The man's low voice slowly fell into her ears, with a hint of obvious grievance.

Ye Qingshui hesitated for a while and said, "Not good."

This happened only half a year ago in Xie Tingyu's eyes, but for Ye Qingshui, it was decades ago. The young and ignorant feelings of those days were no longer visible.

Xie Tingyu lowered his head and looked at Ye Qingshui's expression carefully.

Her eyes, as clear and bright as spring water, were calm and serious.

Xie Tingyu never expected that after he said these heartfelt words, he would still be rejected by the little girl.

While he was stunned, Ye Qingshui quickly got out of his arms.

Ye Qingshui felt uncomfortable when he saw Xie Tingyu's face suddenly changed in shock: it turned out that he was also worried about divorce.

"You don't really like me at all."

There was a scrutinizing look in her dark eyes.

Xie Tingyu stared at Ye Qingshui closely and said word by word: "Divorce is not a trivial matter after all, and feelings can be cultivated slowly. Can we think about it carefully for another year?"

"If we still don't get along after a year, I'll divorce you as you wish."

"If you don't agree..."

Xie Tingyu looked at her still cold face and felt that he had never had such a headache in his life.

After saying that, Xie Tingyu, with a cold face, easily lifted up Ye Qingshui and carried him on his shoulders like a rag bag.

Ye Qingshui felt the world turn upside down, her chest hit hard against his strong back, and she was carried upside down on his shoulders. Her face suddenly turned red, and she felt very ashamed.

Xie Tingyu patted her butt and threatened: "If you don't agree, I will have to..."

The golden light fell into his dark eyes, like splashing into an unfathomable whirlpool, without causing a single splash.

Ye Qingshui's face flushed with shame. Based on her understanding of Xie Tingyu, he would not do such a thing as forcing others. She insisted, "No."

Xie Tingyu tightened her arms and her whole body stiffened. He really carried her back to the room and threw her on the bed.

"Not yet?" These two words were almost squeezed out from between his teeth, and Xie Tingyu's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

Ye Qingshui was dizzy and seeing stars, and he watched Xie Tingyu unbutton his clothes.

She met his eyes, which were irritated and became more fierce, and shuddered with fear, then she changed her words:

“Yes, yes, yes.”

Ye Qingshui's dizzy mind finally remembered the difference between the two. A year later was also the time when she wanted to divorce. Although her statement was different from Xie Tingyu's, there was no difference in essence.

Even if she doesn't agree, she still has to divorce.

"But you can't do this kind of thing anymore."

Xie Tingyu looked at her lying in the quilt, her face flushed red. She was obviously scared but trying to stay calm. She was so adorable.

Xie Tingyu's fingers felt a little itchy, but he held it back, and a smile appeared in his dark eyes.

"Yes, yes, I'm not as stingy as Shui'er."

Ye Qingshui was so angry that his face turned red and then white. He bit his lip and said nothing.

…

Ye Qingshui didn't know whether he should believe Xie Tingyu's words, but in the following days, Xie Tingyu seemed to have forgotten the previous dispute, and everything went on as usual, in an orderly manner, just as he said.

Ye Qingshui breathed a sigh of relief.

Ye Qingshui was working in the fields, and Xie Tingyu came to bring him food.

Zhou Tingting winked at her again.

The aunt next to her smiled and said, "Shuiya, is your husband here to bring you food again?"

Ye Qingshui looked at the unpalatable food in the lunch box and couldn't help but feel worried. She said to Xie Tingyu, "Can you please stop cooking all the time?"

"You're wasting food."

Xie Tingyu coughed lightly and said, "It's only temporarily unpalatable. It will be fine after a few more times. Eat it while it's hot. The meat was just bought this morning..."

After hearing this, Ye Qingshui's eyes went dark. Once was not enough, so he had to do it a few more times.

She looked him straight in the eyes and said to him seriously, "Thank you for your kindness, but I won't eat it. I want to go home and cook. Grandma and Auntie don't want to eat the food you cook either."

The smile on Xie Tingyu's lips faltered, "How much should I eat?"

Ye Qingshui didn't say anything, but returned the hot meal to him, went back home, picked and washed vegetables from his own plot, and left half a pound of fresh pork in the water tank.

The smile on Xie Tingyu's face was very faint. He followed her into the woodshed and looked around silently.

He used his memory, which he was proud of, to take notes as he watched and memorize them in his heart.

…

Every autumn rain brings a chill. In the summer there was too little rain and the weather was very dry, but in autumn there are gradually some moderate rains.

Ye Qingshui received a telegram from his uncle Ye Zhongjian, saying that he would be back in a week.

In order to wait for this day, grandma and mother stretched their necks and looked forward to it, their eyes almost dry.

On the day when her uncle came back, Ye Qingshui rode her bicycle to the station to pick him up. She knew that her uncle had difficulty walking and if he missed the last bus, he might not be able to come back until midnight. Walking dozens of kilometers was too much for him.

When Xie Tingyu saw Ye Qingshui, he hurried out and handed her a coat.

"Put it on before you go. It's getting colder today. Be careful not to catch a cold."

Ye Qingshui took a step back, unable to bear Xie Tingyu's gentleness. She said, "I'm not cold. I'm dressed enough."

She looked at the old coat she was wearing. It had pilled up after years of wear.

The piece of clothing in Xie Tingyu's hand was a large woolen coat of fine texture and very warm to the touch. It was the coat that was originally promised to be given to Xie Dongmei but was not given in the end.

Ye Qingshui set off on his bicycle.

Two hours later, Xie Tingyu turned on the radio to listen to the weather forecast. "Today's temperature in Hongmi District is 9 to 15 degrees Celsius, sunny and turning to moderate rain. Comrades, please keep warm."

Xie Tingyu glanced sideways and saw two umbrellas quietly placed in the corner.

Country people don't need umbrellas. When it rains, they just wear a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat. But when Ye Qingshui set out, he didn't even wear a bamboo hat.

Xie Tingyu picked up the umbrella, thoughtfully.

…

Ye Qingshui rode his bicycle for a long time before he reached the station. The crowded and dilapidated train station was packed with people.

But she saw her uncle in the crowd at a glance.

He was wearing a clean green military uniform, and he looked like a bright spot in the gray and blue sea of people.

When Ye Zhongjian saw Ye Qingshui, he stood at attention and saluted. He showed his two big white teeth and smiled heartily:

"Ye Zhongjian, the artilleryman of the first squad of the second platoon of the third company, is back. Please inspect him!"

Ye Qingshui laughed out loud. After not seeing his uncle for so many years, he was still as smooth-talking as before when he was young. Even though his leg was lame, he looked no different from before.

Her dark, bronze skin reflects the light, making her teeth look even whiter.

But before he joined the army, he was as fair as Ye Qingshui. People in the Ye family were born fair.

Ye Qingshui took out the cold meat bun from his pocket and gave it to Ye Zhongjian. Ye Zhongjian was reluctant to eat it and pushed it to his niece.

"You keep eating. You've become so skinny that your face looks like a monkey's."

Ye Zhongjian has a pair of eyes like an elder. Ye Qingshui has eaten and drunk well in the past six months, and his face is round and cute, but in his eyes he still looks thin.

Ye Qingshui chuckled, "I ate before I left, you eat, uncle."

"You must have been eating dry food for many days, right?"

This is true. Ye Zhongjian is indeed a bit "stingy". His stinginess is reflected in himself. In order to save money and trouble, he would rather buy a standing ticket and stay at the train station for a few days. He also spent these days eating dry food. If you think about the Red Army's 25,000-mile Long March, all the hardships in front of you are nothing.

But he could touch Ye Qingshui's head, pull her braids, and smile: "Nothing, come on, Shuiya, uncle will take you to the state-owned restaurant to have some noodle soup."

Ye Qingshui did not object. She was also stingy with herself, but she was willing to spend money on her relatives.

She wanted him to have a full stomach before continuing on his journey.

The uncle and nephew had a delicious meal at the state-owned restaurant. After a bowl of hot vermicelli with fragrant sweet onions, they felt refreshed. The delicious vermicelli was not delicious in Ye Qingshui's eyes, but it was the best delicacy for Ye Zhongjian. It had meat slices and fat.

After eating a bowl of vermicelli, Ye Qingshui happily drove Ye Zhongjian back to the countryside.

However, halfway through the journey, the sky gradually darkened at noon, dark clouds gathered like a cloud pressing down on a city, and soon there were lightning and thunder, and heavy rain came down.

Ye Qingshui and his uncle were hiding from the rain on the mountain road. Ye Qingshui just got soaked and sighed, "We can only wait for the rain to stop."

Ye Zhongjian said: "Don't worry, it's okay to wait."

There were fewer pedestrians on the road on rainy days, and the two cars passing by were both fully loaded, and the rain was getting heavier.

Ye Qingshui saw that it was getting dark and it was unsafe to ride a rickshaw without a flashlight, so he felt anxious.

At this time, Xie Tingyu appeared in front of them.

He took off a straw raincoat and handed it to the uncle and nephew. He said, "I am Xie Tingyu. Please ride your bicycle back by yourself. Shui'er and I will go together."

Uncle Ye recognized Xie Tingyu. On the wedding day, he took a leave of absence to come back and attend the wedding banquet. He then rode his bicycle back home with peace of mind.

There were only two people left on the mountain road, and the umbrella was small, so the two people had to hold close to each other to avoid being rained on.

It was hard for Ye Qingshui not to wonder if Xie Tingyu did it on purpose. He didn't even bring an extra umbrella when he came out to give her an umbrella. It was obvious... that he had two umbrellas at home.

She was very careful to avoid touching Xie Tingyu, so her shoulders got wet.

Xie Tingyu smiled and said jokingly, "Shui'er, do you really dislike me so much?"

Xie Tingyu looked at her and tugged at her braid with his thumb, "I'm just teasing you."

He took off his coat, wrapped it tightly around her, and handed her the umbrella. He ran into the rain curtain alone and disappeared quickly...

Ye Qingshui looked at his figure in the rain, feeling very unhappy.

…

After returning home, Xie Tingyu was soaked all over.

The cold wind blew, but he didn't feel cold. Instead, he felt warm as if he were in a stove. His body was like iron, so getting wet in the rain was no problem.

Ye Qingshui came home soon after, and she saw Grandma Ye hugging her little son and calling him, and Grandma was also smiling. Everyone was very happy.

However, when she turned her gaze, she saw Xie Tingyu, who was soaked all over, and suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"You, you should go...take a hot bath."

Xie Tingyu suddenly had an idea.

He took a cold shower, but that was not enough, so he stayed in a wet shirt with a coat on top, covering himself up all night.

When sleeping at night, Ye Qingshui heard someone tossing and turning in sleep on the other side of the room, occasionally with one or two vague moans.

She got up helplessly, lit the lamp, and asked, "Xie Tingyu, what's wrong with you?"

Xie Tingyu's voice was so hoarse that it was almost unrecognizable, "Shui'er, I think I have a fever..."

Ye Qingshui sighed, she reached out to touch Xie Tingyu's forehead, and felt it was burning hot.

Xie Tingyu shivered unintentionally, approached Ye Qingshui, and said in a hoarse voice: "The ground is also very cold——"

Ye Qingshui wanted to give the bed to him and let him sleep on it.

After Xie Tingyu got on the bed, he grabbed her and said, "Don't go. The floor is cold. I promise to behave myself."

The arm across her waist felt surprisingly hot. He rubbed his face against her back and said in a vague and hoarse voice, "Shui'er is so good."