The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

When the water was brought over, Sun Jiaming handed the towel to Gu’er, motioning for her to wash up first.

Gu’er took the towel but had Sun Jiaming sit down. Then, she had him extend his arm and gently began to clean his wound.

Sun Jiaming had been injured because of her. It was only right that she help clean the wound.

The cut wasn’t deep and had already stopped bleeding. Luckily, it wasn’t serious. Otherwise, Gu’er would have felt truly terrible for what happened to Sun Jiaming.

Gu’er’s thoughts drifted as she cleaned Sun Jiaming’s arm.

Sun Jiaming watched Gu’er. Her head was lowered, and she was washing his arm with great care.

The saltwater stung his wound, but Sun Jiaming didn’t make a sound. Instead, he focused on Gu’er holding his arm with one hand while her other hand wiped away the bloodstains around the cut. Her touch felt like tiny ants crawling on his skin, a faint tickle that made his heart flutter.

’Gu’er is so gentle. How wonderful it would be if she were my wife. Then everything I do for her would be perfectly natural.’

Sun Jiaming wanted to ask Gu’er about it, but then he thought about everything she had been through today. ’She must be feeling awful.’ He didn’t want to add to her burden.

’I’ll go to the city first and make things clear with Mom and Dad about Zhou Mei.’

He was confident he could persuade his parents. As long as Gu’er was willing, he could marry her and protect her for the rest of his life.

At these thoughts, Sun Jiaming’s face slowly began to turn red.

"There, Brother Jia Ming. It’s hot out, so I won’t bandage it. It’ll heal faster if it’s left open. Try not to get it wet for the next couple of days."

Gu’er instructed, but because of the dim lighting, she didn’t notice Sun Jiaming’s blush.

"Ah, you should wash up too. Will you be able to wash your face with your hand? How about I wring out the towel for you?"

Sun Jiaming wasn’t concerned about his minor injury, but after hearing Gu’er’s warning, he worried that it would be inconvenient for her.

"No need. My hand is fine."

Gu’er shook her head.

Gu’er washed her hands. Seeing that the water in the basin was dirty, Sun Jiaming got up, poured it out, and drew another basin of water for her to wash her face.

The water was warm; Sun Jiaming must have mixed it for her.

Gu’er lowered her face into the basin.

The water opened the pores on her face, and it also seemed to open her tear ducts. Her tears mixed with the water, falling into the basin.

Seeing Gu’er like this, Sun Jiaming’s expression darkened, and he walked into the inner room.

He explained the situation to his grandmother.

"She’s finished washing. Grandma wants you to come in."

Sun Jiaming came out and saw Gu’er standing awkwardly in the main room.

Gu’er took a deep breath, steeling herself before walking into the room.

To her surprise, there was another person in the room besides Grandma Sun.

’I think I’m supposed to call this person "Auntie,"’ she recalled. ’But I’ve only seen her once or twice. She rarely leaves her house, so I don’t know her well. I think her name is Aunt Zhao. I can’t believe she’s here at the Sun Family’s home. Everyone else left, but she’s still here. When Sun Jiaming wasn’t home earlier—when he was out helping me—was she the one keeping Grandma Sun company? It seems she must have a good relationship with the Sun Family.’

As Gu’er thought about Aunt Zhao, her mind began to wander.

"Gu’er, quickly, come over to Grandma. Let me have a look at you. Are you all right?"

Seeing Gu’er standing frozen, Grandma Sun quickly called out to her.

Gu’er snapped back to her senses and hurried over, sitting down in front of Grandma Sun.

"Ai, what a sin."

Grandma Sun looked at Gu’er’s face, took her hand, and let out a long sigh.

Gu’er felt her eyes grow hot, but she quickly blinked, forcing the tears back.

"Gu’er, you just stay here and rest. If you need anything, just tell your Auntie. What happened today is in the past, so don’t dwell on it. People have to keep moving forward. No matter how bad things get, you can always survive. It may be hard now, but things will get better."

Aunt Zhao consoled Gu’er, her tone exceptionally gentle and heartwarming.

"Thank you, Auntie."

Gu’er thanked her. In her past life, she’d had no interaction with this woman, but now that the woman was showing her kindness, she responded in kind.

"Don’t be a stranger with your Auntie. You’ll see in the future, we’re all family here."

Aunt Zhao added, then said to Grandma Sun, "Well, I should be heading back now. I’ll come by again tomorrow."

"You’d better go. I’m sure Er’ya and Laizi are still awake. You should hurry back and get them to bed."

Grandma Sun nodded.

Aunt Zhao left.

After Aunt Zhao left, Sun Jiaming stayed and talked for a little while longer before heading to another room.

Grandma Sun had Gu’er lay out the bedding, blow out the lamp, and get onto the kang.

After everything she had been through today, on top of her trip to the city during the day, Gu’er was physically exhausted. She thought she would fall asleep quickly, but she lay there with her eyes wide open, not daring to close them.

The events of the evening spun in her mind like a carousel.

As Gu’er’s thoughts churned, her eyes grew moist again. She rolled over.

"What’s wrong, Gu’er? Can’t sleep?"

Grandma Sun suddenly spoke from her side of the kang.

Gu’er jumped, startled. She had thought Grandma Sun was already asleep.

"No, Grandma. Did I wake you?"

Gu’er sniffled, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Wake me? Nonsense. I lie on this kang all day, can’t go anywhere. There’s nothing to do but sleep. When you get old, you don’t need as much sleep anyway."

Grandma Sun paused, then added, "Don’t dwell on it. Just like your Aunt Zhao said, it’ll all pass."

"Mm."

Gu’er nodded. Beyond that, she didn’t know what else to say.

"Grandma, what I did today... attacking people with a knife, causing such a scene with the villagers... do you think I was wrong?"

Gu’er asked Grandma Sun.

"Silly girl, what was wrong about it? It’s just like back then when your Aunt Zhao’s mother used a hairpin to blind Limp Zhou in one eye. Limp Zhou has been a one-eyed dragon his whole life because of it. You attacked them? They deserved it! Who told them to go around harming people? If Jia Ming’s grandpa were still alive, you think they’d dare? He would’ve broken their legs, that’s what!"

Grandma Sun’s tone was stern. She remembered when her husband had rescued a widow and her daughter, and had even asked her to take care of them.

Although she pitied the widow and daughter, she’d had her reservations at the time, wondering why her husband was so determined to save them, even to the point of turning against the other villagers.

That night, her husband told her that a woman’s life is hard. It’s already so difficult, yet they have no status at home or in public. Whenever something goes wrong, the blame is always pushed onto the woman. People think it’s the woman who did wrong, who wasn’t good enough. He said that many people don’t even treat women as human beings, and he believed that any man who bullied a woman wasn’t a real man at all.

At that moment, Grandma Sun cried, moved that she had found such a man.

In their entire life together, her husband had never so much as laid a hand on her, let alone cursed at her. The two of them had almost never even argued. That was why she had taught her son from a young age that he must never hit a woman, that he had to cherish and be good to women.

Her son had taken her words to heart. As a result, after getting married, he listened to his wife in everything and had no mind of his own. Thankfully, her grandson was a good lad, just like his grandfather in his youth.

So, when Aunt Zhao came and told her about Gu’er’s situation, she had been furious. She had only met Gu’er once, but she’d heard from Jia Ming that the girl had a difficult life, that she was grateful, hardworking, and didn’t look down on the elderly. How could someone like that be treated so horribly? So when someone outside had shouted for Jia Ming, and he told her he had to go, she had immediately let him.

’She didn’t think Gu’er had done anything wrong at all. When a person is pushed to the brink, what won’t they do? If someone is bullying you and you don’t fight back—if you just stick your face out for them to slap—then you deserve to be mistreated!’

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Thank you to wenzhouzzp for the He Shi Bi! It was unexpected, and I’m very touched. I will post an extra Chapter tomorrow in appreciation. There will also be an extra Chapter for monthly tickets tonight. Thank you all.