By this point, the ox cart had already traveled quite a distance.
“Mother.” Liu Muli called out to Huang Shi as she stood at the gate of the courtyard, watching the ox cart head toward the village entrance.
Huang Shi’s eyes were already brimming with tears. She held Liu Muli’s hand, unable to contain her emotions, making the few older women beside them feel reluctant to part with him as well.
Liu Muli put an arm around Huang Shi’s shoulders and comforted her. “It’s all right, Mother. Linye will come back after he finishes his exams. By then, you’ll be able to enjoy a good life with him. This is a good thing, so don’t cry.”
The other women also offered words of comfort.
From the ox cart in the distance, Wei Linye saw her come out. His pupils trembled slightly, and before his mind could even react, his body had already moved. He jumped off the ox cart and ran toward the gate.
Huang Shi’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest when she saw him jump off, and even Liu Muli’s heart skipped several beats in fright.
Fortunately, the ox cart was moving slowly. Otherwise, he would surely have been injured.
When he reached them, Huang Shi opened her mouth, intending to scold him for his reckless move, but her words were abruptly interrupted.
“Mother, could you step aside for a moment?” Wei Linye’s low, hoarse voice rang out urgently.
Huang Shi had yet to react. She stared blankly at her son, who had suddenly returned. It was only when she saw him grab Liu Muli by the wrist and pull her back into the courtyard that she understood what was going on. Her old face immediately flushed red.
Oh dear, what was this supposed to mean?
Should she praise her son for still remembering to maintain proper decorum despite being in such a hurry?
But if she praised him for having a sense of propriety, he was already getting intimate with Muli in broad daylight.
Suppressing her complicated emotions, Huang Shi calmly closed the courtyard gate from the outside. She smiled and told the neighbors to go home and get on with their own chores, thanking them as well for coming to see Linye off.
After the neighbors had all left, Huang Shi walked over to Ergou and gave him a few extra copper coins. With a smile, she said, “Ergou, your Linye-ge suddenly has something he needs to discuss with Muli, so could you wait a little longer?”
“It’s no trouble, Auntie. I’m happy to wait. I feel proud that I get to see such an impressive scholar like Linye-ge off!” Ergou replied with a grin.
Although Ergou was already at the age when boys in the village were expected to start looking for a wife, he was still only a teenager. There were some things he simply didn’t understand yet.
He innocently believed that Wei Linye had rushed home because he really had something extremely urgent to tell Liu Muli.
Inside the Wei family’s courtyard, beside the wall—
Liu Muli’s back was pressed against the courtyard wall, her entire body trapped in Wei Linye’s embrace. He held the back of her head firmly, forcing her to tilt her face upward as she had no choice but to endure his fierce, hurried kisses.
The breath that had yet to escape between their lips was stolen from her inch by inch. Her eyes suddenly widened, filled with shock, while her entire body tensed.
Damn it! They were in broad daylight! This bastard was way too bold!
Liu Muli hurriedly tried to break free, but the arm wrapped around her waist suddenly tightened, pulling her even closer until her chest was almost unable to breathe.
Fortunately, Wei Linye released her soon after.
“A-Li, will you come to the capital with me?”
His deep, husky voice sounded beside her ear, the final note carrying a seductive, teasing quality. Beneath that low voice was an unmistakable reluctance to part with her—and an undeniable possessiveness.
Liu Muli steadied her breathing and refused to give an inch. She raised her eyes and glared at him angrily. “I’m not going.”
The moment she finished speaking, a trace of disappointment flashed through the man’s eyes.
But when his gaze fell upon her glistening eyes and her cherry-red, enticing lips, his heart stirred. He lowered his head and kissed her cherry-red lips once more.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he compromised again. “Fine. Then wait for me at home until I return.”
Liu Muli’s body stiffened slightly. Her eyes flickered, but her tone was reproachful. “I know. You’ve said it so many times already. Hurry up and leave. Don’t waste any more time.”
Wei Linye’s gaze darkened. He hummed in response, gently stroking her flushed cheek with his fingertip. At last, he released her, turned around, opened the gate, and stepped outside. Before leaving, he turned back to look at her again.
Liu Muli tugged the corners of her lips into a smile. For some reason, her voice had softened. “I know. Go on.”
Only then did the man continue forward.
He walked all the way to the ox cart before turning around once more to glance at the gate.
But the familiar petite figure was no longer standing there.
For some reason, that inexplicable feeling of unease—as though something had slipped beyond his control—washed over him again.
Unable to understand where this strange and unfamiliar emotion came from, he clenched his fists. In the end, he simply attributed it to his unwillingness to part with her.
….
Liu Muli indeed did not go back outside. She was afraid what had just happened would happen again.
If she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have gone outside to see him off.
How had she never realized in her previous life that he was this attached to her?
Still, she knew her own place. She understood that what he was probably attached to was the novelty of their entanglement.
One day, he would forget.
One day, he would grow tired of her.
After quite some time, Huang Shi returned, her eyes filled with tears of reluctance over her son’s departure.
When she saw Liu Muli, Huang Shi wiped away her tears and smiled. “Let’s go inside. You haven’t had breakfast yet either. I’ll heat it up for you.”
Liu Muli shook her head. “No need, Mother. I’ll just eat it as it is.”
That breakfast was eaten by only Huang Shi and Liu Muli.
Wei Linye had often been away from home before, and the two of them had frequently eaten together without him. Back then, neither of them had thought anything of it.
Yet now, for some inexplicable reason, the air around them seemed much colder and quieter.
It wasn’t just Huang Shi who felt unaccustomed to it. Even Liu Muli felt somewhat the same.
After a silent breakfast, Huang Shi told Liu Muli to rest at home while she went to work in the fields.
Liu Muli agreed. She had indeed been exhausted the previous night, and now that she had eaten her fill, sleepiness came rushing over her.
She turned to enter her own room, but her gaze fell upon Wei Linye’s room on the west side. Her eyes froze for a moment.
A strange sense of melancholy slowly spread through her heart.
She stood there in a daze for only a moment before walking straight into her own room.
But his scent from the previous night still lingered inside.
The melancholy in her heart grew even stronger.
So she simply cleaned her room from top to bottom. She moved everything that belonged to him back into his room and cleared out every trace of him.
Then she took out the straw mat, mosquito net, bedding, and pillowcases, washing everything thoroughly.
She even wiped down the bed boards.
She kept herself busy throughout the entire morning.
Around noon, Huang Shi returned carrying a handful of baby bok choy and a large bundle of sweet potato leaves. When she saw the sheets, mosquito net, and straw mat hanging in the courtyard to dry, she froze for a moment.
“Muli, why did you suddenly wash all the bedding and things?”
As soon as she said this, Huang Shi suddenly remembered something. She felt rather embarrassed and deliberately pretended to remain calm.
Still, she couldn’t help sighing.
Liu Muli smiled and calmly lied, “I was planning to have a cup of tea this morning and then sleep for a while longer, but I accidentally spilled the tea on the bed. The sheets and mat got wet, so I decided to wash everything together.”
Huang Shi didn’t suspect anything. Relieved, she didn’t think much of it and simply asked what Liu Muli wanted to eat for lunch.
Liu Muli glanced at the handful of baby bok choy in her hand. “We ate quite a lot at breakfast. Why don’t we just make some noodles for lunch and add some baby bok choy?”
Huang Shi nodded. “Mm, that works. I think we still have a bundle of noodles left.”