Yue Chunhan’s dark eyes glinted with a feral light in the darkness. Frowning, he asked coldly, “What’s the matter?”
Su Zhi felt like crying. Faced with his expression, she couldn’t bring herself to voice her need. Holding it in, her face flushed bright red, eyes glistening as she bit her lip and said, “N-no, it’s nothing.”
Yue Chunhan glanced at her, easily seeing through her thoughts. He sat up on the kang, gave her a look, and said coolly, “Follow me. The outhouse is outside.”
Su Zhi was still hesitating, but Yue Chunhan had already gotten up and was moving. Gritting her teeth, she had no choice but to follow.
The old rural house didn’t even have an outdoor light. It was pitch black and uncomfortable, especially since Yue Chunhan’s yard seemed to have vegetables planted. Tall beanpole frames cast eerie shadows in the night, looking from afar like cloaked, humanoid monsters.
Su Zhi was spooked by her own imagination. Ahead, Yue Chunhan, despite having an old injury in his left foot that made him limp slightly, was walking surprisingly fast. She had to jog to keep up, trying to stay as close to him as possible.
Yue Chunhan glanced back at her but said nothing.
The rural outhouse smelled strongly and was made of crude bricks and tiles. The doorframe and gaps between the bricks were full of cobwebs. Su Zhi was startled and didn’t dare go in.
Yue Chunhan grew impatient. “Su Zhi, can you hurry up? It’s the middle of the night.”
This was Su Zhi’s first real taste of what an 1980s rural village was like in a period novel. Having grown up in the city, she felt out of place, but she was afraid Yue Chunhan would lose patience and leave her behind. Not wanting to seem too fussy, she took a deep breath and rushed in.
There was a narrow crack in one wall of the outhouse, letting in a sliver of moonlight that faintly illuminated the pit inside. Su Zhi closed her eyes, ignoring her surroundings, just wanting to quickly take care of her business. But closing her eyes only made her more self-conscious.
…Could Yue Chunhan hear the sounds she was making inside?
Outside, the moonlight was chilly. Yue Chunhan wore a sleeveless undershirt, arms crossed as he waited impatiently for Su Zhi. Suddenly, his expression turned slightly odd, and he walked a few steps further away, somewhat awkwardly.
Inside the outhouse, Su Zhi’s face flushed bright red as she hastily finished and emerged. Embarrassed and flushed, she took deep breaths of the fresh air outside.
After catching her breath, she noticed Yue Chunhan looking at her, but he quickly averted his gaze, asking calmly, “Done? Let’s go back to sleep.”
“Wait, not yet…”
Su Zhi held up her hands, asking cautiously, “I just… need to wash my hands. Is there water?”
Yue Chunhan hadn’t expected his new bride to be so troublesome. He pressed his lips together impatiently and said coldly, “Follow me.”
He led her to the well in the yard. There was a manual pump on the well, and a full bucket of water was already drawn. Yue Chunhan fetched a wooden ladle, scooped some water, and with a dark look, motioned for Su Zhi to crouch. He bent over, slowly pouring water from the ladle over her hands.
Su Zhi hadn’t expected this method of handwashing. She quickly reacted, carefully rubbing her hands under the water he poured.
Under the hazy moonlight, her hands were delicate and pale as fine jade, fingers slender and graceful, knuckles tinged with a soft pink, nails beautiful like flower petals.
Even Yue Chunhan, who had been somewhat impatient just moments before, found the scene rather pleasing to the eye.
After rinsing, Su Zhi wanted something to dry her hands with. Yue Chunhan had no patience left to find her a towel. He grabbed her wrist and casually, roughly, rubbed her hands dry against his own clothes. The coarse undershirt got damp, but he didn’t seem to care. The defined muscles of his abdomen showed faintly through the wet fabric.
Su Zhi was stunned by his rough, wild action, but Yue Chunhan’s strength was astonishing—she couldn’t pull free.
Under her hands were rows of firm, defined abdominal muscles, his honey-toned skin visible through the wet undershirt. And Yue Chunhan just stood there, expression cool and indifferent, which made Su Zhi’s feelings even more indescribable. Her face flushed crimson in an instant, her ears burning red.
“Alright. Can we go back to sleep now?”
Yue Chunhan released Su Zhi’s now-dry hand and glanced at her, asking.
Su Zhi touched her hot cheeks, sensing his impatience. Afraid that Yue Chunhan might turn violent from lack of sleep, she kept her flushed face down and nodded quickly, following him back inside.
With her physiological needs taken care of, Su Zhi soon fell back asleep in her bedding. But on the other side, Yue Chunhan had lost all drowsiness. In the darkness, his dark eyes gleamed.
Recalling Su Zhi’s flushed face earlier, his gaze grew even deeper.
…Had Su Zhi ever blushed so easily before?
Su Zhi hadn’t expected her own lack of vigilance, sleeping so soundly in a strange world and unfamiliar environment. When she woke, she found the other two bedding sets on the kang were already neatly folded. Only hers remained messy, still spread out. Even Yue Tiantian was awake, playing by herself on the kang, while Su Zhi had slept in this late.
Sounds came from outside. Su Zhi sat up and looked out the window—it was Yue Chunhan chopping firewood.
His honey-toned muscles gleamed even more under a sheen of sweat. Each time he raised the axe, his shoulders and arms bulged with beautifully defined muscles. Yet his face remained cool and inscrutable. This contrast was strangely captivating, and Su Zhi began to understand why Yue Chunhan was the high-ranking, popular second male lead in the original novel.
Yue Chunhan was highly perceptive. Sensing someone watching, he quickly turned his head. His dark eyes met Su Zhi’s. Like a mouse spotting a cat, Su Zhi instinctively ducked down below the window, avoiding his gaze, earning a curious look from Yue Tiantian on the kang.
Su Zhi’s face warmed with embarrassment. She hurriedly got up and folded her bedding. The three sets, each a different color, stacked together created a surprisingly harmonious, lively pile—almost like a real family of three.
Yue Tiantian had listened to her story yesterday but fell asleep before it finished. Her curiosity about the second half of the story now outweighed her anxiety and fear of Su Zhi. She followed Su Zhi around, begging her to finish the tale.
After washing up, Su Zhi told her she’d continue the story that evening. Seeing the disappointment in Yue Tiantian’s eyes, Su Zhi felt both amused and helpless. She wanted to pat Yue Tiantian’s head but noticed the little girl’s crooked, messy braids.
She had noticed last night—Yue Tiantian’s braids were lopsided and poorly done, with several strands left loose. She didn’t know if the child had done them herself or if Yue Chunhan had helped.
Su Zhi brought over a small stool and asked Yue Tiantian to sit. Though puzzled, Yue Tiantian obediently sat down. Su Zhi undid the messy braids from the morning and patiently began combing through her hair.
Yue Chunhan was busy working in the fields, and no adult was consistently around to care for Yue Tiantian. The little girl had to figure everything out on her own—dressing, grooming, washing her face. She clumsily imitated what she saw other village kids do, but it still didn’t turn out quite right.
Holding a hair tie in her mouth, Su Zhi gently combed out the tangles with a brush. With deft fingers, she braided two small braids on Yue Tiantian’s head, using the simplest technique—just two hair ties to create loose, fishtail-like braids, the ends twisted into a small knot and folded over twice before securing.
Yue Tiantian was confused at first but soon surrendered to Su Zhi’s gentle touch. Her already clear mind began to feel a bit drowsy. She leaned back slightly, catching faint whiffs of Auntie’s sweet, pleasant scent. So nice.
Yue Tiantian closed her eyes contentedly, letting Su Zhi arrange her hair. After a moment, Su Zhi called her, beaming as she handed over a mirror. “Tiantian, look. Pretty?”
Yue Tiantian stared and gasped. The girl in the mirror looked as beautiful as a princess! With a delighted “wow,” she clutched the mirror, unable to stop looking.
Su Zhi had always been good with children, well-liked by her relatives’ kids since she was young. She had learned many hairstyling techniques from video apps and would seize every opportunity when family children visited to practice on them.
This time, her skills clearly won Yue Tiantian’s heart. Yue Tiantian’s hair had always been a messy bird’s nest, but now it was neatly styled in a unique way, like a pretty city girl. Yue Tiantian couldn’t wait to run out and show off to her friends.
For the first time, she felt that having a stepmother might not be so bad after all. Blushing, she ran to show Yue Chunhan.
As Su Zhi returned the stool and walked back, she happened to meet Yue Chunhan’s deep, dark gaze. Still carrying fear towards him, she quickly lowered her head, pretending to examine her toes and shoes—anything to avoid looking at him. It was only when Yue Tiantian ran back to pull her along that she went over.
Because of the hairstyling, Yue Tiantian had let down her guard around Su Zhi. Her cute, slightly chubby face broke into a smile as she told Su Zhi that her dad had already made breakfast and they could go eat.
Having eaten nothing last night, Su Zhi was indeed hungry when she woke up. But when she walked over to the table in the yard with a hint of anticipation and saw the food, her vision practically darkened.
Coarse cornmeal flatbread, a plate of pickled vegetables, a few raw cucumbers, and a dish of fermented soybean paste.
…Was this what “made breakfast” meant?
Although Su Zhi had anticipated that food in a period novel wouldn’t be great, looking at this dismal, almost “remember-the-hardships” meal, she couldn’t help but weep internally.
Though only one night had passed, she already missed hotpot, crayfish, spicy soup, Haidilao, and KFC. A period novel… why did she have to transmigrate into a period novel!
Yue Chunhan finished chopping wood, wiped the sweat from his body, and walked over. He picked up a corn flatbread from the table, his expression completely unreadable, and took a big bite.
Beside him, four-year-old Yue Tiantian also clutched a flatbread, chewing earnestly. Only Su Zhi found it hard to swallow. She took a piece of flatbread, holding it with a very forced expression.
…This is all a dream, right? If she closes her eyes and opens them again, she’ll be back in her original world, right?
Just as she was chewing painfully, Yue Chunhan frowned, his cool eyes turning towards her.