Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Zhou Lian Is Angry (2)
It was broad daylight. Li Xiu groggily reached out, only to embrace empty air. He shot up in bed, suddenly wide awake, and cried out, "Bao’er! Bao’er!"
Zhou Lian came in from the outer room. Seeing his panicked expression, her heart skipped a beat. "I’m right here," she answered quickly. "Are you awake?"
Li Xiu leaped from the bed and ran to her barefoot, pulling her into his arms. He then muttered complainingly, "Bao’er, where did you go? I opened my eyes and couldn’t find you. You scared me to death." ’He thought he was back in his past life, back to those days when his wife was gone!’
Zhou Lian sighed inwardly. ’Ever since they married, Li Xiu had always been the first one to wake up. This must be the only time she had gotten up before him!’ Feeling the tightness of his embrace, Zhou Lian said softly, "Where could I possibly go? Why are you so nervous? I just woke up early and was outside talking with Grandma."
"Then from now on, if you wake up first, will you wake me too? I get scared when I open my eyes and you’re not here." Burying his face in her hair, Li Xiu pleaded in a small voice. ’That feeling just now was terrifying. He’d had more than enough of it in his past life. Now that he had his beautiful wife in his arms, he never wanted to feel that desperate, cold loneliness again.’
"Okay. From now on, if I’m up early, I’ll wake you first," Zhou Lian promised in a low voice. "Now that you’re up, let’s eat. Grandma has breakfast ready."
He lingered, holding his wife for another moment. Only when he heard Grandma Li call "Time to eat!" from the outer room did Li Xiu finally let go, taking her hand as they walked out.
Seeing the young couple emerge hand in hand, Grandma Li smiled. "Go wash up, then come eat!"
After the family finished their meal and sat down together, Grandma Li was the first to speak. "You went deep into the mountains, didn’t you!"
Seeing the expressionless faces of his grandmother and his wife, Li Xiu felt a little intimidated. "Ah, I’ve taken that path before," he said cautiously. "It’s not dangerous."
"Is that so? Then what’s this about a tiger? I suppose tigers have gone vegetarian these days!" Seeing how casually he treated the matter, Grandma Li got genuinely angry. That was a tiger, for goodness’ sake! When her granddaughter-in-law told her about it that morning, she’d nearly been scared to death.
He whipped his head around to look at his wife. When he saw her give him a brilliant smile, his heart sank. ’Why is my wife always setting me up!’
"What are you looking at your wife for! If you ever dare go into those mountains again, you can stop calling me your grandma!" Grandma Li was frantic with fear. ’If the worst were to happen, what would they ever do?’
"Grandma, don’t worry. I’m fine, see? Don’t be angry. I promise I won’t go deep into the mountains anymore." Li Xiu rushed to placate his furious grandmother. ’She’s getting on in years; if she made herself sick with anger, he’d regret it for the rest of his life!’
Missing the implication in his words, Grandma Li quickly pressed him for a guarantee. "You said it yourself! Promise me you won’t go again!"
"Okay, I promise! Please don’t be angry anymore, Grandma!"
"Then tell me, how did you even run into a tiger? I nearly died of fright when I heard!" Seeing her grandson promise, Grandma Li relaxed. Her grandson’s word was his bond; she knew he wouldn’t lie to her.
"Well, the night before last, I found a cave to rest in. I’d just eaten a little something when I sensed something wasn’t right outside. I took a quiet peek and, my god, there was a huge tiger lying there, staring at the cave entrance. But it was afraid of fire and didn’t dare get close, so I used some knockout powder to incapacitate it. Don’t worry, it was just a fluke." He carefully chose what details to share with the two women of the house. He couldn’t tell them the dangerous parts and make them worry for no reason.
He looked up and saw Zhou Lian’s radiant smile. Li Xiu smacked his lips. ’He had a sinking feeling that his troubles weren’t over. His wife wasn’t planning on letting him off the hook just yet, was she!’
Grandma Li watched the silent argument playing out in the young couple’s eyes and let out an inaudible sigh. ’It was obvious her granddaughter-in-law had no intention of letting her grandson off so easily. But he deserved it. He needed his wife to give him a good talking-to.’
"Well, since you’re back, I’ll be heading home." Grandma Li stood up to leave. ’Her grandson and his wife were close; an old woman like her had no business meddling.’
"Grandma, what’s the rush..."
Before Li Xiu could finish, Grandma Li was already at the main gate. She waved a hand. "That’s enough. Just stay home and rest. You’ll be busy again in a couple of days." And with that, she left without another word.
Li Xiu and Zhou Lian exchanged a smile. ’Grandma was still as fiery as ever.’ Li Xiu went to shut the main gate, ready to get affectionate with his wife. ’He’d been too exhausted last night and hadn’t even had a proper hug!’
After shutting the door, Li Xiu turned around but didn’t see his wife. He froze for a second. ’Where’d she go?’ "Bao’er, where are you?"
"In our room. Come here, I have something to say to you," Zhou Lian called out from the bedroom.
Li Xiu hurried to the bedroom. ’Does she miss me too?’ He walked into the room with a dopey grin, only to freeze in his tracks. ’What in the world is she up to now?’
A washboard was placed in front of their marriage bed. Thinking of the jokes from the future about kneeling on washboards, the corner of Li Xiu’s mouth twitched. ’She’s going to make me kneel on the washboard!’
"Bao’er, what’s this thing doing in our room?" Li Xiu asked, feigning ignorance.
"Oh, I just thought of a nice story. Want to hear it?" Zhou Lian asked, looking at him with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. ’Judging by the dopey grin on his face when he walked in, she knew exactly what he was thinking!’
"I’ll listen! Any story from Bao’er is bound to be good." Seeing the murderous glint in his wife’s eyes, Li Xiu answered obediently.
"Fine. Then you can kneel while you listen." Zhou Lian ignored his placating tone. ’If she didn’t teach him a lesson this time, he’d think he could get away with anything. That story might have been enough to fool Grandma, but if tigers were so easy to handle, Daqing Mountain would have been overrun by people long ago.’
Knowing his wife was still upset, Li Xiu obediently knelt on the washboard. ’She has such a good temper,’ he thought. ’She must only be angry because she was worried about me!’
Seeing this shameless man actually looking pleased with himself as he knelt on the washboard, Zhou Lian couldn’t bear to watch. She rubbed her aching forehead. ’He does whatever she says. She tells him to kneel, and he kneels. She was starting to feel at a loss for what to do with him!’
"Bao’er, look, I’m kneeling properly. You can start your story. I’ll listen very carefully!" Afraid of truly making her angry, Li Xiu started acting the fool, hoping she would cool down. ’It would break his heart if she made herself sick with anger!’
Zhou Lian’s resolve to teach this shameless man a harsh lesson was completely derailed by his antics. She stared at him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, pointing a finger at him, at a complete loss for words.
"Bao’er, I get it. Please don’t be angry anymore, and don’t worry. I’ll be very, very careful. I won’t go deep into the mountains again." Seeing her resolve wavering, Li Xiu quickly pressed his case.
"’Not deep into the mountains’ means you still plan on going into the mountains," Zhou Lian said, glaring at him.
"No, Bao’er, it’s just... if we want some fresh game in the future, I’ll stick to the outer parts. I absolutely won’t go deep into the mountains. You know that at most, you’ll only find wild boars in the outer areas, nothing bigger." Li Xiu explained carefully. ’He wouldn’t lie to his wife. In this life, there was only one thing he would ever hide from her; he would never lie about anything else.’
Zhou Lian stared at him for a long moment. She understood what he meant—he didn’t want to lie to her. ’But to let him off the hook just like that... it just didn’t feel right!’
As if sensing her dilemma, Li Xiu took her hand and slapped himself hard across the face with it. "Bao’er," he said gently, "if you’re angry, just hit me to let it out. Don’t bottle it up, it’s not good for you. I’ll be more careful from now on. I won’t make you worry again, okay?"
Zhou Lian was stunned by his action. Seeing how red half of his face was, she could tell how much force he’d used. She felt both a sense of release and a pang of heartache. This man... he truly left her speechless.
"You are unbelievable... Is there anyone else like you?"
Hearing from her tone that she wasn’t as angry anymore, Li Xiu, still kneeling, pulled her down onto his lap. He coaxed her softly, "Bao’er, don’t be angry anymore. Your man is terrified of dying. I haven’t finished spoiling you yet, how could I ever bear to leave?"
Zhou Lian reached out and poked his forehead. She was truly powerless against him. ’Acting the fool, making faces, wheedling... a grown man who would throw all his dignity to the wind just for her.’
If Li Xiu knew what she was thinking, he would surely have scoffed. ’Dignity? Was that more important than his wife? Besides, in his heart, even their future children wouldn’t be as important as her, let alone something as trivial as dignity!’
Comments