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墨書 Inktalez
Yang Tong and Lu Zheng locked eyes, both unwilling to back down. The sun hung high in the sky, casting their tall shadows on the ground.
They stood face to face, their heights nearly identical, gazing at each other with turbulent emotions swirling in their eyes, a silence that spoke volumes. Yang Tong had a thousand words he wanted to say, but he knew he couldn't create trouble for her. After all, this man before him was still her lawful husband.
A group of people nearby watched the two of them.
"What deep grudge could there be between Yang Lianzhang and Lu Yingzhang? They look like they’re about to fight every time they meet," one person remarked, glancing nervously at the pair.
"Who knows? It’s not like this is the first time they've acted like this. As long as they don’t actually start fighting, it’s none of our business. If they do, we can just step in!" another replied.
"You’re right; we can’t afford to offend either of them. If one gets upset, we’ll be the ones suffering in the end."
Yang Tong watched as Lu Zheng held something in his hands—food supplies. After a moment of silence, he said, "You take good care of her. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to compete with you."
Seeing the surprise in Lu Zheng's eyes, a bitter smile crept onto Yang Tong's face, tinged with a sense of defeat.
"Alright, you should go back to cooking!"
He knew very well what Wen Qian meant; he just didn’t want to admit it to himself. After everything that had happened, she still chose not to divorce Lu Zheng—wasn’t that a clear statement of her stance? She had distanced herself from him more than ever—wasn’t that a way to draw a line between them?
He understood it all too well; his heart was heavy with that knowledge. He didn’t want to put her in a difficult position or force her to make choices. He willingly took a step back, retreating into the realm of friendship. However, if he caught even the slightest opportunity, he would seize it and never let go.
In an instant after speaking, Yang Tong felt an overwhelming fatigue wash over him as if all his energy had been drained away. He leaned against the wall, head bowed and eyes dimmed, reflecting a glimmer of light.
Lu Zheng looked at him seriously and said, "I won’t give you any chances." With that, he strode away.
Yang Tong lifted his head slightly, squinting at Lu Zheng's retreating figure with a bitter smile. His tightly clenched fists betrayed his inner turmoil and unwillingness.
It was alright; he had already waited this long; waiting a little longer wouldn’t matter. Soon enough, it would all pass.
A gentle breeze brushed against his face as sunlight filtered through the dense leaves above him. He closed his eyes and let himself relax against the wall.
In the family courtyard, Wen Qian and two others were still chatting. Lin Si stood up as she felt uncomfortable from sitting too long.
Suddenly, they heard a voice from outside: "Auntie! We’re here to play with Xiao Chen!"
When Wen Qian opened the door, she saw several children standing outside the courtyard gate, with Wen Yuanyuan at the front acting like a little leader.
Wen Qian looked at them; they were the same kids who had helped testify yesterday. Suddenly, she felt a bit embarrassed and apologetic.
In the afternoon and evening yesterday, the sounds of several children crying had echoed throughout the family compound, loud enough to nearly shatter the peace of the place. Just earlier, Lin Si and Aunt Tian had laughed, saying that the cries must have come from those same children.
Climbing walls and sneaking to the small river on the east side to catch earthworms were no trivial matters. Any misstep could lead to serious consequences. If someone fell while climbing, they could easily break a bone, or worse, lose their life. The small river, despite its name, had swift currents and was quite deep. Recently, there had been reports of several children from nearby villages drowning; even those who could swim were at risk. For these kids from the family compound, who couldn't swim at all, it was even more dangerous—once they fell in, they might never come out.
Thus, to teach the children a lesson, their parents had genuinely gotten angry yesterday and were determined to instill some discipline. Now, looking at these kids, Wen Qian felt immensely grateful.
"Come in!"
Wen Yuanyuan hurried over and grabbed Wen Qian's hand, her little face beaming as she looked up at her with a sweet smile. "Auntie, I came to play with you because I like you."
"I like you too, Yuanyuan." Wen Qian pinched her little cheek affectionately, unable to resist her charm.
Xiao Chen had only recently gained a bit of weight, but his hands still felt far less pleasant than Wen Yuanyuan's.
A few boys rushed in upon seeing Wang Zhuo and Lu Chen.
"Wang Zhuo, you're here too! I was wondering why your door was closed."
Wang Zhuo nodded and handed a toy to Lu Chen for him to play with. "My mom said to bring me and my brother to play, so I came."
"Let's play together!"
"Okay!"
Wen Qian went inside and brought out some milk candies for each of them—two pieces each—as a token of gratitude.
"Auntie thanks you for helping us testify yesterday; you are all good kids. This candy is my gift to you and something you deserve."
The children looked at the milk candies in their hands with excitement, quickly expressing their gratitude to Wen Qian.
Although they were all children from military families, most had come from rural areas where their families relied on their fathers' meager allowances to get by. They also needed to send money back home to their parents while managing their own households. With every penny counted, life was tight; they wanted to save up in case of any small illness or injury—after all, they couldn't afford not to have even a single cent available!
In this way, filling their stomachs was already a blessing; there was hardly any spare money for snacks for the kids. Having grown up in rural settings where life was tough, they understood the value of money well—if there were snacks available, they would eat them; if not, they would endure without complaint.
Now that they suddenly had two milk candies in hand, it felt like happiness had struck them like a bolt from the blue; they were salivating at the thought of it.
They looked gratefully at Wen Qian and said earnestly, "Auntie, we should do this! My mom says that we must be honest and never tell lies."
"My mother said the same thing. She told me I did the right thing yesterday, and even when she hit me, she was gentle," the little boy said, smiling shyly as he rubbed the back of his head.
Wen Qian looked at them with a smile, thinking they were all good kids. She noticed a few of the children hesitating, wanting to eat but feeling reluctant to take it.
"It's okay, this is something I want to give you. It's my heartfelt intention, so please take it! If you don't take it, I won't be happy," Wen Qian encouraged.
Hearing this, the children had no choice but to accept. They thanked Wen Qian gratefully. The milk candies were too expensive for them; they couldn't bear to eat them.
One child couldn't resist and opened one, taking a bite before putting the rest in his pocket, nervously patting it as if afraid it would fall out. Another little boy shyly licked his candy, savoring the taste before quickly sealing it back up to save for sharing with his siblings at home.
A pang of sadness filled the hearts of Wen Qian and Aunt Tian as they watched the children. Aunt Tian blinked back tears and sighed deeply. "Alas, it's all about being poor; they can't even afford candy."
They were better off here than in the village, where children started helping out at home from a young age—cutting pigweed, gathering firewood, and during busy farming seasons, picking up wheat ears and corn kernels. They were truly pitiful.
Wen Qian gave each of them another candy, insisting they must eat one right there. Only then did the children eat one without hesitation. Wang Zhuo and Lu Chen also got their share while Wen Yuanyuan sat nearby enjoying her milk candy. The little girl clearly had a habit of eating them often.
Wen Qian continued chatting with Aunt Tian and the others while Wen Yuanyuan stayed close by her side, occasionally glancing up at her. Wen Qian would look back at her and then at Lu Chen, who wore a bright smile on his innocent face that struck a chord deep within her heart.
When Lu Zheng returned home, he was greeted by a warm scene: a group of playing children filled the air with laughter while three women and a little girl sat together chatting. At that moment, the concept of "home" slowly began to emerge in his mind.
As Lin Si finished speaking, she noticed some commotion at the door. Turning around, she was taken aback to see Lu Zheng standing there, her expression instantly stiffening.
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