So, You’re the Henpecked One? 38

Chapter 38

Although their union was quite shocking, their life together had actually stumbled along, and it was even quite good.

The two of them each had their own things to do, and every time Lin Zhao came back from work, Chu Xihuan would teach her to read and write. The days passed exceptionally quickly, and even their relationship became more harmonious and familiar.

After getting married, Lin Zhao seemed to have started a new life. People slowly forgot what she used to be like, only thinking that after she got married, someone at home was disciplining her, and she was no longer the loafer she used to be.

However, seeing Lin Zhao’s life getting better and better, there were still some people who couldn’t stand it. Occasionally, when they ran into Lin Zhao, they would make sarcastic remarks, both overtly and covertly, almost explicitly saying that just because she looked like a decent person now, she shouldn’t forget what a rotten person she used to be.

Among those who couldn’t stand Lin Zhao and the others, the members of the Lin clan were the most prominent. However, perhaps because they had been warned by Lin Yongchang, those people didn’t dare to go too far, just making sarcastic remarks to make people unhappy and annoy them.

One day, when Chu Xihuan was handing over her painting to the person who had come to pick it up, she ran into some members of the Lin clan passing by. They had watched with their own eyes as this Lin family went from its initial dilapidated state to its current vibrant one. Not only did Lin Zhao have a decent job, but even this Chu Xihuan, who stayed at home and earned money by selling paintings and copying books, was said to have a considerable income. Otherwise, their family’s life wouldn’t be so good.

Ordinary families couldn’t even eat meat a few times a year, but they bought it back to eat every now and then! Look at that Lin Zhao, how well-nourished she was by all that meat!

“Hmph, this house often has all sorts of strange people coming to the door. Those who don’t know might think you’re up to some shady business.” The member of the Lin clan who spoke looked at Chu Xihuan and the person who had come to pick up the painting with a very suggestive gaze. After speaking, he even thought he was very humorous and laughed with a bit of a smirk.

Chu Xihuan handed the painting to the person and, at his words, looked up at the member of the Lin clan who had spoken. “Do you think you’re very funny?” she asked seriously.

Not just her, but even the person who had come to pick up the painting also looked over with an expressionless gaze, without any hint of shame or embarrassment at being slandered. All that was there was a sense of helplessness at why there were so many people with problems in this world.

Their reaction was so calm that it made the person who had spoken freeze, clearly not expecting that someone would not rush to defend themselves under such circumstances, but would instead question him.

“W-what do you mean?” Once things didn’t go according to his plan, the unexpected turn of events would make him start to feel guilty, and even his speech would become stuttered.

Chu Xihuan looked at him with a very tired expression, with a hint of helplessness and annoyance. “I mean, if you don’t have the brains, don’t come out and show off your intelligence. It will only make you look inferior. It’s annoying to even look at you.”

When she said the last sentence, Chu Xihuan’s tone was really very annoyed. These members of the Lin clan were not very harmful, just purely disgusting. Even with Chu Xihuan’s good upbringing, she was about to lose her temper at their disgusting actions.

Being looked at by such a beautiful woman with a gaze as if she were looking at a rat in a sewer, and with that impatient tone that seemed to have struck a nerve, his face turned the color of a pig’s liver. He glared at Chu Xihuan and started to speak without thinking.

“You dare to do it but you don’t dare to let people talk about it? This one today, that one tomorrow. I even saw someone follow you into the house a few days ago and stay inside for several shichen (approx. 2 hours)! Who knows what you were doing inside? You’re so brazen. Aren’t you afraid of breaking Lin Zhao’s heart!”

His voice was so loud that even the neighbors who heard him came out to watch. They were too embarrassed to get too close, but they still tried to pay attention to the situation from a distance.

Chu Xihuan slowly closed her eyes. She felt that she was really about to lose her temper.

However, seeing her like this, the man laughed arrogantly, thinking that she was in the wrong. He continued to spout nonsense, wishing he could describe Chu Xihuan as a woman with extremely loose morals, as if by dragging her down into the mud, he would have a chance to possess her.

Chu Xihuan composed herself a little and turned to the person who had come to pick up the painting. “You can go back first. Tell your young miss that she can come and pick up the other painting in ten days.”

The person was holding a painting box. At her words, he nodded. Before leaving, he gave the member of the Lin clan a look as if he were looking at something dirty.

The man was greatly stimulated. He had originally thought that by teasing the two of them, he would be able to see them frantically trying to prove their innocence, and then he would magnanimously say that it was all a joke. But these two didn’t play by the rules and even looked at him with such a gaze, which severely hurt his pride.

After the person who had come to pick up the painting left, Chu Xihuan turned to look at the man, her temper no longer able to be contained.

“Did you eat shit for breakfast this morning? Or is it not just breakfast, but all three of your meals are mainly shit? Otherwise, I really can’t imagine why your mouth is so foul when you open it.”

“Heaven gave you a mouth not to spew shit. If you really can’t stop, you should just find a rock and kill yourself, instead of coming out and making a fool of yourself.”

Chu Xihuan’s tone was sarcastic, and her gaze toward the man was as if she were looking at a clown.

“You…”

The man was so angry at Chu Xihuan’s words that he was about to curse, but he was suddenly interrupted by a stunned voice.

“Xi-Xihuan?”

Lin Zhao, who had appeared at some point, looked at Chu Xihuan with a mix of shock and disbelief, as if she were trying to determine if the person in front of her had been possessed by something dirty.

Her Xihuan had never cursed like that before!

Seeing the suddenly appeared Lin Zhao, Chu Xihuan was speechless.

She suddenly looked at the man with a cold gaze. If it weren’t for his sick mind, how could she have shown such a side to Lin Zhao!

The man shivered at her cold gaze, as if he were being stared at by a fierce beast, and a chill ran down his spine. But looking at them, he felt that it was too shameful for a woman to make him feel this way. “What are you looking at? Two freaks who like women. Don’t you dare infect us with some strange disease!” he said angrily.

Lin Zhao couldn’t be bothered with her shock at Chu Xihuan’s change. She turned and punched the man in the face. The man was caught off guard and was actually punched in the eye, which made him see stars.

Chu Xihuan looked at her action and rubbed her forehead with a headache.

She had at least just cursed a couple of times. This person had just gone straight to hitting him. It probably wouldn’t be so easy to resolve.

“Lin Zhao, catch.” Chu Xihuan quickly threw a carrying pole to Lin Zhao.

Since it wouldn’t be easy to resolve anyway, it was better to get her money’s worth first.

The two of them moved so quickly that the people around them didn’t even have time to react, and Lin Zhao’s carrying pole was already on the man.

Lin Zhao always remembered what Xihuan had said. Don’t hit the head, but anywhere else was fair game. So she naturally didn’t hold back.

Lin Zhao was not weak to begin with, and after marrying Chu Xihuan, their family’s meals had greatly improved. Her daily work of planing wood was also a physical job, so her physical fitness was much better than before.

She quickly hit the man, and she even followed what Chu Xihuan had taught her before, about where to hit to cause the most pain without crippling him.

“Ouch, ouch! Stop! Stop!”

The man was so beaten by Lin Zhao that he was about to cry. He jumped up and down to avoid Lin Zhao’s carrying pole. Seeing that Lin Zhao was not stopping, he cursed angrily, “What, did I hit the mark? Two freaks who like women. You should be drowned in a pig cage!”

Hearing her say this, Lin Zhao gritted her teeth even harder, a fierce glint in her eyes.

“Are you still living a hundred years ago? Wake up, times have changed,” Chu Xihuan sneered. “You don’t like it? Then you can just go and die. Do you think everyone has to revolve around you?”

The man couldn’t take the beating anymore. He saw an opportunity and ran out of Lin Zhao’s attack range, still shouting threats as he ran. But when he saw Lin Zhao throw the carrying pole, his steps quickened.

“You just wait! I won’t let you go!”

The man’s voice came from afar.

The neighboring onlookers were also a little stunned. They clearly hadn’t expected Lin Zhao and the others to just start fighting at the slightest disagreement. When Lin Zhao’s gaze fell on them, those people also shrank their necks and went back into their houses, no longer secretly watching.

Who knew if Lin Zhao would be so unruly as to not even spare them.

The neighbors sighed in their hearts. After such a long time, they had thought that Lin Zhao had changed for the better, but seeing her fierce posture earlier, wasn’t that still the same street loafer as before?

Seeing that the neighbors had all gone back into their houses, Lin Zhao went to pick up the carrying pole she had thrown and then turned to look at Chu Xihuan, hesitating to speak.

Chu Xihuan was speechless.

“Go back inside,” Chu Xihuan said and went in first.

Seeing this, Lin Zhao quickly followed. Then, afraid that the man would come back for a surprise attack, she also bolted the gate before cautiously glancing at Chu Xihuan.

She still couldn’t forget the sight of Xihuan’s cold face as she cursed earlier. She just felt that those crude words shouldn’t have come from Xihuan’s mouth. After all, they didn’t match at all.

“If you have something to say, just say it,” Chu Xihuan glanced at her and said in annoyance.

She was already in a bad mood, and this person was acting like she wanted to say something but didn’t. What, was she scared by her appearance earlier? Or did she think that her appearance earlier was not elegant enough?

A hint of displeasure flashed in Chu Xihuan’s eyes. She hadn’t even disliked Lin Zhao yet. If Lin Zhao dared to dislike her, she would not let her off so easily.

“Xi-Xihuan, did you curse?” Lin Zhao asked nervously, clutching the carrying pole. She felt that she had to confirm it first.

Chu Xihuan was speechless.

She looked at her coldly. “What, you didn’t hear me? Or do you want me to repeat it for you?”

“Mmm-mmm!” Lin Zhao quickly shook her head, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her. “Xihuan is so good at cursing!”

And she was so imposing at that time! She herself was stunned! She figured that if she were the one being cursed, she would have been angered to death!

Chu Xihuan: “?”

Chu Xihuan was speechless.

It took less than a breath for her to go from confusion to speechlessness. Looking at Lin Zhao’s adoring expression, Chu Xihuan was at a loss for words.

This person had such an adoring expression. Then why did she have such a shocked and stunned expression earlier? Wasn’t it because she couldn’t accept her cursing?

“But Xihuan, I thought you would be more elegant when you cursed,” Lin Zhao said thoughtfully.

She had been reading and writing for a while now and already understood the behavior of those scholars who cared about their face. For example, she had once seen scholars cursing at each other, and their words were much more euphemistic. If it were Lin Zhao, her brain wouldn’t have been able to process it on the spot, and she wouldn’t have even thought that the other person was cursing her. In fact, she would have even thought it sounded quite nice.

Chu Xihuan looked at her speechlessly. “The person opposite is not some learned person. Would they understand if I were elegant?”

They might even be laughed at for speaking in a scholarly manner and being a bookworm. That would be so unimposing.

Cursing at different people in different ways, wasn’t that common sense?

Lin Zhao was silent, and she even reflected and put herself in her shoes. She felt that if Xihuan had cursed her in an elegant way, she really might not have understood.

Mmm, but Xihuan probably looks very beautiful when she curses me too!

Lin Zhao smiled at her fawningly, put down the carrying pole, and came up to Chu Xihuan, asking cautiously, “Then can I curse in the future?”

Actually, she had really wanted to curse earlier, but thinking of Xihuan’s rule against her using crude language, she had in the end just kept her mouth shut.

She was afraid that Xihuan would hit her on the mouth again, and in front of so many people.

At her words, Chu Xihuan’s eyes slid over to her, and she said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “You can, but you can’t use crude language.”

Wouldn’t that be like those scholars, who had to be roundabout when they cursed, going in circles?

What was the point of cursing like that? What if the other person didn’t realize it? Wouldn’t it have no effect?

And could she learn that kind of elegant cursing? Lin Zhao didn’t have much confidence.

Lin Zhao’s brow furrowed, and she puffed out her cheeks in defiance. “But Xihuan can curse.”

Xihuan was not fair at all. Why could she curse and she couldn’t!

So many things were not fair!

“What, you have a problem with that?” Chu Xihuan said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, pinching her cheek and pulling it to the side.

Lin Zhao was stared at by her like this, and she felt her hair stand on end. She immediately shook her head like a rattle-drum. “N-no.”

Even if she did, she wouldn’t dare to say it to this Xihuan!

So scary, as if she would slap her on the head the next moment and then tell her to get lost in annoyance.

**

Author’s Note:

Zhaozhao: Pouting in dissatisfaction