Chapter 34: Return to Kapok Village

Feng Yueliang immediately devised a scheme to test him. As she walked across the blue-checkered tiles, she feigned a slip, tilting her body and landing squarely on her bottom. She let out a sharp cry, "Oh, my! Such a luxurious and opulent room—I have no luck to enjoy it, and even a single glance at it is more than I can bear!"

Wu Xiaofeng, who had been walking ahead, turned quickly to pull her up. The moment he reached out, Feng Yueliang grabbed his hand, stood up, and took the opportunity to lean into his embrace. After a moment of hesitation, Wu Xiaofeng gathered her into his arms.

Feng Yueliang boldly wrapped her arms around his waist, clasping her hands behind him and pulling him tight. She murmured, "President Wu, I like you so much. You are so capable; you are the hero in my heart."

"You flatter me. I am actually quite ordinary," said Wu Xiaofeng, who stood half a head taller than her. As he spoke, he stroked her dark, cloud-like hair. Catching the faint scent of her skin, he felt a surge of tenderness and puckered his lips to kiss her fair, clean cheek.

This shallow kiss ignited deep-seated emotions within him. Finally, he spoke the words Feng Yueliang longed to hear: "Yueliang, I like you too. You are as pure as ice and jade, truly as beautiful and sacred as the moon—it is intoxicating."

Feng Yueliang pouted playfully, "Then why didn't you marry me instead of someone else?"

Wu Xiaofeng let out a "huff" and replied slowly, "There were reasons for that. Ten years ago, I had just graduated from high school. I hadn't gotten into university and was idling in the village, so I went to work at a construction site managed by the township construction station. That’s where I met Gong Yiwu’s uncle, Gong Yifa. Later, through a series of coincidences, a matchmaker introduced me to Gong Yawen. Eventually, Yawen and I had some disagreements, and I didn't want to continue, but she pursued me, even sending her aunt to mediate."

"When Gong Yifa found out, he approached me and said, 'If things work out between you and Yawen, we’ll be family. You’re working for our construction department; while I don't have the power to make you a permanent employee, I can use my connections to look after you, helping you secure projects and contracts to make a fortune.'"

Wu Xiaofeng stopped there. Feng Yueliang understood immediately: Wu Xiaofeng’s rise to success was entirely dependent on the help of Gong Yawen’s uncle, though she did not know the specific details. For instance, in the years that followed, the uncle had been promoted three times in rapid succession, eventually becoming the local director of the Construction Bureau, making his immense influence on Wu’s success self-evident.

In any case, the successful are the heroes, and since ancient times, heroes have been accompanied by beauties. Feng Yueliang, who secretly prided herself on being such a beauty, lifted her face with newfound confidence. She met Wu Xiaofeng’s lips with her own small, cherry-red ones. A long, passionate kiss followed—more eloquent than a thousand words, it dissolved the emotional barriers between them, merging them into a more intimate, tacit understanding.

Wu Xiaofeng, feeling restless and agitated, pushed her away gently and pointed to the bathroom adjoining the bedroom. "Come, let's go wash up together."

The bathroom in this suite was connected to the washroom, styled much like a hotel's, featuring a bathtub as large as a country storage cellar for soaking, and a lotus-style showerhead attached to a hose for showering. Every time Wu Xiaofeng stayed here, he would wash up; if he wasn't particularly dirty, he showered, but if he was drenched in sweat, he would soak.

One wall of the bathroom was fitted with a glass mirror, which, reflected against the smaller glass mirror on the wall opposite the vanity, seemed to expand the limited space. As Feng Yueliang walked in, she stood between the two mirrors. After admiring her own reflection for a moment, her gaze drifted away from her pretty face, only to see the mirrors reflecting each other, creating an infinite, layered tunnel of "mes"—large and small, near and far.

A nameless chill gripped her. She immediately leaned into Wu Xiaofeng’s arms, saying she was afraid.

"Afraid of what?" Wu Xiaofeng asked. "Just don't look at the shadows in the mirrors."

***

Wu Xiaofeng gave a pile of dirty clothes in the bathroom a nudge with his foot. "I plan to take these back for Yawen to wash."

"Wouldn't it be the same if I washed them for you?" Feng Yueliang made a fist and tapped his shoulder lightly.

Wu Xiaofeng laughed. "That’s true, but you don't need to wash them now. Your current task is to get yourself clean." He was clearly ready for what was to come.

That night, after Wu Xiaofeng and Feng Yueliang finished their affair in that luxurious suite, both felt as if they were trapped, and both changed their minds about returning home to Mumian Village. The next morning, they departed and hurried back to the bustling construction site on the outskirts of the city.

***

Lady Lei stopped questioning, but she worried for Lady Ma in her heart. She glanced at her daughter-in-law, who seemed both perfectly normal and deeply troubled. She noticed her daughter-in-law occasionally letting out odd, stifled laughs, only to appear dull and vacant the next moment, as if the few days spent working away had made her a stranger to her own family. Even after being back for most of the day, it seemed her mind had not yet returned.

Lady Lei muttered, "Yueliang, dear, now that you're back, get some rest. Stop letting your mind wander."

"Mother, I'm not thinking about anything," Feng Yueliang replied. It was a clear lie to cover her inner restlessness. Her body was home, but her heart was elsewhere. After nursing Lady Ma’s grandson, she should have gone to the kitchen to help her husband with dinner, but she didn't. She paced the house, then wandered around the courtyard outside, looking distracted and heavy-hearted.

Xu Sigui, seeing that his wife had finally returned after several days, treated her like an honored guest. Even though he didn't know what had happened to her or why she had changed, he didn't ask for her help. He worked until he was drenched in sweat, full of joy, planning to prepare a lavish dinner for her to share.

Just then, the baby in the cradle began to cry. Feng Yueliang, who was out for a stroll, heard it but did not return to the house to tend to the child. Lady Lei had to pick the baby up and call her in from the doorway, grumbling with dissatisfaction, "Yueliang, Xu Qi is being particularly fussy. Sigui and I have been taking turns caring for her, and we’re worn out. Since you’re back, you take care of Xu Qi tonight!"

"Xu Qi is your granddaughter and Xu Sigui’s daughter, shouldn't you be looking after her? I wasn't out playing; I was working. Why must I listen to this?" Feng Yueliang took the child from Lady Lei and shoved her breast into Xu Qi’s mouth, silencing the crying.

Xu Sigui, busy in the kitchen with his apron tied, heard every word. He hadn't been intimate with his wife for days; if she were occupied with the baby all night, it would ruin his plans. He stepped out and spoke to Lady Lei in a gentle, roundabout way, "Mother, why don't you continue to handle it for tonight? Yueliang just got back and is exhausted from her time away. Let her have a good night's sleep on her first night home. I promise I’ll take care of Xu Qi tomorrow night."

"Fine, fine!" Lady Lei conceded when her son spoke. But reflecting on what her daughter-in-law had just said, she felt a flare of irritation. She looked at her and said, "Yueliang, you should watch how you speak. Xu Qi is a descendant of the Xu family. You married into this family, so you are one of us. Since you gave birth to her, isn't she your descendant, too?"

"Mother, say no more." Xu Sigui mediated effectively. Seeing that his mother and wife were no longer arguing, he returned to the kitchen to finish the meal.

As dinner neared completion, the entire house was filled with the fragrance of food.

***

That day, after Lady Ma left Lady Lei’s house with the baby, she went to find a neighbor with a phone to make a call. Just as she picked up the receiver to dial, she heard the honk of a car and saw headlights sweeping across the yard.

The owner of the phone, who was holding the baby for Lady Ma, said, "Auntie Ma, is that your son coming home?"

Lady Ma put down the receiver and walked outside to look. A sedan was driving slowly toward her house. She took her grandson back from the neighbor and walked to her own front door.

Seeing her son and daughter-in-law step out of the car, she said happily to her daughter-in-law, "Yawen, you’re finally back! The baby is starving. I was just about to take him to Lady Lei’s to see if I could get the bottle nipple she uses for milk so he’d stop crying."

As she spoke, Lady Ma noticed her daughter-in-law’s stiff, expressionless face, as if she and her husband had been arguing. She stopped herself from asking why she had come back with Xiaofeng or if she had been at his construction site.

She looked at her son, who was busy unlocking the door with a grave expression, then glanced quickly at her daughter-in-law. "What’s wrong with you two? Did you have a fight?"

"No," Wu Xiaofeng said, opening the door and flicking on the lights, flooding the room with brightness. He turned to Lady Ma and said, "Mother, don't worry about our affairs."

Lady Ma asked with concern, "Have you two had dinner?"

Wu Xiaofeng nodded. He remembered stopping at a restaurant in Mumian Town on the way from the construction site to have a meal with his wife. She had frowned the whole time, barely eating a few bites before turning away, her head facing the other direction. He felt a pang of guilt—had she discovered or sensed something about him and Feng Yueliang?

*Impossible!* he thought. *It should have been seamless.* He had brought Feng Yueliang into the room at night and left at dawn, having her leave the building first.

Thinking this, he concluded she had no evidence, so he stopped dwelling on it. Seeing his wife deliberately giving him the cold shoulder, he asked, "What’s the matter? Did I offend you? If I did something wrong, just say it!"

As he spoke, he stood up and walked over to her.

Gong Yawen turned her back to him and blurted out, "You know perfectly well what you’ve done."

Hearing this, Wu Xiaofeng became truly nervous. He tried to remain calm, cleared his throat, and retorted, "I don't know. I haven't offended you."

Gong Yawen let out a cold hum. "Let’s talk about it once we’re back at the house in Mumian Village!"

Wu Xiaofeng had wanted to settle it right then and there, but seeing people in the restaurant peeking at their marital spat, he feared for his reputation and said, "Fine, let’s talk when we get back."

Now that they were back in their home in Mumian Village, though Wu Xiaofeng appeared calm on the surface, he was inwardly panicked. He bolstered his resolve: *She has no proof. No matter what she says, I will not admit to anything.*