CRASH.
The bowl hit the floor, shattering into pieces and scattering rice everywhere.
He Ze looked at the spilled rice, then raised his hand and slapped Gao Cuiyun across the face.
The crisp sound of the slap stunned Gao Cuiyun. She covered her cheek, staring at He Ze in disbelief.
The three children were shocked too. The youngest burst into tears.
"You hit ?" Gao Cuiyun’s eyes were red.
"He Ze, how dare you hit ! I’ll kill you!"
With that, Gao Cuiyun charged at He Ze.
But she was no match for a man’s strength. He Ze easily threw her to the ground.
"Have you made enough of a scene?" He Ze’s face was dark, his eyes filled with a chilling coldness.
Gao Cuiyun started wailing, pounding on the ground.
"He Ze, you’re an animal! All these years, I’ve borne your children and worked myself to the bone for this family. And what about you? You’re keeping a mistress behind my back! Do you have any conscience? Look at your three children, they’re nothing but skin and bones! Where did your salary go? Spent on so little hussy outside?"
He Ze’s voice was cold and hard. "Didn’t I give you money?"
"That asly ten yuan? How much is your monthly salary? Do you think I’m a fool? You’ve got a permanent position now, and your salary went up, but the money you give each month keeps getting smaller. Who are you giving the rest to?"
"I’m a grown man. Don’t I have social expenses? Do I need your permission to spend the money I earned myself?"
"What do you an, spend it however you want? Have you forgotten you have a family? You have a wife and children to support! Tell , are you seeing soone else? Who is it?"
Suddenly, the main door was kicked open from the outside.
Mr. He and Mrs. He stood in the doorway, staring at the two people on the floor.
One side of Gao Cuiyun’s face was red and swollen. He Ze looked furious.
Seeing Mr. and Mrs. He, Gao Cuiyun began to cry even louder.
Mr. He stood with his hands behind his back and said to He Ze, "Get out here."
As He Ze walked out, Mrs. He pounded his back with her fist. "You rotten scoundrel."
Mrs. He was about to explode with anger. The second branch of the family was fighting every other day, and she was sick to death of hearing it.
Mrs. He went inside and helped Gao Cuiyun up from the floor.
"Can’t you two talk things out properly? Do you have to fight? Do you think it sounds good? Go out and ask what the villagers are saying about you!"
Gao Cuiyun wiped her runny nose and said through her tears, "Mother, it’s not that I want to cause trouble, but my life is unbearable! He Ze is seeing soone else. His heart isn’t with this family anymore."
Mrs. He narrowed her eyes. "You say the second son is seeing soone else. Have you seen it with your own eyes?"
Gao Cuiyun gave a bitter laugh. "That’s just it, I haven’t. If I ever find out who seduced my husband, I’ll tear her to shreds. But even though I haven’t seen her, He Ze has co ho late at night several tis slling of another woman’s perfu. I can tell. And one ti, he ca back late with a lipstick stain on his collar. He said he got it at the factory. Who is he trying to fool?"
Gao Cuiyun made a strong case, and even Mrs. He started to have her doubts.
"Still," she said, trying to placate Gao Cuiyun, "your father and I will get to the bottom of this. For now, stop fighting with him. It sets a bad example. Besides, look at your three children. Look how scared you’ve made them."
Gao Cuiyun glanced at her three children on the kang bed, and fresh tears stread down her face.
anwhile, He Ze followed Mr. He into the other room.
THUD! The first thing that greeted He Ze was a kick from his father that sent him stumbling to the doorway.
Mr. He said in a deep voice, "The He family doesn’t have a habit of hitting won. n who hit won are cowards. That kick was to teach you how to be a man. From now on, whether you’re disciplining your wife or anything else, don’t you dare raise your hand so easily."
He Ze didn’t dare to argue. He just stood there and listened.
"Now, talk. Why are you two fighting every day? To the point of getting physical."
He Ze muttered, "It’s nothing. That woman just has nothing better to do than look for trouble."
Mr. He snorted. "Your wife says you’re seeing soone. Is it true?"
The two from the second household had been arguing so loudly in their room that it was clearly audible in the courtyard. Mr. He had heard a bit of it.
A flicker of sothing crossed He Ze’s eyes, but he shook his head. "No. She’s just being paranoid."
Mr. He studied him for a mont before speaking. "Since you say it’s not true, then you need to explain things clearly to your wife and make her stop this ruckus. I don’t want to hear about this from other people again. You’re bringing sha on the He family."
He Ze nodded. "I understand, Father."
It was unclear what He Ze said to Gao Cuiyun when he went back, but whatever it was, she stopped causing trouble.
But just two days later, one evening, He Ze was caught in the act.
Late at night, when most people were still awake, a shout startled more than half the village.
But when people got to the scene, they discovered who was with He Ze. To everyone’s surprise, it was Gu Yuwei.
When the He family rushed over, they saw He Ze and Gu Yuwei standing together, their clothes in disarray. He Ze was holding a piece of clothing, trying to cover Gu Yuwei with it.
When Gao Cuiyun saw the two of them, her world ca crashing down. Her mind went blank.
She had long suspected He Ze was cheating, but she never imagined it would be with Gu Yuwei. After all, Gu Yuwei had stayed with the He family for a while, but she and He Ze had barely interacted. Moreover, she had accepted quite a few favors from Gu Yuwei and had a rather good impression of her.
He Ze and Gu Yuwei saw Gao Cuiyun too. Gu Yuwei didn’t dare to face her and tried to hide behind He Ze, who instinctively moved to shield her.
Seeing this, Gao Cuiyun flew into a rage and lunged forward to tear at Gu Yuwei.
"You slut! You bitch! You’re shaless! Seducing a married man! I’ll kill you!"
Gao Cuiyun attacked, Gu Yuwei dodged, and He Ze reached out to block his wife.
"Don’t hit her! Let’s talk this out calmly."
Unable to get to Gu Yuwei, Gao Cuiyun slapped He Ze across the face and started tearing at him instead.
"You shaless, adulterous pair! You damned dogs! He Ze, what did you promise ? You went back on your word! How could you do this? How could you do this to ?"
The crowd of onlookers murmured among themselves. Every mber of the He family had a grim expression.
Xue Yue and He Lang had rushed out late at night, originally just to see what the commotion was about. They never expected it to be these two.
’I rember that ti He Lang and I saw Gu Yuwei riding on the back of He Ze’s bicycle,’ she thought. ’They must have started seeing each other back then. I just can’t believe soone with Gu Yuwei’s prospects would get involved with a married man like He Ze.’
While trying to dodge the blows, Gu Yuwei inadvertently saw Xue Yue and He Lang in the crowd. She imdiately lowered her head in sha, but at the sa ti, a part of her felt that maybe having this all co out in the open was a good thing.
Gu Yuwei’s family had cut off contact with her. For the past few years, her life here had been difficult. The other educated youths at the outpost tended to isolate her, and with her family’s support gone, she didn’t dare spend the little money she had all at once. Her only option was to work in the fields for work points. But for soone who had always lived in comfort, the sudden manual labor was unbearable. She couldn’t eat or sleep well. It was pure agony.
It was then that He Ze appeared in her life and beca her target.
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