Cannon Fodder in an Era Drama — I Survive with Acting-Chapter 29: Fox Spirit

He had lived for the better part of his life, and no one had ever spoken to him like this.

’I’m old and broke, with no skills. What kind of deal could I possibly make?’

He muttered to himself in confusion.

"I don’t have any money. What kind of deal could a young lady like you possibly make with me?"

"It’s actually quite simple."

Wen Xiuxiu’s lips curled into an enigmatic smile.

"Aren’t you looking for a wife? I can find one for you, free of charge. What do you think? The kind who’s tall and beautiful, with a slender waist, long legs, and skin as white as snow."

She added.

When Sun Yaoguang heard this, his face was a mask of disbelief.

"You’re not lying to me, are you? Is there really such a good thing in this world?"

He couldn’t believe such good fortune would fall into his lap.

"Of course."

Wen Xiuxiu’s reply was firm and unequivocal.

"As long as you help me get something, I’ll deliver a perfect wife like that right to you in a few days."

"Really?"

Sun Yaoguang was still finding it hard to believe.

"Just do as I say and don’t ask too many questions. Even if you don’t get what you want in the end, you won’t have lost anything."

Faced with Sun Yaoguang’s skepticism, Wen Xiuxiu grew a little impatient.

Sun Yaoguang thought about it and realized she had a point.

’Even if I don’t get a wife like she promised, the one standing in front of me isn’t too bad either.’

With this thought, he readily agreed. "Deal!"

He was already scheming that if a suitable woman didn’t appear, he would just knock this one out, stuff her in a sack, and carry her away...

However, Wen Xiuxiu didn’t notice the sinister turn of Sun Yaoguang’s thoughts.

She was silently plotting her next move.

’Song Qingya, oh, Song Qingya. In this life, your scumbag boyfriend disappeared somewhere and didn’t sell you off to someone else.’

’But that’s okay. Since that scumbag is absent, I’ll take his place.’

’As this story’s protagonist, I have to correct all the mistakes and get the plot back on track.’

Looking at the slovenly old man sitting on the straw mat, Wen Xiuxiu was utterly disgusted.

But the more disheveled Sun Yaoguang was, the more his tattered clothes were stained with grease, the happier she felt inside.

Seeing this sight, a smile crept onto her face.

’In the script, Song Qingya rejected a peerless man like Fei Jin, always wanting more and better.’

’Ending up like this serves her right!’

It was as if she could already see past the lecherous old man’s face to the tragic sight of Song Qingya being abused to death.

As the image surfaced in her mind, a strange sense of satisfaction washed over her.

...

「Five or six li away, in Liuchang Town.」

Inside the large courtyard.

Zhou Huaihua had reheated the food and brought it to the table several times.

Fei Zhenwu sat at the table, his face dark and his brow tightly furrowed in displeasure.

As she brought over the reheated stir-fried garlic scapes and pork again,

He abruptly shot to his feet, flipped the table with both hands, and sent everything crashing down with a tremendous bang.

Plates and bowls scattered across the floor, startling everyone.

Fei Jun was so frightened he froze on the spot, not knowing what to do.

"Dad..."

His voice trembled, and his eyes were filled with fear.

Seeing his son so timid and cowardly, Fei Zhenwu’s anger flared.

He glared and roared, "Fei Jun, you’re already so grown, yet you’re still such a coward! Can’t you learn from your older brother?!"

Fei Jun, who usually never dared to talk back, mustered his courage today.

He lifted his head, looked his father straight in the eye, and shouted, "Learn from my brother, learn from my brother! You tell me every day to be more like him, but isn’t he the one who wants to split from the family? You want me to learn that from him too?"

Zhou Huaihua’s heart ached for her son. She quickly stepped forward to shield him, afraid that Fei Zhenwu would strike Fei Jun.

"What’s gotten into you? You finally come home, and you flip the table. You can’t take out your bad mood on our son. Our Jun is still a growing boy!"

Her tone was pleading, her eyes welling with tears.

"You shut up! Our son is like this because you spoiled him!"

Fei Zhenwu, unable to contain his rage, glared fiercely at his wife.

"How did I spoil him? Isn’t he your son too?"

Zhou Huaihua, not to be outdone, retorted in a high-pitched voice.

The moment her son was mentioned, Zhou Huaihua’s hackles were raised.

"Aren’t you just in a bad mood because Fei Jin still hasn’t come back? Why don’t you go find Fei Jin and ask him directly instead of taking your anger out on us?"

"You..."

Fei Zhenwu was so angry he was nearly speechless.

Suddenly, a burst of cheerful laughter came from outside the courtyard.

There had once been a wall separating the two families.

But now that wall had collapsed.

The sounds from next door carried over clearly.

It sounded like Song Qingya was happily chatting with Fei Jin about something.

The sweetness between them was enough to make anyone envious.

But that laughter also made the three people in the courtyard feel rather displeased.

Fei Zhenwu’s expression turned even fouler.

In a fit of anger, he threw his chopsticks aside.

"Ajin’s wife is just outrageous! It’s already one in the afternoon, and she’s just now getting out of bed. And after getting up, she doesn’t even come over to greet us. She has no manners whatsoever!"

"Exactly. And she has plenty of other faults, too. You just don’t know because you’re not usually home."

Zhou Huaihua, having finally found an outlet for her frustrations from the past few days, began to complain nonstop.

She recounted how Song Qingya had been lazing in bed pretending to be sick.

She didn’t cook or even take care of her husband.

"And that wall—even though that girl Xiu Xiu broke it by accident, she meant well. She just wanted our families to be closer. But Song Qingya is the most malicious of all, insisting on driving Wen Xiuxiu away. Isn’t she just afraid that if a younger, prettier girl is around, Ajin will have something to compare her to and won’t think she’s so great anymore? She’s so petty!"

Zhou Huaihua exaggerated the story vividly, adding her own embellishments.

The more Fei Zhenwu listened, the angrier he became.

He slammed his hand on the table, hard enough to knock crumbs from the pastries onto the floor.

"She’s gone too far! It’s one thing to do nothing after marrying into the family, but she’s also disrespectful to her elders? How on earth is Ajin managing his wife? No, I have to go talk to him and set this straight."

"Oh, don’t go."

Afraid that she had exaggerated too much and her stories wouldn’t line up if Fei Zhenwu confronted them directly, Zhou Huaihua quickly pulled him back.

"You have no idea how infatuated Ajin is with that vixen! He even took the day off today, did you know that?"

"What? Took the day off?"

In his entire life, Fei Zhenwu had never seen Fei Jin take a day off.

For the past few years, Fei Jin had even worked duty shifts in the army during the New Year.

Even when he had leave, he wouldn’t take it. Instead, he would cover other people’s shifts so they could go home for reunions.

Fei Zhenwu had always believed that his nephew, like his own father, was a cold-blooded and ruthless man.

He was strict with others and even more demanding of himself.

But now, this new niece-in-law had actually made a man like Fei Jin take time off for her?

’This woman is definitely not simple.’

At this thought, Fei Zhenwu paused.

Seeing that she had managed to stop him, Zhou Huaihua breathed a sigh of relief and then leaned in to whisper in his ear.