This was the first time Lin Suhe had ever seen a real man’s body.
It was strong, well-built, and full of masculine beauty.
Her face instantly turned bright red all the way to her ears. Feeling as if she had done something wrong, she quickly shut the door, climbed onto the bed, and hid completely under the blanket like a frightened little quail.
The sound of splashing water in the courtyard started again.
A short while later, it stopped.
Soon, a warm body carrying the fresh scent of someone who had just bathed lifted the blanket and slipped into bed.
Lin Suhe lay with her back facing Jiang Wangchuan.
Her heart was still racing wildly.
She closed her eyes tightly and did not dare make a sound.
Jiang Wangchuan moved closer, wrapped one arm around her slim waist, and pressed his broad, firm chest against her thin back.
Leaning close to her ear, he asked,
“Already asleep? Weren’t you just peeking at me while I was bathing?”
His deep voice carried a teasing smile.
His warm breath brushed against the back of her ear, sending a tingling shiver through her body.
Lin Suhe felt as if even her ears were burning.
“I… I wasn’t peeking! I just wanted to remind you to use the soap.”
Her soft, timid voice sounded completely unconvincing.
Jiang Wangchuan chuckled.
“I used it. It smells pretty nice. Want to smell it?”
Lin Suhe had already noticed the faint fragrance on him.
She knew he was teasing her on purpose, so she pulled the blanket over her face and ignored him.
Jiang Wangchuan tightened his embrace a little more.
Holding the little girl in his arms made his heart feel full.
…
The next day was bright and sunny.
Jiang Wangchuan took one of the soap bars they had made yesterday and brought Lin Suhe to the river to wash clothes.
The rocky riverbank was where the village women gathered most often.
Almost every family brought their laundry there.
When the women saw the two of them arrive together, they immediately started teasing them.
“Well, look who’s here! Chuanzi and little Suhe. So you two really ended up together?”
Jiang Wangchuan flashed his usual cheerful smile.
“That’s right. From now on, I’ll have to trouble all you sisters and aunties to look after my wife.”
He had a sweet tongue, and he was tall and handsome.
Calling everyone “big sister” and “auntie” made the women like him even more.
But one woman spoke with obvious jealousy.
“Chuanzi, why are you, a grown man, doing the laundry yourself? Wasn’t Suhe spoiled too much by her father? It was one thing when she was unmarried and never did any hard work. But now that she’s someone else’s wife, why is she still so delicate?”
Lin Suhe looked toward the woman.
She looked about thirty years old, pretty, and had the graceful charm of a mature woman.
She was kneeling by the river, pounding clothes against a rock with a wooden laundry bat while looking sideways at them.
Jiang Wangchuan glanced at Lin Suhe.
The little girl had clenched her fists, puffed up her cheeks, and looked clearly unhappy.
His smile disappeared.
His expression turned serious as he replied,
“Sister-in-law Qin, my father-in-law passed away not long ago. My wife became seriously ill from grief, and she still hasn’t fully recovered. I’m afraid hard work would be too much for her.”
The woman blushed slightly when he spoke to her.
She lifted a finger to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and muttered,
“You really know how to treat a woman well.”
Just then, Aunt Li, whom they had met at the well yesterday, spoke loudly.
“Oh, Widow Qin, stop trying to chase after Chuanzi. He already has a proper wife now. Don’t go knocking on his door in the middle of the night anymore!”
The women washing clothes burst into laughter.
Widow Qin’s face turned bright red.
She threw down her wooden laundry bat and pointed angrily at Aunt Li.
“You old woman! What nonsense are you saying? Didn’t Suhe knock on his door in the middle of the night too? If she can do it, why can’t I?”
Only then did Lin Suhe fully understand.
Widow Qin had lost her husband. Somehow, she had taken a liking to Jiang Wangchuan, the young unmarried hunter, and had even gone to his house hoping to start a relationship.
Lin Suhe looked at Jiang Wangchuan with an amused smile.
Embarrassed, he scratched the back of his head and quietly explained,
“I didn’t open the door.”
Aunt Li loved arguing with people.
Seeing Widow Qin getting angry only encouraged her more.
She raised her chin proudly.
“Young people getting married is perfectly normal. But you’re ten years older than Chuanzi and already have two children. That’s like an old cow trying to eat young grass. You’re taking advantage of him.”
Widow Qin’s chest rose and fell with anger.
“So what if I’m ten years older? So what if I have children? I don’t mind that Chuanzi is poor. I like him because he’s dependable. He had no wife, and I had no husband. Why couldn’t we have become a couple?”
Aunt Li rolled her eyes dramatically.
“Nice words. But everyone in Wenhe Village knows you like luring young men into your bed.”
As she spoke, Aunt Li waved her hand in front of her nose.
“I can smell that fox spirit scent on you from ten miles away!”
The other women lowered their heads, trying not to laugh as they continued washing their clothes.
No one dared join the argument.
Jiang Wangchuan and Lin Suhe were stunned.
Aunt Li’s sharp tongue was so fierce that it seemed capable of bringing a dead person back to life just to argue with her.
“You… you…”
Widow Qin was so furious she could barely speak.
Her face turned the color of dark liver.
She threw her clothes and laundry bat into her basin, stomped away angrily, and left without finishing her washing.
Watching her leave, Aunt Li spat on the ground.
“Shameless fox!”
Then she waved at Jiang Wangchuan and Lin Suhe.
“Chuanzi, Suhe, come over here. There’s plenty of room beside me.”
Jiang Wangchuan carried their laundry basin over, with Lin Suhe following closely behind him like a little tail.
He soaked their dirty clothes in the river and rubbed the soap over them until thick foam appeared.
Then he said to Aunt Li,
“Aunt Li, thank you for helping us just now.”
Aunt Li leaned closer and lowered her voice.
“What I said was already going easy on her. I didn’t even expose what she did with Liu Li’s second son. That was me showing mercy.”
Knowing that Jiang Wangchuan and Lin Suhe could keep a secret, she became even more eager to gossip.
“It happened in broad daylight. Everyone else was working in the fields while those two locked themselves inside her house. If I hadn’t gotten a stomachache and gone home to use the toilet, I would’ve never walked past her house and heard those sounds. Tsk, tsk… Otherwise, nobody would have known.”
“Liu Li’s second son is only seventeen this year and already engaged. Yet she still made a move on him.”
Jiang Wangchuan and Lin Suhe unexpectedly found themselves listening to another piece of scandalous village gossip.
Squatting beside Jiang Wangchuan, Lin Suhe rested her chin on her hands.
Her eyes were wide with curiosity as she listened with great interest.
Jiang Wangchuan quickly reached over with his wet hand and covered her ears.
“Children shouldn’t listen to this kind of talk.”
Aunt Li laughed at the sight.
“Chuanzi, Suhe already sleeps under the same blanket as you. Why are you still treating her like a child?”