He killed himself.

  Xue'er looked into Xiaohua's eyes, recalling what he had said before, and connecting it with what he just said, her heart really sank.

  Was he mentally ill? This question popped up in Xue Er's mind, she thought of Wang Xiaohua's brother, his nephew, and Xiaohua's mother, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say.

  Xiao Hua's mother, Song Zhumei, often quarreled with Wang Qing when she was alive. She couldn't stand Wang Qing talking to the women in the village.

  At that time, there was no electricity in the village and no TV to watch. On hot days, many people in the village took fans to the fork in the road to cool off, including both men and women.

  Everyone is together, chatting and laughing. In the midst of laughter, there are serious talks and dirty jokes.

  Some men and women tease each other and playfully hit each other, you pat me, I pat you. Everyone is just looking for fun, in a public setting, there's nothing wrong with that.

  Wang Qing also wanted to join in the fun.

  However, every time he comes back from going out and having fun, Song Zhumei would always quarrel with him.

  Sometimes, she would press King Qing to ask if he had spoken with women, how many women he had spoken with and what they had talked about. King Qing said that he hadn't spoken with any women, only men. Song Zhumei scolded him for lying, saying it was impossible for men and women to be together without speaking to each other.

  If he tells her that he has said a few words to the woman, she will press him to ask who and what was said. Then, she will point at the mulberry tree in front of the door and curse the locust tree, making the women and men in the village look down on her.

  He asked her to give him face, but she didn't listen at all. Having no choice, Wang Qing had to stay at home.

  Staying at home is also uneasy, Song Zhumei was happy to tell him some jokes, only at this time, Wang Qing's heart could have a moment of relaxation.

  However, most of the time, Song Zhumei would bring up old scores and say that he had flirted with a woman at Zhaizi Fork in the road, and even admitted it himself, so the two of them must have had an affair. This made Wang Qing angry and impatient, either going out for a walk or having another argument.

  Wang Xiaohua was used to seeing her parents quarrel when she was a child.

  In Wang Xiaohua's memory, on the night of Xue Er's wedding, his mother was very happy and told many jokes to his father. The words he said after eating Xue Er's wedding candy were mostly what his parents had said that night.

  Wang Xiaohua thought it was a wonderful night.

  But it's rare for both father and mother to have a smile on their faces at the same time.

  One day, after Wang Qing and Song Zhumei had a quarrel, Wang Qing did not comfort the already crying Song Zhumei, but instead went out alone to circle around the mountain.

  When he came back in the middle of the night, Song Zhumei had hanged herself. Wang Qing saw Song Zhumei hanging from the rope and felt no sadness in his heart. He just shouted loudly: "Someone come! Song Zhumei has hanged herself!"

  Xue Er connected these things together, and her heart felt a chill. She didn't know what she should do.

  "Teacher, I spoke from my heart, why aren't you saying anything?" Xiaohua's eyes were still fixed on Xue'er.

  Xue Er didn't dare to look into Xiao Hua's eyes anymore, the smile on her face was gone: "Xiao Hua, I don't know what to say. But I can be sure that your thoughts are wrong. I'm much older than you, and my face still has scars, it's too unrealistic for you to say you love me... Your wife is younger than me, you should give your love to her..."

  "Don't mention her! Teacher!" Wang Xiaohua's voice suddenly rose.

  Xue Er jumped in fright: "What's wrong with you, Wang Xiaohua?"

  "I'm sorry, teacher, don't be angry. Teacher, please don't be angry, it's my fault, I didn't control my emotions well, I...I..."

  "It's okay, Xiaohua, you're my student, I won't get angry with a student..."

  "I want a drink of water! I'm going to give the watermelon a drink!" Bingbing bounced in, "The watermelon is thirsty! It wants a drink!"

  "Soldier is so clever!" Xue'er pulled over Soldier.

  "Bingbing was the most well-behaved today!" Wang Qing happily followed up: "I'll get water for Bingbing."

  Wang Qing brought over some cool water, and Xue'er took it: "Here, good boy, let's give the watermelon a drink!"

  The soldier finished drinking water, and Xue Er said: "It's been a long time, I should go back."

  "Please sit down again, teacher!" said Wang Xiaohua.

  "No, I have something to do at home!" Xue Er said and walked out of the door.

  Xue Er let out a long sigh after going out.

  Xue Er walked home with a confused mind. She asked herself: "How could this be? How could this be?"

  Xue Er returned home and lay on the chair, feeling physically and mentally exhausted. As for Xiao Hua, she didn't know what feelings were in her heart.

  Xue Er's mind was in disarray, tangled into a mess.

  Xue Er remembered her self-destructive appearance again. After the deputy town head left, the news of her self-destructive appearance also spread out, and it was unknown who had spread it. Some people said that it was the deputy town head himself who had said it, with a tone of great admiration for Xue Er. Others said that someone else had guessed it, and after guessing it, they had spoken out and it had spread quickly.

  Xue Er doesn't care about these things. Past events, Xue Er takes a very calm view of them, and besides, the deputy mayor has also been transferred away. The matter has passed for a long time, and Father won't investigate it anymore.

  After Xue Er's self-destruction of her appearance became known, many people said that Xue Er was foolish, that she was too impulsive, and that she must have regretted it. However, Xue Er herself knew that she had no regrets, never had any regrets.

  Xue Er was puzzled, she couldn't understand what "red beauty stirring up trouble" meant. She had already lost her beauty, so why was she still causing trouble? If she had known this would happen, she should have destroyed her looks more thoroughly from the start.

  Xue Er thought about these things and asked herself if she still had the courage to disfigure herself now. No, at that time it was the power of love, Xue Er gave herself an answer.

  Xue Er gave this answer when Village King came back.

  "Xue Er, I'll be having dinner at home tonight, bring a dish of green vegetables," said Village Chief Wang.

  "Uh-huh. Got it." Xue Er replied, lying still on the chair.

  The village chief looked at Xue Er and asked, "Are you uncomfortable? Your complexion doesn't look good. Have you got a fever?" The village chief said as he reached out to touch Xue Er's forehead.

  Xue Er blocked Wang's hand: "No. I'm fine, just thinking of some unpleasant things and feeling a bit tired."

  "How many times have I told you? Let go of the past, all the unpleasant things. People should be happy. Since you're not in a good mood, I'll cook some dishes for you! If they don't taste good, just follow me and eat whatever."

  "Don't bother cooking, your stir-fried vegetables are like pig food. Let's have dinner later, I'll get up and do it myself. Can you turn on the TV for me? Sit next to me and chat with me while we watch." Xue Er forced a smile onto her face.

  Zhai Wang turned on the TV and sat down beside Xue Er.

  "Zheng Shuang, do you still remember 'Ninth Heaven'?" Xue'er's face had a smile on it.

  "As long as I don't die, I'll remember," said Zhai Wang with a smile.

  "Hehe, I think the legend of 'Jiǔ Xiāo' should end here and won't continue anymore."

  "It's about time it ended. The story is too scary and torturous." said Village King with a smile.

  "Actually, 'jiǔ xiāo' can also be a great way to temper oneself. Those who can really make it through the nine nights will not be afraid of setbacks afterwards, don't you think? Emotions should also be able to withstand tests. That's what I think, I wonder how you'll think?"

  "This is indeed. However, after all, some are cruel. To be honest, what you said in those nine nights, which ones were true and which ones were false, I don't know now." The village chief asked.

  "I don't know either. I asked my dad, and he said he didn't know either. My dad said it was something mom told him. When I asked mom, she said she didn't know either, that she heard it from her dad. Hehe, maybe some of those scary stories are fake. The people in the village have always been simple and kind, they wouldn't do anything so terrifying. Maybe those stories were just used to warn people!" Xue Er said, looking at Zhan Wang.

  "Warning people? Xue Er, what do you want to say to me?" The village chief looked at Xue Er's big round eyes.