She stared at the road leading towards the stone bridge for a long time. Only people heading back were visible; no one was coming this way.

I wonder when Xiaomai will get here?

Her stomach ached badly. Wen Nan lowered her head and rubbed her belly, feeling another warm rush.

Wen Nan: …

Misfortune never comes singly.

After what felt like a long time, Wen Nan finally heard footsteps in the torrential rain. The footsteps were quick and steady, unlike Xiaomai’s. She looked up and saw a figure running towards her in the heavy rain. The man was wearing a raincoat and a straw hat, striding quickly through the downpour, reaching her in a few steps. The cold air from the rain enveloped her, making her shiver.

Wen Nan looked up and saw the man remove his hat, revealing a familiar, handsome, and upright face.

She opened her mouth in astonishment, “Brother, why are you here? Where’s Xiaomai?”

Chen Xu shook the water off his hat, “She’s behind me.”

The man hung his hat on a tree branch, took a dark blue jacket from under his raincoat, shook it, and handed it to Wen Nan, “Put this on first.”

Wen Nan immediately recognized it as her jacket. Chen Xu had protected it well; it wasn’t damp and still held the warmth of his body. She wrapped the jacket around her waist, about to tie the sleeves, when she saw Chen Xu put his raincoat down, take off his own jacket, and hand it to her, “Put your jacket on, and tie mine around your waist.”

Wen Nan paused, her hand still on the sleeve, looking up at the tan jacket he offered.

The man was wearing a short-sleeved military uniform. His knuckles were long and slender, and the veins on his arms ran along the muscle lines into his sleeves. Wen Nan came to her senses, looked up at Chen Xu, and smiled, showing her white teeth, “Thank you, Brother.”

She quickly put on her own jacket and then tied Chen Xu’s jacket around her waist.

Chen Xu bent down, picked up his raincoat, and covered the two baskets. He lifted both baskets with one hand, his back to Wen Nan, saying, “Xiaomai will be here soon. Go back with her under one umbrella; I’ll send the grass and then come back.”

Then he ran quickly into the heavy rain.

“Brother, wait—”

Wen Nan had only taken two steps when another warm flow gushed out, followed by another sharp pain in her stomach. She pressed on her stomach, her face embarrassed as she looked at Chen Xu, who had turned around to look at her in the rain. In the blink of an eye, the man’s clothes were soaked.

Chen Xu wiped the rain from his face, “What’s wrong?”

His voice was much louder, clearly audible above the torrential rain.

Even if Wen Nan was brazen, the next words still made her embarrassed to the point of wanting to disappear: “I can’t walk. Can you carry me back after you’ve delivered the grass?”

There was still a long way to go from here to the family quarters, especially in the rain.

If she walked back…

Wen Nan didn’t dare to imagine what her trousers would look like, or what marks her footsteps would leave.

“Cough—”

Whether it was because Chen Xu coughed or because of what Wen Nan said, the man’s face flushed slightly. He quickly wiped the rain from his face, the coolness of his palm slightly reducing the heat on his face, then turned his back to Wen Nan, saying, “Wait for me to come back.”

Then he ran off with the baskets.

Wen Nan watched Chen Xu disappear into the heavy rain, letting out a gasp of astonishment.

Chief Chen is really strong.

He could run so fast even carrying two full baskets of grass.

Soon, Zhao Xiaomai arrived. She had run all the way, panting, her trousers soaked, her shoes and shoelaces covered in thick mud, carrying a heavy load. Seeing Wen Nan’s clothes, she knew Chief Chen had already been there. The baskets weren’t there, so he must have gone to deliver the grass.

Zhao Xiaomai ran under the tree, putting her umbrella down. Seeing Wen Nan’s face even paler than before, she asked with concern, “Wen Nan, is your stomach hurting badly?”

She herself suffered terribly during her period, her mother never caring, and she just gritted her teeth and endured it.

She knew how unpleasant the pain was.

Wen Nan gave a weak smile, clutching her stomach, her brows furrowed, “I can still bear it, but it’s a wave of pain.” She paused and asked, “Why did my brother come?”

Zhao Xiaomai tucked the hair from her temples behind her ears and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, “I just passed the stone bridge and met Chief Chen. He asked where you were when he saw me coming back alone. I told Chief Chen what happened, and he told me to stay home and that he would bring you clothes. I wasn’t worried about you being alone here, so I came with Chief Chen. I didn’t expect Chief Chen to walk so fast; I couldn’t even catch up with him running.”

She stamped the mud off her shoes, leaving several mud spots on the ground.

Wen Nan looked towards the cow shed. The cow shed was next to the pig shed. In a short while, Chen Xu returned, his raincoat slung over his left arm, his right hand holding two baskets. He ran quickly and hid under the tree. He was drenched to the bone. Wen Nan wasn’t far from him and could feel the chill radiating from him.

Let’s just say, Wen Nan felt more guilty than ever.

Terribly guilty.

Chief Chen was a stranger to her. He kindly took her in, paid for her medicine, bought her gloves, helped her deliver grass after work, and now, in the rain, he brought her clothes and grass. And she had the nerve to ask him to carry her back.

Wen Nan felt she was being too demanding.

After this rain, she should find the person Wen Guo introduced to the original owner and move out of Chen’s house. Then she could lessen the guilt in her heart.

Chen Xu put down the baskets and handed the raincoat to Wen Nan, “Put this on; you won’t feel the chill from me.”

Wen Nan took it; the outside was wet, but the inside was dry. She put on the raincoat, and just as she tied the strings, her head felt heavy, and the light dimmed. She heard Chen Xu’s voice, “Put on the hat too.”

The hat was large, covering most of her vision.

Wen Nan held the hat, tied the strings under her chin, and just as she finished, a military green figure suddenly appeared. The tall, strong man was facing away from her, half-squatting in front of her, “Get on, I’ll carry you back.”

He was tall, even squatting, he wasn’t much shorter than her.

Wen Nan knew her situation didn’t allow her to walk back. She brazenly stepped forward and leaned against Chen Xu’s broad back, her arms around his neck. The man was drenched; even through two layers of clothing, she felt the dampness and chill radiating from him. The moment Wen Nan leaned against him, Chen Xu’s muscles tensed. He put his hands around her knees and stood up.

This was the first time Chen Xu had been so close to a woman.

The person on his back was light and soft. She couldn’t see ahead because of the hat, so she turned her head to face him, her breath warm on his ear. Even the cold rain couldn’t mask that warmth.

Chen Xu’s ears turned red.

He regretted it. He should have let Wen Nan sit in a basket and carried it. This way, he felt uncomfortable all over, as if ants were crawling all over him.

Wen Nan didn’t notice anything unusual about Chen Xu. She turned her head to face his sharply defined profile, avoiding the hat’s edge from touching his face.

“Brother, I’m alright.”

Chen Xu: …

His head subtly turned to the side, trying to ignore the burning warmth near his ear. Zhao Xiaomai looked enviously at Wen Nan, then put the two baskets on her back, one in front and one behind, opening her umbrella, “Chief Chen, let’s go.”

Chen Xu carried Wen Nan out from under the tree. He walked quickly, and Zhao Xiaomai struggled to keep up, falling behind in a short while. Chen Xu turned to look at Zhao Xiaomai, slowing down to wait for her to catch up. They walked slowly to the stone bridge. Wen Nan’s body was pressed tightly against his back; even through the raincoat, he could feel the softness of her body.

The man’s ears were completely red, all the way down to his neck.

His muscles were tense, his veins bulging, and his palms were sweating.

It was raining heavily, and there was no one in the alleyways of the family quarters; the gates of every house were closed. Chen Xu kicked open the gate and entered the house, carrying Wen Nan. He saw his grandmother coming out of the house. Grandma Chen held a clean piece of cloth and needle, as if she was sewing something. She saw that Chen Xu was drenched, his face streaked with rainwater, and Wen Nan on his back, wearing a raincoat and hat, her condition unseen.

Grandma Chen urged, “Quickly, quickly, take Nannan inside, and change into clean clothes quickly, don’t catch a cold.”

Chen Xu said, “I’m fine.”

His body was strong; he could withstand a night and day of rain.

Chen Xu carried Wen Nan into the house. Grandma Chen then saw Zhao Xiaomai enter, carrying their baskets, and quickly beckoned, “Xiaomai, put the baskets down and go home quickly.” Then she muttered to herself, “The rain is getting heavier; it looks like it will last until tonight.”

Zhao Xiaomai put the baskets under the eaves, about to put away her umbrella, when Grandma Chen said, “Go back with your umbrella; you can get it later when it stops raining. It’s cold; go quickly, don’t catch a cold.”

Zhao Xiaomai smiled, “I’m fine; it’s just a short distance to my house, I don’t need an umbrella.”

She folded her umbrella, leaned it against the wall, and called towards Wen Nan’s room, “Wen Nan, I’m going back now.” She waved to Grandma Chen, “Grandma Chen, I’m going.”

Zhao Xiaomai carried the baskets and ran out into the heavy rain; Grandma Chen couldn’t stop her.