Jiang Yuning froze mid-sentence, her lips pressing into a bitter line. She had wanted to refuse, but after thinking it over, enduring half a year was still far better than being sent back to her parents’ home on the wedding day.

Even though… she no longer had any reputation left anyway.

During this time, she didn’t expect Xiao Liye to like her. A man like him—young and already so successful—wouldn’t fall for her even in ten years, let alone six months.

She only wanted to quietly get through this period, save some money, and slowly convince her parents.

If they agreed not to rush her into remarriage after a divorce, she would help run the family pastry shop.

If not, she would leave and try her luck elsewhere.

Xiao Fangdong felt somewhat relieved and said:

“Xiao Ning, just stay here for these six months. If he bullies you, tell me.”

Jiang Yuning nodded:

“Okay, Uncle.”

Xiao Liye glanced at her sideways and snorted coldly when he saw how readily she agreed.

So that was it—she intended to stay.

He had thought she would refuse immediately. Instead, she agreed so quickly. Clearly she was relying on his father’s support, probably planning to use these six months to turn the fake marriage into a real one.

He would never let that happen. He would make sure she left within half a year.

The house had nine rooms: the three on the far right belonged to Xiao Liye. The middle three belonged to the eldest brother Huo Zhaoqing and his wife Wang Xiangmei. The left three belonged to the second brother Huo Zhaoxing and his wife Li Chunyan.

Xiao Fangdong and Lin Meifeng lived with Xiao Liye, but recently Lin Meifeng had gone to take care of their youngest daughter who was about to give birth, so she wasn’t home.

After handling things, Xiao Fangdong left for the vegetable garden.

Jiang Yuning didn’t dare stay near Xiao Liye. After a moment’s hesitation, she walked inside.

The broken bowls and shards were still scattered across the floor. Thinking of how he had smashed everything earlier in anger, she had no intention of cleaning up his mess and went straight into the house.

Seeing her ignore the mess, Xiao Liye frowned:

“What, are you blind? Don’t you see the broken glass on the floor? You’re not going to clean it up?”

Jiang Yuning still felt afraid of him, but replied softly anyway:

“You broke it yourself, you clean it. I don’t owe you anything.”

Xiao Liye raised his brows slightly in surprise.

“Weren’t you silent when I was just scolding you? I thought you were the easy-to-bully type.”

“I just look like I don’t cause trouble. That doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”

Xiao Liye frowned, puzzled by her reaction. Logically, if she wanted to cling to him, she should be trying to please him—what was this attitude?

He didn’t believe it and ordered again:

“Go, get me a basin of water to wash my feet.”

Jiang Yuning immediately bristled:

“My husband is dead. I don’t even know who that water would be for.”

Xiao Liye choked for a moment, then said stubbornly:

“Then what am I to you?”

“A stranger,” she answered immediately.

Xiao Liye was completely speechless.

After calming his frustration, he said:

“Then what are you doing in a stranger’s house?”

“I’m a stranger to you, not to your father. I live here.”

Xiao Liye almost laughed in anger.

He turned to leave, but then suddenly reached out, grabbed her arm, and pulled her into the room. Before she could react, she was pushed onto the bed.

She looked up in shock as Xiao Liye leaned over her, both arms braced beside her head.

He was too close—she could clearly feel his hot breath brushing against her face.

Then he said in a low, ambiguous voice:

“Tonight seems to be our wedding night.”

Jiang Yuning’s pupils shrank. Her face flushed hot, and she tightly gripped the bedsheet, extremely nervous.

Xiao Liye noticed her reaction, frowned slightly, then sneered as if remembering something:

“You were married for so long before, and even tried to have a child. Now you’re acting pure?”

Her face burned even hotter. She lifted her leg to kick him, but before she could move, he pressed one knee between her legs, not forcefully, but enough to completely immobilize her.

His hot body heat pressed against her through thin fabric, making her uncomfortable and tense.

Jiang Yuning held her breath, her heart pounding, eyelashes trembling.

Xiao Liye said nothing, just looked at her with a half-smile, his gaze fixed on her face.

Beautiful.

Too beautiful.

Without even wearing makeup, she was already stunning.

If she dressed up a little, who knew how breathtaking she would be.

If he were her first man, she’d probably be too weak to even stand up afterward—let alone have the strength to die by drowning.

The atmosphere grew tense and subtly charged. Jiang Yuning, flustered, stammered:

“You… get… get off me.”

Xiao Liye snapped back to reality, stood up, and scoffed:

“You really think I’d touch you? Dream on. A widow who couldn’t even have children after marriage—what would I want from you?”

Jiang Yuning bit her lip. She wanted to argue, but after thinking it over, it made sense that someone of his status would look down on her.

She realized she should try to explain properly, so she sat up and said gently:

“Although I was married for over a year… we never consummated. And my body should be fine. Everything is… normal.”

If she were less attractive, Xiao Liye might have believed her.

But he had already looked into her background.

Jiang Zhiming had no other lover. On their wedding night, any normal man—even in an arranged marriage—would have consummated it first and dealt with feelings later.

Not touching her at all for so long didn’t make sense.

As for the lack of children, it was hard to say whose fault it was—but given the rumors that she had “driven her husband to death,” it was hard to believe she was completely innocent.

Of course, he would never admit that she was beautiful enough to stir his own desire.

Instead, he scoffed:

“That kind of nonsense might fool other men, but not me. What, are you going to use every trick just to get me to sleep with you?”

Jiang Yuning’s face flushed red. She regretted speaking up at all. Nothing worked, and instead she only got mocked again.

If words didn’t work, should she suggest a medical examination or ask a midwife to check? That would just make her seem far too eager. And even if she said it, he would probably only mock her more.

Thinking of this, she completely lost hope for the marriage.

Forget it. She would just endure a few months and keep her distance.

Seeing her silent, Xiao Liye assumed he had exposed her lie. His expression cooled, and he turned and left.

Only then did Jiang Yuning finally relax on the bed.

At that moment, Xiao Fangdong came back carrying a bundle of fresh greens and called into the house:

“Xiao Ning, what do you want to eat? I’ll cook it for you.”

Jiang Yuning adjusted her mood and came out:

“Uncle, I’ll cook dinner.”

Xiao Fangdong put the greens into a basin by the well:

“Alright. The garden still needs weeding anyway. Your eldest brother, his wife, your second brother and his wife will all be back for dinner tonight—make a bit more.”

She nodded.

Then Xiao Fangdong said to Xiao Liye:

“Liye, go help your wife. It’s not convenient for her alone to cook and tend the fire.”

Xiao Liye, sitting on a stone mill, raised a brow:

“What did I marry her for? To cook? Should I feed her too? Bring her wash water? Carry her when she goes out? Push while she gives birth?”

Then he added:

“Oh right, she can’t even have children. No need for that last one anyway.”

Jiang Yuning’s face turned red with anger. She wished she could tear his mouth apart.

Xiao Fangdong’s expression darkened, but knowing forcing him further would cause trouble, he said nothing and went to the garden.

Satisfied, Xiao Liye glanced at Jiang Yuning:

“See? I’m very fierce. As long as you stay in my house, you’ll have to listen to me.”

Jiang Yuning sneered:

“Someone once said he had a good temper. Now he knows he’s fierce. Isn’t it embarrassing to contradict yourself?”

Xiao Liye was speechless for a moment.

“You were pretending to be a harmless girl. Who told you to stay silent? Anyone would think you liked me.”

“I didn’t pretend,” she said, eyes reddening. “I just got married once and my husband died. Do I really need to label myself ‘widow’ and announce it to everyone?”

For a moment, Xiao Liye looked flustered. He stepped forward instinctively, then stopped himself and regained his arrogant tone, muttering:

“I didn’t say it like that.”

Jiang Yuning ignored him and went into the kitchen, closing the door behind her.

She leaned against the counter, letting out a shaky breath, holding back the bitterness in her chest.

In this era, most marriages were arranged or based on brief introductions. She had intended to live properly with him.

But instead of becoming a joke in front of the whole village, he kept calling her a widow and constantly poking at her wounds.

A faint, barely audible sob came from inside.

Xiao Liye stiffened outside the door, hesitating.

Then he pushed the door open slightly.

Jiang Yuning turned her head, her voice still slightly hoarse:

“What are you doing in here?”

Seeing her red eyes made him uncomfortable. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, then, without saying anything, grabbed vegetables from the basket and went to wash them.

“I’m just afraid you’ll poison me out of revenge,” he muttered.

“Then you can cook yourself,” she snapped.

“I don’t know how,” he replied bluntly.

Jiang Yuning sighed and said nothing more, focusing on cooking.

But when she looked for fire starters in the stove area, she couldn’t find any.

She searched around but found nothing, and unwilling to speak to him, she simply sat down in silence.

Xiao Liye came back after washing the vegetables and saw her sitting motionless.

“What, are you acupunctured?” he asked.

“I can’t find the matches,” she replied, turning her head away.

Hearing this, Xiao Liye felt a surge of frustration.

“You’re something else. You couldn’t even say that? You expect me to read your mind?”

He walked over, pulled out a metal lighter, lit the straw in her hand, and accidentally caused a fire when the straw fell into the pile.

The fire quickly spread.

Panicking, he pulled her away, stomped on it, and poured water—but it was too late. Smoke filled the kitchen.

Together they managed to put it out, but the kitchen was blackened and messy.

Standing at the doorway, Xiao Liye said:

“First day of marriage and you already burned the kitchen. Is this your revenge on me?”

“Obviously it was you grabbing my wrist!” she argued.

He looked at her smudged face and laughed:

“If I hadn’t stopped you, you’d have caused worse trouble. And anyway, given our situation, it’s only natural I could sleep with you. You panicking over a wrist grab—aren’t you being unreasonable?”