It was the first time in the village that a man divorced his wife.

The reason was simple: infidelity.

It was not easy for a poor man like Ji Ming to marry a woman. Every family treasures their wife, but who would want to marry someone like Ji Shen, who carried around a burden? No one in the village was willing to marry Ji Shen, so he had to bring her from a neighboring village.

Being able to marry Ji Shen meant that she had the final say in everything. Ji Ming knew very well how much Ji Sang had suffered since Ji Shen arrived. He just wanted to maintain this household. He let Ji Shen have her way with the petty fights and arguments that women often engage in, and most of the time, Ji Ming turned a blind eye.

Well, let Ji Sang suffer. After all, it was unfortunate for a child to have no mother. Such a child was like a lonely weed.

He only wanted a home for himself. After working hard outside all day, he wanted to return home to his wife and children by the warm hearth.

Even when Ji Sang was drugged before marrying Wen Jian, Ji Ming didn’t blame Ji Shen for it!

Ah, who would have expected that in the end, it would turn out to be a betrayal!

When Ji Ming went with Ji Shen to the Lizheng’s place to write the divorce letter and settle the financial matters, he hunched over, looking as if he had aged ten years. Ji Shen, seeing that Ji Ming was really going to write the divorce letter, forgot about crying and started throwing a tantrum. They ended up fighting each other…

Ji Ming’s face was left with several scratch marks, bright red ones. It was truly a mix of anger, ridicule, and pity.

After signing the divorce letter at Lizheng’s, they considered the matter resolved…

But Ji Ming became the laughingstock of the entire village.

—–

When Ji Sang and Wen Li returned home, the hearth fire was still burning.

Wen Jian heard the commotion outside and came out from the hearth. The dim candlelight obstructed his vision slightly, but he could still clearly see Ji Sang.

Wen Jian called out, “Ji Sang, where did you two go?”

Before Ji Sang could say anything, Wen Li casually made a joke, “It seems that the saying is true. Once you have a wife, you forget your mother. In Wen Jian’s eyes, there is now only one Ji Sang…”

Ji Sang: “…”

Her mother-in-law really…

Was quite different from others.

Ji Sang couldn’t help but glare at Wen Jian.

Wen Jian caught the gaze and, without any expression, called out towards the hearth, “Father, your wife is back.”

Wen Li choked.

Was he implying that she had her husband and he had his wife?

Wen Li gave Wen Jian a stern look. “… You two talk, I’ll go help your father with dinner.” Wen Li took a couple of steps out, then turned back to Wen Jian and said, “Oh, by the way, Wen Jian, take Ji Sang back to the room and apply some medicine on her neck. When I came back, I saw that it was all red…”

Wen Jian furrowed his eyebrows, took a step forward, and gently held Ji Sang’s chin with his long fingers. He raised it slightly, his deep eyes looking directly into hers, and asked with concern, “What happened?”

As the man suddenly lifted her face, causing her neck to strain and hurt, she couldn’t help but let out a slight hiss and said, “No… it’s nothing.”

Before she finished speaking, in the next moment, Wen Jian lifted her up completely and walked decisively towards their room.

Wen Jian carefully placed her on the bed, making Ji Sang feel like a fragile vase, while her heart felt as if it was being gently brushed by feathers.

“Don’t listen to Mother. I already said it’s fine.”

But Wen Jian didn’t listen. Under the dim light, he gave her a serious look, then went to turn on the lamp.

Their home was poor, so Wen Jian usually read books at night by the moonlight.

Ji Sang’s heart tightened.

The man had come with the candlelight, instantly brightening the room.

With his deep, sea-like eyes, he immediately noticed the red mark on Ji Sang’s delicate neck. His eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown, as if he could crush a fly, and his whole presence turned as cold as an ice cellar. His warm fingertips gently covered the red mark…

“Who did this!”

His ethereal touch sent shivers down Ji Sang’s spine. The pain had already subsided, but she brushed his hand away and said, “It really is nothing.” Then, propping herself up, she changed the subject, “Let’s quickly go out. Mom and Dad are waiting for us to have dinner.”

Just as she was about to move, the man suddenly pressed her down.

“Don’t move.” Wen Jian’s tone was low and restrained, as if he was forcefully suppressing some intense emotions that were about to burst out. His black eyes were tinged with a deep red. He pursed his lips and remained silent. In that moment, he felt the urge to kill.

“I’ll get the medicine.”

He fell silent and didn’t dwell on who had caused the mark.

Ji Sang looked at his strained expression, feeling as if a huge rock was blocking her chest. “Wen Jian…”

“Ji Sang, if you don’t say it, I can find out. This village is small, there’s nothing that can be kept hidden.”

“Besides, it’s about you.”

His voice was calm, but it sent shivers down one’s spine.

Upon hearing the words “it’s about you,” Ji Sang’s heart skipped a beat, and before she could fully process it, the words had already slipped out of her mouth.

“It’s Ji Shen.”

She hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and continued, “Ji Shen… was… taken advantage of by Niu Ergou…”

Ji Sang took a deep breath and roughly recounted what had happened. She thought that after telling Wen Jian, he would feel relieved. But to her surprise, after she finished speaking, Wen Jian’s handsome face became even more gloomy, as if ink could drip from it. The elegant arch of his eyebrows revealed a sharp edge. How astute he was.

When he spoke again, it seemed as if the words were being bitten out from between his teeth.

“If you go back this time, you will be the one who suffers.”

Ji Sang choked and muttered to herself, cursing in secret. Did the male lead in novels have to be this clever?

She had already downplayed the situation when she spoke, and yet he still figured it out… She tugged at her lips and said, “But you didn’t let me to go back…”

“Ji Shen deserves to die!”

Wen Jian’s chilling aura made Ji Sang shudder in fear. She was afraid that he would actually go mad and kill Ji Shen. Anxiously, she said, “Wen Jian, I’m really fine. Besides, Ji Shen has already been punished. My father divorced her, and she will have a difficult life on her own.”

The candlelight was dim. Wen Jian lowered his eyelids, his features hidden in the half-light, every inch of his face that was exposed to the candlelight seemed to be coated with a thin layer of coldness, the kind that only exists in the depths of winter.

He looked at her deeply, his thin lips parting slightly. “I understand.”

Did he truly understand?

Ji Sang blinked her dark eyes and stared unwaveringly at the expression on the man’s face, afraid that he would just brush her off and then do something unexpected. But after observing for a while, she couldn’t discern any clues.

She only felt that the man’s presence was oppressively heavy.

After a moment, Wen Jian sighed deeply and said, “Take off your clothes.”

His voice was rough and unpleasant, like the grinding of wheels, squeezed out from his throat.

Ji Sang didn’t hear clearly. “…Ah?”

“Take off your clothes, I’ll apply the medicine for you.”

Ji Sang was stunned for a moment and then replied with an “Oh.” She reached out and loosened the belt around her waist, tugged down the collar of her clothes slightly, exposing her entire neck.

Wen Jian glanced at the deep purple mark, his eyes turning crimson. He opened the jade bottle in his hand and poured some onto his fingertips. Lowering his head slightly, he carefully applied the ointment to her delicate neck that seemed as if it could be easily snapped with a little force.

Ji Sang immediately felt a cold sensation on her neck, causing her body to shudder involuntarily. The fiery sensation gradually subsided.

Wen Jian applied the ointment with concentration, his handsome face getting closer and closer, almost touching hers. His warm breath blew onto the side of her neck, causing it to feel itchy and numb…

Ji Sang could see the dense shadows cast by his eyelashes on his face when she slightly lowered her eyes.

Wen Jian was really good-looking, especially the slight dark circles under his eyes, which always gave people a deep and affectionate feeling. Ji Sang couldn’t help but be attracted, and as she watched for a long time, she didn’t even notice when Wen Jian finished applying the ointment.

Wen Jian looked at her subtle expression and a faint smile appeared in his chest. “Ji Sang, what are you looking at?”

Ji Sang was startled and stuttered, “N-Nothing… I wasn’t looking at anything.”

Wen Jian focused on her, noticing that her collar had been pulled down a bit, and he easily caught a glimpse of the color of her bra underneath. It complemented her fair and translucent skin, causing a tightness to surge in his lower abdomen. He grasped her head with his hand and pressed his thin lips against hers.

It had been a day since they last kissed, and he missed it intensely.

His tongue easily pushed past her lips and explored inside her mouth, engaging in a passionate dance with her soft tongue. Ji Sang placed her hands against his chest, her legs weakening from the kiss, and she gasped, pushing the man away before he finally released her lips.

His eyes, filled with desire, gazed intensely at her. Ji Sang shyly lowered her eyelids and moved her body back, her mind going blank. She opened her mouth and asked, “Is it done?”

“Do you still want to kiss?” he responded huskily.

“I meant, are you done applying the ointment?” Ji Sang clarified.

Wen Jian’s chest trembled with laughter. “Your neck is fine.”

“Oh.” Ji Sang heard him laugh and felt a sense of calmness wash over her. She pushed him away, straightened her collar, and said, “Let’s go have dinner then… I’m hungry.” She didn’t know what would happen if they continued to linger.

Wen Jian took a deep breath, suppressing the rising desire within him. “Wait a moment.”

“Huh?”

“Take off your pants, you haven’t applied the ointment down there yet.”

“Ah???”

Wen Jian showed Ji Sang the ointment in his hand. “I bought this ointment specifically for that area. I asked the doctor, and if you apply it now, you’ll be ready in two hours. So, if we apply it now, we can…”

Ji Sang’s face flushed crimson in an instant, her eyes widened in astonishment as she stared at Wen Jian. “Wen Jian! So, the main reason you went to the market was for this?!”

Wen Jian looked at Ji Sang very seriously and nodded. “Indeed, this matter is quite important.”

Ji Sang: “!!!!”

…