The two walked forward in silence, neither of them spoke, nor did they show any intention of stopping.

Zhang Fangyuan gritted his teeth and secretly regretted that he clearly didn't drink any alcohol today, so why did he act like a drunk? What nonsense he is talking about. He is just so happy to see you that he has lost his mind.

Who would hold someone else's hand before getting married?

Xu He didn't say anything for a long time, and he felt even more unsure. Xu He wouldn't think that he was the kind of person who acted recklessly, right? He coughed dryly: "I'm not actually..."

Before he could finish his words, his lips closed and the little finger and ring finger of his right hand felt warm and were gently grasped.

Zhang Fangyuan's old face turned slightly red, and his breathing quickened for a moment. When he reacted, he quickly grabbed Xu He's tentative hand into his own.

Xu He is a tall young man, but he still looks very small in front of him. It’s like his fingers are very long, but Zhang Fangyuan’s big palm can still cover them completely.

The two fell into silence again, closely feeling the body temperature from each other's touching hands, with the corners of their mouths slightly raised, and their eyes softer than the moonlight.

Xu He suddenly asked, "Is my hand hard to hold?"

"Ah?" Zhang Fangyuan was confused: "How could it be?" He wished it could be welded onto his hand.

"I have a lot of calluses on my hands, they're not soft at all."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fangyuan gently touched Xu He's palm with his fingers. His fingertips indeed scratched a few hard calluses, but the touch made him distracted.

"I won't let you do so much work in the future. I will take good care of you."

Xu He paused, then murmured with a smile: "We grew up in this family, how can you still control our family affairs?"

Zhang Fangyuan stopped suddenly. Although he didn't want to let go of Xu He's hand, he let go of it first. He took out a handkerchief from his chest and slowly opened it. The bracelet shone silver in the moonlight.

"I asked you out today just to give you this."

He pulled Xu He's right hand and put the bracelet on his wrist.

Xu He felt a cool touch. The cold silver bracelet had been on Zhang Fangyuan's chest for who knows how long and had been infected with his body temperature. This thing is expensive. It's so big, at least three or four taels. It feels heavy even when it's hung on the wrist. Xu He panicked: "This is too expensive. I can't..."

“This is what my mother left behind.”

Xu He was completely confused: "What do you mean by this!?"

"I want to go to your house to propose marriage!"

Zhang Fangyuan spoke out his true feelings anxiously. He stopped Xu He from pulling out the bracelet and interrupted his refusal.

“…”

"You, you want to marry me?"

Zhang Fangyuan quickly said: "Of course!"

Xu He was overwhelmed with emotions and suddenly lowered his eyes: "You really want to get married, so you chose me..."

Zhang Fangyuan was a little anxious when he heard this: "I really want to get married, but I didn't come to you because I wanted to get married. It's you who made me want to get married."

Xu He didn't say anything. Zhang Fangyuan was anxious: "Have I made myself clear? Can you understand what I mean?"

"Why……"

"I'm holding your hand, so of course I want to marry you!"

What Zhang Fangyuan said was a matter of course.

"Why me?" Xu He looked at Zhang Fangyuan: "Is it because you can't marry my second sister?"

"I want to marry you because I like you! It has nothing to do with your second sister." Zhang Fangyuan was angry when he heard this. Everyone only saw Xu Shaochun making Xu He like this. He had to explain patiently: "At first, I really wanted to get married as soon as possible, so I asked the matchmaker to propose marriage, and then I went to the Guang family. Later, I knew I liked you, so I thought about finding something serious to do so that I could go to the Xu family to propose marriage."

Xu He seemed to be shocked, or he seemed to be thinking about the truthfulness of what Zhang Fangyuan said, so he didn't say anything.

Zhang Fangyuan was in a mess. Silence was even more unbearable than a direct refusal: "Am I too anxious to scare you? It's my fourth uncle. He said that if you like someone, you should let them know your feelings. I was too anxious... I was too anxious..."

Xu He's expression did not change, but he felt a warmth in his heart, and his eyes reflected his emotions: "Why... do you like me?" He knew that such a question was too vulgar, but... he was different from others, he really wanted to know why.

"I've thought about this, but I don't know why. Maybe I had different thoughts when I first saw you when I arrived at your house."

"It could also be that you told me that a thief wanted to take my things, or... when no one believed that the Guang family was a thief, you didn't need to say anything, but you still made excuses for me..."

There were too many, he wiped his own blood and tied his hands... They were like two people in a vast crowd who were not noticed by anyone, and then they saw each other.

Zhang Fangyuan answered all of Xu He's questions, but his own question had not been answered yet. He was anxious and shook Xu He's hand: "You haven't told me yet, is it okay? If not, I can wait a little longer."

"good."

"What did you say?"

"I said yes!"

Xu He was very confused, but he couldn't help but agree. He was so straightforward that even he was surprised.

Zhang Fangyuan laughed out loud, then started to grumble again: "Then I'll go back and tell my aunt to come with me to your house to propose marriage. Now I know what to buy for the proposal, it will be quick."

Xu He listened to him mumbling and felt that he seemed to be eager to come tomorrow. He regained some of his rationality and hurriedly stopped him: "We have to wait until my second sister's marriage is settled. Don't be in a hurry now."

Zhang Fangyuan knew the situation of the Xu family and didn't want to make Xu He feel awkward at home, but he didn't want to wait any longer: "If your second sister doesn't like them for a long time, then it will delay our marriage."

The word "marriage" made Xu He feel a little embarrassed, but he still tried to be calm and said, "My family has chosen the Fei family. After the college entrance examination, the Fei family will come to arrange the engagement. It won't take more than two months."

"Your second sister and Fei Lian?"

"Um."

Zhang Fangyuan heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this. This sentence solved the two worries in his heart: "That's great! I will go back and make preparations. You don't have to worry about anything. Just wait at home for me to come and marry you."

Xu He pursed his lips, as if his whole body was hot, and nodded. Then, he took off the bracelet on his wrist and said, "I can't take this back. Wearing this headband today has caused my second sister to complain. If I take it back, it might end up in my mother's hands."

Zhang Fangyuan held the bracelet and said, "But this is what my mother left for my daughter-in-law. You have to accept it."

"For now, I have already received it. Please keep it for now and give it to me later."

Zhang Fangyuan was satisfied when he heard this. He carefully wrapped the bracelet in a handkerchief and put it back. Fortunately, the bracelet was not redeemed in vain: "Then I will give it to you when we get married."

The two returned to silence, walking slowly and aimlessly. The fragrance of wild flowers brought by the evening breeze seemed to be even stronger.

After a while, Xu He said softly, "I can't be out for too long."

Both of them were reluctant to part, but this small gathering was not a long-term solution, so they had to be patient and there would be plenty of time to get together again.

"Okay, I'll walk you outside your house."

Xu He refused because there were many people outside today.

"Then come find me if you have any problems in the future. When you go to the city, wait for me on the roadside and take my car. Tell me what you want to buy and I will buy it for you. If anyone bullies you, tell me..." Zhang Fangyuan said a lot of things in a rambling way, and suddenly grabbed Xu He's hand: "Did you hear me?"

Xu He was already somewhat accustomed to his sometimes silly and sometimes domineering appearance, and agreed: "I heard it."

Zhang Fangyuan followed Xu He's instructions and did not walk him too far. After they left Haitang Bay, they watched him go towards his home. He stood there for a long time, like a man waiting for his wife.

Everyone had left, but he was still too excited to control himself and suddenly jumped up high. I guess he would toss and turn in bed all night and couldn't sleep.

He walked around in circles for a long time before he remembered that he should go back. Just as he was about to leave, he heard intermittent sounds.

"I'll give you one more kiss, just one."

"Didn't we kiss just now?"

"But I still want to kiss..."

Zhang Fangyuan stood in the dark, looking at two people, one tall and one short, hugging each other and twisting together not far away, his brows furrowed.

“…”

Is this possible?

The silly smile on Zhang Fangyuan's face faded. He felt quite unlucky and coughed in a very unethical manner. He made a noise of walking with big strides, which scared a pair of little mandarin ducks entangled with each other in the distance and separated them immediately.

…………

Before going home, Xu He first looked for ducks and hurried back. His mind was wandering and he was obviously very confused, as if he was confused to the extreme, which led to him having no thoughts and his eyes were dull.

It was a long time later, when he saw the bright lights in his own house, he realized how nervous he was. He was afraid that his mother would come home as soon as his second sister complained about what happened today.

Xu He walked to the door of his yard absentmindedly, and suddenly felt that something seemed wrong at home, as if it was too restless. He hurriedly pushed open the door and went in, then fastened the bolt behind him, fearing that the ducks would run away again.

A voice was heard in the house, and a shouting voice said, "He'er, boil some water! Your father has injured his leg!"

Upon hearing the bad news, Xu He hurriedly dropped the bamboo pole he was using to drive the ducks away and rushed in.

Xu Changren, who had been away for more than half a month, had messy hair. He was lying on the wooden board in the hall. His exposed foot was swollen and there was a lot of blood on the floor. Perhaps due to excessive blood loss, Xu Changren's face was pale and his lips were a little white.

Liu Xianglan, with tears in her eyes, kept wiping Xu Changren's wound with a clean cotton cloth.

“What’s going on!?”

Xu He rushed forward to help, only to learn that his father, who was working as a laborer in another village building a house for a landlord, had fallen from a great height, and was injured all over his body, with his feet covered in blood and flesh being smashed by broken bricks. The landlord did not even hire a doctor. He just paid the doctor’s wages in a hurry and asked two men to carry his father back. He also blamed them for not doing their job well.

At present, Xu Shaochun has already gone to ask for a doctor. There is only one herbalist in their village. His medical skills are very average. He can only treat some colds and may not be able to cure them.

Xu He tried his best to stay calm and went to the kitchen to boil some hot water.

Soon there was movement in the yard again, and Xu Shaochun shouted outside: The herbal doctor is here!

After looking at Xu Changren for a few times in the main hall, the herbalist shook his head. Seeing that the man was seriously injured, he was afraid that if he didn't treat him properly, he would get into trouble.

"I've injured my bones. I need to go to the city to get a doctor."

"But it's so late. How can we go to the city to invite him? Even if we take a ox cart, it's too late!" Liu Xianglan covered her face and cried.

The herbalist said, "There must be someone in the village who has it, go borrow it. I really can't do anything about it. If I don't handle it properly, the leg will become lame. I can't act rashly, I can only stop the bleeding a little."

Liu Xianglan and Xu Shaochun cried in panic and wanted to beg the herbalist for help, but the herbalist had already made it clear.

"Zhang Fangyuan has a horse, which is faster than an ox cart."

Hearing this, Liu Xianglan stopped crying and turned to look at Xu He, who had a cold face: "But why would he borrow a horse?"

After saying this, Liu Xianglan subconsciously set her eyes on Xu Shaochun again, thinking that the boy had been quite concerned about her daughter before. If she asked her daughter to come forward and say a few good words for him, there might be some hope: "Shaochun, your father is like this, how about..."

Xu Shaochun thought of Zhang Fangyuan's fierce and unruly appearance, and subconsciously shrank his head back, biting his lower lip and not answering.

Although Xu He knew that even if Xu Shaochun came, Zhang Fangyuan might not agree, but seeing his second sister still being hesitant at this time, he was also angry: "I'll go."

Liu Xianglan did not stop him, but Xu Shaochun watched the man walk away and chased after him: "He Ge'er, please don't give him any promise for me."

Xu He raised his eyelids: You wish.