Su Yue found that sleeping entwined with Jiang Ci was even more uncomfortable and awkward. The humid air, combined with their close proximity in a room without air conditioning, left their skin damp with sweat. Yet, despite the discomfort, she eventually drifted into a deep sleep, exhausted from the night’s events.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long, slanting rays into the tranquil courtyard, Grandma Fang entered the room to wake them up for dinner. She found her granddaughter curled against her grandson-in-law, a picture of domestic intimacy. They looked utterly comfortable, their bodies intertwined, a truly loving scene. Grandma Fang had heard her daughter complain about Jiang Ci—his unpleasant personality, his blindness, his ruined face—but now, observing the young couple, she felt reassured. Their bond seemed strong. As for Jiang Ci’s character, despite their brief acquaintance, his actions in the middle of the night—bringing Yueyue home and carrying the old man to the hospital—spoke volumes about his devotion to his wife. His scarred face was of little consequence; men didn’t rely on looks for their livelihood. And his blindness, while unfortunate, was better than those with perfect sight who were blind to others’ needs. Grandma Fang , rooted in an older generation’s simple wisdom, believed that marrying for love and kindness was paramount; everything else was secondary.
“Yueyue, dinner is ready,” Grandma Fang called out, her heart swelling with happiness.
Jiang Ci had stirred when the door opened. He tightened his embrace around Su Yue, lowering his chin. “Su Yue, get up and eat.” His voice, usually cool, held a rare note of tenderness. Su Yue stirred dazedly, her soft hair brushing against Jiang Ci’s cheeks, causing his firm jaw to tighten almost imperceptibly.
Seeing her grandson-in-law awake, Grandma Fang smiled. “I’ll go down to set the dishes. After Yueyue wakes up, you two should hurry down and eat.” With that, she left, closing the door behind her.
The woman in his arms still hadn’t fully woken. Jiang Ci’s slender fingertips lifted the stray hairs that tickled his chin, a faint, contented smile playing on his lips as he caught Su Yue’s milky scent. His fingertips then grazed her cheek, noticing the difference from its usual smooth, delicate texture. Uneven, shallow scars marred the surface, the scabs still a little hard. Jiang Ci frowned, a surge of irritation mixed with something akin to protectiveness washing over him. She had been doused with sulfuric acid to save him. Stupid! His cold fingers gently brushed the scar, noting its roughness compared to the surrounding uninjured skin. Remembering Su Yue’s pitiful cries in the hospital, a wave of annoyance hit him. Who asked her to be so clever as to save him? Jiang Ci lifted his upper body slightly, reached for Su Yue’s ear, and bit down, grinding his teeth gently on the soft lobe.
Su Yue awoke with a jolt of pain. She opened her hazy eyes, touching her ear. It stung, like an insect bite. “Awake?” Jiang Ci asked, his face expressionless.
“Well, my ear hurts a little. Did you pull my ear?” Su Yue blushed, pushing herself up from Jiang Ci’s chest.
“I called you several times, but you didn’t wake up,” Jiang Ci said calmly, his voice slow and even. “I had to resort to drastic measures. You sleep too comfortably on my body.”
Su Yue hadn’t realized she had slept so deeply. She mumbled shyly, “It’s okay.” She touched her ear again, feeling a slight dampness. Jiang Ci snorted, then rose and sat up. “Go down and eat.”
When they descended to the first floor, Jiang Haoyan was nowhere to be seen. Upon asking her grandmother, Su Yue learned he had run to the backyard. Su Yue found the little boy there, his small hands clutching millet, tossing it to the chickens pecking about. “Eat, Haohao feeds you!” he chirped. After emptying his hands, he went back for another handful from his bowl, continuing to sprinkle it for the eager chickens.
“Little Haohao,” Su Yue called, approaching him. She had expected the child to be bored, but he was delighted, teasing the chickens. He had only ever eaten chicken; he had never seen or touched live ones before. “Come in for dinner,” Su Yue urged.
“Well, then I’ll play with them after dinner,” Xiao Haohao replied, his bright eyes fixed on the plump chickens. “Feed them fat and eat chicken legs!” The hens and chicks scattered in a flurry of feathers.
Grandma Fang, a skilled cook, had prepared several home-cooked dishes. The vegetables were from her own garden, and the chickens were homegrown, making the meal exceptionally fresh and delicious.
“Grandpa, do you feel better? Do you still have a fever?” Su Yue asked, worried.
“It’s okay, I took the medicine and slept again. I’m full of energy now,” Grandpa Fang boomed, his complexion indeed much improved.
“I just checked your grandpa’s forehead; the fever is gone, you don’t have to worry,” Grandma Fang said, glaring at Grandpa Fang. “The doctor also said the fever was caused by the inflammation in your leg, so please don’t go up the mountain. If you don’t listen… it’s fortunate you only broke your leg, otherwise… a man his age still so stubborn.” Grandma Fang launched into a familiar lecture.
“Didn’t you cough a couple of days ago? The loquats on the mountain are ripe. I wanted to pick some for you,” Grandpa Fang’s loud voice softened, a hint of guilt in his tone.
“What are you doing picking that? I’ll just drink some pear water,” Grandma Fang countered, knowing he had gone up the mountain for her sake. She gave Grandpa Fang a large portion of braised pork, abandoning her lecture.
“Grandma, are you coughing? Do you need to see a doctor?” Only then did Su Yue realize her grandmother had also been unwell.
Grandma Fang quickly waved her off. “No, no, it rained a few days ago, and I caught a little cold, so I just coughed a few times. And your grandfather busybody as ever made a fuss.” Su Yue breathed a sigh of relief. The two elderly people were not as young as they once were; they needed to take care of themselves, and any problems should be addressed promptly.
“By the way, Yueyue, when are you going back? Do you want to stay here for two days?” Grandma Fang asked, hoping to spend more time with her granddaughter.
Su Yue glanced at Jiang Ci, who was eating methodically, quickly but without rudeness. “Jiang Ci, let’s stay at my grandparents’ house for a few days, what do you think?” Su Yue secretly nudged his leg under the table with her fingertips.
“Oh, as long as you like it,” Jiang Ci replied, his tone nonchalant.
Su Yue smiled and told Grandpa Fang, “Then we will stay at Grandpa and Grandma’s house for a few days.”
“Okay, okay, okay, Yueyue! Don’t you like to eat dumplings the most? We’ll eat dumplings tomorrow!” Grandma Fang’s face lit up with joy.
As night fell, the darkness deepened. Su Yue hadn’t packed pajamas, so she found some clothes the original owner had left in the old, unpainted wooden wardrobe. Among them were several loose, long shirts. They would have fit the original owner, but now, Su Yue’s slimmer figure meant they hung so loosely they could almost pass as dresses. She put on one of the shirts; it was incredibly comfortable. The old fabric was softer and more skin-friendly than any new garment. The shirt reached her thighs, leaving her long, slender, white legs exposed, gleaming under the incandescent light.
Su Yue walked over to the bed and looked at Jiang Ci, who was still wearing his black shirt and trousers. “Grandpa’s clothes are clean. Are you sure you don’t want to wear them?” They had come in such a hurry, only bringing a couple of changes of clothes for daily wear, nothing comfortable enough for sleeping.
“Don’t wear them,” Jiang Ci replied, leaning against the wooden headboard, his eyelids lifting lazily. “I don’t wear other people’s clothes.”
“That’s up to you,” Su Yue said, placing her clothes on a chair and turning on the fan. Surrounded by mountains, the village experienced hot days but significant temperature drops at night, making the indoors cool.
A thick quilt had been placed under the mat on the bed, making it much softer. Su Yue had swallowed her pride and asked her grandmother for the quilt. She truly couldn’t sleep on the hard wooden bed and certainly didn’t want to spend the next few nights draped over Jiang Ci’s chest.
Su Yue walked to the door, switched off the light, and returned to the bed, ready to lie down. She turned her head, and in the moonlight filtering through the window, she saw Jiang Ci’s hand moving around his neckline, as if unbuttoning something.
“Jiang Ci, what are you doing?”
“Undressing.” His long fingers deftly unbuttoned his black shirt.
“Why are you taking off your clothes?” Su Yue blinked in surprise.
Jiang Ci’s lips twitched. “It’s uncomfortable to sleep in, so I’m taking them off.”
Su Yue was stunned. She lay down on the bed. “Whatever you want.”
A subtle rustling of clothes came from behind her, amplified in the quiet, dark night. Su Yue closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling, a hint of helplessness about her.
A moment later, a searing warmth enveloped her as Jiang Ci pulled her tightly against him. Su Yue’s back stiffened. The cool night air suddenly felt hot, her back almost sweating. “Don’t hug me so tightly, I’m hot.” With his upper body bare, the contact between them was more intimate than usual; there was only a thin layer of fabric separating them from his warm skin.
Jiang Ci seemed not to hear. Su Yue tried to push his arm away. “Jiang Ci.”
Her push sent his hand directly onto her thigh. His fingertips slid across her delicate skin; the sensation was incredibly smooth. Su Yue trembled with a start. “What are you… touching?” she whispered.
The next second, Jiang Ci’s low, hoarse voice purred from behind her. He leaned into the back of her neck, his warm breath fanning her skin. “One who doesn’t wear pants dislikes the one who doesn’t wear clothes?” he teased, a smile in his voice.
Su Yue’s eyes widened in shock, her face flushing crimson in the moonlight. “Don’t… don’t talk nonsense.”
“Oh, aren’t you wearing pants?” Jiang Ci sneered, his slender fingertips scratching again on her smooth thigh. Su Yue had arrived in a dress, which had since been washed. She had brought a pair of jeans and a top, but had opted for the loose, ill-fitting clothes from the closet. While the top could still be worn, the pants were a different story. Her waist was so slender she could grasp it with one hand. In the past, if she wore oversized trousers, they would fall straight down if she didn’t hold them up. Now that Jiang Ci was laughing at her for not wearing pants, Su Yue was both mortified and annoyed.
“I’m wearing a dress! You’re so annoying! Do you still want to sleep?” Su Yue bit her lip fiercely, trying to cover his mouth.
“Someone’s angry,” Jiang Ci chuckled, then yawned lazily, resting his chin on Su Yue’s shoulder before closing his eyes.
The next day, as the sky began to lighten, birds outside chirped incessantly, and the backyard chickens began to crow. Jiang Ci, still asleep, instinctively pulled Su Yue closer, his large hands hugging her. He felt her body growing softer, more comfortable to hold. A satisfied smile played on his lips as he remembered Su Yue’s initiated kiss at the hospital yesterday. He lazily opened his eyes. Before, he could perceive faint light, but now, his vision had turned into a cloud of white, like wearing glasses in winter and walking indoors, where the lenses fogged up, or like a newly wiped lens, where clarity was just out of reach. Jiang Ci closed his eyes and opened them again. Still white. Jiang Ci’s large hand moved again, pinching the tender flesh around Su Yue’s waist. Sure enough, his eyes had changed because she kissed him.
Grandma Fang’s culinary skills were impressive. Knowing her granddaughter’s fondness for dumplings, she made a large batch at noon, with various fillings. Each dumpling was plump and white, exquisitely delicate and appetizing. Su Yue picked one up, took a bite. It was filled with mushrooms and lean meat, and fresh shrimp, tasting incredibly fresh. Without waiting for it to cool, she took another satisfied bite. Beside her, Jiang Haoyan blew on his dumplings before taking a large bite, his eyes squinting in delight, showing his enjoyment.
After they finished eating, Grandma Fang asked Su Yue to deliver some dumplings to the neighbors. Su Yue remembered how, in her absence, the two elderly people had relied on their neighbors for help during emergencies. Carrying a large plate piled high with dumplings, she knocked on her neighbor’s door.
The Fang family lived next door, and a kind-looking woman opened the door. The woman was surprised when Su Yue introduced herself as Grandpa and Grandma Fang’s granddaughter. Su Yue chatted with her briefly, handed her the dumplings, and then left.
The woman returned inside, and her son, Fang Qi, came downstairs. “Mom, did you make dumplings?” he asked, feeling hungry.
“Are you awake? I didn’t make the dumplings; they brought them,” the woman replied, setting bowls and chopsticks on the dining table. “Eat if you’re hungry.”
Fang Qi casually picked up a dumpling and ate it. “By the way, when I came back yesterday, I saw a black car parked at the entrance of the alley. Whose is it? Tsk tsk, that car costs at least seven figures. When did such rich people start coming to our village?” Their village was remote, most young people had left for work, leaving behind an older population. Most families couldn’t even afford a simple car, let alone a luxury one. The black car had been a stark contrast to their humble surroundings.
Hearing her son’s question, Li Yanmei gasped. “That car costs so much money? Is it gold-plated?” Li Yanmei was amazed. “The car belongs to the next door’s mother-in-law, her granddaughter. When she came back, she also brought these dumplings.” Everyone in the village knew that Granny Fang’s daughter had married into a wealthy family, and her son-in-law had even invested in building roads in the village.
“You said that the old woman and her granddaughter came back?” Fang Qi asked, putting another dumpling in his mouth.
“I met Granny Fang when I went out this morning. She said her old man broke his leg on the mountain and had a high fever. Her granddaughter came overnight and took him to the hospital,” Li Yanmei replied, sitting down and helping herself to several dumplings.
“I remember that the old woman’s granddaughter was a few years younger than me, but she was dark and fat,” Fang Qi recalled. Otherwise, given her family’s wealth, he would have pursued her already.
“Don’t say that people are dark and fat.” Li Yanmei chewed her dumplings. “I was taken aback when I saw her just now. The girl has become white and thin now. It’s estimated that she has grown; after all, she’s from a rich family, no need to work, you can become beautiful when you are pampered. However, she’s wearing a mask and is mysterious, but unfortunately, I can’t see her face.”
“Che, the time I saw her before, she was eighteen. She was black and fat, so ugly she couldn’t be seen. At eighteen, she had already grown into her shape; how could she still grow?” Fang Qi scoffed, taking another bite of dumpling. He didn’t trust his mother’s judgment; after all, she had once said a village girl was as beautiful as a fairy, only for him to find her face round as a pie, nose puffy, buttocks large but sagging, and a strong waist with thick legs. Her only saving grace was her fair skin. Yet, even that kind of woman was fought over by several families in the village. Fang Qi glanced disdainfully.
Li Yanmei knew her son was picky but didn’t say much. Her son was handsome; many village girls lined up to marry him, so it was normal for him to have high standards. Fang Qi ate a few more dumplings, then contentedly grabbed his motorcycle keys. “Mom, I’m going out. You don’t need to leave me any food.”
“Aren’t you coming back to eat?” Li Yanmei put down her chopsticks. “Then drive carefully.”
“Understood.”
Outside, Su Yue was wearing an off-white straw hat, knitted by Grandma Fang in her leisure time, which Su Yue had immediately loved. With the straw hat on, she placed a woven basket into Jiang Ci’s hand for him to carry. “Jiang Ci, I’ll take you up the mountain to pick some loquats for Grandma.” She had asked her grandmother; the mountain was free of flowers, mostly trees, and even if there were wild flowers, they were few and far between, posing no significant issue for Jiang Ci. Besides, the loquat tree was halfway up the mountain, with a clear path leading directly to it, so she didn’t have to worry about Jiang Ci’s pollen allergy.
“Grandma, we’re going out. Xiao Haohao, stay home.” Su Yue took Jiang Ci’s hand.
“Hao Hao is good, Hao Hao wants to guard the chicks.” Coriander wasn’t by Xiao Haohao’s side, and the little boy was now completely engrossed with the chicks in the backyard. He was surprisingly bold, unafraid of the hens pecking at him.
“Okay, the chickens are guarded by you,” Su Yue said, patting his head with a bewildered smile. The little boy nodded with a sense of responsibility.
As Fang Qi pushed his motorcycle out of the house, he happened to see someone emerging from the house next door. Subconsciously, he slowed the cart’s movement. It was a man and a woman. He watched as the woman, wearing a straw hat, held the man’s arm and walked past him. Fang Qi stared blankly at the woman. Her waist was truly thin, her legs straight and slender, and her exposed arms were snow-white, even more tender than the tofu he had eaten yesterday. He had been with many women—tall, short, fat, and thin—and he certainly knew what kind of body was best. As for her overall appearance, needless to say, her figure was absolutely superb. Fang Qi’s eyes fell on Su Yue’s slender, fair ankles. Tsk, his mother’s eyes were finally normal this time. This woman wearing a mask was indeed the old woman’s granddaughter, and she had truly become white and thin.