Chapter 41: Caught in Bed—Silly Zhu Beats Xu Damao in Fury

The entire courtyard seemed as if someone had pressed a pause button, sinking into an eerie, deathly silence.

Every eye was fixed on the disheveled figure being dragged out from under the bed.

It was Qin Huairu.

Her clothes were in disarray, her hair matted against her pale face, and in her hand, she clutched tightly that crumpled wad of banknotes, reeking of humiliation.

Time seemed to freeze in that moment.

Sha Zhu stood there like a statue struck by lightning. He watched helplessly as the woman he had longed for—the "Sister Qin" for whom he had been willing to squander his savings and turn against his own sister—crawled out from beneath another man's bed in such an indecent state.

His mind went blank.

The woman he had held in the palm of his hand, worshipped like a goddess...

The woman for whom he had sold his parents' heirlooms just to scrape together a hundred yuan to save her son...

How could she be here? Why was she clutching money in her hand?

Xu Damao’s words from moments ago echoed in his mind like poisoned needles:

"Fifty yuan to buy you for the night."

"This money? You’re the one who asked me for it!"

"Sha Zhu, do you see now? This woman is nothing but a whore!"

No! It was impossible!

Sha Zhu’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, the pain making it impossible to breathe. He refused to believe it; he dared not believe it. He shook his head violently, as if trying to shake the absurd scene from his brain. He stumbled backward, his trembling hand pointing at Qin Huairu, his lips quivering, yet he could not utter a single word.

In those eyes that had once been filled with adoration and obsession, there was now only shattered disbelief and boundless despair.

"No... it’s not like that..."

Qin Huairu finally snapped out of her stupor. She scrambled to her feet and lunged toward Sha Zhu like a madwoman, trying to grab his arm.

"Zhuzi! Listen to me! It’s not what you think! I did it to get the money for Banggen’s medicine! It was him! Xu Damao forced me!"

Her wails were shrill and desperate, an attempt to use tears to wash away her shame and cling to this final lifeline. However, before she could even touch the hem of his clothes, Xu Damao grabbed her.

Xu Damao was terrified, but his mind raced. He knew that he absolutely could not admit to anything today! He had to cast all the filth onto Qin Huairu.

"Forced you? How did I force you?"

Xu Damao shrieked, acting as if he were the most wronged person in the world.

"Qin Huairu, have a conscience! Wasn't it you who knocked on my door in the middle of the night? Wasn't it you who asked me for fifty yuan?"

"You're a widow, coming to find me in the dead of night—don't you know what kind of intentions that implies?"

"Sha Zhu! Open your dog eyes and look clearly! This woman will do anything for money! You’re just a long-term meal ticket she’s been keeping! You’re nothing but a fool!"

Every word from Xu Damao was a dagger to the heart.

Qin Huairu trembled all over, shaking her head frantically. "You're lying! You're spouting nonsense!"

"I'm lying?"

Xu Damao sneered and held up the hand in which Qin Huairu clutched the money.

"Then what is this? Did I shove this fifty yuan into your hand? The whole courtyard is watching! This money is the evidence that you sold yourself!"

"Boom!"

The last string in Sha Zhu’s mind snapped completely.

Evidence... Money...

Everything he had sacrificed had resulted in this living, breathing symbol of his cuckoldry. All his efforts, all his sacrifices, had turned into a massive joke in this instant.

"Aaaah!"

Sha Zhu let out a bestial roar that didn't sound human. He didn't look at Qin Huairu again; his bloodshot eyes were locked onto Xu Damao.

"Xu Damao! I’m going to kill you!"

Like a bull driven to absolute rage, he charged at Xu Damao with all his might. The "War God of the Courtyard" was, in this moment, ignited by heartbreak and humiliation.

Xu Damao let out a weird cry and turned to run, but it was too late. Sha Zhu landed a vicious punch squarely on Xu Damao's face.

"Thud!"

Xu Damao’s nasal bone broke instantly, and blood mixed with tears sprayed out. He collapsed to the ground, screaming, but Sha Zhu wouldn't let up. He mounted him, his large, fan-like hands swinging back and forth, smashing fist after fist into Xu Damao’s head and face in a frenzy.

"I’ll teach you to be evil! I’ll teach you to bully Sister Qin!"

"I’ll teach you to frame a good person!"

Even as he subconsciously defended Qin Huairu with his words, the force of his blows was filled with a madness that sought to destroy everything.

The courtyard was in total chaos. The screams of women, the cries of children, and the shouts of men blended into a cacophony.

Liu Haizhong seized the golden opportunity, slapped his thigh, and shouted to Yi Zhonghai with a look of pained indignation, "Elder Yi! Look! Just look! This is the Qin Huairu you’ve always protected! This is the Sha Zhu you treat like your own son!"

"It’s scandalous! Absolutely scandalous! If this gets out, our entire courtyard will be disgraced!"

Yi Zhonghai’s face turned the color of a liver. He watched the two men brawling on the ground and Qin Huairu, who was collapsed in a heap of inconsolable sobbing, and felt his heart bleeding.

It was over.

The plan he had painstakingly cultivated for decades had vanished into thin air in one night.

Just then, Chen Mo’s voice drifted slowly from behind the crowd. He leaned leisurely against the door frame, as if watching a play that had nothing to do with him.

"Elder Yi, in my opinion, this matter cannot just be left at that."

All eyes instantly shifted to him.

Chen Mo walked forward slowly, glancing at the money on the ground and then at the disheveled Qin Huairu.

"Xu Damao just admitted it himself: fifty yuan to buy one night."

"In our country, what do we call that? Prostitution. That is a serious crime, and it must be reported to the police."

The police!

Those two words hit everyone present like two buckets of ice water.

Qin Huairu’s wailing stopped abruptly. Xu Damao ceased his howling. Even Sha Zhu, his eyes still red with fury, slowed his movements.

They all knew that if this matter reached the police station, the nature of the situation would change entirely. Both Qin Huairu and Xu Damao would end up in prison!

Yi Zhonghai swayed, staring fixedly at Chen Mo, his voice raspy with anger and fear.

"Chen Mo! Do you really have to be so ruthless?!"

Chen Mo met his gaze with a faint, indiscernible smile.

"Elder Yi, I am merely stating a fact. Or do you think our courtyard should be covering up for criminals?"