Chapter 129: This Isn’t How Things Are Supposed to Go

Fang Yuan glanced at the wrench in her hand. “What did he misunderstand?”

Lu Chuan replied, “It’s not the old man who misunderstood anything. The real issue is what that auntie misunderstood.”

Fang Yuan frowned. “That woman doesn’t look easy to get along with. This courtyard is small, there are a lot of people, and it’s pretty noisy. I bet there’s no shortage of gossip and trouble.”

Lu Chuan nodded in agreement. “Yeah, there’s definitely plenty of drama. But don’t worry—even if there is, they’ll steer clear of you.”

Fang Yuan shot him a look. “Why does it sound like you’re insulting me?”

Lu Chuan grinned. “I’m complimenting you! I just don’t have your kind of presence.”

Fang Yuan looked a little proud. “Of course. I learned it from following behind my fifth brother and the others—how to look the most imposing, so no one dares mess with me. But my mom says I should change.”

Lu Chuan, ever the smooth talker, said, “Our mom isn’t always right. You look way better than your fifth brother and the rest.”

Fang Yuan glanced at him. This pretty boy was at it again, trying to sweet-talk her. “Really? I look good?”

Lu Chuan lowered his head, his face turning red. Oh boy, this was definitely a female hooligan teasing a college student.

The nosy auntie who’d been trying to peek in just now quickly pulled back. Goodness, what had she just witnessed?

She went around telling everyone in the courtyard, “That new woman isn’t a good person. Best to avoid her. And that man? He’s a pushover, probably gets bossed around all day.”

Just this little incident was enough for the auntie to stir up a storm of gossip throughout the courtyard. Idle chatter spread from one person to the next.

Fang Yuan spent her days at the construction site and didn’t know a thing about it. Even if she did, she wouldn’t care.

Lu Chuan was either with Fang Yuan at the site or at school. He really didn’t know much about the gossip either.

The old man in the courtyard thought the young couple seemed fine—busy with their lives, obviously on the right track. But as a man, he had no interest in getting involved in all that idle talk.

Fang Yuan, who left early and came home late, would sometimes catch a kid peeking through the door. She’d call out, “What are you doing?”

The kid would take one look at her, then run off screaming.

Fang Yuan looked down at herself. Aside from being a bit dirty, she didn’t think she looked that scary. She muttered to herself, “Are kids in the provincial capital really this timid?”

That evening, when Lu Chuan came home with food from the cafeteria, Fang Yuan asked, “Did you ask when you rented this place if it’s safe to live here?”

Lu Chuan had definitely asked. He explained, “Most people in this courtyard are renters. The landlord doesn’t live here.”

Fang Yuan nodded. “Lots of different people. I’ll have to fix up the doors and windows. Don’t leave anything valuable at home.”

Lu Chuan said, “Why bother with all that? I think your fifth brother wants to come over, and this place is too small anyway.” The implication: maybe we should move.

Fang Yuan immediately shouted, “You spendthrift! Always thinking about spending money.”

Lu Chuan just laughed, not the least bit embarrassed. “I’m your spendthrift.”

Fang Yuan hadn’t expected Lu Chuan to be so shameless. “When did your skin get so thick?”

Lu Chuan blushed. “I’m not a kid anymore. I have to take responsibility.”

Fang Yuan only heard the first part and immediately got upset, genuinely angry this time. “What do you mean, you’re not a kid anymore?” That wouldn’t do.

Lu Chuan realized they were thinking about completely different things. “Yes, yes, yes.” He didn’t even have time to be embarrassed—he had to calm his wife down first.

Fang Yuan started, “Lu Chuan, let me tell you, you need to—” But Lu Chuan cut her off by covering her mouth. This wasn’t the kind of argument to have out loud.

And then, of course, Lu Chuan got kicked away.

He clutched his chest and complained, “You know, this really isn’t right.”

Fang Yuan realized she might have kicked him a bit hard. “Ahem, yeah, that was a bit much. Are you okay?”

Lu Chuan glared at her, feeling wronged. “You know it’s wrong, but you still do it.”

Fang Yuan, feeling guilty, started rubbing his chest. “I’ll try to do better.”

Lu Chuan was still sulking, mostly because his pride was hurt. “Weren’t you the one in a hurry to have a kid?”

Fang Yuan quickly cut him off, turning away with a blush. “Enough, stop talking.”

Lu Chuan, seeing his wife blush, was overjoyed. Look at that—Fang Yuan actually knows how to be shy! That must mean something. Getting kicked a few times? He was used to it by now. No big deal.

Lu Chuan said, “No rush, no rush. We’ll take our time. We’re both in the provincial capital now—it’s convenient.” And then he got kicked again.

Lu Chuan looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath, still rubbing his chest. “If I’d known, I’d have kept my mouth shut. Would’ve saved myself a lot of pain.”

Fang Yuan snapped, “Just shut up and go to sleep. Give your brain a rest.”

Lu Chuan decided he definitely didn’t want to keep telling the truth to Fang Yuan. Rest his brain? Fine by him.

When his wife wasn’t shy, she was generous and open. When she was shy, she really could kick.

In this big courtyard, with five or six families living together, the women started to gossip. What exactly did Fang Yuan do for a living?

She always came home dirty, while the man dressed pretty well. They wanted to say Fang Yuan was up to no good, but they couldn’t. She just didn’t seem like that kind of person.

If anything, she looked like someone who worked hard and suffered a lot. It was a real mystery.

Then someone said, “That woman doesn’t look like a good person, but she doesn’t look like a bad one either. But that man—he’s a pretty boy. Maybe she’s been tricked by a conman?”

The auntie refused to admit Fang Yuan was a good person. “At best, she’s a female hooligan who’s taken a liking to a pretty boy. Neither of them are any good.”

When the old man passed by and overheard, he shook his head. “You all should really watch your mouths.”

But gossiping was the women’s favorite pastime. Who cared what the old man thought? The speculation just got wilder and wilder.

According to the women in the courtyard, Fang Yuan changed jobs eight times a day.

Fang Yuan had been assigned all sorts of identities by the women, but the most obvious effect was on the kids.

One day they’d look at her one way, the next day another. Sometimes, they’d run off as soon as they saw her. It was all very strange and ever-changing.

Fang Yuan was starting to get used to the rhythm of life in the courtyard.

Then one day, Lu Chuan had class and came home late. Fang Yuan was alone when there was a knock at the door.

Fang Yuan, who’d grown up in the countryside and was always warm and hospitable, was a bit at a loss when she opened the door to find a group of kids standing there, nervously greeting her.

The kids, a bit timid, shuffled forward. “Auntie… Auntie…”

Fang Yuan softened her tone, not wanting to scare them. “You kids are never this polite. You even know to call me ‘Auntie’?”

The kids looked at her nervously. “Auntie, you’re the boss around here. Everyone in the courtyard is afraid of you.”

Fang Yuan scratched her head. This was the first she’d heard of it—she had a reputation now? “Who decided that?”

The kids replied, “We did.”

Fang Yuan figured she’d inherited the Fang family’s aura. She felt a little embarrassed but figured she could accept it. “So what now?”

The kids said, “The spot at the entrance of the alley where we usually play—someone took it from us.”

Fang Yuan immediately understood. As the boss, she was supposed to help the kids reclaim their spot for jump rope. “You want me to go beat up some kids? No way, that’s embarrassing.”

She was so easy to talk to that the kids stopped being afraid.

They pulled her along, and one honest kid said, “Don’t worry, we’re not asking you to fight anyone.”

That was even less reassuring—she couldn’t win a fight anyway. Her mom always taught her: if you can’t win, run.

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