The unattainable beauty was driven to depravity and madness by a wicked seed.

Lu Sui left early today and got home around 3 p.m. When he saw Liu Qiushui smiling kindly again, he felt a little embarrassed. He realized that he had upset Liu Qiushui last time. Without looking at Liu Qiushui, he stood next to Shen Qinghuai, grabbed his sleeve, and looked at him expectantly.

Shen Qinghuai asked Lu Sui to go to the living room while he went to get the things. Liu Qiushui said that Lu Sui had spent money again, but the supplements had indeed worked very well for her, and she had more energy in her speech and actions. It was precisely because of this that she felt guilty.

Although Shen Qinghuai and Lu Sui are good friends, there's no reason for him to bring expensive gifts every time he comes, making it difficult for others to repay him.

Liu Qiushui poured water for Lu Sui with a disposable cup. When she was about to hand it to him, she remembered that Lu Sui hadn't taken it last time and had used his own cup instead. She was about to put it on the table for Shen Qinghuai to drink from when Lu Sui took it. "Thank you... Auntie."

"You're welcome, you're welcome." Liu Qiushui smiled, her wrinkles deepening. "Drink slowly, it's hot."

Lu Sui couldn't drink hot drinks, so he put them on the table.

Shen Qinghuai put the things inside. Hearing the noise, Xu Suya stood at the door, looked out, and called out with a smile, "Qinghuai's back!"

Shen Qinghuai responded and invited Xu Suya to come in and sit down.

"No need, I just bought some shoe soles and yarn for your uncle. I'm planning to crochet two pairs of cotton shoes for him. It's still snowing in Northeast China right now, and he told me his feet are almost getting frostbite. He applies frostbite cream to his feet every night, and the calluses on his hands are rubbing against his skin, making it itchy. Every time he applies the cream, he chuckles. People laugh at him for being crazy. I need to finish them quickly and mail them to him..."

As Xu Suya spoke, she went back to the next room. Her voice came from next door, and Liu Qiushui laughed twice. She opened the window and spoke to Xu Suya, "Your husband's feet are more delicate than his face. The last time he posted a photo on his WeChat Moments, his face was smooth, but who would have thought he had chilblains on his feet? It's hilarious."

"Who says otherwise!" Xu Suya stood on the wall, holding an umbrella. "His skin is thicker than the wall between our two houses. If the weather weren't gradually warming up, the way he sits and rests wherever he goes, his butt would get frostbite!"

Shen Qinghuai put everything back in the living room, saw Lu Sui's eyes crinkle slightly, washed his hands, sat down next to him, and pinched his cheek. "Isn't what they say funny?"

"I have chilblains on my buttocks."

"Besides fingers, toes, and earlobes, sitting still for long periods of time and having a cold body can also cause your buttocks to grow."

Liu Qiushui was still chatting with Xu Suya when Xu Suya sneezed and said, "You talk to your son, I'm cold, the wind is blowing so hard my nose is about to bubble!"

"Then you should go back quickly and drink some hot water! For us, a cold is like a death sentence!"

"That's not right. We're only in our forties, it's not like we're dying!"

After talking for a while, Xu Suya was still standing by the wall. A gust of cold wind blew by, and she quickly walked to the living room, then came out again. "The peppers in my little vegetable garden are growing too much. If you want some, have Qinghuai pick some! And bring some back for me too. I'm having stir-fried peppers and eggs tonight."

Liu Qiushui said, "Okay!"

She then asked, "Didn't you have mouth ulcers?"

"So what? I'll fight fire with fire! My mouth ulcer will be healed by tomorrow!" Xu Suya refused to believe it; she was certain she could overcome this mouth ulcer.

When Liu Qiushui sat down again and turned around, Shen Qinghuai was feeding Lu Sui water from a cup, asking, "Is it hot?"

Lu Sui shook his head.

"Then have some more. After you finish, go back to your room. I'll go pick some chili peppers."

Liu Qiushui waved her hand, "No need, I'll go."

Lu Sui looked at Shen Qinghuai and said, "Pick some chili peppers."

Shen Qinghuai said, "Mom, you wait for us at home."

"Xiao Lu, don't go. It's raining outside, and the mud and water on the ground will splash all over your shoes and pants."

Lu Sui grabbed Shen Qinghuai's finger, "I want to go."

He spoke to Shen Qinghuai without looking at Liu Qiushui, frowning as he said again, "Go."

"Okay, let's go together." Shen Qinghuai finished the remaining half glass of water in Lu Sui's glass, went to find a plastic bag. The rain was light now, so he put a mask on Lu Sui, held an umbrella over her, and put his arm around her shoulder as they went to the vegetable garden.

Looking at the half-full glass of water on the table, Liu Qiushui thought to herself, Shen Qinghuai really treats Lu Sui like a brother. He's usually so clean, it's unbelievable that he'd drink someone else's leftover water like this.

The small vegetable garden was not far to the east of Xu Suya's house. She was a master at growing vegetables. No matter what kind of vegetables came to her garden, they would grow abundantly and well. She often invited the neighbors to pick vegetables whenever they wanted. Since they were not anything precious, the neighbors were also considerate and would not pick too much. When their own vegetables were growing well, they would also invite Xu Suya over.

He ran into a few familiar people on the way. He didn't greet those who didn't, and he didn't say anything to those who did. He just blocked Lu Sui behind him before stopping and turning around.

"Oh, it's Xiao Huai. I was wondering who it was. I didn't see you when you came back last week. Everyone said you bought a car, but it's a pity it got scratched and someone tried to extort a lot of money from you, right?"

"It's my friend's car," Shen Qinghuai said coldly.

"Friend? The one behind you? Why aren't you saying anything—"

"Uncle, I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now. It's raining, so you should go back quickly too. You can't afford to catch a cold and get sick." Shen Qinghuai left with Lu Sui. Lu Sui said that the old man was a bad person. He sounded like a bad person, and he looked like a bad person too. Shen Qinghuai nodded.

In the small vegetable garden, Shen Qinghuai didn't let Lu Sui come down. The rain was light, so he wore a hat and went down to pick peppers, cabbages, and even broke off a lettuce. He stepped into the mud, and when he came back up, he found a small puddle to wash the edges of his shoes. Lu Sui held an umbrella for him, but Shen Qinghuai said, "You hold the umbrella yourself, I have a hat."

"You will get sick."

Shen Qinghuai felt a warmth in his heart. "No, the rain is light, our clothes won't get soaked. Let's go back quickly, you can go inside."

Lu Sui tried several times to hold an umbrella for Shen Qinghuai, but Shen Qinghuai laughed and said, "Don't get your hair wet."

After arriving home, Shen Qinghuai went to wash his hands. His coat was covered in tiny water droplets, but it wasn't wet. Lu Sui poked it and said, "Expensive clothes are nice."

Shen Qinghuai wiped his sleeves with a towel and nodded in agreement, "Yeah, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to wear such expensive clothes."

Liu Qiushui frowned upon hearing this, and finally found an opportunity to pull Shen Qinghuai aside, "Did Xiao Lu also buy these clothes you're wearing?"

Liu Qiushui has her own principles. If she knew that Lu Sui bought the clothes, who knows what she would think. The three of them had a conflict and Lu Sui was unhappy. It was uncertain whether he would come back next time. Shen Qinghuai chose to lie, "Lu Sui introduced me to the store."

"That's good. We can't always let him buy us things, or what kind of people would we become?" Liu Qiushui spoke softly, afraid that Lu Sui would feel uncomfortable if he heard her. When she saw Lu Sui coming over, she raised her voice, "Little Lu, how about we have cured meat tonight? Qinghuai also picked some lettuce. It's the best when stir-fried with cured meat."

Lu Sui hummed in agreement. Seeing Liu Qiushui go to the kitchen, he gave Shen Qinghuai a hundred yuan, saying, "It's for buying groceries."

If you pick someone else's vegetables, you have to pay them.

Shen Qinghuai held the large red bill and put it back into Lu Sui's pocket. "No need to pay, otherwise Aunt Xu will be angry. Whether it's her or Mom, our two families are family."

"Give me the money." Lu Sui's attitude was firm.

Shen Qinghuai rephrased the question, "If you bought me a box of candy and I had to pay you back, would you be angry?"

Lu Sui would get angry, ignore Shen Qinghuai, and become mute. Then he would go back to his room to smoke, locking Shen Qinghuai outside. He would threaten Shen Qinghuai with Zhao Wenxiu, although his threats didn't scare Shen Qinghuai at all.

"For example, if you bought me a chocolate, and I insisted on paying you back, would you be angry?"

Lu Sui is angry now.

He and Shen Qinghuai are who they are, why do they have to be compared to others?