Zhang Shiyu sneered and mocked, "Why don't you try crushing me? Am I saying you can't crush me?"
"It's obvious you don't have the ability! All you do is brag and talk big!"
After finishing her tirade, seeing that she couldn't catch up with Zhang Weimin, she stopped, panting, stood still, put her hands on her hips, and continued to hurl insults at Zhang Weimin's retreating figure.
Fortunately, their house was located at the end of the village, surrounded only by their own house and the houses of their two older brothers. The area was open and deserted, and few people came here on weekdays.
Over the years, no one else has ever witnessed Zhang Shiyu's explosive fighting power.
When he greets people outside, he speaks softly and gently, appearing timid and introverted. He is so low-key that he is almost unknown.
In fact, the reason Zhang Shiyu is like this is because she has a firm idea in her heart—she will never get married in this life.
If you don't get married, you'll inevitably suffer from gossip and idle talk.
In order to avoid becoming the talk of the village, she chose to keep a low profile.
As for why she is so resistant to marriage, even she herself can't explain the reason.
In Zhang Shiyu's world, the fear of men is like a veil she can't escape. Apart from her few male relatives, every other man in the village seems like a hidden danger, making her instinctively resistant.
Even the most ordinary contact, if it lasted a little longer, made her feel uncomfortable all over, as if countless eyes were watching her from the shadows, making her feel like she had thorns in her back.
At first, the Zhang family thought their daughter was just being childish and making casual remarks.
In their eyes, this might just be a fleeting, minor emotion during the process of growing up, not worth mentioning.
But as Zhang Shiyu grew older, the men she encountered changed from innocent children to mature adults, and that fear, like wildly growing weeds, became increasingly difficult to control.
When interacting normally, she can barely maintain a calm demeanor, but once she has to be alone with a man or spend a long time with him, her inner unease will surge up instantly, and she will become restless and anxious.
Every night, that fear would transform into a grotesque nightmare, relentlessly haunting her.
In severe cases, she was even afraid to close her eyes to sleep, because as soon as she closed her eyes, those bizarre and terrifying death scenes would follow her like a shadow.
In her dreams, she was either in a dark and desolate place, being chased by an invisible force; or in an unfamiliar place, encountering all sorts of bizarre disasters. Every time she woke up from a dream, she was drenched in sweat and her heart was pounding, as if she had really walked through the gates of hell.
After noticing their daughter's unusual behavior, the Zhang family was extremely anxious. At first, they thought she was just being overly sensitive and tried everything they could to get her back to normal.
They tried to gently guide her and patiently accompany her, but the results were always contrary to their wishes. In the end, someone said it was called "desensitization therapy," which involved forcing her to spend an entire day with another man, in a space where it was just the two of them.
Zhang Shiyu knew her family meant well, so even though she felt unwell, she didn't say anything and cooperated with their arrangements. But no one expected the consequences to be so severe; Zhang Shiyu fainted, her face as pale as paper, devoid of any color.
At that moment, the Zhang family was terrified, as if the whole world was collapsing in an instant.
Since then, this topic has become a taboo subject in the family, and no one dares to bring it up easily anymore.
The brothers in the family felt sorry for their sister and secretly vowed to take good care of her in the future. They even got into a fight over this.
Everyone was red-faced and unwilling to give in.
Ultimately, Zhang Weiguo won this "battle" with his unwavering determination and strength. Of course, all of this was kept from Zhang Shiyu, as they knew it was just their own idea, and who their sister wanted to live with was ultimately her own decision.
The next day, the sunlight gently shone on the village, making it another peaceful and beautiful day.
Zhang Shiyu got out of bed early in the morning and began to carefully tidy herself up.
Her movements were quick and skillful. First, she fetched a basin of water, then added some hot water from the thermos to make the water temperature just right. She immersed her face in the water, feeling the warmth dispel any lingering drowsiness.
Then, she picked up a comb and carefully combed her hair, making it smooth and neat with each stroke.
Seeing this, Zhang's mother was filled with surprise and couldn't help but say, "Oh my! What special day is it today! You actually got up to wash your face on your own? I've been asking you to tidy up every day before, but you never moved."
Girls should keep themselves neat and tidy. Look at you now, after washing your face and combing your hair, you look much more energetic.
Zhang Shiyu's lips curled into a faint smile as she said, "I stayed home every day before and never went out, so why bother cleaning so thoroughly?"
"When I go to work, I dress up very nicely."
Zhang's mother nodded with a smile: "Alright, alright! Where are you planning to go today?"
While tidying her clothes, Zhang Shiyu replied, "I went home last month. I didn't come back for her wedding, so this is a good opportunity to visit her."
After hearing this, Zhang's mother turned and went into the house. A moment later, she brought out a small enamel basin of hand-pulled noodles, carefully placed it in a basket, and handed it to Zhang Shiyu: "When you go home to Yue later, remember to bring this with you. There's nothing particularly good at home."
Zhang Shiyu took the basket and nodded. She was applying face cream, and after finishing, she squeezed some onto her hands, gently rubbing it to let the fragrance fill the air. "Mom, what are you putting in there?"
Zhang's mother lifted the cloth covering the basket slightly and explained, "This is the flour I rolled out yesterday. We don't have much else to take. Remember to put in some of the steamed egg custard you bought, okay?"
Zhang Shiyu nodded. "Don't worry, Mother, I know."
Zhang's mother thought about it and agreed. This child got along well with Yuehui, and even if she didn't ask, Yuehui would take care of the chicken cake. So she stopped worrying about her and prepared to go out and tidy up the house. She had a lot of work to do!
As they reached the door, Zhang's mother seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly turned around to instruct, "Oh, right, when you go today, remember to ask Yuehui how to eat that seaweed. I've never even seen anything like it from the seaside before, let alone eaten it."
"I know, I'll definitely ask, don't worry, Mom! I'm also really curious to see what this seaweed tastes like."
Before long, Zhang Shiyu was all ready. With her basket slung over her shoulder, she walked briskly towards Yu Yue's home.
Seeing this, Zhang Weimin looked helpless and couldn't help but say, "You're running to other people's houses so early in the morning, aren't you afraid they haven't gotten up yet?"
Zhang Shiyu gave a soft hum, "Don't worry, Yuehui is definitely up. She's not like some people who love to sleep in."
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