At the agreed time, Su Tian found an excuse, saying she was going to the town to talk business with someone who collected salted duck eggs. For the sake of the salted duck eggs, Huang Guihua let Su Tian go out, and even told her to stop by the town clinic to take an early look at that doctor, saying an introduction would be arranged in a couple of days for a blind date.
Su Tian: “…..”
Under Huang Guihua’s warning gaze, Su Tian left the village. Without a watch, she walked very fast, afraid she’d be late and Qin Yan wouldn’t wait for her. Sure enough, not having a watch was really inconvenient.
She hurried to the roadside. The person hadn’t arrived yet, and Su Tian knew she was early. After waiting a few minutes, Qin Yan’s beat-up truck drove over. Su Tian smiled and waved. Qin Yan pulled over, got out neatly from the driver’s seat, holding a flat bundle wrapped in newspaper on both sides, with a plastic bag over it for waterproofing—very well protected.
Su Tian’s eyes lit up. She knew it was the Monkey Stamps, and an entire sheet at that. She greeted him cheerfully, “Thanks so much. This is the full sheet of Monkey Stamps you mentioned, right?”
Qin Yan’s gaze landed bit by bit on her smiling face. Seeing her completely focused on the stamps, he generously handed them over, watching her barely restrained eagerness. He said nothing, just looked at her.
Qin Yan didn’t know why, but before seeing her he’d been nervous and uneasy, with a bit of anticipation. Once he saw her, he wanted to look but didn’t dare; after looking, he wanted to look more. No matter how he looked, her brows and eyes seemed soul-stealing, making him reluctant to look away. When she smiled, he couldn’t help but smile along with her.
Originally, he wasn’t someone who liked to smile. In front of her, he seemed to become unlike himself.
Su Tian didn’t notice Qin Yan’s changes at all. Her mind was entirely on the Monkey Stamps. Once the well-preserved stamps were revealed, she couldn’t help but beam. “It’s my first time seeing a full set—so many! And they’re uncanceled, printed beautifully, no flaws at all. This sheet is really good.”
She confirmed once more, “You’re sure you’re selling them to me for forty yuan?”
Meeting Su Tian’s serious gaze, Qin Yan nodded, his voice crisp. “Mm.”
Su Tian said nothing more and efficiently took out the remaining payment—twenty yuan. “Payment and goods settled. Check if the amount’s right.”
Qin Yan glanced at it, saw two ten-yuan bills, stuffed them into his pocket, then took out a box from the truck. “This is the watch you wanted. I happened to go to Shanghai yesterday and brought back a Shanghai-brand watch. See if you like it.”
In her previous life, Su Tian had owned several watches, even international luxury brands—though all were basic models. But that was her past life. In this life, she could buy herself a watch with her own money.
Smiling, Su Tian took it and tried it on her fair, slender wrist. Maybe because she liked it so much, she fumbled with the clasp several times without fastening it. Qin Yan, watching from the side, couldn’t stand it anymore and said, “I’ll do it.”
Su Tian didn’t refuse and stretched her hand over to him so she wouldn’t keep embarrassing herself. She felt a bit clumsy today.
Seeing she wasn’t shy, Qin Yan became shy instead. Afraid his hands were dirty, he wiped them on himself a few times before raising them to take the watch strap. He had chosen a women’s model—the dial and strap were both a size smaller than the men’s.
Afraid of touching her, Qin Yan carefully put the watch on Su Tian’s wrist and fastened the clasp. After fastening it, there was still a lot of slack—the strap was long, and it could slide down onto her wrist.
Su Tian frowned. “It’s too long.”
Thinking of the tools in his truck, Qin Yan said, “I can remove a few links. The seller told me how.”
“Sorry to trouble you. You haven’t had lunch, right? I’ll treat you to noodles in town later. The noodles at that shop in our town are really good—you can try them.”
Seeing him about to refuse, Su Tian added, “If you don’t let me treat you, I won’t adjust the watch.”
Qin Yan’s ears reddened slightly. He looked at her without speaking and only nodded faintly. What choice did he have? She was practically acting coquettish with him. Refusing this meal would be hard to justify—and he couldn’t bear to refuse anyway.
With the tools in hand, Qin Yan showed strong hands-on skills. In just a few moves, he adjusted it and had Su Tian try it on again. Only then did he realize how slender her hand was—he didn’t dare use force, afraid he’d snap it.
After reinstalling the clasp, Su Tian put it on again. The size was just right now and wouldn’t slip. Looking at it again, she saw the time hadn’t been set yet. “Can you adjust the time?”
“Yes.”
Qin Yan thought she would take the watch off, but instead Su Tian was completely casual and directly stretched her slender arm and hand toward him, letting him adjust it right on her wrist.
Qin Yan: “……”
Su Tian looked at him in confusion.
Qin Yan quietly took a breath. Seeing her act so naturally, he felt that if he acted awkward it would seem ungenerous. Carefully avoiding touching her hand, he began adjusting the time.
It was a bit hot at noon in early summer. Su Tian could smell the faint scent on him—a personal smell, not unpleasant: the sweaty odor mixed with the clean scent of soap from his shirt.
Su Tian lifted her eyes and looked at the man who was lowering his head to adjust the watch seriously. His brows and eyes were cool and restrained, his profile sharp and clear, his features bold and handsome—the best-looking man in their area. He was also the most upright and handsome man Su Tian had ever seen in two lifetimes, with well-balanced features and an unrestrained air.
Such a good person—yet who would have known…
Thinking of Qin Yan’s fate, Su Tian couldn’t help feeling regret and sympathy. If only she could save him. Compared to him, people like Guo Zhiwei and Chen Xiaojun were the ones who deserved to die. Qin Yan didn’t deserve to die young.
Sensing Su Tian’s gaze, Qin Yan’s heart skipped a few beats. His palms began to sweat, his mouth went dry, and he swallowed unconsciously. His body stiffened, unsure how to respond.
He cared deeply about Su Tian’s gaze and couldn’t help thinking that today he didn’t look clean and fresh enough. He had helped unload goods before coming and had worked up a sweat. Would the sweaty smell bother her?
Thinking this way, Qin Yan wanted to pull back and put some distance between them, yet he caught the scent drifting from her hair—a faint osmanthus fragrance, light and pleasant.
Each of them was lost in their own thoughts when suddenly a horn blared. It was a passing bus honking, thinking someone was flagging it down. Seeing a man and a woman standing by the roadside, close together and seemingly doing something, many passengers on the bus turned to look, their faces showing either curiosity or disdain.
Su Tian was startled awake, thinking the vehicle was about to rush toward her. She instinctively moved toward the roadside, not noticing a stone under her foot. She stumbled and almost fell. Qin Yan reacted instantly, grabbing her arm and steadying her.
Qin Yan’s palm was burning hot. The heat from his grip on her arm made Su Tian raise an eyebrow. Embarrassed, she said, “Thank you. I can stand on my own.”
Qin Yan kept holding her. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he looked down, only releasing her after she stood firm. His face felt faintly hot. “It’s adjusted. Check if the time is right.”
Su Tian covered up her earlier moment of distraction, nodded, checked her own watch and then Qin Yan’s. Seeing there was no discrepancy, she nodded again. “It’s good. Thanks. Let’s go into town and have noodles now!”
At the noodle shop in town, there weren’t many people at this hour. It was the busy farming season, so everyone was working in the fields and there weren’t many people around. Apart from Su Tian and Qin Yan, there was only one other table of customers.
Su Tian ordered a fish soup noodle and two youtiao. The noodles tasted good with the fried dough sticks. Their bowls had only been served for a short while, and Su Tian had taken just two bites when someone patted her on the shoulder.
“So it’s Sweet Girl! I heard from your second aunt that you came to town today for a blind date. What a coincidence running into you. Oh—this must be your blind date, right?”
The speaker was the village loudmouth—not only did she have a booming voice, she also loved gossip. She practically wanted everyone to know that Su Tian was eating noodles in the shop with her blind date.
As soon as she said that, not only the other customers but even the shop owner looked over.
Su Tian: “……”