Jiang Wangtang rolled her eyes in her head.
“Then how on earth are we supposed to sleep right now?”
Lu Chenzhou turned around and walked over to the cabinet. He pulled open the doors and pulled out a stack of well-worn, half-old bedding.
Jiang Wangtang thought he had finally found a shred of conscience and was preparing to make a bed on the floor, but the next second—Clap! The bedding was slammed directly into the middle of the large brick kang bed.
Lu Chenzhou said, “You sleep on the inside.”
Jiang Wangtang asked, “Where are you sleeping?”
Lu Chenzhou replied, “The outside.”
Jiang Wangtang swept a glance across the heated mud-brick kang. Truth be told, it was remarkably wide—spacious enough to fit three or four people without a problem. With each of them taking one end and half a meter of space between them, it wasn’t completely unbearable.
Besides, she couldn’t leave now anyway. After exhausting herself all day, her eyelids were already fighting to stay open.
Forget it, when you’re under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head.
“Fine,” Jiang Wangtang agreed readily. “We’ll sleep like this!”
Lu Chenzhou seemed surprised that she gave in so smoothly, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment.
“Really?”
Jiang Wangtang laughed out of amusement. “Didn’t you insist that I stay here? What, now that I’ve agreed, you’re unhappy about it? Don’t tell me you want me to get the hell out?”
“Who said I’m unhappy?” Lu Chenzhou turned his head away sharply.
Jiang Wangtang’s mood instantly brightened; she had finally won a point back. But just as she was about to stretch, her stomach let out a loud, traitorous growl—
Grumble—
The sound rang out with extreme clarity in the dead silence of the room. Jiang Wangtang froze mid-stretch.
Lu Chenzhou looked at her, and she looked back at him in sheer embarrassment. After a long moment, Jiang Wangtang had the cheek to ask:
“Is there really nothing to eat? Not even a single coarse grain bun?”
“No.”
“What about sweet potatoes?”
“No.”
“Did bandits raid your house or something?”
Lu Chenzhou looked at her blankly. “Yes, they did.”
Jiang Wangtang paused, and when she realized he was calling her the “bandit,” she was so furious she almost bounced off the kang.
“Lu Chenzhou! Is your skin itching for a beating?!”
The man ignored her, turned around, pulled the door open, and slammed it shut behind him as he left.
“Where are you going?!”
“To take a leak!”
Jiang Wangtang rolled her eyes dramatically. How crude!
Taking advantage of his absence, Jiang Wangtang hurried to tidy up.
After a whole day riding a train, transferring to a bus, and walking along dirt roads, she felt like her entire body was practically turning sour.
Unfortunately, in this era there were no showers, let alone water heaters. Dreaming of a nice, comfortable hot bath was just wishful thinking.
Resigned to her fate, Jiang Wangtang rummaged through her canvas bag to pull out a towel and a change of clothes. Just as she was preparing to go to the kitchen to heat up some water, the door creaked open.
Lu Chenzhou had returned, holding a large, chipped sea-bowl in his hand.
Jiang Wangtang’s nose twitched, and the next second, her eyes lit up.
“What’s that?”
Lu Chenzhou was expressionless. “Pig slop.”
Jiang Wangtang’s mouth twitched. The sweet aroma kept wafting into her nose along with the steam. Leaning forward to look, she saw two roasted sweet potatoes, golden-brown and glistening with oil!
The man who had just declared there was nothing in the house was now standing at the door holding two big sweet potatoes, his face as cold as if someone owed him eight hundred yuan.
Jiang Wangtang chuckled.
“Oh, so taking a leak can turn up two cooked sweet potatoes from the ground?”
Lu Chenzhou: “…”
“Comrade Lu, that leak of yours sure was valuable.”
“Shut up.”
The man’s face was dark enough to scrape off a layer of soot. He strode over in a few steps and set the bowl down heavily on the table.
“Eat it or don’t!”
“I’ll eat! Why wouldn’t I?!”
Jiang Wangtang was already so hungry her stomach was sticking to her spine; she certainly wasn’t going to hold a grudge against her own appetite.
She immediately grabbed a sweet potato. “Ouch—!” It was so hot she had to toss it rapidly from left hand to right hand.
Lu Chenzhou’s eyelids twitched.
“Do you not have a brain? Can’t you wait a moment until it cools down?”
“I’m starving!”
Jiang Wangtang blew on it a few times and couldn’t wait to take a bite.
Soft and sweet, the single bite made her narrow her eyes in sheer bliss.
“So sweet!”
Standing nearby, Lu Chenzhou watched her. The tight line of his lips relaxed ever so slightly.
However, the very next second, when Jiang Wangtang looked up, he immediately turned his face away.
“Pathetic.”
“I haven’t eaten all day, why don’t you try it?”
After eating half a sweet potato, Jiang Wangtang had a sudden pang of conscience. There were only two on the table; if she ate one, Lu Chenzhou would have the other.
So she picked up the second one and offered it to him. “Here.”
“I’m not eating.”
“Have you already eaten?”
“Yeah.”
Jiang Wangtang peered at him suspiciously. “Really?”
“You talk too much.”
Fine, if he didn’t want it, forget it. She wasn’t going to act like the original owner of this body, delicately feeding half a sweet potato to his mouth.
Jiang Wangtang pulled her hand back. “Then I’ll eat them both.” Crunch, another bite.
Lu Chenzhou: “…”
His expression seemed to darken even further, and Jiang Wangtang almost burst out laughing. What? Was he really waiting for her to coax him?
In his dreams! How many times had this dog of a man mocked her tonight? Did he think she didn’t hold grudges?
With two sweet potatoes down her hatch, Jiang Wangtang finally felt alive again. She dusted the sweet potato crumbs off her hands and was just about to boil some water when she noticed Lu Chenzhou had already lit the fire in the stove.
“What are you lighting the fire for?”
“Boiling water,” Lu Chenzhou said, as frugal with his words as ever.
“For me to wash?”
Without even looking up, Lu Chenzhou replied, “For the pig.”
Jiang Wangtang took a deep breath. Endure it! Since he was boiling water for her, she would be the bigger person and not argue with a mad dog!
Half an hour later, Jiang Wangtang had finally managed a quick sponge bath and changed into a loose set of cotton clothes.
Stepping back into the room, she found that Lu Chenzhou had already made the bed on the kang.
Two sets of quilts—one on the inside, one on the outside—with a generous space between them, marking a boundary as distinct as the Chu-Han border.
Jiang Wangtang raised an eyebrow. Quite sensible of him. Earlier, when he backed her into the edge of the kang and said those intimidating things, she had thought he really intended to pull something tonight.
And the result? Just this?
The moment the thought popped into her head, Jiang Wangtang mentally chided herself. Wait, was she actually disappointed? Had she lost her mind?!
She crawled into the inner quilt. The bedding was a bit worn, but it was clean and carried the crisp scent of dried sunshine.
After a day and night of endless travel, her bones finally settled onto the kang, and she was so comfortable she almost let out a groan.
“Ah, back to life…”
Lu Chenzhou was bending over to take off his shoes. Hearing her words, he cast a sideways glance at her.
“Delicate.”
“What’s wrong with being delicate?” Jiang Wangtang snuggled deeper into the quilt. “It’s not like I grew up suffering this kind of hardship.”
Lu Chenzhou blew out the kerosene lamp, plunging the room into darkness. Immediately after, the outer edge of the kang sank slightly as Lu Chenzhou climbed up.
Jiang Wangtang’s eyes, which had been just about to close, snapped wide open.
When they were squabbling earlier, she hadn’t felt anything off, but now that the light was out, a man and a woman sharing a single bed completely altered the atmosphere.
Her body involuntarily tensed up, and her ears became as sharp as radar. Rustle— Lu Chenzhou seemed to be pulling his quilt up.
Jiang Wangtang stealthily shifted an inch inward. Another rustle came from beside her, so she shifted another inch.
Until—
“Jiang Wangtang,” the man spoke out of nowhere.
Jiang Wangtang was startled so badly she almost jumped out of the covers. “What!”
Lu Chenzhou said, “If you move any further in, you’ll be stuck to the wall by morning.”
In the dark, Jiang Wangtang felt her face flush hot.
“I like it! The wall is cool!”
Lu Chenzhou replied, “It’s late autumn. You feel hot?”
Jiang Wangtang countered, “Can’t I just have a warm constitution?!”
Lu Chenzhou went silent, but Jiang Wangtang had a strong suspicion that the dog of a man was laughing at her.
She turned over, putting her back to him.
“Don’t you cross the line.”
“What line?”
“The middle!” Jiang Wangtang gestured blindly in the dark. “Whoever crosses is a dog, we agreed earlier!”
A couple of seconds of silence followed from behind her. “Don’t worry.”
Lu Chenzhou’s voice was cool and indifferent. “I have no interest in swindlers.”
Jiang Wangtang was choked with rage. “Lu Chenzhou!”
Lu Chenzhou said, “Go to sleep.”
Jiang Wangtang snapped back, “You’re the swindler! Your whole family…”
Her voice abruptly cut off, and her heart sank. She had almost forgotten—Lu Chenzhou didn’t have a family anymore.
His father had died young, his mother had remarried, and his grandmother had passed away. Of the entire Lu family, he was the only one left.
The anger in Jiang Wangtang’s chest instantly evaporated. “Um…”
“Shut up,” Lu Chenzhou turned over. “Go to sleep.”
Jiang Wangtang pursed her lips and refrained from saying anything else. The room fell completely quiet, with only the faint chirping of insects outside and the wind rustling through the leaves.
Closing her eyes, Jiang Wangtang had assumed she would suffer from insomnia because of the dangerous individual sleeping next to her. Yet in less than ten minutes, her consciousness began to drift.
She couldn’t help it; she was simply too exhausted.
Just as she was about to drop off completely, there was a faint, light movement on the outer side of the kang.
Jiang Wangtang blearily opened a sliver of an eye. In the dark, a figure seemed to be sitting up.
She instantly snapped half-awake. Lu Chenzhou? What is he doing up in the middle of the night?
Immediately after, the man seemed to move toward her side. Jiang Wangtang’s heart gave a heavy thump. Is it happening?
This dog of a man sounded so proper on the surface, but the moment the lights are out, he transforms into a beast?
As the man’s shadow drew nearer, Jiang Wangtang’s mind cleared completely. She stayed still, wanting to see what he was up to.
The next second—a large hand reached right over her head.
Jiang Wangtang’s heart leaped into her throat.
As it turned out, Lu Chenzhou merely grabbed the corner of the quilt she had kicked off, pulled it back over her shoulders, and retreated back to his side.
Jiang Wangtang let out a dry, silent laugh. That was it? Thank goodness she hadn’t suddenly jumped up and slapped him, or she really wouldn’t have had the face to sleep tonight.
Feeling at ease, Jiang Wangtang closed her eyes and soon fell sound asleep. She slept deeply until the middle of the night, when a sudden, urgent urge to pee forcefully roused her awake.
Frowning, Jiang Wangtang rolled over, reluctant to move. She held it for half a minute until she genuinely couldn’t take it anymore.
Dazedly lifting her quilt, she had just sat up—
“Where are you going?” a raspy male voice suddenly sounded in the dark.
“Ah!” Jiang Wangtang nearly jumped out of her skin!