Wen Yan stopped and stared at Bai Shanshan.
Bai Shanshan instantly felt guilty and raised her hand to swear, “I was talking nonsense!
I didn’t mean it!
I really didn’t!”
Wen Yan said sternly, “Comrade Bai, I don’t appreciate jokes like that.”
Sensing Wen Yan’s seriousness, Bai Shanshan said, “It won’t happen again.
I’ll never say it again.”
“Alright, I’ll trust you this once.”
Wen Yan magnanimously agreed.
‘She’d sought out Bai Shanshan for the job because she didn’t want to waste time on pointless squabbles, but if it really became a hassle, she had no problem dropping it.’
Wen Yan spent the entire afternoon in the cafeteria.
Whenever Master Niu wasn’t busy, she would ask him questions while Bai Shanshan took notes beside her.
Her wrist felt like it was about to break from all the writing.
But Wen Yan’s earlier reaction had given her a scare, so Bai Shanshan didn’t dare cause any trouble.
The two of them worked hard all afternoon without a word.
Wen Yan was so down-to-earth that no one could find a single fault with her, and the more Master Niu watched, the more he liked her.
‘It was like discovering someone with both the heart of an innocent and the talent of a genius during the immortal cultivation exams—who wouldn’t be tempted to take them on as a disciple?’
‘He just had to figure out how to poach her.’
*
Jiang Baizhou worked diligently all morning.
He had dark circles under his eyes and would rub his lower back from time to time.
He had gotten up before dawn today to memorize the homework Wen Yan had assigned him.
He wasn’t looking where he was going and ran his lower back into the doorframe.
Zhang Yingzhang, unable to contain his primal urge to gossip, came over with a sleazy look on his face.
“Back sore?”
Jiang Baizhou was so obsessed with memorizing his material that he was terrified of failing the test tonight and losing face in front of Wen Yan.
He just grunted a vague “uh-huh” in response to Zhang Yingzhang’s question.
“You doing okay, kid?
You seemed to have plenty of strength when you were fighting me.”
Zhang Yingzhang leaned in closer, his voice low with conspiracy.
“Hey, I’ve got some Deer Antler Wine.
Want me to get you some?”
Jiang Baizhou finally spared him a shred of attention and grinned mischievously.
“Well, well, looks like Old Zhang is quite experienced!”
Old Zhang: “…”
‘Damn!
Did I just give something away?’
That evening, Jiang Baizhou returned home on time, and Wen Yan got off work right on schedule, without a minute of overtime.
The two happened to arrive at the door at the exact same time and silently met each other’s gaze.
Sister-in-law Zhou Hong, who had just come out to empty some water, glanced over.
‘Ah, young love is so sweet.’
‘They haven’t seen each other for just one day, and look how they cling to each other with their eyes.’
Then, she saw Wen Yan flick her wrist to check her watch and ask with a serious expression, “Are you ready?”
Jiang Baizhou nodded grimly.
“I’m ready!”
“Good.
Let’s make the most of our time.
We should try to do it a few more times before you leave.”
Hearing this, Sister-in-law Zhou, who was standing outside, turned beet red.
She grabbed her slop bucket and ran back inside.
‘My god, these young people are intense!’
‘Is this something I should be hearing?!’
As Zhou Hong ran into the house, Zhang Yingzhang was heading out with his head down.
BUMP!
“Well, well.
This melon is certainly ripe.”
Zhang Yingzhang’s wisecrack was infuriating.
Zhou Hong shot him a glare, but before she could curse him out, she grabbed him.
“Where are you going?”
Zhang Yingzhang clutched the small bottle of medicinal wine in his pocket and said, “I’m going to see Old Jiang.”
‘He was going to make his contribution to Old Jiang’s happiness.’
When Zhou Hong heard that, her face turned even redder.
“No!”
“What do you mean, ‘no’…?
Hey, hey, hey, what are you pinching me for?!”
Stunned, Zhang Yingzhang was dragged and pulled back inside by Zhou Hong.
The couple whispered back and forth for a while.
Then, Zhang Yingzhang looked outside and asked, “Really?
A few times?”
“Stop asking!
Have you no shame?
Just don’t go over there, alright?”
Zhang Yingzhang stood at the door, lost in thought.
‘No wonder his back was sore.
He must be exhausted!’
‘I never would have guessed.
That kid’s an animal.’
‘Heh heh.’
‘Just wait and see how I’m going to make fun of him!’
Jiang Baizhou was completely unaware of the grand drama the couple next door had concocted in their minds.
At that moment, he was sitting up straight, completely focused.
“Some swamps feature landforms such as sedge mounds, which are semicircular hillocks…
They often coexist with permafrost, presenting as peat moss swamps or mixed herbaceous-woody types…”
Wen Yan, with a stern little face, nodded, and nodded…
and then suddenly stopped.
Jiang Baizhou’s heart skipped a beat.
‘Did I recite it wrong?’
He racked his brain, corrected his answer, and finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Wen Yan start nodding again.
After he finished the first recitation, the slight furrow in Wen Yan’s brow gradually smoothed out, and a smile touched the corners of her eyes.
“Jiang Baizhou, you memorized all of it!
You’re really, really amazing.”
“Can you feel my praise?
My vocabulary might be lacking, but I’m being absolutely sincere.
Anyway, you’re super-duper amazing.”
‘Not only is he amazing, he’s a good person too.’
‘She told him to memorize it, and Jiang Baizhou just agreed without asking why, not uttering a single word of complaint.’
Jiang Baizhou looked at Wen Yan.
Instead of pretending it was easy, he took the opportunity to complain a little about the hard work and get some attention.
“Actually, I secretly got up before dawn to memorize it.”
Wen Yan pulled her small stool over to sit across from Jiang Baizhou, nodding emphatically like a chick pecking at rice.
“I’ve done that too!”
Wen Yan recounted the tragic story of how, in elementary school, she secretly studied just to keep her essays on topic, only to have the teacher give her a big fat zero anyway.
They sat face to face.
The fire in the stove between them crackled, its light flickering and dancing, filling the air with the scent of pinewood.
Jiang Baizhou leaned in slightly.
As Wen Yan reached the end of her story, her voice trailed off.
Their eyes suddenly met, each reflected in the other’s pupils.
Their breathing was faint, and an ambiguous tension filled the air—the kind that felt like it could only be resolved with a kiss.
“Wen Yan…”
At some point, Jiang Baizhou had taken Wen Yan’s hand.
His large hand enveloped her small one, the contrast in their skin tones stark as he caressed it almost imperceptibly.
“Ah?
What…
is it?”
For once, Wen Yan sensed that the atmosphere was a little off.
She wanted to pull back, but a force from her hand held her captive, unable to move.
Jiang Baizhou’s magnetic voice sounded by her ear.
“Didn’t you say you’d give me a reward if I memorized it well?
Can I make a request?”
“I…
I guess so.”
Logically, Wen Yan didn’t mind their physical closeness, but she still felt a little awkward.
‘After all, she was a single, straight-as-an-arrow girl who had never been in a relationship.
She felt it was better for them to get to know each other first and take things slow.’
‘But men’s thought processes are direct and impulsive.
That’s what biology says, anyway.’
Wen Yan’s train of thought began to derail.
Jiang Baizhou could tell at a glance that Wen Yan’s mind had wandered, and he gave her finger a playful squeeze as if to punish her.
Sure enough, Wen Yan snapped back to reality.
In her eyes, Jiang Baizhou’s figure drew closer, wrapped in a uniquely masculine warmth, his gaze a mixture of fiery passion and gentleness.
Wen Yan’s eyes went wide, not wanting to miss a single detail.
The distance between them shrank.
His pale red, thin lips and her rosy, cherry-like ones were inches apart.
Their breaths mingled, their eyelashes almost brushing against each other.
But at the very last moment, he shifted slightly aside.
Jiang Baizhou’s cool cheek brushed against Wen Yan’s delicate one.
His thin lips parted beside her ear, his warm breath turning her entire ear red.
“I want to hug you.”
The gentle, tolerant voice, filled with a uniquely masculine appeal, rang out, and Wen Yan’s heart, which had been lodged in her throat, finally settled.
‘She really wasn’t ready for a kiss.’
‘But she didn’t mind a hug.’
Wen Yan’s preferences had always been straightforward.
If she liked something, she liked it; she didn’t know the meaning of shyness.
“Okay, hug!”
Wen Yan opened her arms, tilted her chin up slightly, rested it on Jiang Baizhou’s neck, and nuzzled him affectionately twice.
A smile touched Jiang Baizhou’s lips.
He tightened his arms slightly, leaving not a sliver of space between them.
‘Now that I have you in my arms, you’re not getting away.’