Chapter 44: Chapter 44: You... You Hooligan
Seeing Zhao Nuanyue’s surprised expression, Hua Yusen smiled, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Surprised?"
"Yes!" Zhao Nuanyue nodded. "Very surprised. From your words and actions, I figured your family must be very powerful; otherwise, they couldn’t have raised someone with your kind of bearing. You already seem like a high and mighty, all-powerful existence. How can you say something so helpless?"
"Heh!" Hua Yusen let out a cold laugh, as if recalling the past. "Your joke isn’t funny at all. Power? That’s just a mirage, quick to vanish into thin air. Bearing? You can’t eat that! High and mighty? Heh, what a joke! As for all-powerful... are you trying to mock me?"
"No... No!" Zhao Nuanyue shook her head repeatedly. In her past life, Hua Yusen had truly been all-powerful in her heart. She met him when she was at her most helpless and wretched. Just when she thought revenge was impossible, this man had secretly helped her achieve her wish.
During the time she spent with him back then, Hua Yusen had indeed been all-powerful—a charming man who was both aloof and possessed a graceful bearing.
"Sigh!" Seeing Zhao Nuanyue rush to explain, Hua Yusen waved his hand and let out a few sighs. "If I were really all-powerful, I wouldn’t have nearly died and wouldn’t have to thank you for saving my life. Everything I do here now, I have to do sneakily. Is that what an all-powerful person does? Could someone so useless be called all-powerful?"
The dejection on Hua Yusen’s face made Zhao Nuanyue’s heart ache.
"You don’t have to lose heart. This is just the darkness before the dawn," Zhao Nuanyue said comfortingly. "As long as we hold on to justice, the sun will rise one day, and the light will come." She knew the trends of the future, which was why she had willingly come to the countryside. Her plan was to lie low for a few years, escape her stepfather’s threats, study hard, get into university, and start a new life.
Hearing Zhao Nuanyue’s encouraging words, Hua Yusen was taken aback for a moment. Then, he understood her meaning. The dejected look on his face vanished, and he nodded. "Zhao Nuanyue, you’re right. The future is bright. I can’t lose heart."
Seeing Hua Yusen return to his high-spirited self, Zhao Nuanyue smiled.
Under the sun, the young woman’s smile was so clean and pure.
Hua Yusen was in a trance for a moment, then shook his head, trying to banish the inappropriate images from his mind. Such animalistic thoughts made him feel depraved, as if he were profaning Zhao Nuanyue.
"I’m going to the back mountain to see if I can hunt anything," Hua Yusen said quietly, his head lowered. "We could use a change of food, and maybe we can even send some to Yang Guanghui and the others."
"Okay, thank you for your trouble!" Zhao Nuanyue said with a smile. "Oh, right, I’m about to do laundry. Do you have any clothes that need washing?"
After she said this, both Zhao Nuanyue and Hua Yusen froze.
"Uh... uh... Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s just that I feel bad for eating your food and wanted to repay you, that’s all. I didn’t mean anything else by it," Zhao Nuanyue explained hastily. But her explanation was worse than saying nothing at all; the more she spoke, the more it seemed like she was trying to hide something, and her face grew redder and redder.
Hua Yusen looked at Zhao Nuanyue, her face as lovely as a peach blossom, and the corners of his mouth turned up unconsciously. ’This young woman tells me not to overthink it, but she’s the one overthinking everything.’ Then his gaze fell on the long johns, thermal pants, and underwear hanging on the line in the courtyard.
His nighttime urges had their consequences, and Hua Yusen certainly didn’t dare let Zhao Nuanyue wash his underwear.
Following Hua Yusen’s gaze, Zhao Nuanyue also looked at the clothesline. Her eyes landed on a pair of white boxer briefs, and she blushed even more furiously.
’I offered to wash his clothes, but I didn’t mean his underwear!’
"Pervert!" Zhao Nuanyue exclaimed, then grabbed her washbasin and ran off, not seeing the stunned look on Hua Yusen’s face.
Hearing her, Hua Yusen was speechless. ’I didn’t even say anything!’
"I’m not a pervert," Hua Yusen muttered in rebuttal, but he couldn’t even convince himself. In his dreams, he had done *things* to Zhao Nuanyue. That was definitely being a pervert.
Hua Yusen scratched his head. ’I’ll stop thinking about it. The more I think, the worse I feel.’
So, Hua Yusen gathered his tools, slung a basket over his back, and headed for the back mountain.
Zhao Nuanyang was left alone in the courtyard of the Dragon King Temple, drawing in a sandbox with a stick.
When Zhao Nuanyue returned from washing clothes, she took out some reed flowers from the house to make a pair of reed-flower shoes for Hua Yusen. She had actually wanted to make cotton-padded shoes, but with no cloth or cotton, she had to give up the idea.
When Hua Yusen returned at noon, he was carrying two rabbits and a pheasant in his basket.
Seeing that Zhao Nuanyue had already finished a pair of reed-flower shoes, Hua Yusen checked the size, slipped them on his feet, and nodded in praise. "Not bad, they fit perfectly. You made them for me, right?"
Zhao Nuanyue’s face felt a bit hot, but she nodded anyway. After all, she and her brother already had three pairs each; they didn’t need any more.
"I was also planning to make a pair for those elderly folks," Zhao Nuanyue said, changing the subject.
"Yes, that’s a great idea. We should not only prepare food for them but also make sure they stay warm," Hua Yusen nodded. "I see you’re running low on reed flowers. I’ll go gather some more this afternoon."
Hua Yusen had already cleaned and skinned the rabbits, so Zhao Nuanyue went to prepare lunch.
She stewed a pot of rabbit meat to go with some steamed corn buns, and the three of them ate their fill at lunch.
Over at the shack, the village people brought meals to the elderly folks during the day. It wasn’t enough to fill their stomachs, but it kept them from starving. With the extra food Hua Yusen and Zhao Nuanyue brought at night, the old folks weren’t too hungry. The shack was warm, so for now, their situation was relatively stable.
With everything else that had happened in the village, Miao Dahai and Li Guihua were busy running around in circles, and the villagers were busy gossiping in whispers. Who had the time to care for the elderly people they had been ordered to look after?
In the afternoon, Zhao Nuanyue worked overtime making reed-flower shoes but only managed to finish two pairs. Hua Yusen simply took the old pairs belonging to Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuanyang and delivered them. Though they were used, they weren’t worn out, and Zhao Nuanyue had made them thick and very warm.
Early the next day, Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuanyang went with Hua Yusen to the county town, riding on Miao Cunzheng’s ox cart.
"How are Wang Yuan, Li Qiong, and Yang Guanghui?" Zhao Nuanyue asked. With no place to stay in the county town and the journey being so long, she hadn’t been there in several days.
Seeing her ask, Miao Dahai replied, "Li Qiong and Wang Yuan have stabilized emotionally. As for Yang Guanghui, he’ll probably have to stay in the hospital for a few more days. I’m taking Wang Yuan and Li Qiong back with me today. Mr. Zhao, Mr. Hua, you two are very cautious. You must look after these two girls! Sigh, how could they be so unlucky, so careless!"
