Chapter 3

Jiang Tian nodded. “Alright then, at least we’ll have some company.”

But as soon as the two of them opened the door and dumped the bucket of water outside, they heard a sharp scream.

Jiang Er instinctively shielded Jiang Tian, shouting, “Who’s there?”

Jiang Ying had originally planned to go to the mass grave to look for Xie Chen. Who knew she wouldn’t find him after searching for so long? In the pitch-black darkness, she even managed to scare herself half to death.

Coming down from the mountain, she thought she might as well check Jiang Tian’s house. But the wall was too high. She had just bent down to peek through the crack of the door when—splash!—a whole basin of cold water poured down from above, drenching her like a wet duck.

She was about to curse loudly when she heard Jiang Er’s voice, and the words stuck in her throat.

With a hint of grievance, she said, “Jiang Er, why are you dumping water outside in the middle of the night? I’m soaked through now.”

Jiang Er was surprised. “Sister Jiang, what are you doing at our doorstep so late? Shouldn’t you be sleeping at the educated youth dormitory?”

Jiang Tian stood still and didn’t say a word. From this angle, Jiang Ying shouldn’t be able to see her.

In the original book, the female lead’s portrayal was rather sloppy. They said she was like Lin Daiyu, but that was way too exaggerated. Still, one had to admit, this girl was a complete love-brain. In her previous life, she must have been blind to fall for someone like Lin Muyu—such a weakling.

Honestly, the author’s setup wasn’t convincing either. How could such a fragile little weakling hold up as the male lead?

Jiang Ying shivered, then forced a smile. “I was just worried about your sister, so I came to check on her.”

She figured that since her clothes were wet, this would be the perfect excuse to go inside and see if Xie Chen was in Jiang Tian’s house.

But Jiang Er wasn’t stupid. “Don’t worry, Sister Jiang, my sister’s already asleep. You should head back too. I just finished bathing and I’m cold, so I’ll be going back in now.”

Jiang Ying wanted to push her way inside, but she was shut down cold.

Jiang Tian didn’t hear the sound of footsteps leaving. She gestured to Jiang Er with a “don’t talk” hand sign, then motioned for him to climb onto her back.

Jiang Er understood and quickly climbed onto her back. Only then did the two of them return to the house.

“Big Sis, why do I feel like something’s off about that Sister Jiang?”

Jiang Tian said seriously, “Jiang Ying is no good. We’ll stay far away from her from now on.”

“Alright.”

“Go on, go to sleep.”

Jiang Er pursed his lips, hesitating. “Fine, but you be careful with that man. If he bullies you, just call me.”

Jiang Tian gave him a smack on the butt. “What do you mean ‘that man’? From now on, call him Brother-in-law.”

“Got it.”

Rubbing his sore backside, Jiang Er returned to the west room.

Jiang Tian pushed open the door to the east room and immediately locked eyes with Xie Chen.

She jumped. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

Xie Chen was sitting against the wall on the kang. “Was someone here just now?”

Jiang Tian had no intention of hiding it. Since Jiang Ying had been reborn, there was a good chance she’d try to steal him away. This was the perfect chance to ruin her reputation and cut off any ties between her and Xie Chen. After all, that female lead was just too stupid.

“When we opened the door to dump the water just now, we splashed it all over Jiang Ying. She said she came to check on me, but I don’t buy it. Guess who she really wanted to see?”

Knowing Xie Chen couldn’t figure it out, Jiang Tian told him about how Jiang Ying had egged her on to throw him into the back mountain.

Xie Chen thought carefully. He had no real dealings with this Jiang Ying, but judging from Jiang Tian’s words… she had come looking for him?

Jiang Tian didn’t explain too much, instead giving a half-reasonable excuse about why she wasn’t actually stupid.

Xie Chen only gave a faint “Mm.” He didn’t believe her, but had to pretend he did.

“Alright, go to sleep already. I’m dead tired.”

She yawned as she climbed onto the kang.

“I stoked the fire well today, but it might get a little chilly later at night. From now on, you sleep at the head of the bed. It’ll be good for warming up that frail body of yours.”

She was already lying down. Seeing that he was still sitting against the wall, she lifted the blanket and patted the space beside her. “Hurry up and get in. We’re husband and wife now, what are you so afraid of? Besides, I remember when I was stupid, didn’t I even kiss you?”

Just recalling that incident gave Xie Chen a bit of a shadow. That day, she had almost kissed the life out of him.

He stared at Jiang Tian with a complicated look. She blinked back at him. “You know that wasn’t the real me back then.”

After a long silence, Xie Chen finally lifted the blanket and lay down.

“Xie Chen, take your clothes off before you get in. I’ve already seen everything, don’t drag this out. At this rate, it’ll be morning soon.”

With that, Jiang Tian blew out the lamp, turned over, and went to sleep. The darkness helped ease some of Xie Chen’s discomfort.

But the faint fragrance lingering in the air made him subconsciously take a deep breath, only to realize it was coming from Jiang Tian.

He shifted a little closer to her, staring at her outline in the dark, feeling an odd sense of peace.

He had already guessed—this woman in front of him was not the same foolish girl from before.

Since she planned to take care of him, he might as well accept it for now. Once he recovered, he would treat her well.

The next morning, when Jiang Tian woke up, she was still groggy and reached out, half expecting to grab her phone. Instead, her hand landed on something warm.

Then it hit her—she had transmigrated. Opening her eyes, she came face-to-face with Xie Chen.

Her cheeks flushed, and she let out an awkward laugh.

“Sorry about that. I have this habit of hugging something in my sleep. Just bear with it.”

She slipped off of him and sat up, stretching.

In the sunlight, the glimpse of pale skin she revealed was especially eye-catching.

Jiang Tian didn’t notice Xie Chen’s deep gaze. Looking at the courtyard scenery, she suddenly remembered—she needed to install curtains.

Even though the courtyard walls were high and private enough, she still felt uneasy. Better to put some up. That way, she could even sleep in during the day.

Getting dressed, she went to the kitchen to start the fire and cook.

The autumn harvest had ended a couple of days ago. At this time of year, most families were at home preparing for the winter. Days mostly consisted of cooking, eating, and visiting neighbors.

Yesterday, she had already checked the family’s food supplies.

All told, they only had about five jin of cornmeal, five jin of rice, a dozen eggs, half a jar of lard, and some cabbage, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Seasonings were all there too.

Because the original Jiang Tian had been slow-witted, she usually only went out with Jiang Er to collect pig grass. That earned little work points. Plus, it wasn’t time for the grain distribution yet. So, while their food was a bit scarce, it wasn’t desperate.

She decided that for breakfast, she’d make a pot of plain rice porridge, fry up some shredded potato and egg pancakes, and whip up some simple spicy cabbage.

The spicy cabbage seasonings she could take out from her space. The rice and flour couldn’t be revealed openly, but small seasonings were fine.

Jiang Tian had just finished rinsing the rice and was about to light the fire when someone suddenly appeared.

“I’ll tend the fire.”

Before she could refuse, he added, “I can still manage to sit and keep it going.”

Jiang Tian said nothing and turned to marinate the spicy cabbage.

She planned to cook the porridge in the big pot and fry the pancakes in the small one.

If you wanted rice porridge with that silky surface of rice oil, you had to start it with boiling water.

She scooped several ladles of water into the pot and left it alone, then shredded the potatoes, washed them, mixed in some white flour she took from her space, added a pinch of salt, and gave it all a quick stir.

Next step—pancakes.