Rebirth had given Li Wushuang endless confidence, a confidence that even the disappearance of her spiritual spring couldn't erase. But this time, she was truly scared.
Since losing her spiritual spring, her skin had worsened, especially her feet. They weren't just rough as before, but also had a faint smell. Lu Ming, who used to enjoy playing with her feet, had gradually lost interest.
She was desperate. She wanted to get pregnant during Lu Ming's countryside mission, to officially enter the Lu family. Whose child it was didn't matter; she would find a way to abort it if it wasn't Lu Ming's.
Unexpectedly, just as she was about to start, Lu Ming barged in. If only he had come a little later...
Li Wushuang knew Lu Ming wouldn't forgive her easily. Wen Zheng was still there, spewing venomous insults at her. A string in her mind snapped.
She let go of Lu Ming's leg and, like a madwoman, lunged at Wen Zheng, who was still slandering her. She bit him in his vulnerable spot.
A shrill scream echoed. Wen Zheng kicked Li Wushuang off him, bending over and howling miserably, "Damn it, you dare to bite me? I'll kill you!"
Blood stained Li Wushuang's lips. She glared at Wen Zheng, her face contorted in a vicious smile, "Wen Zheng, you deserve to die! You deserve to be childless!"
Wen Zheng rolled on the ground in pain, wanting to kill Li Wushuang. But his own crucial parts were more important. He shouted at the crowd, "Hurry, take me to the hospital!"
Seeing her fierce and savage side, Lu Ming instinctively stepped back. Hearing Wen Zheng's screams, he gritted his teeth and went to find someone to take him to the hospital in the city.
Whether their brotherhood could be salvaged was secondary; a life-or-death situation needed immediate attention.
However, after a night of rescue efforts, a man's dignity couldn't be saved. Wen Zheng was completely ruined.
Hating Li Wushuang intensely, he reported her to the police. She was arrested and later sentenced. Li Wushuang would spend the next eight years in prison.
Lu Ming felt his life was like a dream, but he only sighed for a few seconds. After his countryside mission ended, he would return to the city and would no longer have any contact with these people.
As the harvest season concluded, the young intellectuals who had gone to the countryside began packing their luggage to leave.
As Qiao Ci had married Zhou Ye, no one knew if she would continue to stay. The villagers constantly gossiped about their small courtyard.
Lu Ming remembered his youthful days with Qiao Ci and decided to see her before he left.
The knocking at the door continued. Qiao Ci, with a bored expression, asked, "What is it?"
"I'm leaving, so I've come to bid you farewell." Looking at the increasingly captivating Qiao Ci, Lu Ming felt a stir of his long-lost heartbeat.
"We aren't that close, so there's no need." Qiao Ci prepared to close the door.
Lu Ming quickly placed his hand in the doorway, stopping her from closing it. "I have something to say... Ah! Hiss~"
Qiao Ci, unaccustomed to his quirks, decisively closed the courtyard gate. If Lu Ming hadn't pulled his hand back quickly, it wouldn't have been just a scrape and a bit of bleeding.
"Qiao Ci, are you crazy?" Lu Ming cursed softly, looking at his bloody and mangled hand, which had been caught.
"What did you say?" A gloomy voice inquired at that moment.
Seeing Lu Ming at his doorstep, Zhou Ye was furious. "I'm still alive, and you're trying to poach my wife? Don't you want to live?"
Lu Ming, seeing Zhou Ye return, knew he had no advantage in either height or weight. He didn't dare to curse anymore and feigned composure, "Our countryside mission has ended. I wanted to ask if Qiao Ci wanted to go back with us."
"My wife is not your concern," Zhou Ye said, his eyes dark, as if ready to throw a punch at any moment.
Lu Ming didn't dare to say more, offering a sheepish laugh before leaving.
Little Spoon, having experienced so many worlds, had learned some human interactions. Seeing that the male lead, Lu Ming, had cleanly detached himself from Li Wushuang's incident without a scratch, it couldn't help but complain, "Host, although Lu Ming didn't make any major mistakes, Little Spoon feels he's too detached from the situation without any psychological burden."
"Karma is a cycle, and retribution is inescapable. There will be a time for him to pay." Qiao Ci said calmly.
"Wife, I'm back~" After driving away the love rival, Zhou Ye pushed the door open, shouting his presence.
"Hmm, how did things go?" Qiao Ci looked at the sweaty Zhou Ye and casually picked up a nearby towel, handing it to him.
"It's done. We leave the day after tomorrow. Wuwuwu, wife, I really don't want to leave you." Zhou Ye hugged Qiao Ci's waist, crying coyly.
The more he spent time with his wife, the less he wanted to leave her.
But he didn't want to be ridiculed for lacking ambition, marrying a beautiful wife but being unable to give her the best.
Moreover, he had promised her from the beginning that he would make her a military officer's wife. After much deliberation, Zhou Ye decided to pursue a career in the military, determined to make a name for himself so he could stand tall when meeting her parents in the future.
It was just that he couldn't bear to leave Qiao Ci, his wife, his A'Ci.
"You can come back during the New Year, right? Go ahead, your dream is there." Qiao Ci stroked his hair, which had grown a bit longer. Although it wasn't as soft as before, it finally didn't poke her.
"I worry about you staying home alone..." Having accidentally discovered that his wife became particularly indulgent when he acted cute, Zhou Ye felt like he had opened a new world. He often put on a pitiful act to gain sympathy, and after tasting the benefits, he became unstoppable.
"If I get bored here, I'll go back to my parents' house. Don't worry, I'll wait for you to come back."
Qiao Ci's voice was clear and cold, soft and sweet, which Zhou Ye found incredibly endearing. He had been particularly clingy to Qiao Ci these past few days, brimming with energy until Qiao Ci couldn't stand his feigned, whiny clinginess and kicked him off the bed. Only then would Zhou Ye quiet down for a while.
Before long, the old habits returned. The day of their separation eventually arrived.
Despite his reluctance, Zhou Ye joined the main group and went to serve in the army.
The day after Zhou Ye left, Qiao Ci also departed from Longtian Village.
She was gone for three to five days without returning, and the villagers, young and old, began to discuss:
"As soon as Zhou Ye joined the army, Qiao Ci left. How will he take it when he returns and sees his wife has run away?"
"Alas, Zhou Ye is too carefree to marry such a beautiful wife and dare to go to the army. He'll be gone for half a year or even longer. It's only natural for a beautiful wife to run away."
"Exactly. Look at the next village, Erdan also went to be a soldier, and when he returned, his wife had already run off with someone else. They left two children, three or five years old. How pitiful~"
"Don't guess wildly. I think Qiao Ci is a good girl. Zhou Ye joining the army was with her consent. Perhaps she's gone back to her parents' home. Don't spread rumors and ruin their reputation."