Xu Changqing opened her eyes, which were filled with confusion. Her throbbing head left her feeling dazed. Just now, she'd had a dream—a long, long dream that felt both real and illusory.
In the dream, even childhood memories she had long forgotten replayed one by one. The only thing that was different was the future—especially the future from this year onward. 'How tragic...'
A sudden shuffling of footsteps from the outer room broke her train of thought. After a moment's pause, she slipped off the bed as quietly as she could, feeling like she was about to catch a thief.
As she slowly approached the doorway, she could see a pair of feet in canvas shoes in the outer room through the door curtain. She didn't have to guess. It was definitely that pale, scrawny brother-in-law of hers.
Just as Xu Changqing was about to ignore him and turn back to bed, she froze. If she remembered correctly, today was the first day of the wheat harvest, and it wasn't quitting time yet.
And even if it were quitting time? During the harvest, families brought meals out to the workers in the fields. No man would make a special trip home. They would all just take the opportunity to rest wherever they were.
'And what about her?'
She was under sixteen, so the production team leader had her Aunt bring her home early. 'But him? He isn't the type to walk quietly out of consideration for others.'
'Besides, what's a son-in-law like him doing in the east room, where the elders sleep?' A thought struck Xu Changqing, and she quickly turned back, tiptoeing toward the doorway.
'Why do I feel like someone's watching me?' Having just entered the east room, Fang Jun stopped in his tracks. He instinctively glanced toward the doorway and was struck dumb.
"...Oh, it's you, Changqing." Fang Jun cleared his throat. "You gave me a scare. How are you feeling? Are you doing any better?"
"What are you looking for?" Leaning against the doorframe, Xu Changqing held the door curtain with one hand and gestured inside with the other. "Want me to give you a hand?"
"No, no, it's fine." Looking at her eyes, which seemed to see right through him, Fang Jun chuckled sheepishly. "Your sister told me to find a pair of Grandpa's old shoes to change into."
"Grandpa's old shoes, huh?" Xu Changqing stood up straight, let go of the curtain, and turned away. "Then you're in the wrong room. Grandpa hasn't been staying here lately."
"Oh, really? Your sister didn't make that clear. Forget it, I'll stop looking. I'll just make do. Are you heading out or staying in?"
"You're giving up?"
"Yeah, I'm giving up."
Xu Changqing watched Fang Jun walk out of the east room with a peculiar expression. Seeing him about to hurry out of the house, she bent down, grabbed a long bench from the side, and hurled it at him.
"AH! Are you insane?!" Leaping back a few steps, Fang Jun clutched his chest, his heart pounding, as he stared at the long bench that had smashed to pieces on the floor. "If I hadn't been so quick, that would've hit..."
"Hah," Xu Changqing sneered. Without a word, she grabbed another long bench from beside the square table and raised it to strike again, frightening Fang Jun so badly he cut himself off and scrambled for the door.
Seeing this, Xu Changqing hoisted the long bench and gave chase. As soon as she was out the door, she raised the bench high and flung it after him with all her might.
Barely dodging the flying bench, Fang Jun shrieked, "Murder! Xu Changqing is trying to kill me! Help! Help me, someone! Anyone!"
Meanwhile, Bai the Fifth had found Bai Xiulan, but he was still feeling uneasy. He was nagging his aunt to walk slower when, suddenly, they heard someone up ahead shouting about murder and calling for help.
"Aunt, is someone shouting up there?"
Bai Xiulan, her mind preoccupied with her niece's heatstroke, shook her head noncommittally. "I didn't hear anything. You must have imagined it... no, wait. It does sound like someone is shouting for help."
"See? I told you! My hearing is excellent. My uncle says... Hey, Aunt, why are you running? Slow down! Why do you always have to get involved in every commotion? This is infuriating..."
"That's Jun! It's your brother-in-law shouting! Sangouzi, you're quick on your feet. Run ahead and see what's happened to your brother-in-law! Go on, faster! I can keep up!"
'That guy?' he thought. 'He's the type to hop around and scream for his life over a single leech. What kind of serious trouble could he possibly get into?' Seeing his aunt's frantic expression, Bai the Fifth reluctantly picked up his pace.
Bai the Fifth ran toward the shouting, glancing back at Bai Xiulan every now and then. During one of these backward looks, he saw a sight that nearly made him stumble and fall flat on his face.
His bullheaded cousin was chasing Fang Jun—a man a full head taller than her—around the yard, brandishing a broken bench. 'Seeing as that idiot still has plenty of energy,' he thought, 'might as well let them keep playing.'
For the time being, Bai the Fifth decided not to intervene. He even raised an arm and waved at Bai Xiulan, who was hurrying along behind him, shouting, "Aunt, it's fine! They're just messing around!"
'Messing around my ass! Who the hell is messing around?! I'm about to die here!' Dragging an arm that felt all but useless, Fang Jun cursed silently through the pain but didn't dare slow down.
"Fifth... Bai the Fifth! Brother Bai, I'm begging you, please come stop Changqing! Mother-in-law! Hurry, Changqing's gone crazy! Your mother is coming! Stop! Stop it!"
Bai the Fifth rolled his eyes. "You know Changqing's temper. You must have been the one who pissed her off." 'What an idiot,' he thought. 'Why is he running in circles instead of just getting out of the yard?'
"My lady... I'll call you my ancestor... Help me! Mother-in-law, hurry, someone's going to die! Xu Sanya is a murderer! Xu Changqing is killing me!"
Seeing Bai Xiulan getting close, and having enjoyed the show long enough, Bai the Fifth grew concerned for his cousin's reputation. As Fang Jun's shouts became more and more outrageous, he quickly decided to step in.
"Alright, that's enough. Your aunt's almost here. Stop, stop! You can fight again next time..."
Suddenly, with a loud THWACK, the seat of the bench Xu Changqing had been holding smashed squarely against Fang Jun's head before clattering to the ground.
Bai the Fifth's jaw dropped.
"AAAAH!" With a blood-curdling scream, Fang Jun reached up in disbelief to touch his head. He pulled his hand away to see it covered in blood, and then his eyes rolled back and he collapsed.
Bai the Fifth's eyes went wide.
Staring down at the fallen Fang Jun, her eyes dark, Xu Changqing walked over and kicked him. Seeing him react, she turned and headed back toward the house.
'Whoa! You're just going back inside like that?' Bai the Fifth snapped out of his stupor, rushing forward and hissing, "Are you crazy? Come help me! I'll carry him to the clinic."
"No need. I'll go get a handful of ash to pack on it. That'll be enough."
"Really?" Bai the Fifth crouched by Fang Jun's head, asking worriedly, "Will that actually stop the bleeding?"
"If it doesn't, we'll just toss him on the back mountain." Xu Changqing blinked, signaling for him to watch Fang Jun's eyelids. "Later, we can just say he wandered into the mountains on his own and never came back. Problem solved."
Bai the Fifth reached out and poked one of Fang Jun's tightly shut eyelids. A grin of understanding spread across his face as he agreed, "I think that's a great plan. Let's do it. What did he do this time?"
"He has sticky fingers. I caught him."
"Serves him right! Killing him would be justified. Why couldn't he do something else with his life? Oh crap, my aunt's about to enter the yard. Quick, I'll drag him inside, you go and meet her."
"..." 'Ah, Brother Fifth. Just as naive as in the dream,' she thought. Xu Changqing lowered her gaze, deciding to go along with his plan for now—even though she knew it was impossible to cover up, and had no intention of doing so.