"What did he do to you?" Zhou Yueshen's voice was low and cold.
Si Nian suddenly bringing up this person meant he had left a deep impression on her.
Considering Li Mingjun's notorious reputation with women, Zhou Yueshen couldn't help but frown.
He had heard before that Li Mingjun was quite popular in the village.
And now Si Nian was specifically asking about him...
Si Nian replied, "He didn't do anything to me, but the way he speaks is unpleasant. If it's inconvenient for you in the future, I can go pick things up myself. There’s no need to send him over."
Hearing this, Zhou Yueshen's expression darkened slightly. Li Mingjun had a habit of flirting with women whenever he saw them, but not everyone could tolerate his frivolous behavior.
At work, he was a skilled truck driver who knew the routes well, making him convenient to employ. So when Zhou Yueshen's sister had recommended him, seeing that he was capable, Zhou Yueshen hadn’t interfered.
Other people's personal affairs weren’t his concern.
But now, it seemed Li Mingjun had made Si Nian uncomfortable.
What puzzled Zhou Yueshen even more was that he had assigned someone else to deliver the meat these past two times. How had it ended up in Li Mingjun’s hands?
Coincidence?
Or intentional?
"Si Nian, I didn’t send him. I’m sorry he made you uncomfortable. Tomorrow, I’ll look into it and give you an explanation. He won’t come again in the future."
Zhou Yueshen sounded apologetic as he explained.
So, had Li Mingjun orchestrated these deliveries himself?
The thought made Si Nian feel sick.
"Then I’ll leave it to you."
She wasn’t about to ask Zhou Yueshen to fire the man over this.
After all, finding a reliable truck driver wasn’t easy these days.
But she could at least warn Zhou Yueshen. He was sharp—he’d surely notice something was off soon enough.
That was what Si Nian thought, but she hadn’t expected things to escalate so quickly.
The next day, as the sun was setting, Zhou Yuedong and Zhou Yuehan came running to her with tears in their eyes.
"P-please, can you go see Dad? He got into a fight... Waaah..."
Lately, Zhou Yueshen had been picking them up from school whenever he had time, making their lives much easier. They’d been getting home over an hour earlier each day.
Today, as they passed the farm, their father had suddenly said he needed to stop by for something.
So the two boys waited outside.
But instead of seeing him return, they heard people shouting about a fight.
When they ran inside, they saw their father beating someone up—blood was splattered everywhere. The sight terrified them. They had never seen him like this before.
In their eyes, their father had always been calm and composed.
Panicked and unsure what to do, they instinctively ran back to Si Nian.
After all, apart from their father, she was the only adult in the house.
And their father treated her well...
Si Nian was stunned for a moment before wiping her hands. "What?"
Zhou Yuehan pointed toward the farm, tears and snot streaming down his face. "It’s true! There was so much blood... Waaah..."
Si Nian dropped the cloth in her hands and sprinted out.
She had a feeling this was connected to what she’d told Zhou Yueshen about Li Mingjun the night before.
But how had it come to blows?
She had been careful not to speak too directly, worried it might cause trouble.
She hadn’t wanted to make things difficult for Zhou Yueshen, knowing how hard it was to replace a truck driver.
Yet, trouble had still found them.
She raced to the Zhou family farm, where a crowd had gathered. The sight of blood pooled on the ground made her freeze.
There was so much of it—had Zhou Yueshen, usually so steady, actually killed someone?
Her heart pounded as she grabbed someone to ask what had happened.
Once she got the full story, her face paled. She turned and hurried to Zhou Yueshen’s office, pushing the door open.
The metallic tang of blood hit her nose. Inside, the man sat shirtless by a small bed, his body smeared with blood. Another man, about his age, was bandaging a wound on his hand.
The sharp scent of medicinal oil hung thick in the air.
Si Nian stood frozen in the doorway until Zhou Yueshen’s dark eyes lifted to meet hers.
He seemed momentarily surprised to see her.
Beside him, Yu Dong stiffened like a guilty child and stood up. "Sis-in-law."
If he hadn’t been fooled by that bastard Li Mingjun into letting him deliver the meat, none of this would have happened.
And today, the scoundrel had taken advantage of Zhou Yueshen’s absence to spread vile rumors about Si Nian—claiming she had seduced him, among other disgusting things.
Of course, Zhou Yueshen had walked in right in the middle of it.
Though Li Mingjun had been thoroughly beaten, Yu Dong still felt responsible and unsatisfied.
"Are... are you okay?" Si Nian nodded in acknowledgment before turning her gaze to Zhou Yueshen, finally finding her voice.
Zhou Yueshen shook his head. "I’m fine. Don’t worry."
Despite his reassurance, the amount of blood made it hard not to.
Yu Dong quickly added, "Sis-in-law, don’t blame the boss. It’s not his fault. I was the one who got tricked by Li Mingjun. I gave him the chance. I’m really sorry."
Si Nian pieced it together—Zhou Yueshen had assigned someone else to deliver the meat, but Li Mingjun had intercepted it, using the opportunity to approach her.
After being rejected repeatedly, he had grown resentful and started slandering her behind her back.
And by sheer bad luck, Zhou Yueshen had overheard... leading to today’s violent confrontation.
She gave a small nod.
Yu Dong, sensing the tension, tactfully excused himself, leaving the two alone.
The office fell into an oppressive silence.
After a long pause, Si Nian stepped forward and picked up the medicinal oil from the table. Her eyes followed Zhou Yueshen’s movements as she said, "Where are you hurt? Let me help."
Since this had started because of her, she couldn’t just stand by.
Zhou Yueshen raised a hand to stop her. "No need. I’m dirty. I’ll stain you."
His injury was just a scratch from a rock during the fight—nothing serious.
His detached tone irritated her.
What did he mean, stain her?
She was going to marry him. Did he think she’d mind something like this?
It made her feel like they were worlds apart.
Angry, she grabbed his hand and pressed her slender fingers firmly against his wound.
He winced, and she snapped, "Does it hurt? Good. You always seem so composed—who knew you’d stoop to fighting? Was it really necessary?"
Firing Li Mingjun would have been enough. Beating him up was one thing, but hurting himself in the process? Was it worth it?
Zhou Yueshen’s sharp brows furrowed as his dark eyes bore into her. His throat moved, voice rough. "He deserved it."
"But not like this! What if you’d killed someone? Did you want to go to jail?"
Her chest felt heavy. She knew he had acted because of her, but she couldn’t help worrying. With so much blood, what if something worse had happened?
Seeing the blood stains on his body, her worry deepened. "Let me see," she urged anxiously, "where else are you hurt?"
