"Stop crying. Crying too much is bad for your health. I was wrong in the past..."

Su Yunjin was stunned. She stared blankly at Chen Jie, unable to believe what she had just heard.

Never in her wildest dreams did she think that Chen Jiusi would say such things to her.

For a moment, she actually stopped crying.

It was too shocking.

This brute… actually admitted he was wrong?

In Su Yunjin's eyes, her husband was nothing but a scoundrel—an alcoholic, a gambler, and an abusive man. Outside, he was a coward who cared too much about his reputation, only daring to act tough at home.

Even when their family was on the brink of starvation, he was flattered into lending their only bag of grain to their lazy neighbor, Ma Liu.

He was also incredibly spineless. Once, when she had an argument with their neighbor, Lu Qin, the woman barged into their home, cursing and hitting her. Chen Jiusi was inside the house the whole time but didn't even dare to come out and defend her.

When she returned with two fresh slap marks on her face, he even blamed her for causing trouble for him.

His own wife had been chased into their home and slapped, yet he didn't even have the guts to say a word. Could she rely on a man like this?

But if she couldn't rely on him, then who else could she rely on? In this world, divorce didn't exist—not even the concept of separation. A village woman like her had only one possible fate: being cast out with a written repudiation.

But she had no family left. If she were abandoned, where would she go? Was she supposed to become a half-beggar, half-prostitute like others?

And she had a younger sister to take care of.

She had no choice. No choice at all.

She could only blame her own misfortune for marrying a beast of a man—one who was weak outside and cruel at home.

Chen Jie looked at the confusion on Su Yunjin’s face and slowly crouched down. He gazed at her seriously, suddenly realizing how beautiful she was. Especially after crying—her tear-streaked face was delicate and pitiful, stirring a sense of compassion.

Seeing her reaction, he knew his words had some effect.

His predecessor had done so many inhumane things. Saying a simple "I'm sorry" on his behalf was the least he could do.

At the very least, it might bring a bit of comfort to this poor woman in front of him.

Noticing her slightly softened expression, Chen Jie decided to say a few more words to calm her emotions further.

He reached out, and instinctively, Su Yunjin flinched. But Chen Jie still cupped her face with his hands, using his thumb to wipe away her tears. She looked at him in surprise, her body trembling slightly.

"Yunjin."

Chen Jie spoke. He originally wanted to call her "Jinyer," but thought it would be better to take things slowly. He didn't want to frighten her—her emotions were unstable, and he couldn't afford to upset her any further.

Su Yunjin looked at Chen Jie in astonishment. He had never called her by her name before.

He always addressed her as "that Su woman"—or worse, "bitch."

Never had he ever called her by her actual name. She looked at him, unsure of what he was going to do next.

Chen Jie met her gaze and said, "I know I’ve wronged you in the past."

"You've suffered a lot with me. I never thought things would get to this point. It’s all my fault."

Su Yunjin's body trembled upon hearing these words. Her eyes were filled with disbelief.

At first, she thought she had misheard.

But now, he was apologizing to her again.

Was he really trying to change?

Su Yunjin hesitated for a moment but quickly dismissed the thought.

A dog couldn't change its habit of eating shit. He was probably just up to some new scheme. Maybe he was afraid that if she and Yun Rui committed suicide, he wouldn’t be able to sell them for money?

Chen Jie saw the wariness and fear in her eyes.

At that moment, he took her hand.

Her hand, which should have been soft and delicate, felt rough and even slightly cracked from years of hard labor—farming, washing clothes.

Hands like these didn’t belong to such a beautiful woman.

Su Yunjin panicked when he held her hand and tried to pull away.

Chen Jie said, "Don't move. Listen to me. I truly regret my mistakes, and I’m not trying to deceive you."

"I know that no matter how much I say, you won’t believe me. But I still hope you’ll give me a chance. I’ve really changed."

Chen Jie knew that words alone meant little. But at the very least, he had to show his sincerity.

Su Yunjin was silent for a long time before her voice turned cold. "You're really not going to sell Rui Rui?"

"Absolutely not!" Chen Jie replied firmly.

Su Yunjin fell into silence again. After a while, she said, "Chen Jiusi, your mother was kind to me. So no matter how you treat me, I can bear it. But Rui Rui is still young. She must not lose hope. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Chen Jie nodded.

Su Yunjin continued, "If you go back on your word and still try to sell Rui Rui, we don’t need poison—we can die another way. I guarantee you won’t get a single penny."

Chen Jie said, "I understand. Trust me."

Hearing his response, Su Yunjin slowly got up from the ground and started tidying up the mess. The little girl, Su Yunrui, also helped.

Seeing this, Chen Jie quickly took the pot of poisoned rice porridge outside and buried it.

After finishing that, he returned to the house.

The two females ignored him completely, which was expected. To them, he was nothing short of a demon.

Just as the awkward silence settled in—

Gurgle...

Su Yunrui’s stomach let out a loud growl.

She looked down at her belly, then tightened the ragged belt around her waist, mumbling, "Rui Rui is the best. Rui Rui isn’t hungry."

Gurgle...

Then another rumbling sound.

This time, it was Su Yunjin's stomach. Her face flushed red, but she said nothing.

Chen Jie knew the rice jar was almost empty. If he didn’t find food soon, the whole family would starve.

Then he suddenly remembered something—according to his predecessor’s memories, a rabbit had accidentally crashed into a tree in the back mountain and died.

He needed to go get it.

With that thought, he stood up and said to Su Yunjin, "Stay here. I’ll be back soon."

No one responded to him.

Chen Jie didn’t mind and simply turned to leave the dilapidated hut.

As she watched him walk out, Su Yunjin crouched down and looked at Su Yunrui. "Rui Rui, are you hungry?"

"No, Rui Rui isn't hungry."

Gurgle...

As she spoke, her little belly rumbled again.

Still, the little girl raised her head proudly, as if saying, "I’m not hungry at all."

Su Yunjin smiled and stroked her sister’s head before sighing. "Let’s go dig up some wild vegetables. We’ll have wild vegetable soup for lunch, alright?"

"Mm! Mm! Okay~"

Hearing the word "food," Su Yunrui’s eyes lit up.

Even though it was just wild vegetable soup, it was still something to eat.

Too bad they hadn’t gotten to taste that delicious-looking white porridge.

Su Yunjin stroked her sister’s head again, then went inside, grabbed a bamboo basket, a small shovel, and—after thinking for a moment—also took a pair of scissors from the sewing box.

She then led the little girl out the door.

Chen Jiusi might have said he had changed, but who knew if he was just trying to lull her into lowering her guard so he could sell Rui Rui?

From now on, whenever she went out, she would take Rui Rui with her.

And if he really did try to deceive her…

If she couldn't kill him, she could at least kill herself.