The Kindhearted Girl Gets a Wife 1

Chapter 1

July was the height of the hot season. A red haze floated over the continuous green mountains, as if a basin of fire had been splashed into the clouds.

A large bus tore a gash through the fiery clouds, emerging slowly from behind the green mountains. The destination was posted on its dust-covered windshield: Pingshun.

Pei Yunle rested her head against the window, taking in the familiar yet foreign scenery of the small town as it passed by, until the bus finally came to a stop beside a solitary road sign.

They called Pingshun a town, but it was more like a forgotten corner of the world. Looking up, all you could see was an endless expanse of mountains. She hadn’t seen a single decent building the entire way; it was no different from a mountain village.

“Tch, it’s been so many years, and it’s still such a dump?”

A wave of irritation washed over her. She raked a hand messily through her pink hair, grabbed her suitcase, and left the dilapidated bus for good. Before her was a straight, wide road flanked by two-story bungalows. A massive banyan tree sat squarely between two of the houses.

The weather was sweltering. She hadn’t even taken two steps, but just standing in the sun was enough to drench her in sweat. Pei Yunle glanced at her phone, feeling like the navigation to her destination involved eighteen turns and twenty-four loops. The thought of why she was here made her refuse to contact her designated pickup, the suffocating memories still vivid in her mind.

Pei Yunle—a name that suggested a life of pleasure and bliss. She had struggled through more than a decade of schooling, followed by five years of medical university. Finally graduated and liberated, she was ready to release all her pent-up stress. She didn’t look for a job. Instead, she went to a salon, dyed her hair pink, got a lip piercing, and cycled through all sorts of styles. She’d stay out until three or four in the morning and wouldn’t get up until five or six in the evening. After clashing spectacularly with every relative in the family, she was finally brought to heel by a slap from her mother, Lin Zilan. With a grand wave of her hand, her mother exiled her back to their old home in Pingshun, for the sake of some peace and quiet. She also gave Grandma Liu a sum of money to have Pei Yunle board with her for a while.

It wasn’t exactly her “old home,” just a place she and Lin Zilan had lived for a time when she was a child. After her mother’s job in the city stabilized, she had brought Pei Yunle back to live with her. Before that, she had been fostered with Grandma Liu.

Grandma Liu. The name felt so foreign to Pei Yunle. The old woman had no children of her own and often looked after other people’s kids to earn a meager income. Pei Yunle had been one of them.

Right now, all she wanted was to go home, not stay in some stranger’s house. She muttered under her breath, wiping away the beads of sweat on her nose. She tossed her suitcase aside, her mood so foul she felt like stripping naked and running two laps around the banyan tree, screaming and crying the whole way.

On the other side of the banyan tree, a few aunties had gathered on small stools, cracking melon seeds. Two or three idle men stood among them, while several children chased each other and played nearby.

“Hey! Xiaochun, where’d you get those snacks? Did you steal money from me again to buy them?” a woman in an apron called out to her daughter, pointing at her bag of chips.

The child shrank back. “No, Big Sis Chen gave them to me.”

“Which Big Sis Chen? Sounds like you’re close,” a man, who was watching the fun, chimed in.

“Who else could it be? There are only a few convenience stores in this town. Besides the ones run by the old grannies up the road, there’s only that one at the southernmost end of town.”

“Oh, you mean that mute girl,” another woman said, grabbing a handful of melon seeds from her basket. She stuffed them into her mouth, cracked them with her front teeth, and spat the shells carelessly at her feet.

“Did you say thank you to her, Xiaochun?” the first woman said, patting her child’s shoulder.

A man glanced at the yellow bag of chips with disdain. “What’s there to thank her for? Who knows if she put something in them. Don’t come crying if you get sick.”

“That’s what I was thinking. Last time, I saw her holding Liu Daqiang’s hand. What kind of decent girl dresses like that?”

“She may not be able to talk, but she’s got plenty of tricks up her sleeve. Wears nothing but a camisole all day. Who knows if she’s trying to seduce someone.”

“You men are bigger gossips than us women,” a previously silent woman remarked, smacking her lips.

This again. Pei Yunle’s eyebrows were practically twisted into a knot. She shot a disgusted look at the loose-lipped men. What they were saying was identical to the harassing private messages she received.

—What kind of decent person dyes their hair, and pink at that?

—You posted the video online, isn’t that for people to see?

—Dressing so skimpily, which sugar daddy are you trying to hook? Me spreading rumors about you is just free advertising.

…

At this moment, their faces merged with those of her online harassers.

Pei Yunle turned her head. “She wears a camisole, so she’s trying to seduce you? Then what about you, baring your chest and showing off that big beer belly? How is that any different from sexual harassment?”

The steady, cool female voice came from behind the tree, and the men’s smiles instantly froze.

“Who the hell are you!”

“I was about to ask what the hell you are. Are you that close to her? Are you her son? How do you know so much about her?” Pei Yunle kicked her suitcase out of the way and stood up calmly, meeting the men’s stares. “Or is this something you’d say to your own mother?”

Pei Yunle dared to talk back to her own relatives, let alone curse out a few complete strangers. She was already in a bad mood, and this was the perfect outlet to vent it all.

These men had lived in the town for decades, and the women around them all dressed modestly. It was their first time seeing someone with pink hair and an alternative, “Y2K” style. And she was tall, too—at 170cm, she was nearly as tall as them. Her body was adorned with a pile of colorful plastic bracelets and necklaces, her face was covered in dark, heavy makeup that obscured her features, and her hair was clipped back with numerous colorful barrettes.

Moreover, the girl radiated an aura of impatience and low pressure, as if she might throw a punch at any second. The men glanced at the suitcase lying on the ground.

She’s trouble. And she’s got a sharp tongue.

The men, united in their vulgarity, quickly reached a silent consensus.

“You’re an outsider, what are you butting in for? Mind your own business.”

Pei Yunle took a step forward. “My mouth is on my own body. I dare you to try and control it.” As she spoke, her lips parted, and the stud below her lip glinted in the sunlight.

“This is all you’ll ever amount to in your life. When you can’t have something, you belittle and humiliate others with vulgar words out of jealousy. Feels good to satisfy that pathetic little ego of yours, doesn’t it?”

Xiaochun’s mother squeezed over from the side and patted Pei Yunle’s shoulder. “Miss, don’t be so angry. Everyone, let’s just stop fighting. Just think of these uncles as old-fashioned.”

“Old-fashioned? Isn’t that word an insult in itself?” Pei Yunle snorted, shrugging her shoulder away from the woman’s touch.

“We’re elders, we can’t be bothered to argue with a little brat like you. Go back to where you came from. You’re an eyesore, with no manners or decency at all,” a burly man behind her said, the flesh on his face jiggling as he spoke.

His words made it seem as if Pei Yunle was the one refusing to let the matter go.

“I call you out on your big belly, and you push your luck, acting all magnanimous now, are you?!” Pei Yunle was sure these men wouldn’t dare to get physical, so she decided to let loose. Worst case, she’d fight. She planned to land a kick and then run for it, coming back for her luggage later.

Just as Pei Yunle was plotting her escape route, she took a step back, only to find her heel stopped short.

She cursed under her breath and glanced back hastily, freezing for a second.

The gossips had gone back to their melon seeds. The women were scolding their children, and the remaining men acted as if nothing had happened, continuing on their way west with their potbellies, probably off to find a new topic of conversation.

Sometime during the confrontation, a girl had appeared behind her. A light green ribbon tied her hair into a side braid that fell over her shoulder. Sweat dampened the wisps of hair at her temples. Her collarbones made the two thin straps of her top stand out, the delicate straps effortlessly holding up a smoky-blue slip dress. She stood against the light of the setting sun, looking both tousled and full of life. Even the green ribbon seemed like a newly sprouted branch, shining brightly in the light.

The previously noisy crowd had scattered like birds and beasts. It was quiet under the tree again, with only the occasional sound of a car from the road.

Pei Yunle hadn’t yet figured out what had happened, until the girl held a phone screen up to her face.

The screen was covered in cracks, the fine lines looking as if they had grown out of the characters themselves—Are you Ms. Pei?

The anger in Pei Yunle’s eyes turned into full-blown vigilance. Someone actually recognized her. She didn’t reply, her gaze sweeping over the other girl’s face.

Seeing that Pei Yunle wasn’t responding, the girl raised her other hand, pointed to her own throat, and then waved her hand back and forth. The movement split the light into slivers that reflected in Pei Yunle’s dark pupils.

The meaning was clear—I can’t speak.

Pei Yunle looked back at the wooden stools under the banyan tree. It belatedly dawned on her that this was the “mute girl” they had been talking about.

“What do you want?” Perhaps out of a sense of kinship, her tone softened slightly.

The girl quickly typed a reply: [To pick you up]. She paused for a moment, then added another sentence: [Do you know whose house you’re staying at?]

Pei Yunle squatted down and scratched her hair. “I don’t know the family’s name. I just know the old lady’s surname is Liu.”

She suddenly felt like she had just been released from prison and had to be identified before she could be claimed.

“Hey, hey, hey!”

The girl looked slender, but her arm strength was no joke. She bent down and lifted the suitcase, which had been napping by the roadside, with one smooth motion. Pei Yunle’s eyes widened in shock. The suitcase was made of a metal alloy and was heavy on its own, and it was stuffed to the brim with clothes. It was heavy enough to make anyone grimace in pain.

“I can get it myself. Thanks, uh, thanks,” Pei Yunle said, forcing a smile as she quickly took the handle back from the girl.

Standing side-by-side, Pei Yunle realized she was half a head taller than the other girl. She couldn’t help but look down slightly to see her. Now that the girl wasn’t backlit, the warm light shone on her face. Perhaps due to the lingering evening heat, a blush colored her cheeks, like the red flush on a green apple.

In the muggy, heavy air, there was a wisp of freshness. Pei Yunle was reminded of the scent of green papaya.

The thought of the winding, eighteen-turn navigation route resurfaced. Pei Yunle grabbed the girl’s wrist. “Are we walking there?”

The girl shook her head and pointed into the distance. Pei Yunle followed her rounded fingertip and saw a small white car parked there, looking a bit dusty.

The gloom that had plagued her all day finally lifted. It felt as if her suffering was about to end. She hadn’t expected this girl to be so well-off.

They crossed the road and walked straight toward the car. Despite being burdened by the large suitcase, Pei Yunle’s spirits were high, and she walked a little faster. She reached the trunk and had just touched the car when she saw someone get out of the driver’s seat, their eyes fixed on her.

In a daze, she heard a rumbling start-up sound from behind. Pei Yunle instinctively looked back and saw the girl swing a long leg over and sit down… on the three-wheeled vehicle behind the sedan.

The little red three-wheeler, however, was spotless, its body even reflecting the light.

“Huh? Wha—?” Pei Yunle’s briefly relaxed brow furrowed again, a deep line forming between her eyes as she stared blankly.

Seeing her standing motionless, the girl must have thought the suitcase was too heavy to lift. She hopped off the vehicle nimbly, bent over slightly, grabbed the handle, and with a heave of her arms, swung it up in an arc. With a thud, the massive thing was smoothly placed in the corner of the cargo bed.

Pei Yunle swallowed hard, her throat bobbing.

“So, um, what’s your name?”

The girl turned her head, her eyes clear and bright, like black pebbles at the bottom of a water vat. This time, she didn’t type on the spot but opened her notes app. Displayed there were three solitary characters—Chen Qingtang.

The mute girl, the convenience store owner, Chen Qingtang.

The fragmented pieces of information connected into a single thread in Pei Yunle’s mind. She looked at the suitcase, then added another item to that thread: Astonishing arm strength.