Chapter 3 - 3 3 Relaxation

Chapter 3: Chapter 3 Relaxation Chapter 3: Chapter 3 Relaxation “Stop crying, you’ll hurt yourself if you cry too much. I was wrong about so many things before...”

Su Yunjin froze, staring blankly at Chen Jie. She would never have dreamed that Chen Jiusi would say something like this to her.

For a moment, she actually stopped crying.

It was too shocking.

*This beast, this monster, could even admit he was at fault?*

In Su Yunjin’s eyes, this man was nothing but a selfish lowlife—an abusive drunkard and gambler. At home, he was a tyrant, but outside, he was cowardly and obsessed with appearances.

Even when there wasn’t enough to eat at home, he would give away the only sack of grain they had just because someone flattered him—a lazy good-for-nothing like Ma Liu.

And he was just as spineless back then. There was once a time when she had an argument with their neighbor, Lu Qinsi. The neighbor stormed into their house and hurled insults. She slapped and hit Su Yunjin, but Chen Jie stayed inside, not daring to say a single word in her defense.

When Su Yunjin came back, humiliated after getting slapped twice by that shrew, Chen Jie actually blamed her for causing trouble.

*Her husband let someone chase her all the way home to slap her across the face, and he couldn’t even muster a word in protest. Could such a man be relied upon?*

*But if not him, then who? Divorce wasn’t an option in this world, not even formal separation. A village woman like her faced only one outcome—a dismissal letter.*

*Her parents’ home was gone; where would she go if she were dismissed? Should she follow others down the path of selling herself?*

*Besides, she had a younger sister. There was no choice, no way out at all.*

*All she could do was blame her ill-fated luck for marrying a beast in human skin—a coward outside and a monster at home.*

Chen Jie looked at the bewilderment painted on Su Yunjin’s face. He crouched down slowly and studied her carefully. For the first time, he realized just how beautiful this woman was, especially after her tears, her face framed like a weeping pear blossom. It tugged at his heart.

Seeing her react, Chen Jie knew his words had made an impact.

For all the monstrous things he had done before, if he could utter even one heartfelt apology for his former self to this pitiable woman, perhaps it might bring her a moment of consolation.

Noticing the slight softening of her expression, Chen Jie decided to say a few more things, hoping to stabilize her emotions further.

He reached out. Instinctively, Su Yunjin flinched, but Chen Jie persisted, holding her face in his hands. He gently wiped away her tears with his thumb. She was startled, even shaken to the point where her whole body trembled a little.

“Yunjin,”

Chen Jie spoke. He had wanted to call her Jin’er, but thought better of it; taking things step by step seemed wiser. He didn’t want to frighten her, given how fragile her emotions were at this moment. Agitating her further would be disastrous.

Su Yunjin’s astonishment deepened as she looked at him. Usually, he called her “that Su woman.” At times, he even went so far as to shout obscene insults at her. But he had never addressed her by her name before. She stared at him, unsure of what he was about to do next.

Chen Jie looked at her and said, “About the past—I know I wronged you.”

“You’ve suffered so much with me. I never realized how much you’d been pushed to this point. It’s all my fault.”

Su Yunjin trembled upon hearing this, her gaze filled with disbelief. Earlier, she thought she might have misheard him, but now he had apologized again. Could he actually mean to change for the better?

*Her heart wavered briefly, but she quickly shook off the thought. A dog’s nature never changes—it always returns to its filth. What kind of scheme was he hatching now? Was he afraid that if I pressed into suicide with Yun Rui, he wouldn’t be able to sell us anymore?*

Chen Jie picked up on the caution and worry in her eyes.

Just then, he took hold of her hand. Originally, it should have been a soft hand without any calluses, yet he was met with coarse skin, and there were even subtle cracks—a remnant of countless days spent on farmwork and laundry.

Hands like these didn’t belong to a woman so breathtakingly beautiful.

Startled by having her hand grabbed, Su Yunjin tried to pull away, but Chen Jie quickly said, “Don’t move. Listen to me. I truly know I was wrong; I’m not trying to deceive you.”

“I know words mean little now. I wouldn’t expect you to believe me right away. But I genuinely want a chance to prove I’ve changed.”

Chen Jie understood how hollow words could sound, but certain attitudes had to be clearly displayed.

Su Yunjin paused, lost in thought for a while, before her voice turned steely: “Are you really not going to sell Ruirui anymore?”

Chen Jie replied, “Never again.”

Su Yunjin fell silent at his response. After a long pause, she said, “Chen Jiusi, my mother was kind to me. So, no matter how you treat me, I can endure it. But Ruirui is still young; she cannot lose hope. Do you understand?”

“Yes,”

Chen Jie nodded.

Su Yunjin continued, “If you dare go back on your word and even think about selling Ruirui, we don’t need poison—we can die in our own way and ensure you won’t even get one cent.”

Chen Jie replied, “I understand. Trust me.”

Hearing this, Su Yunjin slowly stood up, bending down again to gather the items scattered on the floor. Daisy and Ruirui began to help her tidy up. Watching them, Chen Jie grabbed the pot of rice porridge laced with poison, took it outside, and buried it somewhere out of sight.

After completing his task, Chen Jie returned to the house. Neither woman paid him any mind. He knew in their hearts, he was no better than a demon.

*Gurgle gurgle...*

In the midst of their strained atmosphere, Ruirui’s stomach growled audibly.

Ruirui glanced down at his belly before tightening the rag around his waist, mumbling, “Ruirui is strong—Ruirui isn’t hungry.”

*Gurgle gurgle...*

A second stomach growl echoed. This time, it was from Su Yunjin, though her cheeks flushed red. She didn’t say a word.

Chen Jie had noticed long ago that the family’s rice jar was nearly empty. If they didn’t find food soon, all of them would likely starve to death. Thinking about this, Chen Jie suddenly remembered he’d heard—there was supposedly a rabbit that ran into a tree and died on the back mountain.

It seemed he needed to make a trip to the mountain.

With that thought, Chen Jie stood up and addressed Su Yunjin, “Stay here at home. I’ll go out for a bit—I’ll be back shortly.”

No one responded. Chen Jie didn’t let it bother him. He turned and left the dilapidated grass-covered house.

As she watched Chen Jie walk out the door, Su Yunjin squatted down and asked Ruirui, “Ruirui, are you hungry?”

“No, Ruirui isn’t hungry.”

*Gurgle gurgle...*

As he spoke, Daisy’s belly began growling again.

But Daisy raised his chin high as if to say, “I’m definitely not hungry.”

Su Yunjin chuckled and patted Daisy’s head, then sighed softly, saying, “Let’s go dig for wild vegetables later, alright? We’ll have wild vegetable soup for lunch.”

“Mm! Okay~”

Talk of food immediately lit up Daisy’s eyes. As long as there was something to eat, it was good enough. Still, it was a shame they didn’t get to enjoy that pot of porridge—it had looked so delicious.

Su Yunjin patted Daisy’s head once more. Then she stood up, went back inside, and found a bamboo basket, a spade, and, after some thought, the pair of scissors from the sewing kit.

She led Daisy out the door. Although Chen Jiusi claimed he had changed, who knew if it was just another trick to lull her into complacency so he could sell Ruirui when she wasn’t looking?

That’s why she insisted on taking Ruirui with her wherever she went now. And she brought the scissors too—if Chen Jiusi fooled her again, even if she couldn’t kill him, she could surely kill herself.