Chapter 59 ☆ Bathtub (Part 1)

It was almost evening when the courtyard door finally creaked open.

Xie Zhao pushed the door and walked in, carrying an empty basket, with a tired look on his face. When he saw Cheng Yaoyao squatting in the yard, his exhaustion instantly faded, replaced by a joy and tenderness that only those familiar with him could notice.

“What are you doing, sister?” Xie Zhao put the basket by the door and walked towards Cheng Yaoyao.

“Mixing chicken feed,” Cheng Yaoyao said, squatting on the steps. She looked up and smiled sweetly at Xie Zhao. With her icy skin and peach blossom eyes, she was as delicate as a beautiful flower. In her hand was a chipped porcelain bowl with some rice bran and cicada monkeys mixed in it.

Xie Zhao reached out, pulled her up, and led her to the sink to wash her hands. Her slender white fingers were dirty, but after being rinsed with cold water, they looked flawless.

“Let me do this kind of thing in the future,” Xie Zhao said, picking up the broken porcelain bowl. The chicken feed was wet because she had added water. He shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “You don’t need to add water to the chicken feed.”

Without spiritual spring water, a hen won’t lay eggs. Cheng Yaoyao stuck out her tongue, not arguing with Xie Zhao. She glanced at Grandma Xie’s room, then pulled Xie Zhao close and whispered, “Grandma wants me to study in my room and won’t let me come out. I’m almost suffocating.”

She opened her delicate peach blossom eyes, looking at Xie Zhao with an unconscious charm that made people want to hold her close and spoil her.

Don’t spoil her, Xie Zhao reminded himself, recalling Grandma Xie’s advice. Expressionless, he raised his voice, “I’ll take you up the mountain to collect cicada shells.”

“Okay! I’ll go change my clothes!” Cheng Yaoyao smiled so widely that her teeth showed, and she ran happily to her room.

Xie Zhao walked into Grandma Xie’s room. She was sewing a torn coat of his and said casually, “You’re back. How’s that family doing?”

Xie Zhao shook his head. Grandma Xie sighed, “How pitiful. That young couple was such a rare example of good people.”

She changed her tone, looking at Xie Zhao. “It was your first time driving a tractor on the road. Did it go well?”

“Yeah,” Xie Zhao nodded.

Grandma Xie was relieved but still worried. “The mountain road isn’t flat. Drive slowly and don’t get into an accident. Safety is the most important thing.”

“Don’t worry, I know.” Xie Zhao assured her, but his gaze kept shifting toward the door.

Grandma Xie snorted, “I know your mind is elsewhere. Just indulge yourself. You barely sit at the desk for half an hour, and I can’t stand to watch you anymore.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Xie Zhao said, a soft smile appearing unconsciously. Listening to the delicate voice of Cheng Yaoyao in the yard, he asked, “Grandma, is there anything else?”

“Go ahead!” Grandma Xie said, a bit unhappy.

Xie Zhao turned and strode out of the house. Cheng Yaoyao had already put on her beloved small backpack and was chattering with Xie Fei in the yard. When she saw Xie Zhao coming out, she complained, “You’re so slow!”

She glanced at Grandma Xie’s room and whispered to Xie Zhao, “Did Grandma say anything about me?”

Xie Zhao gently touched her smooth braids and teased, “Grandma’s just urging you to study.”

Cheng Yaoyao pouted, glanced at Xie Fei’s pitiful expression, and then asked Xie Zhao, “Can Xiao Fei come with us?”

Xie Zhao looked at Xie Fei. Seeing the cautious yet eager look on her face, his heart softened, and he said, “Okay.”

Xie Fei rarely went out. Xie Zhao and Grandma Xie were very protective of her, only letting her out for some fresh air when Xie Zhao was free, which was rare. So she could only go out a few times a year.

But now, with Cheng Yaoyao around, Xie Fei isn’t so lonely anymore. As long as Xie Zhao was around, she could also go out for a walk with him and Cheng Yaoyao.

The three of them chatted and laughed as they walked toward the back of the mountain. Xie Zhao chose a remote, less-traveled path, but they still encountered a few women picking mushrooms along the way.

Cheng Yaoyao was stunningly beautiful, and Xie Fei rarely appeared in front of the villagers. Several women stared at Xie Fei, realizing that this young lady from the landlord’s family was actually as beautiful as a flower. Since she had been raised at home, she looked more delicate and fair, noticeably different from the other village girls.

The women in the village loved to gossip. They stared at Xie Fei and Cheng Yaoyao openly, and their gossiping voices drifted over with the wind. Xie Fei felt uncomfortable under their stares and shrank back behind Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Zhao. Cheng Yaoyao glared at the women fiercely, but they just smiled shamelessly, not holding back at all. If it weren’t for the tall Xie Zhao walking with them, they would have approached Xie Fei, grabbed her hand, and bombarded her with questions.

After turning onto a smaller path, they finally left the women behind. The sun’s heat gradually waned, replaced by a cool breeze from the mountains. The sky was painted with mottled purples and golden reds by the setting sun, and a kingfisher occasionally darted among the golden wildflowers.

This was all so new to Xie Fei that she couldn’t resist quickening her pace and running ahead. A wild lily or a butterfly would make her exclaim in surprise, pointing them out to Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Zhao like newfound treasures.

“Xiao Fei is such a country bumpkin,” Cheng Yaoyao teased with a smile.

“Xiao Fei rarely goes out,” Xie Zhao replied.

Cheng Yaoyao tilted her head, pondering for a moment before asking, “Have you ever thought about letting Xiao Fei go to school?”

Xie Zhao’s face darkened. “We sent Xiao Fei to primary school before, but she was weak and timid. After a while, she cried and refused to go back.”

Xie Zhao’s tone carried a heavy sense of guilt. Cheng Yaoyao noticed this and tried to comfort him, saying, “It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t go to school. There aren’t many students there anyway. Xiao Fei will have a better future.”

Xie Fei’s future was one of Xie Zhao’s biggest concerns. He concealed his worries and nodded to Cheng Yaoyao, “Yeah.”

“You look like you don’t believe me,” Cheng Yaoyao pouted. Knowing that Xie Zhao wouldn’t be convinced, she secretly reached out and hooked his little finger, saying, “Then let’s take Xiao Fei out to play more often in the future.”

Xie Zhao was slightly taken aback, as if shocked by Cheng Yaoyao’s boldness.

Cheng Yaoyao smiled at him, a teardrop mole under her eye, and provocatively said, “Coward.”

Xie Zhao’s expression darkened slightly. He glanced ahead where Xie Fei was engrossed in watching a blue-winged butterfly, squatting beside the flowers.

Cheng Yaoyao turned around to pick a wildflower when suddenly, a strong hand grabbed her by the waist, pulling her into an embrace and stifling her scream.

Meanwhile, Xie Fei finally caught the butterfly. Holding it gently, she turned around excitedly and called out, “Sister, brother, look!”

Cheng Yaoyao, dazed and confused, covered her mouth with the back of her hand, nodding awkwardly.

Xie Zhao, as if nothing had happened, walked ahead carrying the basket.

Xie Fei felt puzzled. They didn’t even look at the butterfly… With a sigh, she released it, watching as it fluttered back into the flowers.

The three of them continued into the grove, a place seldom visited. The tape they had wrapped around the tree trunks was still intact, and the trunks below the tape were densely covered with cicada shells. The sight was enough to unsettle anyone with trypophobia.

Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Fei were overjoyed. They quickly took off their backpacks and started picking cicada shells, while Xie Zhao ventured deeper into the woods to pick mushrooms and gather a bunch of wild grapes.

They worked until the sun set and the forest began to darken before reluctantly stopping.

Xie Zhao moved the tape to a new spot and dug up a few more cicada larvae. He then pulled up some weeds and wild vegetables to cover the backpack and basket before they all made their way back down the mountain.

After two or three hours of work, Cheng Yaoyao was exhausted, her body drenched in sweat. The workload had been more than what she usually did in a week.

Dragging her sore legs, she unconsciously slowed down. Xie Zhao, carrying all the supplies, walked behind her and asked softly, “Are you tired?”

“Yeah, I’m so tired!” Cheng Yaoyao nodded vigorously, looking at Xie Zhao with a pitiful expression, as if hoping for someone to carry her.

Xie Zhao didn’t want her to suffer, but it was almost time for people to get off work, and the road could get busy. He coaxed her gently, “We’ll be home soon. Just hang in there.”

“I’m really tired. My hands and legs are sore,” Cheng Yaoyao complained, her voice laced with exhaustion. The trek down the mountain was proving to be much harder than the ascent, especially after her non-stop focus on picking cicada shells.

Whenever she felt uncomfortable, she tended to act spoiled and kept whining.

Seeing her like this, Xie Zhao lowered his voice, “Be good, go home, and I’ll make you something nice.”

“What Something nice?” Cheng Yaoyao asked, her interest piqued. “Is it another book?”

“You’ll definitely like it,” Xie Zhao assured her. “I’ll tell you when we get home.”

Cheng Yaoyao, half-believing and half-doubting, glanced at him with her peach blossom eyes. “You won’t lie to me, will you?”

Xie Zhao replied seriously, “When have I ever lied to you?”

“Okay then.” Cheng Yaoyao perked up, grabbing Xie Fei’s hand and urging her, “Let’s hurry home!”

Motivated by curiosity, Cheng Yaoyao stopped whining and ran home with Xie Fei in tow, while Xie Zhao walked slowly behind them.

Grandma Xie was washing vegetables in the yard when she saw Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Fei running in. Their cheeks were flushed with a healthy red, and sweat beaded on their foreheads. She chuckled, “You two don’t look like proper young ladies at all, running around like wild children.”

“Grandma!” Xie Fei hugged Grandma Xie’s arms and chattered excitedly, “I caught a blue butterfly! And we picked up lots of cicada shells and mushrooms!”

Grandma Xie gently patted the back of Xie Fei’s hand. She had never seen her granddaughter so happy in all these years. Xie Fei had always been delicate and weak, obedient and well-behaved. Grandma Xie and Xie Zhao had worried that she would be mistreated outside, so they rarely let her go out, and Xie Fei had never insisted on going out either.

But now, she was laughing and making noise like other girls her age, clearly longing for the freedom of the world beyond the yard.