Xiao Hua murmured softly in her sleep, startling He Yan so much that he almost jumped out of his skin. He was afraid that Xiao Hua had just woken up and found out that he had stolen a kiss from her again. But when he saw Xiao Hua turn over and go back to sleep, he touched his heart, which was about to jump out of his chest, and muttered to himself, "Thank goodness, she's not awake."

He reached out and touched his lips, unable to suppress a soft chuckle. To be honest, this was the first time he had ever taken the initiative to kiss a girl's lips. Although he wasn't very bold and didn't dare to kiss her lips directly, he only dared to lightly place a kiss on the corner of her mouth.

But this simple kiss was something he had mustered up a great deal of courage to do. It was hard to describe the feeling; it was exciting, sweet, and a little thrilling.

He Yan laughed a little louder as he thought about this. Ye Shengbei, the fourth brother of Xiaohua, who was passing by their room on his way to the toilet, suddenly heard a burst of laughter coming from the room. He was so frightened that he didn't even pull up his pants properly before he quickly slipped back to his own room.

Although he didn't believe in these supernatural beliefs, the sudden laughter just now still made him think of the paranormal.

Quickly pull the thin blanket tightly over your head.

The next morning at breakfast, everyone noticed He Yan's face and arms were covered in dozens of mosquito bites of all sizes.

Mao Dani said with heartache, "Damn mosquitoes, why do they have to bite my good son-in-law of all people?"

“Mom, city people have soft skin. If I were a mosquito, I would only bite my brother-in-law.”

Ye Shengbei, the fourth brother of Xiaohua, said.

"Even eating can't shut you up, how come mosquitoes don't bite you all over?" Ye Dazhuang rolled his eyes at his youngest son.

Ye Shengbei was still a little afraid of his father, so he immediately fell silent.

But he's naturally a talkative person; asking him to stay silent for a while is worse than suffocating him.

"Last night I got up to go to the bathroom and passed by Xiaohua's room. Suddenly I heard laughter coming from inside. It scared me so much that I ran into my room without even pulling my pants up properly. Did you hear that?"

Xiaohua took a sip of porridge and shook her head: "I slept too soundly yesterday and didn't hear anything."

Kang An imitated his mother and said, "I was sleeping very soundly too, and I didn't hear a sound either."

Ye Shengbei then asked He Yan, "Brother-in-law, didn't you hear it either? It was coming from your room."

He Yan feigned ignorance, saying, "Really? I slept very soundly yesterday and didn't hear anything."

Then, right under everyone's watchful eyes, He Yan couldn't help but let out a big yawn. It was hardly convincing for someone with panda eyes to tell everyone that he had slept soundly last night.

"Are you sure you slept soundly last night? With all these bumps all over your body, I bet you just sat on the kang (heated brick bed) scratching them all night without doing anything else!"

The little flower hits the nail on the head.

He Yan felt even more guilty now. Yesterday night, besides scratching the bumps on his body, he also stole a kiss on Xiao Hua's lips. Then, while scratching himself, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, which scared Xiao Hua's fourth brother.

"Cough cough... Luckily it's not too itchy and won't keep me from sleeping."

Mao Dani brought a bowl of salt water from the kitchen: "He Yan, apply the salt water to these bumps; it will relieve the itching."

In the early 1990s, most rural families were willing to spend money to buy mosquito repellent. If they were bitten by mosquitoes and felt very itchy, they would apply some salt water. Whether it could actually relieve the itch was really just a placebo effect.

"Mom, no need. I brought some floral water with me, I'll have him apply it later." Xiaohua was unusually kind.

However, when Mao Dani heard that Xiao Hua had brought floral water but hadn't, she quickly took it out for He Yan to use, and said in an annoyed tone, "Did you bring any? You should have taken it out earlier. Doesn't it make He Yan uncomfortable to be itchy like this?"

"Didn't he just say that he's not ticklish, so it doesn't matter whether he uses floral water or not!"

He Yan scratched the bump on his body: "But now it feels a bit itchy, Xiao Hua, could you go get some floral water and help me apply it?"

He Yan only dared to speak to Xiao Hua like that in front of his parents-in-law.

Xiaohua was about to say, "Who do you think you are? Why should I give it to you?"

Mao Dani pulled her up from the chair and urged, "Hurry up and get the floral water and help He Yan apply it."

Xiao Hua was speechless. Well, He Yan was her biological son, and she was adopted by them.

"I'll go get it for your precious son-in-law right now, just wait!" Xiaohua said in a sarcastic tone.

He Yan was overjoyed by her words "good son-in-law," but in her heart, she still thought they were a couple.

After the floral water was brought over, He Yan shamelessly asked, "Little Flower, I also have some on my back, but it's hard for me to reach it. Can you help me apply it?"

Xiao Hua was about to scold him for being so arrogant when she saw Mao Dani's eyes seem to say, "Aren't you going to apply it to your husband?"

Xiao Hua had no choice but to shut up and reluctantly applied floral water to him. He Yan looked like he was enjoying it, which made Xiao Hua so angry that she took advantage of everyone's inattention and pinched a small piece of flesh on his back hard with her fingernails, twisting it 360 degrees. He Yan grimaced in pain, but didn't make a sound.

Everyone noticed his pained expression and asked what was wrong. Xiaohua answered for him first: "His back is covered in mosquito bites. The mosquito repellent probably made it hurt."

"Xiaohua, you really are something. He Yan doesn't know, but don't you know? There's a big temperature difference between day and night and lots of mosquitoes. If you wear long sleeves, long pants, and socks to bed at night, you won't get bitten so many times."

Ye Dazhuang frowned and scolded his daughter.

Ye Xiaohua wanted to say that she had forgotten, but she and Kang An were both wrapped up tightly without a single bag. Her parents probably realized that she had deliberately made He Yanding carry a lot of bags.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!