Chapter 16: I Like Someone Like You!

Earthworm had lowered his voice, but Su Yuru heard him. Her face paled, and bitterness flickered in her eyes.

After the men left, she took a deep breath. “Xiaodong, thank you. If you hadn’t been here, they might have…” Her eyes reddened again.

“You don’t need to thank me. Back in high school, I took advantage of you plenty, getting things for free. I’ve never forgotten your kindness.”

The moment he said it, he realized how his words might be misunderstood. Su Yuru didn’t seem to notice, and he breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

She wiped her eyes and smiled. “Have you eaten? I’ll make you something.”

“I just ate at home. Don’t go to any trouble.” He followed her into the restaurant anyway.

She wore a faded fitted T-shirt, close-fitting jeans, and a floral apron. Qin Dong noticed how attractive she looked as she walked. She was about twenty-eight now, he thought, and even more beautiful than he remembered.

Once seated, he repeated, “I’m really not hungry.”

“Then have some water.” She brought him a clean glass of warm water and sat beside him.

Her faint fragrance reached him, and remembering his old crush, Qin Dong felt his face warm. Su Yuru, meanwhile, studied him with curiosity. He had grown taller and stronger, and more handsome too. Something about him seemed to draw her in. She flushed and silently scolded herself. Xiaodong was still just a kid in her eyes.

To change the subject, she asked, “Did your girlfriend come back with you?”

He smiled ruefully. “We broke up.”

“What? I thought things were going well.”

He didn’t want to discuss how Xu Lei had cheated on him. “Relationships are hard to predict. It’s over now.”

Su Yuru nodded and comforted him. “You’re a good young man. You’ll find someone better. If you’d like, I can ask around and introduce you to some nice girls. What type do you like?”

Without thinking, he said, “Someone like you.”

She turned scarlet. “Don’t tease me. I’m an old woman. How could I be right for you?”

“I’m serious. You’re beautiful and kind, and you take good care of your home and family. That’s exactly the sort of person I like.”

Her heart raced. She quickly changed the subject again. “You said Earthworm had attracted something unclean. When did you learn to tell things like that?”

Qin Dong laughed. “I was fooling him. Really, it was kidney deficiency caused by overindulgence. Men like him act fearless, but they’re often the most superstitious. I had to say something he’d believe.”

She stared. “Then what was that pill you gave him?”

He pointed to the shrine. “A ball I made with water and ash from the incense burner before the statue of Lord Guan.”

Su Yuru covered her mouth and burst out laughing. Qin Dong caught himself watching her and quickly looked away. He took out his phone and said, “Let’s add each other on WeChat. If anyone bullies you again, tell me. I’ll protect you.”

His earnest promise touched her deeply. For years she had struggled to keep the restaurant open, enduring insults and the reputation of being cursed. No man had ever offered to protect her. At last, someone cared.

Her eyes grew moist. Even if she died now, she thought, knowing someone cared for her would make it worthwhile. She looked at him tenderly. “All right. Wait while I find my phone.”

She stood, but darkness suddenly swam before her eyes. As she fell, Qin Dong caught her around the waist. Her face was flushed and her body alarmingly hot.

“Are you ill?”

Breathing hard, she managed a smile. “It’s an old problem. It happens when I’m tired. Help me sit down and I’ll be fine.”

The moment he touched her, information appeared in his mind:

The White Tiger Husband-Harming Fate was one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Star Fates. A woman born with it was fated to harm her husband and live alone. Ordinary men who came close would face disaster, injury, or death; only the Sacred Dragon Physique was immune. If the fate were broken, it could become an exceptionally auspicious fate for a husband.

Qin Dong was astonished. He had dismissed Earthworm’s claim that Yuru’s fate had caused the deaths of five men, but now he believed it was true. Stranger still, his Sacred Dragon Physique alone could withstand it.

He helped her into a chair and brought her water. “When did this start?”

After drinking, she looked a little better, though she was still breathless. “A long time ago. Around the time the matchmaker introduced me to my husband, the man you called brother. His health grew worse afterward.”

Qin Dong seemed to remember that her husband had needed support to get through their wedding. If ordinary men suffered merely by being near her, could Yuru still be a virgin?