LW chapter 94: Extra 10

 

Chen Qing felt a bit embarrassed. Of all the times he could have left, he chose to leave right when they came back, making it seem like he did it on purpose.

But he really didn’t mean to. He had just been unable to make up his mind. When he finally decided, he coincidentally ran into them.

Chen Qing forced out a smile. “I—I have somewhere to go.” After saying that, he tried to run, but his injured leg prevented him from running fast. He hadn’t even made it out of the gate when Zhou Yuan grabbed his waist and picked him up, carrying him back into the courtyard.

Chen Qing froze, clutching the strap of his bundle, at a loss.

At that moment, Grandmother said, “Whatever it is, eat first before talking.”

She placed the steamed buns and braised radish pork that Chen Qing had made on the table. Zhou Yuan had eaten army rations for years and was craving good food. Chen Qing was a good cook, and Zhou Yuan ate six buns and more than half of the bowl of radish braised pork. Once he was full, he realized that Grandmother and Chen Qing had barely touched their food.

Fortunately, there were still four buns left in the basket. Zhou Yuan quickly divided them between the two of them and drank a bowl of salted vegetable soup himself.

Chen Qing held a bun in his hand, his eyes were still red. Although he had craved meat for a long time, he couldn’t eat much at that moment.

“Xiao Qing, where were you trying to go just now?” Grandmother held his hand and patted his arm. “Your household registration is already set here at home. Where can you go?”

Chen Qing lowered his head. “I…”

“Just stay home.” Zhou Yuan picked out a piece of meat for him. “I can still afford to raise you.”

Chen Qing wasn’t sure how he felt, but the bun in his hand was soaked with his tears and tasted slightly salty.

After eating, he started helping Grandmother boil medicine again. Not knowing where he would sleep tonight, he tried to drag out the time as much as possible.

When the medicine was finished, he helped Grandmother drink it. After she finished the medicine, she wanted to talk to him.

“Xiao Qing, after seeing A-Yuan today, what do you think of him?” She leaned against the headboard and smiled at him.

Chen Qing lowered his head and nodded slightly.

When he was young, he used to fantasize about what kind of person he would marry. When his brothers bullied him at home, he wished for someone tall and strong to protect him.

But as he grew older and his family experienced further changes and he sold himself, he never had such fantasies again. He thought that anyone would be fine as long as he could settle down and have a stable home, regardless of their background.

Zhou Yuan met all his former fantasies. He was tall, not easily bullied, and capable. Everything about him was good. If he said he wanted to get married now, many people would be willing to marry him.

Was he taking advantage? Chen Qing wondered.

Grandmother was in a good mood and yawned.

Chen Qing knew that Grandmother was old and shouldn’t stay up late. She was forcing herself to stay awake to talk to him, so he didn’t dare disturb her any longer.

Chen Qing closed the door for her. He stood outside the room, unsure whether to go back to the bedroom.

After hesitating for a long time, he quietly pushed open the door.

Zhou Yuan wasn’t in the room. Chen Qing knew he had gone to bathe behind the house. Earlier, when Chen Qing was boiling the medicine, Zhou Yuan had asked him to heat the water, speaking very politely.

Chen Qing sat on the edge of the bed. After thinking for a moment, he found some extra bedding in the cabinet. He carefully spread it on the floor. Then, since the weather had been warm recently, he lay down on it. The floor was just a bit hard, not cold.

When Zhou Yuan came in, he didn’t notice Chen Qing at first and almost stepped on him, who was sleeping on the floor.

Zhou Yuan: …

“Come sleep on the bed.” Zhou Yuan sat on the bed and said.

Chen Qing didn’t move, pretending to be asleep.

“You’re not convincing at all.” Zhou Yuan almost laughed. “The floor is cold. Come sleep on the bed, don’t get sick.”

Chen Qing thought Zhou Yuan was saying this so that he wouldn’t have to spend money on medicine if Chen Qing got sick, so he hurriedly sat up.

He turned his back to Zhou Yuan and slowly gathered the bedding on the floor. After rolling it up, he put it back in the cabinet.

Zhou Yuan had wanted to say that he would sleep on the floor, but after seeing Chen Qing pack it up, he decided not to.

Chen Qing climbed into bed rather stiffly and lay down next to Zhou Yuan. They were separated by a wide space—wind could blow between them.

Zhou Yuan remembered something, got out of bed, took a medicine bottle from the cabinet, and handed it to Chen Qing. “I saw your leg was injured. Apply some medicine.”

Chen Qing dazededly took it. He stared at the small bottle for a long time without moving. Thinking he didn’t know how to use it, Zhou Yuan took the bottle back from his hand.

Chen Qing froze, and his eyes welled up with tears again.

Seeing that he was about to cry, Zhou Yuan pulled his leg over, lifted his pant leg, and saw a big bruise on his calf. Zhou Yuan’s brows tightened. He had thought Zhou Mu had kicked him only once, but he didn’t expect the kick to be so hard.

Bruises can’t be rubbed. Zhou Yuan poured medicated oil onto his hand, warmed it up, and pressed it onto Chen Qing’s leg.

Chen Qing was completely stunned. He felt a warm sensation in his leg, but he wasn’t sure if it was Zhou Yuan’s hand or the medicated oil that was warm. It was the first time someone had touched him like this, and his whole body felt like it was burning red.

“Do you have any other injuries on your body?” Zhou Yuan asked.

Chen Qing quickly shook his head and said in a small voice, “No more.”

However, Zhou Yuan had a good memory and remembered that Zhou Mu had kicked him a second time.

Seeing the disbelief in Zhou Yuan’s eyes, Chen Qing shrugged. “On my stomach. I checked, it’s not as serious as the leg.”

Zhou Yuan just looked at him. Fearing he wouldn’t believe him, Chen Qing lifted his shirt. Sure enough, there was a small bruise on his stomach, but fortunately, it wasn’t too bad. He handed over the medicine bottle.

This time, Chen Qing took it. He imitated Zhou Yuan’s actions, warming the medicinal oil in his hands before pressing it onto his stomach.

Zhou Yuan stared at him openly. Chen Qing was short and thin. When he lifted his shirt, you could see his ribs protruding, it seemed as if only a layer of skin covered the bones — he was too thin. Who knew how long it would take to fatten him up?

After applying the medicine, Chen Qing smelled the oil on his hands and wanted to get out of bed to wash them, but Zhou Yuan was sitting next to him.

Seeing that Chen Qing kept looking at his hands, Zhou Yuan realized it too. He disliked the smell. He had grown used to rough living in the army and would sometimes sleep without caring about the smell after applying medicine.

He got out of bed, found the basin, scooped some water, and brought it into the room. He walked over to Chen Qing. “Wash.”

Chen Qing hurried over to wash his hands. He whispered that he would dump the water, but before he could finish, Zhou Yuan had already carried the basin outside. Chen Qing crawled back to his spot and lay down stiffly.

Not long after, Zhou Yuan returned as well. He blew out the lamp and lay down.

Zhou Yuan’s presence was strong. Chen Qing had never shared a bed with anyone before. He was so stiff that he didn’t dare breathe too loudly.

Thinking of what his grandmother told him on the road, he still wasn’t prepared for marriage, but realistically speaking—ever since grandmother bought him back—Chen Qing had taken care of her wholeheartedly. To earn money, he washed clothes for others in the dead of winter, and he had just returned from working in the herb fields. He used all the money he made to support the family, and every last coin went into buying grandmother’s medicine.

His sincerity was unmistakable, so Zhou Yuan naturally couldn’t let him down.

Grandma said that Chen Qing was also pitiful. If he didn’t stay with them, he really had nowhere else to go. Feeding one more person wouldn’t be much of a burden.

After thinking it through, Zhou Yuan no longer felt awkward. After all, Chen Qing was his husband. Although they hadn’t held a wedding or banquet yet, Chen Qing’s household registration was already under Zhou Yuan’s name. It was set in stone, so sharing a bed wouldn’t be a big deal.

After thinking it through, Zhou Yuan felt sleepy again. He yawned and fell asleep.

Chen Qing heard his steady breathing and quietly let out a breath. But before he could fully relax, Zhou Yuan’s hand landed on his waist.

Chen Qing: …

He didn’t know whether to move or not and didn’t dare to turn over. He didn’t even know when he had fallen asleep.

In the army, Zhou Yuan always woke up at the start of the Mao Hour. He had to train for an hour afterward. Even after returning home, he hadn’t changed this habit—he still woke up at the start of the Mao hour.

But today felt different when he woke up. His whole body was warm. When he opened his eyes, he found that he was holding Chen Qing in his arms.

Chen Qing was curled up in his embrace. His fluffy head rested on Zhou Yuan’s chest, and his hair trembled slightly with Zhou Yuan’s breath.

Zhou Yuan’s mind drifted back to last night when Chen Qing had disliked the smell of medicated oil and insisted on washing his hands before going to sleep. Now, Chen Qing smelled good—a fresh scent that made the whole bed smell nice.

Zhou Yuan thought about it. He hadn’t actually looked closely at Chen Qing’s face yesterday. His only impression was that he was small and thin.

Now, upon closer inspection, Chen Qing’s features appeared delicate. He wasn’t the type to stun people at first glance, but the more you looked, the more pleasant he became—like lying on a soft, warm bed, wrapped in warmth from all sides.

A husband bought for three taels of silver—he really lucked out.

Perhaps Zhou Yuan’s gaze was too intense. Since Chen Qing had also been waking up around this time recently, his head was still muddled when he woke up. He felt like he had been running with dozens of jin of stones on his back, this sleep was strangely tiring.

When he opened his eyes, he met Zhou Yuan’s gaze.

Chen Qing’s face instantly turned red. He quickly backed away and bumped his head against the headboard with a loud thud. Zhou Yuan felt pain just watching, so he reached out to rub the back of Chen Qing’s head.

Chen Qing froze, not daring to move.

Realizing this action wasn’t very appropriate, Zhou Yuan withdrew his hand and sat up. “You sleep a bit more. I’m getting up.”

Chen Qing held the blanket and watched him put on his clothes neatly, pick up the knife on the table, and walk out of the room.

Soon, Chen Qing heard the sound of a blade cutting through the air. He quietly sat up, crawled to the drafty window, and saw Zhou Yuan practicing in the yard through a hole in the window.

Chen Qing didn’t know anything about martial arts, but when he saw Zhou Yuan wielding the blade, he felt that if he stood in front of him, Zhou Yuan could probably chop off his head with one strike.

Relieved to feel his head still attached, he touched his own neck. When he looked up again, he noticed that Zhou Yuan was also looking over. Their eyes met through the broken window.

Chen Qing instantly fell backward and pulled the blanket over his head.

 

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