Chapter 6 Jin Chuan

Su Niannian had died countless times.
In the middle of the night, the effects of the medicine wore off, and her senses slowly came back. The man was used to conquering by force — by then, a ray of dawn was already glimmering on the horizon, and the air was filled with the bitter scent of chestnut flowers. The room was a mess. Su Niannian tightened her grip on her clothes and peered toward the stove, where a faint fire glowed, crackling quietly.

Feeling ashamed, she filled a basin with water and a towel, then limped toward the stream behind the hill. The water was clear and cool to the touch. Su Niannian wrung out the towel and cleaned her neck and arms, until the traces upon her skin were spotless — a mess. At just a single glance, memories of Jinchuan rushed back to her.

They say a woman’s true allure lies in her bone structure, not just her skin. From her hair down to her toes, there was not a spot on Su Niannian’s body that was not delicate, refined, meant for the best. The villa where they lived even had carpets imported from abroad in its bathrooms, and there were more pairs of shoes than she could ever wear in a lifetime. Whenever he was faced with bottlenecks in his career, he would, disregarding the time or place, drag Su Niannian from her bed and make her, barefoot, perform a small dance for him — a manifestation of a flawed kind of love. His gentle, jade-like eyes were always filled with a wildness — “Niannian, shall I break your other leg, too?” So-called affection was just a set of chains. This time, she would rather be married to a pig or a dog than choose Jinchuan.

Su Niannian grabbed a piece of scrub grass from near a stone and began washing, rubbing until her skin turned red. In the very next moment, Su Niannian was suddenly lifted up. Her body trembled, and she instinctively tightened her grip on Gu Zhiye’s shirt.

“That… last night was my fault. You shouldn’t destroy yourself over it. When we get back to the army, I’ll resubmit our marriage application. Whatever you want, I’ll do my best to make it happen.” Gu Zhiye explained quietly. The vibrations from his chest flowed directly into Su Niannian’s heart, causing it to tremble.

“That… I want to go northwest.”
“All right.”
“Don’t… bite me in the future.”
“That’s something we can talk about later.”
Su Niannian, resting against Gu Zhiye’s chest, opened her mouth and bit him. The man drew a sharp breath — “Hiss”— and his gaze grew deep and piercing. “Want more?”
Su Niannian turned red all the way down her neck. She sprang out of his arms, quickly tugging at her collar. “Go back… I still need to do laundry.”
“You? Do laundry? Washing until there’s less and less…” Gu Zhiye raised an eyebrow — evidently, he had gotten quite a bit of helpful information from Su Jianshan — probably a manifestation of his strong sense of responsibility. Without further words, under Su Niannian’s gaze, the man knelt down by the stream, efficiently washing the laundry before striding away. Fearful of alarming her, he kept a distance and avoided further exchanges. Su Niannian felt a rush of ease in her heart. As the sun gradually rose, she carried the basin back toward the Gu family’s home.

Just as she turned the corner, she heard Gu’s mother’s exasperated voice. “That’s a new bed we made this spring, and you nearly broke it! All this energy — I wish you’d use it elsewhere. I’m blushing just thinking about it…”
Su Niannian’s face turned red up to her neck once more.
She opened the gate and saw Ma Hongmei, who was being scolded, and Gu Shutong, sitting under the eaves, quietly smoking. He briefly raised his droopy eyelids to look at her, then turned away.
Fearing it might be her turn to be scolded, Su Niannian rushed back into her room.

Sliding the door aside, she noticed a pair of long legs extending from under the bed — slightly bent — with army green pants stretched taut at the knees. Su Niannian knelt down, her face still a rosy hue.
“So you… are you fixing the bed this early in the morning? That means…”
In the dimly lit space, Gu Zhiye’s voice was a little breathless. He struck a piece of wood with his hammer. “The room next door is even noisier — what’s there to be afraid of?”
“…”
The silence was heavy.
Unable to appreciate the silence, Gu Zhiye broke it first. “By the way, who’s Jinchuan? You called that name last night…”
“A… a dog!!”
Gu Zhiye thought he hadn’t heard quite right. He turned, crawled out, and saw the girl, reluctantly and ashamedly, say, “It’s… a poodle’s name.”
“It bit you?”
“Yes.”
Gu Zhiye’s callused fingertips glided down the back of her neck, adding a softness to his normally tough demeanor. “It’s fine. I’ll protect you.”
Dogs aren’t allowed in the army; only trained hunting dogs can be kept.

…
Heilongjiang, a villa.
The skies were misty.
Chen Niannian, wearing a checkered shirt-dress, was following her mother with nervous yet excited eyes darting all around.
“Jinchuan’s character is gentle; he’ll accept you.”
She may not wish it, but as a mother, she hoped her daughter would live a comfortable life. Chen’s mother patted her daughter’s rough hands and lowered her voice. “Originally, it was meant to be someone else… but his brother passed away — there’s no fate there. Fortunately, Jinchuan hasn’t met Niannian. The two of you can foster your relationship. With him, our lives might improve.”
After the incident was reported, the Chen family fell into difficult straits.
Just then, their cook, Aunt Zhang, brought over two cups of coffee with a smile. “The master brought back these coffee beans from abroad — please try them.”
Chen’s mother interrupted, “Zhang, that’s not appropriate. We shouldn’t drink coffee — plain tea is fine.”
“That’s…” Aunt Zhang fell silent in embarrassment.
“This time, just let it be a chance for Niannian to see the world. Niannian, try this hand-ground coffee…”
The white cup was adorned with delicate patterns, filled with a black liquid that resembled the muddy pools at the entrance of the village.
Chen Niannian furrowed her brows and boldly downed it in a single sip. The moment it fell down her throat, she turned away and spit it all out in disbelief.
“Ugh! This coffee tastes just like traditional Chinese medicine. It nearly choked me…”
“…”
Chen’s mother was about to scold her when they heard a rush of footsteps. Because it was raining lightly outside, the person came in briskly, his shirt thin and damp, outlining his tall, slim form.
Chen Niannian held her breath in awe — his eyebrows were delicate, his looks ethereal, hard to distinguish whether he was male or female — pure as snow-capped mountains. His black-framed glasses kept a barrier between him and the rest of the world, adding an aura of warmth and distance.
He paused briefly upon seeing the mess.
Chen’s mother stood up immediately. “Jinchuan! Didn’t you say you wanted to see Niannian? I brought her here especially for you.”
Jinchuan casually raked his damp bangs back. His deep, calm eyes glimmered quietly, without a ripple. “Are you Chen Niannian? You’re not as cute as you were when you were a child…”