Village Doctor's Women-Chapter 34 Night Talks

After working out and relaxing, one enters a pleasant, relieved state. Exercise induces the secretion of dopamine, so apart from fulfilling certain psychological needs, physical activity can largely replace the pleasure people get from sex.

Wang Jian relied on this to quiet some of the thoughts on his mind. Immersed in his routine, he genuinely didn’t notice his surroundings. He hadn’t felt his phone vibrate at all; he’d left it too far away.

After finishing his boxing session, drenched in sweat, Wang Jian habitually checked his phone while lost in thought. When he saw the message history, he was completely dumbfounded. He had thought the day’s drama was over, never expecting she had been thinking so much.

He sucked in a sharp breath. Why didn’t I hear my phone vibrate... How could I not have heard it?

Wang Jian slapped himself, instantly filled with deep regret. Why the hell was he practicing boxing? It had only delayed things.

The messages from his sister-in-law revealed a woman’s uncertainty, hesitation, and even her feelings of inferiority. The woman on the other end of the text was desperate to talk to him, to explain something. But he hadn’t been there, which ultimately left things unresolved and had probably caused the poor woman immense distress.

How could she possibly be feeling okay at a time like this?

She had asked him if he thought she was *that* kind of woman.

What kind?

Wang Jian didn’t have to be a genius to figure out she wasn’t referring to anything good. It had to be something along the lines of a Vixen. He knew all too well what spread fastest in the village—idle gossip. It was rampant among the bored villagers who didn’t play cards or work, doing nothing all day but chatter.

His sister-in-law’s fear hadn’t appeared out of thin air; there had to be a reason. Wang Jian instantly landed on a likely possibility: she must have been suffering from this vicious gossip even before he returned. Before that, his older brother hadn’t been home either. It was easy to imagine what the villagers would say. Moreover, the widow next door was always with Liu Zi, and that rogue was constantly loitering around. Even though he was only visiting the house next door, the gossips didn’t care about the truth. They could see a turtle and call it a dinosaur.

In Wang Jian’s heart, his sister-in-law was certainly not that kind of person. Her worrying that he might think of her that way only proved how much she cared about him.

Wang Jian was determined to find out what injustices she had endured.

To be honest, before this moment, Wang Jian had been afraid to confront his own feelings.

What does my sister-in-law truly mean to me?

This was the first time Wang Jian had ever asked himself that question in earnest. What place did she hold in his heart? When he saw her message mention the word "divorce," his heart had leaped into his throat. He’d instinctively pictured a news headline: *Woman Divorces Husband Over Affair with His Younger Brother.*

The thought had surfaced in a flash, before he’d even finished reading the words. He had felt guilty before, felt afraid. He had spent countless nights wondering what might happen and how he would deal with it if it did. So, upon seeing those words, his first reaction was to assume it was his fault—a clear sign of his guilty conscience.

Only then did Wang Jian dare to admit something to himself. His heart had long since wandered away.

Even after he finished reading the messages on WeChat, he didn’t feel much relief. It seemed his sister-in-law and older brother had been having problems for a while, and the reason wasn’t hard to guess.

I’m afraid the conflict between her and my older brother is all because of the village gossip.

Wang Jian had figured it out, but he still had no solution. That night, he began to understand some of his sister-in-law’s true feelings. Her reactions on WeChat were clearly the pained expressions of someone licking their wounds after suffering psychological trauma. Her words were layered with hidden meanings, and the most important thing, something even he didn’t know, was buried in her last sentence.

What exactly happened to my older brother...?

She hadn’t finished her thought, leaving the matter completely unclear. Wang Jian felt as if something was lodged in his chest, leaving him at a total loss. No matter how many messages he sent her, he received no reply.

But even if everything were cleared up... even if she got a divorce and it wasn’t because of him, what could he do then?

Clutching his phone, his mind a tangled mess, Wang Jian arrived at the door to his brother and sister-in-law’s bedroom.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

After three gentle knocks, there was no sound from within.

"Sister-in-law, I’m sure you’re still awake. There are some things... I want to say to you," he began, his voice low. "I was just boxing, and I left my phone on a chair in the living room. It was too far away, so I didn’t see your messages. I didn’t ignore you on purpose, and I definitely don’t have a problem with you. I regret it so much now. If I had just seen your message in time, I would have done anything."

He paused, hoping to hear some kind of reaction. Standing outside, he pressed his ear against the door but heard only silence. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Wang Jian could only continue, "Sister-in-law—"

Just as he spoke the name, a voice answered from the other side of the door. Xu Qian was standing right there, separated from him by only a thin panel of wood. The voice was incredibly close.

"Don’t call me sister-in-law anymore."

Wang Jian fell silent, taking a few deep breaths. After a moment, he steeled his resolve. "Xu Qian, since you’re awake, that’s good. I have a lot I want to say to you. Can you please open the door and listen to me?"

Hearing him use her name, Xu Qian was stunned. She had already cried herself out. Earlier, she had torn up their wedding photo, thrown the frame to the floor, and was lying on the bed staring into space when she suddenly heard his voice. Barefoot, she had tiptoed to the door and pressed her ear against it, just listening. It seemed that this small act alone offered her some measure of comfort.

Hearing him stop calling her sister-in-law felt like a monumental wall had just crumbled. She had to cover her mouth to stifle a sob. Afraid of revealing her excitement to the man outside, she told herself to stay calm and forced a detached tone. "It’s late. What is there to talk about? You think your voice is so pleasant to listen to?"

Was that tone too cold?

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them, afraid she was just rebuilding the very wall she’d just torn down. She spun around, intending to open the door, but then she remembered she wasn’t properly dressed. More importantly, the shredded wedding photo and broken frame lay on the floor—a scene she didn’t want him to see. If it weren’t for the photo, she would have opened the door in a heartbeat. Instead, she could only add, "Just say what you have to say. I’ll listen from in here."

While a drama of a thousand emotions played out inside the room, Wang Jian, on the outside, was consumed by a single worry: that he had failed to comfort her and had only hurt her feelings more. Their thoughts were of each other, but separated by the door, neither could see the other’s desperation.

Hearing her agree to listen, Wang Jian breathed a sigh of relief and began to speak. He didn’t rush to address the night’s events or the matters weighing on her heart. At a time like this, a distraction might be better. Offering logic or preaching platitudes wasn’t what a woman like Xu Qian needed right now.

"Sis... Xu Qian, haven’t you always wanted to know about my time in college?" he said gently. "I really feel like talking tonight, so I’ll tell you about it. You can just listen from behind the door."

Pah! Idiot. Who wants to listen to that? Xu Qian scoffed silently. Despite herself, she leaned closer, not wanting to miss a single word.

Wang Jian’s voice was actually quite pleasant—a deep, soft tone that blended with the night’s quiet as he began to tell his story.

"Eight years ago around this time, I had the happiest summer vacation of my life. It was also the first summer I felt that maybe it was time for me to grow up.

"That year, the college entrance exam results came out. When we first saw my scores, my family and I were overjoyed. With scores like that, I knew I was guaranteed a spot in a very good university. All those years of hard work were finally paying off. I wanted to run to the top of the mountain and shout it out ten times for everyone to hear.

"My older brother..." Wang Jian paused. "My dad was also ecstatic. He slaughtered a chicken that day and even went out to buy some liquor...

"Later, once I had chosen my school and major, we saw the tuition fee: 5,200 yuan.

"Whoa. I hadn’t paid the number any mind at first, but my dad just froze. We were so poor we couldn’t even afford the tuition. Looking at us now, Xu Qian, you probably wouldn’t understand, since our family seems to be doing alright.

"Of course, I went to school in the end. I studied medicine, but my dad had to borrow the tuition money from relatives, friends, and the neighbors.

"Other students went out for all-nighters, karaoke, and clubbing. I wanted to go too, but I couldn’t. I didn’t deserve to.

"A girl in the year below me confessed her feelings, but I turned her down immediately. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her; I just didn’t want to hold her back.

"All I could do was study like my life depended on it, because I couldn’t let my dad’s sacrifices go to waste. Whenever I had a spare moment, I’d follow my mentor to practice medicine, which used up the time I might have spent on a part-time job.

"Up until my junior year, I had studied medicine for three years, and my dad had borrowed money for three years. It wasn’t until later that I found out he’d gone off to work with my older brother, starting from my freshman year. He wouldn’t even let me come home for the New Year, telling me no one would be there.

"My older brother could never save money. He loved to have fun. But my dad was different..."