Chapter 4: Then You Close Your Eyes

As soon as they entered the courtyard, He Miao noticed that the man was awake but still trembling, trying to stand up from the bed.

He was standing at the door, his hand resting on the door frame as if deep in thought.

“Why are you up?” He Miao quickly placed the wooden basin down and walked over to help him.

“Miss, I…” The man turned his head, his eyes briefly meeting He Miao’s before quickly darting away. He only stared at the ground, his long fingers gripping the door frame, stammering, “I… I want…”

It was clear that the man wanted to say something but was too shy to speak.

The man was noticeably taller than He Miao by at least a head. The young girl had to tilt her neck to look up at him, her gaze falling on his slightly reddened neck and ears.

He Miao thought to herself that this man’s body was really quite weak. Within just one day, his skin had become as pale as it had been the previous day.

Guessing he might be hungry, He Miao said, “Are you hungry? I’ll make some rice porridge for you. You wait in the room.”

The man seemed to be slightly resistant and shy. His tall frame remained firmly planted at the door, not moving an inch at her words.

He Miao’s pupils shifted, and she made another guess, “Do you… do you need to relieve yourself?”

“…” The man lowered his gaze. One must attend to their bodily needs, and he reluctantly nodded. “Mm…”

At this moment, he looked somewhat silly, and He Miao thought he seemed kind of cute, which contrasted greatly with his appearance. This made her silently smile in her heart.

When she had seen his face while he was unconscious, she thought he had a sharp aura and appeared quite intimidating, especially with all the blood. She had been worried he might be difficult to deal with, but now, he seemed very gentle.

He Miao gently parted her lips and said, “Then I’ll help you to the outhouse.”

The outhouse was far outside the courtyard. The man was still weak, but after walking a few steps, he could manage.

Afterward, He Miao helped him back to the bed and made the rice porridge, adding a bit of brown sugar. She brought it over and spooned some to his lips. “I asked my uncle, and he said for the next two days, you can only drink porridge and noodles. After you get better, I’ll cook something else for you.”

“Mm, thank you, Miss.”

He Miao smiled lightly. “You don’t need to thank me. If you want to thank me, then just get better quickly. It’ll save me the trouble.”

The man pursed his lips and nodded. He then ate spoonful after spoonful of the fragrant porridge that He Miao fed him.

After finishing the porridge, He Miao suddenly remembered the character she had seen embroidered inside his boots and asked, “There’s a character ‘尋’ embroidered on the inside of your boots. Do you remember it?”

The man shook his head. “No.”

He Miao thought about his current condition—still seriously injured and with memory loss. It seemed that for a while, he wouldn’t be able to leave.

Afterward, he probably wouldn’t be interacting much with the villagers, so he would need a name. She said, “I think there might be a in your name, so I’ll call you A-Xun from now on.”

The man paused for a moment before nodding. “Alright, as you wish.”

He Miao smiled gently. “I’ve kept your hairpin for you. Also, the clothes you wore when you came—I’ve already washed them. I’ll give them back to you when you leave.”

The man didn’t answer, as he didn’t know where he was going yet.

He felt a sense of dependence on this young girl, the first person he saw after regaining consciousness. She was so sweet and gentle, and right now, he didn’t want to think about leaving.

After the porridge, He Miao went to boil the medicine. After it cooled, she brought it to him.

The man didn’t want her to feed him spoonfuls again, but though his hands were still shaky, he insisted on holding the bowl himself and drank it all, even swallowing the last bit of bitter medicine with the residue.

The man hoped to get better quickly so that he wouldn’t have to trouble this kind and beautiful girl any longer.

The medicine was so bitter that after drinking it, the man lowered his head and frowned unconsciously.

Suddenly, he noticed a small hand in front of him. It was open, and inside was a small piece of something.

It was sugar.

He slowly took it and put it into his mouth.

“Is it sweet?”

When he looked up, he saw the young girl smiling brightly at him. Her brows, eyes, lips, and even the little dimples at the corner of her mouth were all smiling.

The man felt an overwhelming sweetness.

“Mm, very sweet.”

—

**That Night**

It was late at night, past the hour of Hai (about 9 PM).

Just as He Miao was about to undress and lie down to rest, she suddenly heard the man’s scream from the storage room.

“A-Xun, what’s wrong?” He Miao grabbed an oil lamp and rushed into the storage room.

In the dim light, she saw the man sitting there, his chest heaving rapidly with each breath. Sweat was rolling down his forehead, and his handsome face was twisted in a painful frown.

His eyes were dark and filled with fear, as though he had seen something terrifying in a nightmare.

He Miao set the oil lamp down and gently crouched beside the bed, trying to comfort him in a soft voice, “Don’t be afraid, you had a nightmare, right?”

Her gentle and pleasant voice pulled him from the depths of his nightmare. The man blinked, slowly coming to his senses, and nodded. “Mm…”

He Miao poured him a cup of water and brought it to his lips. The man, with his dry throat, took a sip from the edge of the cup. His lips were still pale.

“It’s okay. When I was young, I often had nightmares too. After waking up, I felt like the world was much better,” He Miao said with a soft smile.

The man turned his head and, in the weak light, saw He Miao’s lovely smile. The firelight illuminated her delicate face, and the flames danced in her sparkling eyes.

“Mm.” At that moment, the man felt that the young girl was right. This world really was beautiful.

“Then go back to sleep. You need to rest more. Tomorrow morning, I’ll make you some noodles with green onions and eggs. It’ll be really fragrant!”

“Mm.”

He Miao helped the man lie back down, but she noticed that he was staring at her and still hadn’t closed his eyes.

“What’s wrong? Are you still scared?” she asked.

“No…” The man seemed reluctant to close his eyes.

He Miao smiled knowingly. She guessed that he didn’t want to admit he was still afraid of his nightmare. She didn’t expose him, but instead, she sat at the edge of the bed again and said, “Then I’ll sing for you. When I had nightmares as a child, I would run to my mother’s side, and she would sing to me. Afterward, I could fall asleep again. Do you want to hear it?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, then close your eyes. Once you close your eyes, I’ll sing.”

“Alright.” Even though he was reluctant, the man obediently closed his eyes as she asked.

“Mountains so far, rivers so long, the wind is howling, and the road is distant…”

Her voice was gentle and pleasant, and the melody peaceful and calming.

But after He Miao finished singing the entire song, A-Xun still hadn’t fallen asleep.

However, seeing that the man had closed his eyes and hadn’t moved, He Miao assumed he must have fallen asleep, so she took the oil lamp and quietly left the room.