Chapter 60 : Do Not Look

In the darkness of night, the gentle moonlight softly caressed the surface of the water, with occasional twinkling starlight falling upon it.

Liang Qingqing placed her clothes into a wooden basin, picked up a ladle and amid the sounds of water, she vaguely heard the rustling of fabric. Almost as if compelled by an unseen force, she turned her head to glance behind her, a distance of four or five steps being enough to see his movements.

His tall, strong figure bent slightly as he adeptly removed his white shirt. Standing at over 1.8 meters, his physique was exceptionally well-proportioned, with the muscle lines on his back a testament to years of training.

With a swift motion, he draped a white towel over his broad shoulders, the term “broad shoulders and narrow waist” became a tangible reality.

The back of Liang Qingqing’s ears grew warm, and after she realized it, she quickly averted her gaze, gripping the ladle tightly and mentally repeating, “Do not look on what is inappropriate, do not look on what is inappropriate.”

After hesitating for two seconds, she involuntarily glanced in that direction again, only to meet a pair of eyes that seemed to be smiling faintly, as if they had been waiting for her to look back.

Her heart skipped a beat, pounding rapidly, and she tried to act nonchalant, clearing her throat softly. She sat down on a small stool, picked up the soap, and began washing the clothes. The white foam appeared slowly on the fabric, but it did nothing to calm her chaotic thoughts. She stole another glance and saw that Fan Yanxing had already brought hot water into the bathroom, with no one left in sight at the door.

She sighed heavily in relief, and her washing slowed down.

“Why undress outside? You should do it inside,” she complained aloud, taking a deep breath. However, the vivid image of him kept surfacing in her mind. The heat in her ears gradually spread to her cheeks and neck…

Liang Qingqing despised her own lack of self-control. She had only seen his upper body, and already she was like this. What if she had seen the lower half?

What was she thinking?

She suddenly realized that her once pure mind had become tainted since meeting Fan Yanxing. She found herself contemplating things she had never considered before, envisioning endless possibilities between men and women.

From being clear-minded to insatiable, all she needed was a man.

Just like now, listening to the splashing sounds coming from behind a wall, Liang Qingqing found it impossible to remain untroubled. So, she hurriedly finished washing her clothes and left the backyard without looking back. Her hurried exit might even be better described as “escaping.”

She had scolded Fan Yanxing for being a pervert, but perhaps she was more aware than anyone of who the real pervert was!

What she didn’t know was that the gentle sounds of water in the bathroom lasted even longer than usual.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Liang Shuqiang and Wang Xiaomei returned with Songzi. The little one was nestled in his father’s arms, sleeping soundly, undisturbed by the bumps along the way.

Hearing the commotion in the yard, Liang Qingqing, who hadn’t slept well all night, was startled awake. Unable to fall back asleep, she quickly sat up from bed, dressed, and went outside.

As soon as she stepped out, she collided directly with Fan Yanxing, who also had dark circles under his eyes.

Liang Qingqing slipped slightly and nearly fell, but she managed to grab the door frame and steady herself.

“Qingqing!”

Fan Yanxing’s face turned pale with fear, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw she was okay.

At her age, struggling to walk properly, Liang Qingqing felt a bit embarrassed. She chuckled awkwardly, “I didn’t put my shoes on right.”

“Be careful.” Fan Yanxing’s frown didn’t ease, and he was about to give more instructions when the people who had just entered the main room came out.

“Qingqing, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” They all looked worried, clearly having heard Fan Yanxing’s shout.

“I just lost my balance. I didn’t fall, so don’t worry.” Liang Qingqing felt even more embarrassed with so many people looking at her. Just then, Ma Xiuzhi came over, holding her face and raising her voice, “Qingqing, did you not sleep well last night? Why does your face look so awful?”

Liang Qingqing’s pale skin made any change in color very noticeable, and everyone’s gaze was fixed on her face.

Fan Yanxing also looked at her, his eyes seeming to burn with intensity, making her shiver. Fearing that her discomfort might be noticed, she lowered her head, almost burying it in the dirt. Uncomfortably, she mumbled a casual excuse, “There were a lot of mosquitoes last night, and they kept me awake.”

“Before you go to bed tonight, ask your older brother to fumigate the house,” Ma Xiuzhi said, nodding in agreement. “There are indeed a lot of mosquitoes in the summer. Your father also got several bites last night. It’s better for the whole family to be fumigated. Your second brother will be back later, let your two brothers handle it!”

“Okay.” Liang Shuqiang, holding Songzi, agreed, “I’ll put him on the bed first.”

“Alright, hurry up and do that, but don’t wake him up.” Ma Xiuzhi looked at them with concern. After a long journey to work, they probably hadn’t slept much the previous night. She then told her eldest son and daughter-in-law, “It’s still early. You two should get some rest. I’ll call you for breakfast later.”

“Mother, let me help with the cooking,” Wang Xiaomei offered, knowing that preparing meals for the whole family was no easy task. However, Ma Xiuzhi insisted she go back to her room, saying, “Go rest. We can manage without you for this meal.”

“I’ll help out,” Liang Qingqing volunteered, since she couldn’t sleep anyway. “Sister-in-law, you go rest. I’ll handle things here.”

With that, Wang Xiaomei had nothing more to say and went back to her room with Liang Shuqiang. She was indeed tired and needed rest to avoid falling asleep in the fields later.

“I’ll go chop wood in the backyard with Uncle,” Fan Yanxing said, noticing Liang Qingqing’s unusual behavior. He couldn’t pinpoint what was different but decided to set aside his curiosity and followed Liang Xueyong to the backyard.

Hearing “backyard,” Liang Qingqing scratched her palms nervously, deliberately calming her breath. She waited until Fan Yanxing was out of sight before she let out a relieved sigh and patted her chest.

“Mother, I’m going to wash up and will come help you soon.”

“Don’t rush, take your time.”

As they were halfway through preparing the meal, Liang Junqiang and Huang Shumin returned. Ma Xiuzhi told them to rest a bit before coming back for dinner.

Huang Shumin, feeling anxious since she arrived, was relieved to see that her mother-in-law was behaving normally and had asked them to rest. She followed Liang Junqiang into their room.

As they lay in bed, Liang Junqiang quickly fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Huang Shumin, however, was unable to sleep, her mind preoccupied with what her mother had said the previous day. Even this morning, her mother had pulled her aside to reiterate her concerns.

Her mother’s excessive attentiveness made Huang Shumin suspicious that something was amiss. Yet, if she didn’t follow her mother’s advice, her mother’s temper might lead to her being shut out of the family entirely.

Without support from her natal family, her prospects were bleak. If mistreated in her husband’s family, she would have no one to turn to.

Though the Liang family was kind and would not mistreat her, she couldn’t ignore the possibility of unforeseen circumstances…

Moreover, even though her parents had favored sons over daughters and her life had been uncomfortable, Huang Shumin was still reluctant to create a major rift with her family.

Ultimately, it was just a matter of introducing a marriage proposal. If it worked out, everyone would be happy if it didn’t, it wouldn’t have a huge impact, right?

She planned to bring it up with her mother-in-law after work that evening.

With this on her mind, Huang Shumin was distracted throughout the day. After finally finishing work, she returned the tools to the warehouse and hurried home. She got back so early that only Liang Qingqing was at home.

“Second sister-in-law? You’re back?” Liang Qingqing, who had eaten breakfast, taken a nap, and read some scripts, was doing some housework. She was sweeping the floor in the main room when she saw Huang Shumin, who was out of breath. She was momentarily surprised but then greeted her with a smile.

Seeing Liang Qingqing’s radiant smile, Huang Shumin thought to herself that her mother was right. Liang Qingqing’s appearance and figure were top-notch, even among the neighboring villages. No wonder the man with such good conditions was so pleased with her after just one meeting.

If she were a man, she might also spend a lot of money to marry such a beauty.

Huang Shumin smiled back, shaking off her wandering thoughts. “Yes.”

As she spoke, Huang Shumin hesitated, wondering whether she should mention the marriage proposal to Liang Qingqing, since it concerned her future. But then she thought better of it talking about marriage directly with the daughter was not something one did without going through the parents first. That would be inappropriate.

She decided to discuss it with her mother-in-law first.

Having made up her mind, Huang Shumin chatted with Liang Qingqing for a bit before heading to the kitchen to prepare chicken feed. However, she kept her ears open, listening for any sounds from the yard. As soon as she heard Ma Xiuzhi’s voice, she quickly went out to join her.

“Mother, could you come help me for a moment? And also collect the eggs.”

“Sure.” Ma Xiuzhi helped Huang Shumin bring the chicken feed to the backyard. They opened the bamboo fence and skillfully scattered the feed on the ground. As soon as they did, a few plump chickens rushed out from the coop to peck at the feed.

Ma Xiuzhi took advantage of the commotion to dig through the straw in the coop, pulling out four or five eggs. One of them was still warm, and her smile widened, with additional wrinkles forming at the corners of her eyes.

This was the happiest moment of the day for her. Eggs were not only nutritious but also could be exchanged for money.

By saving up a few, she could eventually repay the neighbors for the money borrowed during her second son’s wedding.

As Ma Xiuzhi carefully handled the eggs, Huang Shumin, who had been quiet for a while, finally gathered her courage to speak.

“Mother, I have something I want to discuss with you.”

“What is it?” Ma Xiuzhi, still checking for any missed eggs in the straw, didn’t turn around.

“My mother mentioned that she has a good match she wants to introduce to Qingqing.”

Hearing this, Ma Xiuzhi frowned, slowly standing up and turning to look at Huang Shumin. “What?”

Huang Shumin looked at Ma Xiuzhi’s eyes, which were similar to Liang Qingqing’s and felt her heartbeat quicken.