Ye Liu was a simple guy, when he was a child, he too wanted the affections of his parents. But as he was born a mer, his mother and daddy didn't bother with him at all. His parents always pampered his sisters and if there was anything good to eat or wear, naturally it went to his sisters.
At first, Ye Liu would try to gain his parent's attention by doing all the work of the house and sometimes he would even take care of the fields, by weeding and watering them. But later on, he learned that no matter how ' good he was he could never be as good as his sister because of his gender identity. So, Ye Liu stopped asking for his parent's attention and love, whenever his sister teased him by showing off their new clothes and accessories, Ye Liu would often retort by saying that he didn't want those things at all.
He continued to say that he didn't want this or that whenever he was faced with a situation that put him at a disadvantage. And when he was sold to Mother Yu and was married off to Yu Dong only to live a life full of suffering and abuse, he continued to do the same. He would always fool himself by saying things like he didn't want his wife's love or that he didn't need a wife at all.
But that was just his defence mechanism, whenever he saw other mers being treated lovingly by their wives or whenever he saw a pampered mer being doted on his heart would always ache. Thoughts like how good it would be if he was doted on like that, came to his mind but when Yu Dong slapped and kicked him, Ye Liu's fantasy would be broken and he would be jolted awake to reality.
He was used to it - used to everything, every slap, every kick. And when he thought that his life would someday end like this, Yu Dong changed. Somewhere in his heart, he knew that the person in front of him was completely different but he found it too good to be true, he always thought that it was impossible. That having hope like that was completely stupid but the more he stayed with Yu Dong, the more his heart wavered until one day he finally asked.
Yu Dong told him the truth and Ye Liu felt that he was floating on clouds. If his wife was gone and replaced by someone else then that meant that his sorry excuse of life finally ended and he got another chance to relive his life.
The current Yu Dong was sweet and caring even her smallest gesture would show her care for them, and Ye Liu who had always craved for love felt himself fall for her more and more. He wanted her but he was too afraid to say it, but suppressing his feelings, he was never good at it. His actions, his gaze, his light touches whenever she was around him, all showed his feelings for Yu Dong but his wife was too oblivious to his advances. She wouldn't even look at him twice even if he held her hand!
He thought that she was just oblivious to everything but today he realised that maybe he wasn't even in her heart! Or else how could she talk about leaving them behind so easily? And she wasn't wrong either, compared to other mers he wasn't beautiful, nor does he have a good figure. She wasn't the one who married him, to her he was just a responsibility that she needed to carry on and nothing more!
She hasn't even looked at him like a husband much less as her lover and her man.
Ye Liu felt his heart was going to jump out of his chest, it was hurting so badly that he couldn't even breathe but he didn't dare to cry or shed tears. Once he reached home, he wiped his tears and walked inside pretending to act as normal as he could.
To Yu Dong, it was just a lie but to Ye Liu, it became his reality because he was always insecure about being left behind by Yu Doing. Only he knew how much courage he had to summon up so that he could tell Yu Dong his feelings outright.
Now that he heard those words, all his courage was lost, and so was his heart. He wanted to believe in Yu Dong but - but those words were really hurtful!
" Liu are you okay?" Shen Li who just returned after doing the dishes found Ye Liu's complexion really bad as if he has lost part of his soul. Shen Li didn't know what happened nor did he have any idea that something happened with Yu Dong and Ye Liu. Because the villagers were so sure that their plan would work they didn't bother creating a loud ruckus in case Yu Dong got more supporters to help her. They wanted to isolate her before forcing her into giving into them.
And this was the matter of women what can mers do anyway? So they didn't call for Yu Dong's husband it was just Yu Dong's bad luck that Ye Liu who suddenly got his courage to confess rushed after her and heard her say those hurtful things.
" I am fine " Ye Liu didn't want to worry his elder brother, Shen Li might not be his blood brother but he treated him really well. There were times where Shen Li took his blame on his head and took Yu Dong's beatings so Ye Liu was obviously very nice to Shen Li. Though his heart broke, he didn't want Shen Li, who like Yu Dong as well to feel upset and unhappy, so he kept mum. And walked inside his room before falling on his bed with a flomp.
He was such a loser wasn't he?
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On the other hand Yu Dong rushed back home, though she still gave Ye Liu a head start to return before her and calm himself down. She knew that he got hurt because of her insensible words, and must be upset about it.. So she slowed her pace and let him blow off some of his steam because if she tried to reason out with him while he was upset, it wouldn't help her and he might not even understand why she did that.