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Qing Shusheng walked out of his house, passed by the Azure Stone Bridge in front of his door, and followed the path between Clear Water and the pond to the west end of the village. He crossed the arched bridge and headed towards Bai Cuifen's home.
Just after crossing the arched bridge at the west end, before reaching Bai Cuifen's doorstep, he heard a dog bark. It was the big yellow dog from the neighbor's house next to Bai Cuifen. Upon seeing Qing Shusheng, a familiar face, it immediately stopped barking and wagged its tail as it walked away.
Hearing the bark, An Shaojie, who was daydreaming on his doorstep, knew that Qing Shusheng had arrived.
Why does he always come to my house secretly at night?
An Shaojie stood up abruptly and positioned himself in the middle of the doorway, clenching his fists.
Indeed, Qing Shusheng's actions gave off a sneaky vibe.
He could have taken a direct route to Bai Cuifen's house without going through the stone slab bridge at the east end of the village or detouring through the arched bridge at the west end. He could have simply walked past a few houses in front of the village and reached Bai Cuifen's home directly. However, ever since An Bingwen passed away, he had been taking a longer route.
This change in behavior felt very secretive.
Before An Bingwen's death, rumors about an improper relationship between him and Bai Cuifen had been circulating quietly in the village.
Well, now that An Bingwen was gone, every time Qing Shusheng visited Bai Cuifen's house, he always did so stealthily, as if feeling guilty like a thief. This made the gossip more straightforward and public than before; it was no longer subtle or hidden.
"Hmph! Look, that one is going to that house again." The neighbors with their doors wide open had already spotted Qing Shusheng's shadow heading towards Bai Cuifen's home in the darkness. They leaned out to find various excuses to step outside and watch.
"Hmph! They usually act so serious during the day, but at night, that one runs over to her house and takes a few detours. Is it really necessary? Who doesn't know about their relationship? Who can't see it? It's not like we're blind."
Once back inside, they complained to others in their homes without hesitation, even in front of their children. Thus, everyone in Liu Family Village knew about the improper relationship between Bai Cuifen and Qing Shusheng; even the children had some vague understanding of it.
As a result, those kids rarely played with An Shaojie and Shaw Min, especially An Shaojie, who seemed even less willing to play with them.
In fact, there was no need for the barking of the big yellow dog to remind everyone in the village that Qing Shusheng had gone to Bai Cuifen's house again.
As soon as Qing Shusheng stepped out, Liu Xiuzhen's scolding voice could be heard coming from their window far away.
When An Shaojie first heard Liu Xiuzhen cursing Qing Shusheng from inside their home, he quietly sat on his doorstep because sometimes Liu Xiuzhen's scolding could prevent Qing Shusheng from coming over.
However, upon hearing the dog bark, An Shaojie knew that Liu Xiuzhen's tantrum had clearly failed to stop Qing Shusheng tonight.
This filled An Shaojie with a sudden surge of intense anger, humiliation, and a sense of rebellion.
He clenched his fists tightly, biting down hard on his lip.
If you want to be sneaky, then at least don't let your family know, especially not that shrew of yours. Yet here you are, acting all secretive while everyone in Liu Family Village, young and old, knows about it. Are you not harboring ill intentions? Are you not trying to humiliate the orphan and widow in front of everyone in Liu Family Village?
No, it's not just Liu Family Village; people from the nearby villages and even the entire area probably know about his humiliation by now.
In the darkness, An Shaojie glared angrily at the tall shadow approaching his home.
Qing Shusheng walked over while lowering his head and scratching the back of his neck.
He didn't even know why he felt so timid and sneaky now.
In the past, when An Bingwen was alive, although there were rumors about him and Bai Cuifen in the village, what had he been afraid of? Who had he been wary of? Back then, he felt so open-hearted. When Liu Xiuzhen scolded him or tried to stop him, he had been so justified in his stance.
But now, he felt timid and cautious.
Was he truly feeling guilty now? Was his heart no longer at ease?
No, that wasn't it.
The reason he felt timid and cautious now was that he didn't want to bring her trouble and distress.
Now, all he wanted was to protect her well.
He thought that as long as he kept a low profile and stepped back in front of others, it would bring her peace.
But what he didn't realize was that sometimes many things wouldn't settle down just because of your forbearance and submission.
Gossip is even more so.
In the past, when Bai Cuifen first married into Liu Family Village, Liu Xiuzhen was very kind to her, often visiting and helping out whenever there was something going on at Bai Cuifen's home.
However, ever since An Shaojie was two years old and An Bingwen fell ill, bedridden for years, rumors began circulating in the village about an improper relationship between Qing Shusheng and Bai Cuifen.
At first, Liu Xiuzhen didn't pay much attention to it.
Later, the rumors became more rampant and public, with even some baseless claims being discussed in detail. Liu Xiuzhen started to believe them and ceased her friendship with Bai Cuifen. She also forbade Qing Shusheng from visiting their home or helping out, often arguing loudly with him about it at home, even cursing at Bai Cuifen indirectly.
Liu Xiuzhen was someone who loved to stir up trouble. When she argued or cursed at someone, she never held back. Each time she quarreled with Qing Shusheng, it became known throughout the entire village. Not only that, but neighboring villages also became aware of it.
As a result of Liu Xiuzhen's public outbursts and curses, what was once a baseless rumor between Qing Shusheng and Bai Cuifen became an accepted fact among everyone.
But during that time, Qing Shusheng never avoided suspicion because An Bingwen was still alive and trusted him.
Whenever Qing Shusheng visited their home and heard the curses from behind him by Liu Xiuzhen, An Bingwen would always look at him apologetically and say, “Shusheng Brother, I’m sorry for putting you through this.”
Then he would turn around and take Bai Cuifen's hand, saying, “Cui Fen, I’m sorry for putting you through this.”
At those moments, tears would always well up in Bai Cuifen's eyes as she felt grateful for An Bingwen's unwavering trust in her.
This was true for both Bai Cuifen and Qing Shusheng.
During that time, every time he saw the trusting gaze from An Bingwen and the pure, bright eyes of Bai Cuifen, Qing Shusheng silently vowed that for the sake of An Bingwen's trust and Bai Cuifen's pure feelings towards him, no matter how much love he harbored for her in his heart, he would forever bury those feelings deep within himself and act as a caring brother who looked after her.
Thus, he was filled with a fearless spirit of selflessness and broad-mindedness. He didn’t care about others’ gazes or opinions and stubbornly acted according to his own way.
But now he was afraid.
The reason for his fear wasn’t because he no longer felt selfless; rather, it was because now he had to consider her more. He needed to think about her feelings.
So, he was no longer the kind of person who would stubbornly do things his own way just because he believed he was right.
For her sake, he became more concerned about how others viewed him and started to tread carefully.
However, he did not realize that the more cautious he became, the more mysterious the gossip about him and Bai Cuifen spread.
This gossip only served as a source of amusement for others during their meals, but for Qing Shusheng and Bai Cuifen, it might have brought some distress, and perhaps even hurt.
Yet, for the young hearts of An Shaomin and An Shaojie, this gossip felt like a needle, pricking at their hearts from time to time.
Especially for An Shaojie, whose strong personality made him sensitive and proud; the gossip felt like a knife that stabbed at his heart every time it was quiet at night or whenever he saw Qing Shusheng.
So, when Qing Shusheng's figure appeared at the bridgehead, An Shaojie instinctively stood up, stepping out of the doorway and standing on the steps with his legs slightly apart, his body upright as he stared intently at Qing Shusheng approaching in the distance.
"An Shaojie, what are you doing standing here so late?" As Qing Shusheng reached the door, he looked at An Shaojie, who had his small hands clenched into fists, staring blankly at him.
In recent years, every time this kid saw him, it was as if he were facing an enemy. Although he was just a child, Qing Shusheng did not take his hostile attitude too seriously. He thought that as long as he was innocent in his relationship with Bai Cuifen, An Shaojie would change his attitude once he grew up and understood things better. But for some reason, every time he saw that hateful gaze from him, Qing Shusheng felt a bit uneasy.
This kid was nothing like his father or mother—soft and kind; there was a hidden fierceness in his eyes.
Sigh! Hopefully, he can use this fierceness to strive for the An family in the future but just not direct it towards people.
An Shaojie did not respond to Qing Shusheng's question but widened his stance even further and stretched out his arms to lean against the doorframe on either side.
Clearly, he intended to block Qing Shusheng from entering their home.
"An Shaojie, what are you doing?" Qing Shusheng gently reprimanded him.
An Shaojie still ignored him; instead, his eyes widened even more and his teeth clenched tighter, showing a determination to resist Qing Shusheng to the end.
Qing Shusheng stared at An Shaojie as they stood there in a standoff for a moment.
After a while, Qing Shusheng raised his hand and grabbed An Shaojie's hand, trying to push him away.
An Shaojie quickly seized Qing Shusheng's hand and leaned forward as if to bite him.
"An Shaojie, what are you doing?" A sharp voice suddenly came from behind, belonging to Bai Cuifen.
An Shaojie turned to look at Bai Cuifen.
Bai Cuifen stepped forward, pried An Shaojie's head away, and gently removed his hand that was propped against the doorframe.
Though extremely reluctant, seeing the angry look in Bai Cuifen's eyes, An Shaojie slowly lowered his stubborn head, and his gaze towards Bai Cuifen softened.
He gradually lowered his hand and slowly stepped aside.
After glancing at An Shaojie, Qing Shusheng walked inside.
Bai Cuifen moved a stool over, lightly tapped it with her fingers, and invited Qing Shusheng to sit down.
"Shusheng Brother, you came over so late. Is there something going on?" Bai Cuifen asked politely as she handed a cup of tea to Qing Shusheng.
At this moment, An Shaojie, standing aside, clenched his small fists tightly, his teeth grinding together.
Bai Cuifen and Qing Shusheng turned their heads almost simultaneously to look at An Shaojie.
"An Shaojie, why don't you go check what your sister is doing in her room? Then go to the kitchen and boil some water. You and your sister can wash up and go to bed," Bai Cuifen instructed An Shaojie.
An Shaojie did not listen to Bai Cuifen; instead, he suddenly turned around and dashed into the dark night.
"An Shaojie!"
Bai Cuifen called out towards the door. After a moment, she turned back and awkwardly smiled at Qing Shusheng. "This child has been in a strange mood these past few days. I don't know what's wrong with him."
Qing Shusheng smiled and said, "It's nothing. Children are like that; it's normal for them to be a bit mischievous."
At this point, Qing Shusheng paused, took the water that Bai Cuifen handed him, took a sip, and continued, "Sister-in-law, An Shaojie is already seven and a half years old. He has passed the age for starting school, and the new school year is about to begin. Aren't you planning to send him to school? He is the only male heir left by the An family, and the An family has always valued education."
"Oh, I have thought about this," Bai Cuifen said, lowering her head in guilt after hearing Qing Shusheng's words. "But..."
"But what? No matter how difficult it is, we can't let the child suffer. School is starting soon; other children are carrying their backpacks to school while he can't go. How do you think he feels? The child must be upset."
As Qing Shusheng spoke, he pulled out a roll of money from his pocket and handed it to Bai Cuifen, continuing, "Take this money and take An Shaojie to enroll in School Newspaper tomorrow."
"This..." Bai Cuifen hesitated, pulling her hand back slightly. "This won't do. Shusheng Brother, I can't take this money. I'll find a way for An Shaojie's schooling myself."
"You are just a woman; where will you find a way? Is borrowing my money not a solution?" Qing Shusheng said somewhat angrily as he stuffed the money into Bai Cuifen's hand.
"That's not what I meant; I..." Bai Cuifen stammered while holding the roll of money that Qing Shusheng had given her.
"Just take it without thinking too much. When An Shaojie and Shaw Min grow up and are in a position to repay me, then they can return it. Who knows, by then I might still need your help. Look at our Jiawei; he isn't even half as good as your An Shaojie," Qing Shusheng said as he lowered his head and sighed.
"Shusheng Brother, the children are still young; how can we make judgments now? An Shaojie is stubborn and has a strong personality; I'm worried about him. Jiawei is like you—smart and cheerful—such children are better," Cui Fen said as she moved a stool and sat down next to Qing Shusheng.
"Ah, Jiawei is fine in many aspects; I'm just worried that his personality might resemble his mother's—impatient and restless. I'm afraid he will suffer in the future. Qinglan too; if she were as steady and quiet as Shaw Min, I would feel more at ease. Girls should have gentler temperaments, but she is stubborn inside, which is similar to your An Shaojie. Sigh!" Qing Shusheng said while patting his knee and shaking his head.
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