When I got close to her, I could smell the warm floral scent from her body.

Sweet, like the smell of gardenias in summer.

Xie Tingyu seemed to be bewildered. After the kiss, he was stunned. He took a deep breath, suppressed the hidden emotions in his heart, and turned his face away happily, ready to be spanked. After a while, there was no movement, so he asked: "No spanking this time?"

Ye Qingshui felt a burning sensation on his eyelids, like a brand, itchy and hard to ignore.

She felt uncontrollable irritation, disgust, grievance, and all kinds of complicated emotions intertwined. She glanced at Xie Tingyu in confusion and controlled the urge to curse.

Ye Qingshui looked at him and turned his face away. She raised her hand and wiped her eyes fiercely.

Ye Qingshui thought angrily: Why should she feel sorry for him!

Xie Tingyu is a high-ranking official's son, who has no worries about food and clothing. He has probably never suffered any hardship in his life. He can't stand the slightest injustice. Isn't it just that his father doesn't love him and his mother doesn't care about him?

She has never seen her biological father since she was born. In order to make a living, her uncle joined the army and left her hometown. The family is extremely poor, and she is the one who needs the most sympathy.

Ye Qingshui bit her lip and glared angrily.

As soon as Xie Tingyu finished speaking, he turned his head and glanced casually, with the corners of his lips slightly raised.

His depressed mood had been diluted a lot. Xie Tingyu bent down and picked up the jade grasshopper on the ground, and gently picked up its two antennae with his thumb.

Xie Tingyu's lips moved for a moment, and the thousands of words in his heart finally turned into a simple sentence:

"Thank you."

Thank you for choosing to fold a katydid for me at this time.

Ye Qingshui did not respond.

She was thinking, how easy it was to say thank you.

In this life, it was so easy to get his thanks. In the previous life, Ye Qingshui racked his brains to fold katydids one after another, until his hands were swollen, and he folded a pile of katydids to comfort him.

She folded one and said to him carefully, "This is Tingyu's birth present."

He folded another one and said, "This is a prize for Tingyu, who is one year old and can talk."

…

When she got to the fifth one, she hesitantly comforted him: "It doesn't matter if mom is gone. Brother Yu is very strong."

…

It was not until the twentieth piece was folded that the indifference in Xie Tingyu's eyes melted slightly.

Ye Qingshui couldn't help but shook his head when he thought of these past events. He lowered his head and felt a little touched.

After all, there was some comfort in the end. It turned out that the sadness he felt at that time was not a lie to her, but real sadness.

As for... why he was so sad, Ye Qingshui had no way of understanding it in his previous life, and he had no right to ask in this life.

Before going to bed, Ye Qingshui filled a basin with hot water to wash his feet. While washing his feet, he saw Xie Tingyu sitting at the desk, playing with crickets with a curious look on his face, and he played for a long time.

Ye Qingshui looked away speechlessly.

Men are like dogs at heart. They don't want someone until you give them up, but they're happy after you've gotten rid of them.

…

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Ye family and the Du family finally agreed on the marriage.

Grandma Ye took out the allowance her youngest son had sent back and saved, and she also collected a few dozen yuan herself, making up the 300 yuan betrothal gift. Although 300 yuan is not a lot, it is still a considerable expense.

Girls here sometimes don't even ask for a dowry when they're talking about marriage. Even families with similarly difficult conditions can get a wife by just bringing a bag of millet or a basket of eggs if they like each other.

Therefore, Grandma Ye was somewhat dissatisfied with her daughter-in-law who only cost 300 yuan.

She sometimes privately nags about the dowry for her daughter-in-law, so she can't help but feel sorry for her granddaughter: "Shui Ya doesn't even have a dowry."

The old lady said in a low voice.

Ye Qingshui's wedding was arranged in a hurry. Rumors were rife at the time, so there was no time to consider the betrothal gifts. Even the wedding banquet was hastily arranged. When Grandma Ye recalled it now, she felt that she had treated her badly.

In Grandma Ye's eyes, her granddaughter is tall, fair, and tender, just like the crispy cabbages in the field. She is the prettiest girl in the area and is hardworking and able to endure hardships. If she stays unmarried for another year, the bride price will be staggering.

The granddaughter inherited her daughter-in-law's pretty face. When she was young, she was the prettiest girl in the opera, attracting a lot of attention. Now she is seventeen years old, grown up, picking up the good qualities of her parents, everyone who sees her is envious.

When Ye Qingshui heard this, she lowered her head and felt a little embarrassed. She quickly tugged at the old lady's sleeve.

These words were heard by the sharp-eared Xie Tingyu, who could not tolerate such a misunderstanding.

Xie Tingyu immediately expressed his determination: "I will bring Shuiya home during the Chinese New Year to let my parents take a look at her. After they have seen Shuiya, they will definitely need a gift. Grandma, will you come with us?"

Grandma Ye had never left the mountains in her life, let alone go to the distant capital.

She asked excitedly: "Is it the capital where you can see *** and Chairman M?"

Xie Tingyu nodded.

Grandma Ye wanted to go, but was a little hesitant. She didn't even eat, just thinking about it in embarrassment.

Ye Qingshui thought back to Xie Tingyu's cold family and the strict discipline of the army. She didn't want to let the old lady go through so much trouble, only to be rejected.

Ye Qingshui said, "Grandma, the capital is far away. It takes several days to get there by train. It's cold, and isn't she the most afraid of the cold?"

After hearing the words "far away" and "cold", Grandma Ye immediately backed out. She shook her head repeatedly: "Grandma, Grandma, I won't go."

"My old bones can't stand the torture."

When Xie Tingyu heard Ye Qingshui's tactful refusal, the smile on his face froze.

…

The Ye family's house had been under construction for more than three months and was beginning to take shape, but they would probably have to wait until the Chinese New Year to live in it.

However, winter had already arrived in Yejia Village. Snow had already fallen on the highest mountain. The persimmons on the trees were covered with white snow and were so frozen that they could not be eaten.

This is what experienced farmers deliberately leave behind as winter food for the birds.

In early winter, the fresh persimmons had already been picked by Ye Qingshui and made into sweet persimmon jam. The rest were dried into persimmon cakes, strung together with straw ropes, and hung on bamboo poles to dry in the sun.

Winter is here, the weather is getting colder and colder, water freezes into ice. Ye Qingshui covers himself with a thicker blanket and starts a brazier in the house.

Xie Tingyu often teased Ye Qingshui, "You are wearing so many clothes, you are as fat as a ball."

Ye Qingshui didn't refute him. He clasped his hands together and let out a breath.

She was not as healthy as Xie Tingyu, who still made his bed on the ground in winter, without even a small bed. He could withstand the cold on the ground.

Ye Qingshui looked at Xie Tingyu, a little confused, and wanted to ask him why he didn't make a bed, at least it wouldn't be so cold.

In his previous life, he never treated himself badly. When the weather got a little cold, he would make a retractable wooden bed by himself and sleep on it for a whole year.

But Ye Qingshui thought about it and shut his mouth.

It’s up to him whether to do it or not, she’s not the one who’s freezing.

Ye Qingshui fiddled with Xie Tingyu's radio and heard the radio report:

"Tomorrow will be the lowest temperature since the beginning of winter. Please keep warm and prepare warm clothes."

Ye Qingshui took a warm bath, warmed the quilt with a hot water bottle, and then got into bed.

Ye Qingshui has a weak constitution, so he is prone to catching cold. When he sleeps in the middle of the night, his hands and feet are often frozen and he wakes up from the cold. Maybe because he didn't pay attention to his health in the early years, Ye Qingshui now knows how to take care of himself.

Since she came back from the summer, she has been taking Chinese medicine to regulate her body and eating nutritious food to nourish her body. Now her hair is black and shiny and her cheeks are rosy.

Ye Qingshui took off his thick cotton clothes, lay comfortably in the warm quilt, and fell asleep quickly.

However, the man lying on the ground lifted the quilt and sat up, his frowning brows becoming even more stern.

The man's back was straight and tense, and he was sitting upright at the moment, as if he was thinking about some serious problem.

Xie Tingyu was thinking: This little girl is so cold.

Although it's nothing for a grown man to sleep on the floor, the winter in the south is really cold. It's damp and cold, and the cold can penetrate into the bones.

He turned off the weather station he had carefully adjusted in despair.

In the quiet winter night, Xie Tingyu heard Ye Qingshui's sweet, faint breathing. It rose and fell regularly, and it was obvious that she had fallen asleep.

He thought about it, made up his mind, and walked towards the bed holding his quilt.

…

At night, Xie Tingyu slept contentedly on the soft bed. The girl's bed was clean, soft, and mixed with a sweet scent. This was the bed he had slept on for several months...

He lay in bed, feeling at peace.

Xie Tingyu slept for a while, then stretched out his arms to hug her, held her cold feet to warm them up, and soon fell asleep again.

In the middle of the night, Ye Qingshui suddenly felt very hot, as if he was standing next to a stove.

She was awakened by the heat.

Ye Qingshui opened his eyes and found that he and Xie Tingyu were sleeping together, head to head.

Ye Qingshui, who had just woken up from a dream, was still not clear-headed and felt as if he was dreaming.

Until she heard the man's vague voice, "Shui'er, why don't you continue to sleep?"

Ye Qingshui saw his outline clearly and wanted to pick up the pillow and throw it at his face.

She kicked Xie Tingyu and woke him up. He opened his eyes, and the soft moonlight fell into his dark pupils. His sword-like thick eyebrows wrinkled slightly.

He tried to remain calm and said, "I...I, the ground is too cold."

"I can't bear it."

Seeing his righteous look, Ye Qingshui wanted to kick him off the bed.

She threw a pillow at him.

Xie Tingyu took the pillow with a groan, and his tone was somewhat pitiful, "Shui'er, it's snowing outside, and the temperature is below zero now."

He said in a negotiating tone: "Look...Is it okay if I sleep on the other side?"

He glanced at her and said, "Your feet are so cold, I warmed them up for you."

Ye Qingshui's face turned red uncontrollably. She was angry and irritable. She sat up against the beam of the bed, not saying a word or responding to him, until the cold wind from the window blew and she calmed down.

She listened to the whistling north wind in the winter night and felt the warmth on her feet. Finally, she pulled her quilt over her and fell asleep without saying a word.

In the darkness, Xie Tingyu couldn't help but gradually lift the corners of his lips that were pursed into a line.

Finally laughed silently.

The silvery moonlight fell on her face, making her features look even softer and more tender. His Shui'er really had a soft heart.

Xie Tingyu slowly moved to the other end and fell asleep peacefully.

But his heart was boiling with heat, as if he had experienced a volcanic eruption, the hot lava flowing through, burning his heart into ashes. He exhaled, and even the cold air inhaled into his lungs could not lower the temperature.

Xie Tingyu closed his eyes, feeling extremely upset.

Ye Qingshui loves him.

It's obvious that he is hard on the outside but soft on the inside.