Li Yingtang boiled water and prepared noodles, only to discover that there was more than half a bowl of double-skin milk in the cupboard.
Why didn’t he finish it?
She placed the bowl on the table and continued cooking the noodles. Then she served them and called outside, “Xian, dinner’s ready.”
“I’m coming.” Qin Xian lifted the curtain and sat down directly.
Two large bowls of noodles were on the table. Red chili oil floated sparsely in the soup, sprinkled with chopped scallions as garnish, making the coarse ceramic bowls look refined.
After a light taste—slightly spicy and fragrant.
Pleasant to look at, and even better to eat.
“How is it?” Li Yingtang asked.
Qin Xian nodded slightly. “Very appetizing.”
She pushed the double-skin milk toward him expectantly. “Did you leave this specially for me?”
Qin Xian paused and lowered his eyes. “Mm. It was too sweet.”
Li Yingtang tilted her head. Was it left for her, or just too sweet for him? “I like it. Next time you have sweets, leave them all for me. If it has your saliva on it, I’ll like it even more.”
She pulled the bowl closer.
Qin Xian: “…”
Likes food with his saliva on it? Was she some kind of pervert?
After the meal, Li Yingtang cleaned up and went to the storage room to find a fishing rod. She grabbed a handful of corn as bait, took a bucket and stool, and headed to the reservoir.
She hadn’t gone far when Aunt Liu stopped her.
“Little Qin’s wife, where are you going alone? Fishing?”
“Yes. How’s your niece’s blind date going?”
Aunt Liu sighed. “Sigh… they didn’t like her. It’s my niece’s bad luck. Don’t mention it. You’re a young girl—why go fishing? What if you fall into the ice? There are shepherd’s purse greens up ahead on the mountain slope. Come dig them with me.”
Li Yingtang found herself increasingly unable to get along with Aunt Liu.
Clearly it was the man’s mother looking down on them, yet it became the niece’s “bad luck.”
Blaming her own niece without regard for truth.
What kind of person was that?
“I’ve got food at home, so I won’t go. Goodbye, I’ll go ahead first.”
She ran off with the rod.
Yesterday you didn’t call me. Today when you have no help, you come find me—trying to make me owe you a favor?
Your算盘珠子都崩我脸上了! (Your scheming is obvious!)
The ice on the reservoir was lively.
Adults were fishing, children were sliding on the ice.
“Little Qin’s wife is here too? There are empty holes here—try one.”
Everyone, out of respect for Qin Xian, treated Li Yingtang warmly and called out to her.
She was just thinking about how to borrow a drilling tool, so she sat down, baited her hook with corn, and dropped it into the ice hole.
Someone nearby laughed. “How can you catch fish with corn kernels? I’ve got worms, take them.”
Before he finished speaking, her rod moved.
“Oh—something’s biting!”
She lifted it up—a white fish as thick as an arm.
“Wow, lucky! Old Three has been sitting here forever and caught nothing. You just got one right away.”
Excited, she threw the fish into the bucket and cast again.
Less than two minutes later, another bite.
This time it was a grass carp weighing about two jin.
She was completely thrilled now.
Everyone gathered around her in curiosity, watching her fish.
Cheng Fang had arrived early and was waiting by the lake. Seeing Li Yingtang actually come, she originally planned to lure her toward the center of the reservoir. Now things seemed even better.
If she broke the ice holes nearby, the ice definitely wouldn’t withstand everyone’s weight. Then they would all fall in like dumplings—no one could save anyone. Maybe that b*tch would drown.
Qin Xian would be widowed young, and people would say she was a “wife-killer.” Then she could comfort him—wouldn’t he look at her differently?
While everyone was distracted, she quietly used a shovel to pry at the ice.
“Another bite!” Li Yingtang was thrilled. In less than twenty minutes, she had already caught half a bucket.
Fish were expensive in the township market.
Crucian carp cost 1.2 yuan per jin, grass carp 1.6 yuan. She had earned over ten yuan selling hawthorns before but hadn’t dared to spend it.
Now it was all coming effortlessly.
Another grass carp came up.
“I’m heading back,” she said, packing up. “It’s too cold.”
Just as she took two steps—
A faint cracking sound came.
Her instincts screamed danger. She immediately ran toward shore, shouting, “The ice is breaking!”
Everyone looked down—the ice had cracked. They rushed to the shore.
Behind them, Cheng Fang fell straight into the water.
Screams and cries for help erupted everywhere.
“Help! Help!”
None of them could swim and no one dared go in.
Li Yingtang stepped forward, grabbed a fishing net rope, and carefully approached the cracked ice edge. She threw the rope toward Cheng Fang.
Cheng Fang was still holding her shovel handle and ignored the rope at first.
Only after others shouted did she drop the shovel and grab the rope.
With great effort, Li Yingtang pulled her toward shore, and everyone worked together to haul her up.
Cheng Fang trembled all over, shaken and disoriented.
After watching her being taken away, Li Yingtang carried her bucket and tools home—fully satisfied.
The moment she entered the clinic grounds, she started showing off. “Xian, come look at my fish!”
Qin Xian frowned. “Fishing? Where did you fish?”
“In the reservoir. I’m impressive, right?”
His gaze shifted from the bucket to the fishing gear on the ground, and his expression darkened. “Who allowed you to use my fishing rod?”
Li Yingtang didn’t understand. “What? Didn’t you say before not to ask you about everything?”
Qin Xian paused. “The ice was dangerous. What if you fell in—”
She smiled. He was worried about her?
“I can swim. That Cheng girl fell in, and I even saved her.”
“She told you that place was for fishing?”
“Yes.”
Qin Xian understood immediately. That woman probably tried to harm her but ended up hurting herself instead. He said lightly, “Miss Cheng is quite unlucky. She’ll fall into a ditch today, get sick tomorrow, and fall into water the day after.”
“I didn’t notice before, but she really does have bad luck,” Li Yingtang said, recalling the scene. “When the ice broke, everyone was on it—but only she fell in.”
Those near the shore ran first with their buckets and gear.
Those behind dropped everything to escape.
Only Cheng Fang was holding a heavy shovel.
When would someone use a shovel? Maybe to clear ice—but the ice didn’t need clearing at all.
She told her reasoning to Qin Xian.
Qin Xian gave a nearly imperceptible nod. Smart. She understood immediately.
The more she thought, the angrier she became. “No wonder I disliked her at first glance. She was clearly hiding bad intentions! What did she gain from making everyone fall in? She can’t even swim! Was she targeting me? Oh—I get it. She likes you and wants to replace me! I should’ve let her drown!”
Qin Xian said flatly, “What nonsense about liking or not liking.”
Li Yingtang continued, “Next time she comes to see you, you should confess to me in front of her—say you love me, deeply, and no other woman compares. She’ll definitely give up after hearing that.”
Qin Xian: “…”
Who could say something like that so casually?