The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man

Not long after Yun Hao left, Village Chief Xu remembered that he hadn’t mentioned anything about a house.

Truth be told, there wasn’t much to mention.

Plenty of the educated youth in the village had gotten married. Those with money built their own houses, while those without rented from others.

But it was winter, so they couldn’t build a house.

That meant renting was their only option.

She was his daughter, after all, so Village Chief Xu decided to make one last effort and help the two of them pick out a courtyard house.

There weren’t many vacant houses in the Qingshan Team. Village Chief Xu picked out a relative’s old home. The entire family had moved to the County Town, so no one was living there.

With the family having moved to the city, their house in the countryside was left empty.

It was sitting empty anyway, so renting it out was naturally a good thing.

But in those days, aside from the educated youth getting married, who else would rent these houses?

That was why it had been up for rent for a long time with no takers. Village Chief Xu knew it was a really nice house; if travel back and forth weren’t so inconvenient, the owners would never have rented it out.

Once the house was chosen, the rent was set at two yuan a month. The owners had given Village Chief Xu full authority to handle the matter.

The Village Chief had Xu Chongshan tell Yun Hao to come see the house.

The house was a small courtyard, built only three or four years ago. It had three rooms—two main rooms and an outdoor kitchen. There was nothing else, making it very simple, but it was enough for Yun Hao and Xu Wenwan.

Yun Hao paid the Village Chief three months’ rent.

Xu Chongshan and Xu Chongfeng helped tidy up the courtyard.

Looking at the courtyard, Yun Hao finally resigned himself to his fate.

That evening, the air outside was freezing. Yun Hao sat alone in the courtyard, wrapped tightly in his clothes, gazing up at the star-filled sky.

’He didn’t know how his life had come to this. He was trapped here, with no way to escape and no way to resist.’

Yun Hao had been smart since childhood, the pride and joy of his parents. He’d never suffered a real setback, and this was his first taste of powerlessness.

Worried about Yun Hao, Hu Ziqiang put on his coat and came outside, sitting silently beside him.

Yun Hao suddenly gave a self-mocking laugh.

”Ziqiang, tell me, how did I end up in a situation like this?”

Hu Ziqiang pressed his lips together and could only let out a sigh.

”Yun Hao, you’re about to get married. Try not to overthink things.”

”You know, we all grew up together, and Wen Wan is actually a very good person. Have you forgotten that time back in school when she was being bullied and you rushed in to stand up for her?”

”You’ve looked after her and liked her since you were kids. Being able to marry her now... maybe it was meant to be.”

As an observer, Hu Ziqiang didn’t think Xu Wenwan had done anything terribly wrong. He just pitied his friend for having fallen for someone he shouldn’t have.

In fact, he thought it was actually a good thing that Yun Hao could marry Xu Wenwan.

Yun Hao also recalled the days when the three of them were constant companions as children.

’Back then, their relationship had been genuinely good. He had always protected her. Xu Wenwan was pretty, well-behaved, and sensible. Though she was a bit willful, he had felt that girls were supposed to be a little willful, weren’t they?’

’But now, the mere thought of Xu Wenwan’s face filled him with disgust.’

’Perhaps the problem was his own attitude.’

’When he thought about it, Xu Wenwan hadn’t really done anything outrageous. All she wanted was to marry him.’

’As for their falling-out today, who could stay calm after being humiliated over five yuan?’

”Since you’re getting married, you have to learn to accept it.”

In those days, marriage was for life. Divorce was practically nonexistent. Many people stayed married even if their feelings for each other were gone.