After four years of living alone after marrying far away, he went back to his parents' home and

Lan Yujuan pressed herself against the corner of the wall outside the window, listening to the conversation between the mother and son inside, not daring to make a sound.

If the Liu family finds out that I overheard their plan, I won't be able to escape even more.

It's also her fault for being too naive before, never even imagining that her husband would lay a hand on her.

But everything she experienced today made her realize that once the two sides break off relations, there's nothing the Liu family wouldn't do!

"Mom, what else can you do? Matters between men and women are always consensual."

"If Lan Yujuan is unwilling, can anyone force her?"

"If things go too far and someone dies, then it would be even more of a loss!"

Inside the room, Liu Zhiyuan's tone sounded quite conflicted, as if he still hadn't made up his mind.

"Pah! Pah! Pah! It's the New Year, why are you saying such unlucky things!" Tian Xiuhua said irritably.

"Consensual? You really think this is a relationship?!"

"I'll pick a suitable day later, go to the next village to find a veterinarian and get some medicine to induce estrus in the livestock. What can't be accomplished then?"

"Don't worry, as long as we have that money-losing girl in our hands, Lan Yujuan won't escape our grasp!"

"Forget about threatening suicide, if you tell her to go east, she won't dare go west."

Liu Zhiyuan listened without saying a word for a long time. In a sense, this could be considered a tacit acquiescence.

After a long while, Tian Xiuhua sighed softly and comforted him, "Son, try to think more positively!"

"If a man is capable, let alone Lan Yujuan and Li Jiaojiao, what kind of woman can't he find?"

"Didn't you complain to me back then that Lan Yujuan's father looked down on you and despised you from the bottom of his heart?"

"Hmph, just wait and see!"

"After Lan Yujuan and your brother get their marriage certificate and have a son, I'll arrange for your brother to accompany Lan Yujuan back to her parents' home!"

"The deed is done. Even if they don't acknowledge their son-in-law, they'll have to acknowledge their grandson, right? In short, they have no choice but to accept this marriage!"

Liu Zhiyuan's breath hitched, and he said in a dry voice, "Why is the Lan family being dragged into this?"

"The Lan family and our Liu family are worlds apart. Even if... it really comes to that, there's no need for Liu Zhigang to accompany her back to her parents' home, is there?"

Tian Xiuhua quickly replied, "How could it be that bad?"

"Didn't you say that Lan Yujuan's family is well-off, that her parents are highly educated, and that they have high pensions?"

"When you get back to your mother's house with your brother, I'll tell him to be a little more charming and we can also get the dowry back while we're at it!"

"I've heard that some brides' families in other provinces bring incredibly generous dowries. The furniture and appliances are just the basics; slightly better families bring villas, luxury cars, and huge sums of money!"

"You know, your brother is good at everything, except he's not very good at making money."

"If your father-in-law's family can help you in the future, and with your support as the older brother and your appropriate financial assistance as the younger sister, we'll be able to make ends meet..."

Liu Zhiyuan interrupted, "Mom, what you're saying is getting more and more outrageous!"

"Lan Yujuan's family is just an ordinary, slightly well-off family. How could they afford a villa or mansion! And they even gave her a huge sum of savings as a dowry? What are you thinking!"

Tian Xiuhua snorted in dissatisfaction, "That's all I used as an analogy; as long as you understand it, that's fine!"

"Even without luxury cars, mansions, or huge sums of money as dowry, it shouldn't be too difficult for Lan Yujuan to bring back a retirement pension card, right?"

"These days, don't city dwellers all emphasize splitting the costs equally when they get married and live together?"

"Even if the Lan family gives us a salary card, it's for supporting their daughters and grandchildren! We don't eat their rice or take advantage of them, right?"

Lan Yujuan hid in the corner, a chill running down her spine.

Is this the man and his family I chose? It's terrifying!

On the surface, everything seems calm, but in reality, they are not only plotting to exploit her to the bone, but even her parents, who live thousands of miles away, cannot escape their exploitation!

"Mom, that's enough!" Liu Zhiyuan said impatiently. "You two can handle this after Jiaojiao and I leave!"

"I came over before bed because I was worried about Dad. He didn't eat dinner either, how is he now?"

"If it really doesn't work, while I'm still home, how about taking him to the county hospital tomorrow?"

When Tian Xiuhua mentioned her husband, she instantly lost interest and said indifferently, "What are you looking at? Don't worry, your dad's still breathing!"

"Even though he's cured, he's never home. Besides fooling around, wasting money, and making a fool of himself, he doesn't do anything productive!"

"It's better to let him rest and recuperate quietly than to waste money on hospitalization and treatment. It'll save the whole family a lot of trouble!"

Liu Zhiyuan was silent for a while, and finally squeezed out a cool sentence: "Okay, it's good that nothing happened."

"Mom, you've worked so hard! We'll leave Dad's health to you..."

Lan Yujuan hid outside the window until Liu Zhiyuan left.

After the lights in her mother-in-law's room were turned off, she heard sounds of her taking off her shoes, getting into bed, and quietly beating her father-in-law. Only then did she dare to tiptoe to her own room.

As night deepened, the lights in all the rooms of the Liu family's house were turned off one after another.

After returning to her room, Lan Yujuan turned off the lights and went to bed. Leaning against the headboard, she continued to create and update her work on her phone while waiting for her in-laws. She gradually fell asleep.

After 9 p.m., snoring gradually filled the rooms, and even the scattered cell phone lights went out one by one.

The nights in the countryside are not only eerily dark, but also frighteningly quiet.

However, it is very suitable for sleeping. Even people who often work overtime and suffer from insomnia can easily fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow when they return to their hometown.

Lan Yujuan couldn't sleep at all tonight.

She silenced her phone and changed into her best sneakers.

I rummaged through the closet for a baby carrier, carefully wrapped my sleeping daughter in it to keep her warm, and then strapped it onto my back.

Finally, she stuffed the unused pillow into the blankets to create the illusion that she was still lying in bed.

Then he tiptoed to the cowshed, retrieved his backpack, and quietly left through the back door.

In the darkness, she took shortcuts based on her memory of the day.

Before leaving Xiahe Village, she dared not stop or turn on her flashlight.

In the distance, Lan Yujuan saw a crimson dot in the sky, flickering at the corner of the path, and could vaguely hear the sound of rushing water.

Lan Yujuan was startled; not only did her breathing quicken, but her heartbeat also began to race.

What is that?

She had absolutely no memory of this unusual phenomenon.

The legendary will-o'-the-wisp, isn't it supposed to be blue?

Lan Yujuan swallowed hard, and could only steel herself and slowly approach.

Because this path is remote, few people pass by during the day, let alone at night.

If she were to walk alone along the main road of the village late at night, she would inevitably disturb the village's nosy dogs.

Only by taking this small path and bypassing the territories marked out by the dogs could she possibly leave quietly and safely.

She kept her eyes glued to the direction from which the sound of water came, silently chanting in her heart: "Namo Amitabha Buddha, I won't mess with you, but you shouldn't mess with me..."

However, the closer she got, the more she sensed that something was wrong:

Although her vision was blurry, the temperature of the surrounding air was noticeably higher. For some reason, the hairs on her body stood on end.

There seems to be someone standing on the path ahead!

He is...fertilizing.

"Have you seen enough?"

A deep, husky male voice suddenly rang out from slightly above, "Want me to turn on a light for you so you can see better?"