"Sun Jiaming, are you really going to get involved in this?"
Zhang Da thought for a moment before asking Sun Jiaming, still unwilling to back down.
Sun Jiaming nodded. Since he'd stumbled upon this, he had to intervene. He couldn't just stand by and watch a perfectly fine girl be ruined by Zhang Da. 'But a thought crossed his mind. This Zhou Gu'er is pretty feisty. If Zhang Da really did drag her into the house, maybe she wouldn't be the one to get the short end of the stick. Just as she said, she'd surely fight for her life.'
Zhang Da looked from Sun Jiaming to Zhou Gu'er, his gaze turning sinister.
'Sun Jiaming has no connection to the Zhou family. He doesn't associate with Zhou Mazi, I know that for a fact. And he barely knows Zhou Gu'er. So why is he so determined to help her?'
'It's obvious. He must have fallen for her pretty face. That Zhou Gu'er, she's mine! This Sun Jiaming actually dares to try and steal her from me? I won't let him get away with it!'
His thoughts then turned to a hateful resentment for Zhou Gu'er. 'She's already my woman, yet she's out here seducing other men. What a shameless tramp. Just you wait. Once you're mine, I'll lock you up at home. If you dare say a single word to another man, I'll break your legs.'
Neither Sun Jiaming nor Zhou Gu'er knew what was going through Zhang Da's mind. If they had, Sun Jiaming might have charged forward and given him a beating.
Zhou Gu'er stood tall. She had never faced Zhang Da like this before. 'Don't tremble,' she told herself. 'Don't be afraid. This isn't my past life anymore. I will never again curl up and let him beat and curse me as he pleases.'
"Zhou Gu'er, you just wait! One of these days, I'll make you come begging to me!"
As resentful as Zhang Da was, he knew he couldn't do anything to Zhou Gu'er with Sun Jiaming around. But he was now more determined than ever. He would get his hands on her. It was just a matter of money, wasn't it? He had originally planned to get some money together by next year to go see Zhou Mazi, but it seemed he'd have to speed things up. He'd scrape together enough cash, buy Zhou Gu'er, and then it would be up to him whether he beat her, cursed her, or tormented her. Let's see what Zhou Gu'er could do then. Let's see if Sun Jiaming would still be able to step forward.
Although Zhou Gu'er didn't know the specifics of Zhang Da's scheme, she knew he wouldn't let this go. He would definitely take money to her foster father and buy her to be his wife.
Zhou Gu'er didn't regret kicking Zhang Da today; in fact, she felt she'd let him off too easy. The number of beatings she had endured from him in her past life was simply countless. Even after he got cancer and she was serving him in his sickbed, he would still frequently knock bowls out of her hands and slap her across the face whenever he was displeased. Her life back then had been so suffocating. She would not live like that again in this life.
'As for Zhang Da wanting to marry me... things didn't happen exactly like this in my past life, but he did buy me with money then, too. This time, I will not marry him. As for my foster father, I can definitely handle him.'
Sun Jiaming watched Zhang Da stomp angrily into his courtyard, then glanced at Zhou Gu'er with a hint of worry.
'I'm not afraid of Zhang Da's retaliation, but Zhou Gu'er is a woman. She's the one who could really get hurt.'
"Are you okay? Do you need me to walk you home?"
Sun Jiaming asked Zhou Gu'er.
Zhou Gu'er looked at him. Zhang Da had just said his name was Sun Jiaming. 'I've heard that name before. I can't believe it's him.'
She remembered that Sun Jiaming was considered someone of note in the village. He was very capable and had an older brother in the city. The brother had married a woman from the city and settled down there, and it seemed his parents had followed him. But she'd heard that Sun Jiaming never went to the city, choosing to stay in the village instead. Later, he seemed to have married a girl named something-Mei. They didn't have children for several years after getting married, and rumor had it their relationship wasn't very good.
She wouldn't have known any of this, but she later ran into a woman from the village who loved to gossip. The woman told her that Sun Jiaming's wife was apparently having an affair with one of her own relatives and had been caught red-handed. Sun Jiaming wanted a divorce, but she refused and made a huge scene. Zhou Gu'er didn't know what happened after that. If she hadn't known so little about the people in the village, she might not have even remembered this story.
'Sigh. He's such a warm-hearted, good young man. To think his life would turn out to be so unfortunate.'
"Thank you, I'm alright. But you—you dropped your things. I hope they didn't break?"
Only then did Zhou Gu'er notice the items on the ground. She quickly bent down to pick them up. He must have dropped them when he reached out to steady her.
"It's fine. This stuff is sturdy."
Seeing Zhou Gu'er helping him, Sun Jiaming quickly bent down as well.
Zhou Gu'er got a clear look: two bags of *caozi gao*—an old-fashioned style of sponge cake—and a jar of canned hawthorn.
In the village, these were considered luxury items. If not for her past life, the Zhou Gu'er of this moment would never have tasted sponge cake or canned fruit.
"My grandma isn't in the best health, and her teeth are bad," Sun Jiaming explained with a smile. "I went to the city today and bought these for her. She likes these two things."
He didn't know why he was explaining himself. 'This is the first time Zhou Gu'er and I have ever really spoken, isn't it?'
'He's quite a filial grandson,' Zhou Gu'er thought, giving him a small smile.
"You look pale. Are you feeling unwell? I have two bags of this sponge cake. Why don't you take one home to eat?"
As he spoke, he held out a bag of the sponge cake to Zhou Gu'er. The moment the words were out, he wanted to bite his own tongue off. 'Yes, Zhou Gu'er is attractive, but I honestly wasn't thinking about that. I didn't help her because of her looks. I would have stepped in for any other woman in the same situation. I just saw that she looked pale and unwell, and it made me think of my own grandmother, who's also in poor health. I felt sorry for her, and I subconsciously offered her a bag of cake. I know I was being impulsive. I wonder if she'll read too much into it. What if she misunderstands? That would be terrible. But taking it back now would be just as awkward.'
"I... I didn't mean anything by it. I just... I just saw that you weren't feeling well."
Sun Jiaming explained, though he was still stammering a little. His face had turned red.
"Thank you for your kindness. I know you didn't mean anything by it," Zhou Gu'er said, quickly waving her hands. "But I'm fine, I just caught a bit of a chill. I'll be fine in a day or two. I don't need this. You should hurry and take it back to your grandmother."
She hadn't expected Sun Jiaming to offer her the sponge cake.
She didn't misunderstand his intentions at all, because she remembered hearing in her past life that Sun Jiaming was a good man—sincere and loyal.
"Well, alright then."
Sun Jiaming took the bag back, still feeling a little awkward.
"I'll get going then. You should head back soon, too. And, uh... be careful of Zhang Da lately. He's full of nasty tricks."
Sun Jiaming added as a final warning.
Zhou Gu'er nodded. She forced herself not to look toward Zhang Da's courtyard again, admonishing herself, 'This place belonged to my past life. In this life, I will have nothing more to do with it.'
Watching Zhou Gu'er's retreating figure, Sun Jiaming shook his head. 'That Zhou Gu'er is so frail. The whole village knows Zhou Mazi treats her poorly. I hope she can marry into a good family someday. She's a capable girl, after all.'