Chapter 4 proposes, "How? Just what you heard, literally..."

Five years ago, Qiao Yunzheng and Wen Hong only dated briefly for three months.

After the incident at the tavern, Uncle Zhang kept a closer eye on Qiao Yunzheng, and she rarely had the chance to go out anymore, so she never saw Wen Hong again.

Until one day in April, Qiao Yunzheng accidentally caught a glimpse of a strange tree. In the early spring, the trunk was still somewhat bare, but clusters of purple flowers were blooming riotously on the branches.

She found it intriguing and opened the second-floor window to look out.

It turned out that the branch had grown over from the neighbor's yard.

Qiao Yunzheng peeked out and was caught off guard by a pair of somewhat familiar eyes.

There was a person sitting on the fork of that tree, and without the cover of leaves, the scene looked particularly abrupt.

She was so shocked that her mouth dropped open, and she didn't know what to say for a moment.

His eyes crinkled the moment he saw her. With a purple flower dangling from his mouth, he greeted her indistinctly, "Hi, long time no see."

Qiao Yunzheng couldn't understand why she felt a surge of joy, so she pointed to the tree and asked, "What's that?"

Wen Hong released her mouth, and the purple flower floated down: "You mean this tree? This is a purple-flowered paulownia, which we also call a tung tree here."

He then casually picked a flower and tore off its green calyx: "Look, there's nectar here, it's very sweet."

As he spoke, he casually grabbed a handful and threw it at her.

Purple flowers scattered, but only one landed squarely in Qiao Yunzheng's palm.

Uncle Zhang was just coming out from the first floor when a few flowers landed on his sparsely haired head. He reached out and brushed the fallen flowers away, muttering, "This tree needs pruning. It's growing all over here, and the smell isn't good. It'll be bad if Xiaozheng has another allergic reaction..." He looked up and saw Qiao Yunzheng smiling brightly, so he smiled back, "Xiaozheng's awake?"

Qiao Yunzheng felt a sense of panic, as if she had been caught red-handed. She gave a haphazard reply, gestured for Wen Hong to be quiet, and quickly closed the window.

Wen Hong remained leaning there in the same position. Seeing the window close, he suddenly lost interest and climbed down from the tree in a few steps.

Later, Qiao Yunzheng ran into Wen Hong at the door several more times and learned that he lived in the courtyard next door and worked at that small tavern. In the eyes of others, he was a decent-looking but somewhat unreliable young man.

Besides Wen Hong, there was also an elegant old lady living in the next courtyard. The old lady had a kind face and it was not hard to tell that she was a beautiful and elegant woman when she was young. But such a person would often be so angry with Wen Hong that she would jump up and down and chase him all over the yard to beat him without caring about her image.

Whenever this happens, Uncle Zhang would frown disapprovingly and express his disapproval and regret for this "troublesome child." At the end, he would also praise Qiao Yunzheng in a comparative way: "Our little Zheng is still the best."

Qiao Yunzheng just smiled; in fact, she didn't agree with Uncle Zhang's statement.

She even felt a little envious of the lively and vibrant life that the grandmother and grandson shared.

The stereotype of "yellow-haired young man" was especially deeply ingrained in Uncle Zhang's mind. Whenever they met at the door, he would grab Qiao Yunzheng and leave quickly, afraid that his young lady would have any contact with the young man.

But Wen Hong just couldn't resist teasing her.

Qiao Yunzheng had very fair skin, a sickly kind of fair. Even in April, she would still be bundled up tightly when she went out, taking great care in every aspect of her life, like a delicately packaged porcelain doll.

Every time Wen Hong saw her, she ignored Uncle Zhang's murderous glare and waved to her calmly: "Hi! Good morning! Good... child."

Qiao Yunzheng ignored the teasing in his words, pretended to be indifferent, glanced at him without responding, and then obediently left with Uncle Zhang.

She often saw Wen Hong in the sunlight in the car's rearview mirror, a smile on his face, as if he knew she was watching him, raising his eyebrows in the direction of the car.

He always exuded a free-spirited, flamboyant, and passionate energy.

Like the purple paulownia flowers blooming in early spring, some people don't like its smell, but Qiao Yunzheng thinks it's very fragrant and special.

Later, seeing that she was really obedient and didn't come into contact with any shady people, Uncle Zhang gradually lowered his guard and even encouraged her to take advantage of the warm weather to go out and about.

Qiao Yunzheng then went to the tavern again.

She found a corner spot and listened to the boy, who was covered in jingling and clanging sounds, playing music.

She didn't dare drink any more alcohol, only ordered a glass of warm water, and quietly watched and listened.

Wen Hong had seen her early on, and after the performance ended, he strode over and sat down next to her, looking at her teasingly: "You came to see me?"

Qiao Yunzheng blinked and nodded in agreement: "Yes."

“Not bad,” Wen Hong smiled brightly, “this time you didn’t pretend you didn’t know me.”

He was referring to the fact that Qiao Yunzheng would always act aloof and not greet him whenever they met at the door.

Qiao Yunzheng bit her lip, thinking about how to explain the matter, but Wen Hong seemed not to care, and just mentioned it casually.

He suddenly grabbed her wrist: "Interested? Want to give it a try?"

He noticed early on that she kept staring at the instruments on the stage, so he tried to lead her there.

Qiao Yunzheng's gaze fell on the spot where he was holding her hand. His hand was large and strong, full of vitality, a stark contrast to her pale, bloodless skin.

She blinked, and inexplicably didn't refuse.

Wen Hong led her to sit down in front of the drum set and placed the drumsticks in her hands: "Want to try?"

Qiao Yunzheng shook her head in confusion: "I don't know how."

"Just fight a little, what's there to be afraid of? It's not like I'm asking you to put on a concert."

Qiao Yunzheng was moved by his words and picked up the drumsticks to randomly strike the pile of cymbals of varying heights. The sound was chaotic and even jarring, but she felt a strange sense of pleasure emanating from her body.

She couldn't help but smile, her eyes crinkling into a wide grin.

Wen Hong wasn't startled by the noise, nor did he stop her. He rested his chin on his hand, turning his head slightly to look at her: the girl was so fair she seemed to glow, and the overhead light shone on her, making even the fine downy hairs on her face clearly visible. He could even see happiness dancing on the girl's long, curled eyelashes.

They met more and more frequently.

At first, he just explored some novel musical instruments and drinking utensils in the tavern, but later he simply left the main street and ran to the waterside and mountains outside the town.

As the weather got hotter, he even took her wading in streams to catch fish and climbing mountains to watch the sunrise.

She was curious about everything, like a child who had never experienced the world.

Wen Hong asked her curiously, "How come you've never seen anything before? You're like a child."

Qiao Yunzheng lowered her eyes and said vaguely, "That's right, there's not much of a chance to see each other."

Remembering Uncle Zhang's unapproachable expression, Wen Hong understood and laughed at her, "Because of poor health? I feel like you're throwing the baby out with the bathwater."

Qiao Yunzheng felt the same way, but at that time, she had no strong excuse to resist.

"Then you can come with me. I'll take you hiking and jogging, and get some exercise. Maybe you'll get better gradually."

After getting to know her for a while, Wen Hong became increasingly interested in her.

She seems well-behaved, obedient, and docile—a perfect child—but she can always do things that completely surprise you.

Wen Hong lifted her up to the top of a tall tree to enjoy the breeze.

He had a paulownia flower dangling from his mouth, and looked at her sideways: "My dear child, if you keep playing around with me like this every day, won't your family blame me when they see you again for leading such a good child astray?"

The light purple paulownia flower resembled a delicate little trumpet. Qiao Yunzheng imitated Wen Hong, tearing off the calyx at the base of the trumpet and licking it with her tongue.

She smiled, her eyes crinkling, and glanced at Wen Hong sideways: "You think too highly of yourself."

"Little liar," Wen Hong muttered under his breath, but the smile on his lips deepened.

He stared at her for a long time, then abruptly called her name: "Hey! Qiao Yunzheng."

Qiao Yunzheng was somewhat surprised. Usually, he would call her "good girl" in a teasing tone, but this was the first time he had called her that so seriously.

"What's wrong?"

Wen Hong suddenly looked away, put her hands behind her head, hid the warmth of her ears in the crook of her arms, and asked nonchalantly, "Want to be friends with me?"

Qiao Yunzheng, confused, said, "That's us!"

Wen Hong chuckled softly and said, "What I mean is, how about an adult relationship?"

Even if she was completely naive, Qiao Yunzheng understood what he meant after he said that much.

She's had plenty of confessions of love from childhood to adulthood, but she's never had any romantic feelings for anyone. Firstly, her parents' all-encompassing control, and secondly, the fact that no one has ever caught her eye.

The man before her did not meet the usual standards of a good man, but the passionate and flamboyant qualities he possessed were something she could only dream of.

"What do you like about me?" she asked bluntly.

Wen Hong seemed surprised that she would ask such a question, her eyes widening slightly as she said, "Shouldn't you be asking me? How dare you confess your feelings to me?"

Qiao Yunzheng couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Wen Hong chuckled and said, "Besides, what about you is there that makes you unworthy of my affection? Isn't this perfectly natural?"

What's wrong with liking it?

For the first time, Qiao Yunzheng felt something in her heart being violently struck.

She lowered her head, stroking the flowers in her hand, and whispered, "My father will come to pick me up at the end of summer. I'm only staying here for three months."

"I see..." Wen Hong's mood only dipped for a moment before brightening again. "You just need to tell me, do you want it or not?"

Qiao Yunzheng had forgotten her original intentions. With a smile, she held the paulownia flower in front of her eyes, using it to shield the orange-yellow sun on the horizon, and said, "Okay."

She mimicked his slightly joking tone: "Three months from now, you'll find someone else to play with."

Wen Hong sat up, lowered her eyes, and did not respond to the second half of her sentence.

He laughed heartily, his laughter like a gentle breeze passing through the treetops: "Then it's settled."

Neither of them could have imagined that the end of that relationship would not be as casual as it had been at the beginning, and would even be somewhat unbearable.

Qiao Yunzheng then realized that Wen Hong cared so much about what happened back then that she wanted to retaliate against her in the same way.

What she doesn't understand is where his hatred comes from. To this day, she doesn't believe that she did anything wrong in that relationship.

Ultimately, from beginning to end, the only person who was deceived and taken advantage of in that past affair was Qiao Yunzheng.

Qiao Yunzheng took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions in her heart: "What do you want me to do?"

She guessed his vicious revenge, but she still had to ask.

If this can make him feel better, and if this is the only way to save the Qiao family, then it seems like there's nothing wrong with it for her.

Wen Hong tugged at his collar in frustration and looked up at her: "How do I do it? Just what you heard, literally."

Qiao Yunzheng moved her lips.

The literal meaning.

I couldn't help but clench my fist until my nails dug into my flesh, only then could I barely hold back the tears that were about to fall uncontrollably.

Wen Hong looked at her, and seeing her reaction, his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. Suddenly, he interrupted her again:

"Miss Qiao, there's no need to rush to reject me. I'll give you a few days to consider. We'll have plenty of time in the future."

A note from the author: