Chapter 0012 The Wife-Slayer
Sister Gao, wearing the amulet, sighed, "I wonder when we'll actually sleep together." I struggled to hold back my laughter.
Leaving Sister Gao's house, I suddenly had a strong desire to meet her husband, to ask him directly why he married a woman like Sister Gao. Their personalities were so completely different, yet they became husband and wife.
I had pocketed another 3,000 RMB, and the deal was done. I finished my errands and returned to Thailand, where I continued to take on more jobs. But to maintain the integrity of the story, I'll fast-forward to over a month later. It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and my cousin and I returned to Shenyang to eat mooncakes. While at home, I suddenly remembered Sister Gao and texted her to ask how the amulet was working.
Unexpectedly, Sister Gao immediately called back, her voice filled with happiness and pride. "Now I know! This Negative-energy Amulet is truly good, truly effective! My husband is incredibly obedient now, more obedient than our dog, Qiūqiu! He does everything I say and doesn't dare to contradict me. It's wonderful!"
I thought that was a great outcome. Sister Gao then said that she and her husband wanted to treat me to dinner. I quickly declined, but Sister Gao insisted that refusing meant looking down on her. I had no choice but to agree.
The meeting was scheduled on Zhongjie, the most bustling commercial pedestrian street in Shenyang. Sister Gao held her phone, the Horse Eating Neng Negative-energy Amulet hanging around her neck, her face glowing. Her husband followed behind her, expressionless, carrying over a dozen paper bags stamped with brand logos.
"You guys did a lot of shopping today!" I said with a smile.
Sister Gao pouted, "A woman has to treat herself well; relying on others is useless!"
I said, "This must be your husband. Why don't you introduce us?"
Sister Gao dismissed it casually. "There's nothing to introduce. He's just here to carry my bags. He just told me I bought too many clothes at the mall and advised me to buy two fewer, so I just cursed him out." Her husband looked at Sister Gao. Sister Gao glared at him. "What are you looking at? Are you unconvinced?"
Her husband looked away, still expressionless. I looked at the paper bags he was carrying. Three of them were for the exact same women's shoe brand. I asked, "It looks like you're a fan of this brand."
Sister Gao said, "Of course. I bought three identical pairs of these shoes."
I was surprised. "Three identical pairs? Why?"
Sister Gao took out a shoe to show me. "I really love this pair of shoes, so I bought a few extra pairs. When one gets old, I replace it. Doesn't that mean I can wear new shoes every day?"
I couldn't help but laugh. "That's an interesting theory. Is that really necessary?" Her husband muttered, "I also think it's wasteful, but she won't listen. Whatever I say is useless." Sister Gao abruptly stopped putting the shoe back, looking directly at him. He immediately fell silent. Sister Gao glowered. "Why are you still talking nonsense? Didn't I curse you out enough at the mall?"
Her husband looked embarrassed and glanced at me. Sister Gao immediately snapped, "Why are you looking at him? Do you think I won't dare to hit you in front of other people? Is that it?" Her husband still didn't speak. Sister Gao raised her hand to strike, but her husband instinctively dodged, missing the blow. Sister Gao got even angrier. "You dare to dodge?" She instantly kicked him hard on the outside of his thigh. Nearby pedestrians were scared and backed away, watching from a distance.
I quickly intervened. "Stop, stop! Don't be so angry. So many people are watching; it looks bad."
Sister Gao glared at me. "What business is it of yours?" I was defeated by her gaze; it was the look of an angry tigress ready to eat someone. Sister Gao lunged forward and slapped her husband on the back of the head. Sister Gao was big and strong. Her husband was caught off guard, and several paper bags in his hands fell to the ground, scattering clothes and shoes. One shoe rolled into a puddle by the roadside.
"My shoe!" Sister Gao yelled, retrieving the shoe, which was now dirty. She was breathing heavily with rage and hurled the shoe far away at her husband, missing him. She then rushed up and slapped her husband across the mouth until his gums bled, but her husband didn't run. He just covered his head with his hands. Sister Gao hit him viciously all over, and the crowd grew larger, discussing the scene. "Are they really a couple? Why is she hitting him non-stop?" "They shouldn't be married. Look how brutally that woman is hitting him." "That grown man is so pathetic. Why doesn't he fight back? Hit her!"
I couldn't stand by any longer. I rushed up to intervene despite the risk. Sister Gao was stronger than me, and I couldn't pull her off. I had to drag her husband aside, saying, "Why don't you run? Just standing here taking a beating? Are you even a man?"
Her husband looked up at me and suddenly smiled. It didn't look like a bitter, helpless smile, but I couldn't place the feeling. It just made me extremely uncomfortable. Sister Gao finally tired herself out and sat down on a flower bed to rest. The onlookers hadn't dispersed, pointing and laughing. Sister Gao swore loudly, "What the hell are you all looking at? Haven't you ever seen a fight?"
The surrounding people gradually dispersed. Sister Gao's husband slowly walked over. "Let's go. We still need to treat Brother Tien to dinner."
"Eat my ass! Just looking at you fills me with rage. What's there to eat?" Sister Gao was still furious, and I certainly didn't want to linger, so I tried to find an excuse to slip away. Sister Gao asked suspiciously, "Where are you going? Didn't I say I was treating you to dinner? Are you looking down on me?"
I was going crazy. I said my stomach felt upset and suggested we meet another day. Sister Gao gave a harsh ultimatum. "No way! Even if you're rushing to be reborn, you have to finish this meal I'm treating you to first! Otherwise, you're looking down on me!"
This was a death sentence. Reluctantly, I had to follow her and her husband to a barbecue restaurant. The atmosphere at the table was awkward. I had nothing to say. Sister Gao's husband was immediately yelled at every time he opened his mouth. In the end, she was running a one-woman show; the two of us were just observers. During the meal, Sister Gao went to the restroom. Her husband sat still, staring blankly, neither looking at me nor speaking. I thought this was my chance and quickly whispered to him, "Didn't you want to divorce Sister Gao?"
He slowly looked up at me, then shook his head.
I asked, "Why did you change your mind?" He didn't answer.
I persisted. "Are you scared, or does she have something on you?"
He smiled bitterly. "I can't leave her."
That answer made me choke on my food. I was about to press him further, but Sister Gao returned, so I had to swallow the rest of my words along with the rice.
A few days later, my cousin returned to Thailand for business reasons and told me I could visit anytime, and he would reimburse my plane ticket. That day, while having breakfast, my father came out of the room. "They always talk about husbands hitting wives as domestic violence, but it's the same when wives hit husbands. She drove her husband mad! How tragic!" I asked what happened. My father said the morning news was reporting it: a man had strangled his wife to death with a steel cable in the middle of the night and had been imprisoned. A reporter was interviewing him. I walked into the room to glance at the TV and froze.
The person on the television, wearing a prison uniform, with a shaved head, sitting behind bars being interviewed, was Sister Gao's husband! He was expressionless as he answered the reporter's questions.
Reporter: "Were all those injuries on you inflicted by your wife?"
Sister Gao's Husband: "Yes."
Reporter: "Can anyone testify to that?"
Sister Gao's Husband shook his head. "No."
Reporter: "Your wife's parents said you always disliked her, finding her temper bad and unreasonable, and she often became physical with you, which is why you always wanted a divorce. Was that the only reason? Did she have an affair, for example?"
Sister Gao's Husband shook his head again.
Reporter: "Then why did you stop bringing up the divorce later on?"
Sister Gao's Husband: "I don't know. I can't explain it."
Reporter: "What do you mean, you can't explain it?"
Sister Gao's Husband: "I suddenly felt that her hitting and yelling at me was right. I couldn't leave her."
Reporter: "I don't understand your statement."
Sister Gao's Husband sighed. "It's all because of that necklace..."
Reporter: "What necklace?"
Sister Gao's Husband: "I don't know either. Ever since she started wearing that necklace, I... I couldn't leave her. If a few days went by without her hitting me, I would feel very uncomfortable."
Reporter: "Then why did you end up strangling her?"
Sister Gao's Husband sighed. "My body couldn't take it anymore. I was afraid she would beat me to death one day. Actually, I was reluctant to do it."
The reporter looked lost for words. Finally, the scene switched. The anchor sat in the studio, speaking seriously. "A family has been destroyed like this. I find it strange. Even if a wife frequently committed domestic violence against her husband, wouldn't he just divorce her? Why resort to murder to solve the problem? And to blame it on a necklace—it's ridiculous."