I am still young, and this husband of mine—won through such hardship and deception—is truly not easy to come by.

“Old Cheng, what mischief are you and my sister up to in there? I’ve been yelling for ages and you won’t open the door!”

The door was flung open by Cheng Xueming.

Her sister-in-law stood outside, lively and mischievous, laughing at Cheng Xueming and craning her neck to peek inside.

“Hey! Sis, let me see, let me see! Are there any letters from my classmates?”

She peered at her sister, who was sitting at the bedside, flipping through a pile of reader letters. At once, her sister-in-law’s spirits soared; she shoved past Cheng Xueming and rushed in.

She didn’t even spare Cheng Xueming a glance, who was frantically winking at her to hurry up and leave.

Now things had taken a turn.

If her sister-in-law didn’t explain this letter clearly, Cheng Xueming, as her brother-in-law, wouldn’t have a peaceful night.

“Jiamo Feng, you’d best explain what this letter is about,” Jiayou Feng said, slapping the letter against Jiamo Feng’s chest, her face dark with displeasure.

“What is there to explain?! Sis, what did I do to annoy you now?!”

Jiamo Feng’s excited smile froze in confusion; she mumbled back, picking up the letter that had dropped onto the bed and eyed it suspiciously.

“Uh? Is there a letter for me? Did Old Xu, the author of Mustang, reply to me? But I didn’t write to him…”

“No, Sis, what’s going on? I never wrote a letter to Old Cheng!”

She glanced carelessly and saw her own name, at first mistaking it as addressed to her. But then she noticed the sender was her own name, and the recipient was Old Xu, the author of Mustang.

Instantly, Jiamo Feng was dumbfounded. What was happening?

When did she ever write to Old Cheng? If she had something to say to him, she’d just ask him directly at home—why go through the reader channel like her classmates and write a letter?

“Pretending! Jiamo Feng, you’re putting on an act, aren’t you?”

Seeing Jiamo Feng feigning innocence only made Jiayou Feng angrier; she snatched the letter from her hands and said, “Jiamo Feng, if you don’t explain this letter today, do you believe I’ll make it public at your school tomorrow?”

“Sis, what are you doing?! I already said it’s not mine! I never wrote to Old Cheng!”

Jiamo Feng was so bewildered she hadn’t recovered. What was going on? When did she ever write to Old Cheng? She had no memory of it at all.

“Fine! Not you! This letter wasn’t written by you, Jiamo Feng!”

Jiayou Feng’s hands trembled in anger; she would never believe the letter wasn’t written by Jiamo Feng, the handwriting on the envelope was distinctly hers.

Moreover, Jiamo Feng’s signature was unique, anyone familiar with her handwriting would recognize it immediately.

It was her handwriting and signature, yet she stubbornly refused to admit it!

“Fine! Jiamo Feng, not you, not you! Who else wrote it, a ghost? Look at this name, ‘Jiamo Feng,’ isn’t it your handwriting?”

“Quibbling! Still quibbling! If you’d just admit it openly, I wouldn’t be so curious about what’s inside. But since you insist on denying it, I really want to see what you had to say to your brother-in-law!”

“He’s right in front of you every day, what can’t you say to him directly?”

Jiayou Feng, exasperated, tore open the letter then and there, determined to see what her little sister had written in secret to her brother-in-law.

What secrets could they possibly have that couldn’t be spoken at home, necessitating a letter?

And to sneak around, refusing to admit it even when caught!

“Sis, what am I supposed to admit?! I didn’t write it, why would I admit anything? No, Sis, what are you reading? Let me see what’s going on, can’t I?”

When Jiamo Feng saw her own handwriting on the envelope, she was even more stunned.

What was this?

Could it be that she admired Old Cheng so much, she wrote him a letter while sleepwalking?

But she really didn’t remember a thing!

Seeing her sister open the letter to read its contents, Jiamo Feng grew uneasy and rushed to grab it herself, curious about what was actually written inside.

Could it be all just sleep-talk, poured onto the page?

---

“Jiamo Feng, what are you grabbing for? What are you so nervous about? Keep grabbing and I’ll really smack you!”

“What’s going on? What’s going on!? You two little troublemakers, what are you up to now? Can’t you get along and speak nicely for once?”

Hearing her youngest banging on her sister’s door and shouting outside, Mother Feng’s face flushed with embarrassment in the kitchen.

What could her eldest and her son-in-law be doing behind a locked door? Couldn’t her youngest, now a grown girl, be more discreet instead of yelling so loudly, as though she wanted the whole courtyard to hear?

And her eldest—was it really so urgent?

Coming home from school, they immediately locked themselves in the room—couldn’t they wait until nightfall?

People coming and going, and they still didn’t know how to behave with a little restraint?

Sensing trouble, Mother Feng quickly put down her spatula and rushed out, intending to scold her youngest and send her back to her own room to do homework, leaving her sister and brother-in-law to their business behind closed doors.

But she was too late… Or maybe she was overthinking it.

Her son-in-law soon opened the door for his sister-in-law, who promptly barged in. Yet watching from outside, Mother Feng couldn’t shake the feeling that her son-in-law’s expression was off.

Before she could speculate whether he was upset at being disturbed or something else, she heard the two sisters shouting inside, and her scalp tingled—what had she done in a past life to deserve these two troublemakers?

She rushed over, intending to scold them, but didn’t dare enter for fear of witnessing something awkward.

“Mom, look! Jiamo Feng secretly wrote a love letter to her brother-in-law and refuses to admit it!”

Jiayou Feng didn’t dare read the letter herself, nor did she have the courage, afraid it really was a love letter—a love letter from the sister-in-law to the brother-in-law!

If it truly was, how was she, the elder sister, supposed to carry on?

Hearing her mother shouting outside, she knew the letter had to be shown to her mother for justice.

Jiayou Feng had gone to great lengths to bring her husband from Shaanbei, so why should Jiamo Feng covet him?

“Sis, it’s not a love letter! I didn’t write Old Cheng a love letter!”

“Honestly, Sis, you’re so silly since you got pregnant. Old Cheng, a country bumpkin, is only your treasure. If you gave him to me, I wouldn’t want him. Why would I write him a love letter? He’s not even worthy!”

Cheng Xueming stood at the door, rubbing his nose awkwardly. So in her eyes, he was still just a country bumpkin, despite all the supposed admiration she’d shown recently?

So the change in her attitude was just an act?

If that was the case, what was up with the letter? If she didn’t write it, did someone else do it on her behalf?

“What love letter?! Jiayou, what nonsense are you shouting?”

Mother Feng originally didn’t dare enter her daughter and son-in-law’s room, afraid of witnessing something embarrassing. But hearing her eldest shouting about a love letter—her youngest to her brother-in-law—she couldn’t stand it anymore.

She rushed into the room, begging her eldest to lower her voice, as if she feared the whole neighborhood would hear that her youngest daughter had secretly written a love letter to her brother-in-law.

“Mom! Look for yourself! Isn’t this Jiamo Feng’s handwriting? Didn’t she write it?”

Jiayou Feng’s tears streamed down, her voice choked with grievance.

“Mom, it’s not mine! I swear I didn’t write this to Old Cheng! My sister is making things up!”

Jiamo Feng was just as furious. She had come home to see if any classmates had written love letters to Old Cheng, ready to enjoy the gossip.

Who could have guessed she’d be the center of it herself, hit by the biggest shock of all? She still had no clue what was going on with the letter.

“What love letter? Jiayou… Jiamo Feng, is this what you wrote to Old Xu, to your brother-in-law?”

Mother Feng didn’t really believe her youngest would write a love letter to her brother-in-law and asked Jiayou to calm down.

But upon seeing the envelope with Jiamo Feng’s unique signature, Mother Feng was stunned and questioned her youngest.

---

“Mom! I didn’t, it’s not mine! How many times do I have to say it? I really didn’t write to Old Cheng!”

Jiamo Feng, unable to explain, stamped her feet in frustration, nearly in tears.

Ignoring her protests, Mother Feng took out the letter from the envelope and unfolded it to read.

Dearest Old Xu…

Just those opening words, “dearest,” nearly made Mother Feng dizzy and collapse on the spot.

It really was a love letter!

What sin had the Feng family committed?

Her elder troublemaker had sinned, coming back pregnant from Shaanbei and dragging a country bumpkin of a husband to Yanjing.

Her younger troublemaker was even more outrageous, secretly writing this to her brother-in-law behind the family’s back.

What sin!

After skimming through the letter, Mother Feng felt even more tormented.

A love letter—an extremely bold, explicit confession.

The sister-in-law, behind everyone’s back, had written such a brazen letter to her brother-in-law…

And when caught, stubbornly refused to admit it, snapping back in anger.

Unable to contain herself, Mother Feng raised her hand for a slap, almost letting it fly.

But reason held her back.

“Mom, are you going to hit me?”

Though the slap never landed, the gesture was clear enough. To Jiamo Feng, her mother was about to hit her.

“Did you write this or not?” Mother Feng demanded, her face stormy.

“It’s not mine, not mine! Mom, what do you want me to say so you’ll believe me? I swear I didn’t write it!”

Jiamo Feng almost shouted in grievance. She’d repeated herself countless times—it wasn’t hers, no matter how many times she was asked!

She truly hadn’t written it, so how could she admit it?

“If you didn’t write it, what is this then? Isn’t this your name?” Mother Feng was nearly beside herself with rage.

“How would I know? Mom, let me see what’s written inside first!” Jiamo Feng reached for the letter, determined to understand even if it cost her everything.

“You wrote it yourself and don’t know? Jiamo Feng, you—”

Mother Feng, frantic, swept the room for something handy, seemingly ready to give her daughter a beating.

“Mom, I said it’s not mine, and it isn’t. Even if you beat me, it’s not mine!”

Seeing her mother grab the broom, Jiamo Feng realized she really meant to hit her and fled in panic.

“Run, go ahead and run, Jiamo Feng! If you’ve got the guts to run, don’t come back!” Mother Feng shouted after her.

“Mom, what’s actually written in the letter?”

Jiayou Feng hadn’t dared to look, truly afraid to read something she couldn’t forgive. If it really was a brazen love letter, how could the sisters ever get along again?

…