Xie Yucheng noticed something was off with her; she spoke very little in the latter part of their conversation.
When they arrived in Jiangcheng, Fang Yue warmly invited them to her home for dinner, but he waved her off.
Before getting out of the car, Fang Yue asked for Xie Yucheng’s address and contact info. Her family kept bees and sometimes needed trucks to transport hives to distant places.
Xie Yucheng was more than happy to expand his client network, so he gave her Wang Changlin’s office number and address.
Just as he was about to start the car and leave, Fang Yue ran out from the yard and handed him a jar of honey through the car window.
“This is our own honey—really sweet,” she said.
Xie Yucheng wasn’t fond of sweets, and after refusing several times, Fang Yue insisted he take it as a thank-you for the ride.
He glanced at Wen Shiqing, who was asleep in the car, and smiled as he took the jar.
Wen Shiqing had slept through the entire afternoon. She hadn’t felt tired at first, but the motion of the car and the scent on his jacket had somehow lulled her to sleep.
When she woke up, it was nearing evening. A streak of dark red clouds floated across the sky. The car had stopped by a riverbank, and Xie Yucheng was nowhere in sight.
Climbing to the front seat, she looked around and noticed a dark figure swimming in the river.
She slowly got out of the car and saw Xie Yucheng’s clothes draped over a fallen tree by the riverbank. He was enjoying himself in the water, diving in one spot and popping up somewhere else—no one looked happier.
Quietly, Wen Shiqing took his clothes from the shore and returned to the car.
When Xie Yucheng finished bathing and emerged, he was wearing only tight boxer shorts. His clothes were gone—nowhere to be found—not even a towel.
He ran his wet black hair through his fingers and muttered under his breath, “Damn… what the hell?”
After searching nearby without success, his sharp eyes caught a set of footprints—not his shoe size. They were small, likely someone else’s.
Suddenly understanding, he arched an eyebrow, smirked, and strode to the car. He knocked on the door.
“Drop the towel down, or I’ll make you regret it.”
A small hand slowly emerged from the window—not handing him the towel—but, with a little attitude, tossed it directly onto his head.
“Sh*t…” he cursed again, yanking the towel off, roughly wiping himself dry, and climbed into the car.
Immediately, a fresh mist of water filled the cabin. Wen Shiqing was curled up on the back bunk, lying on top of his clothes.
Xie Yucheng sat in the driver’s seat in his wet boxer shorts, glancing at his own messy state. “Give me my clothes,” he said to the person behind him.
“No,” the girl’s voice was laced with irritation.
Xie Yucheng gave a mischievous smile and threatened, “Do you believe I’ll throw you in the water for the wolves?”
“I won’t give it to you even if the wolves come. You go ahead and stay naked,” she shot back.
He scoffed and quickly turned to look for his clothes. Seeing that the girl wasn’t moving, he knew the little trickster couldn’t escape his eyes. He reached behind her to retrieve them.
She held them tightly, refusing to give them up.
Xie Yucheng, still in wet boxers that clung uncomfortably to him, glared with dark eyes. “Get up! You itching for a beating, huh?”
Wen Shiqing stared back. “Go ahead, you’ve done it before anyway.”
In an instant, Xie Yucheng knew exactly which time she meant. Back in high school, to show his rebellious streak, he constantly went against Xie Guoli, got into fights, and dated girls—all the things adults forbade.
One girl in his class liked him. Their families lived on the same street, so she would follow him to and from school every day.
Once, the girl boldly placed her hand in his. He froze, but didn’t pull away.
The next day, she tried to ask him out over the weekend, fawning and tugging at his arm. He impatiently pushed her away, saying, “I can’t this weekend. I have to stay home and take care of my sister.”
The girl knew he had a younger sister and asked, “Your parents aren’t home?”
“They went out on business,” he replied.
The next day, she came to his house with some books, claiming she wanted to do homework together.
Wen Shiqing was only eleven or twelve then, extremely mischievous. Somehow, something the girl said offended her, and she tore up the girl’s books and homework—like a tiny little devil, even worse than her brother.
The girl burst into tears. Xie Yucheng thought Wen Shiqing had been spoiled by Yang Ying and decided she needed a proper lesson.
He pulled her over and gave her a few firm slaps on the butt.
Wen Shiqing cried so hard that he worried she might faint. It only ended when he bought her a small bag of honey buns as an apology.
The car cabin was narrow and confined, every sound crystal clear.
Xie Yucheng issued his final demand: “Give me my clothes.”
“No way. You shameless flower thief—why should you wear clothes?” Wen Shiqing replied, her words sharp and teasing.
The veins on his forehead twitched. “I didn’t steal any flowers. Why are you slapping this huge label on me?”
“You’d better respect yourself, stop wandering around flirting and picking flowers everywhere…”
Her temper was unpredictable. Xie Yucheng didn’t bother arguing and reached for the clothes beneath her. The girl, like an electrified little cat, fought back with all her might.
“Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me! So dirty…” Her claws were sharp, leaving a few scratches on his arm.
“Damn, I just finished bathing! What’s dirty?” he grumbled.
“You’re dirty everywhere! Your heart is dirty, your body’s dirty too!”
Getting scolded like this made him furious. He’d grown up never having kissed a woman, and being called “dirty” was infuriating.
He had no idea how he ended up with this little troublemaker—stealing his clothes, scolding him, scratching him—it was worse than dealing with a crazed little animal.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Finally, he flipped Wen Shiqing over and gave her two hard slaps on her hip.
“Damn it! I shouldn’t have spoiled you. If I don’t hit you, you go wild, trying to ride over your brother!”
His strength was harsh. Her thin clothes did nothing to soften it. Pain flared on her hip. Her eyes welled with tears, and she bit his arm hard.
“Sh*t.”
Xie Yucheng hadn’t expected that move. Pulling back, he saw a clear ring of red teeth marks.
Wen Shiqing glared at him angrily, eyes red. He grabbed the clothes from under her, jumped out of the car, and slammed the door.
Once dressed, he leaned against the car, exhausted. The sunset was gone; the sky was dark.
His thick brows furrowed, his prominent nose like a mountain ridge. He looked down at the bite marks on his arm, then chuckled and muttered lowly, “Damn… she bites harder than a dog.”
Moments later, the car door opened, and a cool mountain breeze filled the cabin.
Xie Yucheng glanced at the girl curled up in the back, still sniffling. He sighed, softening his voice.
“There’s no accommodation for over two hundred kilometers. We’ll spend the night in the car.”
He scooped her up. In his eyes, her face looked like a little crying kitten—messy hair, a red nose and lips, a fragile sort of beauty.
“You Lin Daiyu?” His large hand wiped her tears. “What did I ever do to you in a past life? Stop crying.”
The fresh, mountain air scent from his body drifted into Wen Shiqing’s nose. After a few sobs, she gradually stopped crying.
“I’m hungry,” she said.