Zhou Yuejin hurried back home precisely to catch her off guard with a surprise return.
The empty house showed no sign of Yuan Qiumei. Zhou Yuejin saw the cold pots and stove, no vegetables in the house, and even yesterday’s clothes unwashed. His mood grew complicated for a moment.
What on earth was out there that kept his wife from home!
That day, Zhou Yuejin stayed home until six-thirty in the evening, a full three-plus hours, before his wife finally returned.
Yuan Qiumei jumped in fright upon suddenly seeing Zhou Yuejin at home, then quickly composed herself and asked, “Old Zhou, why’d you come back so early today?”
Zhou Yuejin worked busily in the Mine District and was hot-blooded, often helping coworkers with problems. He usually didn’t get home until around seven at the earliest.
“Got off work early today. I just arrived too.” Zhou Yuejin kept his composure and casually said, “Where’d you go?”
Yuan Qiumei seized the chance upon hearing her husband say he’d just gotten home: “I just stepped out to buy some vegetables. Must’ve missed you by a hair.”
His wife was indeed hiding something from him. Zhou Yuejin’s heart sank as he once again smelled the odd scent on Yuan Qiumei—a mix of various smells, ending in a particularly fragrant note.
The next morning, Zhou Yuejin got up without a word, as usual, left the house, but this time he didn’t go far. He waited to see where his wife headed when she went out and who she met!
At six-forty-five in the morning, he saw his wife sneak out guiltily, head bowed low as she hurried across the street, steps quick, as if she didn’t want to be seen.
Zhou Yuejin followed closely, growing more puzzled, until he watched his wife enter a slaughterhouse. Soon after, she emerged with heavy loads in both hands, heading straight back toward the Mine District area, to a cluster of flat-roofed houses.
His heart felt weighed down by a massive stone. Zhou Yuejin watched wide-eyed as Yuan Qiumei entered a house, pushed open the wooden door with familiarity, and at the moment she closed it, her face broke into a brilliant smile without any concealment…
Blood surged through him. Zhou Yuejin clenched his fists and strode forward, pounding hard on the wooden door. He vowed to drag out that wild man!
Daring to seduce his wife—he was sick of living!
The loud bangs at the gate startled the few people in the yard who were preparing food, all freezing mid-motion.
Feng Man was preparing the braising packet when she heard the noise and glanced toward the shaking wooden door. She wondered who would make such a racket in broad daylight, with clear anger in their actions.
Dong Xiaojuan, who was chopping vegetables, gripped her knife tightly, on high alert: “I’ll go check. Who’s causing trouble!”
Yuan Qiumei and Dong Xiaojuan were close in age, both older than Feng Man, so they naturally wanted to look after her. Yuan Qiumei set down the dough, hands dusted with flour, and went to the gate with Dong Xiaojuan, while reassuring Feng Man: “The security around here is great. We hardly ever hear of thieves or sneak thieves. It shouldn’t be anything bad… Old Zhou? You, how’d you get here?”
Her voice suddenly sharpened, as if her throat had been seized. Yuan Qiumei could hardly believe her husband had appeared here.
“How’d I get here? If I didn’t come, my forehead would be green!” Zhou Yuejin craned his neck to peer into the yard, rolled up his sleeves aggressively. “Who’s that wild man? Tell him to get out here!”
“What wild man!” Yuan Qiumei grabbed her husband’s arm, lowering her voice to persuade him. “What are you thinking? Come on, let’s go home. I’ll explain…”
“Yuan Qiumei! What, is that wild man better than me? Now you’re protecting him?” Zhou Yuejin couldn’t take it anymore. He yanked his wife behind him, grabbed the broom by the courtyard wall, ready for a fight. “Don’t blame me for not warning you. Today I’m dealing with that wild man. You stay aside—this broom doesn’t have eyes. If it hits you, don’t come crying to me later!”
Chaos erupted in the yard. Dong Xiaojuan stared in shock, Feng Man stared in shock, and the two exchanged glances, both dumbfounded.
“Brother Zhou, what are you looking for?” Feng Man naturally recognized the man—Cheng Lang’s coworker from the Mine District, Yuan Qiumei’s husband.
“Looking for the wild man!” Zhou Yuejin bellowed, too furious to recognize Cheng Lang’s or Fan Zhenghua’s wife.
Feng Man: “…”
Her eyes met Yuan Qiumei’s complicated expression, and in an instant, Feng Man understood. The oddities with Yuan Qiumei over the past while, and Zhou Yuejin’s abnormality now, all made sense.
“Brother Zhou, you might’ve misunderstood. There’s no wild man here.” Feng Man was almost amused and exasperated, trying to calm Zhou Yuejin. “It’s just us three women here.”
“No way!” Zhou Yuejin couldn’t care about face right now. He said, “Qiumei, tell me—who’s that wild man? He even bought you new clothes. Nice fabric, red-and-white checkered. Not cheap, huh!”
Feng Man: QAQ
A crisp voice lowered: “That seems to be the clothes I gave Sister Qiumei. Hers got stained with braising liquid.”
Zhou Yuejin’s thick brows furrowed tighter. He continued, “That wild man gave you a lot of money too. Nothing wrong with that? I saw a hundred-yuan bill and a twenty-yuan note!”
Feng Man: QAQ
The bewildered wild man Feng Man said weakly, “Brother Zhou, that was probably still me. I paid Sister Qiumei her wages—one hundred twenty.”
Zhou Yuejin: “…？？？”
He finally took a proper look at the woman before him and froze. The wild man he’d come to catch had turned into a woman!
……
At seven in the evening, Cheng Lang and Fan Zhenghua got off work and came home, carrying a round watermelon. As soon as they entered, they heard about the bizarre incident from that day.
Zhou Yuejin and Yuan Qiumei had already gone home. The couple looked embarrassed, especially Zhou Yuejin, who hadn’t even dared to look Feng Man or Dong Xiaojuan in the eye when he left.
“Man, that couple cracked me up. Turns out Qiumei came out to work without telling her man. Zhou Yuejin noticed something off lately and suspected some no-good wild man was seducing her…” Dong Xiaojuan had never seen anything like it. She’d watched the drama up close and now excitedly spilled it all to her husband and cousin.
Fan Zhenghua had never heard of such a thing. Shock filled his rough, square face: “Old Zhou… what the heck! But why didn’t Qiumei tell him she was working? Those two, heh.”
As his cousin and wife chattered, Cheng Lang glanced at Feng Man, who was washing her hands nearby and putting the watermelon in the freezer.
Watermelons in summer tasted best ice-cold, perfect after half an hour in the freezer.
Cheng Lang followed Feng Man inside, and they talked by the freezer.
“Did Old Zhou scare you? He’s stubborn, but this is the first I’ve heard of those two causing such a scene.” In Cheng Lang’s impression, Zhou Yuejin was capable and straightforward, always bragging about his married life to the coworkers, bringing food from home and showing off his wife’s cooking, making everyone envious and jokingly curse.
But this time, he’d gone after a wild man and ended up at his own wife’s workplace. Cheng Lang was amused and helpless.
Feng Man’s lips curved up, unable to suppress it—this was a novel life experience: “I was dumbfounded too. Didn’t expect the wild man Brother Zhou suspected was me.”
Yuan Qiumei had taken the afternoon off that day to go home and sort things out with Zhou Yuejin, briefly explaining to Feng Man before leaving.
It was pretty much as Feng Man had guessed. Zhou Yuejin didn’t want Yuan Qiumei working outside, so she’d come to Feng Man’s place without telling him.
That’s why she’d been so careful with her commutes, tying a scarf over her face when selling food near the Mine District.
But covering up too much drew attention, so Zhou Yuejin got the wrong idea and suspected a wild man trying to seduce his wife. He wanted to find the guy and teach him a lesson.
The bewildered wild man Feng Man was amused and helpless: QAQ
Cheng Lang thought back carefully and gradually pieced together clues: “Brother Zhou’s alright, just stubborn. Thinks it makes a man look incompetent if his wife has to work. Now that I think about it, I vaguely remember him saying that.”
Feng Man clicked her tongue in wonder: “What era is this, and he still thinks that way?”
The woman’s pretty almond eyes darted about, red lips parting and closing: “What about you? Would you think that?”
Cheng Lang’s gaze fell on her soft lips, then swept over the wall calendar. He mentally calculated the date and said offhandedly, “Of course I don’t mind. You can do whatever you like.”
Feng Man nodded in satisfaction.
Yuan Qiumei worked for Feng Man, Zhou Yuejin for Cheng Lang. For that reason, Feng Man and Cheng Lang had agreed not to meddle in the couple’s affairs, or it’d put them in an awkward spot.
They’d figured after the drama yesterday, Yuan Qiumei would take a few days off. Unexpectedly, she showed up the next day as usual.
As soon as she entered the yard, Yuan Qiumei apologized for yesterday’s incident, truly embarrassed.
Feng Man didn’t mind and just comforted her: “Talk it over, you two. After all, you’re family. Clearing the air is best.”
Dong Xiaojuan was straightforward: “So what’d your Old Zhou say? This job…”
“I’m doing it.” Last night at home, Yuan Qiumei had seriously explained everything to Zhou Yuejin. They’d argued, but she still came to work that morning.
Just this time, no more hiding. Zhou Yuejin’s face was pitch black.
Over at the Red Star Mine District, Zhou Yuejin had been in a foul mood all morning. The other workers couldn’t figure it out and wondered if something had gone wrong in the mining process, but checks turned up nothing.
Cheng Lang saw this and pulled Zhou Yuejin aside, handing him a cigarette: “Brother Zhou…”
Zhou Yuejin had learned last night that his wife was working for Cheng Lang’s wife. He cut straight in: “A-Lang, talk to your wife, yeah? Tell our Qiumei to quit. Isn’t staying home great? Why go out and suffer?”
“I’m not getting involved.” Cheng Lang said casually. “It’s between you and sis-in-law anyway. Manman and I talked it over—we’re staying out of it. Sort it yourselves. But Manman thinks sis-in-law’s capable. If she wants to stay, she won’t kick her out.”
“Hey!” Zhou Yuejin had seen his wife head out that morning without even hiding it anymore, which only clogged his chest more. He handed over most of his wage every month—why work? “A-Lang, how’d you end up like this? Can’t even manage your own wife?”
The head of the household should have the status of one. Zhou Yuejin always had the final say at home. He hadn’t expected this thick-browed, tough-looking guy Cheng Lang, usually so dominant, to have no standing.
From afar, a shout came from the on-duty room: Cheng Lang had a phone call.
Cheng Lang chuckled inwardly, patted Zhou Yuejin’s shoulder, and left: “Can’t manage her. My status at home’s just like that.”
Zhou Yuejin watched Cheng Lang go, furious at his lack of backbone!
……
“The fire and crackdown at Heaven on Earth Nightclub three years ago—was that really Zhao Gang’s design?” The news from the other end of the line thrilled Cheng Lang, his expression turning stern.
“Yeah, all suspicions point to Zhao Gang. Most crucially…” Yang Jun’s investigation had progressed, and he was excited too. Facts proved Cheng Lang’s guess very likely correct. “This time, I also found out Zheng Er’s people are quietly looking into it. They probably suspect Zhao Gang too.”
What a coincidence. Cheng Lang never missed such an opportunity. He said gravely, “Perfect then. Since Zheng Er’s making moves, give him a hand. Cleverly send the evidence you’ve dug up right to Zheng Er. Use his hand to get rid of Zhao Gang.”
He hung up, eyes firm, fully confident.
A thin rope looped around an iron nail on the on-duty room wall, the wall calendar hanging below it against the wall. Pages flipped lightly in the breeze. Cheng Lang’s gaze swept over the numbers, then he lowered his eyes, unwrapped a candy, tossed the cool mint candy into his mouth. The refreshing chill spread instantly.
Three months married. Today was a good day.