Chapter 9

It was only because in her previous life, she had truly neglected the Gu Family and Gu Juncheng, to the point where she didn’t pay the slightest attention to Chen Xia.

The villagers stepped forward and helped Gu Juncheng and Chen Xia out of the net. Chen Xia, no longer clinging to Gu Juncheng’s neck, instead held his hand: “Ah, Brother Chengzi, your hand is bleeding, what should we do? It’s all my fault.”

Lin Qingping stood at the back of the crowd, her gaze cutting through the people, staring at the two. Gu Juncheng, a person of extremely high sensitivity, had already noticed her presence.

He withdrew his hand, his tone casual: “It’s nothing, just a small wound.”

Seeing that the person had been saved, the villagers went back to their own business since they were busy with farm work!

On the mountain’s back side, only Gu Juncheng, Lin Qingping, and Chen Xia remained. 

It was only then that Chen Xia saw Lin Qingping, standing beside Gu Juncheng, and called out: “Sister-in-law.” with a look of complete surprise on her face. “You’re here too?”

Lin Qingping didn’t know whether Chen Xia’s surprise was genuine or fake. She smiled and looked at Gu Juncheng: “Mother didn’t tell me there was another sister in the family. How come I don’t know her?”

Gu Juncheng was about to say something when Chen Xia quickly interjected, laughing: “I’ve known Brother Chengzi since we were toddlers, wearing split pants. It’s all my fault today. I shouldn’t have asked Brother Chengzi to come catch up, and then we ended up encountering a landslide, causing him to get hurt. I’m really sorry, Sister-in-law!” 

Tsk tsk tsk.

Lin Qingping clicked her tongue several times in her heart. This level was really high! Lin Qingping smiled slightly and linked her arm through Gu Juncheng’s: “Chengzi, dinner is ready at home. Mother sent me to call you for dinner. Does your friend want to come too?”

Chen Xia’s gaze fell on the arm that Lin Qingping had linked with Gu Juncheng’s.

In these rural areas, it wasn’t common for a couple to be so publicly affectionate, holding hands like this. Chen Xia’s gaze dimmed, and she smiled awkwardly: “No, it’s fine, I still have things to do…” 

“Oh, then we’ll go ahead. Goodbye.” Lin Qingping said, still linking her arm with Gu Juncheng, and they started walking down the mountain.

She occasionally looked up at him and noticed a dry blade of grass in his hair. She smiled and reached up to brush it away.

Chen Xia who stood behind them, watched Lin Qingping’s radiant smile.

Then, her gaze grew even darker. 

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Lin Qingping knew that Gu Juncheng was watching her.

From the moment she linked her arm with his on the mountain, Gu Juncheng had been watching her. But Lin Qingping pretended not to notice.

Once they returned home, she took out the medicine that Gu Juncheng had applied to her arm the night before. Sitting in front of him, she ordered him to extend his hand.

The reason she had to give an order was that someone like Gu Juncheng, a tough man, wouldn’t care about a little scrape on his hand. “This is just like what we do normally…” he began, but completely ignored her. 

Lin Qingping had no choice but to act stern: “I don’t care about your usual training! In the Military Unit, your soldiers listen to you, but at home, you need to listen to me!”

In the end, Gu Juncheng reluctantly extended his hand.

Lin Qingping didn’t care about what was going through his mind; she carefully applied the medicine to his hand and blew on it as she worked.

Gu Juncheng watched her focused expression as she did so, feeling somewhat speechless. 

Lin Qingping didn’t care how he felt. Once she was satisfied with applying the medicine, she let him go to eat.

The meal she had made today was so good that after Zhiyuan finished eating, he still lingered at the table, unwilling to leave.

When they left, Mother-in-law Liu Fen was still talking to Zhiyuan: “If you like it, eat more! Why are you running off?”

Lin Qingping knew that Zhiyuan liked the pumpkin cakes she had made today. However, as a child living under someone else’s roof, and one who had always been disliked by her in the past, he was understandably sensitive and couldn’t change so easily. So, she could only leave two pumpkin cakes for him to eat later. 

Speaking of which, in her previous life, Zhiyuan had liked sweet foods. For someone so stubborn, tough, and exuding the atmosphere of society, it seemed surprising that he would like sweets. 

Gu Juncheng paused for a moment when he looked at the table full of food.

If it were her, she would have been surprised too. After all, since she married into the Gu Family, no one in the entire Gu Family village had seen her do any work.

Gu Juncheng always ate quickly. She sat across from him, still halfway through a pumpkin cake, while he had already finished a large bowl of food. 

“Is it good?” she asked him with a smile, her voice soft and somewhat coquettish.

Gu Juncheng, who was about to take another bite, paused when he heard her. After a moment, he took a bite and replied: “She asked me to help with the orchard. Her brother’s foot is injured.”

Lin Qingping chewed her pumpkin cake, nodded, and smiled with her eyes squinting happily: “Mm!” 

Was he answering her question about the food being good, or was he explaining what had happened on the mountain?

Naturally, the “she” he referred to must have been Chen Xia…

Anyway, that was just his personality—quiet and reserved. He never directly said what was on his mind.

In her previous life, she never knew what he was thinking. He would only send her money and good things she couldn’t get in the countryside, always on time every month.

He had high respect in the village, and the village committee leader thought highly of him because of his background in the Military Unit.

Whenever he returned, the villagers would ask for his opinion on various matters. After just finishing lunch, they had already invited him again. 

This kept him busy for the whole afternoon, and by evening, Gu Juncheng stayed at home for dinner, with someone coming to invite Lin Qingping to join him.

Lin Qingping was more than happy to go!

She went cheerfully, but as soon as she entered, Chen Xia arrived right behind her.

Chen Xia who was smiling brightly, held up a piece of meat and said: “Village Chief, during this time when my brother’s foot is injured, your family has helped us a lot with our farm work. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know what to do. My brother asked me to come thank you.”

Then, she feigned surprise: “Oh, Brother Chengzi and Sister-in-law are here too!”

The Village Chief chuckled: “Yes, I invited Chengzi and his wife to stay for dinner. You should join us too.”

“Well…” Chen Xia glanced at Gu Juncheng and Lin Qingping. “That’s great. I haven’t seen Brother Chengzi in a long time. Sister-in-law, do you mind?”

Lin Qingping smiled brightly, but inwardly, she was amused.

The Village Chief had invited her to dinner. Would she, Lin Qingping, really mind? She wasn’t that rude. Besides, even if she had minded, would Chen Xia have not sat down? 

As the dishes were brought to the table, the Village Chief also brought out a jar of homemade wine.

In those times, wine was considered a luxury. People in the village could hardly afford to buy it, so they all brewed their own.

Even if they did brew wine, it wasn’t rice wine, as grain was too precious. Instead, they used various wild fruits from the mountains, like wild plums, wild grapes, wild cherries, and so on.

They would pick these and brew them into wine. Gu Family Village, backed by the mountains, was no exception; nearly every family did the same. 

The Village Chief eagerly filled Gu Juncheng’s glass, but Gu Juncheng declined, saying he didn’t drink, as he had to return to the Military Unit the next day.

Chen Xia’s hand reached out and took the glass in front of Gu Juncheng. “Brother Chengzi follows the rules and can’t drink, so I’ll drink this for him!” 

Lin Qingping raised an eyebrow. Hmm?

She found this person quite amusing.

Chen Xia wore a face of innocence as she looked at Lin Qingping: “Sister-in-law, Brother Chengzi and I are like brothers. I’m just drinking it for him!”