“You’re talking nonsense.” “Husband, take me to town tomorrow.”
Jiang Queyun had no idea that Lu Hanbai was suspicious of him.
His heart and mind were entirely set on making some copper coins as quickly as possible so he could realize his grand plan of getting rich overnight. He tucked the medicinal roots a little further under the eaves, and, following a stray thought, headed over to Lu Yu’s small room.
Lu Yu was eating his noodle pieces with great relish, holding a large bowl that looked almost as big as his face. Seeing Jiang Queyun arrive, he looked a bit embarrassed, though mostly he was on guard.
Nothing good ever came of this person visiting his room.
“I don’t have any copper coins! The ones I had before were all looted by you!” Lu Yu frowned at him, and the noodle pieces in his bowl suddenly didn’t taste so good anymore.
“Who said I? I know! I’m not here to loot your coins, I just came to see if you were done eating. Your dad is in a rush to wash the bowl!” Jiang Queyun let out a quiet sigh of relief after saying this.
He always struggled to integrate the original owner’s memories into his own brain. After all, they were two completely different people, and the whole situation was terribly awkward.
He could only do his best to make up for the things the original owner had done, but if he were expected to pay for them with his life, that was simply out of the question.
Lu Yu stopped saying anything else, resumed holding his bowl, and began slurping hungrily. Between bites, he managed to reply, “Almost done.”
Jiang Queyun had originally planned to leave right away, but remembering that Lu Yu still had to shout for someone in a bit, he decided to just wait here.
Looking at that thin, small figure, hardly looking like a seven-year-old child at all, he could tell that Lu Yu hadn’t had an easy time of it over the years without a mother’s care.
Lu Hanbai often had to travel for business to make money, so he probably didn’t have time to look after the boy either. That must have been why he had no choice but to marry the original owner. Who could have guessed that the original owner not only failed to take proper care of the child, but actually made the child wait on him instead?
“Did you really make this?” Lu Yu handed over the clean bowl. Although he already believed it, he couldn’t help asking anyway.
“Was it delicious?” Jiang Queyun looked at him with a beaming smile.
Lu Yu gave a light huff. “It tasted awful!”
Jiang Queyun wasn’t annoyed in the least. Still smiling, he said, “Then I’ll make it again tomorrow morning. Do you want to eat an egg? Tell your dad to buy some eggs back.”
“I bet you’re the one who wants to eat them.” Lu Yu let out a cold snort and completely ignored him after that.
His dad didn’t even have much silver; he had to borrow extra from outside just to pay for Lu Yu’s schooling. How could they possibly afford to eat things like eggs?
It was already a luxury to have a little bit of meat in the house.
Jiang Queyun curled his lip. “Eggs are nutritious and help you grow. What does a little brat like you know?”
The little brat stopped talking, practically ready to burst with anger.
Jiang Queyun took the bowls and chopsticks away. The bowls were so clean they didn’t even need washing, yet the kid still had the nerve to lie. It was clearly overwhelmingly delicious!
Just as he stepped out of the small room, he saw Lu Hanbai standing a few paces away. Jiang Queyun handed over the tableware. “Your son’s bowl. You wash it.”
Lu Hanbai didn’t say anything either. He honestly scrubbed the bowls and chopsticks clean, then headed back inside with him.
The room they slept in was somewhat larger than the small one.
Jiang Queyun didn’t sit on the bed. He always felt the original owner was rather dirty, and since Lu Hanbai hadn’t been home for a period of time, he surely hadn’t changed the sheets or quilt, let alone taken a bath.
It was a good thing the two of them didn’t have any physical intimacy, otherwise he would have felt too embarrassed to even take off his clothes.
Seeing him looking hesitant and awkward, Lu Hanbai stepped forward and yanked off all the dirty sheets and quilt, pulling clean cotton ones out of the wardrobe to spread over the bed. He cast a sidelong glance at Jiang Queyun, who was still sitting there. “Not coming over to lie down and sleep? Are you waiting for me to invite you?”
“I don’t want to.” Jiang Queyun scratched his arm.
With the new sheets on, he wanted to lie down even less.
His body felt dirty; how could he possibly lie directly on a clean bed?
Lu Hanbai raised a dark eyebrow, probing with a meaningful look. “Sitting there waiting for me to invite you? Every time I come back, don’t you usually scurry over here like a dog?”
A dog?
Who is a dog?
Jiang Queyun flared up instantly, though the anger that had just bubbled up evaporated the moment he saw Lu Hanbai’s cold expression. He expressed his anger powerlessly.
Waving his hands repeatedly as if trying to clear up any misunderstanding, he stammered, “There’s really no need this time. I’m not clean on me. Better not, better not.”
While he said this out loud, the little figure in his mind was frantically sifting through the memories in his head.
The original owner really had been far too bold.
After doing all those bad things, he actually still had the nerve to sleep right next to Lu Hanbai with a brazen face. Wasn’t he afraid that the god of murder would strangle him in the middle of the night?
Wasn’t he afraid?
He was afraid! He was terrified! The original owner had been scared to death of Lu Hanbai, which was why every time Lu Hanbai came back, he would hide far away and wouldn’t even dare utter a single word, let alone cling to Lu Hanbai like a dog!
Could this be it? Could he be testing him?
Thinking of this, Jiang Queyun carefully raised his head to look. But Lu Hanbai acted as if he had just asked a casual question, paying no mind to the matter at all as he was already taking off his clothes.
“I can just sleep on the reclining chair,” Jiang Queyun murmured, biting his lip. Although he didn’t have a severe case of germ phobia, he still couldn’t bring himself to lie down all filthy among clean bedding.
“You’re getting less and less clean by the day.” Lu Hanbai gave him a look of utter disgust, stripped to the waist, and walked out of the house.
Not long after, Jiang Queyun heard the splashing sound of water.
Jiang Queyun’s breathing quickened and his chest heaved violently. He closed his eyes. That hateful Lu Hanbai. Why did he have to have such an obnoxious personality?
Clearly, it was Lu Hanbai who had urged him to sleep, yet when he was about to do so, Lu Hanbai turned around and criticized him for not being clean. What did the original owner’s lack of hygiene have to do with him?
Ah! What a hateful piece of work!
Even though it was only early March, the nights were still chilly. Lu Hanbai ran hot and didn’t mind it at all; ladle after ladle of cold water poured over him actually made him feel much more comfortable.
Chasing away the heat, Lu Hanbai couldn’t help thinking of the uneasy person sitting inside the house. After roughly wiping down his sturdy body, he headed to the kitchen to boil some hot water.
He truly didn’t like Jiang Queyun, but the current Jiang Queyun was different.
“Jiang Queyun,” Lu Hanbai called out softly.
“Hey!” Jiang Queyun instinctively lowered his voice, responding as he hurried toward the door. “What is it? Did you call me for…”
What is it?
Jiang Queyun stared blankly at the bare-chested man standing before him. His shoulders and back were broad, his pectoral muscles full, and his abdominal muscles carved with tight, springy lines, resembling a meticulously sculpted work of art.
At just a single glance, the corners of his lips couldn’t help curling upward, and his eyes glued themselves firmly to those eight-pack abs, cursing only that he didn’t dare reach out and touch them.
He so wanted to experience that overflowing burst of hormones with his own hands.
“Pervert,” Lu Hanbai evaluated aloud.
“No way, you’re just talking nonsense.” Jiang Queyun bit his lip guiltily, barely managing to suppress his smile.
Who doesn’t love a muscular man with abs?
A flash of amusement crossed Lu Hanbai’s eyes. He turned slightly to the side. “There’s hot water boiling in the kitchen. Wash up and go back to bed when you’re done. I won’t wait up if you’re too late.”
“Who wants you to wait!” Jiang Queyun mumbled under his breath in defiance, his mouth never losing an argument.
Before Lu Hanbai could raise a foot to kick his backside, he scooped up his clean clothes and scurried away in a flash.
Jiang Queyun truly hadn’t expected Lu Hanbai to boil hot water for him.
For him to do something like this meant he probably didn’t hate the original owner all that much after all, right?
Of course, this was naturally all thanks to his own efforts. He had been honest, well-behaved, and hardworking all day long, not doing a single out-of-line thing. Even if Lu Hanbai were made of stone, he wouldn’t strike down someone who was behaving so obediently, would he?
You couldn’t really blame Lu Hanbai for what he said. The original owner genuinely despised being clean.
Jiang Queyun frowned as he scrubbed himself fiercely, stopping only when his skin turned red, and even washed his hair, carefully avoiding the injury.
The wound on his forehead wasn’t anything major, but it had still cost the original owner his life. One could only say his time was up, and now it was his turn to save himself properly.
Changing into clean clothes, Jiang Queyun comfortably made his way back to the room. All around was quiet, and the single candle burning in the room looked exceptionally bright.
The family was already this poor, yet they could still afford to use candles. Truly incredible.
“Once you’ve tidied up, blow out the candle,” Lu Hanbai said from his spot on the reclining chair.
“You’re not sleeping on the bed?” Jiang Queyun was startled, gently patting his chest as his gaze fell on that stub of a candle. “The family is dirt poor. Can’t we save a candle where we can?”
Lu Hanbai glanced him up and down.
It wasn’t that he wanted to overthink things, but the current Jiang Queyun’s changes were simply too drastic, so drastic that he couldn’t help but be suspicious.
The person who used to insist on keeping candles lit all through the night was actually uttering words about saving candles. Was he acting so poorly that he couldn’t even keep up the pretense?
“I’m heading into town to make purchases early tomorrow morning. Do you need anything?” Lu Hanbai ignored him and asked straight to the point.
“I want to drink bone soup, and your son needs bone soup to build up his strength too.” Jiang Queyun gently gathered his hair, trying to make it dry faster. “And meat, buy plenty. Well, just buy whatever.”
The family was dirt poor; if a thief dropped by for a visit, they’d probably have to leave some silver behind just to get out. How could they afford to eat much?
Lu Hanbai gave a light acknowledgement and slowly closed his eyes.
Jiang Queyun sensibly stopped talking, walked over to the bedside with the candle, set it down, and after lying down properly, leaned over to blow out the flame.
Everything that happened today left him feeling exhausted.
He had inexplicably transmigrated into a book he once read but never finished. He didn’t even know the subsequent developments, knowing only that his own end was a dead-end scenario, forcing him to live a life of careful, trembling survival from here on out. Why on earth did they have to do this to him!
Ah!
“Jiang Queyun, if you’re not going to sleep, get out. Stop wriggling around like a worm.”
The night was as dark as ink.
Lu Hanbai’s slightly dissatisfied voice rang out abruptly.
Jiang Queyun was full of rebellious spirit and instinctively wanted to retort, but realizing he had to bow his head when under someone else’s roof, he simply rolled over heavily to adjust his sleeping posture and continued letting his thoughts wander.
Things had already reached this point; even if he wanted to go home, he had to take it step by step.
Lu Hanbai was one of the author’s beloved golden children, so he certainly wasn’t a narrow-minded villain who broke laws and committed crimes. As long as he obediently stayed by Lu Hanbai’s side, keeping his life safe would be absolute child’s play.
As for what happened later, since he had already become a variable, the future plot would probably change a bit, but it shouldn’t change too drastically since he was just an early-stage cannon fodder character anyway.
Everything after that belonged to the protagonists; as long as he kept his little life intact, that was enough!
For the next few days, he would just dig up some herbs, sell them for a bit of silver, and fill his stomach first before worrying about anything else!
Jiang Queyun was naturally the adaptable type, always carrying a leisurely mindset of wherever you are, make peace with it. After comforting himself, he drifted off into a deep sleep.
Hearing his breathing gradually steady and knowing he was fast asleep, Lu Hanbai turned over once more and lay down.
Early the next morning.
Jiang Queyun woke up bright and early, resting his chin in his hands as he sat dazed under the thatched eaves. The courtyard still held the herbs he had been drying; with the sun growing increasingly strong, the moisture in the roots had long since baked away.
Hearing a movement, he immediately stood up and greeted the other person with exceptional enthusiasm.
“Oh, you bought all these things! Thank you so much for your hard work! Give them here, give them here, I’ll go make breakfast right now!”
Lu Hanbai raised an eyebrow, glanced at the dried herbs, and lowered his gaze to look at Jiang Queyun. “You’re being overly courteous for no reason. Speak your mind.”
Jiang Queyun patted his face, lifted his pretty little chin, and flashed a brilliant smile. “Husband, take me to town tomorrow, won’t you? I promise that once I sell the herbs, I’ll come right back home with you obediently!”
A wise man submits to circumstances.
A real man knows when to bend and when to stretch!