Xu Nuo couldn't see him clearly, so she hummed softly, thought for a moment, and said, "I'm not feeling well."

Li Xian immediately stood up, turned on the light, and walked back: "Nuonuo, where do you feel unwell?"

Xu Nuo was just making things up, but since she couldn't sleep anyway, she stretched her arms and complained to him, "My hands are so sore, and my legs are sore too."

Li Xian sat down on the edge of the bed, gently pulled her into his arms, rubbed his chin against the top of her head, and kneaded her shoulders with moderate pressure.

Running around too much during the day, like those who do too much farm work, leads to muscle strain.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked in a low voice.

"Mmm, that feels good."

The cottage was not luxurious, but it was cozy and clean. Under the lamplight, Xu Nuo smiled and leaned her head against Li Xian.

The pressure on her shoulder was just right, and the finger strength was even. Xu Nuo turned around to face him and said, "Okay, I'm not in pain anymore."

She was wearing a creamy white cotton pajamas, her small face made bright and beautiful by the flickering light bulb. Her face was so charming and obedient. Li Xian held her in his arms and coaxed her to sleep: "Aren't you going to the mountain tomorrow? Go to sleep early, or you'll be sleepy in the morning."

Moreover, it's not early at this time; it's already past 10 p.m.

Xu Nuo also wanted to sleep, but she couldn't fall asleep even with her eyes closed, so she had to ask Li Xian to keep her company and chat. She was already very concerned about Li Xian's parents, and when she heard Li Xian say that his maternal grandfather had sent another letter, she insisted on reading it.

"I'll go get it." He got out of bed and saw her two fair and tender feet moving around outside. He wrapped them in a thin blanket before turning around to get them from the drawer.

There wasn't much in the drawer, just two letters and a few neatly stacked books. Li Xian's gaze lingered on the English workbook for a moment, and he gently rubbed it with his fingertips.

"Has it been found?"

Xu Nuo was getting impatient and urged him on.

"Found it."

Li Xian turned around and walked back, pulling the person, blanket and all, into his arms, and carefully unfolded the letter.

The letter that arrived was two whole pages long, which surprised Xu Nuo.

Li Xian's grandfather, Ke Chongshan, did not approve of his daughter Ke Wei marrying Li Chengyan. After that incident, Ke Chongshan disowned his daughter and didn't even care about Ke Wei's pregnancy and deportation.

Now that Li Chengyan and Ke Wei have passed away, Ke Chongshan is still bothering to pay attention to this matter, simply to clear his name.

The father of a bad element brought him shame for decades.

"So many!" Xu Nuo held them in her hand and examined them closely, becoming more and more surprised.

The letter detailed the whole story, including that the notebook used as evidence had been retrieved and the results would be available soon. What Xu Nuo found most strange was the many words of concern in the letter: "Li Xian, Lu County is in the south, right? It's a humid coastal town in the south, and the winters must be unbearably cold. Although summer has arrived, please take care of yourself."

Xu Nuo felt increasingly uneasy.

Given Ke Chongshan's attitude towards Li Xian, how could he write something like this?

Li Xian held her in his arms, his gaze falling on her slightly furrowed brows. His eyes dimmed for a moment. His status was indeed suffocating. How wronged she must feel being with someone like him.

Xu Nuo's gaze lingered on Ke Chongshan at the end for a moment before she suddenly asked, "What kind of person is your mother?"

Li Xian's gaze pierced through the dim light, recalling Ke Wei's appearance.

The mother he remembered and the photos his father left behind were completely different people.

Although the photo had yellowed, the woman in it, arm in arm with Li Chengyan, laughing radiantly and joyfully, still made Xu Nuo exclaim, "Li Xian, your mother is so beautiful."

Ke Weisheng's beauty is the kind that is flamboyant and domineering. She is 1.7 meters tall, wearing a black wool coat, a Western-style hat, and light makeup. She is stunning.

But the Ke Wei in Li Xian's memory was completely different.

...

In the spring of 1959, Li Xian was four years old.

Although children from poor families mature early and have to carry baskets to help their families cut pig feed and dig wild vegetables at a very young age, they still retain the innocence and joy of childhood. During breaks from work, they can roll around in the mud and laugh with their friends for an entire afternoon.

Four-year-old Li Xian rarely smiles or speaks.

Only when Li Chengyan and Ke Wei spoke to him would his wary eyes reveal a childlike bewilderment.

"Qingzhou, you're such a good girl."

Ke Wei held him in her arms, calling his courtesy name over and over again. Li Chengyan was a scholar, and even after having a child, he followed the scholar's way of naming him and giving him a courtesy name.

Li Qingzhou.

Li Chengyan hoped that he could be like a light boat, surviving the turbulent river and growing up safely.

That day, Ke Wei was very weak. Her once proud and beautiful face was now withered and faded. Li Xian felt uneasy and asked Ke Wei, "Mom, are you alright?"

Ke Wei touched it with her rough hand and smiled: "Very good, Mom is very good. Qingzhou, you're having a hard time right now, aren't you?"

A four-year-old child already knows what suffering is: not being able to sleep peacefully at night.

He was most afraid of hearing the sound of the courtyard gate being opened at night.

In Li Xian's memory, Ke Wei wore tattered coarse clothes, worked before dawn, her body was ragged, and her face was ashen.

But Ke Wei would often say to him, "Qingzhou, it's tough right now, Mom knows, but you have to believe that everything will get better someday. Remember, your parents aren't bad people."

It wasn't until Ke Wei died that Li Chengyan took him up the mountain.

That night, Li Xian would never forget.

The back mountain is cold and dark, and no villager would dare to come up alone because there are wild beasts in the mountain that would eat people.

Li Chengyan and Li Xian sat on the mountain all night. Perhaps it was fate that allowed them to live, because when dawn broke, Li Xian opened his eyes and found himself sleeping peacefully next to Li Chengyan.

Li Chengyan had tear stains on his face, but a glimmer of light seemed to have returned to his eyes. He stroked Li Xian's head and said, "Qingzhou, you have to persevere. We all have to persevere. Only by living can we wait for that day."

Xu Nuo leaned against him, her eyes brimming with tears, her little nose twitching, looking very sad.

Li Xian felt a pang in his heart, gently wiping away her tears, his forehead pressed against hers: "Nuonuo, don't cry."

He always thought he was unfortunate, but in fact he was incredibly fortunate.

Such a person appeared in my life.

It was like light shining into the darkness, sweeping away the gloom that had accumulated in his heart.

...

Xu Nuo was depressed after hearing about Li Xian's experience last night, and she didn't know when she fell asleep.

When Li Xian woke up in the morning, he hadn't opened his eyes yet.

Li Xian's sleeping posture is much better than hers. He sleeps quietly and properly, in the same position he was in before falling asleep.

Afraid of waking her, Xu Nuo didn't move, staring at his handsome features, feeling a pang of pity in her heart.

Her fingertips lightly touched his eyebrows, sketching them lightly, and then brushed against his stiff eyelashes. Li Xian was extremely alert, and his eyelashes trembled slightly.

She met a pair of unfathomable black eyes, still slightly drowsy, perhaps from just waking up.

Li Xian hugged her tighter, gently placing his large hand on her head and stroking her hair. His voice was hoarse as he asked, "Nuonuo, why are you awake?"

It was only a little past eight o'clock. Xu Nuo usually slept until ten o'clock and stayed in bed, unwilling to get up.

Her voice was soft: "I want to make breakfast."

"Hmm?" Li Xian was taken aback, thinking that Xu Nuo was hungry. He gently pinched her soft little face, spoiling her rotten: "What do you want to eat? I'll make it."

Xu Nuo shook her head. She wasn't hungry; she just suddenly had the urge to make breakfast for Li Xian.

Well, she decided to make him a loving breakfast.

Xu Nuo smiled with her eyes narrowed, then sat up abruptly: "I'll cook, you sleep here. I'll wake you up when I'm done."

She excitedly tried to climb out of bed, but Li Xian pulled her back and made her lie back down. He then got up, found his shoes and put them on, saying gently, "The stove is not good for starting a fire, you can't touch it, I'll do it."

Xu Nuo grabbed his arm and shook her head like a rattle drum.

"No, I'll do it."

She got up and pulled him back onto the bed: "You lie down and sleep, I'll do it myself."

She had never cooked before, only watched Li Xian start the fire and cook, so she figured she could definitely do it herself.

Li Xian hadn't even let her wipe the table, so why would he let her cook?

The two discussed who should cook for almost ten minutes before Xu Nuo pouted and said, "I'll cook."

Li Xian shook his head: "No, it's too dangerous. I'll do it."

Everyone meant well, but in the end, they just couldn't reach a consensus.

Xu Nuo was a little temperamental. She broke free from his embrace, pouted, and didn't want to talk to him. Her face was full of unhappiness.

Li Xian couldn't bear to see her angry, so he reached out to pull her up, but the little darling knelt up and crawled to the foot of the bed to sit down.

She left him with only a huffing back and a spoiled "Hmph."

It was as if they wouldn't give up until they got her to make breakfast.

Her appearance was not only harmless, but also made people's hearts melt, and they only wanted to hold her in the palm of their hands and pluck the stars and the moon from her if they wanted them.

He would give Li Xian his life, even if it meant sacrificing it for her.

Li Xian's eyes were full of helpless smiles as he stood up, opened the door, and walked out.

Xu Nuo, who was waiting for someone to coax her, was stunned. She glanced at the closed door, her fingertips tangling together, and she lowered her head blankly.

My eyes are feeling uncontrollably sore.

That stinky Li Xian, he won't let her make breakfast, and when he makes her angry, he doesn't even try to coax her. Does he think she's the one who wants to cook for her?

This is infuriating!

A short while later, the door was pushed open, and Li Xian returned. Xu Nuo had a cold face and didn't speak to him.

Li Xian didn't notice anything amiss. He walked over to Xu Nuo and squatted down. Because he was tall, he was almost the same height as Xu Nuo when she was kneeling. He folded the wrung-out towel in half and said in a low voice, "Nuonuo, wash your face, and I'll take you to cook, okay?"

He held up a towel to wash her face, but she turned her face away and avoided him.

Li Xian paused, his hand holding the towel still, a sharp pain shooting through his heart. His usually cold and hard face showed utter helplessness, and his lips moved slightly: "Nuonuo..."

Xu Nuo remained silent.

Li Xian's long eyelashes trembled, and his lips were pressed tightly together.

He placed the towel aside, looked at her, and said cautiously, "Nuonuo, let's not wash anymore. Let's go cook, okay?"

His tone was so tolerant and cautious that Xu Nuo's eyes suddenly reddened, her big eyes filled with tears, making her look incredibly pitiful.

Li Xian felt a pang of pain in his eyes and quickly reached out to hug her, as gently as if embracing a feather, his voice filled with self-reproach and regret: "Nuonuo, I'm sorry, it's my fault, I'm so bad."

Xu Nuo sniffed, finally unable to hold back any longer. She blinked her big eyes, and tears streamed down her face.

Li Xian was most afraid of her crying; when she cried, he felt his heart break: "I'm sorry, Nuonuo, it's my fault, it's all my fault..."

Xu Nuo let out a sob, feeling wronged, and suddenly said, "You just went out."

Li Xian was taken aback.

Li Xian just went out to wring out a towel for her. Because Xu Nuo is very clean, the first thing she does every morning is to wash her face. He was thinking that after she washed her face, he would take her to the kitchen to cook.

He also went to the kitchen and moved all the dangerous-looking items from the stove.

Seeing her crying like that, Li Xian's heart ached, and he nodded haphazardly, "Yes, I shouldn't have gone out."

As for why it shouldn't be done, the straight-laced man who only thought about making people stop crying didn't even consider it.

Xu Nuo sniffed, her watery eyes looking at him intently.

"Li Xian, you couldn't have gone out just now because I was angry. If I'm angry, you have to comfort me. You can't leave me here alone, waaaaaaah..."

Xu Nuo was spoiled growing up.

Although she has a delicate personality, she is by no means domineering. What she hates most is passive-aggressive behavior and giving the cold shoulder.

Xu Nuo has a cousin named Luo Zhen who is two years older than her. Xu Nuo calls Luo Zhen's husband her cousin-in-law.

She had witnessed the two of them arguing more than once. It was something that could be resolved in just a few words, but Xu Nuo's cousin-in-law would always slam the door and leave, only to return a while later as if nothing had happened. Luo Zhen would then wipe away her tears and hide all her unhappiness in her heart.

But whether it has truly disappeared or ceased to exist, only Luo Zhen himself knows.

…

The person in my arms sobbed, "You just left, I...I thought...you were angry and didn't want to talk to me..."

Li Xian hadn't expected his actions to cause her misunderstanding. He felt both pained and ashamed, his eyes filled with anxiety. He cupped her face in his hands and said, "Nuonuo, I'm not angry with you."

“When we argue, you can’t…you can’t leave me behind, you can’t go do other things first, you can’t leave me to process it on my own. If you leave me alone, I’ll start overthinking. I’ll wonder if you’re angry, if you don’t like me anymore, if you find me annoying, and then I’ll feel really bad.”

You'll be very disappointed.

Disappointment, if it accumulates for too long, may become the fuse for tragedy. Or, like Luo Zhen, one may learn to wipe away one's own tears and then act as if nothing happened, just like others do.

Xu Nuo was unwilling; she couldn't bear the slightest grievance.

Having made things clear, she knew that Li Xian wasn't giving her a hard time. With her grievances gone, she couldn't even cry anymore.

Tears fell on my face, and it felt a little itchy.

She scratched her cheek with her fingertip.

His slightly thicker fingertips gently grasped hers, with a slight tremor.

A barely perceptible red tinge appeared at the corner of his eye: "Nuonuo, I'm sorry."