Chapter Twenty: The Test

For several consecutive nights, he secretly returned, hiding beside the haystack in front of Wang Hongbing’s house to spy, but he never noticed anything unusual.

One time, perhaps from exhaustion, he even fell asleep beside the haystack. When he woke up, dawn was breaking, and he felt that the two of them might have already been together without him knowing.

Determined to take the initiative, he decided to test them. To his surprise, Caiyun agreed, confirming his earlier suspicions—he hadn’t realized they had long been involved.

Now, while observing and waiting for Caiyun to come out, he plotted how to deal with these two scoundrels. Unlike Wang Hongbing, who had beaten his wife into a cripple, he wanted Caiyun to serve him like a beast of burden for life. He planned to cripple Wang Hongbing, leaving him incontinent and paralyzed in bed, a complete wreck.

But after waiting for over an hour without Caiyun emerging, impatience gnawed at him. Had he lost focus, and had Caiyun already gone over? He prepared to approach again to prod her.

He took a few steps but quickly retreated, fearing he might bump into Caiyun and expose himself.

After waiting for over two more hours with no sign of her, Fa Cai could no longer bear it and knocked on the door. “Yun, why aren’t you coming? I’m about to lose it—can you hurry?”

“I’m not feeling well tonight. Once I’m better, I’ll come to you. Is that alright?”

“Alright then.”

From then on, Fa Cai came every night to spy, but Caiyun never went to find Wang Hongbing. He suspected Caiyun was deliberately teasing Wang Hongbing, stoking his desire to its peak before finally going.

Caiyun knew Fa Cai was surely watching her outside and believed he would come knocking again. She intended to make him suffer and learn his lesson.

Sure enough, one night, Caiyun heard knocking again. “Caiyun, missed me? Come out and come with me to the cowshed!”

“Wang Hongbing, you’re so deluded. Haven’t you realized I’m just playing you? You despicable man disgusts me. Listen carefully: I belong to Fa Cai in life and death. Forget about me. If you dare bother me again, I’ll have Fa Cai break your damn legs. Now get lost!”

After she finished, she heard footsteps retreating and smiled. She believed Fa Cai would find comfort in her words and never spy on her again.

One evening, Caiyun was busy in the canteen when Fa Cai came looking for her, surprising her. “Why are you back?”

“I have diarrhea, coming back to rest for a couple of days.”

Caiyun suppressed a laugh—no wonder he had diarrhea. In the bitter cold, staying out all night frozen, how could he not?

“Really? How did you get diarrhea?” she asked knowingly.

“Caught a chill,” Fa Cai replied.

Caiyun thought, serves you right! You brought this on yourself.

“You should go back first; I’m still busy.”

Just as Fa Cai reached Wang Hongbing’s door, he saw Yulan coming out of the cowshed. Seeing her father, Yulan hurriedly stuffed something into her pocket.

“Yulan, what are you hiding?” Fa Cai called out.

“Nothing... nothing, Dad. Why are you back?” Surprised and a bit nervous, Yulan answered.

Fa Cai noticed she was hiding something and saw it was a piece of scorched rice crust.

“Where did you get this?” Fa Cai asked.

“My little uncle gave it to me.”

“Why did you go to him?”

“He said he had some crust for me.”

“Don’t take things from others anymore, especially from your little uncle, understand?”

“Got it.”

“Does your mom often go to your little uncle’s place?”

“I haven’t seen her.”

“Has your little uncle been coming to our house?”

“Not recently.”

That night, as they lay together, Fa Cai held Caiyun close and asked, “Has everything been alright at home since I left?”

“Pretty good, no need to worry.”

“Did you and Yulan go to the theater again last night?”

“How did you know?” Caiyun was puzzled.

“All your moves are under my watch. Be careful.”

Fa Cai’s warning was meant to pressure her into confessing.

“What’s there to be careful about when watching a show?”

“I worry those enchanting actresses will seduce you away.”

“Maybe one day if I meet someone I like, I’ll run off with him.”

“You’ve been to every show and haven’t found anyone you like?”

“Soon enough. When that happens, I’ll say goodbye to you.”

“Dream on. Just be my wife.”

“You’re so dull—no taste for movies or plays. Impossible to teach you.”

“Who’s like you? No matter how busy, you never miss a show or a movie. A real fan.”

“What’s wrong with that? You learn a lot from watching.”

“Has Wang Hongbing been pestering you lately?” Fa Cai probed.

“I was just about to tell you. After you left, he came several times, asking me to go to his cowshed.”

Knowing Fa Cai was testing her, Caiyun seized the chance to reveal her true feelings and dispel his doubts.

Fa Cai believed her and asked, “Did you go?”

“Are you stupid? Would I go?”

“Don’t you like him? With me gone, he’s short of a woman, and you live alone. What a perfect chance to give up?”

“I know he’s trying to exploit your absence to test me. If I had outright refused, he would have pestered me endlessly, and it would be bad if the kids found out. So the first two times, I agreed, told him to wait for me, and used it to toy with him—teaching that lecherous scoundrel a lesson.”

“And the third time?”

Caiyun thought, keep pretending and ask knowingly.

“The third time, I gave him a fierce scolding. He slunk away. I’m sure he won’t bother me again.”

She repeated the harsh words she had used on Wang Hongbing, feeling confident Fa Cai would finally trust her.

In truth, Caiyun was mistaken—the third visitor wasn’t Fa Cai but Wang Hongbing himself.

Fa Cai half-believed her words because he had seen Wang Hongbing knocking the third time. If Wang came late at night, it meant their relationship was still close, with no quarrels. Caiyun had no reason to say such heartless things to Wang Hongbing.

Fa Cai’s diarrhea was real but mild. His main purpose in returning was to test Caiyun again, as some doubts lingered from his spying.

Fa Cai had knocked twice during his surveillance, and Caiyun hadn’t refused. He thought she would soon go to Wang Hongbing, so he decided to continue watching.

His perseverance paid off. One midnight, he saw Wang Hongbing leave the cowshed and knock on Caiyun’s door. They talked a long time. Fa Cai didn’t know what was said, nor did Caiyun open the door. Eventually, Wang left alone. Fa Cai kept watching until dawn but saw no sign of Caiyun going over.

He monitored for two more nights, freezing until he developed diarrhea, then went home for a direct confrontation.

Fa Cai was fairly satisfied with the results. He believed most of Caiyun’s words were true, but the content of the third conversation remained a mystery.

At this moment, Caiyun was in a good mood. She felt she had taught Fa Cai a lesson and cleverly won his trust.

Sometimes, cleverness backfires. Caiyun hadn’t realized the third visitor was Wang Hongbing, not Fa Cai. Otherwise, she would never have spoken so coldly.

After the incident at the sun-drying field, Wang Hongbing’s months of neglect left her frustrated and feeling life was dull and meaningless.

She found Wang Hongbing’s love deeply tempting—it brought joy and enriched her life. She craved such love but feared crossing the line, worrying she might become another Han Xiuxia.

So she constantly pondered how to dispel Fa Cai’s suspicions and win his trust. This time, she succeeded and felt it was divine assistance.

Since Wang Hongbing was elected team leader, Caiyun had taken the initiative, kindling his dormant feelings. But by a twist of fate, she had mistaken Wang Hongbing for Fa Cai and scolded him harshly.

Wang Hongbing sensed Caiyun’s recent advances, especially after Fa Cai left for the reservoir, as she often sought to get close to him. He read her intentions in her eyes.

His heart, frozen for many days, slowly melted under Caiyun’s warmth. He believed she wanted to use Fa Cai’s absence to get intimate with him.

One night, he dreamt of Caiyun coming to him passionately in bed, experiencing the allure of this woman for the first time.

Awakening, he realized it was just a dream but struggled to control himself. Unsure if Caiyun could really be like that, he put on his clothes to test her but was mistaken for Fa Cai by Caiyun and was scolded fiercely.

Unaware of the truth, Wang Hongbing was puzzled. He felt such words did not come from Caiyun unless Fa Cai had threatened her recently and frightened her.

He called Yulan to ask if Fa Cai had returned recently and about Caiyun’s situation. Everything was normal; Fa Cai hadn’t come back once before the incident.

He thought Caiyun’s harsh words had nothing to do with Fa Cai—they were her genuine feelings. So why did she say them? What was her purpose?