Chapter 47

When their eyes met, Pei Hejun smiled and extended his hand to her. “Come on up.”

Auntie Lanhua, who had come to shop, noticed this and teased, “Oh, you only have eyes for your man, huh?”

Jiang Xi smiled as she took his hand and climbed up. She then asked, “Auntie, what did you buy? These big and small bags look impressive.”

Auntie Lanhua explained, “Nothing much. Xue Ni is pregnant again, so I bought some brown sugar water for her.”

“That’s great news,” Jiang Xi quickly congratulated him. “Congratulations, Auntie, you now have many children and grandchildren.”

Aunt Lanhua smiled brightly. “I hope so.”

In the car with Aunt Lanhua were others from the team. They didn’t know Jiang Xi but knew Aunt Lanhua well. Seeing Aunt Lanhua smile so widely at the congratulations, they also made jokes.

Pei Hejun sat on the outermost side, with Jiang Xi next to him, also in the corner.

Everyone else was chatting, so Jiang Xi was free. She realized Pei Hejun hadn’t let go of her hand. Her hands were blocked by his body, so no one else could see them.

But they both felt it.

He seemed a little nervous holding her hand. He was very cautious, not holding it tightly, just lightly, as if giving her a chance to refuse.

Jiang Xi didn’t intend to refuse. She didn’t dislike Pei Hejun; she actually liked his personality. They already had a relationship, so she gladly accepted his touch and even held his fingertips.

The silent man beside her noticed her movements. His lips, slightly raised, never lowered. His fingers tightened, and his palms were sweating, but he didn’t let go.

Jiang Xi felt a little excited.

She was surprised to see Pei Hejun pick her up, but not shocked. What surprised her more was that he didn’t have his crutches. She wanted to ask, but the tractor was too loud, so she didn’t.

The car was shaking, and Jiang Xi was about to fall asleep. Halfway through the journey, she saw a few children fighting on the ridge of a field. She was stunned. After a moment, she said decisively, “Uncle, stop!”

“Why do the children fighting—no, the children being beaten—look like my two sisters?!”

_

The tractor was very loud. The driver didn’t hear Jiang Xi’s first shout until she patted him anxiously. He then stopped the car.

The sudden stop made Jiang Xi quickly get off. Before doing so, she told Pei Hejun, “Don’t move; I’ll do it myself.”

The men who had stood up sat back down silently.

Jiang Xi jumped down, holding her bag, and threw it at the two boys beating up her sisters. “I told you not to fight! You’re bullying me!”

The boys were stunned. When they saw her, they shouted, “Cousin!”

Jiang Mi, her eyes red with anger, rushed over again, still muttering, “Hit me! I’m going to beat you to death!”

Jiang Yu came back to her senses and shouted, “Big sister!”

Turning around, she saw her younger sister still fighting and said anxiously, “Third sister, it’s the eldest sister who’s here!”

Jiang Mi’s movements slowed down. At that moment, the two kids were about to hit her. Jiang Xi kicked them away without thinking. “Get out of here!”

The boys were shocked and aggrieved. “Cousin, you hit me?!”

“I’m going to tell my dad! Cousin, you hit me!”

With red, teary eyes, Jiang Mi rushed over. “Big Sister! I missed you so much…” she sobbed.

“Okay, okay, I’m here. It’s okay.” Jiang Xi hugged her and rubbed Jiang Yu’s hair with her other hand, soothing them. After a few words, she looked at the boys and said coldly, “You hit my sister, so why can’t I hit you?”

She wanted to let go of her sisters and hit the boys.

But the boys ran away when they saw Jiang Xi’s intention.

Jiang Xi, still not satisfied, swung her bag and hit one of them.

The boy fell, got up, and ran away, shouting fiercely, “I’ll tell my dad, and he’ll beat you up!”

“Get lost!” Jiang Xi shouted angrily.

The boys quickly ran off, picking up their pace.

After this, Jiang Xi looked at Jiang Yu and Jiang Mi with concern. She smoothed their hair, pulled them onto the tractor, and checked for injuries.

Seeing her sisters so anxious, Jiang Yu quickly said, “No, it doesn’t hurt.”

Jiang Xi asked, “What did you say?”

The tractor was too loud for her to hear.

Jiang Yu leaned close to her ear and said loudly, “I’m not in pain. They hit me twice before my sister came.”

Jiang Mi nodded, with tears in her eyes, holding her sister’s clothes.

Jiang Xi felt relieved, tidied their clothes, and helped Pei Hejun get off the tractor when it stopped near the village.

Pei Hejun seemed in good health and got out of the car steadily.

After thanking the driver, Jiang Xi held one of her sisters and asked, “Have you had many fights?”

The two looked nervous and shook their heads.

Jiang Yu explained, “This is the second time. The first time was at school. Brother-in-law found out and reported it. The teacher punished them, and they stopped. But they always cause trouble. When we took a skipping rope to school, they came to make trouble. We can’t have fun. I got angry and said we should fight.”

Jiang Mi anxiously said, “Sister, they are too much. They always make trouble. I want to fight.”

Jiang Xi smiled. “It’s okay. I know; they deserved it!”

Jiang Mi smiled a little, happy to get her sister’s approval.

Jiang Yu still looked sad. “Sister, they will definitely cause trouble. Mother hates us bullying them.”

Jiang Xi said calmly, “It’s okay. Let them make trouble. We’re not afraid of them.”

Even so, Jiang Yu’s expression didn’t improve.

She was worried. Even though her eldest sister said it was easy, thinking about her uncle and aunt’s tempers, and her mother’s temperament, made her anxious. If this continued, wouldn’t her sister be even angrier with their mother?

Jiang Mi looked at Pei Hejun for help.

During Jiang Xi’s absence, Pei Hejun had been in charge of them. Aunt Lanhua said he was married to Jiang Xi, so they were a family.

Receiving the signal, Pei Hejun immediately said, “Xiaoxi, don’t be angry. I’ll talk to the teacher at school tomorrow.”

Jiang Xi frowned and shook her head. “I’ll go.”

Pei Hejun said, “Then I’ll go with you.”

Jiang Xi nodded.

She had to say something.

Hadn’t the teacher noticed that the two cousins of the original owner had been bullying the children for so long?

_

Jiang Xi was upset because her children were bullied, and the joy of going home and eating good food disappeared.

Pei Hejun didn’t know how to comfort her. After they entered the house, he followed and said, “I’m sorry.”

Jiang Xi was surprised. “What are you sorry for?”

Pei Hejun said guiltily, “I didn’t notice they were being bullied. If I had, I would have told the teacher earlier, and they wouldn’t have had to fight.”

“It’s not your fault.” Jiang Xi shook her head, sat on the edge of the bed, and waved him over.

Maybe it was because of how she had taken care of him before, or maybe it was just the times, but after accepting him, she quickly found a way to get along like an old couple.

Pei Hejun sat down obediently, his eyebrows knitted into a small mountain, quietly looking at her.

Jiang Xi spoke gently, “I know about those two cousins. Jiang Mi has fought with them many times. They have old and new grudges. Besides, they were bothering me before, not fighting. If they don’t tell me, how could you know?”

“That’s right,” Pei Hejun said, reaching out to rub her head. “Don’t be angry. Let’s go to school together tomorrow.”

Jiang Xi chuckled. “I suddenly feel I agreed too quickly.”

“Ah?” Pei Hejun looked at her blankly.

Jiang Xi said seriously, “We’ll go together, but your leg isn’t fully healed yet. Who will take the bicycle?”

Pei Hejun glanced at his legs and said nothing.

There was no clear frustration in his eyes, but his brows were furrowed and he looked a bit lost, like a rejected dog.

Jiang Xi’s heart softened. Who could resist such a cute dog? She rubbed his head with a smile and messed up his long hair. “Okay, I’ll go by myself tomorrow. You wait for me at home.”

“Okay,” Pei Hejun said helplessly.

He then stood up and continued practicing walking.

With more practice, his unfamiliar limbs would definitely get better.

When Jiang Xi returned, Pei’s parents were very happy. They knew in advance, so there was still meat at home. Pei’s mother said, “Your father bought this early this morning. He wanted to go yesterday, but I said it wouldn’t be fresh if he kept it until today, so he went today.”

“Dad is so nice,” Jiang Xi said, not hesitating to give compliments. “Mom is also nice. She made delicious food for me as soon as I came back.”

Mother Pei smiled and said, “What’s wrong with that?”

Jiang Xi smiled and handed her gift: “You’ve worked hard, so this is for you. It’s vanishing cream. It’s great for your face, and combined with the whitening cream I made, it will make your skin better.”

This is Friendship Vanishing Cream, a luxury brand from the 20th century ^[1]also known as a high-quality skincare product.. It’s not sold in the town, only in the county.

Jiang Xi bought gifts in advance, and the gifts for Pei’s parents had to be the best.

Mother Pei was initially surprised, then distressed, and kept saying, “Oh, how could you buy such an expensive thing, you child!”

She held the gift and smelled it. The scent was light and pleasant, somewhat like wintersweet.

Jiang Xi didn’t mind. After all, she only grumbled a bit, but he didn’t insist she pay. When she came out of the kitchen, she saw Father Pei looking out the door.

Jiang Xi smiled at him.

Father Pei also smiled and nodded. After waiting for a while without hearing anything from her, he went back into the room, disappointed, and started drinking tea.

Soon, Jiang Xi came out and handed him a bottle of Lao Baigan ^[2]a type of strong liquor.: “Dad, this is for you. I heard from my fellow students that this wine tastes good, so I asked someone to exchange the ticket to buy it.”

Father Pei was happy, took it with both hands, and grinned. “Good!”

There was a lot of noise outside. Pei’s parents were holding their baby happily. Jiang Yu and Jiang Mi hid in the room, not daring to go out, but they heard the noise. They looked at the door with envy and anticipation.

Finally, Jiang Xi pushed the door open and said, “Come over and get your gifts!”

The two children jumped up. “Big Sister!”

“Sister, do we really get gifts too? What are they?”

“This is a notebook for Xiaoyu,” Jiang Xi handed over a notebook with beautiful patterns. Jiang Yu took it, smiled, and went to write her name on it.

Jiang Mi received a box of colorful marbles.

 “Do you like it?” Jiang Mi’s eyes widened. “I like it!!!”

The noise was too loud. Jiang Xi, amused, rubbed her ears and let them play by themselves. She went out. The timing was perfect, as it was when children got out of school, so now they only had to wait for dinner.

Jiang Xi was quite tired from the past days, so she went back to her room.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Pei Hejun, who was walking in circles in the room, stop and look at her with anticipation.

Jiang Xi asked, “What’s up?”

Pei Hejun didn’t answer but continued to look at her.

Jiang Xi, amused, lay on the bed, picked up the fan, and handed it to him. “Fan me.”

Pei Hejun took the fan and began fanning Jiang Xi. She stayed silent, her eyes showing a bit of grievance.

“Hey~” Jiang Xi pretended to be upset. “Sorry, I bought these gifts, but I didn’t have enough money left. You know I spend money freely.”

The wind from the fan suddenly stopped. Pei Hejun looked at her in disbelief. He hadn’t expected this to be the reason?

Jiang Xi thought he might leave angrily.

Hmm~

A handsome man who can get angry and is quiet doesn’t seem like a bad idea, right?

But soon, the wind from the fan started up again, and a ball of money was stuffed into her hand.

Jiang Xi was puzzled. “?”

She looked at it and saw it was just ten yuan in loose change.

When she looked up again, Pei Hejun was watching her with sparkling eyes.

Jiang Xi smiled, shaking the ten yuan. She asked, “Is this your private money? How did you hide it? Isn’t the money supposed to be in my hands?”

The wind from the fan stopped completely.

Pei Hejun stood there, stunned, unsure of how to answer.