TFRLTOP Chapter 43 Part 1

Chapter 43 – The Educated Youth’s Humble Wife

◎“Not to be or not to be?”◎

Ming Ming fainted halfway through—whether from a blow or from hunger, she couldn’t tell. But when she came to, it was definitely hunger that woke her.

She staggered out of bed, nearly collapsing onto the floor.

Damn that beast, Yan Junsheng!

“Where’s my food?” Ming Ming braced herself against the bedframe, eyes dim, every ounce of strength spent grinding her molars.

The sky outside was still bright. Judging from the light, it had to be afternoon, but she had no clue what hour it was. With summer coming on, the days only grew longer, and you couldn’t tell the time just by the sun.

She pinched her own arm and groaned, My poor little bit of muscle—it’s only a matter of time before I waste away.

“System? Hey, system?” She called twice, but it didn’t appear. Her heart sank. Cold, heartless alien lifeform.

“Oh, done already?” The system finally strolled out.

Grinding her teeth, Ming Ming demanded, “Where the hell were you?”

She looked like a furious wife catching her cheating husband red-handed.

“You’ve got some nerve asking me that. Guess why I locked myself in a little black room in broad daylight?”

“And before that?” Even though their exchange was in her head, her voice practically dripped with venom, each word spat out through clenched teeth. “Why didn’t you remind me this morning?”

“…” The system hesitated. “The situation looked familiar. I figured I could already guess how things would turn out. So I thought, might as well lock myself away in a black room and sit it out.”

It ended with a tone that was three parts apologetic, seven parts gloating. “So I forgot to remind you.”

Ming Ming asked seriously, “If I fail a mission, does it really not affect your bonus, your performance reviews, or your job security?”

“Want me to just bash my head in right now and take you down with me?”

She even looked like she was weighing the option, glancing around the house for a suitable wall to crash into.

“Calm down, calm down. He’ll be back soon—you’ll get food.”

“Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down? This life is unbearable. System, when can I get divorced?”

“Divorce means you’ll start getting abused again. You’re not afraid of that?”

“I’m not stupid. Why would I go running up to him and stick my face out, begging for a beating?”

The system mused, “Don’t tell me you’re thinking of throwing yourself at Wang Hu?”

“…As if.” Ming Ming denied it flatly.

“Don’t think I don’t know—you’ve been trying to butter him up early, hoping he’ll hit you less in the future.” The system sounded unconvinced.

Shit, busted.

Ming Ming pouted. “How do you know it wasn’t me fighting him back?”

The system replied, “Chen Chanjun, maybe. But you…” The disdain in its voice was impossible to miss.

“Think it over. In modern terms, Wang Hu is a solid diamond-in-the-rough alpha male.”

It paused, savoring its schadenfreude. “And I’m sure you know what a diamond alpha means.”

Ming Ming froze, then shuddered all over.

Diamond alpha vs. donkey-sized endowment.

This was like the River God raising a gold sickle in one hand, a silver sickle in the other, and asking coldly: Not to be or not to be?

It wasn’t even a real choice.

Forget it. I don’t need to leap from the wolf’s den straight into the tiger’s lair. Who needs that? I’ll thrive on my own, thank you very much.

Just then, Yan Junsheng came back, carrying a bag. Ming Ming caught a whiff of something fragrant—her body still weak, but her nose stretching toward the smell.

“You’re awake? Hungry?” Yan Junsheng opened the bag under her nose. “Freshly popped. Eat a little first, I’ll heat the food.”

Not trusting her, he added, “Just a few bites. Don’t finish it all.”

She peeked inside. Popcorn.

With disdain, she asked, “What do you take me for, a bottomless pit? This whole bag of popcorn and you’re worried I’ll finish it?”

He set the bag down and turned to change his clothes. The weather was heating up. Under his jacket, he wore only a tank top. He pulled it off in one smooth motion, revealing a muscular torso. Ming Ming’s eyes darted away, the handful of popcorn slipping back through her fingers into the bag.

Hearing her remark, Yan Junsheng casually picked up a shirt from the chair, buttoning it as he walked back over.

“Just nibble a little. Dinner’s still coming. The popcorn’s really for tonight’s movie.”

Don’t be fooled by his pampered city-boy background—Yan Junsheng was lean in clothes, solid without them. Hard labor in the countryside had only tightened those muscles, veins standing out along his arms when he flexed.

Of course, he was tanned, but compared to others, he was still pale to the point of glowing.

No doubt about it—male lead material.

The thought of that sturdy body pressed up against hers just hours ago made Ming Ming’s cheeks burn. She coughed to cover it. “What did you say? Tonight, what?”

He stopped in front of her, scratched her nose affectionately, and teased, “Silly girl, still groggy? Tonight there’s a movie. The commune set up a stage in the village—it’s an outdoor screening!”

Ming Ming perked up. “A movie?”

God, it almost felt like touching modern civilization.

So moving.

System: “You’d think you’d lived in the Stone Age.”

Ming Ming wiped fake tears. “There’s hardly a difference.”

After dinner, Ming Ming was eager to head out.

“Walk slower when you go. If you walk too fast…” Yan Junsheng trailed off.

“Too fast what?” she asked blankly.

Standing behind her, he gripped her waist and squeezed, whispering in her ear, “Don’t you know since you got out of bed today, you’ve been walking funny?”

Ming Ming: “…”

She shot him a glare sharp enough to kill, then stomped down hard on his foot. “You’ve got the nerve to—ah!”

He reacted fast, lifting her off the ground before her foot could land, holding her steady by the waist.

Before she could react, he nuzzled her cheek and neck, chuckling low. She tried to dodge, squinting as his lips brushed over her. Finally, she bit down on his mouth.

He hissed, but didn’t pull away. Instead, he smiled down at her, eyes half-lidded.

Not satisfied, she bit harder before letting go—checked, and was almost disappointed she hadn’t drawn blood.

Then his lips were back, pressing hard. His tongue teased, then forced its way in. He left her no breath, no escape. Her head was locked in his hand, her waist clamped by his arm. She couldn’t move.

“Mmm—”

Her body went weak, only his hold keeping her up. No matter how she turned, she ended up responding. When he finally eased up, she was still panting, lips parted, tongue peeking out as if asking for more.

Her whole face flushed with desire.

A hot rush surged in him. He wanted nothing more than to crush her to him. She lay in his arms, gasping, head tilted back, eyes squeezed shut. Before she steadied her breath, she pinched his pecs hard.

Right on the sensitive spot.

“Ugh.”

He bent over, face contorted in pain, grip loosening. Ming Ming planted her foot squarely on him this time, sending him sprawling onto the bed.

Why wait ten years for revenge when you can have it tonight?

“Ha, ha, ha!”