Chapter 12
Completely exhausted, Wanniang slept throughout the entire afternoon. Even when she awoke, her head still felt heavy and foggy.
Upon realizing that she was lying in Yang Lulong’s bed and had been changed into clean clothes, Wanniang understood that she must have fallen asleep earlier. Yang Lulong had most likely taken care of everything afterward.
Remembering everything they had done made Wanniang feel both embarrassed and secretly happy. A faint fragrance of tea still lingered on the bedding.
Her heat cycle had seemingly passed at last.
However… her relationship with Yang Lulong was now completely different from before.
A sudden thought frightened her, and she hurriedly touched the scent gland on the back of her neck.
Fortunately, they had not formed a mating bond.
Although Wanniang genuinely liked Yang Lulong, she was not yet prepared to bond with someone. Everything she had witnessed made her afraid of it.
It was not merely because of what happened to Sister Fang.
Even when Wanniang was young, while her parents were still alive and their family lived in the capital, she had seen her mother cry many times because her father constantly became entangled with other Kunze.
Everyone accepted that Qianyuan were fickle in love. Throughout her life, Wanniang had never heard of a Qianyuan willing to remain faithful to only one Kunze forever.
She believed that her parents had once loved each other passionately. However… loyalty could not withstand the test of time.
Her fear of the unknown prevented her from making such a decision. She did not want to become like her mother, able only to hide in her room and weep alone.
Wanniang hurriedly slapped her cheeks, forcing herself to stop thinking about it.
Looking outside, she saw that the sun was about to set.
She still needed to prepare dinner.
The moment she stepped outside, she nearly collided with Yang Lulong. Yang Lulong quickly raised the dishes in her hands to one side to keep them from spilling.
“You’re awake,” she said with a smile.
“What’s that?” Wanniang asked, looking at the dishes Yang Lulong was holding high above her.
“Dinner.”
Yang Lulong hurriedly showed her what she had prepared.
“What kind of dish is this? Sweet potato and rabbit stew?” Wanniang had never seen such an unusual combination. “You can cook too?”
Yang Lulong was truly impossible to understand. She always managed to surprise Wanniang.
“I learned when I was bored. I lived alone, after all, and constantly ordering take—going out to eat was troublesome.”
“Then I’ll have to taste it properly.”
Wanniang brought over a small table, which was soon covered with several dishes.
This was Yang Lulong’s first time cooking for another person. She watched Wanniang expectantly, eager to see her reaction.
Wanniang picked up a piece of meat and placed it in her mouth, chewing carefully.
“Mm, it’s good. It’s tender and delicious.”
She picked up another piece.
“How did you prepare it?”
The two began discussing cooking…
“Auntie Wan!”
While they were clearing away the dishes, a child’s sweet voice came from outside.
It could only belong to Xiaohua. They heard her before they even saw her.
Sure enough, Xiaohua soon ran through the gate with a pitiful expression, looking deeply aggrieved. Little Erni, Sister-in-law Zhang’s daughter, followed beside her.
“Auntie Wan, please save it…”
Xiaohua was already on the verge of tears.
Erni was carrying a small puppy covered in blood.
“Wah… The puppy… Wah…”
“Stop crying. You’ll frighten it,” Erni said.
She was considerably calmer than Xiaohua. After being admonished, Xiaohua immediately suppressed her sobs. She pouted while struggling not to cry, tears swirling inside her large eyes.
“Auntie Wan, please look at it. It’s hurt.”
Erni handed the puppy to Wanniang.
“Let me see.”
The puppy whimpered and trembled continuously. Blood stained its yellowish-brown fur.
“Yang Lulong, fetch me some water.”
Wanniang gave the instruction naturally, and Yang Lulong obeyed just as naturally.
She drew a basin of water and followed Wanniang into the medicine room. Wanniang accepted the basin from her.
“I can handle the rest. There are some sugar pills in that box. Take a few outside for the girls and watch over them.”
Yang Lulong knew nothing about medicine and would only get in the way if she remained. Obediently following Wanniang’s instructions, she grabbed a large handful of sugar pills from the box and went outside.
The moment she stepped through the door, she saw Erni wiping Xiaohua’s tears despite the look of disdain on her face.
“All right, stop crying. Auntie Wan will definitely heal it.”
“Would you like some sugar pills?”
Yang Lulong approached and held the enormous handful in front of them.
“Auntie Wan said… we shouldn’t eat too much candy…”
The sensible Erni extended her small hand and took only one pill for herself and another for Xiaohua.
“…”
Xiaohua had stopped crying, but she stared longingly at the remaining sugar pills and sniffed.
“Eating just a few more… should be fine…”
Seeing Xiaohua’s greedy expression, Erni took several more and placed them in her hands.
Wanniang remained inside treating the injured puppy while Yang Lulong stayed outside with the two girls.
“Are you Auntie Wan’s other half?” Erni asked around the sugar pill in her mouth, tugging on the hem of Yang Lulong’s robe.
“What?”
Yang Lulong could not understand her childish mumbling, so she crouched down to listen more carefully.
“My mama calls my papa her other half. Are you Auntie Wan’s other half?”
“Um…”
The question left Yang Lulong at a loss.
The concept of dating probably did not exist in this era. People simply married, and only after becoming spouses would they do those kinds of things.
“She isn’t. She just lives at Auntie Wan’s house,” Xiaohua mumbled with a sugar pill stuffed into each cheek.
“But you aren’t related to Auntie Wan. My mama says only married couples live together.”
“Then why don’t you say that Auntie Xiaowen lives at my house too?”
“That’s different. Auntie Xiaowen has to care for your mama.”
The two children continued chattering without pause.
“My mama says Qianyuan are very strong. Can you lift both of us, one in each hand?” Erni suddenly asked, staring expectantly at Yang Lulong.
“That would be too dangerous…” Yang Lulong replied helplessly.
“But my papa said you carried several enormous logs while helping with the renovations. You must be really strong.”
Erni refused to give up.
Just as Yang Lulong found herself trapped by the question, Wanniang emerged at the perfect moment.
“The puppy will need to stay here for a while. It isn’t in danger, but it will need some time to recover. It’s getting late, so hurry home before Sister-in-law Zhang and Sister Fang become worried. You can visit it again tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Auntie Wan.”
Upon hearing that the puppy would be fine, the two girls returned home with relieved expressions.
“What should I do with these sugar pills…?”
The large handful Yang Lulong was still holding had become sticky from the sweat on her palm.
“You took so many that you’ll have to eat them yourself.”
Wanniang had told her to take a few, never expecting her to grab such an enormous handful. When she checked the box, only half of its previously full contents remained.
“Won’t you eat some?”
Yang Lulong looked at her pitifully, hoping she would help share the burden.
“…”
Unable to do anything about her, Wanniang sat with Yang Lulong in the courtyard.
They ate the sugar pills one at a time, alternating between them until the entire pile was gone.
Yang Lulong rarely ate sweets. Consuming so much sugar at once was unbearably cloying, and she did not dare touch anything sweet again for a long time afterward.
Neither did Wanniang…
When night fell, sleeping arrangements became a problem.
The bedding from Wanniang’s bed had been washed but was not yet dry. Since she was sleeping in Yang Lulong’s bed, Yang Lulong had nowhere else to sleep.
Yang Lulong initially felt too embarrassed to share it, but Wanniang could not bear to make her sleep on the bare wooden boards.
Thus, they naturally ended up sleeping together.
They lay with their backs facing each other for a long time.
“Yang Lulong…”
“Hmm?”
“Can’t you sleep either?”
“Mm.”
As though their hearts were connected, they turned toward each other at precisely the same moment.
Their faces were so close that their lips nearly touched.
Yang Lulong gazed into Wanniang’s eyes. Even in the darkness, those slightly downturned black eyes remained irresistibly captivating.
Unable to resist, she murmured, “Your eyes are beautiful…”
The unexpected compliment made Wanniang blush.
“Don’t say such strange things.”
She turned away from Yang Lulong again.
Although embarrassed, she was secretly delighted by the compliment—especially because it had come from Yang Lulong.
Her body quietly shifted backward until she nestled against Yang Lulong’s embrace.
Yang Lulong initially thought she had angered Wanniang. However, when she felt Wanniang moving closer, she realized that Wanniang was only shy.
They had already confessed their feelings to each other. Surely there would be nothing wrong with embracing her…
With that thought, Yang Lulong slowly wrapped both arms around Wanniang’s slender waist.
She felt the gentle rise and fall of the woman breathing in her arms and inhaled the faint fragrance of jasmine.
Closing her eyes, Yang Lulong gradually fell asleep…
Comments 0
You must be logged in to comment.
No comments yet. Be the first!