Chapter 102 - 100: Playing Mind Games
When they got home, Li Xiu had his wife go lie on the heated kang bed to rest for a bit. He then hurried to light the fire beneath it. They had been out all day, and the bed had gone completely cold.
After an affectionate dinner, Li Xiu cleaned everything up. He then lay down on the heated kang bed, pulled his wife into his arms, and let out a long, satisfied sigh. ’What a day. I was supposed to be attending my brother-in-law’s wedding, but instead, I had to run into that grand-aunt. It’s both infuriating and ridiculous!’
"Li Xiu, how did you know that grand-aunt was the daughter of a concubine? That’s an old affair from decades ago. You seem to know everything!" Zhou Lian said calmly, nestled in Li Xiu’s arms. ’The whole thing felt incredibly strange. If Li Xiu had also been reborn, it would make sense. But if he wasn’t, then the abilities he was displaying were a bit over the top!’
His heart clenched. He secretly dug the fingers of his left hand into his palm, forcing his body to show no outward signs of distress. Smiling, he said, "Bao’er, you should get to know your man a little better."
"Oh? You think I don’t know you well enough?" Zhou Lian asked, looking at him. ’Is this his way of changing the subject?’
"Bao’er, if I suddenly discovered that my so-called family were actually more like enemies, what do you think I would do for the woman I plan to spend my entire life with?" Li Xiu asked in a lighthearted tone, smiling as he kissed his wife’s puzzled face.
Seeing the curiosity on his wife’s face, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "You know I used to sneak looks at you back in the day. I’ve been fond of you for a long time. And you know my personality; how can I rest easy if I don’t have a firm grasp on everything? Bao’er, please don’t be upset with me. I never intended to hide things from you, I just... I didn’t know how to bring it up."
"What all do you know? And about my youngest maternal uncle... what was that you said about pumpkins and watermelons? Is there something going on?" Although Zhou Lian was still suspicious, she knew he was telling the truth. Li Xiu was extremely possessive, especially when it came to anything related to her.
"Isn’t it just as I said? You plant pumpkin seeds, but you end up with a watermelon," Li Xiu said casually. What he really cared about was whether his wife’s doubts had been eased.
"You’re saying my youngest maternal uncle’s son... isn’t his!" Zhou Lian had already suspected Li Xiu knew, but she was still shocked he actually did.
The way his wife stumbled over her words made Li Xiu chuckle. He said lightly, "Nope. He probably belongs to one of your other uncles, though. As for which specific one, I have no interest in finding out."
Zhou Lian’s eyes widened as she stared at him. ’In my past life, I never found out who it was that cuckolded my youngest maternal uncle. But Li Xiu says it was one of the other uncles... The grand-aunt has four sons, and my uncle is the youngest. Any of his three older brothers could be a suspect. Is Li Xiu really not interested, or...?’
Li Xiu gently kissed Zhou Lian’s eyes and lowered his voice. "Bao’er, be a good girl. Don’t go digging into this. It’s too sordid. I don’t want to foul your ears with it. My sweet Bao’er, just pretend you don’t know anything about it, all right?"
Zhou Lian stared at him blankly. Li Xiu had always treated her like a precious treasure, granting her every wish. But now, he was forbidding her from looking into this matter. ’Just how sordid must it be? Don’t tell me she was involved with all three of them...’
A shiver ran through her, and she rubbed at the goosebumps that had broken out on her skin. Zhou Lian burrowed deeper into Li Xiu’s arms. Feeling the ceaseless warmth radiating from his body finally made her feel a bit better. ’Just how vile and depraved did a person have to be for Li Xiu to feel that even speaking of it would sully her ears?’
Sensing the subtle movements of the woman in his arms, Li Xiu hugged her tighter and gently kissed her forehead. ’My wife, with her memories of a past life and her sharp intuition, has probably already guessed the ugly truth. That must be why she’s having this subconscious reaction of disgust.’
"Bao’er, I’m here. Your husband is here. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Just leave it all to me, trust me, okay? Let’s not think about these things anymore. Ah, right, Bao’er, do you think your third brother is managing to have a proper wedding night right now?" After comforting her with a few soft words, Li Xiu quickly changed the subject. ’My treasure is a simple soul. She’ll forget all this nasty business in no time.’
"Why wouldn’t he be? Li Xiu, don’t be ridiculous!" As expected, Zhou Lian’s focus shifted entirely to his last sentence, and she snapped at him irritably.
"Just think about it. Your third brother isn’t as cunning as your second brother. I heard that when your second brother got married, the hazing went on until nearly dawn. With your third brother’s gentle nature, do you really think that crowd is going to let him off easy? You think they won’t give him a hard time?" Li Xiu said with a smile, looking at Zhou Lian tenderly.
Zhou Lian considered it and realized he had a point. None of the young men in the extended family were the type to go easy on someone. Among her three older brothers, the eldest and the third were the most honest and good-natured. Only the second was a bit more slick. If the hazing really got rough, her third brother wouldn’t be able to control the situation. He wasn’t like Li Xiu. Thinking of this, Zhou Lian smiled as she recalled her own wedding night. ’In my past life, Li Xiu wasn’t so conspicuous, but he handled the hazing with a measured response. This life, though? There was no hazing at all. I have no idea what Li Xiu did, but not a single person dared to show up and cause trouble.’
Seeing his wife smiling at some private thought, Li Xiu’s mood lightened considerably. ’As long as she isn’t dwelling on that nasty business and getting upset, it’s fine.’ Wondering if her earlier suspicions had finally been put to rest, he leaned close and whispered something in her ear. His words earned him a flurry of playful punches and kicks, which only made Li Xiu roar with laughter.
’That was a close one. My wife is getting sharper and sharper. In this lifetime, Li Xiu can give her his very life, but this is the one thing he can never tell her. He can’t afford to make that bet, and he doesn’t dare to. The memory of how resolute she was in their last life is still seared into his mind. If he lets her find out that he is the same worthless scumbag from her memories, Li Xiu is terrified that she’ll act with even more finality than she did back then!’
’He didn’t want to taste even a moment of that half-lifetime of loneliness and half-lifetime of regret from his previous existence. Not now, when he once again had such a beautiful life and such a wonderful wife. To have it all and then lose it again... Li Xiu was certain that if fate dared to make him go through that, he would go on a rampage and destroy everything.’
’Hearing the pure joy in her husband’s laughter, Zhou Lian couldn’t help but wonder. Perhaps this man really wasn’t the same one from her past life. She simply couldn’t reconcile the man before her now—young, handsome, deeply calculating, yet magnanimous and reasonable, who cherished her like a treasure—with the man from her memory. That man had been equally handsome, equally magnanimous and reasonable, but he was also hot-tempered and blinded by foolish filial piety. Could they truly be the same person?’
’The man in her last life had cherished her deeply as well, but that one slap he’d given her had become a wall, sealing the road between them forever. He had tried desperately to tear it down, but she had painstakingly fortified it, bit by bit, until it was too high for him to ever breach. If he had tried to smash through it with brute force, he would have inevitably hurt her on the other side. Maybe he realized that later, and that’s why he stopped trying altogether. And yet... the madness she had seen in his eyes back then was identical to the frenzy that occasionally flashed in the eyes of the Li Xiu before her now.’
’She just couldn’t make sense of it all. If he really was the same man, was there a reason to hide it from her so desperately? If he wasn’t, why did she keep seeing traces of that other man in this Li Xiu? Sometimes she felt he was keeping secrets, but most of the time he was completely open and frank. Her head started to ache from overthinking, and Zhou Lian grew frustrated. ’Ugh, forget it! Whatever it is, it is. I’ll get to the bottom of it eventually!’’