“Remember to apply the ointment morning and night—it’ll help with your frostbite.”
Xie Tinglan nodded in acknowledgment, still somewhat unaccustomed to Liu Zhiheng’s sudden concern. He studied Liu Zhiheng, feeling as though the person before him once again overlapped with the image of the girl in his memory.
The gentle Liu Zhiheng now seemed more aligned with the one Xie Tinglan had imagined in the past.
Ever since he was rescued by Liu Zhiheng from a mountain trap at the age of eight, he had longed to see the hunter’s reclusive, beautiful daughter again.
Finally, at sixteen, he saw Liu Zhiheng once more, but her personality was vastly different from what he had imagined.
She was so vulgar, shameless, lowly, and shallow—utterly shattering the person of his fantasies.
That was why Xie Tinglan despised Liu Zhiheng so much—not only for her persistent advances but also for destroying his illusions.
“Young Master Xie?” Liu Zhiheng called out, noticing Xie Tinglan staring blankly at her. “Is there anything else you need?”
Xie Tinglan snapped back to reality, realizing what he had been thinking, and felt an indescribable sense of shame.
He cleared his throat and said, “Starting tomorrow, I’ll be returning to the county school. I’ll come back on the fifteenth, and I’ll bring your brother back with me on the way.”
“That’s wonderful! I’ve been worried about this for days!”
Her brother was only eleven, and with the heavy snowfall outside, Liu Zhiheng was genuinely afraid something might happen to him on his way back to the village. As a woman, she couldn’t easily go to the county town alone, so having Xie Tinglan’s help put her mind at ease.
“From now on, I’ll help pick up and drop off your brother. If you encounter any trouble or if anyone bullies you during this time, you can go to the village chief. I’ve already spoken to him, and he’ll still give me some face.”
Liu Zhiheng wondered inwardly, what on earth was wrong with Xie Tinglan?
She couldn’t help but ask, “Young Master Xie, are you… concerned about me?”
Xie Tinglan was deeply irritated by such a suggestion. He stood up impatiently and said, “Who’s concerned about you? Until our engagement is dissolved, your disgrace is my disgrace. Just mind your own business.”
With that, Xie Tinglan left in a huff.
How bizarre…
Liu Zhiheng quickly followed him out, seeing him off at the courtyard gate.
As he walked away, she called after him, “Young Master Xie, I’ll be waiting for you to bring my brother back on the fifteenth!”
Xie Tinglan paused briefly but didn’t turn around or reply. Instead, he raised his hand and waved, signaling that he had heard her.
Liu Zhiheng couldn’t help but click her tongue.
What a show-off!
At the foot of the mountain, Chuncao, who had followed Xie Tinglan all the way there, was hiding in the shadows.
She had been standing in the snow for so long that her body was nearly numb from the cold. But seeing Xie Tinglan leave the Liu family’s courtyard, she felt her heart grow even colder than her legs.
Because just now, when Xie Tinglan had his back to Liu Zhiheng, he had actually smiled. Although the expression lasted only a moment, Chuncao had seen it.
Could Brother Xie really have fallen for that shameless woman, Liu Zhiheng?
…
The long night stretched on. Without Duan Wujiu to chat or play chess with, Liu Zhiheng was so bored she felt like banging her head against the wall. Yet, she couldn’t fall asleep, so she chose to keep herself busy by drawing a map of Peach Blossom Village for fun.In her previous life, Liu Zhiheng was a geological expert on a scientific expedition team, so drawing maps came naturally to her. But she drew with such detail that by the time she finished the Geomancy Map of Peach Blossom Village, it was already the third watch of the night. Only then did Liu Zhiheng collapse onto the heated kang bed and fall asleep.
She hadn’t slept long before she was awakened by the sound of chickens outside. She opened her eyes and looked at the sky outside—wasn’t it still too early for the roosters to crow?
The chickens’ desperate cries continued without end. Liu Zhiheng’s heart sank. Could it be that the chickens at home were being eaten by wild beasts from the mountains?
Liu Zhiheng hurriedly threw on an outer garment and went outside.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, she saw a person squatting in the yard. The person was covered in chicken feathers and was viciously plucking the feathers from a chicken’s wing. Half the feathers on that wing were already gone.
Liu Zhiheng recognized that person’s back.
“Xuelang?”
Duan Wujiu turned his head. His eyes had been bloodshot, his whole body tense, but the moment he saw Liu Zhiheng, he instantly relaxed.
“A Heng…” Duan Wujiu’s tone was somewhat dejected.
Liu Zhiheng looked at the half-bald wild chicken in Duan Wujiu’s hand, momentarily wondering if she was hallucinating.
“Where have you been all day? And what’s going on with this chicken?”
“During the day, it took advantage of my inattention and flew into the mountains. I went to catch it.”
“You spent the whole day catching it?”
Duan Wujiu nodded. “The snow in the mountains is deep, easily masking scents. This chicken is a crafty one. It took me quite a while to find it.”
Somehow, Liu Zhiheng suddenly felt a sense of absurdity, followed immediately by a wave of grievance.
She had thought Duan Wujiu had left. She had been genuinely sad for a while, even having already consoled herself, and then he came back, telling her he had been catching a chicken.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I thought…” Liu Zhiheng felt wronged.
“Thought what?”
“Nothing…” Liu Zhiheng’s eyes grew slightly red as she complained, “It’s just a chicken. If it flew away, it flew away. Why go to all that trouble to catch it?”
Duan Wujiu’s expression was downcast. “But this was a task A Heng entrusted to me. If I can’t even handle such a small thing well, what if A Heng thinks I’m useless and doesn’t want me as her child groom anymore?”
Liu Zhiheng’s heart skipped a beat. Was this the reason Duan Wujiu had tried so hard?
To find a single chicken, he had practically run around the mountains for a day and a night, just because it was something she had asked him to do, just because he saw himself as a child groom and was afraid she would abandon him?
At this moment, Liu Zhiheng felt she was truly a terrible person…
“I won’t think you’re useless.”
Hearing Liu Zhiheng’s words, Duan Wujiu’s dejected expression vanished completely, replaced by happiness. “Then I’ll kill it right now.”
“Forget it!” Liu Zhiheng suddenly didn’t want to kill the chicken anymore. “You worked so hard to catch it; it would be a shame to eat it. Let’s just raise it.”
Liu Zhiheng threw the half-bald chicken into the chicken coop. Worried it might get cold, she stuffed in some extra straw.
Turning around and seeing Duan Wujiu covered in chicken feathers, Liu Zhiheng felt her heart soften a little more.
“Hurry up and go inside to wash up. I’ll get you something to eat.”
By the time the two had eaten, dawn was almost breaking. Seeing Liu Zhiheng’s persistently sullen expression, Duan Wujiu grew anxious.
“A Heng, have I made you angry?”Liu Zhiheng shook her head. “No, it’s just that from now on, you’re not allowed to disappear without saying a word, understand?”
“I was wrong. I didn’t know it would take so long. A Heng, if you’re angry, just hit me, okay?”
Duan Wujiu grabbed Liu Zhiheng’s hand, trying to make her hit himself, but she quickly pulled it back.
“What’s with hitting? I couldn’t bear to…” Liu Zhiheng muttered. “I’m not angry either. It’s just that you were gone for so long today, I thought… you wouldn’t come back.”
Duan Wujiu smiled. “A Heng, you’re so silly. This is my home. I’m the child groom you bought back. We’re the closest people in the world—how could I not come back?”
Duan Wujiu spoke without thinking, but Liu Zhiheng took his words to heart.
Suddenly, she no longer wanted to keep deceiving Duan Wujiu. Even if he might choose to leave after learning the truth, she didn’t want to lie to him anymore.
“Xuelang, there’s actually something I’ve never told you. You’re actually…”
Before Liu Zhiheng could finish, Duan Wujiu elegantly yawned, interrupting her. “A Heng, I’ve been running around all day. I’m so tired. Can we sleep first?”
Without waiting for Liu Zhiheng’s response, he climbed onto the heated kang bed and lay down.
Liu Zhiheng had no choice. Thinking he must indeed be exhausted, she decided to find another opportunity to tell him the truth. After a moment’s thought, she also climbed onto the heated kang bed and soon fell asleep.
Only when he heard Liu Zhiheng’s steady breathing did Duan Wujiu open his eyes.
He looked at Liu Zhiheng, his expression dark and unreadable, lost in thought. Then, he shifted slightly toward her, gently grasped the corner of her clothes, and rested his head on her loose, flowing hair before falling asleep again.