097 The Rather Peculiar Younger Cousin

She had already thought the days ahead would be the hardest she had ever endured, and she had never expected Li Qiyao to come over. At the very least, that meant it would not be quite so unbearable.

“All right, then let’s head back. You could use someone to keep an eye on things anyway.”

Du Ruo smiled and drove Xiang Yuanyuan back to the guesthouse.

By the time they arrived, Li Qiyao was already seated in the tavern. Beside her sat another girl with short hair and a face mask, dressed in long sleeves despite the weather. The two of them were sitting in Xiang Yuanyuan’s usual seat, drinking juice instead of wine.

“Qiqi, you’re finally here. I was just wondering what on earth I was supposed to do.”

The moment Xiang Yuanyuan stepped into the tavern, she rushed to Li Qiyao, threw her arms around her, and began pouring out her grievances.

“What’s wrong? Let’s go upstairs and talk. Mr. Du, I’m troubling you again.”

Li Qiyao patted Xiang Yuanyuan’s shoulder, then smiled at Du Ruo.

It had to be said that Li Qiyao now seemed completely different from the woman he had first met.

When they had first met, her brow had always been tightly furrowed, her eyes seemed perpetually wet with unshed tears, and a veil of sorrow had hung between her brows as though it could never be dispelled. Coupled with her rather slight frame, she had inspired a kind of pitying tenderness.

But now she smiled easily, her eyes narrowing when she laughed, and she seemed far more confident. The only thing that had not changed was her voice, still as rich and lazy as ever, carrying an unmistakably mature allure.

Li Qiyao took the small suitcase from the bar, and the group went upstairs to the tavern’s second floor. Along the way, Xiang Yuanyuan kept talking about the results of the checkup she had done at the hospital that day. Especially when she mentioned the doctor telling her not to drink, she sighed louder than ever.

Only Li Qiyao’s cousin trailed behind with her head lowered, silent the entire time.

“Not drinking is a good thing. You drink far too much. I’ve wanted to lecture you for ages. Look at your skin, it’s starting to look a little yellow. I’ll have to keep a close eye on you these next few days.”

Li Qiyao did not seem to think it was anything serious, and said it to Xiang Yuanyuan with a smile.

“Tch, I doubt it. As long as Yuanyuan’s living here, I suspect she’ll be sneaking drinks in the middle of the night.”

As Du Ruo spoke, he gestured toward the second-floor lounge. Wine was lined up all around the room. In an environment like this, it would be nearly impossible to restrain a craving for alcohol.

“Mm, that’s true. Mr. Du, do you have any vacant rooms left? I’d like to rent one. My cousin came with me this time too, and Yuanyuan’s place won’t be enough for all of us. How about we book an entire detached house? Then Yuanyuan can come stay with us there too.”

Li Qiyao looked around, nodded, then turned to Du Ruo.

“No, sorry. You came too suddenly this time, so I didn’t reserve anything. The rooms here are already booked three days out.”

Du Ruo shook his head. Because of the proprietress, the guesthouse was never short of customers, and now that it was peak season, things were even busier. Not only was there no vacancy here, but the neighboring guesthouse was fully booked as well.

“Hehe, it’s fine. Tonight you and your cousin can sleep in my room, and I can just take the sofa in the living room.”

Xiang Yuanyuan smiled and pointed at the sofa nearby.

“I think we should do it this way instead. You two stay at my place. I’ll go back home to sleep. It isn’t far anyway, so coming and going will be easy.”

Du Ruo ignored Xiang Yuanyuan and decided to give up his own room. After all, Li Qiyao had helped him quite a bit, and he had never found the chance to thank her for the matter of the Coiled Dragon Silk.

“All right then, thank you for the trouble, Mr. Du. Yuanyuan, go pack your things, then lock this place up and give me the key. I’ll tell Xiao Juan not to give you any wine.”

Li Qiyao also ignored Xiang Yuanyuan’s suggestion and settled the matter just like that.

Du Ruo realized that what had changed in Li Qiyao might not be only her expression. Her personality seemed to have changed quite a bit as well. She had become stronger-willed. In the past, even if she was friends with Xiang Yuanyuan, she would only passively go along with things.

“Ahhhhh! Kill me now! I just want a drink right this second!”

Only Xiang Yuanyuan, clutching a cushion on the sofa, was losing her mind at the side.

“Then I’ll go back first and pack up. Come over to my place for dinner tonight, and you can just move in directly after that.”

With that, Du Ruo turned to leave.

When he returned to the courtyard he rented, he called over the auntie who was in charge of cleaning the guest rooms and asked her to tidy up his room, change the sheets, and bring over the guesthouse’s toiletries and such.

As for him, he went into the kitchen and simply prepared a few dishes.

After dinner, Du Ruo did not linger. He took his luggage and drove back. Li Qiyao and her cousin had come by car as well, and they already looked somewhat tired. Whatever needed saying could wait until the next day.

“You? Didn’t you say you were going hiking with a girl? Why are you back?”

Only his mother sounded curious when she saw Du Ruo returning with clothes in hand.

Other men disappeared after a date; his own son was impressive, all right. He went on a date and then packed his bags and ran home?

“A friend came over. I let them use my place. Where’s Ya Ya?”

“She’s asleep. She played herself wild all day and nearly wore Mao Mao out. She went to sleep right after dinner. Have you eaten yet? Want me to make you a late-night snack?”

“Sure. My friend brought me some local specialties. I’ll have a little with Dad.”

The next morning, after practicing boxing at home and eating breakfast, Du Ruo finally drove over to the guesthouse.

As soon as he arrived, Li Qiyao invited him over and explained the reason for her special trip.

Her cousin beside her also took off her mask for the first time. Her face was somewhat swollen, looking as though she had been slapped. The marks from the slap were gone, but the swelling was still obvious.

The situation was very clear. Her cousin had been beaten by her husband again. The neighborhood committee had gone over to persuade her not to call the police and to be more forgiving, and the husband’s parents had also come, putting on a show by hitting the man a couple of times before telling her that couples always fight, only to make up again later.

After that, the cousin had gone to Li Qiyao to complain, and Li Qiyao had brought her to Du Ruo.

“Did you fight back?” Du Ruo rubbed his forehead. He hated domestic disputes like this the most. It was awkward to say anything, because the cousin was clearly the victim, but there was one thing he had to know: had she fought back? That would decide whether he should teach her something.

“Yes. I did.”

The cousin held out her hand and showed him her nails. All ten had been trimmed into sharp points, and a few were even broken. It looked like she had fought back pretty fiercely.

“I scratched him a couple of times, and then he hit me even harder.”

As she spoke, she tugged her sleeve up a little, revealing a patch of bruising.

“Didn’t your sister say you trained Muay Thai? And that’s what Muay Thai taught you, scratching with your nails?”

Du Ruo’s headache only deepened. This cousin was no easy target either. No wonder she had not divorced him. Her temper was stubborn enough. Even knowing she could not win, she still sharpened her nails and went in swinging.

“The timing didn’t work. I went in with a knee strike, but he grabbed me at once and shoved me down, and then...”

As she said it, the cousin actually blushed.

“All right, all right, stop. I’m still young.”

Du Ruo only felt the throb in his head grow worse. He wanted to refuse, but it did not seem right; if he did not refuse, then this was going to become a real nuisance.

“Don’t misunderstand. He was just hitting my butt. It’s not what you think.”

The cousin hurried to explain.

That explanation did not help at all. If anything, it only made the whole thing even stranger. Even Li Qiyao and Xiang Yuanyuan exchanged glances. Li Qiyao had only known her cousin had been beaten; she had not known it was like this. No wonder the cousin had not divorced him. So her husband was the violent type, or perhaps had sadistic tendencies, but their daily life was otherwise completely fine, maybe even affectionate? Maybe the cousin had masochistic tendencies too?

“So your goal is to be able to fight back when your husband wants to hit you, and maybe even give him a beating once in a while, is that it?” Du Ruo finally grasped the key point and asked directly.

“Yes, that’s right.”

The cousin nodded firmly.

“Does Mr. Du have a way?” Li Qiyao was already feeling terribly embarrassed. If she had known it was this kind of situation, she would never have brought her cousin over. But now they were already here...

“How much does your husband weigh? How tall is he?”

“About five feet eight, a hundred and eighteen pounds. He doesn’t exercise much. Apart from collecting rent, he mostly just plays games. He only gets violent when he’s in a bad mood from gaming.”

“And you?”

Du Ruo needed to know the difference between them first. If her husband were six feet tall and one hundred eighty pounds, he would tell her to go back and train Muay Thai for three years instead.

“I’m five feet five. I used to weigh ninety pounds. Recently my sister told me to work on my fitness, and I’ve gained five pounds.”

The cousin answered honestly, her eyes full of expectation. It was her first time meeting Du Ruo, but her cousin had also met him only once before and then made up her mind, so he must have had some real ability. Otherwise her sister would not have brought her here to ask for a solution.

“That’s not bad. The difference isn’t that big. If that’s all it is, then I’ll teach you for the next few days.”

Du Ruo nodded. It was not nearly as difficult as he had imagined, and this also counted as repaying Li Qiyao’s favor.

“Really? Thank you, Mr. Du. But how long will it take? I heard from people studying Muay Thai that women learning self-defense need at least three years.”

Before the cousin could even celebrate, Li Qiyao got up first and thanked him. It was clear she had truly taken this to heart and had even gone out of her way to ask around.

“Those situations are different. Your cousin’s case is a family dispute. It won’t endanger her life. If she has good aptitude, three days is absolutely enough.”

Du Ruo shook his head. Ordinary women’s self-defense was meant for situations where your life was in danger, facing violent attackers, and the resistance had to be enough to completely subdue the opponent.

But in the cousin’s case, this was just a domestic squabble. Her husband was not a trained fighter, and he was the lean sort too. There was no need to train for so long. A few practical tricks would be more than enough. Three days was already a generous estimate; in truth, if she had good aptitude, one or two days would be plenty.

“Yes, yes, then I’ll leave it to you, Mr. Du. Let’s start now.”

The cousin’s eyes were already shining. She could hardly wait, and as she spoke, she clenched her fists, clearly thinking that she would learn it at once and then go home to beat up her husband.

“All right. First, I’m willing to teach you because you’re willing to resist. If you had no intention of fighting back, I wouldn’t want to teach you either.”

Du Ruo stood up and moved to the side.

“Second, you need to understand that the human body is very fragile. In family disputes, you must avoid vital spots when you strike. I’m teaching you how to oppose domestic violence, not how to become a murderer. Understand?”

“Understood, understood. Once I learn it, I’ll definitely hit him a little more gently.”

The cousin nodded furiously, and the excitement on her face was nearly impossible to contain.