“You dare to pinch me... I won’t let you off...”
Zhou Zhijun planted both hands on either side of her, but didn’t actually move.
“Scared?” he teased with a roguish grin.
Only then did Tao realize he was just trying to scare her.
“I’m not scared!” she said stubbornly, though her body shrank back a little.
Zhou Zhijun reached up to gently touch her cheek, his eyes warm with affection. “Really not scared? Then I’ll get serious!”
Tao turned her face away, avoiding his gaze. “If you dare, I’ll tell Second Aunt Zhou! She’ll deal with you!”
“Better not, I’m scared of you, you know?”
Suddenly, Zhou Zhijun flipped over and lay on his side, letting her rest her head on his arm. His other hand settled softly on her belly.
“You little rascal, hurry up and grow so you can crawl out!”
He leaned close to Tao’s ear, his voice husky and low. “After this baby, we won’t have any more. I don’t want you to suffer anymore.”
Tao’s heart was crystal clear. “You just don’t want to suffer yourself, right?” She knew exactly what he was thinking.
Looking at her adorable little face, Zhou Zhijun closed the distance between them. “Tao, neither of us has to suffer anymore...”
At last, they cast off all their worries and could be together openly and honestly.
This happiness made them forget all their troubles, their hearts and eyes filled only with each other.
Zhou Zhijun adored this soft, sweet little woman so much he couldn’t bear to part with her until the first crow of dawn, when he reluctantly let her go.
“Tao, take good care of yourself while I’m gone. If you want anything to eat or drink, just tell Second Aunt Zhou. She’ll make it for you...”
Zhou Zhijun dressed quickly, holding her in his arms as he gathered his things.
His lips pressed gently to her forehead, a warm surge of emotion filling his eyes, unwilling to let go.
“Mm, don’t worry,” she whispered.
Tao couldn’t bear to let him leave either. Though she said nothing, her heart ached.
She didn’t want Zhou Zhijun to worry, so she fought back the tears, but they betrayed her and slipped down her cheeks.
“Be good, don’t cry. I’ll come see you as soon as I get a chance...” He softly wiped the tears from her face, his voice choked with emotion.
Zhou Zhijun left some money with Second Aunt Zhou, asking her to take good care of Tao.
Knowing he would leave at dawn, Second Aunt Zhou had already prepared a meal in the kitchen.
Seeing the kerosene lamp lit in Tao’s room, she went to the window to call Zhou Zhijun for dinner, but overheard the couple’s reluctant farewell. Her heart was filled with both joy and sorrow, tears almost spilling.
“Mm! I’ll bring some food later, so you can have a little something on the road at noon!”
Tao wanted to get up and see him off, but Zhou Zhijun stopped her. “You haven’t slept all night. Get some rest, don’t get up!”
He kissed her forehead several times before finally turning to leave, glancing back as if it were a life-or-death parting.
Watching his retreating figure, Tao’s nose tingled, and tears fell again despite herself.
She knew that once Zhou Zhijun returned, he would face Wang Cuilan and her gang’s harassment, along with the village gossip.
Zhou Zhijun had long promised to take Tao away from Wangjiazai Village to start a new life in the city.
But now, with Tao pregnant and her body so weak, he worried the rough journey would be too hard on her.
At the same time, with the authorities cracking down hard, she could only be temporarily put through this hardship...
The more Zhijun thought about it on the way, the heavier the guilt weighed on his heart.
He promised himself that he must earn more money, so Tao and the baby could live a good life.
Setting off at dawn, he didn’t rest on the road and arrived home before dark.
As he neared the village entrance, he saw a group of men and women gathered under the shade of a tree, cooling off and chatting away noisily.
Zhijun approached, and the group immediately fell silent, their eyes wide as they secretly sized him up.
No one had seen Zhijun or Tao these past few days, and everyone was puzzled, with all sorts of wild guesses flying around.
Now, seeing Zhijun return alone on his bike without Tao, their curiosity peaked, but no one dared to ask.
Zhijun passed by them without even glancing up.
Only after he had gone did the group quietly start whispering among themselves.
“He’s back by himself. Where did Tao go?”
“Probably hiding! If she wasn’t, Wang Lanhua would definitely be furious!”
“They must have switched partners. If she leaves here, how could things go well on the other side?”
“Exactly, exactly. Wang Lanhua’s temper is just like Liu Cuilan’s...”
What they didn’t know was that Wang Lanhua was currently hiding at a relative’s house because of the family planning crackdown.
She and Li Dazhuang were desperate to have another son and had no time to bother about Wang Jieshi’s affairs over here.
As soon as Zhijun stepped through the door, Aunt Zhou looked at him worriedly and asked, “How’s Tao’s condition? Is she settling in well at your second aunt’s place?”
“My second aunt made her some ginger and perilla leaf tea. The nausea’s a bit better, but she still can’t eat much...”
Aunt Zhou sighed, “The first three months are always like this. After that, it’ll get better.
She’s always been physically weak, and this time she’s really been through a lot!”
“Yes! I really worry about her!” Zhijun pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, squatted by the doorway, and lit it, his mind filled with thoughts of that heart-wrenching little woman.
“She’s shy by nature. I’m worried she won’t get used to living there and might be too embarrassed to tell your second aunt what she wants to eat.
The place is so far, and there’s no bus. It’s not easy to go there...
After the harvest, you bring me over. I’ll stay there and take care of her...”
As mother and son talked, Wang Xiaoming pushed the door open.
He and Wang Xiaohong had just finished cutting watermelon vines and were coming up from the east ditch field when they saw Zhijun riding his bike back, but Tao was nowhere in sight. So he ran over.
“Granny, Uncle Zhijun!”
“Xiaoming!”
Liu Cuilan and Wang Jieshi weren’t good people, but Wang Xiaoming and his sister were decent. Aunt Zhou treated him as usual, “Come in, come in!”
Zhijun glanced up at him, noticed the sickle in his hand and the sweat on his face, and asked, “What were you working on?”
“I... was cutting watermelon vines!”
Aunt Zhou moved a chair over for him, but he didn’t sit down. Instead, he looked at Zhijun and asked, “Uncle Zhijun, how’s my sister-in-law? Is she doing okay?”
“She’s fine.”
Wang Xiaoming knew Zhijun truly cared about Tao, so hearing that reassured him.
As for why Tao left Wangjiazhai and where she had gone, Zhijun didn’t want to say more, and Xiaoming didn’t press.
“That’s good! I’m off then!”
Outside the main gate, Wang Xiaohong peeked through the slightly ajar door and saw Wang Xiaoming at Zhou Zhijun’s house. In that moment, everything became clear to her.
She couldn’t accept the relationship between Chun Tao and Zhou Zhijun.
“Xiaohong!” Suddenly, a voice called out from behind her. Wang Xiaohong shivered in surprise and quickly turned around.
“Brother Xiaowei?”
“What are you standing here for? Has my second uncle come back yet?”
The day after Zhou Zhijun left with Chun Tao, Brother Xiaowei showed up.
Seeing that Zhou Zhijun and Chun Tao weren’t home, he asked around where they had gone. Aunt Zhou didn’t tell him the truth, only saying they would be back in a few days.
He waited anxiously every day for their return. It had been several days already, and he thought they should be back by now.
After working, he hadn’t even sat down before rushing over here.
Wang Xiaohong glanced at him coolly and said, “Don’t know!” Then she lifted her foot and headed back into her own yard.
Brother Xiaowei pushed open the gate and immediately spotted Zhou Zhijun. His face lit up with excitement as he hurried inside. “Second uncle, you’re back?”
He looked around the room but didn’t see Chun Tao. The joy on his face vanished instantly.
Carefully, he asked, “Second uncle, why isn’t Sister-in-law Tao here?”
