Zhao Qingjiang's fingertips had barely touched Wang Jieshi's wrist when his face turned deathly pale, his lips trembling so much he couldn't utter a single word for a long time.
Wang Xiaohong's already tense heart instantly leaped into her throat. With a sob in her voice, she asked, "Uncle Qing... Qingjiang? How is my brother?"
Zhao Qingjiang looked at her, swallowed hard, and finally squeezed out a few difficult words, "The pulse... I can't feel it! Hurry and get your mother over here!"
Wang Xiaohong was terrified upon hearing this. Without a second thought, she turned and rushed out of the inner room, running like a madwoman toward Wang Haichao's house.
Chuntao, who had been sitting in the kitchen, felt her heart tighten when she saw Wang Xiaohong run out. She stood up and walked toward the main room.
"Uncle Qingjiang..." she called out upon seeing Zhao Qingjiang pacing back and forth in the main room, his face full of panic.
"I can't feel a pulse! I'm afraid..." Zhao Qingjiang looked up at her, not daring to spell it out.
The implication was clear. Chuntao went weak all over and almost collapsed to the floor, her hands quickly grabbing the doorframe to steady herself, her face ashen.
"What's wrong? What happened to Jieshi?" Liu Cuilan ran in behind Wang Xiaohong, her eyes red, and grabbed Zhao Qingjiang's arm.
"The pulse is gone!" Zhao Qingjiang quickly moved aside to make way for the door to the inner room.
Liu Cuilan rushed into the inner room and threw herself beside the bed, reaching out to feel Wang Jieshi's nose and mouth. There wasn't even a trace of warm breath.
"Jieshi... my son! How could you leave like this! You're only twenty-six..." she knelt by the bed and began to wail heart-wrenchingly.
The neighbors, hearing the cries, all ran over. The Zhou Zhaodi sisters and Huang Meili, who had been standing by the wall, also came over upon hearing the weeping.
"How did Wang Jieshi just die? Isn't this just making room for a wild man!" Zhou Zhaodi lowered her voice, her eyes darting toward Chuntao.
Huang Meili leaned close to her ear, "An unchaste woman brings the worst luck to a man! He was cursed to death by Li Chun Tao!"
The villagers quickly packed the inside and outside of the house, their whispering voices buzzing.
Those probing, disdainful, and malicious gazes pierced Chuntao like needles.
She stood at the doorway of the main room, her hands gripping the doorframe tightly, trembling violently.
Liu Cuilan's wailing and the villagers' gossip made her feel dizzy, her throat tightening.
Her tears seemed frozen, unable to squeeze out a single drop, leaving only numbness and bitterness in her heart.
Liu Cuilan howled for a long while before suddenly rushing out of the inner room. Seeing Chuntao standing at the door, she yelled with red eyes.
"It's all because of you, you jinx! You cursed Jieshi to death! If it weren't for you, would he have fallen into the ditch?
If it weren't for you, would he have died so young?"
As she cursed, she lunged at Chuntao like a madwoman, "I'm going to kill you, you menace! I'll make you pay for Jieshi's life!"
Zhou Xiaowei and a few older boys had planned to go to the hillside to catch rabbits. Hearing the commotion, they ran over, just in time to see Liu Cuilan about to attack.
He took a few quick steps forward and quickly reached out to stop her, "What are you doing? This isn't Sister-in-law Chuntao's fault!"
That night, Zhou Xiaowei had dragged Wang Haichao out of bed, making a scene known to the whole village. Liu Cuilan already held a grudge against him, and seeing him stop her now made her even more furious.
"Zhou Xiaowei, get out of my way! This is my family's business, we don't need an outsider like you meddling!"
Suddenly, Zhao Qingjiang's trembling shout came from the inner room, "There it is! There's a pulse!"
At these words, the noisy crowd instantly fell silent.
Liu Cuilan's wailing was abruptly cut off. She turned and rushed into the inner room, staring blankly at Zhao Qingjiang, "Wh-what did you say? Jieshi isn't dead?"
"Not dead, not dead!"
Zhao Qingjiang waved his hands repeatedly and quickly lifted Wang Jieshi's eyelids, "Look, his pupils haven't dilated! It was just that he lost too much blood, his pulse was too weak, and I didn't feel it right!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Jieshi on the bed suddenly coughed, a mouthful of black blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. His eyes slowly opened a crack, and he weakly squeezed out a single word from his throat: "Water... water..."
"He's awake! He's really awake!" Liu Cuilan cried and laughed, tightly gripping Wang Jieshi's hand, "Jieshi, you're finally awake, you scared me to death!"
Wang Xiaohong wept with joy, quickly running to the kitchen to fetch half a bowl of warm water, carefully feeding it to Wang Jieshi.
Hearing the words from the inner room, Chuntao, standing at the doorway of the main room, instantly felt her tense body relax. Her legs gave way, and she slid down the doorframe to sit on the floor, her tears finally flowing uncontrollably.
It wasn't fear, nor was it grievance, and she couldn't say if it was happiness or sadness. The feeling was so complex she couldn't explain it herself.
The observing villagers started talking again, "He's awake? Wang Jieshi is awake?"
"To survive a great disaster means good fortune is to come!"
"What fortune? His arms and legs are broken, who knows if he'll ever stand up again!"
"Exactly, if he's paralyzed, Li Chun Tao's life will be even harder!"
A sinister look flashed across Zhou Zhaodi's face as she whispered in Huang Meili's ear, "Since Wang Jieshi didn't die, Li Chun Tao won't have it so easy, he'll drag her down for a lifetime!"
"That's right! She was exchanged for Wang Lanhua. If Wang Jieshi died, wouldn't that be letting her off too easily!" Huang Meili nodded in agreement.
The two muttered for a while. Zhou Zhaodi looked up at Chuntao at the doorway, only to meet Zhou Zhijun's cold gaze.
That gaze was as sharp as a knife, making her heart panic. She quickly lowered her head and looked away.
Zhou Zhijun's gaze then swept over Huang Meili, scaring her into shrinking her neck and quickly hiding behind the crowd.
He frowned slightly, gave a complex look at Chuntao sitting on the floor, and without saying a word, turned and silently walked out of the courtyard.
Aunt Zhou and Zhou Xiaowei helped Chuntao into the inner room, letting her sit on the edge of the bed.
"It's good that Brother Jieshi is awake, don't overthink it," Zhou Xiaowei advised.
"Yes, as long as he's awake, it's fine. This disaster is finally over!" Aunt Zhou also tried to comfort her.
Chuntao sniffled and nodded, but her heart was a mix of emotions.
Between her and Wang Jieshi, there was no love, nor the reality of a married couple. They were merely living under the same roof, sharing the same pot of food.
Although he had abandoned her and run away back then, she had never wished for his death; her heart wasn't that cruel.
But his being alive was like a suffocating mountain pressing down on her. Sooner or later, it would crush her.
She remembered her aunt's words, "A person's fate is destined by heaven, thinking too much is useless."
She was born with a bitter fate. Her grandmother said her mother died when she was born, and her father died when she was a few months old. Without parents to protect her, she was bullied by the mischievous children in the village from a young age.
She thought everything would be fine once she grew up and got married, that no one would dare bully her anymore, but she was wrong.
Her heart full of grievances and bitterness could only be swallowed down, seeping into her bones, merging with her blood, with nowhere to speak of them.
Wang Jieshi was awake, but his arms and legs were broken, and he needed someone to serve him for everything.
Liu Cuilan had no intention of caring for him. Before leaving, she said to Chuntao with a dark face, "Don't sleep tonight, watch over Jieshi."
Wang Xiaohong watched over him for the first half of the night, and Chuntao took over for the second half.
Wang Jieshi's whole body ached terribly, and he lay on the bed groaning incessantly.
Every groan was like a heavy hammer striking Chun Tao's heart—not bringing pain, but a numbing torment.
"Head—ache—powder..." Wang Jieshi squeezed the words out of his throat, his voice faint.
The snow from last night had stopped, but now light snowflakes were beginning to drift down again, turning the courtyard into a vast expanse of white.
Chun Tao got up and walked out of the inner room, pushing the door open to head outside. She planned to go to Zhao Qingjiang's house to get a few packets of headache powder.
Just as she stepped over the threshold, she saw a tall figure standing at the door of the main room. It was Zhou Zhijun.
Startled, Chun Tao stopped in her tracks, looking at him without daring to make a sound.
"Tao!" His voice was low and hoarse. Without waiting for Chun Tao to react, he grabbed her cold little hand and, brooking no argument, pulled her toward the kitchen.
