Gu Juncheng remained silent through all of Liu Fen's tirade, until one particular barb finally struck home. "What's there to even think about? She never liked you, not even when we were discussing the betrothal. She’s always preferred those soft, pretty-boy types. Goudan might be a reckless good-for-nothing, but he’s got that fair skin she likes, and she just…" Whether it was the blow to his masculine pride or something else, the words finally broke his silence. "Enough," he bit out, his voice as hard as stone. The sharp scrape and thud of a chair being knocked over followed immediately. He was coming out! Lin Qingping scrambled back to her room. Lying in bed again, she was swamped by a wave of grievance and sorrow. But what her mother-in-law had said was mostly true. She hadn't liked Gu Juncheng, and she did have a weakness for pretty boys. But that was all in the past… She didn’t blame his mother for saying those things. Liu Fen was a traditional village woman, easily swayed by gossip. It was precisely because of Liu Fen's meekness that Lin Qingping had been able to rule the roost in the Gu family in her past life, and Liu Fen had tolerated it all. Crucially, when Gu Juncheng's will had stipulated that his entire pension should go to her, Liu Fen hadn't caused a scene, even though she would have had every right to… For the comfortable life she'd led with her in-laws in her past life alone, she couldn't hold today’s outburst against her mother-in-law. Besides, a life together was a marathon, not a sprint; time would reveal a person’s true character. Her mother-in-law would eventually understand, provided, of course, that their life together was allowed to continue. And that depended entirely on what Gu Juncheng was thinking… As her thoughts tangled, the bedroom door creaked open. He actually came in! She had assumed he would bunk with Zhiyuan. Was he here to interrogate her? Or to ask for a divorce? Whatever it was, she wouldn't suffer this injustice in silence… Just like the night before, Gu Juncheng entered the room, laid out his bedding on the floor, and lay down. A swell of indignation rose in Lin Qingping’s chest. She shot up from the bed, her voice cutting through the darkness toward his makeshift bed. "You don't believe me, do you?" The figure on the floor remained silent. What did silence mean? Tears pricked the back of her eyes. Fighting them back, she jumped out of bed, flicked on the light, and stood over him. "Say it. You don't believe me, do you?" As she spoke, her eyes reddened without her realizing, and her voice grew thick with unshed tears. Gu Juncheng’s eyes were pools of ink, as deep and unreadable as the night sky. Deciding to go all in, Lin Qingping grabbed the hem of her shirt and, with a single, sharp tug, ripped it open. Buttons scattered across the floor, one of them bouncing off his face and making him blink. In the lamplight, she was completely exposed. Tears swam in her eyes, her expression one of utter heartbreak. "Look, Gu Juncheng. I do have a mole. Does that mean you really think I've been with someone else?" His composure finally cracked. His eyes darted away as he hastily grabbed his own quilt and threw it around her, his voice tight and harsh. "Stop this nonsense! Get to bed!" "I'm not going to bed…" Wrapped in his quilt, she found herself pressed right up against him, bundled together in the same space. By the time Gu Juncheng realized it, it was too late. Lin Qingping seized the moment, her body soft and warm as she molded herself against him. She leaned in close, her voice a breathy, tear-choked whisper by his ear. "I can prove that nothing happened between me and Goudan. That nothing has happened with anyone. Gu Juncheng, you can be the one to prove it…" Her lips brushed against his ear as she spoke, her warm breath fanning across his skin. His entire body tensed, every muscle on high alert. "Lin Qingping! You'd better behave yourself!" he growled, his body rigid, his voice a low rumble. Lin Qingping said nothing, simply wrapping her arms around his waist. Even through his undershirt, she felt his abdominal muscles clench at her touch. Instantly, his hand clamped down on hers. He stared at her, his night-sky eyes now flickering with fire. He gritted his teeth. "Lin Qingping! Don't ask for trouble!" Her face was no bigger than his palm, framed by a cascade of dark hair. She tilted her chin up defiantly, her eyes glistening with two perfect, crystalline tears that threatened to fall at any moment. "Then what do you want me to do? How am I supposed to prove it? Your mother doesn't believe me. If you don't believe me either, what am I supposed to do? I have to prove my innocence my own way…" Her voice broke into a sob, the tip of her nose turning red with distress. A pink flush crept across her brow and cheeks, making her look like a peach blossom bruised by a storm, so delicate she looked as if she might shatter. A humorless, angry smile almost escaped him. He kept his face taut. "Lin Qingping, I never would have guessed. You were fierce as a lioness facing down that woman today, and now you’re being this clingy and shameless?" Lin Qingping blinked. So he’d heard her confrontation with that heavy-set woman… The blink was all it took. The tears spilled over, rolling down her cheeks like pearls. "Well, this is who I am… Do you believe this version of me? Do you…?" She had thrown all caution to the wind. Her arms tightened around his neck, her lips pressing against the shell of his ear. In a whisper only he could hear, she threatened, "Gu Juncheng, tomorrow I'm going to go around the village and tell everyone. That you can't get it up! That you're not a man…" "Lin Qingping!" She had finally pushed him too far. He roared her name, his eyes locking onto hers. "I…" Lin Qingping managed only a single word before a rough, warm pressure crushed her lips… He seemed genuinely furious… She felt as if she would be ground to dust beneath him… Her senses were filled with nothing but his scent, and soon, her mind was too… Just as she felt herself growing dizzy, unable to bear it any longer, her hands tangling in his hair, he suddenly pulled away. He lay back down, breathing heavily. Lin Qingping's head was still buzzing, her mind a fog. "Sleep!" he barked, and switched off the light. Lin Qingping could only feel the tingling on her lips, a lingering heat where the rough stubble of his beard had pressed against her skin. After a long moment, a low voice rumbled in the darkness. "I believe you." She turned in surprise, but he said nothing more. A small smile touched her lips. She snuggled closer, wrapping an arm around his, and fell asleep. *What a performance,* she thought. *Had to dredge up every miserable memory from my past life just to squeeze out a few tears… At least it paid off.* Sometime during the night, a heavy rain began to fall. The summer storm beat down like scattered beans, but it didn't disturb Lin Qingping’s sleep in the slightest. When she woke the next morning, she was, unsurprisingly, back in the bed. The bedding on the floor had already been cleared away. Lin Qingping hugged the quilt, feeling a little embarrassed. She had wanted to wake up early, hadn't she? This, she felt, really wasn't her fault. The truth was, ever since she’d been reborn, she had slept poorly, plagued by nightmares. She would see her nephew's twisted face, feel the suffocation of her own impending death. But the dream that returned most often was the one where she received the telegram from the army, informing her of his death in the line of duty. She would be holding the piece of paper, her cries tearing her apart… Every time she woke from these nightmares, the heart-wrenching pain from the dream would still be echoing in her chest, making it impossible to fall back into a peaceful sleep. And yet, these past two nights, despite sleeping on the hard floor, she had slept more soundly than she had in ages…