Translated by Novice Translations 

Proofread by Lazy Nesryn 

Arc 5: Spring is Coming – 22 

Expert in Picking Flowers 

　　A’Da took the rapist to the backyard, then a shrill scream sounded. Suddenly, it became silent as if he fainted.  

　　 

　　“It’s really quick.” Ke Li yawned ‘ha’ lazily, looked up at Xin Tu, and noticed her clenched fingers. She slowly walked over and said with a smile, “Are you afraid? Don’t worry, I won’t confiscate your tools.”  

　　 

　　She spoke without thinking and realized afterward that she low-key admitted that she tasted Xin Tu’s tender fingers last night.[mfn]Lol, if she confiscated Xin Tu’s tools it would be her fingers – yikes[/mfn]  

　　 

　　”…” Ke Li really wanted to hit herself for having such a big mouth. She even said private bed matters in public.  

　　 

　　”…” Xin Tu has never been afraid of anyone in her life, but she didn’t expect that Ke Li, who was always harmless towards others, would someday bully her.  

　　 

　　She slowly unclenched her fingers and moved close to Ke Li’s already red ears so only she could hear: “It was so tight, they miss you.”[mfn]Her fingers miss her tightness!![/mfn] 

　　 

　　Not only did she say such perverted things expressionlessly, but cold-bloodedly.  

　　 

　　”…” Ke Li really regretted that she didn’t devour someone up last night and didn’t take advantage of the situation to teach someone a lesson.  

　　 

　　In the carriage returning home, Ke Li only then understood what it meant to overindulge, lacking physical strength. As soon as she got on the carriage, her back was sore, and her legs were soft. She covered her mouth and kept yawning as well.  

　　 

　　However, Xin Tu, who was initially weak and soft, was sitting upright as if injected with chicken blood and didn’t seem to feel any discomfort whatsoever.[mfn]So, this is a sarcastic joke about a ‘trend’ that happened in China around 1967. Basically, they used chickens as blood donors to humans as a health care technique….of course this isn’t scientific so don’t try this out home. Basically, this phrase means that she’s jaxxed or very excited from having a dose of a drug[/mfn]  

　　 

　　“Did you secretly practice demon martial arts without telling me?” Ke Li asked suspiciously.  

　　 

　　Xin Tu looked at Ke Li with confusion and replied, “No, I’m a waste now.”  

　　 

　　“Then how are you doing well now? Compared to me…” Ke Li couldn’t say anymore. She even suspected that Xin Tu had practiced some form of martial arts.  

　　 

　　Xin Tu just noticed that Ke Li wasn’t feeling well and asked, “How are you feeling?”  

　　 

　　She asked this emotionlessly and dryly. Ke Li believed that she was trying to coax her, but in reality, she didn’t even coax her at all. Anyway, Ke Li didn’t see the reason why she tried to coax her. Like that event with the jade hairpin was a great example.  

　　 

　　She glanced at Xin Tu meaningfully, rubbed her waist, and didn’t speak. She really regretted not giving a worse punishment to the rapist.  

　　 

　　Suddenly, an icy cold hand rested on her waist, and Ke Li shrank subconsciously for a moment and struggled a little: “I don’t need you to care about me.”  

　　 

　　“Since you’re sleepy, just lean on me and sleep for a while.” Xin Tu’s tone sounded helpless, “I won’t take advantage of you.”  

　　 

　　Ke Li: “…” Did you indulge less than me last night? 

　　 

　　Ke Li didn’t reply and simply placed her head on Xin Tu’s thigh with her face towards her abdomen, an ambiguous and shameful position.  

　　 

　　Ke Li was comfortably lying down, but Xin Tu was still motionless when Ke Li leaned over. She wasn’t as comfortable as her and her face heated up from shame.  

　　 

　　In this posture, Ke Li wasn’t sleepy anymore. The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she was. When she returned yesterday, Xin Tu clearly looked like the delicate younger sister Lin. So, how can she be so fierce today?[mfn]Ji Linxi, FL of the schoolgirl arc[/mfn]  

　　 

　　“You’re lying to me, right? Yesterday, you said you don’t lie, but how about now?” Ke Li raised her head indignantly so she could see Xin Tu’s small jaw.  

　　 

　　Xin Tu pushed Ke Li down then subconsciously reached out to fix her head and didn’t explain.  

　　 

　　The longer she remained silent, the more Ke Li believed that this was the case. She had an indescribable feeling in her heart that wasn’t good.  

　　 

　　She pressed hard against Xin Tu’s abdomen until she felt that she was about to suffocate then withdrew. She murmured: “Your body has obviously recovered well, but you’ve always pretended to be otherwise. Are you going to leave now? Is it that there’s someone that you can’t wait to get away from?”  

　　 

　　“Yes. I thought about leaving.” Xin Tu said sincerely, “But I didn’t expect for this thought to change.”  

　　 

　　So, now she didn’t want to leave. She wanted to spend the rest of her short life with Ke Li. She just needed an excuse to convince herself. Just like leaving early today because she didn’t know how to face Ke Li after she woke up.  

　　 

　　Xin Tu saw that Ke Li refused to speak and hesitated for a moment before she took out the jade hairpin from her bosom and said, “I lied to you again today. This is really for you.”  

　　 

　　Ke Li opened her eyes and glanced at Xin Tu holding a crystal-clear white jade hairpin with a slight smile on her lips.  

　　 

　　”You still have some conscience.” Ke Li didn’t care about the hairpin. She stretched out her hands and held Xin Tu’s waist tightly and put the tip of her nose on Xin Tu’s body. She felt that this was a dream and probably selectively ignored the fact that Xin Tu would leave sooner or later.  

　　 

　　Xin Tu had to put the hairpin back in her bosom and stroked Ke Li’s soft hair. Suddenly, the carriage became unstable, and the vehicle shook violently, almost throwing them out.  

　　 

　　”…” Ke Li had just closed her eyes and was about to fall asleep. After this, she almost had an accident. Fortunately, Xin Tu protected her head in time, and the carriage immediately stabilized.  

　　 

　　”Are you all right? Why is your face so pale?” Ke Li didn’t dare rest on Xin Tu anymore and sat up worried.  

　　 

　　”It’s okay, just a little dizzy.” Xin Tu suppressed the iron taste from coming up her throat and gave Ke Li a reassuring smile.  

　　 

　　”That’s good. It’s better for you to rest on me.” Ke Li felt that her body could withstand the bumps and told A’Da, who drove the carriage, to not worry and just slow down.  

　　 

　　After they returned to the courtyard, it took an entire day to alleviate the sequelae of riding the carriage. The biggest change that happened after this journey was that Ke Li and Xin Tu spent more time alone together, and of course, their relationship became much warmer.  

　　 

　　“The hairpin looks good, but it’s definitely not worth 15 silver liang.” Ke Li was sitting in front of the dressing table while Xin Tu combed her hair. She played with the jade hairpin and her hand and continued, “Next time, bargain with the peddler. Don’t be a pushover, the seller will decrease the price. Otherwise, my wealth will be squandered by you sooner or later.”  

　　 

　　”…” Xin Tu didn’t say anything and quietly combed Ke Li’s hair, feeling her brocade-like hair flowing in her hands.   

　　 

　　Xin Tu sometimes acted like a mute. So, Ke Li shut her mouth and thought of their conversation in the carriage then suddenly said, “Be honest, do you still have a grudge towards your enemies?”  

　　 

　　Xin Tu’s hands suddenly stopped. When Ke Li thought she wouldn’t answer, she suddenly said with a smile, “Remember, sometimes I even want to kill you in bed.”  

　　 

　　”…” Ke Li felt a layer of cold sweat on her back, laughed ‘hehe’ and said: “Then thank you for not killing me. If you kill a peony flower, it’s also romantic to become a ghost. I just wished that I could be a little expert in picking flowers.”[mfn]Become a serial rapist or just taking a lot of virginities.[/mfn] 

　　 

　　”…” Xin Tu ignored Ke Li’s teasing. 

　　 

　  Ke Li could never understand her inner emotions, but Xin Tu also had a lot of doubts and hesitations herself. Xin Tu could never bring herself to talk about the past and didn’t expect that Ke Li would take the initiative to talk about it today..  

　　 

　　Ke Li saw Xin Tu’s silence, thought for a moment, and said, “If I tell you that I’m not your enemy, will you believe me?”  

　　 

　　Xin Tu just looked at the curls on Ke Li’s head and didn’t speak.  

　　 

　　“First of all, I don’t have the National Teacher’s crow beak, who says inauspicious remarks. Secondly, I have never taken the initiative to hurt you. Isn’t this enough to prove my innocence?” Ke Li turned around and stared into Xin Tu’s eyes.  

　　 

　　Xin Tu looked down and said, “I can treat you as an innocent, but you aren’t qualified to say that you are innocent.”  

　　 

　　Ke Li didn’t want to talk about it anymore. This matter wasn’t clarified at all, and it was better to block it off with a layer of yarn to prevent it from getting in between them.  

　　 

　　After combing her hair, Ke Li combed Xin Tu’s hair. This was the routine they did before going to bed for a long time. The comb slipped through the scalp and gave a scalp massage, which aids in sleep. They didn’t say a word until they laid in bed together. 

　　 

　　Silence didn’t necessarily mean anger. Ke Li moved her body towards Xin Tu’s side. When she saw that she didn’t dislike it, she took the initiative to hook her neck and kiss her. She gasped and said, “There’s a saying in medical books: the husband and wife’s affairs can’t be abstained, otherwise the relationship will become chaotic.”  

　　 

　　”…” Xin Tu had never seen such a cheeky Ke Li. She sighed and entangled with Ke Li on the bed…  

　　 

　　Due to physical reasons, Ke Li didn’t dare let Xin Tu overindulge in sex every time. Thus, she had a good grasp on how much to indulge. Therefore, the couple’s intimacy wasn’t too frequent nor too fierce. And tonight, was definitely one of the few nights of frequency.  

　　 

　　Xin Tu’s recuperation continued. Her pulse was checked every day, along with different medicated meals. However, this time, Dr. Gu was furious: “I know you’re young and vigorous, but you need to learn how to restrain yourself, to think this old man was the same before…”   

　　 

　　Ke Li: “…” 

　　 

　　Xin Tu: “…” 

　　 

　　Dr. Gu continued with a red face, “This old man isn’t young anymore. So, I won’t mention it anymore this time.”  

　　 

　　Ke Li worried: “Is the situation bad?” 

　　 

　　“Everything is okay in moderation. Just don’t overdo it, and it won’t become bad. Remember, proper exercise is good for the body.” Dr. Gu saw that Ke Li began to relax and added, “Remember, only what’s moderate, not what you want to do!”  

　　 

　　Ke Li: “Yes.” 

　　 

　　People spend most of their lives in bed. Of course, life wasn’t spent in bed all day long. After that, Ke Li and Xin Tu lived a countryside life.   

　　 

　　They didn’t have to worry about food and clothing. They could leisurely read books, play games, and enjoy the idyllic scenery. However, whenever it rained, Xin Tu’s legs would hurt.  

　　 

　　At last when Liu Chun reached the age of marriage, she began to struggle to find romance, and finally chose the dense A’Da with a 6-pack as her partner. She imitated Ke Li as a lovely newly married wife.  

　　 

　　Liu Chun diligently married A’Da and the two began their one-sided endlessly bickering life. They began to add more children in the yard. Thus, the yard was much livelier with the children playing with each other.  

　　 

　　However, Xin Tu’s body began to have various problems. She was bedridden like a dying patient, coughing up blood two or three times a day. This was their tenth year together.  

　　 

　　Ke Li secretly comforted herself that it has been more than the initially bleak three to five years, and this was already a great fortune. She has never witnessed a young life extinguished before her eyes before. Xin Tu would be her first.  

　　 

　　This gave Ke Li anxiety, which contributed to her weight loss due to insomnia. At the same time, she felt a déjà vu, as if someone had also disappeared into nothingness from her before.  

　　 

　　Although her condition was cruel and unyielding, she held onto life until the very last day of parting.  

　　 

　　“I told you I was vengeful. See, you’re being tormented to death by me right now.” Xin Tu’s smile was shallow, and her eyes were fixed on Ke Li. She held Ke Li’s face, whose eyes slowly swirled with tears. “So, I’m a downright bad woman. Promise me that you won’t cry anymore in the future.”  

　　 

　　She was like a withering flower, using the last of her lifeforce to maintain this last moment of beauty. But the flower still withered in the end.  

　　 

　　Ke Li tightly clenched Xin Tu’s hand, as if grasping onto all those years spent together as tears continuously ran down her cheeks.  

　　 

　　She was dizzy until she returned to the real world and saw Shi Jin looking at her with a worried face. Her heart was in pain as if it shattered into pieces.  

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Author’s Notes: 

I am autistic…[mfn]This is a popular netizen’s buzzword phrase to mock her negative feelings…[/mfn] 

The real world begins