Chapter 2: Entering & Crashing on the Door
Qu Qing was a notorious gangster in Huajia Village.
The Hua family village is basically people surnamed Hua, and Qu Qing’s family is an outsider. People say that their ancestors were once wealthy, but the family declined due to the impact of wars. Many years ago, his parents took him to relocate to this place, purchased five acres of paddy fields, five acres of dry land, and built several good-quality brick houses. They settled down, living a relatively prosperous life. Unfortunately, not long after, his parents passed away, leaving Qu Qing unattended, and he started his prodigal ways.
First, he was deceived into gambling, losing a considerable amount of land. Eventually, even the house was exchanged for money in a gamble. Now, he lived in a dilapidated thatched house at the edge of the village, with only one acre of paddy fields and two acres of dry land left. It’s unclear whether he hadn’t had the chance to sell them or if he realized that losing the land would mean losing his livelihood and decided not to gamble further – the details remained unknown.
He was often seen associating with local ruffians, stealing chickens and engaging in various shady activities. His family has land, yet he is too lazy to plant it. The people in the village scold him incessantly, and when they think of the fields he lost, they feel even more heartbroken. The villagers firmly refuse to interact with him, and any girl who meets him on the road must take a detour.
All these things had been heard by Hua Gou’er from others. In fact, he only met Qu Qing a few times from afar and did not take this prodigal seriously. He never thought that one day in his life, he would be tied to this gangster.
That day, after finishing work in the fields and returning home with his Mao, he suddenly heard teasing remarks behind him as he passed a shady area. At that moment, he had no idea that the teasing was directed at him. Not only is he a ger, but due to his masculine appearance and unattractive looks, people tended to avoid him, never bothering to spare him a second glance. Even those with ill intentions rarely paid attention to him.
When that person grabbed his arm, he instinctively turned around. As soon as the person behind him saw his face, they were shocked, quickly released him, and with a disdainful expression, loudly exclaimed, “How come it’s an ugly freak, so unlucky! Get lost, stay away from me!”
Hua Gou’er was aware of his own appearance, but he detested when people openly pointed it out. So, he retorted without holding back.
He has a strong personality. Although he has been the one who has been bullied since childhood, he never knows how to be submissive. His lack of restraint in responding to insults had probably contributed to many of his problems. If Qu Qing had decided to beat him at that moment, it wouldn’t have been surprising. Luckily, Qu Qing’s face saved him from such a fate.
With this stubborn disposition, Hua Gou’er had a hard time getting along with people. The neighbors would gossip, saying that an ugly person like him would bring bad luck. They used all kinds of negative words to describe him, labeling him as ugly, lazy, and aggressive. Some even claimed that he would never get married in his lifetime.
In reality, few people knew that despite his fierce exterior, he was actually very obedient and diligent at home. From childhood to adulthood, he has only one disagreement with the elders in the family. However, his external nature is like this, and his acne has ruined his appearance. His marriage prospects were almost nonexistent.
He indeed remained unmarried.
In normal households, girls could get married at the age of sixteen, and the same applied to gers. If they delayed any longer, they would become old. However, even at the age of eighteen, his marriage still hasn’t been settled at all. His mother had been increasingly displeased with him.
He can only work hard to survive, hoping that one day he can save some money and go out to start his own family. Marriage was something he had given up on.
That day was an accident, but it did not occur to him that the act of Qu Qing pulling his hand was seen by the village people. The villagers began to spread rumors that Hua Gou’er had been defiled by Qu Qing. The villagers embellished the story, making it more scandalous than the truth.
A few days later, when his mother heard this rumor, she not only didn’t scold him but also showed a delighted expression. That night, she kindly gave him a hot water bath, and for the first time, she personally wiped Mao’s face with a clean face towel that he could never touch at home. The next day, before dawn, she tied a red cloth ribbon on him and sent him to Qu Qing’s doorstep. At that time, Qu Qing was not there, and his mother left first.
People in poor families struggled to have enough to eat, and besides, he was just a ger and had lost his reputation. Without anyone to act as a matchmaker, his family had done their best by arranging this marriage. Whether the other party accepted was uncertain. This “marriage” had already been his family’s best effort. He knew all of this, so there was no resentment or complaint. If he blamed anything, it was his ill fate to be born into such a poor and harsh world.
Sitting nervously on Qu Qing’s doorstep with Mao, he felt uneasy and scared. When Qu Qing, drunk and swaying, finally appeared, he was shocked at the sight of Hua Gou’er. After hearing the stammered explanation, Qu Qing scolded him for having delusions, almost resorting to violence. In the end, he roughly sent them away, even kicking Mao a couple of times.
At that moment, Hua Gou’er had given up hope. The “in-laws” didn’t want him, and he had no choice but to return home. He understood that his family wouldn’t accept him anymore.
In the vast expanse of the world, with millions of lights shining, there was no light left for him.
He caught up with his mother, who hadn’t yet reached home. Seeing her displeased expression, he wondered if jumping off the cliff behind the house was the only way out.
When he was once again escorted by his mother to the gate of Qu Qing’s house, he tightened his hold on Mao’s hand and thought, perhaps jumping off the cliff was not the worst option. It was better than spending the night outside, becoming prey for wild animals, and being eaten alive. At least it won’t hurt if he dies and is eaten afterward.
Qu Qing didn’t pay much attention to them, and went straight into the door without uttering a word. This time, maybe because his mother was present, he did not beat or scold him. This was probably his last dignity before his death.
Just as he was mockingly thinking about his own demise, Qu Qing spoke, not jumping to his feet in disgust or telling him to get lost, but faintly saying “Come in” to him and Mao.
It was in a very ordinary tone, like a farmer mentioning that it would rain tomorrow. There was no hint of dissatisfaction or resistance to taking in two more people. In this impoverished place, having enough to eat was considered good. Even he and his siblings, grew up without ever knowing the feeling of being full, and would face disdain from their own parents for taking an extra bite of food. Let alone other families, no one would accept a stranger who might snatch away their limited food for nothing.
So Hua Gou’er thought that the words “Come in” he heard earlier might have been a hallucination. Perhaps the heavens granted him a moment of happiness before his die. He lowered his head and didn’t even dare to lift it, afraid that if he looked up, he would see the disgusted look on the other person’s face, breaking the only beautiful illusion he had.
When he closes the door, he will take Mao with him and leave.
That’s what he thought.
After Qu Qing finished speaking, he saw the two of them, one big and one small, still standing in place without any reaction. He thought he was speaking softly and they hadn’t heard him, so he raised his voice uncomfortably. Seeing the apparent fear in the two, he searched for words in his mind, trying to make his tone less harsh. “You… when you come in later, remember to close the door.”
Hua Gou’er was a bit confused. He only heard the part about closing the door, so he stupidly reached out and closed the door from the outside, shutting himself out in the process, without any sense of discomfort at all.
It wasn’t until Mao tugged at his sleeve, pointed inside, and shook its head that he realized the words he heard earlier were an invitation for him to come in.
At the moment when Qu Qing saw the gate closed, he was momentarily stunned, then helplessly covered half of his face with his hand, thinking, “This person is too foolish, isn’t he?”
He walked over to see what was going on with the two outside, but as a result, just as he reached the gate, it was suddenly pushed open and with a loud bang, hit Qu Qing. He let out a cry of pain, held his head and squatted on the ground as he sighed his heart through gritted teeth, “This ancient countryside is really powerful, in all kinds of ways.”
Hua Gou’er suddenly panicked, and Mao, also frightened, tightly grabbed onto his pant leg and hid behind him, closing its small eyes and trembling. Qu Qing, who was crouching down, caught a glimpse of the child’s actions and found them pitiful, causing a heartache.
“Sorry… I didn’t mean to, you… believe me,” he said to Qu Qing with a panicked and fearful look. Thinking that he had finally managed to enter this house, only to have his hopes dashed by a rough push, made him even more terrified. The thought of death made his teeth uncontrollably chatter, and he couldn’t articulate a complete sentence, his face turning red with anxiety.
Qu Qing noticed that he had only sustained a minor injury, but the two, one big and one small, were visibly frightened. An indescribable feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.
Enduring the lingering pain, he pretended to stand up with a calm expression, reassuring the two, “It’s okay, it was just a light touch. Don’t be…” He originally wanted to say “Don’t be afraid,” but the words felt odd, so he changed his expression, “Don’t do this. Come in quickly; there are many things to do at home today, don’t delay.”
Hua Gou’er felt Qu Qing’s voice at this moment unbelievably gentle. In his memory, even when he hadn’t yet developed pimples on his face, no one had ever treated him with such a kind and gentle tone. It felt like… treating him as an equal.
Even Mao also opened one eye to look at Qu Qing, the small eyes are unable to hide the astonishment. When Qu Qing looked at him, he fearfully hid behind Hua Gou’er.
Hua Gou’er quietly raised his head and found that Qu Qing was looking at him seriously. He immediately turned red, subconsciously lifting his sleeve to cover his ugly face.
He seemed to suddenly understand something. Before, when others called him ugly, he might feel annoyed at most. When facing anyone, he didn’t care about dressing up or doing even a bit of covering up. He always held his head high, and stood with his chest out when being casually observed by people, and act nonchalantly when pointed by others. He never felt bothered by his appearance, and when others scolded him for lacking shame, he could respond with a smile, saying, “I just don’t have any sense of shame. What’s wrong?”
However today, facing this person with serious and gentle eyes, a sense of shame emerged from the depths of his heart.
For the first time in his life, he didn’t want this person to see his face.
The first person in the world to treat him gently.
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