Du Yunyan’s complexion was unusually pale, even though he always had an unenthusiastic face, Gu Wenxi could still tell that he was genuinely angry this time.

But he couldn’t figure out where he had offended the other party when he was clearly mopping the floor as requested.

Could it be that he thought he was mopping too slowly?

“Boss Du, I… I’ve already mopped up to the second floor!”

Du Yunyan took a deep breath, “Didn’t I tell you, wring the cloth dry?”

“I did wring it dry, isn’t it dry enough?” Gu Wenxi was puzzled, staring at the floor beneath his feet, “Even if it’s a bit wet, can’t it just air dry?”

“You—” Du Yunyan’s sharp gaze swept over, Gu Wenxi felt guilty for a second, but still boldly met his gaze. Du Yunyan said flatly, “Let me do it.”

“Disdain” was written all over his face, but the shadow between his eyebrows had dispersed, perhaps he didn’t really take him seriously. Gu Wenxi also understood that he wasn’t cut out for this kind of work, so he tactfully stepped aside, “This is… You don’t want me to do it?”

“Just don’t get in my way.”

…………

After a while, Gu Wenxi descended the stairs, turning back to see the person crouching to wash the cloth, every move meticulous and careful.

Just mopping the floor, was it necessary to be so serious? Gu Wenxi couldn’t understand. There were only two people living in the house at the moment, so why bother cleaning it spotlessly?

However, because of the floor incident, Gu Wenxi didn’t see him during dinner in the evening. The food was placed on the table in the dining room. It seemed like he was deliberately avoiding him, leaving a note for him to heat up the food himself, and instructing him to clean up the dishes.

Du Yunyan probably hadn’t left long, as the food wasn’t cold. Remembering his boast in the morning, Gu Wenxi felt a little guilty, but since the other person was nowhere to be seen now, he could only find another opportunity to help him.

The next day, Gu Wenxi seized his “opportunity”. He stopped the person as he was about to ride off on his motorcycle.

“I’m going to town to buy some things,” Du Yunyan said coldly, “You stay here.”

“What are you buying?”

“Rice, noodles… other food.”

Gu Wenxi guessed he was impatient, but perhaps out of good manners, he still insisted on answering his question.

“You can carry so much on the motorcycle?”

“It’s fine.”

“Come with me in my car,” Gu Wenxi casually suggested, “The car is useless just sitting here.”

Du Yunyan’s expression wavered slightly, but he didn’t immediately get off the motorcycle.

“Since I haven’t been to town before, why don’t you take me for a stroll?” He seized the opportunity.

“There’s nothing interesting to see,” Du Yunyan got off the motorcycle, “Just buying things.”

“Alright, I understand. Let’s just go buy things then.” His hand naturally rested on Du Yunyan’s shoulder. Du Yunyan took two silent steps forward, creating some distance between them.

Gu Wenxi didn’t mind his coldness and went straight to the car, opening the passenger door, “Get in.” Then he went around to the driver’s side.

On the road, as Gu Wenxi’s right hand rested on the steering wheel, he remembered his previous curiosity: “You’ve never driven before?”

“No,” Du Yunyan answered without hesitation.

“Then how did you know how to change a tire?” Gu Wenxi asked in surprise.

“Because I saw someone do it once and helped a little.”

“You remembered it after just one time?” Gu Wenxi eased off the gas pedal, and the car slowly cruised along the rural road.

“It’s not that difficult a thing to do.”

“I find it quite difficult.” Gu Wenxi slightly increased the speed of the car.

Du Yunyan’s eyes glanced out the window. “After all, you don’t even know how to mop the floor.”

Gu Wenxi: “…When will you ever forget about the floor incident?”

Driving to the town didn’t take long, but as Du Yunyan had said, there wasn’t much to see. The scenery wasn’t as good as in the village, with more hustle and bustle, but it was convenient for shopping.

The supermarket they went to was on a main road, with a big red signboard and golden characters, as flashy as it could be. Parking spaces were hard to find, with no dedicated parking lot. Some vendors even occupied the roadside, but thankfully Gu Wenxi was skilled at parking and managed to squeeze between a van and a pickup truck.

The supermarket wasn’t large, mainly selling groceries and basic daily necessities, nothing like the big markets in big cities.

“You’re buying so much?” Gu Wenxi looked at the gradually piling shopping cart, filled with several bags of rice.

“I’m buying some for someone else.”

“Who?”

“Uncle Sheng,” Du Yunyan added a bucket of oil to the cart, “the old man you met the other day.”

“Oh…” Gu Wenxi remembered the kind-hearted old man. If it weren’t for him calling Du Yunyan, he wouldn’t have known what to do with his car. “Are you close to him?”

“He’s a neighbor,” Du Yunyan continued pushing the cart forward, “Most people in the village are quite familiar with each other.”

“That’s true.” In small towns, unlike in cities, people living in the same building might not even greet each other a few times in a year. “Hey, it’s lucky that I drove here today, right? Otherwise, how could you have bought so much?”

Du Yunyan sneered, “If I came alone, I would’ve bought less.”

“Tsk,” Gu Wenxi scoffed, “Can’t you admit that I’m useful sometimes?”

“Hmm, you’re a bit useful,” Du Yunyan said indifferently, then walked towards the meat counter.

The butcher responsible for weighing the meat probably knew him. “Boss, you’re here?”

“Yeah,” Du Yunyan leaned forward slightly to look, “Can you please cut a piece of tendon for me?”

Gu Wenxi quickly stepped forward, “Don’t you usually eat vegetarian?”

“You don’t want to eat meat?” Du Yunyan said, “Sunday is coming soon.”

Gu Wenxi finally remembered the Sunday meat-eating tradition, but now that he wasn’t a guest at the inn anymore and hadn’t settled the accommodation fee, he couldn’t afford to eat meat.

“Um… I don’t need it,” he grabbed Du Yunyan and said to the butcher cutting the meat, “Sorry, we don’t need it anymore.”

“You’re not going to eat it?” Du Yunyan asked in confusion.

“No need, I’ll eat whatever you eat,” Gu Wenxi tried to look like a good boy who didn’t cause trouble, “Don’t worry about me.”

“Alright then,” Du Yunyan was also straightforward, immediately pushing the cart and turning around, “We can go back now.”

The two of them returned to the village from the supermarket and parked the car directly in front of Uncle Sheng’s house. Du Yunyan asked Gu Wenxi to get off and help deliver some things.

Uncle Sheng’s real name was Yunsheng, and his house was also a detached low-rise building. The front yard was lush with vegetation, and a proud rooster strolled across the grass, pecking at the ground and picking up a small insect. Gu Wenxi suspected that the crowing he heard every morning came from this rooster.

Uncle Sheng was chatting with someone who was about the same age.

Granny Ji was hanging quilts in the yard.

“Aunt Liu,” Du Yunyan immediately put down his things, “let me help you.”

Du Yunyan draped the quilt over a long rope, while Gu Wenxi approached and learned from him, smoothing out the other side and using clips to hold it in place.

Under the tree, sunlight cast dappled shadows that danced and swayed with the wind.

“Thank you both.”

The rough voice of the elderly woman startled Gu Wenxi, who turned to see the granny smiling at him, with two deep lines on her forehead.

“Aunt Liu,” Du Yunyan called out loudly, “how have you been lately?”

“Doing well!”

Her voice was loud and bright. Du Yunyan leaned in close to Gu Wenxi. “Aunt Liu has poor hearing, so she speaks loudly.”

“Oh.” Gu Wenxi nodded.

It seemed that Aunt Liu and Uncle Sheng were an elderly couple; one couldn’t speak, and the other had poor hearing, but it didn’t hinder their communication. Uncle Sheng’s gestures were understood by Aunt Liu.

Du Yunyan and Gu Wenxi brought some of the purchased items into the house. Strings of smoked meat hung under the eaves, emitting a strong aroma. Gu Wenxi looked at them reluctantly, feeling his stomach grumble. If only he hadn’t stopped Du Yunyan from buying meat earlier.

Coming out of the house, there was a fruit platter on the small folding table in the front yard, and Aunt Liu invited them, “Come and have some persimmon cakes.”

Du Yunyan didn’t hesitate, gesturing for Gu Wenxi to wash his hands at the sink in the courtyard, and then they sat around the table. Uncle Sheng brought tea. Gu Wenxi remembered the previous incident and thanked him. Uncle Sheng waved his hand, indicating the tea on the table for him to drink while it was hot.

“I made these myself,” Du Yunyan picked up a small piece of persimmon cake and introduced it to Gu Wenxi, “they’re different from the ones on the market.”

The red round dried fruits had a concave center with a fine white frost on the surface. They tasted sweet and refreshing, neither too soft nor too hard, indeed quite good.

As Gu Wenxi ate the fruits and listened to their conversation, it was still mostly about village affairs that he didn’t fully understand. The rooster with a flower tail had gone to the back of the house, out of sight.

After eating two pieces of cake, Du Yunyan stood up to leave, but Aunt Liu wanted to keep them for a while longer.

“No, Aunt Liu, there’s still work to do at the inn.”

“Then take some back with you, wait for me.” She went into the house to find a bag.

“Do you often help them buy things?” From the casual conversation between Du Yunyan and the elderly couple just now, Gu Wenxi concluded this.

“Neighbors help each other, it’s nothing.”

The people in the village were simple, and helping each other might indeed be common. Gu Wenxi couldn’t easily equate Du Yunyan with being “kind-hearted.” Of course, he just thought about it in his heart. He had limited knowledge of Du Yunyan and didn’t need to label him with a specific tag.

“Thank you.” Du Yunyan took the bag handed to him by Aunt Liu, and they didn’t delay any longer, driving back to the neighboring guesthouse.

“Is that old lady from another family?” After parking the car, Gu Wenxi asked. Since you call her Aunt Liu, her surname should be Liu, right?

“Aunt Liu’s maiden family is from another village,” Du Yunyan told him, “but she’s been living here for decades.”

“And Uncle Sheng… has he never spoken?”

“I’ve been here for over a decade, and he’s never spoken since I arrived, but I can understand his gestures, so communication isn’t difficult.”

“You know quite a lot.” Gu Wenxi couldn’t understand sign language himself. After saying that, he suddenly realized a problem. When Du Yunyan said, “since I arrived here… over a decade ago,” it turned out he wasn’t raised here? Where did he live before?

Du Yunyan walked to the door, still holding it open with one hand. “Come in quickly.”

Gu Wenxi suppressed his doubts. He wasn’t familiar enough with Du Yunyan to inquire about his background further. He didn’t want to stir up conflicts by being too nosy.

When it was time to prepare lunch, Du Yunyan quickly got the ingredients ready. Gu Wenxi lazily leaned against the kitchen door frame, watching his profile. “What are we having for lunch?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Du Yunyan took a knife from the rack and began peeling the winter melon.

“How can I not be interested?” Gu Wenxi took the initiative to walk over to him. “Let me help you.”

Du Yunyan glanced at him and told him to wash the vegetables.

“Soak them in water first.”

Gu Wenxi dared not act arbitrarily and obediently followed his instructions.

Du Yunyan finished cutting a small piece of winter melon on the side, then opened the refrigerator. “Can you beat eggs?”

“Are you asking me?” Gu Wenxi was stunned.

“Anyone else here besides you?”

Gu Wenxi’s breath caught in his chest. “Do you think I can’t even beat eggs?” He couldn’t guarantee anything else, but the only culinary skill he could boast of was making egg fried rice. He even made it for Jiang Chen and Zeng Bo Nian before. How could he not know how to beat eggs?

“As long as you can, it’s fine.” Du Yunyan didn’t dwell on it. He took three eggs from the fridge and gently placed them in a bowl. “Beat these.”

While Gu Wenxi was beating the eggs, Du Yunyan quickly cut the washed vegetables into several pieces.

The oil in the pan was hot, and Du Yunyan was about to pour the vegetables in when the phone on the counter rang, the landline of the guesthouse.

“Go answer the phone,” Gu Wenxi took the plate from him, “I’ll handle this.”

Du Yunyan didn’t think much about it, took a couple of steps out, then turned back to remind, “Put the stems in first, then the leaves.”

“I got it.”

Verbose, Gu Wenxi complained silently to himself. Who doesn’t know how to stir-fry vegetables?

He straightened his arm and stepped back a bit to avoid getting splashed with oil. After putting the vegetables into the pan, the oil in the pan made a loud sizzle. He thought about turning off the heat first, but before he could, a bright light suddenly appeared at the bottom of the pan, and flames shot up high.

Gu Wenxi was greatly shocked. He instinctively grabbed a small bowl of water from beside the stove and poured it in.