“Okay…”
Aunt Liu happily took the buns and left, saying she would definitely pick a few cabbages as fresh and pretty as Mu Qinqin herself for her later.
Mu Qinqin: ……
Should she be glad it wasn’t monkeys this time?
After everyone left, Mu Qinqin deliberately walked slowly back toward the village.
As expected,
she heard familiar footsteps behind her.
The corners of her lips lifted slightly.
Until they reached a small village path.
Only then did Si Chengchen speak.
Looking at the direction she was heading, he suddenly asked, “You… where are you going?”
Mu Qinqin stopped, turned around, and instead of answering, she suddenly held out her hand. “So? Aren’t you giving them to me?”
Si Chengchen knew what she meant. Thinking that she had heard his conversation with Aunt Liu, he looked slightly unnatural and said in a low voice, “They haven’t been washed yet.”
“Really for me? Not some pretty girl?”
Of course Mu Qinqin already knew the wild fruits were for her. She was just teasing him on purpose.
But the man frowned and replied seriously, as if explaining, “There is no other girl.”
Mu Qinqin immediately interpreted it as: there really is only her.
Her mood instantly improved.
Just as she was happily enjoying this, the man stepped closer and took her basket from her arm.
She blinked.
Watching him take another big step away to maintain distance, she didn’t know whether to laugh or be annoyed.
There was no one around.
What was there to avoid?
So she also stepped closer to him.
But as soon as she did,
the man shifted another step toward the roadside.
Mu Qinqin: “……”
Fine. Let’s see who wins this stubborn contest.
In the end…
the man was forced by Mu Qinqin to retreat all the way to the edge of the road. His tall figure stood right by the ditch—one more step and he would fall in.
Looking at his slightly pitiful expression, Mu Qinqin finally burst out laughing.
Smiling brightly, she raised her eyebrows at him. “Why aren’t you moving anymore?”
“You’ll fall,” he said honestly.
Seeing him like this, Mu Qinqin felt mischievous again and stepped closer on purpose. “Then… do you want to fall into the ditch, or walk closer to me?”
And then—
after she said that, the man glanced at the ditch, as if seriously considering whether falling in would hurt.
Mu Qinqin: “……”
Sensing her frustration, Si Chengchen quietly explained, “The edge is slippery. If you get too close, you might fall in.”
So this was… concern for her?
Mu Qinqin’s eyes brightened again. Her voice softened. “You’ll protect me, right? You won’t let me fall in?”
“Mm.”
A short but firm answer made her smile.
She boldly moved closer to him.
Feeling his tense body, she smiled sweetly and said, “There’s no one around. Everyone’s working or cooking. And…”
When she noticed his body relaxing again, she deliberately blinked at him. “We’ve already hugged, and you’ve carried me before. Why are you still shy?”
After saying this…
Mu Qinqin was rewarded with a human wooden board—completely stiff.
At Si Chengchen’s house.
The familiar wooden fence.
Mu Qinqin walked in without hesitation, as if she were entering her own home.
Seeing this, Si Chengchen felt a strange emotion rise inside him.
It wasn’t discomfort at someone invading his space—but a subtle sense of… pleasure.
“Why are you still standing outside? Come eat,” Mu Qinqin’s head popped out from the small house, her voice bright and crisp, completely unaware that she had entered the owner’s home while the owner was still outside.
Mm…
because the “owner,” Si Chengchen, actually seemed… pleased?
Hearing her call, Si Chengchen felt even more dazed. He looked at the basket on his wrist, then at the small blurry figure at the door.
It almost felt like…
he was returning home from work,
and she was waiting inside.
He pressed his lips together, pushing the absurd thought away, and stepped into the yard.
Inside the room,
the table had already been moved beside the bed.
The same familiar eating spot as yesterday.
Si Chengchen glanced at the lone chair and lowered his eyes.
“Come on, give me the basket,” Mu Qinqin said.
Without Si Chengchen watching, she easily carried both the table and chair over with one in each hand.
“Sit,” Si Chengchen stopped her as she tried to jump down from the bed. He placed the basket on the table instead.
He didn’t take anything out.
Instead, he walked toward Mu Qinqin on the bed.
Mu Qinqin… suddenly got a little excited.
Seeing him getting closer, her mind was full of thoughts: What is he going to do? Should she agree immediately? Or should she pretend to hesitate first before agreeing? Would it be too unreserved?
Just as she was thinking this, the man’s presence drew closer.
Mu Qinqin’s eyes sparkled.
Especially when she saw him reach out toward her, she became even more excited.
Then—
she froze.
Because his hand passed right over her and reached the wall behind her.
“……”
Just as she was blanking out,
a red booklet appeared in front of her eyes.
Red booklet?
Her mouth slipped out before she could think: “Marriage?”
Si Chengchen: “……”
Realizing she had said the wrong thing, Mu Qinqin wasn’t embarrassed at all. She simply blinked and looked down.
It was a 1970s-era passbook.
The “red booklet” was just a folded piece of red paper.
“Keep it,” Si Chengchen said in a low voice—different from his usual tone.
Mu Qinqin immediately noticed it and looked up at him.
Seeing his slightly reddened ears, she looked down at the passbook again and smiled lightly. “Is this… your salary?”
He didn’t answer yes or no.
Instead, he said softly, “You’ve given me a lot of food.”
This was already a big step for him—he must have gathered a lot of courage today.
Mu Qinqin didn’t press further.
She didn’t believe that if he didn’t like her, he would let her stay in his house and tease him like this.
Thinking this, she curiously opened the passbook.
Her eyes widened instantly.
Thousands.
In the 1970s, this was a huge sum of money.
Mu Qinqin was stunned.
Wasn’t he supposed to be poor? Even his allowance had been taken by the male lead’s younger brother and the female lead in the story—so how did he still have this much?
Although it was a little strange…
but—
it was good that Si Chengchen had money!!
She would deal with the male and female leads later!
Si Chengchen, though calm on the surface, was actually nervous, his palms slightly sweaty as he watched her stare blankly at the passbook.
It was indeed a bit little.
He would earn more later.
Mu Qinqin simply…