Chapter 06: Hands-On

Lin Yingying’s chest slammed into his solid, unyielding arm, the pain making her eyes instantly brim with tears. “Sob sob sob… it hurts so much.”

She steadied herself by holding onto that iron-like arm, her large tear-filled eyes accusing the wooden man. “Can’t you just give me a hand?”

Wasn’t he aware of how hard his arm was? If he had helped her up, she wouldn’t have thrown the whole weight of her body against it. It hurt so much!

The lingering sensation of her softness still clung to his arm. Huo Qingshan clenched his fist, silently watching her delicate and pampered manner. After a moment, he said in a low voice, “You see, I’m not suitable for you.”

Lin Yingying blinked her big eyes, raised her hand, and dabbed at her tears with the gauze. “Don’t change the subject! This isn’t a matter of suitability or not, this is…” Her eyes sparkled as she suddenly broke into a smile, putting away her tears and giving him a sidelong glance. “Ah, you could just hug me, you know. It’s not like you haven’t hugged me before…”

Huo Qingshan’s face heated up instantly. Stung by her blunt words, he turned his head away and ignored her.

Lin Yingying reached out her hand to him and said in a pampered tone, “It hurts…”

Huo Qingshan did not look at her and said calmly, “Get ashore. You can’t let your hand get wet.”

The rope had rubbed her skin raw, but the injury was not serious. With some ointment applied, it would heal quickly. Most people would not make a fuss, yet she was especially delicate about it.

Lin Yingying followed his lead without protest. She stroked the back of the black stallion and said softly, “Then I’ll help you brush him again once my hand is better.” She even spread her arms and pressed herself against the horse’s belly, feeling the rise and fall of its breathing.

The water rippled gently, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds, the green trees and red flowers, and also the figures of her and him.

Huo Qingshan’s gaze swept over the surface of the water. Beside him was her reflection, and she was wearing a dress… His face grew warm against his will, and he quickly shifted his eyes away as if he had seen something he should not.

Lin Yingying kept her hands on the horse’s belly and began to gently splash her feet in the water. Her skin was fair and delicate, and in the sunlight she truly looked dazzling.

Huo Qingshan was almost dizzy from her swaying movements, yet he could not say anything to her. He turned to the other side to brush the horse, avoiding both her figure and the rippling water beneath her. He worked in increasing silence, steadily and firmly brushing the horse’s back, stroke after stroke, his movements calm and powerful, never once taking the initiative to look at her.

Lin Yingying leaned against the horse’s belly, resting her chin on the back of her hand, and teased him. “Huo Qingshan, with you being so abstinent, isn’t it hard for you?”

Men were usually, well… like that. But he was like this…

Huo Qingshan drew in a deep breath, his dark gaze glancing at her over the horse’s back, sharp and deep, carrying an intimidating force.

Lin Yingying, however, was unafraid. She was going to marry him, so what was there to be afraid of?

This man was so much fun.

She gave him a charming smile.

Huo Qingshan suddenly noticed that beneath her cheeks were two round little dimples, carrying a hint of playful charm. Without saying a word, he quickened his brushing, thinking that bringing her here to groom the horse had been a mistake.

At that moment, Lin Yingying’s stomach gave a loud growl. Her small face crumpled, and she said pitifully, “Huo Qingshan, just to wait for you to come back, I skipped… several meals. I’m so hungry…”

Huo Qingshan: “……” So you’re just going to cling to me, is that it? He jerked his chin toward the shore. “There’s food in the satchel. Go get it yourself.”

Lin Yingying immediately stepped happily through the water and headed ashore.

Huo Qingshan paused his brushing, watching her with tension, even taking two steps after her, afraid she might slip and fall into the water and then cry while blaming him again.

She flitted ashore like a light butterfly, gave two little skips, then turned back to smile at him. “See? Who says you’re not suitable for me? You already know how to protect me.”

What a clever man—just a little guiding and he caught on right away!

Huo Qingshan: “……” He turned away and silently patted the horse’s back, signaling it to lie down.

The black stallion obediently lay in the water, allowing its master to brush the uppermost part of its mane, snorting and splashing water in contentment.

Lin Yingying, barefoot, stepped ashore and tiptoed over to rummage through his satchel. She unexpectedly pulled out a small tin of biscuits. She was already tired of these tin-biscuits—she still had a whole pile of them in her trunk. This must have been meant for his younger brother and sister. Since she didn’t like them anyway, she decided to leave them be. Putting the tin back, she searched again, but there was no other food inside.

She walked back to the bank and stood there, admiring Huo Qingshan in the water.

By now, the sun had risen, its light casting dazzling golden scales across the rippling surface. The black stallion lay in the water while he bent over to brush its back.

The rolled-up cuffs of his military trousers were wet, and water streamed down the solid, well-shaped muscles of his calves. His legs were long, and when he bent over, the line from his thighs to his hips and waist formed a graceful curve. His shirt was tucked into his waistband, the bottom two buttons undone, revealing a faint glimpse of his firm, flat abdominal muscles that stirred the imagination.

The cuffs of his grass-green shirt were rolled up, revealing his beautiful, slender forearms. As he moved, the motion of his forearms pulled along the muscles of his upper arms and back in smooth, striking lines, full of powerful grace.

Truly a feast for the eyes!

She praised her own taste in men. Lin Yingying, no need to be humble—give yourself a perfect score!

“Huo Qingshan, I’m hungryyy~~” she said, lightly rubbing her stomach.

Huo Qingshan: “Eat biscuits.”

Lin Yingying pouted. “I’m tired of them. I don’t want to eat.”

Huo Qingshan was about to tell her to go back to the educated youth point for a meal, but one look at those eyes—half delicate, half stubborn—told him she was deliberately clinging to him.

If he were to simply put on a cold face and say he didn’t like this kind of behavior, that he wouldn’t marry her and she should give up, would she just turn around and leave?

Huo Qingshan’s movements paused for a moment. No, she wouldn’t leave—hadn’t he just said it? She was already clinging to him now.

Some of the commune members heading to the fields deliberately passed by to sneak a look at them. By now, everyone in the village, young and old, knew about Lin Yingying and Huo Qingshan.

If it had been any other unmarried man and woman here, flirting while grooming a horse, they would surely have drawn gossip. But with Huo Qingshan, it was different.

First, his temperament was cold and unyielding, his face perpetually set in a stern expression, not the sort of man anyone joked with.

Second, he carried the ill reputation of being a “a man fated to bring misfortune to his wife”, one doomed to spend his life a bachelor. Now that there was finally a young woman willing to marry him, the brigade cadres were all too happy to see it happen.

Of course, there were also those with ill intentions, men who had long been jealous of Huo Qingshan’s superiority over them. When misfortune struck and he failed to marry because of his “curse,” they had felt they had finally surpassed him.

Yet here he was now, on the verge of marrying a beautiful educated youth from the city, and from the look of it, one with a very good family background.

That damnable jealousy and competitive streak in men of his age was impossible to hide, spilling out through their eyes and words.

“Well now, Qingshan, when are you going to treat us to wedding wine and wedding candies?”

“At this rate, you might as well hold the baby’s full-month celebration together with the wedding banquet by the end of the year!”

“Educated Youth Lin, you’d better treat our brother Qingshan well and not bully him!”

The men laughed and joked, taking advantage with their words but not daring to linger for fear that Huo Qingshan might beat them up.

Hearing those idle remarks, Huo Qingshan’s cold, stern expression did not waver in the slightest. Yet, almost unconsciously, he lifted his eyes to look at Lin Yingying on the shore.

A pampered, thin-skinned city girl—she was probably dying of embarrassment by now.

Who would have thought that the young woman was, barefoot and unconcerned, under the willow tree acting out a scene—her delicate, graceful figure swaying like a weak willow in the wind, playing the part of a woman about to starve to death.

With each kick of her leg, her skirt hem fluttered and danced like a butterfly. Huo Qingshan quickly averted his gaze, yet still caught a glimpse of something. He frowned slightly and strode out of the water toward the shore.

Lin Yingying smiled at him. “Does the hungry girl’s dance look good?”

Huo Qingshan said nothing. Instead, he lifted the saddle in front of her and crouched down, speaking in a low voice. “Step on.”

Puzzled, Lin Yingying wondered if he was trying to play some sort of game. Heh heh. Her fair little foot mischievously stepped onto the saddle, curious to see what he would do.

What appeared before Huo Qingshan’s eyes was a slender, elegant foot, snow-white and flawless, like a fine work of art that one could not help but want to hold and admire. His gaze lowered to her calf, where several dark bruises marred the skin, deep in color with hints of blue and purple—it seemed they were from the bump she had taken that day.

At a glance, they didn’t appear to be a serious problem.

He stood up. “The ointment I gave you can be used to rub on the bruised areas.”

Lin Yingying lifted her hand. “I already used it on my hand.”

Huo Qingshan said nothing more. He quickly finished brushing the horse, then patted it to signal it to come ashore.

The black stallion rose from the water, then gave a sudden vigorous shake. With a splash, crystal-clear droplets caught the sunlight, scattering in all directions like shards of gold.

Standing beside it, Huo Qingshan was hit squarely by the spray, and even Lin Yingying on the shore was not spared.

She let out a delicate cry and quickly dodged away. “Wow, you really are naughty!”

Then she asked Huo Qingshan, “What’s the naughty one’s name?”

Huo Qingshan: “Blacky.”

Lin Yingying: “…” Well, it was indeed quite black!

The black stallion neighed happily, baring its teeth in a delighted expression, then leapt ashore and continued to shake off water.

This time, Lin Yingying’s clothes were splattered even more.

Her dress was made of fine cotton, the kind where a single drop of water spread into a large patch. She covered her chest but in doing so exposed her back, the straps of her undergarment faintly visible.

When Huo Qingshan’s gaze happened to catch on that sight, it was as if he had been burned; he hurried to lead the horse away to calm it down.

But after romping about, the black stallion simply trotted off to graze on wild grass, unwilling to act as a shield for its master.

Huo Qingshan’s shirt was soaked through, clinging to his body. The wet fabric outlined his well-built frame—he was the very definition of looking slim in clothes yet muscular without them, his muscles firm and well-proportioned, his lines smooth and striking. The sight made Lin Yingying want to reach out and touch him.

If she had a paintbrush, she could definitely capture him with vivid precision.

Huo Qingshan realized this woman was truly bold!

Her feet, legs, shoulder straps—he didn’t dare look directly at any of them. Yet she had no qualms at all, those bright, watery eyes fixed unblinking on his chest and abdomen. Everywhere her brazen gaze touched, he could faintly feel his skin grow warm.

He didn’t know why, but suddenly he thought of the political commissar’s story about a temptress—a “pink skeleton”—yet it did nothing to tarnish Lin Yingying’s image. Instead, even her clear eyes seemed tinged with a hint of allure, her charm unrestrained.

Hurriedly, he bent down to pack up their things, then pulled out a hand towel and handed it to her. “Wipe your feet and put on your shoes.”

Lin Yingying took it and instead used it to dry her hair and body. If it had been someone else—like Ye Zhiting or Ye Manman—she would have used it to wipe her feet without hesitation. But this was the man she had chosen for herself, and she would treat him as she treated herself. The towels she used for wiping her face, her feet, and her bottom were all kept separate.

She stood on tiptoe with the hand towel, intending to help him dry his hair. Huo Qingshan turned his head aside to avoid her, deliberately keeping a stern face. “Please don’t… put your hands and feet on me.” He wasn’t afraid of gossip himself, but for a young woman like her, being talked about would be bad.

Lin Yingying looked at him as if studying an antique, clasped her hands behind her back, and tried to bump him with her body. He dodged again, giving her a displeased look.

She let out a lilting laugh. “I didn’t put my hands and feet on you.”

Huo Qingshan took his own hand towel back and casually wiped his face, but caught a faint fragrance that had never been there before. His hand froze for a moment before he quickly hung the towel on his satchel. He then put on his shoes, picked up the saddle and satchel, and his gaze fell on the white socks and white leather shoes lying on the ground.

Lin Yingying, feeling a bit tired from all her playfulness, simply used the socks to wipe her feet, slipped her bare feet into the leather shoes, and stuffed the socks into her small handbag. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she opened her parasol and even tried to shade Huo Qingshan as well.

Huo Qingshan stepped aside, yet did not free a hand to hold the umbrella for himself. Looking down at her from above, he said calmly, “Educated Youth Lin, let’s make this clear. I will not marry you, so stop entangling yourself with me.”

Lin Yingying looked up at him with a playful tilt to her gaze. “Is that what your heart is saying, or just your mouth?”

Huo Qingshan: “Hm?”

Lin Yingying smiled. “It won’t do if your words don’t match your heart. Then tell me, why won’t you marry me?”

Huo Qingshan: “You are a hothouse flower, I am a field weed. We are not the same kind of people.”

“Wrong!” Lin Yingying cut him off, her small face earnest. “Comrade Huo Qingshan, you’ve made an error of empirical judgment. I am not a hothouse flower. I am a warrior of the leadership, here in the vast countryside to temper myself. And you are not a field weed, you are a good soldier of the Party and the people! And we…” She reached out and patted his arm, smiling warmly with the camaraderie of a comrade. “We are both successors to the cause of communism!”