Unexpectedly, just after Yan Wan’ying left, Yan Qinglu returned to the village.
He had originally said he would be back on New Year’s Eve, but it was delayed until today, as it seemed there was trouble on the residents’ side.
Wan Tong didn’t go to find him. When she sat at the door sunbathing, she overheard the aunties chatting outside, saying Lin Cui had gone crazy.
In a flash, Wan Tong got up and ran outside.
Lin Cui, Yan Qinglu’s mother, had a bad temper. Sometimes when she was outside or in front of men, if she got upset, she would vent her anger on Yan Qinglu.
Yan Qinglu had been beaten by her many times since childhood.
Even in the plot, Yan Qinglu became a powerful figure, but Lin Cui occasionally still vented her anger on him, but at that time, she didn’t dare to hit him anymore.
Wan Tong ran to Yan Qinglu’s house and saw the door of the hall open, but there was no sound coming from inside.
Not far away, Chen Hou and Lin Daxiong were lurking somewhat sneakily by the fence, peeking inside.
Wan Tong hurried over, “What’s happening?”
The crisp voice startled the two boys. Seeing it was Wan Tong, they patted their chests, feeling embarrassed, “Nothing, nothing.”
Regardless, it’s better not to tell her about Brother Lu being beaten like a coward.
After Chen Hou and Lin Daxiong slipped away, Wan Tong didn’t dare to stay longer. When she got home, feeling frustrated, she took Da Huang and the eight noisy ducks out again.
After circling around Yan Qinglu’s door several times, she didn’t see anyone. She felt uneasy. Could it be that he couldn’t get out of bed after being beaten?
Yan Qinglu was a fool. When his mother beat him, he would never fight back.
As the sky gradually darkened and the cold wind became more biting, in the dim and depressing room, Lin Cui was applying medicine to Yan Qinglu’s arm while tears streamed down her face.
Apart from his arms, his back and legs were also covered in scars from being beaten with wires, some even oozing blood.
“Xiao Lu, Mom didn’t mean it. Mom just can’t control herself…” Lin Cui’s hands trembled as she spoke, filled with sorrow and regret.
Yan Qinglu kept his head down, not sure if he was even listening.
This scene had happened too many times, and he was starting to become numb to it.
Having depended on his mother for so many years, he knew she loved him. When her mood was good, she treated him well. She wasn’t a qualified mother; most of the time, she was more like a sister, a friend to him.
But when her emotions spiraled out of control, she became like a different person, treating him like an enemy.
Lin Cui’s voice kept going, and Yan Qinglu felt increasingly irritated. Suddenly, he grabbed her trembling hand, gently pushed her away, then got up and walked out.
“Xiao Lu, where are you going?” Lin Cui chased after him with red eyes.
But Yan Qinglu slammed the door shut and said in a low voice, “Don’t follow me.”
This was the first time Yan Qinglu had shown such disdain toward her and spoke to her in such a cold tone.
So Lin Cui stood there in a daze, sitting on the cold ground, covering her face and crying softly.
Yan Qinglu hadn’t even put on his coat. As he walked onto the street, the cold wind pierced through his thin sweater like knives, quickly numbing his senses.
*Quack, quack, quack…* The ducks’ cries made Yan Qinglu stop in his tracks.
He halted, stiffly turned around.
Wan Tong was running towards him, Da Huang by her side, happily racing with her, followed by a group of quacking ducks.
“Yan Qinglu.”
Wan Tong barely stood in front of him before he pulled her into his arms.
“You’re dressed too lightly.” Wan Tong felt like she was being held by a block of ice, her voice trembling.
In fact, she had been wandering nearby for over an hour, already feeling her ears about to fall off from the cold.
Yan Qinglu pressed his cheek against her icy ear, warming it with his own, and asked in a low voice, “How long have you been here?”
Wan Tong blushed slightly, stuttering, “Just… just a moment… I was just passing by.”
Yan Qinglu raised an eyebrow silently but didn’t expose her.
Being so close to him, Wan Tong smelled a medicinal scent on him and hastily pushed him away. “Are you injured?”
Upon closer inspection, there was a five-centimeter-long red mark on the underside of his chin, and he had rolled up his sleeves, revealing several bleeding scratches on his arm!
Wan Tong was horrified at the sight, her eyes instantly turning red. She held his cold hand tightly. “Yan Qinglu, come home with me, I have medicine.”
Yan Qinglu stared blankly at her for a few seconds, his fingertips trembling slightly. He touched her moist eye corner and then grinned.
In the end, Yan Qinglu didn’t go to Wan Tong’s house but went to Chen Hou’s house instead.
Chen Hou’s parents had passed away early, leaving only a grandmother in her seventies. She had no prejudice against Yan Qinglu and sometimes helped their group with their injuries.
When Yan Qinglu brought Wan Tong in, Chen Hou was massaging his grandmother, finally making her happy.
After all, not being able to return on New Year’s Eve had worried her a lot.
Seeing Yan Qinglu injured, Grandma Chen hurriedly took out the ‘ancestral secret recipe’ Wan Hua oil1.
Wan Tong felt a bit skeptical seeing those medicines, but since neither Yan Qinglu nor Chen Hou said anything, she kept quiet.
Grandma Chen glanced at Wan Tong several times, finally couldn’t help but speak, “Are you the Fourth child of the Yan family?”
Wan Tong was taken aback, nodded, “Grandma, I am.”
Many people in the village called her Little Fourth Yan.
With a large population in Datang Village and the two families far apart, she had actually never met Grandma Chen before.
Grandma Chen nodded heavily, then suddenly glared at Chen Hou, and lightly patted Yan Qinglu’s shoulder, “Alright, spill it. How did you trick the little girl here?”
Wan Tong was dumbfounded and instinctively spoke, “Grandma, please don’t hit Yan Qinglu…”
Grandma Chen laughed, “Silly girl, he’s tough, he won’t die. Don’t be fooled by his pitiful look. They can endure this much.”
Wan Tong : “…”
Yan Qinglu twitched his eye corner but didn’t say anything.
Chen Hou rubbed his nose, “Grandma, I really didn’t do anything…”
Grandma Chen almost rolled her eyes, “Sure, you didn’t do anything, it was all Xiao Lu alone.”
She finished speaking and turned to Wan Tong, “I guarantee you, Xiao Lu definitely wants to trick you into being his wife. You have to be careful, keep your eyes wide open, they are not good people.”
“Grandma, who speaks about their grandson like that?” Chen Hou pulled at Grandma Chen’s sleeve, unable to laugh or cry.
Yan Qinglu couldn’t help but rub his temples, almost getting up and leaving.
But he glanced at Wan Tong, who was covering her mouth and giggling, and a smile appeared on his face. “Grandma is right, don’t let me trick you to bring you home.”
“Don’t be silly,” Wan Tong said cheerfully.
The two of them stayed with Grandma Chen for a while before leaving. Chen Hou even handed over his own cotton jacket that he was about to throw away to Yan Qinglu.
But Grandma Chen took it back and replaced it with a brand new expensive black down jacket that Chen Hou hadn’t even worn yet.
Chen Hou felt distressed and looked at Yan Qinglu leaving, tears almost falling.
There were no street lights in the village, so they had to rely on the flashlight Grandma Chen gave them to see the way.
After about twenty minutes, they arrived at Wan Tong’s house. Wan Tong handed the flashlight to Yan Qinglu, “Are you really going home tonight?”
“Yeah,” Yan Qinglu hadn’t mentioned what had happened at his home just now, and Wan Tong didn’t ask.
“Then be careful.” It was his mother who beat him, and she couldn’t advise him to resist. All she could say was, “Don’t just foolishly let people beat you. You should know how to avoid it. I used to be stupidly beaten by my mom, but my Youngest Sister would run away, so she has never been beaten.”
Yan Qinglu watched her lips move, feeling a tickle in his heart.
He looked down at her for a moment, then suddenly bent down, his arm passing around her waist, his hand pressing against her back, pulling her into his arms.
“Yan Wantong, I’ll take it as you wanting to be in a relationship with me.” He whispered in her ear, the heat from his lips making her shiver, her ears tingling.
Wan Tong lifted her head slightly, her chin against his shoulder, a bit dazed by his seduction. She reached out and placed her hand on his back, making a muffled sound of agreement.
Yan Qinglu seemed to have expected her to agree, his arm tightening around her as if he wanted to press her into his body.
He chuckled softly a few times, his chest vibrating slightly, making Wan Tong feel his genuine joy, feeling a bit silly.
But the next second, Wan Tong heard his lowered voice, tinged with a hint of gloominess.
“I heard someone came to your house to propose?”
“…”
rokumi’s note : by the way, Yan Qinglu’s Yan is 晏 (yàn), different from Yan five siblings’ Yan which is 严 (yán)
- an external analgesic (also known as Thousand Flowers Healing Oil) that helps bring temporary relief from aches and pains of muscles and joints from simple backache, arthritis, strains, sprains, and bruises. ↩︎