Chapter 80: with translation of chapter title

Li Zhaodi and Bai Xinya prepared many dishes; both were skilled cooks, although Bai Xinya hadn't cooked in a long time.

But her cooking skills hadn't deteriorated at all, especially today's meal, which she prepared with care, so the dishes were perfect in color, aroma, and flavor.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was pleasant, and the host and guests enjoyed the meal thoroughly.

After the meal, Bai Xinya said: 'I want to rent the courtyard next door, have someone tidy it up, and move in.'

As a devoted husband who dotes on his wife, Zhou Feng would agree to anything as long as Bai Xinya was happy.

Su Ruo said nothing; the courtyard was rented by Bai Xinya with her own money, and she could live wherever she wanted—Su Ruo had no right to object.

Furthermore, as long as Bai Xinya could maintain a proper mindset and love An'an more, Su Ruo would naturally not oppose.

Seeing that Su Ruo did not refuse, Bai Xinya secretly breathed a sigh of relief, rented the courtyard that same day, and eagerly had people fix it up so she could move in as soon as possible.

On the day Bai Xinya moved, she almost caused a stir in the whole village, because just her belongings filled three large carts.

She even moved An'an's piano and bed over; looking at those things, Su Ruo deeply suspected that Bai Xinya had moved her entire household.

Because Li Zhaodi's parents had also wanted to sell her to Wang Tufu, but she resisted to the death, and her parents feared being blamed by the villagers, she narrowly escaped that fate.

Su Ruo had to admit that some people are destined to be different from birth; while everyone else worried about having enough to eat, some were already pursuing quality of life and spiritual fulfillment.

After marriage, she was further confined by Wang Tufu at home, with endless chores every day, so Su Ruo truly didn't know how his former wife died, and no one would tell her.

On the day Chen Xiaomei was buried, I went to see; at that time her body was covered in blood, staining the white cloth red, and everyone knew Chen Xiaomei had been beaten to death by Wang Tufu.

But Li Zhaodi said: 'Master's actions naturally have his reasons, and besides, Wang Tufu is no good man—his previous wife was beaten to death by him.'

Although Su Ruo wished she could kill Wang Tufu right now to avenge her past self, destroying her own life over such a scoundrel wasn't worth it.

So Su Ruo strove to suppress her hatred, stepped forward to examine Wang Tufu's wound; the wound wasn't deep, just bleeding heavily, looking somewhat frightening.

These days, Sophia had been regretting that she could no longer teach An'an, so upon seeing Bai Xinya move in, she immediately decided to move in as well.

Su Ruo, Bai Xinya, and Sophia were all surprised, feeling that An'an was a genius rarely seen in a century.

After Wang Tufu left, Su Ruo looked at Li Zhaodi and asked: 'Aren't you curious why I'm targeting him?'

Bai Xinya's grandmother was a lady from a prominent family, and her ancestors even included a premier; thus, from childhood she was educated according to the standards of a genteel young lady.

Wang Tufu didn't know the effect of that powder, but Li Zhaodi did.

Besides these things, An'an's piano teacher Sophia also moved in.

Upon hearing Wang Tufu say that, Su Ruo naturally didn't stand on ceremony, picked up the powder again and scattered it on him; this time Wang Tufu didn't jump up from the pain, but his whole body swayed from the agony.

As time passed, the childishness on An'an faded gradually, and she increasingly bore the bearing of a lady from a noble family.

Since Bai Xinya and the others moved in, An'an has become busy; she not only studies piano with Sophia, but also dance and English.

Until Su Ruo scattered the powder on his wound, Wang Tufu immediately jumped up in pain, his anguished cry startling the birds in the trees into flight.

Moreover, An'an learns extremely fast; she can almost remember anything at a glance.

Upon hearing Li Zhaodi say that, Su Ruo immediately became interested; in her previous life she had hardly interacted with the villagers.

When Li Zhaodi saw Su Ruo asking her, she glanced around, saw no one, and then whispered into Su Ruo's ear:

"The Wang family has a notorious reputation, and Wang Tufu is especially a scoundrel; from childhood he beat his parents and scolded them, his strikes had no restraint, and as a child he nearly killed someone, so naturally no one would dare to marry their daughter to him."

"Because they had never seen many things, especially pianos and phonographs."

Seeing that An'an was happy learning, Su Ruo and Bai Xinya did not stop her, letting her enjoy herself.

Moments later, Wang Tufu's pain made him bite his teeth until they bled; seeing Su Ruo still wanting to apply medicine, he finally couldn't hold back and jumped up, saying:

"Doctor Su, I just remembered I have something to do; I'll come back later to have you check my injury." Then, without waiting for Su Ruo's reply, he turned and ran away.

Only when Li Zhaodi called her did Su Ruo come to her senses.

Wang Tufu ran all the way home, desperately washing his hands with water, seriously suspecting that what Su Ruo had applied wasn't medicine but pepper powder, otherwise why would it hurt so much.

After Chen Xiaomei married, her body had no good flesh left; later she died mysteriously, and the Wang family claimed she died of illness, an inauspicious excuse, they simply grabbed a plank, covered it with white cloth, and carried her out.

Thus, every time Su Ruo saw An'an, she felt as if her own daughter had just grown up.

The villagers also came out of curiosity to watch the spectacle; upon seeing those items on the carts, their eyes were filled with amazement.

During this process, Wang Tufu kept staring at Su Ruo with his lecherous, evil eyes, and didn't notice Li Zhaodi's expression was off.

Although Li Zhaodi didn't hate Wang Tufu as much as Su Ruo did, she wasn't much better off.

At the moment Su Ruo saw Wang Tufu, it felt as if all the blood in her body had frozen; the pains of her past life, including the scene of her being beaten to death by Wang Tufu, kept replaying in her mind.

Wang Tufu's face flushed red from the pain, he kept shaking his hands, jumping up and down in the room.

Even Su Ruo couldn't help but sigh inwardly at the sight of all those splendid things; fortunately Zhou Feng was strong enough, and the Bai and Zhou families had sufficient influence, otherwise not only would protecting these items be impossible, but Bai Xinya would likely have been dragged out and struggled against.

Days passed peacefully and comfortably, until that day when Wang Tufu came to the door holding his injured hand.

That girl was named Chen Xiaomei; her family favored sons over daughters, and although they knew the Wang family was a den of fire, they still married her off to secure a wife for their son.

Su Ruo had Li Zhaodi fetch the medicine; hearing the name, Li Zhaodi was a bit surprised, but without asking further she went to get it.

From then on, Sophia became An'an's home tutor, teaching her not only piano but also dance and English.

Later, the Wang family had no choice but to spend money to buy a wife for Wang Tufu from the neighboring brigade.

But An'an was very interested in these things; she absorbed knowledge and skills like a sponge, full of vigor each day, and when studying, her eyes seemed to sparkle with light.

What Su Ruo is doing now is only the beginning; she will surely repay all the suffering she endured in her past life to Wang Tufu.

At first, Su Ruo and Bai Xinya worried that learning too much would tire An'an.

From then on, not only An'an studied with Sophia, but Su Ruo also studied English with her, because she knew the college entrance exam would resume next year and include English, and of course they were studying secretly.

Su Ruo merely gave him a cold glance and sneered: 'You're a grown man, yet you can't even bear this little pain—what kind of man are you?'

Su Ruo looked at the medicine bottle in her hand, feeling a bit regretful that Wang Tufu couldn't hold out so quickly; she wished she could have done it a few more times!

But Wang Tufu is a scoundrel whom even the branch secretary and battalion commander can't control; whoever provokes him, he dares to fight to the death, so although everyone knows about this, no one dares to intervene.

He said: 'Little Doctor Su, I'm fine, please continue!' But although Wang Tufu said he was okay, in reality the pain twisted his facial expression.

When Bai Xinya has free time, she will also teach her calligraphy, deportment, and embroidery.

Su Ruo never expected that before she could find time to go settle scores with Wang Tufu, he would actually come to her door herself; in that case, she certainly wouldn't stand on ceremony.

But he guessed wrong; the medicinal powder Su Ruo applied on him was a hundred times more painful than pepper powder.

Wang Tufu hated nothing more than being told he wasn't a man; hearing Su Ruo's words, he immediately gritted his teeth and held back his scream.

Su Ruo watched Wang Tufu's fleeing back, her eyes filled with an undisguised coldness—could she not bear it?

You should know that what Wang Tufu did to her in her past life was a hundred times more cruel than this.

Upon learning that Sofia had actually studied abroad, Su Ruo's eyes filled with envy; if she could, she hoped she would one day also be able to go out and see the world.

Upon hearing Li Zhaodi's words, Su Ruo's face grew even colder; she finally understood why, after being entangled by Wang Tufu in her past life, the villagers had looked at her that way.

Because everyone knew she had fallen into Wang Tufu's hands and wouldn't live long, yet no one warned her.

Su Ruo hated him so much she almost laughed; fortunately she had finally found a way to deal with Wang Tufu, but before that she would surely return everything he had done to her in her past life!

Because if she just let Wang Tufu die like that, it would be too easy for him; in this life Su Ruo would certainly make him wish for life but unable to die, unable to seek death—only then could she quell the hatred in her heart.