Chapter 120: The Ailment of All Men

The Five Tigers slapped their foreheads. “Exactly, that’s what I was trying to say! See, this is why you need to go to school. Well said.”

Then they continued, “Brother-in-law, now that you’re studying in the provincial capital, I figure you can’t go back to the countryside anymore. It was short-sighted of me to let Fang Yuan stay in the county. Let’s use this winter to lay a foundation for ourselves. If we can stay in the provincial capital, wouldn’t that be perfect?”

That was exactly what Lu Chuan was thinking. “I knew you’d understand me, Fifth Brother. But it’s tough on you. We just established ourselves in the county, and now we’re leaving it behind.”

But Fifth Tiger was the type who wanted to grab every opportunity, big or small. “Who says we’re leaving it behind? That’s our backup plan. If we don’t make a name for ourselves here, come spring, we’ll just pack up and go back to the county and fight again.”

Lu Chuan nodded. To be with his wife, he had to make a name for himself. “We’ll do whatever you say, Fifth Brother.”

Fifth Tiger was happy—his brother-in-law respected him. But on second thought, everything was going according to his brother-in-law’s plan. What was his role in all this?

Fifth Tiger scratched his head. This was exactly the skill he needed to learn. That’s why you have to follow capable people and learn from them—look, he’d picked up another trick.

Then, feeling pleased, Fifth Tiger gave Lu Chuan a playful smack and promptly fell asleep.

Lu Chuan rubbed his chest, thinking, What kind of bedtime ritual is this? Is this some family tradition?

In the middle of the night, Lu Chuan ended up being used as a leg rest by his brother-in-law for half the night. It was truly unbearable.

Had he known, he would never have agreed to sleep with his brother-in-law.

No, if he’d really thought it through, he should have just rented a small room for himself. He’d dug his own pit this time.

When morning came, Lu Chuan had dark circles under his eyes. He couldn’t sleep, so he got up early and went out to buy breakfast.

Fifth Tiger, eating his tofu pudding, sighed, “Living in the provincial capital is so convenient. You can even get food like this.”

Lu Chuan added sugar to Fang Yuan’s soy milk. “Just like Fang Yuan said, there are more opportunities in the provincial capital. But the expenses are higher too.”

Fang Yuan said, “Fifth Brother, when you go back, stop by my house and ask my mom to boil some eggs for me to bring here.”

Now, that’s someone who knows how to save money. When it comes to the big crane, you have to be careful with every little thing.

But Lu Chuan really didn’t mean it like that. “It’s such a long way. Isn’t it hard to carry?”

Fang Yuan replied, “When Fifth Brother came over, there were so many people coming along. What’s a few eggs?”

Alright, Lu Chuan didn’t dare say another word. As long as Fang Yuan was willing to stay here for now, he’d go along with whatever she wanted.

At least she didn’t ask to bring a live hen—he should be grateful.

Fifth Tiger silently watched the whole exchange. His brother-in-law tried to persuade Fang Yuan, failed, and then just accepted her decision.

When they saw Fifth Tiger off at the station, he pulled Fang Yuan aside and scolded her, “At least be a bit nicer to your brother-in-law. You’re living under someone else’s roof now, you know. When you’re under someone’s roof, you have to bow your head a little.”

Fang Yuan raised her eyebrows, her tone even tougher than Fifth Tiger’s. “What do you mean, ‘someone else’s roof’? Even if it’s a rented place, it’s still my roof.”

Fifth Tiger was impressed. “You’re tough, you’re capable. But can’t you listen to me just a little? Just a little? That’s your brother-in-law, a capable man. Even the people around him are different. At least lower your voice, talk things over.”

Fang Yuan said, “What’s there to talk over? Our whole family listens to him.”

Fifth Tiger just left. Listen? They only listened because it was all part of his brother-in-law’s plan. Did she even realize that?

Fifth Tiger could only hope that his brother-in-law would always be a little slow when it came to Fang Yuan. Otherwise, what would they do?

After seeing Fifth Brother off, Lu Chuan wanted to take Fang Yuan shopping for some household necessities.

But Fang Yuan took Lu Chuan to the construction site instead, and all the supplies they bought were for the workers’ quarters.

Well, that was fine too. At least the two of them were shopping together, and that made Lu Chuan happy. He could fill in the gaps with his imagination and feel satisfied.

But what ruined his mood was that when they passed by the hospital, Fang Yuan insisted on dragging Lu Chuan inside to register for a check-up.

Lu Chuan didn’t feel good about it. After all, he knew what kind of person Fang Yuan was—she’d never be so generous with herself when it came to seeing a doctor.

As for himself, no matter what it was, Lu Chuan didn’t want to go in with Fang Yuan. He just had a bad feeling about it.

Fang Yuan pulled at him. “What’s wrong with you? Come on. I’m not even worried about the money.”

Lu Chuan stood his ground and didn’t budge. “No, I’m fine.” For once, he stood up to Fang Yuan directly.

Fang Yuan said, “Don’t you know yourself? You’re always sweating from your forehead and blushing. Go get checked out, so Fifth Brother doesn’t say I’m not taking care of you.”

Lu Chuan really wanted to thank Fifth Brother for digging this pit for him even after leaving. What kind of illness was this? What could a doctor possibly find? It would just be embarrassing.

Lu Chuan said, “No need. I know what’s going on.”

Fang Yuan looked at Lu Chuan’s shifting expression. “Did you have this problem before we got married?”

Lu Chuan could already guess where Fang Yuan’s thoughts were going. If he nodded, she’d probably accuse him of deceiving her into marriage.

So he said directly, “Don’t say I tricked you into marrying me. You decided on the marriage, and I didn’t have this problem before. I only developed it after marrying you.”

Fang Yuan said, “Then all the more reason to get checked out. If I’m the cause, I’m not taking the blame for this.”

In Fang Yuan’s view, blushing and a racing heart when seeing a woman was an illness that needed treatment.

Lu Chuan was grateful that Fang Yuan wasn’t accusing him of anything worse. “Really, there’s no need.”

Fang Yuan insisted, “No way. Your parents are good people. I can’t let them down.” How righteous she sounded.

Lu Chuan dragged Fang Yuan out of the hospital, determined not to embarrass himself.

Fang Yuan wasn’t as strong as Lu Chuan, so she had no choice but to follow him out, fuming. “You’re impossible.”

Driven to desperation, Lu Chuan grabbed Fang Yuan’s hand and placed it over his heart.

Fang Yuan glared at him. “It’s bad enough you’re not behaving yourself, but now you want me to take advantage of you…”

Lu Chuan pointed at his own nose. “See? My face is red, and I’m sweating. That’s all there is to it.”

Fang Yuan still didn’t get it. “What do you mean, that’s all there is to it?”

Lu Chuan put her hand on his chest again. This time, Fang Yuan understood and kicked him in the shin. “What kind of stupid problem is this? This needs to be cured too.”

Any doctor who could cure this would probably have to train themselves to be completely emotionless.

Lu Chuan tried to explain, “All men are like this.” He dragged all the men in the world into it.

Fang Yuan said, “So all men are sick? I thought it was just you. As long as it’s not life-threatening, fine, but you should have said so earlier.”

And just like that, the matter was settled, leaving Lu Chuan feeling awkward. Should he keep explaining?

Lu Chuan couldn’t very well say, “For us men, this isn’t an illness at all.”

He comforted himself—at least Fang Yuan didn’t insist on going to the hospital.

Lu Chuan still asked, “Do you want to get checked, see if there’s anything wrong?”

Fang Yuan replied, “You’re just looking for trouble.”

Lu Chuan thought to himself, “You weren’t saying that just a moment ago.”

On the streets of the provincial capital, there were still quite a few cars. Fang Yuan said, “You know, our village isn’t that far from the provincial capital—just half a day’s journey. But the difference is huge. It’s so hard to get a ride in our village.”"