It rained all night in both B and C City, and only stopped the next day. The air was still mixed with the freshness of wet soil and rain.
At 8 o’clock in the morning, Huo Xu opened the door of the hotel and went out. On May 1st, Labor Day, this small city was quiet and peaceful. Though the flowers in the flowerbed lost their vitality, Huo Xu was in a good mood.
May was the last deadline he gave to the Bei family, Zhao Zhilan was probably almost done considering it.
This time he was not visiting alone, his assistant and bodyguards also followed. The assistant knocked on the door, Zhao Zhilan was very alert and raised her voice. “Who is it?”
The assistant looked at Huo Xu, then replied, “Mrs. Zhao, Young Master Huo is here to visit. Please open the door.”
Zhao Zhilan was a little nervous and angry at the same time. “You don’t need to visit. Our family can’t afford people like Young Master Huo’s family.”
The smile in Huo Xu’s eyes dissipated.
What? After all this time, you still haven't thought it through?
He said, "Are you determined not to let Bei Yao and I be together?"
Zhao Zhilan wanted to scold him for trying to harm her daughter, but when she thought of the fact that he brought people with him, it would not be good to start a conflict. Besides, Xiao Bei Jun was still at home, so for the sake of the child's safety, she couldn’t act impulsively.
Zhao Zhilan said, "My daughter is already married. Young master Huo please don’t come anymore, go away ba.”
Huo Xu thought she was lying and sneered. “Married? Married who? I’m very unhappy to hear you say such a lie. Since you won’t invite us to come in and sit, we can only enter by ourselves.”
He motioned to the people behind him. “Break down the door.”
Several bodyguards stepped forward without saying a word and started to break the door. The neighborhood was old and the door has been around for many years. The sound of the banging was blaring as if it was beside the ear, and would break the next moment.
Bei Licai frowned, his heart sank. “You take Bei Jun to the bedroom and see if we can call the police. I…”
The sound of the door banging outside abruptly stopped, and there was a muffled sound.
Dozen tall and big men came over and beat Huo Xu’s people without saying a word.
Huo Xu was knocked to the ground by one of them. He covered his face and angrily said, “Who are you?”
The leader of the big men was wearing a slipper and held a toothpick in his mouth, on top of his head was a chicken-nest hair. “Who are you! To make such a lot of noise early in the morning, disrupting mine and my brothers’ sleep!”
Huo Xu said, “Just try to make a move, believe it or not, I will make you unable to see the sun again!”
The big man sneered, grabbed him, and gave Huo Xu a few more punches and kicks.
Huo Xu's face turned white and he held his chest.
His assistant was also beaten and shrieked.
Huo Xu was not stupid either, they did not come with good intentions. He just beat him up without saying a word and refused to give any information. It was definitely not because they bumped the door and made a noise. Huo Xu said, "Who sent you?"
The big man said, “Such a busybody, what is it to you on who let this grandpa* come! Anyway, hurry up and get out! If you harass this family again, I‘ll make you walk out peacefully**.”
*t/n: This is one of the arrogant ways to call oneself, it means I or me.
**t/n: Its full sentence in Chinese is 竖着进来，横着出去 (lit: walked in vertically, walk out horizontally) it means to come alive, but was carried out dead.
Huo Xu's face was very ugly.
Reality taught people how to conduct themselves. He has money and power, so he could force open Zhao Zhilan's door. He was confident that the local police were of no help even if they came.
But, who the hell would have thought that a group of hooligans would come to fight without saying a word!
And there were a dozen of them, all tall and powerful. The building could barely stand!
Huo Xu brought a total of four bodyguards, after all, he thought he was here to take the household registration book! He couldn’t just bring a group of people. As a result, he was beaten up.
Huo Xu got up with help and had to leave even though he was reluctant.
Which bast*rd told people to block him! Furthermore, taking such a rough approach.
After Huo Xu left, the big men knocked on the door and talked according to what the employer told him. “ Auntie, don’t panic. That group of son of... The people have been driven away. If anything happens, we will rush over immediately, you don’t have to worry.”
The big guy left happily. This job is worth it! It is not illegal, and they can resort to violence to fight violence!
The employer said that some people in suits would definitely come over this morning. If they harassed the family, he and his brothers should just beat the group up.
The employer was an aloof man, even his voice was cold. "Their leader is cruel, don't kill him. Besides that, one extra hit means an extra one thousand yuan."
F**k!
The big man counted through his fingers on how many hits he had given Huo Xu. His heart went crazy. This money is too easy to earn!
They were just a group of people who led an idle life and dawdled around aimlessly. They couldn’t do anything, but there were a lot of people who were good at fighting! They took money from others to help them eliminate problems. If the leader was held accountable, then he would run away with his brothers! They have no permanent home anyway!
Inside the door, Zhao Zhilan and Bei Licai looked at each other. Zhao Zhilan said, “This…” She was also frightened at first, afraid of what Huo Xu and his people would do. As a result, they couldn’t even get through the door.
Bei Licai also breathed a sigh of relief and said, "He is a capable person and should be able to protect Yaoyao.”
The husband and wife were a little emotional.
The morning light in B City was hazy; Pei Chuan opened his eyes. He only fell asleep in the latter half of the night with a small hand resting on his exposed chest. The sky was bright, he lowered his head and looked at the person in his arms, his heart filled with love and warmth.
He gently held the small hand and moved it away.
Her closed eyes nestled her long eyelashes.
She must have been exhausted these days because of the wedding, right?
Pei Chuan moved very lightly, like a wind brushing on your face. However, Bei Yao also immediately woke up. It was early in the morning and the man’s chest was warm. It was different for her, who always slept alone.
She quietly opened her eyes a little, watching Pei Chuan move to the side of the bed with the support of his arms.
Under the morning lights, his movement was gradual, like a soft layer of white mist.
The man’s movement did not show any struggle, as if he had experienced it thousands of times with great skill. His back was toward her as he started to put on the prosthesis.
The bottom half of the trousers was empty, his back was tall and silent.
Bei Yao remembered what he said last night. For his privacy, she closed her eyes and did not look. As long as he cared, even if he didn’t know, she couldn’t.
Pei Chuan’s phone rang. He was afraid to wake up Bei Yao, so he quickly hung up.
He subconsciously looked at her. She had awakened and looked at him with sparkling black eyes. “Who called?”
Pei Chuan thought back, and instantly knew who called. Bei Yao still didn’t know that Huo Xu had come to her family and threatened them until today. Pei Chuan said, “It’s about work.”
She nodded and yawned softly, the teardrop stuck on her upper lashes.
Pei Chuan tapped his fingers on the screen, transferred the money, then said to Bei Yao, “It’s okay now, do you want to sleep for a bit more?”
She shook her head and got up from the bed. “I won’t sleep anymore, I usually get up very early.”
She wanted to get out of bed to wash. She lifted the quilt and saw a pair of bare long legs and tender feet exposed in the spring morning. She subconsciously remembered what kind of clothes she wore.
Bei Yao looked down, and the man's shirt was worn loosely on her body. She suddenly raised her head to look at Pei Chuan.
He also looked at her silently, and his eyes didn't turn away this time.
From her crumpled shirt to her toes.
The shirt reached her thighs, her face turned red. She put on the slippers, and said something unexpected. “We are husband and wife.” So what’s wrong with this huh!
He didn’t speak.
The room was quiet, she tried to act less embarrassed and walked toward the bathroom to wash.
As soon as Bei Yao reached the bathroom, her calmness was broken. She looked at herself in the mirror, her neck was covered with many strawberries. She was stunned. How could it be, so many…
The traces of hickeys left behind by the man went from her white and tender neck downward.
She unfastened the two buttons of her shirt, and looked at the marks on her chest in the mirror. Bei Yao's cheeks were red.
Although nothing happened, it didn’t seem like it.
The realization came to her late and she felt ashamed. The bathroom door was pushed open.
She turned her head. Pei Chuan stood at the door, the scene was a bit awkward.
Her collar was still open, and Bei Yao almost jumped to her feet. “Why didn’t you knock?”
He looked down. “You said we are husband and wife.”
Bei Yao was stunned for several seconds, then buttoned her clothes with a red face. It's really shameful to be discovered by someone when looking at yourself in the mirror like this.
He paused and walked over.
He wanted to be with her all his life, and has to adapt to living together with her.
Without hurting her, he hoped Bei Yao could also get used to her other half, with special circumstances like him.
“Do you have class today?”
She shook her head. “It’s Labor Day holiday.”
Pei Chuan looked at her, and said after a while, “Can I... give you a morning kiss?”
The tip of Bei Yao’s ears turned red. “En.” Can you stop asking ah Pei Chuan?
He just came closer before she remembered and said, "I haven't brushed my teeth, so I can't right now."
He paused and lowered his eyes and said, "Hmm."
She began to wash. The sound of the water couldn’t cover the sound of her heartbeat.
Pei Chuan walked out, there was another bathroom outside. He faced the morning lights and washed thoroughly.
When he came back, Bei Yao had already changed clothes.
She was wearing a bright red shirt for spring, it has an auspicious picture. Zhao Zhilan especially picked it for her to wear on the second day of her wedding.
The Chinese-style knot button was elegant, she exposed half of her arm which looked like a cut of tender lotus root under the clothes lining.
She was combing her hair.
Bei Yao’s long hair fell down. He suddenly remembered that year when he turned over the pile of garbage.
Pei Chuan asked her, “Why don’t you use that kind of rope anymore?”
Bei Yao said, “What rope?”
“The one for tying the hair with a flower on it.”
When she was a child, the little green flower buds were pretty and cute. Later in elementary years, she changed into a ponytail. For a long time, Pei Chuan looked at the old ribbon he picked up, and wondered sullenly, why didn’t she wear it anymore?
Bei Yao tilted her head and held her smile. “That’s what the kids wear. Pei Chuan, do you think it looks good?”
Pei Chuan seldom admitted what he liked, and he never told anyone. In his entire life, his first perception of beauty was the look of a dumb and cuddly little girl when she tied on a soft and beautiful ribbon.
He was silent for a moment and responded with some embarrassment. "En." He does like it.
She looked at the quiet man. It might be his first time admitting something he liked, her heart became soft.
Bei Yao got up and looked through the backpack she brought from home. There was a piece of clothing with a big red ribbon. She untied the ribbon and placed it in Pei Chuan's palm.
The man looked at her, and Bei Yao asked, "Would you like to try to tie it for me?"
He whispered, "Okay."
Bei Yao sat back in front of the dressing table, smiled, and said, “You can’t tie two when you have grown up, only one. You lift the hair up and then tie a knot with it.”
He tried it several times, his hand was clumsy. In the first place, it was hard to tie a hair using a ribbon. There was one time when her hair got accidentally tangled up and pulled out.
Bei Yao resisted speaking, but her face suddenly changed. “Does it hurt? I won’t tie it anymore.”
She laughed, shook her head, and gently said, “It doesn’t hurt, take your time.”
He lowered his eyes, and his movement was obviously more hesitant.
The girl was not so delicate, but in his heart, she was more valuable than anything else.
It took a long time to tie a loose knot. His black eyes fell on her hair, there was restraint and love in it.
Bei Yao was amused, but also a little sad. This was the first time in his life that Pei Chuan liked something else, but he had restrained himself too much.
Bei Yao said, "Pei Chuan, you can tell me whatever you like, no need to hold yourself back."
He lowered his gaze. "I’m not... like it very much."
Bei Yao said, "Everyone has something they like, a particular fetish, this is not a shameful thing."
He moved his fingers, and finally landed softly on her hair.
Stroking through her long hair, his fingers curled the ribbon on it, and finally slid towards the slightly curled ends.
She blinked, and quickly gave him encouragement. Her eyes carried tolerance and gentleness.
He paused, the knot in his throat twitched slightly.
Finally, he leaned forward and kissed her from the top to the end of her hair.
Inch by inch, his lips brushed by the ribbon, with devotion and obsession.
The things he did not dare to say; he never had a preference since a child. After he became disabled, the most out-of-ordinary thing he had done as a child was to pick up the ribbon from the trash that Zhao Zhilan had thrown. He merely thought that it was beautiful when she tied it on her hair, so why didn’t she wear it anymore? Why throw it away? He had felt lost for a long time.
Bei Yao also thought it was amazing.
When she went to his house in City C in her third year of high school, Pei Chuan's home was decorated plainly and his life was simple and boring. At that time, he didn't seem to have anything he liked and was interested in.
However, after he made an effort to get close to her, he showed her the things that restrained him and the fetish that he found difficult to say.
He liked her soft and cold hair very much, and also adored looking at her eyes. Pei Chuan tied and untied the ribbon to her hair over and over.
In the lingering spring on the first day of their marriage, she pampered a man. Telling him that if he has something that he liked, he could show it without restraint.