While cleaning the pot, Lu Xiao mentioned he would take Su Tang up the back mountain the next day to pick wild jujubes.  

Lu Xiao simply thought that Su Tang was bored staying at home and worried she might fall ill from the monotony.  

After all, her parents had shown great kindness to his family. If something happened to her under his care, not to mention her parents, even his own parents would never let him off the hook.  

That’s why he suggested taking Su Tang to the back mountain to dig for wild jujubes.  

After a simple dinner, the two prepared to rest for the night.  

While chatting idly, a rhythmic thumping sound came from outside.  

“What on earth is that outside? Why does it keep thumping every night?”  

Su Tang asked curiously, reaching to lift the curtain.  

Could it be some wild animal?  

Seeing this, Lu Xiao quickly reached out to stop her.  

The pose was quite intimate—from behind, it looked as though Su Tang was completely encircled in Lu Xiao’s arms.  

The man’s warm breath brushed against the nape of Su Tang’s neck.  

The dim glow of the kerosene lamp illuminated their little space. When Lu Xiao lowered his head, all he saw was skin so fair it seemed to glow—like the white fox he had once encountered in the northwest.  

Su Tang felt Lu Xiao’s breathing grow heavier. She turned her head away, gripping the curtain tightly.  

Realizing his action might have been too forward, Lu Xiao quickly stepped back.  

“It’s nothing, just… that thing married couples do.”  

After saying this, Lu Xiao, who had just finished drinking brown sugar water, suddenly felt his throat go dry again.  

The residential compound wasn’t well soundproofed. With houses packed close together, any loud movement could be heard clearly.  

Men, after all, were full of vigor. Once the lights went out at night, wasn’t this the only thing left to do?  

At first, Su Tang didn’t understand. She turned her head and blinked.  

Her loose black hair cascaded like water, and paired with her wide, innocent eyes, it made Lu Xiao’s throat go dry all over again.  

“What thing?”  

The thumping—she had thought something had fallen…  

Wait. That thing… married couples do?  

“Lu Xiao! You—you’re being indecent!”  

Su Tang’s face flushed crimson in an instant. Her jade-like fingers pointed accusingly at Lu Xiao.  

Luckily, Lu Xiao’s complexion was darker, so even if he blushed, it wasn’t noticeable.  

“When you meet the other wives tomorrow, don’t bring this up.”  

It was already awkward enough—why make it worse?  

Su Tang pressed her lips together and turned away, feeling her face burn.  

But then again, this was the 1970s. There wasn’t much entertainment. After dinner, there was nothing else to do.  

Unlike the modern era, where this would’ve been the time she’d just gotten off work.  

The two tacitly avoided mentioning it again and slept back-to-back the whole night.  

The next day, as dawn barely broke, Lu Xiao was already squatting in the yard sharpening a shovel.  

The rusty blade scraped against the whetstone with a grating sound, startling the sparrows pecking at corn husks on the windowsill.  

Su Tang stood on the doorstep, clutching an enamel mug, watching as his rolled-up pant legs revealed his sun-tanned calf muscles.  

In the morning light, steam rose from the sweat-dampened collar of his shirt.  

It was already autumn, yet he seemed to live as though it were still summer.  

“Let’s go.”  

Seeing Su Tang come out dressed in work clothes and a straw hat, Lu Xiao noted that if not for her fair, delicate face, she’d blend right in with the others.  

The wild jujube grove on the back mountain shimmered gray-green in the morning mist. The sandy path was darkened by dew.  

Lu Xiao walked ahead, using the shovel to push aside thorny shrubs, while Su Tang stepped precisely where he had stepped. The faint, sweet fragrance of jujube flowers lingered in the air.  

Suddenly, she felt something brush against her ankle. Looking down, she spotted clusters of pale purple irises peeking through the soil, their petals still glistening with dew.  

“Watch out for the thorns.”  

Lu Xiao abruptly turned around, the handle of the shovel blocking her chest.

Su Tang didn’t notice the wild jujube branch jutting out ahead, its sharp thorns aimed directly at her eyes.  

The two were so close that she could see the droplets of mist clinging to his eyelashes.  

Su Tang stumbled back in a panic, but her heel sank into the loose sand.  

Lu Xiao reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward him. In the next moment, Su Tang crashed into the sweat-scented fabric of his blue work shirt.  

The pounding of her heartbeat roared in her ears—louder than the thumping sounds she’d heard the night before.  

His palm was rough but strong, the calluses at the base of his thumb scraping lightly against her wrist, sending a ticklish shiver through her.  

It wasn’t until the distant sound of wood chopping reached them that the two sprang apart as if scalded.  

They weren’t the only ones in these woods—there were plenty of people up ahead.  

The wild jujube trees grew on the sunlit slope, their thick trunks laden with small greenish-yellow fruits.  

Lu Xiao climbed up the branches, his work pants scraping against the bark with a dry, rustling sound.  

Su Tang held a bamboo basket, looking up as sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting a golden glow on his bronze forehead.  

Suddenly, a ripe jujube plopped into the basket, landing on the back of her hand.  

The sweet, cloying scent of the fruit mixed with the astringent smell of tree bark filled her nose.  

“Catch.”  

Lu Xiao shook the branch from above, sending a dense shower of jujubes raining down.  

Su Tang laughed, tilting the basket to catch them—until she heard the ominous creak of the branch beneath his feet.  

“Watch out—!”  

Before she could finish, Lu Xiao tumbled from the tree, landing right on top of her.  

The bamboo basket toppled over their heads, scattering jujubes everywhere.  

The scent of damp earth filled her senses as Lu Xiao braced himself above her, his elbows planted on either side of her head, his nose nearly brushing against her fluttering lashes.  

Su Tang saw his Adam’s apple bob once, the back of his ears flushing a shade redder than the ripest jujube.  

The distant crack of a shepherd’s whip snapped through the air, and he jerked upright. When he reached to help her up, he noticed the shallow cut on her palm from the thorns.  

“I—I’ll get you some ointment when we get back.”  

The usually steady and composed man stumbled over his words at the sight of her injury.  

He pulled out a handkerchief, hesitating as if afraid to touch her hand.  

Watching his flustered reaction, Su Tang suddenly remembered his awkwardness the night before when he’d mentioned that thing between married couples, and she couldn’t help but laugh.  

His innocence was almost… could it be that he was still…?  

The thought made her laugh even harder.  

In the morning light, her eyes curved into crescents, her lips glistening with the sweet juice of the jujubes, like a little animal that had stolen a taste of honey.  

“Lu Xiao, you look much better when you smile.”  

Seeing her laugh, Lu Xiao felt as though his own mood had been dyed with sweetness.  

The two finished gathering the jujubes and headed back.  

As they neared the residential compound, they overheard a few of the wives chatting at the entrance.  

“D’you think Lu Xiao will get disciplined over this?”  

“Such a bright future, all ruined because of some capitalist’s daughter. What a shame.”  

Lu Xiao’s steps faltered, his spine stiffening.  

At the words capitalist’s daughter, his fingers clenched involuntarily.  

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Su Tang’s lowered lashes casting butterfly-wing shadows under her eyes.  

The brim of her straw hat hid half her face, leaving only the tight line of her pressed lips visible.  

“Sister Li.”  

Lu Xiao suddenly spoke, his voice like the sharpened edge of a shovel—cold, hard, with a metallic bite.  

“Last month, when your husband threw out his back, who covered his night shifts for three weeks straight?”  

The middle-aged woman who had been speaking turned around, her face flushing crimson to the tips of her ears.  

Another wife in a blue work shirt tugged at her sleeve, coughing to change the subject.  

“Looks like rain’s coming, better bring in the laundry…”  

Lu Xiao ignored them, taking the bamboo basket from Su Tang’s hands.  

When their fingers brushed, he noticed the cut on her palm was still bleeding.  

“I’m sorry, Lu Xiao… Did I drag you down?”  

“Don’t listen to their nonsense.”  

After a few steps, Lu Xiao finally spoke again, his voice low. “We’ve been married for a year. If you were going to drag me down, it would’ve happened long ago.”