Chapter Six: Standing Up for Justice

Du Man’s figure could truly be summed up in one word: splendid.

Xu Fei shifted his gaze away from her. Although he considered himself a man well-versed in women, after the baptism of rebirth he’d experienced, this episode had stirred a restlessness within him that was difficult to suppress.

No, he thought. If I do this, am I still a man?

Xu Fei turned and walked out of the room.

“Where are you going?” she called after him.

“I... I’ll be outside for a bit.”

Under the night sky, Xu Fei took a deep breath.

Damn it, get a grip!

He sighed. After much deliberation, he managed to rein in the burning desire rising from within.

He couldn’t, not yet. At the very least, he had to become a true man for this Xu Fei. He had to let Du Man, his sister, and his brother all live good lives alongside him. Only then would he truly be worthy of being with Du Man.

He couldn’t accept a wife handed to him so easily.

When the moment was upon him, Xu Fei retreated.

That, too, was a kind of heroism.

Inside, Du Man was growing restless. Since marrying Xu Fei, she had never truly fulfilled the rites of marriage with him. These past few days had been the happiest in her life with him.

This man, whom others saw as a useless wastrel, could now cook in the kitchen. He could strive for the family. Her days seemed to have returned to the shape she’d always hoped for.

All her previous resentment and grievance seemed to have vanished. Now, she only wanted to live wholeheartedly with this man and give him a child.

Yet...

Du Man touched her own body.

Was she not attractive enough? Or was it him?

Suddenly, she realized she’d never truly tested this. In the past, whenever Xu Fei wanted her, she’d always found excuses to refuse. Now, thinking back, she regretted it.

No! she resolved.

Du Man crawled out from the covers, threw on some clothes, and followed him outside.

Xu Fei was indeed standing in the courtyard.

The night was far from warm, and the chilly breeze made Du Man shiver. She naturally walked over to Xu Fei and leaned close to him.

Xu Fei took a drag from his cigarette, turned, and looked at the woman beside him.

He exhaled smoke, which drifted onto Du Man’s face.

“Cough, cough...” Du Man choked, coughing twice.

“It’s cold. Go back in,” Xu Fei said.

But Du Man stubbornly looked at him. She suddenly felt that the man before her had truly become someone else.

He cared for her now.

The smell of tobacco, mingling with the masculine scent radiating from Xu Fei, sent her heart racing.

She reached out and wrapped her arms around Xu Fei’s waist.

“Hold me,” she whispered.

Xu Fei was momentarily stunned. Thinking she was cold, he instinctively opened his broad arms and embraced her.

Warmth. Security.

For the first time, Du Man felt these things from the man beside her.

It was as if all she ever wanted as a woman had come to her overnight.

Xu Fei, too, sensed something different in her. Her slender fingers gently caressed him, and no man could resist such a gesture.

He responded naturally.

Du Man placed her other hand on Xu Fei’s lower abdomen.

She wanted to find out.

Was this man truly hers? Was he capable or not?

Xu Fei was startled by her move, but his masculine instincts prevented him from rejecting her.

For a billionaire from the twenty-first century like him, countless women sought his attention every day. He knew exactly what this woman—who was never meant to be his—now desired. Perhaps he could give her what she wanted.

After all, wasn’t satisfying a woman a man’s duty?

Du Man’s heartbeat was pounding so fast it seemed ready to leap from her chest. It was her first time engaging in such intimacy with a man—and she was the one taking the initiative. She could hardly believe herself capable of such boldness.

She could hear Xu Fei’s heavy breathing.

She stole a glance at the man she was clutching tightly.

His handsome face was illuminated by the moonlight, its sharp features gazing steadily into the night.

At that moment, Du Man felt that he was not nearly as disreputable as she’d once thought. There was a deep, intimidating aura about him.

She instinctively hugged him even tighter, pressing her head firmly against his chest.

The heat of his body melted her like wax.

Du Man’s actions prompted a low sound from Xu Fei’s nose.

Meanwhile, Du Man’s hand, resting on Xu Fei’s lower abdomen, began to slide downward, seeking his most sensitive place.

“Ah!”

“Brother, Sister-in-law, why aren’t you two asleep?”

Almost simultaneously with Xu Yun’s voice, Du Man’s startled cry rang out.

Her face reddened deeply; she felt as if she couldn’t hide herself.

Unable to place her hands or feet, Du Man turned and ducked back into the house with her head down.

Xu Yun stared at his older brother in surprise.

“Brother, did you hit Sister-in-law again?”

Xu Fei looked at his younger brother in exasperation, his face full of aggrieved innocence, but inwardly he was secretly delighted.

Women?

Now, he understood Du Man’s intentions perfectly.

Sorry, Du Man.

It’s not time yet.

“It’s nothing, we were just out here looking at the stars.”

If he’d said this in the twenty-first century, it would have been considered romantic. But in the 1980s, it only made Xu Yun think his good-for-nothing brother was covering up some misdeed.

“Brother, are you even capable? It’s so late; can’t you let Sister-in-law get some sleep?”

Who’s keeping whom awake? Xu Fei shot Xu Yun a glare.

“Brat, go to bed. You’ve got school tomorrow.”

Xu Yun saw Xu Fei’s stern look and could only mutter as he walked toward the corner.

Quickly, he relieved himself, then glared at Xu Fei’s dazed figure standing in the courtyard before finally returning inside.

Soon after, Xu Qing’s voice drifted from the house.

She was, of course, complaining on behalf of her sister-in-law.

But at that moment, his siblings’ grumbling sounded incomparably warm to Xu Fei.

The household seemed to have gained a touch of warmth.

Calming the excitement Du Man had stirred in him, Xu Fei reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter of introduction written by Zhang Lichun.

With this, he finally had a way to settle Ma San’s debt.

Early the next morning.

Xu Fei found the best-looking clothes he had. He’d always been handsome, but with this transformation, even his siblings stared at him in astonishment.

“Are you sneaking out to fool around again?” Xu Qing glared at him.

“Your brother is going to work today.”

“To work?!”

Du Man emerged from the kitchen, smiling as she placed dried radish on the table. She nodded with a smile.

“Your brother is starting at the sugar factory today.”

“Really?”

Xu Qing and Xu Yun were both skeptical.

“Sister, little brother, just wait—I’ll earn us some big money!”

Xu Fei took a bite of his breakfast and strode out.

“Is that really my brother?” Xu Yun wondered.

“I don’t believe he’ll actually work,” Xu Qing scoffed.

But Du Man simply smiled to herself.

The man was becoming ever more lovable in her eyes.

After his siblings left the house, Xu Fei took the letter of introduction and headed straight for Donghai City Sugar Factory.