From that day on, Liu Fen became a shadow.
A silent shadow that exists only in the inner room, beside the daughter.
She stopped speaking to anyone. Whether it was Granny Li's increasingly veiled insults or Liu Jianjun's feigned "admonitions," she ignored them all. Her world consisted of only two things: taking care of her daughter and reading.
That book, "Fundamentals of Practical Nursing," became her entire world.
She read it almost greedily, word by word. During the day, she would read it while the children were sleeping; at night, after everyone had fallen asleep, she would read it word by word by the faint moonlight streaming in through the window.
She diligently performed the massage techniques Su Wantang had taught her on her daughter every day without fail. Her movements became increasingly skilled, and she mastered the right amount of pressure. Perhaps it was the massage that worked, or perhaps it was her meticulous care, but the originally thin and sickly girl gradually became more energetic, cried less, and even seemed to have gained a little weight on her face.
Only when she saw the slightest change in her daughter would a faint light appear in Liu Fen's lifeless eyes. That was her only reason to live.
However, Liu Jianjun saw her "silence" as a silent provocation and resistance.
He was used to her compliance, her tears, and her submissive nature. But now, she neither cried nor made a fuss, remaining silent like a soulless puppet, treating him and their home as if they were invisible. This complete disregard irritated and drove him to the brink of losing control more than any heated argument.
He felt his authority, as a man and a husband, was being challenged like never before.
That evening, Liu Jianjun returned home after drinking some alcohol, reeking of it, and kicked open the door to the inner room.
There were no lights in the room, only the cool moonlight shining on the kang (a heated brick bed). Liu Fen was leaning against the headboard, engrossed in the book in her hands by the moonlight, while her baby girl slept soundly in her arms.
That focused and tranquil scene was, in Liu Jianjun's eyes, extremely jarring.
"Look! Look! Look! All you do all day is look at this useless stuff!" His anger flared up instantly, and he rushed over and snatched the book from Liu Fen's hands.
"You have so many chores to do around the house, you don't sweep the floor, you don't wash the clothes, and you just sit there with a tattered book, eating nothing but this lousy book? I, Liu Jianjun, married a wife, not a bookworm!"
Liu Fen suddenly raised her head, and for the first time, a cold, icy light shot out from her empty eyes.
"Give it back to me." Her voice was soft, but it carried an undeniable command.
"Give it back to you? I'll burn it today and see how you read it then!" Liu Jianjun was enraged by her cold gaze. He took the book and turned to walk out of the house.
"I'll make you give it back to me!" Liu Fen, like a mother beast whose scales had been touched, pounced off the kang (a heated brick bed) and rushed over to snatch the book back.
That book was her hope, and it was her and her daughter's life!
Taking advantage of his strength, Liu Jianjun shoved her away. Liu Fen stumbled and crashed heavily into the door frame, her forehead instantly turning bright red.
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