When the original owner had been simple-minded, most of her memories had been chaotic. There were many things Song Zhaoxi couldn’t remember, and she had never expected there to be such an incident.
No wonder Ji Changfeng had looked at her so strangely just now. She immediately felt a little embarrassed.
Chang’an didn’t understand what Song Zhaoxi’s previous words had meant. He looked at her with wide, expectant eyes.
“Sister-in-law, are you going to cook and eat these bugs?”
“These aren’t bugs. They’re called crayfish.”
Song Zhaoxi patiently explained as she pushed her thoughts aside and skillfully scrubbed the shells clean.
The two children didn’t stay idle either. They hurried off to gather firewood and start the fire.
Once the oil was hot, she tossed in scallions, ginger, garlic, and chilies, stir-frying them until fragrant before pouring in the prepared seasonings and the crayfish.
Considering that Ji Yuanchuan, his wife, and Chang’an couldn’t eat spicy food, Song Zhaoxi put one-third of the crayfish into one pot and made spicy crayfish, while the remaining two-thirds were stir-fried with a lighter seasoning.
When the two overflowing basins of crayfish were carried to the table, the rich, spicy aroma assaulted everyone’s senses. Ji Changlan immediately called for Ji Changfeng.
“Big Brother, while you were away, Sister-in-law has been making delicious food for us every day.”
Chang’an also chimed in with his childish voice, “Everything Sister-in-law cooks smells so good! She even made us new clothes.”
Seeing his younger brother and sister speaking nothing but praise for Song Zhaoxi, Ji Changfeng merely glanced at her.
Song Zhaoxi awkwardly looked away.
Yao Shi picked up a crayfish and frowned.
“Zhaoxi, this thing’s shell is so hard. How do you eat it? It isn’t poisonous, is it?”
“You peel off the shell.”
Song Zhaoxi picked up a crayfish and demonstrated personally.
The wild crayfish was tender, juicy, and delicious. After sucking the flavorful meat from one, she couldn’t resist peeling another.
At first, the Ji family didn’t dare touch them. But seeing how much Song Zhaoxi enjoyed them, they cautiously tried a bite, and after that, they couldn’t stop, devouring them with great enthusiasm.
Ji Changfeng ate two of them, and a look of appreciation appeared in his eyes. Most of the time, however, he spent peeling crayfish for Changlan and Chang’an.
Song Zhaoxi’s gaze couldn’t help falling on Ji Changfeng’s hands.
She had never seen such beautiful hands before—fair and slender, with distinct knuckles.
As if sensing someone staring at him, Ji Changfeng looked up at her. Song Zhaoxi hurriedly looked away.
She wondered if this meal of crayfish would be enough to persuade him to happily sign the divorce agreement and, while he was at it, write an inscription on her fan.
After everyone had eaten their fill, no one wanted to move. Smiling, Yao Shi stood up to clean the dishes.
“You lazy bunch. Hurry and wash up and go to bed.”
Suddenly, Song Zhaoxi spoke.
“Aunt Yao, can I sleep with you tonight?”
Yao Shi froze. Thinking about how Song Zhaoxi had previously talked about leaving their family, she suddenly felt reluctant.
Such a good daughter-in-law was impossible to find even with a lantern!
With that thought, Yao Shi turned to her son with a stern face.
“Changfeng, let Zhaoxi sleep in your room.”
Ji Changfeng’s expression darkened. However, he rarely argued too strongly with his mother. After a moment’s struggle, he carefully said,
“Mother, that’s not appropriate.”
“What’s inappropriate about it? Even if the two of you don’t have any feelings for each other yet, your kang is huge. Would it be appropriate for Zhaoxi to squeeze into our room instead?”
In the end, Ji Changfeng couldn’t win against his mother and entered his room with Song Zhaoxi following behind him.
Having lived two lives, this was the first time Song Zhaoxi had ever shared a room with a man. She felt inexplicably nervous.
Although she had had many admirers in her previous life, she had devoted herself entirely to making money. Following the principle of never settling unless she met someone she truly liked, she had remained single all her life.
Fortunately, the heated brick bed was large enough to occupy nearly half the room.
“Um… how about hanging a curtain down the middle of the bed?” Song Zhaoxi suggested.
Ji Changfeng glanced at her.
“To protect myself from you?”
Song Zhaoxi: “?”
Well… no matter how one looked at it, she did seem more likely to take advantage of him.
She didn’t answer and silently went to make the bed.
Ji Changfeng sat at the table, lit an oil lamp, and copied something by the faint light.
He knew very well how difficult life was at home and how hard it was for his mother to get even a little money from Old Madam Ji.
While studying at the county school, he never asked his family for money unless he absolutely had to. Usually, he earned a few coins by copying books for others.
Though… he didn’t know how much longer he could keep this up.
At some point, Song Zhaoxi had walked up behind him.
Although she couldn’t recognize all the characters of this era, she could still tell good handwriting from bad. Despite his young age, Ji Changfeng’s writing was bold and forceful yet graceful and elegant, neat as though it had been printed.
Sensing someone behind him, Ji Changfeng turned around to look at her.
Song Zhaoxi froze at the suddenly enlarged handsome face before her.
How could someone become even more handsome the closer you looked at him?
Especially those phoenix eyes, dark as the night, like a deep pool that could draw people in without their noticing.
This was practically the face of her dreams!
Ji Changfeng, somewhat wary, leaned back slightly.
“Do you need something?”
Realizing she had been staring too intently and afraid he might have misunderstood, she quickly explained,
“Ahem… your handwriting is really beautiful. Could you write a couple of lines for me?”
“What lines?”
Song Zhaoxi took out the round fan she had already made and smiled.
“I’ll trouble you to write: Beyond the misty willows, in the season of drizzling rain and blooming crabapple flowers.”
Ji Changfeng took the fan and examined it, looking somewhat incredulous.
“You made this?”
“Mm. I was planning to take it to the county and exchange it for some silver, but the fan looked a little empty. I thought that if you refused to help, I’d find a scholar in town to write on it. But now it seems I won’t find handwriting prettier than yours.”
She smiled at him, her eyes curving into crescents.
Whenever she asked someone for a favor, Song Zhaoxi always put on an obedient and friendly expression. After all, no one would hit a smiling face.
Ji Changfeng withdrew his gaze and raised his brush.
As he wrote, he asked,
“Where did you hear this poem?”
“I forgot.”
Ji Changfeng wasn’t as easy to fool as the rest of the Ji family. Even the best excuses would have loopholes, so Song Zhaoxi couldn’t be bothered to explain.
“Forgot? Then how are you so sure I’d help you?”
“Not completely sure. But people go soft on those who feed them. Today, I spent a fortune buying ingredients to prepare a welcoming meal for you. Of course you’d help with this tiny favor. Besides, I’ve always been kind and friendly. No normal person would refuse to help me…”
Heh. In other words, if he didn’t help, he wasn’t a normal person.
Ji Changfeng wrote the last character and turned to look at her with a complicated expression.
“The fish vendor in the east of town has been trying to sell those crayfish for half a month at one copper coin per jin and still can’t get rid of them. That’s what you call ‘a fortune’?”
The smile on Song Zhaoxi’s face stiffened.
Ji Changfeng mercilessly continued,
“Mother already told me everything that happened at home these past few days. I heard that several of Grandmother Ji’s fingers were nearly chopped off. I truly didn’t know what connection Miss Song had with the words ‘kind and friendly.'”
Song Zhaoxi could no longer keep up the act. Somewhat depressed, she snatched back the fan, took out her needle and thread, and began embroidering along his calligraphy strokes, ignoring him.
After a long while, Ji Changfeng’s voice sounded again.
“Thank you.”
“…”