Chapter 9

“Isn’t this Shen Lin? Why are you squatting here?”

The person who just arrived was Wang Baichuan, a distant nephew of the head of Wangjia Village.

He was tall and strong; he was skilled in farm work. He was a good person, unlike others in the village who held prejudice against the Shen brothers. Every time he saw them, he would always speak politely.

When Shen Lin looked up, his flushed face gave him away,

Wang Baichuan was startled by the scene in front of him.

“Shen Lin, what’s wrong? Your face is so red! Do you have a fever? Let me accompany you to see a doctor!” In just a few words, Wang Baichuan rushed over, ready to carry Shen Lin to find a doctor.

The moment Wang Baichuan’s hand brushed against Shen Lin’s clothing, it felt as if he had been burned, and the images Shen Lin had desperately tried to suppress surged back into his mind.

Shen Lin was immediately filled with shame and anger; just when I had forgotten such a humiliating thing, why was it coming back to him now?

‘It was all that annoying Wang Baichuan’s fault! If he hadn’t suddenly called his name and mentioned his flushed face, he wouldn’t have had to remember it all over again!’

Feeling as if he had found a reasonable excuse, Shen Lin snapped, “You’re the one with a fever! You’re the one who’s sick!” After spouting those words, he turned and dashed into the courtyard, slamming the grass door shut behind him.

Outside, Wang Baichuan watched Shen Lin disappear into the courtyard, his expression suddenly darkening.

“Baichuan, you’re talking to Shen Lin again.” Li Meimei said disapprovingly as she approached.

“Mom, Shen Lin is a good person. Don’t hold any more prejudice against him!”

“Prejudice? How can Ger, who’s a marriageable age, keep staying at her brother-in-law’s house? And look at what kind of person his brother-in-law is—a man who doesn’t work properly! Spending too much time with people like that will turn even a good person bad one! In my opinion, birds of a feather flock together; the Shen brothers are just the same kind!”

“Mom!”

“Alright, alright, I will stop talking about him.”

Li Meimei remained firm in her belief that the Shen brothers were not good people, but she didn’t want to argue with her son over an outsider. “However, I must tell you, you are not allowed to talk to him in private anymore. That Shen Lin is someone who won’t find a partner; don’t let him latch onto you. You, my son, are so brilliant…”

“Mom, can you please stop talking?”

As the two of them bickered and walked away, Shen Lin squatted in the yard, listening to their conversation, and pouted.

He muttered reluctantly, “Even if I can’t find a partner, I wouldn’t marry your son. Do you really think he’s that desirable? Do you think he’s some kind of delicacy that everyone wants to try? How shameless!”

“What are you saying?”

A voice suddenly called from behind, causing Shen Lin to jump with a scream. He turned around to see it was Zhou Jing. Shen Lin’s face flushed, and his eyes began to wander nervously.

“N-nothing. Where’s my brother? I haven’t seen him.”

Shen Lin’s expression was practically a confession in itself, and Zhou Jing raised one eyebrow in amusement. Shen Lin immediately shut his mouth and stopped asking questions.

“We’re out of rice at home,” Zhou Jing said. “I plan to go to the mountain to see if I can find something to exchange for food with the villagers. Do you want to come?”

“I…” Shen Lin barely managed to reply, when a man stepped out from behind Zhou Jing. “Weren’t you going to town to sell that wild pheasant? I’ll go with you to the town.”

Zhou Jing turned to look at Shen Mo, his expression unreadable. He strolled over to Shen Mo’s side and, in a voice only the two of them could hear, said, “You still think you’re able to go to town? It seems I really shouldn’t have let you off so easily.”

Shen Mo’s face flushed red at first, but then his expression darkened as if he had remembered something. He bit his lip, looking like he might collapse at any moment—Indeed, he looked so pitiful.

However, Zhou Jing turned around cruelly, picked up the bow and arrow beside him, and walked to the door.

Just as he was about to step out, he hesitated for a moment, his concern still lingering despite his anger.

Zhou Jing turned to Shen Lin and said, “Keep an eye on your brother. Make sure he stays in bed and rests. He’s not allowed to get up. I’m going out to find some food and will be back soon.”

Shen Lin felt something was off. The two of them had just… well, had some sort of confrontation, and yet, there wasn’t a trace of affection between them.

In fact, his brother seemed unusually cautious.

“Big brother, what’s going on with Zhou Jing today? Why is he acting so strange, like he’s speaking in a sarcastic tone? The way he’s giving you those instructions, anyone would think he’s leaving for some faraway place and never to return.”

Shen Mo’s face instantly turned pale.

“Zhou Jing… Zhou Jing…” Without a second thought, he rushed out, almost without care for anything else.

Zhou Jing hadn’t gone far when he turned back and saw Shen Mo limping after him in a hurry.

He became furious—he cursed under his breath and quickly ran over to meet him.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay home and rest? Why are you chasing after me?” Zhou Jing’s voice was stern, but there was a hint of worry beneath his frustration.

At the thought of what Shen Lin had said, Shen Mo’s panic grew, and all his usual pride vanished. He almost pleaded, “Don’t go, Zhou Jing, don’t go. I know I was wrong, I’m sorry. I’ll never lie to you again. I’ll be a good person from now on, and I’ll never turn my back on someone in need…”

Seeing the person he cared about begging so desperately, Zhou Jing’s heart ached. He pulled Shen Mo into his arms tightly.

“Shen Mo, I’ll ask you just one question. All the kindness you’ve shown me, all the affection—was it just because he died, and you were afraid of being sold off? So, if anyone else had come to help you, it wouldn’t have mattered who they were?”

“Zhou Jing, what kind of person do you think I am?” Shen Mo pushed himself out of Zhou Jing’s embrace, his eyes red with anger. “Yes, I wanted to find someone to save me, but… but it’s because it was you that I used that method! It’s because it was you that I tried to bind you with my body! Everything I did was because it was you!”

Shen Mo’s voice was full of sorrow as he continued, “And yet, it turns out I was wrong. I’m just a ger, foolish enough to even think that you’d have lingering feelings towards me because of what last night, was and that you wouldn’t leave because of it. But in the end, I overestimated myself. Go, leave… I…”

Zhou Jing once again tightly embraced Shen Mo in his arms, his voice filled with emotion as he asked, “Xiao Mo, was it truly because that person was me? Did you really go to such lengths, no matter the cost, just to keep me?”

“Yes. No one had ever treated me so well before. I remember from a young age, Father didn’t like me Xiao Di because we were both gers. Grandma often scolded us, calling us lowly humans. Back then, Mother never came to comfort us and never hugged us. She only cried, obsessively asking why she gave birth to a ger. ‘Why couldn’t you at least be girls?’”

“I saved you, knowing you must have come from a wealthy family. I thought that since I saved your life, you’d help me out of gratitude. Old Lady Wang wanted to sell me, but only for a couple of silver. If I could give her five taels of silver, and promise to mourn for “him” my whole life and never marry, Old Lady Wang would have agreed.”

“But later… later I became greedy. I clearly remember the day Old Lady Wang took away the wild vegetables from our home, you refused to eat the remaining half bowl. I knew you wanted me to have it. You were gravely ill at the time, and food was so important, yet you were still willing to give it to me.”

“I drank cold water on purpose, hoping to make you feel sorry for me and help me. Sure enough, you got all worked up, making those distressed sounds. I couldn’t understand your words, but I knew you were telling me not to drink the cold water. Then, later, you helped me drive Old Lady Wang away. Truly, no one had ever stood up for me when I was being bullied.”

“At that moment, I thought to myself, how wonderful it would be if you really were him. Then, I would surely be the happiest ger alive! I originally planned to say nothing, to keep it all to myself. As long as you didn’t leave, I would pretend to not know anything. But that day, you insisted on going up the mountain to see where your accident happened. There, you found all sorts of strange things, which made me feel uneasy. I knew then that you were going to leave. To keep you from leaving, I…”

“Stop, Xiao Mo,” Zhou Jing said—his heart aching for him. But he did not regret any of it, for if Shen Mo didn’t voice these things, they would forever remain a knot in both their hearts.

“Xiao Mo, I never told you this, but the first moment I woke up and saw you, I thought, ‘Who is this man? Why do I like him the instant I see him? Why do I want something to happen between us?'”

Shen Mo stared wide-eyed in disbelief as he was looking at Zhou Jing.

“Don’t doubt it. I fell for you first, even before you started plotting against me. But, I’ve accepted it. As long as you have me in your heart, I’m confident that I can make you love me just as much as I love you!”

“You… you really still love me, even knowing how horrible I was? I watched him die with my own eyes. I didn’t save him. I didn’t tell anyone that he was in danger…”

“Stop talking, Xiao Mo,” Zhou Jing said gently.

He knew this matter would remain an eternal scar in Shen Mo’s heart. “I’ve never thought you were in the wrong. Xiao Mo, the only thing I regret is not arriving sooner. If I had come earlier and caught him, I would have made sure he couldn’t live or die peacefully. The one thing I hate most is men who are powerless and can only torment their own husbands. Men like that deserve to die!”

“Zhou Jing, you’re so good to me. Why are you so kind to me?” Shen Mo asked, still in disbelief.

“Because I love you, and you are my husband!” Zhou Jing responded firmly. “Xiao Mo, stay with me forever. Be my wife, okay?”

He looked at Shen Mo with eyes full of tenderness, his words carrying both a plea and a promise.

“You’re not leaving anymore?” Shen Mo asked cautiously.

“I’m not leaving. Never again. Wherever you are, that’s where I’ll be!” Zhou Jing replied with unwavering certainty.

“And your family?” Shen Mo asked, still concerned.

Zhou Jing lowered his head to look at the person in his arms. His expression was both serious and gentle as he said, “Xiao Mo, I have a secret too. Don’t be afraid when you hear it. I don’t actually belong to this world. I come from another time and space—a place completely different from here.”

“Another world?” Shen Mo repeated, his eyes widening. “I’m not afraid. No matter where you come from, I won’t be scared! As long as you don’t leave me, I won’t be afraid!”

“Xiao Mo, I swear, I’m never leaving again,” Zhou Jing promised.

Suddenly, Shen Mo stirred slightly in Zhou Jing’s arms. Zhou Jing noticed Shen Mo’s pale face and silently cursed himself for not being more attentive. He quickly adjusted his hold on him and carried him back home.

“Don’t go up the mountain anymore. Let’s just eat whatever we have at home. Tomorrow, we can go to town, sell that wild chicken, and buy some rice to pay off the debt. How does that sound?”

Shen Mo tugged at Zhou Jing’s sleeve, feeling as if he were in a dream, afraid that this was nothing more than a beautiful illusion he had created for himself. “I… I don’t want you to leave me today.”

Now that everything had been said, Zhou Jing’s heart ached for Shen Mo.

How could he possibly refuse him? Skipping a meal was no big deal—after all, they had endured for so long, what was one more day of hunger?

His little wife had been through too much, highs and lows, and now he was vulnerable, lacking a sense of security, and needed companionship. If Shen Mo didn’t want him to leave, then he would not leave.

“Alright, today I won’t go anywhere. I’ll stay home and keep you company!” Zhou Jing promised—his tone filled with tenderness.