Xu Mingli was nestled on a recliner in the inner room, his right arm hanging limply at his side.

Since the gunshot wound wasn't treated in time while I was trying to evade capture, I've lost all feeling in this arm. It's even difficult for me to hold a bowl; it's fair to say it's practically useless.

He heard the laughter of the neighbor's children outside the window, and frowned in annoyance. He grabbed a teacup from the table and threw it at them.

The teacup crashed against the wall and shattered.

"Useless! All of you are useless!" he cursed under his breath, his gaze falling on the man who resembled him in build.

These days, a stand-in has been staying at home to deal with outsiders, so that people won't find out that his arm is crippled.

This makes it easy to conclude that he is the murderer.

"You just wait and see, if you dare to give yourself away even the slightest thing, I'll make sure your whole family suffers!"

The stand-in nodded coldly, "Understood."

Just then, the courtyard gate creaked open, and Feng Qiushi walked in carrying a vegetable basket.

She had just returned from grocery shopping, and was very tired after walking all that way.

Hearing the noise, Xu Mingli looked up abruptly. "Where the hell have you been? Coming back so late! Don't you know I'm hungry?"

Feng Qiushi gripped the vegetable basket tightly, his lips moved, but he ultimately remained silent and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

She knew that whatever she said now would only invite more insults.

But Xu Mingli had no intention of letting her go. He struggled to stand up from the recliner, dragged his half-crippled arm behind her, and grabbed her wrist. "What? Not going to say anything? Do you think you can look down on me just because my arm is crippled? Trying to run away?"

He gripped the handle tightly, and Feng Qiushi winced in pain.

Xu Mingli sneered, leaned close to her ear, and said in a sinister voice, "Let me tell you, don't dream! We're in this together now, neither of us can escape! I did kill Er Laizi's father, that's true, but what about you? Didn't you kill Er Laizi with your own hands too? If I get caught, do you think you can get away?"

"Stop talking..." Feng Qiushi finally couldn't help but speak, his voice trembling, his eyes instantly reddening.

These days, the image of Erlaizi's death keeps replaying in her mind. Every time she closes her eyes at night, she dreams that Erlaizi is coming to take her life. She is almost at her breaking point, and she has lost a lot of weight and has dark circles under her eyes.

Tears streamed down Feng Qiushi's cheeks as she turned her head away, not wanting Xu Mingli to see them.

Because every time I cry, he starts yelling at me.

But in Xu Mingli's eyes, these tears became proof of his dissatisfaction.

He abruptly shook off Feng Qiushi's wrist and shouted angrily, "Crying? What are you crying for! I'm not dead yet! And you're already wailing? You're obviously dissatisfied with me!"

He overturned the dining table next to him, smashing bowls and chopsticks all over the floor. "Don't cook!"

Xu Mingli grabbed Feng Qiushi's hair and dragged her into the room. "Since you're so free, give me a child! If we die one day, at least we'll have an heir!"

"No! I don't want to!" Feng Qiushi struggled desperately, tears streaming down her face. "We can't do this! If we get caught, the child will be without parents, and his life will be ruined!"

"Stop talking nonsense to me!" Xu Mingli's eyes were red as he reached out to tear at her clothes, burying his head in her body.

Forced into a corner, Feng Qiushi suddenly raised his hand and slapped Xu Mingli hard across the face.

She used all her strength in that slap, and Xu Mingli was stunned, frozen in place.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Feng Qiushi pushed him away, covered her torn clothes, and stumbled out of the yard.

She didn't know where to go, she only knew she had to leave this suffocating place.

Xu Mingli covered his face, and after realizing what had happened, he was so angry that he trembled all over.

He looked at the empty doorway, then at the mess on the ground, turned around, grabbed a bottle of liquor from the corner, unscrewed the cap, and started chugging it down.

The spicy liquor burned his throat, but it couldn't suppress the restlessness and fear in his heart.

Not long after, he collapsed to the ground, drunk, clutching a bottle of liquor, and fell into a deep sleep.

Feng Qiushi wandered aimlessly along the village road. When he passed under the big locust tree at the village entrance, he vaguely heard several villagers chatting.

"Have you heard? Xu Xinghe and Commander Jiang went back to the village today!"

"That's great. I thought this girl wouldn't want to come back after she went back, and then we wouldn't have any frostbite cream left for winter."

"I had some left over from last year, and I've been keeping it safe without using it."

Xu Xinghe is back?

Feng Qiushi's heart skipped a beat, her face turned deathly pale, and a wave of panic washed over her. Without thinking twice, she turned and ran home.

We must tell Xu Mingli about this as soon as possible. No matter how fierce he is, the two of us have to find a way to deal with it!

But when he opened the door, he saw the other person lying on the ground, drunk and snoring loudly, holding an empty wine bottle.

Feng Qiushi squatted down and nudged his arm. "Chen An, wake up! Xu Xinghe and the others are back! What should we do?"

Xu Mingli turned over, muttered "Don't bother me," and fell into a deep sleep again.

Seeing him passed out drunk, Feng Qiushi felt all her fear and resentment erupt instantly.

She collapsed to the ground, hugging her knees, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face like a broken string of pearls.

The oppression, nightmares, Xu Mingli's insults and coercion, and the news of Xu Xinghe's return that she had just heard were like countless needles pricking her, making her feel like she was suffocating.

"Sister Feng, don't be too sad." A voice suddenly came from the doorway; it was Xu Mingli's stand-in.

Looking at the mess in the room and the distraught Feng Qiushi, he hesitated for a moment before walking in and handing her a clean handkerchief. “Actually… we haven’t been investigated for so long, maybe no one suspects us at all. It’s okay if Xu Xinghe comes back.”

Feng Qiushi took the handkerchief, wiped away her tears, and said in a choked voice, "He wasn't like this before..."

She looked up, her eyes filled with confusion and pain. "The Shen'an I knew was gentle and kind. He would buy me candy and help me with chores. But now he's gone mad. He curses at me and forces me every day... I've never complained about his crippled arm. I just don't want to make any more mistakes. Every time I close my eyes, I see Er Laizi's face. It hurts so much..."

The stand-in listened to her sobs and his eyes also reddened.

He sighed, his voice low, "Sister Feng, I'm suffering too. I thought that by just showing up a few times for Chen An, I'd have a chance to develop my career in a big city. Who knew I'd become an accomplice now, living in constant fear of being discovered..."

Looking at Feng Qiushi's pale and fragile face, he momentarily forgot his manners and reached out to hug her, saying, "We've all had such a hard time..."

Feng Qiushi was startled by his sudden hug and instinctively tried to push him away, "This isn't right..."

But as soon as she looked up, her lips touched the corner of the stand-in's mouth.

Instantly, both of them froze, as if the air itself had solidified.

The stand-in was the first to react, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Instead of letting go, he hugged Feng Qiushi tighter, his voice slightly hoarse and seductive, "Sister Feng, I know you're under a lot of pressure, and so am I... How about we let loose? Xu Mingli is so drunk, he definitely won't wake up, and no one will know."

Feng Qiushi's mind went blank. Fear, grievance, disappointment in Xu Mingli, and the dazed state of her mind made her lose her ability to judge.

Looking at the understanding and pity in the substitute's eyes, and remembering Xu Mingli's violence, she ultimately did not push him away again.

Seeing this, the stand-in took her hand and led her towards the cabin...