Wen Yan stopped and stared at Bai Shanshan.
Bai Shanshan instantly felt guilty and raised her hand to swear: “I was talking nonsense! I didn’t mean it like that! Really, I didn’t!”
Wen Yan said seriously, “Comrade Bai, I don’t like jokes like that.”
Sensing Wen Yan’s seriousness, Bai Shanshan replied, “I won’t do it again. I won’t say things like that anymore.”
“Alright, I’ll believe you this once.”
Wen Yan generously accepted.
She had asked Bai Shanshan to work with her to avoid wasting time on petty conflicts, but if Bai Shanshan really became troublesome, Wen Yan wouldn’t hesitate to let her go.
Wen Yan spent the entire afternoon in the cafeteria, asking Niu questions whenever he wasn’t busy, while Bai Shanshan took notes beside her.
Her wrist was about to break from writing.
But Wen Yan’s earlier sternness had startled her, and Bai Shanshan didn’t dare cause any more trouble.
The two of them worked diligently all afternoon, and Wen Yan was so earnest that Niu couldn’t find a single fault with her. The more he watched her, the more he liked her.
It was like encountering a genius with a pure heart during a major cultivation exam—who wouldn’t want to take such a person as their disciple?
The only question was how to poach her, and he needed to think about that carefully.
Jiang Baizhou worked diligently all morning, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, occasionally rubbing his lower back.
He had gotten up before dawn today to memorize the homework Wen Yan had assigned him. While walking, he hadn’t been paying attention and bumped his waist against the doorframe.
Commander Zhang couldn’t resist his gossipy instincts and approached with a sly grin.
“Back hurting?”
Jiang Baizhou was so absorbed in memorizing the material, terrified of embarrassing himself in front of Wen Yan during the evening test, that he absentmindedly grunted in response to Commander Zhang’s question.
“Can you handle it, kid? You seemed pretty strong when you were hitting me.”
Commander Zhang leaned in closer, conspiratorially whispering, “Hey, I’ve got some deer penis wine. Want some?”
Jiang Baizhou finally spared a sliver of attention and grinned mischievously. “Oh, looks like Comrade Old Zhang has plenty of experience!”
Old Zhang: “…”
Damn! Had he just revealed something?
In the evening, Jiang Baizhou returned on time, and Wen Yan also finished work punctually, without a hint of overtime.
They happened to arrive at the door at the same time and silently locked eyes.
Sister-in-law Zhou Hong, who had just stepped out to dump water, glanced over and thought: Ah, young love is so sweet.
They hadn’t seen each other for just one day, and their gazes were already this clingy.
Just then, Wen Yan checked her watch and asked seriously, “Are you ready?”
Jiang Baizhou nodded solemnly. “Ready!”
“Good, let’s make the most of our time and try to get through it a few more times before you leave.”
Sister-in-law Zhou, standing in the wind, blushed furiously upon hearing this. She grabbed her slop bucket and rushed back inside: Goodness, these young people are too intense!
Was this something she should be hearing?!
As Zhou Hong ran back inside, Commander Zhang hurried out with his head down.
Thump!
“Whose melon is this? Must be ripe.”
Commander Zhang’s teasing was infuriating. Zhou Hong shot him a glare but didn’t have time to retort before grabbing his arm.
“Where are you going?”
Commander Zhang clutched the small bottle of medicinal wine in his pocket. “I’m going to find Old Jiang.”
He felt partly responsible for Old Jiang’s happiness.
Hearing this, Zhou Hong’s face flushed even redder.
“No, you can’t!”
“What do you mean I can’t… Hey, hey, why are you pinching me?!”
Commander Zhang was dragged back inside by Zhou Hong, who pulled and shoved him all the way.
The couple whispered for a while before Commander Zhang looked outside. “Really? Several times?”
“Stop asking. Aren’t you embarrassed? Just don’t go, that’s all.”
Commander Zhang stood at the door, lost in thought: No wonder his back hurts—he’s exhausted!
Who would’ve thought? You’re quite the beast, kid.
Hehe.
Just wait till I tease him about it!
Jiang Baizhou had no idea about the elaborate drama Commander Zhang and his wife had imagined in their minds. At that moment, he sat upright, fully focused.
“Some marshlands feature landforms such as tussock mounds, which appear as semicircular elevations… often coexisting with permafrost, forming peat bogs or mixed herbaceous-woody wetlands…”
Wen Yan, with a serious expression, nodded and nodded… then suddenly stopped.
Jiang Baizhou’s heart tightened. Had he recited it wrong?
He racked his brain, corrected his answer, and when Wen Yan nodded again, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After the first round of recitation, Wen Yan’s slightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and a smile even reached the corners of her eyes.
“Jiang Baizhou, you memorized all of it! You’re really, really amazing.”
“Can you feel my praise? Even though my vocabulary is limited, I’m absolutely sincere. You’re just super incredibly amazing.”
Not only amazing, but also kind.
When she asked him to memorize, Jiang Baizhou didn’t question why, simply agreed without a single word of complaint.
Jiang Baizhou looked at Wen Yan, not pretending to be relaxed. Instead, he took the opportunity to vent a little about his efforts and seek some acknowledgment.
“Actually, I secretly got up before dawn to memorize it.”
Wen Yan pulled her small stool closer to sit opposite Jiang Baizhou, nodding in understanding like a chick pecking at rice. “I’ve done that too!”
Wen Yan recounted the tragic story of how, in elementary school, she secretly studied to avoid going off-topic in her essays, only to end up with a big fat zero from her teacher.
The two sat facing each other, the crackling fire flickering between them, casting dancing shadows. The scent of pinewood lingered in the air.
Jiang Baizhou leaned in slightly. As Wen Yan reached the end of her story, her voice gradually faded.
Their eyes suddenly met, each other’s reflections mirrored in their pupils. Their breaths mingled faintly, creating an ambiguous tension that seemed impossible to resolve without a kiss.
“Wen Yan…”
Jiang Baizhou had, at some point, taken hold of Wen Yan’s hand.
His large hand cradled her smaller one, their skin tones contrasting distinctly, his thumb gently, almost imperceptibly, stroking hers.
“Huh? What… is it?”
Wen Yan, rarely sensing that the atmosphere might be a bit off, tried to pull back, but a firm grip on her hand held her in place. Jiang Baizhou’s magnetic voice sounded in her ear.
“Didn’t you say you’d give me a reward if I memorized it well? Can I make a request?”
“Y-yes, I guess.”
Logically, Wen Yan didn’t reject their closeness, but it felt a bit awkward.
After all, she was a single, straight-as-an-arrow woman who had never been in a relationship. She felt it was better for them to get to know each other first and take things slowly.
But men’s thinking tended to be direct and impulsive—biology said so.
Wen Yan’s thoughts gradually drifted.
Jiang Baizhou could tell she was spacing out and pinched her finger as if to punish her.
Wen Yan snapped back to attention.
In her pupils, Jiang Baizhou’s figure drew closer, carrying the unique warmth of a man, his eyes a blend of intense heat and tenderness.
Wen Yan’s eyes widened, not wanting to miss a single detail.
The distance closed further.
His pale pink lips and her rosy cherry lips were almost touching, their breaths intertwined, their eyelashes nearly brushing.
Yet, at the very last moment, they slightly shifted apart.
Jiang Baizhou’s cool cheek brushed against Wen Yan’s smooth skin, his lips parting slightly near her ear, his warm breath turning her entire ear crimson.
“I want to hug you.”
A gentle, understanding, uniquely masculine voice spoke. Wen Yan’s tense heart settled.
She really wasn’t ready for a kiss.
But a hug—she didn’t mind that.
Wen Yan’s preferences had always been straightforward. If she liked something, she liked it, never knowing what shyness was.
“Okay, hug!”
Wen Yan opened her arms, slightly raised her chin, and rested it against Jiang Baizhou’s neck, affectionately nuzzling twice.
With his back to Wen Yan, Jiang Baizhou’s thin lips curved into a smile. He tightened his arms slightly, leaving no gap between them: “Once I hold you, you can never run away again.”