Chapter 49 ☆  Xie San, someone is looking for (Part 1)

Cheng Yaoyao stared at the mottled, unclear marks on her body. Coming from the 21st century, she knew exactly what had caused them. They weren’t from a kiss at all. Instead, it felt like these marks were burning her heart.

But she didn’t remember where these traces came from. Last night… Xie San… Yes! It was Xie San!

Cheng Yaoyao’s heart sank, then started to race again. No wonder she saw Xie San in her room when she woke up last night. The big lion in her dream hugged her and kissed her. Could it be real?

Cheng Yaoyao subconsciously hugged the small bamboo pillow, then remembered what Xie San had done and threw it away, her eyes glazed, her face flushed with both shame and annoyance. Her mind was a mess, everything that happened last night was like a veil. What on earth were they… Damn Xie San, he ran off so fast!

There was a sudden knock on the door. Cheng Yaoyao jumped up and hurriedly covered her chest. “Who?!”

Xie Fei’s voice rang out: “It’s me, sister. I put away the clothes that were hung out to dry yesterday and brought them to you.”

“Wait a moment.” Cheng Yaoyao hurriedly picked up the clothes on the bed and put them on, buttoning them up to the top to cover herself. When she put on her shoes,A bright red bite mark stood out on Cheng Yaoyao’s pale, slender foot.

Cheng Yaoyao’s mind exploded again.

Xie Fei waited a long time with a pile of clothes in her arms. Cheng Yaoyao finally came to open the door, her face as red as can be. She asked curiously, “Sister, what’s wrong with you? Your face is so red.”

“No… do I have it?” Cheng Yaoyao’s eyes trembled. She covered her face with the back of her hand and moved aside to let Xie Fei enter the house.

Xie Fei spread out the clothes on the bed one by one. Clothes dried in the hot sun in summer are hot, so they cannot be worn immediately or put into the closet right away. They need to be spread out to cool.

“Sister, are you going to change your clothes and go out?” Xie Fei looked at Cheng Yaoyao and said enviously, “This dress is so beautiful.”

Cheng Yaoyao spread out her arms for Xie Fei to admire, and said, “I plan to wear it to work in the mountains.”

“You’re going to wear such nice clothes to work?” Xie Fei said distressedly. “The material is so soft; it will get snagged!”

There were many dresses in Cheng Yaoyao’s suitcase, that were beautiful but not practical. The lake blue blouse she was wearing was already the oldest one. Xie Fei gasped with heartache, pulled Cheng Yaoyao’s sleeve, and admired her carefully. She said, “Sister, next time you go to the city to buy some fabric, I will make you two blouses to wear to work. The materials of your clothes are too good; it would be a pity to wear them to work.”

“Okay.” Cheng Yaoyao became interested. The original book mentioned that Xie Fei was extremely talented at designing clothes and aesthetics. Any clothes that came into her hands could be made exactly the same after she studied them, or even improved into a better style. She was just tired of wearing these clothes, so it would be nice to make a few new ones.

Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Fei were thinking completely different things, but they were both very happy.

Around four or five o’clock, smoky purple clouds appeared on the horizon, and the heat subsided a lot. Cheng Yaoyao walked towards the riverbank, carrying a thermos.

At this time, the villagers were still working in the fields, and Cheng Yaoyao was the only one on the road. The smoky purple sunset enveloped the long riverbank, and a graceful figure walked slowly, completely unaware of the eyes watching from behind.

She was wearing a lake blue dress today. The bright color made her look even whiter. Her long black hair was braided into a fluffy braid that fell on her back, swinging playfully as she walked. Her waist was flexible, and her walk was enough to charm anyone’s soul.

Cheng Yaoyao suddenly stopped.

She shifted the kettle to her left hand, which felt too heavy. She shook her hands and noticed something strange behind her. She slowly turned her head and saw a clump of reeds moving behind her without wind. There was no one on the road she had come from.

Cheng Yaoyao’s heart skipped a beat. She realized that she had turned onto a path along the riverbank and could no longer see the villagers working in the paddy fields. Rural areas are like this: bustling places are very busy, but these branching paths and suburbs can also be empty.

A few minutes’ walk ahead would bring her to the place where Goudan and his friends were collecting grass for pigs. Cheng Yaoyao hesitated whether to go forward, feeling a little nervous.

A bicycle bell jingled behind her, and a young man rode up on a bicycle. When he approached Cheng Yaoyao, he braked and stopped about one or two meters away from her.

Cheng Yaoyao took two steps back vigilantly, staring at the person standing against the light.

The man’s clear and steady voice sounded: “Cheng Zhiqing?”

Cheng Yaoyao raised her hand to cover her eyes, and then she could see the man clearly: “Lin Jiaqi?”

Lin Jiaqi nodded: “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to collect grass for the pigs in front.” Cheng Yaoyao pointed to the path ahead.

Lin Jiaqi glanced at the weed-covered path ahead and frowned: “Are you alone?”

“Yes.” Cheng Yaoyao nodded and picked up the kettle on the ground with both hands. She was wearing a lake blue dress today. In this era, where dark blue and khaki clothes are the main colors, it is rare to see girls wearing such a striking color. She was afraid people might laugh at her for being too bold.

But when she wore such an undignified color, it was suppressed by her charming and beautiful eyebrows and eyes, making her snow-white skin and bright red lips look indescribably beautiful and appropriate.

Cheng Yaoyao ignored him, holding the kettle in both hands, and turned around to walk forward with some difficulty.

A bicycle bell rang beside her, and bicycle wheels rolled over the bumpy ground. A tall man rode a bicycle not far behind her.

Cheng Yaoyao was startled and took a cautious step back, asking, “Where… where are you going?”

Lin Jiaqi moved forward with his long strides and replied, “Just passing through.”

Tears filled Cheng Yaoyao’s eyes, and she looked both wary and defensive. She gripped the handle of the thermos tightly with both hands and stepped back again, but there were only reeds behind her—she had nowhere left to go.

A strange curve appeared on Lin Jiaqi’s lips, as if he was trying not to laugh. He stretched out his hand: “Let me help you carry it.”

Cheng Yaoyao is so delicate. If she were a girl from their country, she would be able to walk briskly even if she were carrying dozens of kilograms of food, let alone a kettle.

Cheng Yaoyao looked at Lin Jiaqi up and down. He was tall, handsome, and had a righteous and heroic look that was unique to a soldier.

He stretched out his big hand and placed it in front of Cheng Yaoyao, with the all-steel men’s watch still on his wrist. That night, Lin Jiaqi handed her the flashlight with his hand and took off his watch to show her.

Cheng Yaoyao hesitated for a moment, then finally put the kettle in Lin Jiaqi’s hand. Their fingers inevitably touched; the man’s fingers were rough and calloused, but Cheng Yaoyao quickly withdrew her hands as if she had been burned, hiding them behind her back, with a slight red on her face.

Lin Jiaqi coughed lightly, apologetically. Had he scared the girl? He hung the kettle on the handlebars of his bicycle, pushed the bicycle, and followed Cheng Yaoyao.

Tall reeds grew on both sides of the path, rustling in the wind. Lin Jiaqi followed behind Cheng Yaoyao quietly, keeping a distance from her, staring straight ahead without glancing at her.

Cheng Yaoyao gradually calmed down. She had been frightened by the marks on her body and overreacted when she came into physical contact with Lin Jiaqi. After all, Lin Jiaqi had just returned from military service. Nowadays, Xiao Baiyang ^[1]refers to the name “Lin Jiaqi” which means “little white sheep” in an idiomatic sense. is heroic and upright, and he is deeply trusted and loved by the people wherever he goes. Her little thoughts just now were really a bit of a villain’s heart.

Thinking of this, Cheng Yaoyao found some words to say to Lin Jiaqi: “Thank you for the flashlight that day. I asked Han Yin to bring it to your house. Did you get it?”

“Yes,” Lin Jiaqi said. “It’s dark in the countryside at night. Don’t walk alone in the future. This path is also not safe for you to walk alone.”

“I see.” Cheng Yaoyao smiled, “Usually Goudan and the others come to pick me up.”

Cheng Yaoyao said she knew, but she didn’t seem to take it to heart. Lin Jiaqi asked casually, “Are you living in Xie’s house now?”

Cheng Yaoyao’s back stiffened, and she immediately turned around and glared at him.

Ever since Cheng Yaoyao moved into the Xie family, both the educated youth and the villagers have been indirectly warning her to stay away from the five black categories, or that Xie San really had bad intentions and Cheng Yaoyao should be careful.

Cheng Yaoyao was already fed up with hearing this. She thought Lin Jiaqi would say the same thing, and her eyebrows were raised. However, she heard Lin Jiaqi ask, “Are you used to living there?”

“…very good.” Cheng Yaoyao suppressed the anger on her face, and her impression of Lin Jiaqi improved a lot. “The Xie family is very good to me. I am used to living there.”

“That’s good.” Lin Jiaqi tightened his fingers around the handlebars and inexplicably thought of what Lin Jiajun ^[2]also known as Lin Jiaqi’s younger brother. said to him the last time he came into the city.

Lin Jiajun described to him how beautiful the young intellectual from the city was and how eager she was. Lin Jiajun had begged him to convince his parents to let Cheng Yaoyao live in his house.

Lin Jiaqi, however, stood by his father’s side. He believed that a woman who was too beautiful could easily cause trouble, and it would be a real nuisance to let a delicate female educated youth live in his home.

Now, looking at Cheng Yaoyao standing in front of him and talking to him in a sweet voice, Lin Jiaqi suddenly had a thought: If she lived in his house, he would treat her very well.

The two of them walked out of the path one after the other, and the view in front of them suddenly opened up. A few mischievous kids were jumping up and down, playing war games by the riverbank. When they saw Cheng Yaoyao, they dropped their weapons and rushed over: “Sister Yaoyao!”

“Sister Yaoyao, the dried bayberries you made today are so delicious! Let’s go pick some more!”

“Yes, I have never tasted such delicious dried bayberries! And fried cicada monkeys!”

“Sister, look at the little sugar canes I dug for you to eat!”

Cheng Yaoyao was surrounded by a group of children and couldn’t help laughing. Her eyes were curved and bright, like roses.

Lin Jiaqi rang the bicycle bell, and the children turned around and saw him. They immediately became much more obedient and greeted him one after another: “Uncle Jiaqi.”