Chapter 9 A foul-mouthed and mean man

Because someone was lying next to her, Ye Wuyou felt very uncomfortable. She thought she wouldn’t sleep a wink all night, but by the middle of the night she couldn’t hold out anymore and drifted off in a daze.

The next morning, she was woken up by Ling Yu. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she glanced outside at the sky that was still dim with dawn and asked unhappily, “What are you waking me up so early for?”

Hearing the irritation in her tone, Ling Yu—rarely in a patient mood—answered, “Get up. I’m taking you to the county hospital. You had such a big wound on your head—what if it leaves you with some aftereffects and you end up a fool? After all, I spent 200 yuan to marry you; I can’t have spent 200 on a fool.”

Ye Wuyou rolled her eyes at those harsh words and snapped angrily, “A fool? Who are you calling a fool? You’re the fool, your whole family’s the fool!” She sat up from the bed in a huff.

Ling Yu, unfazed by her temper, replied lightly, “You’re right. I really must be a fool—to pay 200 yuan for a foolish wife. But now your name’s already on my household register. My family was doing perfectly fine, but since you came along, we all seem to have turned into fools. Maybe it’s contagious.”

Ye Wuyou nearly exploded from anger. Since when had her name been added to his household register? Was that her choice? It was forced on her! Ugh, forget it. Arguing with him was pointless. His tongue was poisonous—if she kept it up, she’d only end up losing.

Seeing her shut her mouth angrily, Ling Yu was satisfied. He found it rather amusing to tease this little girl from time to time. He didn’t know why she had such a fiery temper now—he’d heard before that Ye Wuyou used to be timid and silent. How had one beating from her uncle turned her into such a sharp-tongued girl?

But then he remembered how pitiful she had looked when he first found her—frail, covered in blood, and heartbreaking to see. Now, looking at her ragged clothes, Ling Yu sighed. He went to ask his younger brother for a set of clothes for her. After all, they were going to the market today; he didn’t want others to think he mistreated her by letting her wear rags.

Her figure wasn’t much different from Ling Zixiao’s build, only thinner, so his clothes fit her just fine.

By the time they had finished getting ready, the sky had only just brightened. Ling Yu took her to the village entrance to wait for the ox cart to the county.

Under the big tree where the cart stopped, several young women were already waiting. Seeing Ling Yu arrive with his brand-new wife, jealousy lit their eyes. After all, Ling Yu was the best-looking man in the village. He had even served in the army and received a discharge allowance—he was the dream of countless young women. No one expected that the timid and ugly Ye Wuyou would be the one to marry him.

But what of it? Even if Ling Yu had married Ye Wuyou, many girls still had their eyes on him.

As he approached, a young woman dressed up like a peacock hurried over and called sweetly, “Brother Ling Yu, are you going to the county too? What are you going there for?”

That overly affected voice made Ye Wuyou shiver. Why did she have to talk like that? It was unpleasant to the ears.

When the girl ran up, Ling Yu subtly stepped back to maintain some distance and replied, “Oh, my wife was injured by her family. Now that she’s a bit better and can ride the cart, I’m taking her to the county for a checkup.”

As he spoke, he even placed his hand on Ye Wuyou’s shoulder, like a declaration of ownership.

Hearing that, the girl glanced at Ye Wuyou—skinny as a stick, face sallow and ugly. How could someone like that be worthy of Brother Ling Yu? The more she thought about it, the more jealous she became, glaring at Ye Wuyou as though she wanted to eat her alive.

But who was Ye Wuyou? In her past life she had been a bandit. When it came to shamelessness, if she was second, no one dared claim first. Seeing that jealous glare, Ye Wuyou simply leaned against Ling Yu, her expression practically saying:

What? You don’t like that the Brother Ling Yu you adore married me? Then come and take him if you can.

The girl was so furious she nearly choked, gritted her teeth, spat an insult at Ye Wuyou, and stormed back to her spot. “Shameless.”

Once the girl walked away in a huff, Ye Wuyou straightened up again and stood properly.

“That girl just cursed you. Didn’t you hear?” Ling Yu asked idly, clearly looking to stir trouble since there was still time before the cart came.

Ye Wuyou rolled her eyes at him, recognizing his eagerness for drama, and replied casually, “Of course I heard. She cursed me because I married you. She’s not happy, so she glared and cursed me. But so what? You’re the one who married me. I’m the official wife. If she’s not satisfied, she can have you divorce me and marry her instead. I don’t care either way.”

Seeing Ye Wuyou’s utterly shameless attitude, Ling Yu couldn’t help but find it funny. Then, on purpose, he suddenly asked, “Do you know why she’s so unconvinced?”

Hearing this, Ye Wuyou’s expression immediately darkened. How could she not know the reason? It was nothing more than the fact that she now looked ugly and unsightly, and was just a wife Ling Yu had bought for 200 yuan. Who could accept that in their heart? To be honest, if Ye Wuyou had even a little bit of beauty, or even a little bit of skill, people wouldn’t look down on her this much.

Seeing that Ye Wuyou didn’t answer for a long while, Ling Yu pressed on with malicious amusement. “What’s the matter? You don’t know why she’s unconvinced? Do you want me to tell you?”

Ye Wuyou gritted her teeth at his words. She couldn’t understand why this man was so annoying, and why his mouth was so venomous, insisting on forcing her to acknowledge things she didn’t want to hear. Her teeth ground so hard they made a creaking sound, as if she wanted to swallow Ling Yu whole, before she finally spat out her reply.

“Why is she unconvinced? Isn’t it just because I’m ugly, while you’re so good-looking? A handsome man marrying an ugly woman like me—who would feel fine about that? But what can I do? You were kind enough to save me back then. Instead of earning yourself gratitude, you ended up stuck with a rotten mess. I suppose you must regret it now, but what good is regret? I’m already your wife.”

Ye Wuyou had completely given up—there was no helping it. Since this was the reality, she couldn’t refute it anyway. As long as she had no shame, she could get by.