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墨書 Inktalez
Jiang Xue stared with red eyes at the bastard who had repeatedly hurt her mother. She moved forward but was stopped by her mother.
"Enough, enough, I'm fine. Just eat," Aunt He cautiously approached the man and pushed him lightly, saying, "Go take a nap."
The man snorted coldly and turned to enter the house. Aunt He looked at Zhang Qiu and awkwardly smiled, saying, "I'm sorry for making you witness this."
"Auntie, you're being too polite. Jiang Xue has already told me about the situation at home. Don't worry, I will not let this continue!"
Aunt He did not take Zhang Qiu's words to heart, thinking it was just a form of comfort. A child, no matter how capable, could only do so much. Aunt He looked at the mess on the floor; the table had been split in two by Zhang Qiu, and pots and dishes were scattered everywhere. Two-thirds of the food she had worked hard to prepare lay on the ground mixed with dust.
As Aunt He picked up the shattered porcelain pieces from the floor, she sighed, "Oh, what a pity."
Zhang Qiu, Jiang Xue, and Tao Ya all stepped forward to help clean up despite Aunt He's objections. In the end, the four of them set up a large round table used for guests and placed the remaining dishes on it, finishing lunch in an awkward atmosphere. Zhang Qiu noticed that Aunt He had little appetite and was not as talkative as before. Even after finishing the meal, Aunt He hardly spoke.
In the afternoon, Zhang Qiu, Jiang Xue, and Tao Ya stayed in the tidied-up room; the atmosphere felt somewhat heavy. Zhang Qiu noticed Jiang Xue's unhappiness and encouraged her, "We're here to solve the problem. I won't go to Africa until we fix this!"
"But how do we solve it?" Jiang Xue's voice was weak; if this problem were easy to solve, it would have been resolved long ago. Yet she believed in Zhang Qiu and felt that he would surely come up with a good solution.
As both Zhang Qiu and Jiang Xue fell into deep thought, Tao Ya spoke up from the side: "Brother Qiu, can we take Auntie to the county town?"
"That's impossible; Mom definitely wouldn't want to leave."
Jiang Xue directly dismissed Tao Ya's idea while Zhang Qiu gently bit his lower lip and said softly, "Let's wait and see; there will definitely be a way."
In the evening came the most delicate moment. The man was sound asleep in the house while Aunt He busied herself in the living room. Most of the food made at noon had gone to waste, but fortunately, there were lamb rolls that Zhang Qiu had bought. Aunt He boiled a pot of water on an induction cooker, took out the lamb rolls from the fridge, and washed some vegetables from her yard. Chopped green onions, cilantro, and a jar of sesame sauce were placed on the table.
Aunt He prepared the sauce for everyone and glanced back at the house with a forced smile, saying, "You all eat first; I'll wait for him."
"Mom, you should eat too! If he wants to sleep, let him sleep!"
Jiang Xue pulled her mother to sit at the table, but Aunt He occasionally turned back, noticing the anxious expression on Zhang Qiu's face.
“Aunt, let’s all eat together. I’ll go wake him up!”
Aunt He was taken aback, and before she could react, Zhang Qiu had already rushed into the room. Inside, the man lay shirtless on the bed, sound asleep, snoring loudly. Zhang Qiu approached and gently patted him a couple of times, but he didn’t budge. She applied more pressure and called out, “Get up, it’s time to eat…”
Finally, the man woke up from his slumber, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth with his wrist, glanced at the time, then at Zhang Qiu, displeasure evident on his face. Zhang Qiu didn’t care about that; seeing him awake, she said, “Come out to eat, we’re having lamb hot pot.”
The man grabbed a shirt from the side and put it on before walking over to wash his face at the basin. He didn’t even dry his face before stepping out of the room. As he stood at the doorway, Zhang Qiu noticed a look of fear in Aunt He’s eyes. The man only stood there for a moment before sitting down at the table, his round eyes scanning the dishes. In the pot were freshly added slices of lamb that had just changed color and green spinach bobbing up and down in the water. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Where’s the alcohol?”
“Drink less; the kids are here.”
“It’s fine. Since Uncle wants to drink, I’ll join him. Auntie, do you have any alcohol? If not, I can go buy some.”
“Uh, we have some. I’ll get it for you.” Aunt He hesitated but got up; from Zhang Qiu’s gaze, she sensed a need to cooperate. For some reason, she was willing to trust this boy her daughter had brought home. A single afternoon together had already established a good impression of Zhang Qiu in Aunt He’s mind.
As Aunt He went out to get the alcohol, Jiang Xue kept watching Zhang Qiu, who smiled lightly at her. When Aunt He returned with the alcohol, Zhang Qiu immediately opened a bottle and poured a full glass for the man and another for herself, saying with a smile, “Here’s to you, Uncle! I usually don’t drink but will make an exception this time.”
Even though Zhang Qiu deeply disliked the man, she still had to pretend to be enthusiastic; otherwise, their conversation wouldn’t continue.
With someone toasting him, the man was naturally willing to drink. His annoyance from being woken up diminished as he downed a glass and ate a few pieces of lamb; his anger had completely dissipated. Looking at Zhang Qiu for the first time, he took the initiative to ask, “Are you Xue'er’s boyfriend?”
“Yes, I am her boyfriend. I came specifically to visit Uncle and Auntie after finishing my college entrance exams.”
“How did you do?”
“It was okay; I should be able to get into an average second-tier university. I can’t compare with Jiang Xue; she studies well and has no problem getting into a first-tier university.”
The man smiled at Jiang Xue and said, "Yes, Jiang Xue is a hardworking child."
"I will be in the same city as Jiang Xue. As long as I am here, I will not let anyone bully her. Please rest assured, Uncle." Zhang Qiu emphasized the word "bully." From the man's earlier glance at Jiang Xue, Zhang Qiu had already sensed something unusual and intended to remind him. Of course, this was just the first step; changing a person is not that simple.
The man chuckled and raised his glass again with Zhang Qiu. His gaze shifted between Jiang Xue and Aunt He. Zhang Qiu began to chat casually with the man, asking, "What work did you do today, Uncle?"
"I set up a stage for a wedding in the neighboring village. It was easy work, and I’ll take it down tonight. It was quite relaxing, plus they provided meals—had a nice feast for lunch," the man said, drinking while chewing on pieces of cooked meat, satisfied and burping.
After several rounds of drinks, the man's cheeks were flushed from alcohol. However, Zhang Qiu felt fine; ever since following Grandpa Pingchuan's ancient cultivation methods, he no longer drank but had developed a higher tolerance. In the past, drinking this much would have made him blush, but now he seemed unaffected. As the drinks flowed, the man became more talkative, sharing everything—pleasant and unpleasant alike.
Zhang Qiu seized the opportunity to say, "A man must take responsibility. He should care for his family and his woman. No matter how tough or tiring it gets, he cannot let them down."
"Are you talking about me?" The man's raised glass suddenly froze in mid-air as his squinted eyes widened at Zhang Qiu.
"I speak for all men below."
"Hmph." The man downed his drink without concern and laughed dismissively. "What does it matter if it's you or me? I don’t care; how I act is my business—others have no say!"
"What's wrong? Don't like to hear that? Do you think I don't know why you're here? It's a joke!" The man slammed his glass on the table and pointed at Jiang Xue while shouting, "Isn't it because she called you here? Let me tell you something, kid: adults' matters are not for children to meddle in. Ask her where every penny for high school came from—it's all from me!"
"That was my dad's money!" Jiang Xue shouted back at the man.
"Nonsense." The man's face showed disdain. "Ask your mother who earned that money!"
Jiang Xue looked at her mother; she didn't need to speak—the look in her eyes conveyed everything. Aunt He remained silent as tears streamed down her face. Zhang Qiu understood the situation and pulled out a bank card, tossing it to the man. "I will give you back every cent you've spent on this family; leave them alone!"
The man picked up the card and laughed. "So you have money? That's good! But this is my wife and that's my daughter—what right do you have to make me leave?"
"You're not worthy!" Zhang Qiu shouted at the man, her heart burning with anger. How could there be such a jerk in the world?
"You don't need to be here; you have no say in this house. I don't agree, and you can't be with Jiang Xue!"
"Who I am with doesn't require your approval!" Jiang Xue, with tears in her eyes, also shouted at the man.
The man glanced disdainfully at Jiang Xue and barked, "Shut up!"
"You shut up!" Zhang Qiu stepped forward, grabbed the man's collar, and glared at him, saying, "Respecting you is treating you like a person, but if you don't consider yourself one, don't blame me for being rude!"
The man didn't take Zhang Qiu seriously at all. The smell of alcohol wafted from his mouth as he laughed, "What? Are you going to have someone from your bar come beat me up?"
"Oh, so you know I'm a bar owner. Then you should also know what kind of people work in this industry!" At this point, Zhang Qiu had to make things clear in front of Aunt He. If she didn't put the man in his place now, he would never let Jiang Xue and her mother go after they left. Jiang Xue could leave on her own, but what about Aunt He?
Sure enough, the man laughed loudly in response to Zhang Qiu's threat: "Even if you find someone to beat me up, so what? Do you dare to kill? If you touch even a finger of mine, I'll make sure they wish they were dead!"
Zhang Qiu suddenly pushed the man away. He stood there like a victorious rooster, proudly raising his head, took a big gulp from his glass, and looked at Zhang Qiu with a smug smile, saying, "What's wrong? No way out now?"
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