Chapter 7 – Rumors

Huo Yunshu: “……”

It came out of nowhere…

By the time he reacted, pain shot through his entire body, sweat dripping from his forehead, veins bulging. The only thing he wanted to do was run home to his mother!

This—this was Ruan Jiaojiao?

Wasn’t this the same woman who used to follow him around all day, who still loved him desperately even after getting married and having kids?!

“Ruan Jiaojiao… I’m Huo Yunshu. Don’t you recognize me?”

“Oh, right, you are Huo Yunshu. That’s even more reason to beat you up!” Jiaojiao marched forward and rained down a storm of little pink fists, leaving Huo Yunshu utterly defenseless.

In her previous world, Jiaojiao was a black belt in taekwondo! One Huo Yunshu? She could handle ten of him!

When she finally tired herself out, Jiaojiao still remembered to issue a warning: “Tui! Mangy dog, from now on, whenever you see me, you’d better steer clear. Otherwise, every time I see you, I’ll beat you again. Got it?!”

Huo Yunshu stayed silent—so she kicked him again. He quickly caved, muttering obediently, “Got it…”

“And another thing—don’t you dare call me ‘Jiaojiao little sister.’ It’s disgusting. You’re not worthy!”

The whole world felt surreal to Huo Yunshu, but his survival instincts left him no choice but to nod frantically, “Mm, mm, mm…”

Jiaojiao hadn’t exercised in ages, so this little workout left her feeling loose and refreshed. After thrashing the scumbag, she took Dabao and Xiaobao with her and left.

But the male and female leads have an unavoidable pull toward each other. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the injured Huo Yunshu was discovered by Ruan Xiaodie.

Heart aching, Xiaodie rushed to his side and asked how he’d ended up like this.

Huo Yunshu managed to say only two words—“Ruan Jiaojiao” and “doctor”—before fainting.

Xiaodie instantly “understood.” It must have been because her cousin Ruan Jiaojiao couldn’t have Huo Yunshu, so she hired thugs to beat him up! And of course, a gentleman like Huo Yunshu wouldn’t fight back.

So, when she spread the story in the village, she carefully omitted the part where he got beaten half to death.

By the time it made its way to the fields, the story had twisted into this: Ruan Jiaojiao went to confess her love to Huo Yunshu again, got rejected, cried all the way home, and poor Huo Yunshu, stricken with guilt, accidentally fell into a ditch.

Perfect! That way, Huo Yunshu’s reputation stayed intact.

Ruan Xiaodie felt quite noble. Even though Jiaojiao was her cousin, she hadn’t covered for her. She had chosen to stand on the side of justice!

Righteousness over kinship!

Surely such behavior deserved a little red flower of merit!

Meanwhile, in the fields, gossip-savvy Gu Yun came panting up to Fu Ting, first pressing a hand to his forehead—only to have Fu Ting slap it away.

“Get lost. I’ve got a woman. I’m not gay—don’t touch me!”

Gu Yun: “……”

“Ting-ge, I was just checking if Ruan Jiaojiao poisoned you!” Gu Yun puffed, still out of breath. “You don’t know, do you? All her actions before—those were lies! Her heart still belongs to Huo Yunshu! Just now, she went to confess to him again! After being rejected, she cried her way home—and even dragged Dabao and Xiaobao with her! How could she… how could she hurt the kids like that?!”

Fu Ting: “……”

He kept a shred of reason and asked, “And who told you this?”

“Ruan Xiaodie! She’s Jiaojiao’s cousin. Coming from her, it’s gotta be at least partly true, right?”

“No. I don’t believe it.” Fu Ting clenched his fists. “Unless Jiaojiao tells me herself that she loves Huo Yunshu again, everything else is just slander.”

Gu Yun: “You…”

Fu Ting shot him a glare. Gu Yun quickly mimed zipping his lips shut. Fine, he’d keep quiet.

He only worried that Fu Ting was being deceived by that woman again! If she tricked him once more, there’d be nothing left of him—not even bitter tea!

The village buzzed with rumors of Jiaojiao’s “confession,” but the woman herself was at home, experimenting with how to make fragrant braised chicken with the ingredients she had.

In the end, she gave up. Braised chicken without hotpot base was soulless. So, when Dabao and Xiaobao weren’t looking, she secretly pulled hotpot base and noodles from her space and whipped up a steaming pot of fragrant chicken.

The wild bird was so plump that Jiaojiao divided it into three parts.

The juicy drumsticks went to Dabao and Xiaobao as roasted chicken legs to build them up.

The carcass she used for soup to restore Fu Ting’s strength.

The chicken breast became the braised chicken.

By the time she finished, it was already noon. Jiaojiao packed up the chicken soup and meat and set off for the fields.

Along the way, villagers stared, whispering among themselves. Their eyes ranged from judgmental, to scornful, to begrudgingly admiring her beauty.

In the original story, the author had wanted to highlight Xiaodie’s cleverness, so her looks were never described as anything special. To make the contrast sharper, Jiaojiao was written as breathtakingly beautiful.

Perhaps the author’s intent was to say that for a woman, inner beauty mattered more than outer beauty. Not a bad idea—except Xiaodie’s character was written as utterly trash.

Jiaojiao didn’t care about the stares. She approached a kindly looking old woman and asked, “Grandma, could you tell me where Fu Ting is? I’m his wife—I’ve brought him lunch.”

“And us too! We came to see Daddy!” Xiaobao added.

Each child had eaten a plump chicken drumstick, their little bellies round and full.

Jiaojiao had wanted to let them rest at home, but the two little ones had insisted on tagging along.

The old woman had lived many years and seen all kinds of people. Looking into Jiaojiao’s clear, sincere eyes, she knew the girl truly loved Fu Ting, with no hidden agenda at all.

She had no idea how such vicious rumors had started, but they were surely harmful.

“Girl, follow this road and turn left. You’ll find him there.”

The old lady kindly gave directions.

Jiaojiao thanked her, and before the woman could react, she slipped a cloth bundle into her basket.

By the time the old woman realized, Jiaojiao had already left with her two little ones.

She opened the bundle and found two warm, fragrant, fall-off-the-bone braised chicken wings inside!

In all her long life, she had never eaten meat. As a child she had even been sold off as a child bride. This was the very first bite of meat she’d ever had…

All because she had given that girl a little help with directions.

What a good-hearted girl she was!