Siheyuan: At the beginning, I can integrate everything!

A cold wind rushed in through the wide-open wooden door.

Xu Damao rubbed his frozen hands, and before he could even stand firmly, he saw clothes and bedding scattered all over the ground.

"What's going on? Were you robbed?"

His brows furrowed, and he impatiently kicked aside an old cotton-padded jacket at his feet.

"Lou Xiao'e, I'm talking to you... Oh my god!"

Before the words were even finished...

A crumpled ball of paper hit Xu Damao on the head and bounced to the ground.

Lou Xiao'e sprang up from the ground like a crazed mother leopard.

Her eyes were bloodshot, the whites of her eyes filled with blood vessels, as she stared intently at the man in front of her.

"Xu Damao! You beast who gave birth to a child without an anus!"

Lou Xiao'e's voice completely cracked, emitting a shrill, broken tone.

She swung her arm in a wide arc.

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

Two resounding slaps landed squarely on Xu Damao's long, horse-like face.

The force was terrifying; Lou Xiao'e's own palms went numb from the shock, and her fingertips trembled uncontrollably.

Xu Damao was stunned by the blow; his head was buzzing, and five bright red finger marks instantly appeared on his left cheek.

A salty, fishy taste filled my mouth.

"Are you fucking insane?!"

Xu Damao covered his face, glaring and roaring, "I've been working myself to the bone outside, and you dare to lay a hand on me?!"

Lou Xiao'e's chest heaved violently, and her breathing was as heavy as a broken bellows.

She stretched out a trembling finger and pointed to the wad of paper on the ground.

"How long are you going to keep lying to me?"

She gritted her teeth, each word escaping from between them, "Three years... I drank so much of that dark, murky herbal medicine that I suffered a stomach hemorrhage, all to give you a son or daughter!"

"When your mother was pointing her finger at me and yelling at me for being useless, you were just standing there laughing at me!"

Tears streamed down Lou Xiao'e's pale face.

"So...so you, Xu Damao, were born a good-for-nothing!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao felt a chill run down his spine.

He looked down in a panic, his gaze sweeping over the crumpled diagnosis certificate from Peking Union Medical College Hospital on the ground.

The familiar blue penmanship on it felt like poisonous thorns piercing his eyes.

It’s over.

These two words exploded in his mind.

How did the secret he had kept locked at the very bottom of the camphor wood chest get unearthed?

Cold sweat trickled down his temples, and he opened his mouth, his tongue slightly tied in knots.

"E'zi...you...you hear me explain, this...this is a misdiagnosis! That doctor is a quack!"

"I'll explain my ass!"

Lou Xiao'e spat fiercely, her eyes filled with unyielding hatred.

"Divorce! I'm going to the neighborhood committee to get a divorce tomorrow!"

She grabbed a camel-colored coat haphazardly from the side, turned around, and rushed out the door.

"I'm going to let everyone in the entire compound and the entire alley know that you, Xu Damao, are a spineless eunuch!"

Upon hearing that the incident was going to escalate outside, Xu Damao's panic instantly turned into fury.

If this gets out, how will he ever be able to work at the steel mill again?

Wouldn't those people in the compound laugh him to death?

The man's pride was completely crushed and ground into the ground.

"You bitch, if you dare go around spouting nonsense, I'll beat you to a pulp today!"

Driven by malice, Xu Damao, his eyes red, chased after her.

By this time, the commotion in the backyard had already alerted the neighbors.

Aunt Erda was carrying a basket and peering curiously in this direction.

Yan Jiecheng stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning against a pillar in the passageway, watching the commotion.

Zhang Huaimin was sitting on the threshold of the east wing of his house, holding half a piece of glutinous rice strip in his hand.

He looked at Xu Damao, who was chasing after him aggressively, and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

This man has no heir, and he still wants to beat his wife?

Zhang Huaimin's consciousness sank, and he brought up the system panel.

"Extract the unlucky stickers."

A transparent virtual sticker appeared on his chubby little fingertip.

He curled his fingers, using the act of eating as cover, and aimed at the back of Xu Damao's head.

"go."

A barely perceptible gust of air flashed by.

The bad luck sticker landed precisely on the back of Xu Damao's head, instantly turning into a wisp of black smoke and disappearing inside.

Lou Xiao'e was wearing high heels and didn't run very fast. She had just rushed to the front yard.

"Stop right there!"

Xu Damao was hot on his heels, his face contorted with rage, his hand almost grabbing the back of Lou Xiao'e's coat.

We were about to step over the high red-lacquered threshold of the courtyard house.

The bad luck has taken effect.

Xu Damao's right shoe sole inexplicably stepped on a frozen cabbage stalk that appeared out of nowhere.

In winter, the stalks of cabbage freeze solid, making them more slippery than ice when stepped on.

"Holy crap—"

Xu Damao slipped and lost his balance.

His two long, thin legs dramatically split in mid-air, and he fell straight backward.

But it's not over yet.

The moment he fell, his back hit the edge of the threshold.

The immense inertia carried him along, like an uncontrollable rolling gourd.

With a "glug-glug" sound, it rolled straight down the steps and out of the courtyard gate.

It rolled all the way to the main street paved with bluestone slabs in Nanluoguxiang.

pain.

The pain was so intense it felt like my bones were clenched.

Xu Damao was so dizzy from the fall that he saw stars.

He gritted his teeth, cursing as he tried to push himself up with his hands.

"Hiss—this is fucking weird..."

He had just stuck his butt out, before he could even stand up straight.

Below the threshold, there was a long, rusty iron nail that had somehow protruded.

It clung tightly to the back waistband of his khaki suit trousers.

Xu Damao was in a hurry to stand up and chase after Lou Xiao'e when he suddenly leaned forward.

"Sizzle—!"

The crisp sound of tearing fabric seemed out of place on the empty street.

The sound was crisp, long, and possessed a destructive penetrating power.

Xu Damao suddenly felt a chill in his lower body.

The cold wind blew in without any obstruction.

He looked down.

That rusty nail was like a sharp pair of tailor's scissors.

It slashed down his trousers from the waistband, sweeping away everything in its path.

The suit trousers on the outside, along with the faded thermal underwear underneath.

It was ripped open with a gaping hole half a meter long!

Two tattered pieces of cloth hung limply on their calves.

At this moment, Xu Damao was exposed to the cold wind in a very ungraceful half-squatting position.

The most critical thing is...

He wore bright red shorts underneath his clothes today for a festive look!

That glaring bright red stood out even more than the traffic lights on the gray and white winter street.

The air freezes.

Several steel mill fitters who had just finished get off work and were passing by the alley entrance were all stunned.

Aunt Li, who was selling tofu across the street, dropped the tofu she was holding onto the ground with a thud.

Several old men were sunbathing against the wall, their mouths agape, their dentures almost falling out.

Even the second aunt and Yan Jiecheng, who had chased after them, were stunned on the spot.

After a brief period of deathly silence.

A burst of laughter erupted from Nanluoguxiang, as if the rooftops were about to be blown off.

"Oh my god! Xu Damao, what are you doing, acting all high and mighty in broad daylight?!"

Aunt Li laughed until tears streamed down her face, pointing at Xu Damao and slapping her thigh.

"Hahaha! Those bright red shorts are so stylish! Da Mao, you're really paying attention to your zodiac year!"

Several young fitters whistled loudly.

The neighbors in the compound were clutching their stomachs, laughing so hard they almost fell over.

Xu Damao was stunned for two seconds.

When he realized what had happened, his face instantly turned a deep purplish-red, like a pig's liver.

The shame that made him want to disappear into the ground, mixed with the chill of the winter wind, overwhelmed him.

"What are you laughing at! What's so funny!"

He frantically tried to cover his buttocks with his hands, but the tattered cloth couldn't hide the dazzling red at all.

The more you try to cover it up, the more ridiculous and laughable it becomes.

This is so embarrassing!

He was a projectionist at a steel mill, a self-proclaimed cultured man; when had he ever suffered such a humiliating disgrace?

Xu Damao's eyes darted around, no longer caring about saving face or chasing after Lou Xiao'e.

He clutched his bright red underwear tightly, hunching over.

Like a red-bottomed monkey whose tail has been stepped on.

Amidst deafening laughter, he limped wildly towards the courtyard.

Zhang Huaimin sat on the threshold and patted the crumbs of pastry off his hands.

Looking at Xu Damao's disheveled figure, a hint of mockery flashed in his eyes.

This is called cause and effect, and there's no way to escape it.

on the street.

Lou Xiao'e wrapped her camel-colored coat tighter around herself and coldly watched Xu Damao's ridiculous and ugly behavior.

There was not a trace of pity in her eyes, only utter disgust and relief.

A tricycle carrying passengers on a backwards donkey happened to pass by.

"Master, to the Lou family mansion."

Lou Xiao'e climbed onto the tricycle and sat up straight.

She didn't look back at the courtyard house where she had lived for three years.

The tricycle driver pedaled, and the chain made a "creaking" sound.

The cold wind tousled Lou Xiao'e's curly hair, and the tear stains in her eyes had already been dried by the wind.

"Sir, could you please ride faster?"

Lou Xiao'e looked at the gray street ahead, her voice filled with a bone-crushing coldness and determination.

"This awful place, these disgusting people..."

"I, Lou Xiao'e, would rather die outside than ever set foot inside again!"