Chapter Two: Suspension

“Didn’t you just say you wouldn’t interfere? Why are you meddling again? Can you even come up with the five hundred yuan you owe me?” Ma San sneered.

“That’s a separate matter. I don’t have the money, but you can’t lay a finger on my wife!” Xu Fei replied, enunciating each word.

As someone who had been reborn from the 21st century into the 1980s, he’d seen his share of storms. Someone like Ma San, a petty thug, was nothing in his eyes.

“Oh, so owing money makes you righteous now? Xu Fei, you’re nothing but a drunk and a gambler. Do you really think you’re some big shot, putting on airs with me? You clearly don’t know who you’re dealing with—back in my day, I licked blood from the blade!” Ma San glared fiercely. “Paying back debts is only right. If you can’t pay, then your wife will do as collateral. That’s the rule! And today, I’m really going to take her. What will you do about it?”

“Damn it, looking for death!” Fury surged in Xu Fei’s heart. He snatched up the kitchen cleaver from the chopping board and, with a stride like an arrow, lunged forward.

Seizing Ma San by the collar, he shoved him hard into the corner, the cleaver pressed against his neck.

“Brother San!”

“Hell, this bastard actually dares to use force!”

“This is a joke! Xu Fei, let him go right now—”

No one had expected that Xu Fei, who was always known for being timid and spineless, would act without warning!

He’d actually brought out the kitchen knife!

Everyone was stunned!

After a brief silence, several of Ma San’s cronies began to swear, itching to make a move.

“Anyone who steps forward, I’ll cut him first!” Xu Fei’s eyes glinted with a vicious light.

“No one moves!” Ma San ordered in a low growl, narrowing his eyes. “Xu Fei, I didn’t realize you had guts. But do you think I survived in the underworld by chance? If you really have it in you, go ahead—slice my throat. If I so much as blink, I lose!”

“Is that so?” Xu Fei chuckled coldly.

“Be sensible—let go, kneel down, and kowtow a few times, and I’ll let this go. Otherwise, you’ll regret it!” Ma San taunted, full of bravado.

He thought Xu Fei was just a cornered rabbit lashing out.

But a rabbit was still a rabbit.

He didn’t believe this man would really kill.

“If I can’t even protect my own wife, what’s the point of living? Might as well die and take one or two down with me!” Xu Fei sneered, raising the cleaver and bringing it down toward Ma San’s forehead.

The move nearly scared Ma San out of his wits.

“Wait, wait! Show mercy, brother, show mercy…”

“What, you think I’m afraid?” Xu Fei said coolly.

“No, no! Xu Fei, my good man, today I’ve truly seen what it means to be a real man! It’s all a misunderstanding. Let’s talk it out!” Ma San relented, his face flushed with humiliation.

“Should’ve done that from the start,” Xu Fei snorted.

“Yes, we’re all acquaintances. As they say, pulling a knife is a crime—no need to go that far!” Ma San forced a smile.

“Good. Then let’s talk. Paying back debts is only right. In three days, I’ll repay every cent of the five hundred yuan. But if you dare make any trouble in those three days, I’ll risk my life to carve you up. What do you say, Brother San?”

“No problem! Just as you say!” Ma San nodded hastily.

“Get out!” Xu Fei stepped aside.

Ma San clutched his neck, gasping for air, and cursed as he pointed at Xu Fei, “You got lucky today, brat, I’ll let you off! But if I don’t see the money in three days, you’ll lose everything! Let’s go!”

The wooden door was kicked open, and the gang swaggered out.

Xu Fei let out a long breath, turning to the woman behind him. “Are you alright?”

“You…” Du Man stared at him in a mix of shock and confusion, her dazed expression lingering as her eyes remained fixed on the cleaver in Xu Fei’s hand.

Clearly, she had been frightened.

“I was just scaring them. I’ll put it away,” Xu Fei said sheepishly, returning the knife to its place.

Watching his retreating figure, Du Man suddenly felt that he was a stranger to her.

In her memory, her husband had always been honest and upright. Though he’d picked up bad habits and would sometimes hit her, it never went beyond that.

He’d never brandished a kitchen knife at anyone.

Much less risk his life to protect her.

Leaving the kitchen, only Xu Fei and Du Man remained in the living room.

Xu Fei wanted to say something, but words failed him. After all, he was still unfamiliar with this woman.

But he had to admit, Du Man was truly beautiful.

She wore a simple floral dress, tall and graceful, with a delicate oval face untouched by makeup, her complexion fair with a natural blush.

She radiated a pure, innocent charm.

Compared to the countless plastic beauties of the 21st century, she was in a different league altogether.

“Just now, you said you’d repay Ma San in three days? Where are you going to find five hundred yuan in so short a time?” Du Man asked first.

Snapping out of her confusion, she knew she had to face reality.

Five hundred yuan, in the 1980s, was a huge sum.

An ordinary worker would toil for a year to make that much.

Three days—it was simply impossible!

“I’ll think of something.”

“What way? Five hundred yuan—you’ll gamble again, or will you steal and rob?” Du Man bit her lip.

“I…” Xu Fei rubbed the bridge of his nose, a headache coming on. Just as he was about to speak, the wooden door opened.

A tall girl and a young boy walked in.

The girl, carrying a canvas bag with a few books inside, wore a yellowed white shirt and gray pants, her dark hair tied in a ponytail.

Behind her followed a boy half her height, his shifty eyes peeking out from behind her.

They were Xu Fei’s younger sister, Xu Qing, and little brother, Xu Yun.

“You went gambling again, didn’t you?” Xu Qing said coldly.

Her tone was icy, her eyes filled with hatred.

Because her brother had disappointed her too many times.

Ever since misfortune befell their family, he’d sunk into this state.

He’d given up on himself, and often took her and their brother’s school fees to drink, gamble, and smoke.

They’d almost had to drop out of school because of him.

More than once, he’d told her that a woman’s virtue was to be without talent and that she should get married early to fetch a good price.

If not for her sister-in-law Du Man holding the family together, they would have long since fallen apart.

“Little sister, little brother, you’re home from school.”

Seeing his siblings, Xu Fei suddenly felt a deep sense of guilt and remorse.

No matter what, he was now the head of a family—with a wife, a younger sister, and a little brother.

He forced a laugh. “It’s nothing like that. I just accidentally broke a wine bottle…”

“Liar! I saw those people from the dance hall leaving our house!” Xu Qing’s voice was even colder. “If you want to gamble, then just go and gamble. Best if you die outside—no one would care!”

After a pause, she added, “Give me the money. I need to pay my tuition! It’s already overdue for most of the semester. The teacher gave me a final warning—if I don’t pay, I’ll have to drop out!”