Call Me Wife So I Can Hear It
"You... you... you shameless creature!" Su Shimao jabbed a trembling finger at Liu Ru, shaking all over with fury. Was this really the gentle, refined lady he once knew? Even the coarsest village girls spoke more decently than Liu Ru now!
Liu Ru spat on the ground with contempt. Years in the brothel had toughened her up—no bottom line, no shame. Not even ten thousand Su Shimaos could outmatch her when it came to being shameless.
Liu Ru rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Oh? Playing the gentleman now? If you really were such a righteous scholar, why did you use every trick to lure me into bed when we first met?"
"Y-you're making things up!" Su Shimao's face turned ashen and green. If he weren't clutching the wall, he'd have collapsed on the spot.
"Making things up? Who was the one shamelessly pestering me to go to the inn every day, huh? Tsk, scholar? More like a randy stray dog—see me and you just want to jump my bones. You act all proper in public, but in bed you’re wilder than any man I’ve ever met. I’ve served thousands, but none as lustful as you. Spare me the act!" Liu Ru shot him another eye roll.
Liu Ru’s words were so crude and brazen, the villagers’ faces turned red. A few young wives even covered their eyes, too embarrassed to watch.
Doggie Lee stared at Liu Ru, drooling as he remembered his own wild nights with her. He leaned in to Su Shimao’s ear and snickered, "Hey, Brother Shimao, I used to think you scholars were so high and mighty—even your shit smelled sweet. Turns out you’re just as wild in bed! Hahaha! Guess we’re all men of the same breed now!"
Doggie Lee winked and made faces, and the other rowdies—well-versed in dirty jokes—immediately joined in. They slapped Su Shimao’s shoulder, laughing lewdly, "We’re all in the same club as the top scholar! Hahaha! Right, Scholar’s Lady?"
"You... you bunch..." Su Shimao had never been so furious in his life. He glared at the laughing crowd, feeling dizzy with rage. He sucked in a breath and snapped at Liu Ru, "You... shut up!"
"What, the whole Su family gangs up on me and I can’t even talk back? Listen up, Su Shimao—if you dare divorce me, I’ll turn this place upside down!" Liu Ru glared at him, her eyes full of venom.
Su Shimao looked at Liu Ru, who showed no fear at all, then at the furious Old Madam Su sprawled on the ground, and the pale Old Master Su. He glanced back at the room where Madam Zhao had fainted from anger. He regretted so much he could cough up blood—how could he have been so stupid as to marry Liu Ru?
But inviting a god is easy—sending one away is hard. Now that Liu Ru had crossed the Su family’s threshold, getting rid of her would be nearly impossible. With her reputation, if she stayed as a Su family wife, the whole Su clan would be the laughingstock of Clearwater Village. That was something Su Shimao absolutely couldn’t accept.
"Su Lang, think it over. Either admit that I'm your wife and we'll live a good life together, or I'll go to the authorities right now and accuse you of kidnapping and coercing a woman. Make your choice!" Liu Ru declared.
Su Shimao took a deep breath, suppressing the sweetness and bitterness in his chest. His lips trembled as he stammered, "...I admit it, I admit..."
Liu Ru burst out laughing, changing her expression faster than flipping a page. She cheerfully walked over, hooked her arm through Su Shimao's, and teased, "Su Lang, my dear husband, let me hear you call me 'wife.'"
Gritting his teeth, Su Shimao forced a smile uglier than crying, squeezing out two words through clenched teeth: "...Wife..."