Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Unconsciously Being Good to Her/Him
Miao Cunzheng was leading people to audit the accounts, and Li Siming was on pins and needles. He wasn’t just worried about losing his position as accountant anymore; he was afraid of what they might find.
"Honey, do you think you can keep your accountant job?" Liu Lanhua asked cautiously. She hadn’t expected things to have such serious consequences either.
Li Siming glared at Liu Lanhua and snapped irritably, "This is all your fault for that rotten idea! Look at us now! We didn’t get a single benefit and just stirred up a hornet’s nest. Not to mention all the money I spent, and now I’m going to lose my job as accountant. With so much debt, I don’t know when we’ll ever be able to pay it back!"
Liu Lanhua shrank back, not daring to talk back to her husband as she usually would. She cautiously added, "What if... what if we go ask Dadan?"
"Shut up! Don’t mention Wang Dadan again," Li Siming snarled. "If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be in this mess. You have no idea how much effort it took to get you out, and I even promised to do something for that person."
"Who?" Liu Lanhua blurted out. She was used to making the decisions at home and couldn’t help asking, "Do what?"
Li Siming realized he had let it slip and couldn’t say more. He shook his head repeatedly. "This is men’s business. You, a woman, should stay out of it. Why don’t you go make dinner? Are you trying to starve me to death?"
Normally, Liu Lanhua would have ignored Li Siming, but having just been released from the detention center, she didn’t dare to be defiant and could only obediently go make dinner.
Back at the Dragon King Temple, Zhao Nuanyue and Hua Yusen looked at each other, seeing tension and a hint of relief in each other’s eyes.
Zhao Nuanyang came out of the room, rubbing his stomach. "Sis, I’m hungry!" he said to Zhao Nuanyue.
"Oh, okay, I’ll go make dinner right now. You get some rest," Zhao Nuanyue said with a smile, not wanting her brother to know what they had been doing.
"I’ll tend the fire for you." Hua Yusen followed close behind, doing what he could to help Zhao Nuanyue.
For lunch, Zhao Nuanyue made leavened flatbreads to go with chicken and yam stew. The yams were wild ones they had secretly dug up on the mountain before it started snowing, and they tasted wonderful.
After they ate, Zhao Nuanyue stuffed five of the flatbreads with chicken and wrapped them up. Hua Yusen put on his back basket, and as he passed the shack, he checked that no one was around before handing the food inside. Then, he pretended to go up the mountain to hunt.
With the heavy snow, it was impossible to find any prey.
Anxious, Hua Yusen took an axe and went to the river to chisel through the ice and fish.
There were no earthworms in this weather, so Hua Yusen used dough mixed with some chicken intestines for bait.
Zhao Nuanyue’s consciousness sank into the water and roamed about, soon spotting Hua Yusen fishing. On such a cold, snowy day, his clothes were already damp, and snowflakes had landed on his eyelashes, yet he had only caught two small fish.
’If he keeps this up, he might catch a cold from the freezing weather,’ she thought. ’In a remote mountain area with so few doctors or medicine, even a minor cold can be fatal.’
Now that Wang Dadan and Liu Lanhua were back in Nianqiao Village, Zhao Nuanyue had become a thorn in their side. Because of this, she could only rely on Hua Yusen, huddling together for warmth and facing those people as a team.
Zhao Nuanyue used her Special Ability to guide a large number of fish over. Hua Yusen was ecstatic, catching seven or eight big fish. The largest one was a whopping seven or eight pounds!
Hua Yusen quickly packed up his fishing rod, put the fish—already frozen solid—into his back basket, and hurried home.
It was just too cold.
Seeing Hua Yusen return, Zhao Nuanyue quickly sliced a piece of ginger and boiled a large bowl of ginger soup. By the time he got home, the soup was ready to drink.
"Hua, there’s ginger soup for you in the kitchen. Go drink some, and change out of those wet clothes. I’ll put them by the fire to dry," Zhao Nuanyue said softly. In Nianqiao Village, she realized Hua Yusen was the only one she could rely on, so she wanted him to be well.
She repeated this reason to herself over and over, as if to hypnotize herself into believing this was why she was caring for him so meticulously.
Hua Yusen ladled out the ginger soup. The spicy liquid warmed his body as it went down.
He changed into a dry cotton-padded jacket and pants, then carried his soaked jacket into Zhao Nuanyue’s room, which was kept toasty by a brazier.
Zhao Nuanyue brought over the drying rack, dusted it off, and placed his clothes on it to dry, turning them over from time to time.
Seeing Zhao Nuanyue drying his clothes for him, Hua Yusen’s face flushed slightly. ’We’re just like a countryside couple!’
’A couple?’
Hua Yusen quickly shook his head. ’Can’t think about this anymore.’ He turned and went out, planning to boil some water and clean the fish so Zhao Nuanyue could cook them later.
Seeing Hua Yusen leave with a red face, Zhao Nuanyue thought he must have caught a cold!
She quickly poured a glass of water and took two pills from the cabinet. It was medicine she had bought from the hospital the last time Zhao Nuanyang had a cold.
"Hua, did you catch a cold?" Zhao Nuanyue asked. "I have some medicine here, you should take it."
"Huh?" Hua Yusen froze. Although it had been cold today and he had been outside for a long time, he hadn’t caught a cold. "N-No... it’s not necessary..."
Alone with Zhao Nuanyue in the small kitchen, standing so close, Hua Yusen caught the faint, sweet scent of a woman from her. The kitchen suddenly felt warmer, and his face treacherously blushed again.
Hearing Hua Yusen’s slightly deep voice and seeing his red face only strengthened Zhao Nuanyue’s suspicion.
"You have to take medicine when you’re sick," Zhao Nuanyue insisted. "You’re the man of the house at the Dragon King Temple now. Nuanyang and I are counting on you to protect us. If you get sick, who will look after us?"
"I’m really not sick," Hua Yusen said evasively. ’This girl is so persistent!’ he thought. ’I’ve made it so clear, how can she still not believe me?’
Zhao Nuanyue didn’t believe him. She reached out and placed her hand on his forehead, wanting to prove herself right.
As she felt his head, her small, cool hand rested on his forehead, making Hua Yusen freeze in the middle of his struggle. He didn’t want to admit it, but he could feel the comfort from that little hand. Paired with his own flushed, hot face, it sent a tingling shiver through his body.
’That’s not right. It really doesn’t feel like he has a fever.’
’But his face is so red! And it’s a little warm!’
Seeing that Hua Yusen wouldn’t look at her, Zhao Nuanyue froze for a moment. Then she realized how intimate her action was and quickly pulled her hand away from his forehead, stammering an explanation, "Hua, I... I was just worried you were sick, so I..."
"I... I know," Hua Yusen also stammered. Even if they both vehemently denied it with their words, their subconscious actions had already inadvertently revealed their concern for one another.
