Chapter 25: Liang Yenuan Her hand pressed on his chest, reluctant to let go...

Su Guanqing didn't seem to mind. He handed the peeled yam to Jiang Tong, his voice still gentle, "You've been working so hard during the day and staying up all night. How can your body handle this? Uncle and aunt are heartbroken every day when they see you. Aunt has complained to me about this several times..."

His voice was like the gurgling spring stream, flowing through her heart and creating small, endless ripples in her heart.

"...Besides, you're in your prime now, at the age to enjoy your youth. Wasting your time in a small room would be a shame. Don't be like me, wasting my youth and now unable to see it even if I wanted to."

Listening to his soft voice and gentle tone, Jiang Tong's eyes felt a little hot.

She wanted to say that it didn't matter to her, her greatest wish had been fulfilled, and the good times and youth were no longer important.

Her parents, relatives and friends are all by her side, so she is no longer lonely.

She can see them every day, which is the best spring for her.

She didn't know when she would leave this beautiful dream. Before she left, she just wanted to take care of their future life, even if it meant sacrificing her health.

But she couldn't say these words, so she had to stuff her mouth full of yam.

The peeled yam tasted better indeed. As Jiang Tong chewed it, her vision became blurred, and Su Guanqing in front of her also became hazy.

She didn't say anything, so Su Guanqing thought she was unhappy. He panicked and his hands trembled, and the half-peeled taro fell on the coarse cloth and rolled away.

Su Guanqing reached out his hand in a panic, trying to make amends: "Tongtong, I was just saying it casually. If you don't want to hear it, I won't say it anymore."

Jiang Tong took a deep breath, picked up the piece of taro, and put it back into Su Guanqing's hand. "It's okay, just say whatever you want. I'm not the orthodox emperor, so I don't want to be punished for my words."

"...Then, are you willing to listen to my advice?" He pinched the taro, tilted his head seriously and carefully, waiting for her answer.

"You won't listen," Jiang Tong dug another taro out of his hand, peeled it in no time, and stuffed it into his mouth. "If I don't make money quickly, will my family continue to starve?"

Su Guanqing's mouth was stuffed with something, and she fell silent like a young wife, and really didn't dare to persuade him anymore.

After that, Jiang Tong remained the same as before, constantly revising the painting during the day, taking care of Xiao Quesheng, and continuing to work hard at night.

She didn't pay much attention to Su Guanqing. At most, she paid attention to whether he was locked outside the study again. However, Su Guanqing didn't let her worry about him anymore. After cleaning the kitchen in the evening, he would go into the study by himself and sit quietly by the bed.

A single man and a single woman being in the same room, especially late at night, makes a mother worried.

Zhong Wanci wandered outside the door several times and even listened through the crack for a while, but she heard no sound.

She was nervous for a long time, but in the end she didn't dare to knock on the door. She ran back to find Jiang Huaishan to find a solution.

Jiang Huaishan obviously couldn't understand her worries, and he leaned against the head of the bed reading a military book.

His health has been improving over the past few days, and he can now stroll around the yard without anyone's help.

Hearing this, he lightly scolded, "What are you thinking about all day? We've watched Guanqing grow up. Don't you know what kind of person he is? What's there to worry about?"

Zhong Wanci paced around the room, "I'm not afraid of a thousand things, I'm just afraid of one. If something really happens, how will Tongtong get married in the future?"

"Tongtong isn't the type to suffer any loss. If something happens, won't she call for help?" Jiang Huaishan pinched his brows. "Stop spinning. It makes me dizzy."

"I'm just afraid Tongtong is willing!"

"How is that possible? Tongtong has never liked Guanqing." Jiang Huaishan said, and lowered his head to read his book again.

"That was in the past. Haven't you noticed that Tongtong's attitude towards Guanqing has changed recently? Ever since she redeemed Guanqing, she has taken Guanqing with her wherever she goes!" Seeing that her husband was still reading, Zhong Wanci rushed to the bedside and pressed the military book down.

Jiang Huaishan didn't get angry. Instead, he sneered and pinched his wife's cheek. "You! You're usually so confused about everything, but when it comes to Tongtong, you suddenly become smart."

Zhong Wanci didn't prevent him from touching her, and her face flushed, adding an even brighter hue to her rosy complexion. She pushed Jiang Huaishan's hand away and said angrily, "I'm speaking seriously! You're not an official anymore, and I don't expect Tongtong to marry a man from an official family, but she can't marry a lowly person either! Not only can the noble and the lowly not marry, but the government won't tolerate it either. And this official is blind, so won't Tongtong suffer if she lives with him?"

Jiang Huaishan sighed: "There's no point in worrying. Your daughter is making up her mind now. I'm afraid neither you nor I can make the decision for her."

"What should we do then?" Zhong Wanci was really anxious.

"We haven't even started yet, why are you so anxious?" Jiang Huaishan saw his wife's eyes were about to turn red, so he patted her back and comforted her, "If that day really comes, I will risk my life rather than let anyone ruin Tongtong's lifelong happiness."

…

Compared to the whispers in my parents' room, the study is particularly quiet.

Therefore, when the door "clicked", it became particularly eye-catching.

Jiang Tong knew that it was Su Guanqing who went out and came back in. He didn't look up, but continued to rub the softened life paper with his fingers.

This step requires extremely gentle movements, so as not to damage the underlying painting while removing the life paper. However, after rubbing it like this for thousands of times over the past few days, my fingers can no longer bear it.

In her previous life, Jiang Tong rubbed her skin like this all her life, and her fingerprints were gone. She was used to it and didn't feel any pain.

My fingertips haven't formed calluses yet, but the pain is excruciating with every hit.

She looked at her red fingers in the dim light of the oil lamp without changing her expression. Just as she was about to continue rubbing them, she suddenly smelled a sweet fragrance at the tip of her nose.

Jiang Tong looked up and saw Su Guanqing putting something on the desk next to her that she had left empty.

——She would never allow anyone to put anything on the red table where she was painting.

Although Su Guanqing's movements were very light, a "dong" sound was still heard in the quiet night.

He was startled and listened attentively to Jiang Tong's reaction. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard nothing. Just as he was about to continue, he heard the sound of a chair moving.

He knew it was Jiang Tong who stood up, and hurriedly said, "Sorry, did I disturb you?"

"No, I'll take a break before I do anything else. What did you bring in?"

Su Guanqing moved aside, revealing a small pot on the desk. "I made some sweet soup. Would you like some?"

"What sweet soup?" Jiang Tong said as he walked over.

"Sweet potato soup," Su Guanqing opened the lid and showed it to Jiang Tong, "Drink some to warm you up."

"Okay." Jiang Tong picked up the chopsticks and picked up a piece of sweet potato.

It still tastes familiar.

This sweet soup is a specialty of Lingnan. Su Guanqing's wet nurse was from Lingnan and would often cook sweet soup for Su Guanqing in the small kitchen.

When Jiang Tong was a child, she would go to the Su Mansion basically just for this bowl of sweet soup.

Unfortunately, after the incident at the Su Mansion, she never had the chance to eat it again.

"When did you learn to make sugar water?"

"Just now, I was thinking of trying to see if I could cook it," Su Guanqing asked with a smile, "Is it sweet?"

"Sweet." Jiang Tong responded vaguely, picked up another piece of sweet potato and put it in his mouth. As soon as he took a bite, his face suddenly changed and he spit it out in a hurry.

Su Guanqing heard something was wrong and asked hurriedly, "What's wrong?"

"Ginger!!" The light was poor at night, and she couldn't see clearly. She chewed a large piece of ginger as if it were a sweet potato. The spiciness made her eyes burst into tears.

Su Guanqing was stunned for a moment, then quickly picked up the pot and said, "Hurry up and drink some sugar water to calm it down."

Jiang Tong took his hand, held the small pot and began to drink the sugar water.

Su Guanqing listened carefully to the sound of her gulping water. When Jiang Tong calmed down, he put down the pot and handed her a towel: "Wipe it."

Jiang Tong took it and wiped her mouth, then wiped away the tears caused by the spiciness.

The sweetness in her mouth gradually overwhelmed the spiciness, and the familiar taste stimulated her taste buds.

Jiang Tong leaned his hands on the desk, and in the dim candlelight, he stared at the amber color swaying in the pot.

She had dreamed of this bowl of sugar water countless times, but unfortunately she was always confused in her dreams and could not taste it at all.

This was the first time she actually tasted the flavor she remembered.

A crystal object fell into the sugar water with a "plop", like throwing a big stone into the calm lake of the heart, immediately stirring up a thousand waves.

In a flash, Jiang Tong suddenly realized that something was wrong——

Since she never had any sense of taste in her dreams, how could she have such a real feeling today?

unless--

Unless she wasn't dreaming at all!

That sweetness, that spiciness, was still dancing on the tip of her tongue, making her heart tremble. She asked Su Guanqing in a trembling voice: "Guanqing, I...you...tell me, are we actually in a dream?"

Su Guanqing was slightly surprised, and said with a smile: "Zhuangzi dreamt of a butterfly in the morning?"

"Who is arguing with you! I'm serious! Am I dreaming?" Jiang Tong became anxious and grabbed Su Guanqing's sleeve.

Knowing that it was useless to ask Su Guanqing about this matter, she was still unwilling to let go as if she was grasping at a life-saving straw.

After all, this is the only fulcrum she can grasp in her vague and elusive "dream".

Hearing a hint of tears in Jiang Tong's voice, Su Guanqing panicked and said hurriedly, "Of course you are not dreaming."

"Really? Is this really not just a dream?"

"No," Su Guanqing said firmly, "This is the real world. You are real, and what you see, feel, and everything around you is real."

The ginger and sugar water took effect in her body, and a warmth rose from her stomach and rushed to her internal organs.

On this spring night when the weather was still cold, Jiang Tong felt completely warm.

She looked up at Su Guanqing in front of her. The dim oil lamp behind him cast a circle of golden light on him. She suddenly reached out and poked his chest. Her broken fingertips hurt a little, but she clearly felt a little warmth and was reluctant to move away.

"You are real too," she murmured.

Su Guanqing nodded: "I am also true."

Jiang Tong was like a lonely wandering soul, drifting on the border between life and death, unable to find her own time and space. But at this moment, she looked into Su Guanqing's eyes, and in Su Guanqing's dark pupils, she saw her own reflection, herself at the age of sixteen, and also herself at the age of ninety-three.

She found herself.

"I'm not dreaming." She mumbled, her hand still on his chest.

"You are not dreaming." Su Guanqing's Adam's apple moved slightly, and an impulse arose in his heart for no reason. He wanted to press the hand on his chest into his chest and not allow her to pull away, but he held back.

"But how do I know that you are not the person in my dream? I might also dream that you told me these things." Jiang Tong looked up at him.

Su Guanqing thought for a moment and said, "When we dream, do our minds become confused? Think about it, have you become confused? Or maybe people don't feel pain in dreams. You can pinch me and see if it hurts."

His voice was as gentle as spring water, but to Jiang Tong, it sounded like the thunder that awakened all things during the Waking of Insects, shocking her whole body.

So this was not a vague dream before her death, she really came back to life and returned to her youth.

Guan Qing is still alive, everyone is still alive.

Jiang Tong's eyes moved downwards, and she realized belatedly that her hand was still on the other person's chest. That was not the Guan Qing in her dream, but the living Guan Qing. She was shocked and pulled her hand back abruptly.