The boy running over was none other than Wang Xiaoming, the youngest son of Liu Cuilan.
School had let out for summer vacation today, and he had eagerly jogged all the way home first thing in the morning.
Ever since Liu Cuilan had gotten that marriage certificate with Wang Haichao, she had been dead set against him continuing his education. But Wang Xiaoming was a good student and didn't want to drop out.
Chuntao, whose nature had always been gentle and soft, had stood her ground that day in front of Liu Cuilan, saying she would grow watermelons to support him through school.
Just for this, Liu Cuilan had given Chuntao a fierce scolding.
Wang Xiaoming was deeply grateful to Chuntao from the bottom of his heart. Whenever he thought of the grievances she had suffered in this family over the years, his heart ached as if pricked by needles.
On the very night of the wedding, his elder brother, Wang Jieshi, had run off with another woman, yet Chuntao had stayed.
Without a husband's protection, Liu Cuilan's beatings and curses became routine for her. All the hard, heavy labor in the household fell on her shoulders, yet she never once ate a full meal.
The clothes on her back were still the old ones she brought from her maiden home when she married, now patched upon patches, short and tight, constricting her breath.
She didn't care about food or clothing. She only secretly hoped in her heart that her mother-in-law would glare at her less, curse at her less—that would be enough for her.
But even such a wish, humble as dust, remained a vain hope.
Her life was like a piece of rotten vegetable leaf floating on the vast sea; when the storm came, she didn't even have the strength to resist.
Fortunately, there was still a sliver of warmth in this cold household.
When Chuntao married into the Wang family at eighteen, Wang Xiaoming and his sister Wang Xiaohong were just twelve.
Wherever she went, these two children would follow her like shadows, calling out "Sister-in-law" in their crisp, clear voices.
Ever since she entered the Wang home, the clothes and shoes for her young brother-in-law and sister-in-law were all sewn by her, stitch by stitch.
In winter, she would even sew them cotton socks, cotton gloves, and cotton hats. The styles she made were pretty and well-fitting, even better than those sold at the supply and marketing cooperative.
Hearts are made of flesh and blood. Chuntao treated them with utter sincerity, and these two children genuinely cared for their sister-in-law from the bottom of their hearts.
During the New Year when Liu Cuilan wouldn't let Chuntao eat the white steamed buns, they would secretly pocket two from the kitchen, sneak into Chuntao's room, and stuff them into her hands.
Wang Xiaoming would also quietly fetch eggs from the henhouse and run to the itinerant peddler to trade them for a pretty, colored hair tie for Chuntao.
Wang Xiaoming swore to himself that he must study hard and repay his sister-in-law properly in the future.
But for now, the most important thing was to help her with more work, so she could suffer less exhaustion.
The school had notified them long ago that they would be on holiday this morning. He had already packed his luggage yesterday.
As soon as the bell for the end of self-study rang this morning, he shouldered his schoolbag and ran home.
Running to the East Gully, he saw several figures by the watermelon field in the distance.
Looking more carefully, he saw Chuntao had actually fallen on the ground, with Liu Cuilan and Wang Haichao standing right beside her.
His heart gave a lurch—it must be his mother bullying Sister-in-law again! His feet involuntarily quickened their pace, and he charged straight towards the watermelon field.
Hearing the commotion, Liu Cuilan and Wang Haichao turned their heads and saw Wang Xiaoming had already run up to them.
Without even glancing at them, he rushed straight to Chuntao's side, reaching out to help her up. "Sister-in-law, what happened to you?"
Seeing the skin scraped off Chuntao's arm, wrist, and palm, with threads of blood still seeping out, Wang Xiaoming's eyes instantly reddened, his voice trembling. "How did this happen?"
Afraid of worrying him, Chuntao suppressed the grievance in her heart and said softly, "It's nothing!"
Wang Xiaoming already had a good idea of what happened. He carefully helped Chuntao up, supported her into the melon shed to sit down, then turned and walked out of the shelter.
His eyes were bloodshot, fixed unblinkingly on Liu Cuilan and Wang Haichao, like an angry lion. He roared, "You! Was it you bullying my sister-in-law again?" His trembling finger pointed at the two of them, his teeth grinding audibly.
Wang Xiaoming was already sixteen. Usually quiet, he was seen by the villagers as a shy, half-grown boy.
But whenever Liu Cuilan bullied Chuntao, he would become like a lit powder keg, his temper exploding instantly.
He was even taller than Wang Haichao. Though he didn't look particularly sturdy, his strength was not small.
The first time he discovered Wang Haichao was involved with his mother, one punch from him had sent blood streaming from Wang Haichao's nose and mouth.
Seeing his fury, both Liu Cuilan and Wang Haichao felt a chill of fear.
"She fell by herself! We didn't bully her!" Liu Cuilan tossed out these words and turned to leave.
Wang Haichao forced a dry smile at Wang Xiaoming, trying to keep his tone gentle. "Xiaoming, don't misunderstand. She really fell by herself!"
With that, he scurried after Liu Cuilan, heading towards the bean field up above.
Wang Xiaoming found some puffballs on the ridge, broke them open, and applied the powdery spores to Chuntao's wounds to stop the bleeding.
As he applied it, he said through gritted teeth, "Sister-in-law, if they dare bully you again, I swear I'll take a stick to them!"
Chuntao's nose stung, and the tears she had held back for so long finally streamed down. "Xiaoming, I'm really fine!"
Wang Xiaoming was young and hot-tempered. What if he caused serious harm?
"Sister-in-law, you're just too kind! That's why they bully you like this!"
He thought of his brother again, his teeth grinding. "And my brother, he's heartless. When he comes back, I'll get justice for you!"
Looking at Wang Xiaoming's red eyes and hearing his words, Chuntao's heart felt a mix of sourness, numbness, and a thread of warmth.
She raised her hand and gently patted Wang Xiaoming's arm, her voice soft and light. "Xiaoming, don't bother with them. If you cause real harm, your whole life would be ruined, and I would carry that guilt forever."
Mentioning Wang Jieshi, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and a teardrop slid from their tips.
Though she didn't say it out loud, her heart held an unspeakable resentment.
He had abandoned her and run off on their wedding night. For a woman, her world had collapsed.
People in the village pointed fingers at her, calling her an "ill-omened" woman, making her unable to hold her head up in front of others.
But what good did resentment do? Life still had to be endured inch by inch, like a pot of porridge. When it's scorched, dried up, boiled to the point it can't be boiled anymore, then there's no need to endure any longer.
"Your brother... he has his own difficulties." Chuntao let out a soft sigh, her voice so faint even she could barely hear it.
Though her words said this, her heart felt like it was pressed under a damp, cold stone, constantly on the verge of suffocation.
As a woman, who wouldn't want to be protected by her man? But her fate was just this bitter.
Without a man's protection, she deserved to be beaten and cursed by her mother-in-law, bullied by other men. She had no strength to resist; she could only endure.
She was powerless to change anything. She thought, as long as she could protect this last remaining thread of warmth by her side, she would be content.
Chuntao lifted her eyes to look outside the melon shed. The sun was scorching, wilting the melon leaves, and even the passing wind was blisteringly hot, yet it couldn't warm the bone-chilling cold in her heart.
Just then, a series of chaotic footsteps suddenly sounded on the ridge, accompanied by urgent shouts that pierced through the stifling heat of the afternoon.
"Wang Jieshi is back! Wang Jieshi has returned from out of town..."
