Most of the villagers going to town carried goods from home to sell at the market, or sent them to Shen Hong’s grocery store for consignment. The journey was long, and everyone had quite a lot of luggage, so the cart was packed tightly with hardly any room to step.
Only Shen Ruo and Gu Yun seemed different, carrying hardly any large items, as if they were just going to the town for leisure.
Gu Yun spotted Shen Ruo walking from a distance. After his change of opinion yesterday, seeing him again today, he couldn’t help but glance at him a few more times.
Then he watched Shen Ruo jump onto the cart. His gaze eventually settled on the space beside him.
Could it be that he intends to sit next to me? Gu Yun thought.
Shen Ruo noticed how cramped the cart was, there was only a little space left near Gu Yun. He stepped carefully over a gap barely big enough for half a foot, and sat down beside him with about a fist’s width of distance between them.
Gu Yun furrowed his brows slightly but didn’t say anything.
Shen Ruo had hardly slept last night because Xiao Yuntun had kept him up. At this early hour, the dim morning light made him drowsy. The ox cart jolted along the road, making his rear tingle.
The fist-width distance quickly shrank to about an inch as the bumps jostled them, and Gu Yun subtly widened the gap.
Shen Ruo caught a glimpse of the male lead’s “Don’t get close to me” expression out of the corner of his eye and felt a twinge of annoyance at being rejected.
He spoke up: “Gu Yun, I used to cling to you because I liked you, but looking back, I was just immature. I’m sorry for the trouble I caused you, I want to apologize to you.”
Gu Yun looked at him in surprise, as if to say, You actually know too!
The people around them perked up their ears at once. Thinking back to Shen Ruo’s wild pursuit, everyone felt a little embarrassed.
“Ah… it’s nothing,” Gu Yun said, looking straight ahead.
This pretended generosity made Shen Ruo’s teeth itch in irritation. “Nothing”? Back then, who knows how many curses he’d muttered under his breath.
Although he hadn’t finished reading that book, Gu Yun was the male lead. If he could end up with the morally questionable female lead, he certainly wasn’t as upright as he appeared.
Shen Ruo continued, “I won’t cling to you anymore from now on, you can rest assured.”
“Mm,” Gu Yun nodded, signaling that he understood.
“Hu, wait for me! Wait for me!” A playful, shrill shout came from nearby, and the cart driver pulled the ox to a stop.
As soon as Shen Ruo heard the voice, he knew it was Shen Ziying. Sure enough, when the male lead appeared, the female lead was bound to show up too. This was probably what they called the law of protagonists.
It was better for him, a minor cannon fodder, to stay out of their way.
After all, he had narrowly saved his life, what if the plot gods decided to take it back? He still had Xiao Yuntun and a whole family to take care of!
Better to stay far away from the main couple for safety!
Before getting on the cart, Shen Ziying spotted Gu Yun at a glance. She smiled warmly at him, but then noticed Shen Ruo sitting right next to Gu Yun. Her smile froze instantly.
“You’re going to the town too? Are you going to buy something for your child?” Shen Ziying’s tone was dripping with disdain as she edged closer to Gu Yun, forcing the people around them to shuffle their goods. She emphasized “your child,” making sure everyone knew that Shen Ruo was already a father.
The villagers who were planning to leave their goods at Shen Hong’s grocery store even lifted their items to make space for her, but she refused to sit anywhere else, she was determined to sit right next to Gu Yun.
Shen Ruo smiled and said, “Yeah, we have to go to town to buy some things. You’re his aunt, so you probably give him a red envelope and maybe buy some eggs and brown sugar too.”
“Oh, so that’s why Sister Ying went to town today? How considerate of you,” Shen Ruo said, feigning sudden realization and laughing.
According to local custom, any relative who is not the same generation has to give gifts or red envelopes to a newborn. Apart from the quarrelsome Shen Dashan, everyone in the Shen family had given red envelopes to Xiao Yuntun.
They were wrapped in red envelope and tucked into the swaddling, wishing the child a safe and healthy life.
But Shen Hong’s family hadn’t thought of this at all. Even Shen Ruo’s own grandparents hadn’t considered giving a red envelope to their great-grandson. Obviously, they didn’t care and didn’t treat them as family.
But blood ties can’t be severed, so it was hardly unreasonable for Shen Ruo to bring it up. After all, just yesterday Shen Ziying kept insisting that they were one family and begged for a few days’ leniency!
Shen Ziying leaned in close, and Gu Yun’s brows furrowed even tighter. He subtly edged closer to Shen Ruo.
Both of them had once pursued him relentlessly, one openly, causing a ruckus for all to see, while the other pursued him in secret, all the while putting on a facade of modesty for everyone around, though any sharp-eyed person could tell she had feelings for him.
But now that Shen Ruo had changed, Gu Yun decided to stay close to him.
Hearing this, the people around finally remembered that these two really were blood relatives! A straightforward aunt blurted out, “Doesn’t anyone in Shen Hong’s family plan to give gifts to the little one? A newborn needs red envelope and [1]Pine leaves are the thin, needle-like leaves that grow on pine trees. In traditional Chinese rural customs, especially around childbirth, pine or cypress leaves might be used symbolically. People … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1842550_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1842550_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });pine leaves pressed over it, you know.”
“How could that be? My father’s busy in the shop. That’s why he sent me to buy the red envelope,” Shen Ziying replied with a forced smile, her eyes flicking sharply toward Shen Ruo.
Shen Ruo ignored her completely, feeling utterly content. Whatever she went to town for, the red envelope and brown sugar were going to end up in his hands anyway!
Gu Yun gradually leaned closer, his sleeve almost brushing Shen Ruo. He realized it only when it was too late, but with the goods piled up around them, there was no way to avoid it. He could only lean back casually, trying to create some distance.
“Gu Yun disliked it when I got too close before, and now I’m the one feeling annoyed he’s so close,” Shen Ruo thought to himself.
Shen Ziying noticed that Gu Yun and Shen Ruo were getting closer and closer. Her hand was gripping the handkerchief so tightly it was almost crumpled. She spoke with a sharp, sarcastic tone: “I wonder who my little nephew’s biological father really is. Poor you, Brother Ruo.”
“Maybe he’s dead,” Shen Ruo replied calmly. “But it doesn’t matter. I can raise my child well on my own. You don’t need to trouble yourself.” His tone was firm, his gaze clear. Everyone around felt that Shen Ruo looked the same as before, yet something about him seemed different. Could it really be that giving birth could cause such a profound change?
Shen Ruo thought this way: he wanted the people he cared about to live good lives. The person most deeply connected to him in this world was Xiao Yuntun, followed by his whole family—Li Shantao, Shen Feng, Liu Shan, Ergou, and even the stubborn Shen Dashan who still hadn’t come around.
He knew many people wanted to see him fail. As a child, villagers said he didn’t act like a proper ge’er, climbing trees, catching fish, bathing naked in the river, back then he never understood what really set him apart from his brother Shen Feng. Later, he fell in love with someone, paying no mind to others’ opinions, acting as he pleased, boldly pursuing love, and became the village joke. Then came the unexpected pregnancy… Even though he was the victim, everyone was dissatisfied with him.
If the authorities hadn’t forbidden abortions for young ge’ers and girls, he might have died even earlier. Ever since that incident, Shen Ruo felt soulless, sometimes refusing to eat, and suffered the malice of many, as if a web of black threads bound his spirit, weighing him down.
Perhaps it was a small compensation from fate for this poor ge’er, trapped in the constraints of his time, that allowed the 21st-century Shen Ruo to enter this world.
Sometimes Shen Ruo wondered: would the Shen Ruo from the book be reborn in his body?
The ox cart jolted sharply. Shen Ziying let out a cry and nearly toppled forward. Gu Yun, with nowhere to avoid, quickly braced both hands near Shen Ruo’s ears, pressing him down.
Shen Ruo: “…”
Aren’t you supposed to be the male and female leads? Why do you act like you barely know each other?!
Shen Ruo felt numb. Gu Yun was pressed lightly against him, and with each breath, Shen Ruo could smell the ink that Gu Yun’s hands had absorbed from years of writing.
It was unbearable, on this bumpy road, the universe had to arrange a close encounter for the main leads to shape their destinies, but why drag me, the cannon fodder, into it?!
Shen Ziying’s head bumped against Gu Yun’s shoulder with a soft “ouch.”
Shen Ruo felt Gu Yun’s warm body through the fabric. Their eyes met, and he could even sense the other’s shallow breathing. This distance was way too close!
Shen Ruo immediately turned his face away.
Gu Yun froze for a moment. In the past, every time he saw Shen Ruo, he was wearing exaggerated facial masks that could flake off after two steps, so in his mind, even if Shen Ruo wasn’t ugly, he wouldn’t have considered him particularly handsome.
After seeing him last night, Gu Yun had already been somewhat surprised, but under the moonlight his features had been blurred, nothing like how clear they were now. It was almost striking. He also noticed that aside from the red mole between Shen Ruo’s brows that marked his status, there was a faint little red mole on his cheek, right on his cheekbone.
He even carried a faint baby scent on him, Gu Yun thought.
When Shen Ruo turned his face away, that tiny mole slipped into the shadows and could no longer be seen clearly. Gu Yun felt a trace of regret, but then he noticed the flush creeping over Shen Ruo’s ears and suddenly realized his own impropriety.
Why are his ears red? Could it be he still has feelings for me? But he already said that, he wouldn’t revert to his old ways, would he? Gu Yun wondered.
What is he thinking? Is there something wrong with him? Why hasn’t he gotten off yet?! Shen Ruo thought.
Shen Ziying was so furious she nearly tore her handkerchief apart, her eyes red as she rubbed her aching forehead.
They say even the most virtuous woman can’t withstand a persistent man, so why is the “unyielding man” she’s trying to win over so hard-hearted? Even his shoulder is like stone! It hurt so much when I bumped into it!
“What are you two doing?!” Shen Ziying cried out.
From her angle, it looked like Gu Yun was pressing down on Shen Ruo, Shen Ruo’s face slightly turned aside, the two of them almost as if they were kissing.
“The cart was too bumpy. Are you alright?” Gu Yun straightened his back and asked Shen Ruo.
Ah, such perfunctory concern.
Shen Ruo shook his head, signaling that he was fine.
“Brother Gu, you’re going to the bookshop to copy texts, right? I happen to want to buy a few books. Shall we go together later?” Shen Ziying said in a sweet, coquettish voice.
“I’m not going,” Gu Yun replied.
Shen Ziying pouted, sounding aggrieved. “Brother Gu, I’m not very familiar with the roads by myself…”
Shen Ruo quietly rubbed his arms at the goosebumps. Her father worked in town managing a shop, she’d gone back and forth so many times, and now she claimed she didn’t know the way? Not even a dog would believe that. And she still had the nerve to say it.
An aunt nearby kindly offered, “Ying Girl, I’ll take you! I’m familiar with that area!”
Shen Ziying: “…” She wanted Gu Yun to accompany her!
Gu Yun simply closed his eyes to rest. Shen Ziying called out to him a few more times, but he didn’t respond, pretending to be asleep.
Shen Ruo found it hard not to laugh.
It was obvious to everyone in the village that Gu Yun was popular. With two young people once competing over him, the villagers were long used to it.
Now that Shen Ruo had withdrawn as a rival, Shen Ziying naturally had to take the initiative.
Author’s Note:
Shen Ruo: The male and female leads don’t seem very close, do they?
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