Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Everything changed when I reached the door of Room 302.

The door was slightly ajar, and exaggerated moans thundered from inside, almost piercing my eardrums.

My hand trembled as I gripped the doorknob, a huge sense of absurdity rising in my chest.

During the New Year holiday, where had another woman in Jiang Beichen’s room come from?

And from the sound of it, she even seemed a little familiar.

“Young people really are full of energy, oh my!”

“Ow! Ow!”

“Ow! Put in more effort!”

That shrill, tug-of-war-like pitch.

My eyes widened in shock.

Second Aunt?

Second Aunt’s name was Zhao Chunxian, and she was no ordinary woman.

She was a full seven years older than Jiang Beichen’s second uncle and was already past fifty this year.

Back when she was marrying into the family, I heard Jiang Beichen’s maternal grandparents had strongly opposed it, but she just carried her luggage in and moved herself in.

She asked for no bride price and no wedding.

On her second day there, she went to the backyard and slaughtered the old hen Jiang Beichen’s grandmother had raised for five years.

As she skillfully bled it and plucked its feathers, she waved the knife around and cursed nonstop.

“Old or young, what does it matter? It’s your good fortune that I’m eating you!”

“Keep making noise and see if I don’t chop you dead.”

Then, with one stroke, she chopped the chicken’s head clean off.

Jiang Beichen’s grandmother gave a frightened shudder, and the curses she had been about to spit out were swallowed right back down.

That was how Second Aunt established her position as head of the household.

She was carefree and brash, and she did everything with brisk efficiency. With that booming voice of hers, she hadn’t lost an argument with anyone in the village in years.

Back when she got into a fight with my mom over some trivial matter in the fields, she cornered my mom in the house and cursed at her for an entire day, until my mom didn’t dare go outside.

Even now, my mom takes a detour whenever she sees her.

I was a little scared of her too.

I stood stiffly at the doorway, not daring to go in and look.

At the time, it never once crossed my mind that Jiang Beichen could have that kind of relationship with Second Aunt.

My first reaction was that Second Aunt and Second Uncle were inside.

The guesthouses around here catered to travelers who came up to this high mountain area to escape the summer heat. Summer was peak season; in winter, there were basically no guests.

Second Uncle’s guesthouse was in an even more remote spot, and the owners and staff were just the two of them.

Usually, Second Uncle cooked and handled odd jobs, while Second Aunt did the cleaning, changed the sheets, and tidied the rooms.

The couple had a clear division of labor, and they lived a pretty relaxed life.

But I had heard that recently, for some reason, Second Aunt and Second Uncle had gotten into a huge fight. A few days ago, my mom even saw Second Aunt chasing Second Uncle with a cleaver.

Had they already made up so quickly?

Inside the room, the bed creaked and rocked. Second Aunt was shouting so loudly that even the chickens in the backyard started crowing along.

I blushed just listening to it.

I quietly stepped back and turned to leave.

With that room occupied by them, Jiang Beichen was nowhere to be found.

Fortunately, the guesthouse wasn’t large. The first floor was the dining room and kitchen, and the second and third floors had only six rooms in total.

I searched them one by one and quickly searched the whole guesthouse.

Other than 302, there was no one in any of the other rooms.

Confused, I took out my phone and called Jiang Beichen.

Then I heard a familiar ringtone start playing from inside Room 302.

It rang for a few seconds before Jiang Beichen answered.

“Hello-”

“Hello what hello!”

“Put some strength into it, ah-”

Second Aunt snatched the phone away and hung up.

I froze at the door.

It felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck my brain…