When they returned home, Xue Zhi handed the mended clothes to Fu Shiyue.
“Scholar Fu, my sewing skills might not be very good. Please don’t mind.”
As she spoke, she smiled at him somewhat shyly.
Perhaps infected by her smile, Fu Shiyue also unconsciously curved his lips. He carefully looked at the stitching, gently running his fingers over it, and said softly, “Your skills are very good—better than the tailor’s shop.”
“Then… do you like it?”
“I like it!” Fu Shiyue answered instinctively.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he froze.
Like it?
Did he like the clothes? Or the person?
This question only lingered in his mind for a second.
Because the moment he looked at Xue Zhi’s face, everything became clear.
He liked Xue Zhi.
Perhaps he had liked her since a very, very long time ago.
When he was six years old, Xue Zhi came to Fu Family Village with Xue Wan.
Both of them were dirty and dusty, their clothes stained with grime.
Even though Fu Family Village was poor, it was rare to see children dressed so poorly. After all, no matter how poor, parents still tried to keep their children clean and warm.
But after the children were washed and cleaned up, she stood out instantly.
Little Xue Zhi was cute and beautiful—there was no girl in the entire village more pretty than her.
Aside from the clothes on her body, she had nothing else. Even his mother, feeling sorry for her, gave her some of his clothes.
The clothes were clearly his, yet on her they looked so good, while on him they looked ordinary.
Because their families were neighbors, when Xue Wan was busy, she would send Xue Zhi to their house. Every time, his mother asked him to take care of her.
To this day, he still remembered his mother’s words.
“Shiyue, take good care of your little sister.”
“Shiyue, do you think your little sister is pretty? Do you want to marry her in the future?”
At that time, he already knew what shyness was. He did not answer aloud—but in his heart, he already had.
Yes. He wanted to marry Xue Zhi.
Unfortunately, those days only lasted two short years.
When he was eight and she was five, his father saved enough money and sent him to study at the town school. He could only return home on the first and fifteenth of each month.
After that, their contact gradually became less and less.
Until he heard that Xue Zhi was getting married.
That night, he had just returned home during a break. While eating, his mother suddenly mentioned it.
“Zhi Zhi is going to get married soon. Shiyue, you’re even older than her—when are you getting married? Do you have any girls you like? Mother can help you ask.”
His father interrupted. “Enough, marriage can wait. Studying is more important now.”
“Yes, yes,” his mother agreed.
When Fu Shiyue heard that, his chopsticks suddenly paused. He quickly returned to normal, hiding the shock and loss in his eyes, and asked casually, “Which family is she marrying into?”
“The Fu family’s Fu Lin,” his mother replied casually.
Only his father showed a flicker of surprise and quietly looked at Fu Shiyue without saying anything.
Fu Shiyue finished his meal quickly and returned to his room.
That night, he remembered clearly—he did not write a single word of his homework and did not sleep at all.
The next morning, he got up early and saw Xue Zhi going up the mountain. He immediately followed her, wanting to ask if she was really going to get married… if she could not marry.
But what he saw was Xue Zhi and Fu Lin together—embracing and kissing.
He watched as her face turned red and shy because of another man.
At that moment, his heart felt as if it had sunk into freezing ice.
He said nothing and turned away, walking down the mountain.
From that day on, he no longer deliberately paid attention to Xue Zhi.