”

Hearing his wife’s sweet words, Fu Ting felt like pink bubbles floated all around him.

Because of this, even though his desire still burned, he controlled it.

As long as Jiaojiao didn’t want to, he would never force her. No matter how painful, he would endure it, even if it left him sick inside.

So, that evening—when he had finally managed to send the kids out—this “useless man” (as Ruan Jiaojiao thought of him) merely held her.

Not long after, Gu Yun arrived. That killed any chance of intimacy—unless they had some strange hobby of performing in front of others.

“Sis-in-law, heh heh, here’s what I grabbed from that skinny dog Huo Yunshu. It’s all yours.”

With his ingratiating grin, Ruan Jiaojiao knew exactly what Gu Yun wanted—her cooking.

“Alright, thank you for the trouble. Stay for dinner tonight~”

“Great!” That was exactly what he’d been waiting for!

So, Ruan Jiaojiao busied herself in the kitchen, while Gu Yun received a murderous glare from Fu Ting, who clearly wanted to stab him.