Chapter 28: Together Now

One sentence made everyone present freeze in place.

Fang Mingyi hadn’t expected to overhear the conversation between Uncle Chen and Xiao Lin when he stepped out.

Suddenly hearing Li Lin say she didn’t mind his feelings, he blurted out, “I like you too.”

“Uh, I’m full now. You all carry on,” Chen Dong hadn’t expected that his conversation with Xiao Lin would be overheard either. He couldn’t sit still anymore, so he said a quick sentence and hurried out.

“Uh, have you eaten? Do you want to eat a bit more?” Li Lin, seeing that Chen Dong had left, stood up awkwardly and asked Fang Mingyi.

Fang Mingyi, pretending not to notice Li Lin’s awkwardness, seized the moment and said, “Li Zhiqing, you heard me correctly earlier. I like you. I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Fang Zhiqing, we’ve only known each other for a few days. Is it a bit hasty for you to like me so much?” Li Lin, seeing how straightforward his confession was, touched her nose and furrowed her brow as she asked.

“So, Li Zhiqing, does this mean we can try to get to know each other?” Fang Mingyi pretended to misunderstand her response, smiling as he asked.

“Okay.”

Upon hearing this, Li Lin didn’t hold back. She agreed immediately, with no hesitation.

“Ah?”

Fang Mingyi was stunned.

He didn’t expect Li Lin to agree so quickly, and it left him momentarily speechless.

“What, regretting it?” Li Lin noticed his reaction and, suppressing a smile, asked with a mock sternness.

Fang Mingyi, afraid Li Lin might change her mind, shook his head vigorously and said, “No, no, of course not. I’m thrilled!”

“Then, Fang Tongzhi, I look forward to your guidance,” Li Lin said, finally unable to hold back her laughter, extending her hand.

“Looking forward to it, looking forward to it,” Fang Mingyi, seeing her hand extended, immediately took it and shook it with a smile.

And just like that, in the dark of night, their relationship was settled.

“Have you eaten? Want a bit more?” Li Lin asked, still holding Fang Mingyi’s hand.

“I’ve eaten already. You go ahead,” Fang Mingyi smiled, ruffling her hair gently.

“Then you should go rest. We still have work tomorrow,” Li Lin wasn’t being polite anymore. After Fang Mingyi finished speaking, she sat back down, resuming her meal and chatting.

“I’m not tired yet. I’ll stay and keep you company for a while,” Fang Mingyi shook his head and sat across from her, his eyes full of affection as he watched her eat.

“What are you staring at? It’s not the first time you’ve seen me eat,” Li Lin rolled her eyes and asked, slightly exasperated.

“Before, I would sneak glances. Now, I’m looking openly,” Fang Mingyi said, sounding completely justified in his reasoning.

“Fine, fine, you make sense. But it’s getting late, you have to go now. Otherwise, someone might see you still here so late and start gossiping tomorrow.”

After finishing her meal, Li Lin began to shoo him out.

“Alright, I’ll go. But don’t make breakfast tomorrow. I’ll bring breakfast for you and Uncle Chen,” Fang Mingyi said suddenly as he walked toward the door.

“Don’t even try. You still have Zhu Zhiqing making your meals every day. Don’t go adding extra work for him,” Li Lin said with a hint of annoyance.

“Just because I let Zhu Liyan cook every day doesn’t mean I can’t cook myself. I’m quite good at it, actually,” Fang Mingyi said, amused, reaching over to pinch her nose.

“Ah? You can cook?” Li Lin was genuinely surprised.

“Yes, I can do a lot of things. You’ll have plenty of time to find out,” Fang Mingyi smiled, gently guiding her inside and closing the door behind them. “Goodnight, sweet dreams.”

“Goodnight.”

Li Lin smiled as she heard his words, then quickly closed the door and leaned against it, waiting for him to leave.

Fang Mingyi looked at the door that had been shut and grinned, a wide smile spreading across his face. Happily, he skipped back to his room.

Lying on the bed, he thought about going to the commune to buy some snacks one day, just so he could sweeten Li Lin’s day when she was free.

Oh, and he needed to send a letter home to let them know that he had found someone he liked—someone really great—and that he was very, very happy about it.

With that thought in mind, he sat up on the bed, took out some paper, and began to write a letter.

Meanwhile, Li Lin, not even entering the marketplace, was happily tossing and turning on her bed. She hadn’t expected that, in such a short amount of time after crossing over, she would find someone so great. Just thinking about it felt surreal.

To think that the most desirable guy in the commune, the “high mountain flower,” had become her boyfriend—it was hard to imagine the jealousy that the other girls in the commune would feel when they saw her. They’d probably shoot daggers at her with their eyes.

But even with that, she wasn’t scared. After all, it was the “high mountain flower” who confessed to her first.

With that thought, she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, she was woken by a knock on the door.

“Lin Lin, get up! I made breakfast for you and Uncle Chen, come eat while it’s hot!”

Fang Mingyi had barely slept the whole night because he was so excited. First thing in the morning, he made a pot of dumpling soup with white flour.

But the food was ready, and his girlfriend still hadn’t woken up. He waited for a while but then decided to knock on her door.

“Alright, I’m up. You go ahead and eat with Uncle Chen. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Li Lin, after being woken, rolled over in bed and lazily called out.

“Okay, but hurry up. The dumpling soup won’t taste as good if it sits too long,” Fang Mingyi said, reminding her before turning to call Uncle Chen to eat.

“Fang Zhiqing, last night… what’s going on with you and Xiao Lin?” Uncle Chen, now awake and rubbing his eyes, looked at Fang Mingyi and asked, his voice uncertain.

“Uncle Chen, Xiao Lin and I are official now. We’re in a relationship,” Fang Mingyi replied with a big smile.

“Oh… oh…”

Uncle Chen hadn’t expected that, in just one night, his niece would have a boyfriend. He thought about how he’d have to report this to his brother in Kyoto and to Donghai. He shuddered at the thought.

Uncle Chen was now regretting his decision to let his niece find a boyfriend so soon.

He really had made things difficult for himself.

“Uncle Chen, are you okay?” Fang Mingyi noticed that Uncle Chen suddenly looked troubled and asked in confusion.

“No, no. I’m fine. I’m just going to wash up. You go ahead,” Uncle Chen said, grabbing his toiletries and running off.

Fang Mingyi, even more confused now, decided to ask Li Lin about this strange behavior later.

And it wasn’t just Fang Mingyi who was puzzled.

On the other side, Zhu Liyan, who had walked into Fang Mingyi’s room, was also confused.

Since coming to the countryside, Fang Mingyi hadn’t really cooked. Why, then, was there a pot of dumpling soup on the stove?

Zhu Liyan walked outside and looked around. The sun wasn’t up yet, so why was Fang Mingyi making food?

“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you inside?” Fang Mingyi asked when he saw Zhu Liyan standing by the door, his tone impatient.

“Yì Ge, what’s going on today? Why are you suddenly cooking?” Zhu Liyan entered the room, quickly scooping a bowl of dumpling soup and gulping it down.

“I’m in a relationship.”

“Poof…”