Fang Zichen walked over to the steps and plopped down. He waved at Zhao Ger, who stared blankly at him, looking a little dazed. Seeing his expression, Fang Zichen grinned carelessly. "Come sit here! Isn’t standing tiring?"
Zhao Ger went over and sat on the other side.
Fang Zichen pointed at Guaizai and leaned closer to ask Zhao Ger, "Is he your son or a ger?"
Zhao Ger looked at him in surprise before answering after a pause, "Son."
Fang Zichen was puzzled. "Then why didn’t the Ma family keep the child and let you bring him along… when remarrying?"
Zhao Ger’s response was startling. "He’s not the Ma family’s grandson." Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, he saw Fang Zichen freeze for a moment before looking at him with an indescribable expression.
Fang Zichen was indeed a little slow to react.
What did he mean, not the Ma family’s grandson?
After sorting it out, the logic was this: Zhao Ger was the Ma family’s son-in-law, but the child he gave birth to wasn’t the Ma family’s grandson. That meant…
Fang Zichen stared at Zhao Ger in shock, momentarily speechless, feeling like he had married someone extraordinary.
Zhao Ger looked so meek, who would’ve thought…
He rubbed his own head and asked, "Zhao Ger, do you think my black hair looks good?"
Hair was all the same, aside from length and texture, there wasn’t much to judge.
Fang Zichen said tactfully, "I just think black suits me best. I don’t want this thing turning green one day. You get what I mean, right?"
[戴绿帽 (dài lǜ mào): lit. "wear a green hat"; fig. being cheated on by one's spouse.]
Not a single curse word was used, but it wasn’t exactly subtle either. Zhao Ger, though illiterate, wasn’t stupid.
Everyone in the village gossiped behind his back, saying he had cheated. Back then, the Ma family had insisted the child was theirs to keep him working, but the story couldn’t hold up under scrutiny.
During the time he was pregnant, Ma Wen had been away transporting goods and hadn’t been home at all. Besides, he and Ma Wen had never even shared a bed. Whether the child was was the Ma family’s or not, they knew.
The only reason they’d gritted their teeth and endured it was because they were afraid that if word got out he’d "stolen a man," he’d be beaten to death, leaving no one to do the household chores. They’d raised him for over a decade and hadn’t squeezed all the labor out of him yet, how could they let him die for nothing? That was why they had covered for him.
For a time, he had thought he and Guaizai would probably die in the Ma family.
If not for the unbearable conditions this year and the incident where he fell into the water, the Ma family wouldn’t have driven him and his son out so easily.
"I didn’t cheat," Zhao Ger said, his voice unsteady, as if forcing himself to sound calm. He lowered his lashes, avoiding everyone’s gaze.
"The Ma family cursed me, beat me, accused me of stealing a man, called me shameless. Some people in the village whispered behind my back, saying I was unchaste and unfaithful, that Guaizai was a bastard. I know all that. But… I really didn’t steal a man."
The grievances buried under years of repression finally found an outlet. No matter how hard Zhao Ger tried to appear strong and composed, his voice carried a hint of a sob.
No one had ever asked him how he’d gotten pregnant. Maybe they thought he was too lowly, or that it had nothing to do with them and wasn’t worth asking about.
So without even hearing the reason, he’d been convicted, labeled an adulterer.
For four years, he had endured the pointing fingers, silent as if he had accepted this injustice. But facing Fang Zichen - someone he had known for less than a day, he couldn’t explain why, but he didn’t want him to misunderstand, to think he was truly a disgraceful person.
Fang Zichen stayed silent. He didn’t ask what had really happened—first, because their relationship wasn’t at that level yet, and second, because he didn’t know if Zhao Ger had been forced. Asking would be like tearing open a wound.
"Yeah, I believe you," he said casually, slinging an arm over Zhao Ger’s shoulder. "It’s alright, buddy. It’s all in the past."
Zhao Ger stiffened for a moment before quickly relaxing. He asked, "You believe me?"
"Of course!" Fang Zichen said in a deliberately flippant tone. "You’re so tiny, your guts must be tiny too. You’d need to borrow a dog’s courage to steal a man!"
Zhao Ger: "…"
Zhao Ger tried to defend himself. "I’m not that small. I’m nineteen this year."
"No way," Fang Zichen said, wide-eyed. "You look sixteen or seventeen, younger than me."
Zhao Ger pointed at Guaizai, still squatting to watch the ants. "Guaizai is already three."
Fang Zichen choked.
Nineteen, with a three-year-old son...meaning he got pregnant at sixteen.
Fang Zichen’s mind wandered. Sixteen-year-old Zhao Ger, small and short, with a swollen belly, crouching by the stove…
He didn’t dare dwell on it.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he propped his chin on his hand and studied Zhao Ger, changing the subject. "What’s the difference between a ger and a man? You look just like me and Guaizai."
Zhao Ger said, "A ger can bear children."
"Mm," Fang Zichen nodded. "And?"
Zhao Ger looked at him. "That’s it."
Fang Zichen: "…"
"Don’t you guys ever get confused between gers and men?"
"When they’re born, they have a red mark here," Zhao Ger said, pointing to a spot on his arm.
Fang Zichen: "…"
You win.
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