"Who names their son Chenyuan? It sounds so sinister."
Lin Yan huddled against the wall, her bright eyes occasionally darting toward the man. The room was pitch dark, obscuring his face.
The next morning, Lin Yan tiptoed out of bed, neatly folded the blanket, and stacked the pillows on top.
She craned her neck, quietly watching the sleeping Lu Chenyuan, who hadn't even covered himself with a blanket at night.
Could it be that the only blanket in the house was given to her? People used to say they were so poor they couldn't even afford bedding.
Now, Lin Yan realized that compared to her family, Lu Chenyuan's life made her household look well-off.
She slipped off her shoes, gathered the folded blanket, and eased over to Lu Chenyuan's side. Carefully, she draped the blanket over him before heading to the kitchen.
The kitchen was tidied up and everything was clean, so clean that Lin Yan could only find half a packet of noodles and a few dry scallions.
Lu Chenyuan opened his eyes to find the lightly scented blanket on him. He pinched his brow, thinking she had left early in the morning.
He thought she was considerate.
"You… you should put on your clothes,"
Hearing the woman's soft, startled voice, Lu Chenyuan leisurely finished dressing.
Lin Yan fearfully swallowed, her face flush yet pale, having just spotted a fierce scar on Lu Chenyuan's back.
She guessed he might have been involved with the underworld in the past, judging by the long, daunting scar surely caused by a knife. It must have hurt.
Lu Chenyuan finished buttoning his shirt and said sternly, "You said last night you would leave tomorrow. Why haven't you left yet?"
Lin Yan was holding a bowl of Yangzhou noodles, which she placed on a small wooden table on the kang bed.
She held it a bit too long, blowing on her reddened fingers from the heat.
As she blew, her face puffed up like an angry little pufferfish.
"I said I'd leave tomorrow, not today. Eat first; breakfast is important," she insisted.
Lu Chenyuan's expression darkened, his eyes sharp and piercing as she repeatedly defied him.
"Don't follow me. You see my situation. I can't afford another mouth to feed. Are you really that desperate for a man?"
Lu Chenyuan still didn't understand what she was really after.
As he mentioned he couldn't afford it, Lu Chenyuan suddenly found it ironic. He, the chairman of the Lu Corporation, who controlled the nation's economic lifeline, saw money as merely numbers.
Hiding away for so long, he resented using such an excuse to brush off a girl. He was bound to leave, not wanting another burden.
Feeling belittled, Lin Yan nodded vigorously, "No more men left. It's just you and Zhang the Blind's son in the village. Being with you is better than pushing someone's wheelchair."
Lu Chenyuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, a laugh escaping him in frustration, "Thanks a lot for the compliment."
Lin Yan's plump hand pointed to where she slept last night: "Look, I only take up a tiny bit of space, and I don't eat much. These days, finding a wife isn't easy, and you don't need much. I heard even marriage licenses are free now."
"Getting a free wife, and you don't want it?" As she spoke, tears began to fall from Lin Yan's eyes.
Her shoulders trembled as she cried. She wasn't adept at much, but she sure could cry easily.
As she sobbed, she still remembered to hand Lu Chenyuan a pair of chopsticks, "Eat now, or the noodles will clump together."
The proud Chenyuan, unwittingly terrified by Lin Yan's crying, compromised and took over the chopsticks.
Lin Yan wiped her tears with her sleeve, sat on the edge of the bed, stole a glance at the steaming noodles, swallowed her saliva, then turned her head away and looked no more.
"Aren't you eating?" Chenyuan only then noticed that there was only one bowl of noodles.
"I'm not hungry. I can eat less and work more," Lin Yan sniffed her reddened nose and said softly.
It wasn't that she wasn't hungry; there was so little in the kitchen. She even wanted to add an egg to the noodles but didn't have the means to do so.
Chenyuan gave her a cold glance, lowered his head to eat the noodles, and found the plain bowl of noodles surprisingly tasty and fresh.
Chenyuan ate his meal methodically, making almost no sound. Lin Yan turned her head; this was the first time she had seen a man eat with such elegance, slowly swallowing his food, which was frustrating to watch.
Lin Yan dug out her wallet from her backpack and took out all her money, exactly five hundred Yuan — her private savings.
She slapped the money on the table very generously, "Eat up quickly. We'll go to the county in the afternoon to buy a quilt and some vegetables and rice. There's so little in the kitchen now that even a mouse would cry."
She was actually reluctant to part with it; after these purchases, she would be left with no money at all. But if she didn't buy them, they couldn't carry on. They couldn't just lie together, sharing one quilt, and open their mouths to the northwest wind.
Chenyuan put down his chopsticks, "You're not thinking of leaving? Staying with me is worse than pushing a wheelchair for someone else; at least they would feed you well, and you wouldn't have to worry about not having a second bowl of noodles at home."
Lin Yan's empty stomach quite aptly growled twice, and she embarrassedly covered it with her hand while her delicate eyebrows furrowed.
Seeing her like this, Chenyuan somehow smiled naturally.
"Is anyone home? Is there anyone at home?" The big iron gate in the yard shook violently as a woman yelled in a shrill voice.
Lin Yan recognized the voice as Zhou Ping's, locked the door securely, and pretended no one was home.
Zhou Ping tiptoed to peer inside, keenly heard the sound of the lock, and cursed loudly, "Little bastard, come out! Don't hole up inside playing dead."
Chenyuan glanced at the woman who looked as frightened as a rabbit, "Ever since you arrived, my yard has never been quiet."
This time Lin Yan didn't cry; her face scrunched up, the hungrier she was, the more aggrieved she felt.
She would back down when things came up — who would want to stir up trouble? She didn't start trouble, but trouble found her.
"Come out, your dad is looking for you!" Zhou Ping continued to shout.
Knowing her father had been released, Lin Yan abruptly looked up, hurried to open the door and let Zhou Ping in.
Chenyuan watched Lin Yan's impatience and also figured out what kind of character she had.
Zhou Ping entered the yard, looked at the bare yard without even a motorcycle, and scornfully pursed her lips.
She had previously thought of marrying Lin Yan off to the next village over, switching the bride price for savings for Yangyang's future marriage.
The neighboring village was affluent; the bride prices for marrying a wife there started at a minimum of one hundred thousand Yuan, plus three golds.
If it weren't for this incident, how could she allow this old bachelor to get a bargain?
The more Zhou Ping thought about it, the more infuriated she became, as if someone had robbed her of a hundred thousand Yuan.
Lin Yan quickly asked Zhou Ping, "Where's Dad? Is he back home? I'll go find him now."
As Lin Yan was about to leave, Zhou Ping, with her arms as stout as pig hocks, raised them to stop her.
"Your dad wants to see his new son-in-law. It's no use just you going back alone. Where is he? He should come out too."