Chapter 6: Husband’s Taunting

“Lin Anran, hurry up and open the door! If you don’t, you’ll regret it…”

Hearing the voice outside, Lin Anran recalled from the original owner’s memories that it was her husband. Her in-laws had opened a store with considerable income. Thinking quickly, she grabbed a relatively clean men’s shirt from the wardrobe, which she remembered belonged to the original husband, and put it on. He was about 1.78 meters tall, and the shirt just covered her hips and part of her thighs. In her rush to open the door, the top button remained undone.

Gao Ershan, seeing Lin Anran open the door and noticing she was late, felt a bit angry. He had initially looked down on her, expecting a foul smell, ready to scold. But instead, a faint scent of soap reached his nose, surprisingly pleasant. He noticed her skin had become smooth and delicate, and through the unbuttoned top button, he could vaguely see her fair chest. An inexplicable agitation stirred within him, though he tried to appear indifferent, saying, “Don’t think that just because you’re dressed like this, you’re trying to seduce me.”

He pushed the door open and entered, observing the tidy room. The neatly folded bedding surprised him. His throat felt oddly dry as he unbuttoned his own shirt and said, “Don’t think that your crying, screaming, or attempted suicide will make me pity you. I won’t divorce you, so forget it!”

Lin Anran sat on a chair, crossing her legs, coldly looking at him. “What do you want?” she asked. From her memory of the original owner, she knew this man, Gao Ershan, had married her for her small fortune, expecting to take her dowry. But he got nothing and ended up with a sloppy, overweight woman, which disgusted him. Understanding his intentions, she casually said, “I know why you married me—but you’ll be disappointed,” and smiled, ignoring him.

Seeing he had been bested, Gao Ershan slammed the door and retreated to the side room, lying on the bed, pondering her subtle change, wondering if it was his imagination. Lin Anran, seeing him leave angrily, closed the door and went to sleep.

In the middle of the night, she heard the sound of a bolt being moved, followed by faint, scattered noises. Afraid of thieves, she grabbed a kitchen knife and went out. Used to night shifts, she was immediately alert. Following the sounds, she arrived at a side room, the wooden door slightly ajar. She heard low moans and breathing inside. Pushing the door, she saw a man and a woman entwined, lost in each other, oblivious to her presence. Lin Anran, having seen everything in the 21st century as a doctor, was unshaken. She calmly sat on a chair nearby, waiting.

About twenty minutes later, a woman exclaimed in fear, “Who… who’s there?” Gao Ershan looked and saw Lin Anran sitting with her back to him. Shocked, he shouted, “Lin Anran! What are you doing here? Get out!”

Lin Anran turned, smiling, and said, “This is my house. If anyone should leave, it’s that slut!” Both of them panicked, hastily using part of the blanket to cover the woman and the rest to cover themselves. Lin Anran coldly took out the kitchen knife, its sharp blade gleaming in the candlelight.

“Tell me, where should I strike? Scratch her face or your lower half?” she said, advancing toward them. Naked and trapped under the blankets, they trembled in fear. Furious that Gao Ershan, her original husband, was committing such acts under her nose, Lin Anran decided to teach them a lesson.

Seeing her approach with the knife, Gao Ershan quickly stood up, exposed, and stammered, “Lin Anran, do you want to die?” He nervously covered himself with the blanket while pleading, “Don’t come any closer. Let’s talk it out.”

Lin Anran smirked, raised an eyebrow, and said, “What do you think?”

He raised his hands in surrender, saying, “I won’t do this again. If not, we’ll divorce. It has nothing to do with her.” The woman trembled under the blanket, terrified. Lin Anran, observing him still defending the woman, sneered, “True marital devotion, huh?” She slammed the knife into the table with force.

Satisfied that her point was made, she withdrew the knife and said, “You only think of your own pleasure, making me unhappy. Next time, it won’t be like this.” She hefted the knife, warning, “Continue if you dare! Truly, a peony dies in glory, even as a ghost.” With a sharp “slam,” she closed the door, leaving them staring at her retreating back in cold sweat, haunted by the thought of nearly dying under her knife.

Gao Ershan shouted furiously, “Lin Anran! If you fall into my hands, I’ll make sure you die miserably!”

Lin Anran returned to her room, hid the knife under her pillow, feeling satisfied and vindicated, having avenged the original owner’s humiliation.

After Lin Anran left, neither of them had any mood left.

Gao Ershan held the woman tightly in his arms and said, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here!”

The woman in his embrace, Chen Yan, shivered and said, “Ershan, could it be that Anran has gone mad? She actually brought a knife. Where did she get the courage? Before, you told her to go east and she couldn’t go west—someone must have instigated her.”

Chen Yan was a widow in the village. A year ago, her husband had gone up the mountain to chop firewood. It had just rained, the path was slippery, and he tragically fell down the mountain. When they found him, he had already died. People said that troubles always seem to come to widows’ doors…

Since then, Chen Yan would frequently ask Gao Ershan for help, and over time they became close—so close that they ended up together. Despite the gossip of the villagers, she didn’t care. She had hoped Gao Ershan would marry her, but then Lin Anran appeared. Luckily, the original Lin Anran was considered simple-minded, so Gao Ershan had never taken her seriously.

Lying in Gao Ershan’s arms, Chen Yan cooed, “Ershan, what if this crazy woman kills us?”

“Does she dare?” he said, trying to comfort the frail Chen Yan.

After a while, he added, “From now on, don’t come looking for me. If I need you, I’ll come to you. Who knows what that crazy woman might do?”

Chen Yan, soft and obedient, replied, “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

They lost interest in each other for the moment. After getting dressed, Gao Ershan opened the door and sent Chen Yan away. Returning to his room, he lay on the bed, thinking about how Anran had changed compared to before, though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different. Sleep eluded him for a long time.

Meanwhile, Lin Anran, hearing the sound of the bolt sliding back and knowing the woman had left, felt a wave of satisfaction. She thought to herself, “I’m definitely not someone you can bully. If you crap on me, at least take a look first…” A smile curved on her lips as she drifted into sleep.

Hearing the roosters crow, Lin Anran got up early and started jogging in the yard, counting aloud, “One, two, one… one, two, one…”

Hearing the noise, Gao Ershan angrily flung open the door…