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The person at the counter withdrew his gaze.
Next to him was a girl wearing a flower-patterned dress, her skin glowing pale white, with two braids tied up, exuding youthful beauty.
She was as beautiful as a water lily, making it hard not to take a few glances.
In this remote area where everyone was engaged in hard labor, unlike in the factories of the city, it was rare to see such a pretty girl.
Especially a light and youthful educated youth — her eyes were stunning.
Gu Yu’s expression darkened as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, blocking the gazes of others.
They could be envious, but they wouldn’t be given her; she was his wife.
After paying, they hurriedly took their goods and left.
Upon leaving the door, Lin Muqing’s hands were empty, while Gu Yu carried several bags, finding the ox cart, placing the items in it, and then heading back to buy pork.
“Did you buy anything, wife?” Gu Yu bent down to talk to her, offering three pieces of money and keeping five for himself.
“I was waiting here; the line for sweet potatoes is too crowded,” Lin Muqing replied, taking the money, going through it as she thought about what she had just purchased.
Generally, she had a rough understanding of the prices, but she was curious where Gu Yu obtained this much money from.
Gu Yu stood tall and robust, cautiously looking around.
The ox cart was filled with items, and it seemed there was no extra space for others.
Lin Muqing poked at his rock-hard muscles and said playfully, “Who dares to come? I’m not a softie; hurry up!”
Gu Yu’s arms felt numb as he was immersed in her smile, quickly rushing to the pork shop, hoping to return as quickly as possible.
People were bustling back and forth on the road.
“Muqing?”
Suddenly, someone called Lin Muqing’s name with a tone of confusion.
She turned her head, and to her surprise, she saw Lin Yuhua, who bore a slight resemblance to her.
“Cousin…”
Lin Muqing didn’t feel particularly warm towards her. The original owner of this body had a mediocre relationship with her sister, and unlike this cousin, she was not particularly fond of her.
The original owner almost got married to a forty-year-old man from the next village who had a fifteen-year-old son because of this cousin.
This cousin had married someone from the next village and ended up with the wrong person, her husband being an abusive man.
Lin Yuhua had pressured the original owner’s parents regarding her cousin’s marriage.
At first, a young educated youth had shown interest in Lin Yuhua, but ultimately that youth liked the original owner instead.
Even if the original owner was not interested and rejected, she ended up being resented by her cousin.
Lin Yuhua always urged the original owner’s parents to find a hardworking man from their village who could take care of children, willing to pay five pieces of money as a bride price.
Fortunately, the original owner had cleverly inquired in town and discovered that the man’s wife had been beaten to death by him.
The original owner had just met Gu Yu’s parents in town, thus escaping a difficult situation.
“Is it true?” Lin Yuhua asked, needing confirmation but retreating at the same time, her eyes examining Lin Muqing’s floral dress. Upon noticing its beauty, her gaze quickly returned to her own patched-up shirt and shorts, along with a worn-out pair of flip-flops. She even touched her own face.
Her eyes appeared to lack any signs of exhaustion; instead, they were plump and healthy-looking, radiating a rosy complexion. She looked far more relaxed than Lin Yuhua, who was managing a household of over ten people and getting beaten up instead.
Lin Muqing noticed Lin Yuhua’s gaze and realized she was weighing something; she sighed. The original owner seemed to bear a grudge against this person, but Lin Muqing decided not to dwell on it further.
“Uh, cousin, are you buying something?” she asked, her tone not warm.
“I’m buying two kilograms of sweet potatoes.” Lin Yuhua’s eyes darted to Lin Muqing’s full cart, and her expression instantly changed: “This…”
“I’m buying some things for others,” Lin Muqing replied curtly.
She didn’t feel like getting into it and decided not to mention anything about her parents.
At first, they didn’t know Gu Yu had gone missing, so the original owner’s parents had rushed away, fearing the original owner would be sent back along with the bride price.
“That’s…” Lin Yuhua hesitated, her eyes landing on some flour, sugar, and some freshly made, high-quality fabric pieces. She felt a little ashamed after understanding, but she didn’t linger too much on it.
“Wife.” Gu Yu soon returned, carrying two strings of pork with a mix of fat and lean.
Lin Yuhua was drawn to the man’s tall and handsome figure with a sturdy build, smiling tenderly at Lin Muqing.
She glanced at Lin Muqing with a quizzical expression but quickly changed her countenance and said nothing before walking away.
Lin Muqing was confused: What was that about? Did she do something wrong?
“What were you talking about just now?” Gu Yu asked.
“Just my cousin; after seeing her, she left.”
“Let’s hurry home.”
Only later did she realize why Lin Yuhua had looked at her with such a strange expression.
The original owner’s father, Lin Yaozu, had arrived.
Having come back late the night before, it was already past eight.
Gu Yu had given her the money — over three hundred pieces, considerably large, collected from the earnings and leeching off the items the system bought as other people’s goods.
They cleaned up well into the night, and her tummy felt down; the baby had been a bit fussy, and she wondered what else to do.
They cuddled the warm heater and slept until seven in the morning.
As she was preparing for work, Lin Yaozu arrived.
“Muqing, you seem like a completely different person,” came his voice, tinged with fear, the kind that found itself born out of fear of his own body.
The door creaked open, revealing the original owner’s father standing outside with an unsettling grin.
Lin Muqing tightly grabbed Gu Yu’s hand, stepping back a bit.
The system remarked, “The original owner’s instinctual reaction is quite distressing.”
Lin Muqing further hated Lin Yuhua in the moment.
[Let Gu Yu beat him up thoroughly, so he won’t dare to come again!]
“What do you want?” Lin Muqing’s face turned pale.
Lin Yaozu stepped across the threshold and, smiling, pointed at her: “Aren’t I here just to check on you? You’ve grown plump and white; eating well, eh? Unlike your father, who can’t get enough to eat every meal.”