Xana knew the Xavia family didn't have such high-quality rice, so she guessed it must have been part of the return gift from Jewel's family.
She looked at the thick, warm porridge made from the fine rice sitting on the stove, and her appetite suddenly surged.
She didn't even bother checking who was in the main room. During meals, the men usually didn't eat at the women's table anyway—they just stayed in the kitchen.
Right now, Xana just wanted to quickly eat all the fragrant food in the pot. She didn't care to leave any for that couple.
She closed the kitchen door, grabbed a big bowl, and scooped out two large ladles of porridge. She used her chopsticks to pick up a pile of eggplant strips and shoved them into her mouth.
She was alone in the kitchen, and didn't care about appearances. She just ate heartily, stuffing her face without pause.
His wife had been sick for days, and they were short on money. His own life had taken a downturn too, with barely any decent food lately. He had been craving something tasty for so long.
But just as he was eating happily, he suddenly heard laughter from the main room.
Xana froze, spoon halfway to his mouth.
He heard Xavia's voice next—and his heart skipped a beat!
Could it be…
That couple was eating in the main room!
No wonder they weren't in the kitchen at mealtime. They had gone straight to the table.
He wanted to peek into the main room to see what was happening, but now that everyone was enjoying their drinks and food, he didn't dare take the risk of upsetting his wife by asking to join them.
He had lived in the Xavia family for so many years without having any children. His wife's affection was the only thing keeping him in the household.
He had been with Xana for so many years—she was also his childhood sweetheart from the same village.
Back then, Xana and he had liked each other, but once the elders in the Xavia family heard rumors that men from his family couldn't have children, they firmly opposed their marriage.
He was heartbroken. Their love became the talk of the village. Everyone knew about it, and his reputation suffered so badly that no other family was willing to arrange a marriage with him.
He had no other options. In the end, he married into the Xavia family as a husband.
Time flew by. It had been nearly twenty years.
And the curse seemed to come true. In all those years, he had never given his wife a child—not even a son or a daughter.
A life without children—that was his greatest sorrow.
When he saw Zhang pregnant back then, he felt bitter. No one knew how painful it was. Only he understood how lonely it felt to stand alone in the rain.
Afraid of losing what little he had, he held on even tighter.
Because he had no children of his own, he refused to share Xana with Zhang. He wanted to keep her love all to himself.
All these years, Xana had treated him well. She even felt guilty for never fulfilling her promise to make him the main husband, and always favored him over Zhang. But she never dared to break society's rules for him.
What did it matter if she favored him? In her heart, he was probably just a husband who could be replaced.
Even if Xana never said it, he could feel it. Since the day he married into the family, she had only ever treated him as a companion—not once with the respect Jewel gave Xavi.
Thinking about it made his heart heavy and complicated.
He wanted to go into the main room, but didn't dare. Yet not going made him feel unwilling. His heart was full of jealousy and resentment.
Just moments ago, the rice porridge and side dishes had tasted so good—now they were tasteless.
He thought of the life Jewel had and started to long for it. Then he began to wonder what he could do to live as comfortably as Xavi in her household...
After the meal, it was already afternoon.
Under the watchful eyes of the Xavia family, Jewel and Xavi held hands and walked out of the house, returning to their own home.
Xana and Zhang watched their son and daughter-in-law fade into the distance, a silent sorrow rising in their hearts.
Their son was finally gone…
But it's fine, Xavi didn't marry far away. During holidays and festivals, they could still see their child…
Zhang and Xana went back to clean up the dishes in the kitchen, while the yard was left with just the mother and her other son.
"Mother," Xavia said softly.
"Hm?" Xana turned around, hiding the sadness in her eyes.
"Jewel gave me some money for your treatment. She told me not to tell you…"
"What! You... you accepted it?"
"I… she insisted…"
"She insisted, and you still took it?"
Xavia stayed silent, feeling wronged.
The Jewel family was just a regular farming household. Xana hadn't expected her daughter-in-law to give them money at all…
---
Jewel and Xavi walked along the small path back to their village. Birds chirped along the roadside, the sun was bright, and the breeze was gentle.
Looking at the cheerful and clean young man beside her, Jewel's eyes filled with mischief. She suddenly felt like teasing him a little just to see his shy expression.
She was about to speak when a few familiar-looking women appeared up ahead.
Jewel searched the original owner's memory…
Oh no!
Weren't these the gambling buddies who had lent the original her some silver?
Talk about bad luck—running into them here of all places!
But actually, it was fine. She still had silver hidden in her space. Yesterday, when shopping in town, she didn't want to carry too much, so she stashed some away. Now she could pay off the ten taels of gambling debt. Better to clear it sooner and have peace of mind.
She just hoped her newly married, beautiful husband wouldn't catch the attention of those rowdy women!
"Xavi, stay behind me. Don't show your face."
She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him behind her.
Xavi had also noticed the group of rough-looking women approaching. As they got closer, he felt their gazes lingering on him, sending chills down his spine. So when Jewel pulled him behind her, he quickly complied, letting her body shield him.
"Well, well! If it isn't Jewel!"
The woman leading the group had seen the handsome man beside Jewel from a distance and thought he looked like the younger son from the Xavia family in Dongying Village.
Since he was good-looking, and these unmarried women liked to gossip about pretty men, they remembered him.
"Well, it's only been a few days. Not only did you fix your brain, but you also managed to steal someone else's man?"
That woman had seen Xavi from afar once. He looked really nice, so now she grinned and looked at Jewel mockingly, boldly trying to peek behind her.
Seeing these women acting so shamelessly, Jewel felt anger rising inside.
She wasn't the original person anymore. Even if she had those memories, she had no ties with these gambling women. And now they were being disrespectful to her husband?
Unacceptable.
Her uncle had been a legend in the modern-day martial arts world. Under his guidance, she had trained in combat sports for years.
She had been weak growing up, so her mother hoped martial arts would strengthen her. Her uncle taught her well, and she turned out to be a real talent. Back in the modern world, even three or five trained men couldn't get close to her in a fight.