Chapter 18 (Too Close)

Pei Wu seemed to have returned to the chaotic and noisy world of his former home, which he used to find unbearable, but now he suddenly felt that there was a sense of life there.

Besides the unidentified liquid on the soles of the shoes.

Pei Wu and the chick stared at each other for a moment. The chick keenly sensed the danger, turned its tail, and quickly ran away.

The chick was so small that it ran wobbly and its fluffy tail swayed back and forth. Pei Wu originally didn't want to bother with it, but then it squeezed into the courtyard gate and, with its tiny body, slipped through the crack in the door.

Pei Wu was stunned for a moment before he remembered to chase after them. He opened the courtyard gate, but the chicks had already run away and were running towards the distant fields.

Pei Wu hurriedly caught up and bent down to pick up the chick, but the chick swayed and ran into someone's field.

Now, Pei Wu was completely helpless against it. He couldn't chase it into the field, as that would trample the crops.

Pei Wu could only walk along the edge of the field, his eyes following the yellow figure. He could only wait for the chick to jump onto the edge before he could catch it.

But the chick seemed to see right through him and just wouldn't come up.

Pei Wu chased after it for a long time, and just as the chick was about to get close to the edge, he bent down to catch it, but missed.

He clearly touched the chick's downy feathers, but it still slipped away.

Pei Wu sighed helplessly, not knowing what to do, when a voice suddenly came from afar: "Pei Wu, what are you doing there? I found that one of the chickens is missing."

Jiang Ru stood at the courtyard gate, her face contorted in distress, her gaze constantly searching the ground.

Pei Wu felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and quickly pointed to the field beside him, telling Jiang Ru, "It has hidden inside, I can't catch it."

After saying that, Jiang Ru ignored him completely and turned back to her courtyard.

Pei Wu stood helplessly in place, wanting to go back but afraid that the chick would run away, so he could only continue to follow closely. Before long, Jiang Ru came out again.

She held a basin in her hand, tapped it a few times, and called out a few times. The chicks that had been wandering around in the field suddenly perked up and clumsily twisted their bodies to run towards Jiang Ru.

Pei Wu stared blankly at the scene before him, shuffling back along with the chicks. He remembered that his family used to keep chickens, and they would come running whenever he called them a few times after he brought them food. He had been so confused that he had forgotten that.

Jiang Ru was feeding the chickens in the yard. Two chicks were eating cornmeal around a basin. When Pei Wu approached, she mocked him mercilessly: "What's wrong with you? You can't even catch a chicken and you've gotten yourself into this mess."

Pei Wu had only casually tied his hair when he got up, and after chasing after them for a while, he was now quite disheveled, with messy hair and muddy feet.

Hearing Jiang Ru's mockery, he seemed annoyed and lowered his head. He was embarrassed by his disheveled appearance and the fact that he had become a laughingstock.

Pei Wu hurriedly tidied his hair. He always tied his hair casually, just with a hemp rope. However, it wasn't appropriate to tie it in front of Jiang Ru, so he went back inside first.

After a long while, Pei Wu came out of the house. By then, the two chicks had finished eating and were patrolling the yard.

Jiang Ru had finished washing up and was starting a fire to cook rice at the stove.

Pei Wu walked over and stood aside, saying, "We will have guests today."

Jiang Ru made way for him. Since Pei Wu had specifically mentioned it, the person who came must have something important to discuss. She thought for a moment and asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

“No need,” Pei Wu explained. “We don’t need to do anything. We’re just telling you in advance so you won’t feel uncomfortable. If you don’t like it, we’ll stay inside and won’t let you run into each other.”

"What's the big deal?" Jiang Ru waved her hand. "I'm not going to eat people, you don't need to hide from me."

Pei Wu seemed afraid that Jiang Ru would say something against him. After receiving Jiang Ru's permission, he relaxed a little and took over Jiang Ru's work of tending the fire.

This morning, the chicks successfully escaped, so Jiang Ru had to make them a new cage. This cage was also made of bamboo strips. There was only a little bit of bamboo left from the last time, which wasn't enough, so Jiang Ru went to get an axe, said goodbye to Pei Wu, and went to cut bamboo.

She did whatever she wanted, and Pei Wu couldn't keep up with her in time. To make matters worse, there was still porridge on the stove, and the fire was already burning, so it wasn't convenient for him to leave.

Pei Wu had seen Jiang Ru chop bamboo before. Jiang Ru was very skilled, so he tried to relax. Since Jiang Ru didn't call on him, she must be able to handle it herself, which was why she didn't call on him.

Pei Wu continued to heat the porridge in the pot, wisely refraining from chasing after them.

The porridge was almost cooked when Jiang Ru returned, carrying several bamboo stalks in her arms, which she dumped on the ground.

After finishing breakfast, Jiang Ru squatted on the ground and began whittling bamboo. Making cages was difficult, troublesome, and time-consuming.

Jiang Ru carefully divided the bamboo into several thin strips. Pei Wu watched for a while and was eager to try it himself.

Jiang Ru thought he was clumsy and didn't want to give it to him, but she hadn't done it in a long time, and accidentally pricked a small splinter on her finger.

The thorn was stuck deep, and only the head could be vaguely seen. Jiang Ru tried to squeeze it with her fingernail a couple of times, but couldn't get it out.

Pei Wu also paid attention to her hand, turned around and got a needle, and asked her to pick out the thorn. With the needle, the thorn was quickly picked out, and Pei Wu didn't let her touch the bamboo anymore.

In the following time, under Jiang Ru's guidance, Pei Wu also successfully stuck a few thorns into his own fingers.

The bamboo splinter was very small and hard to see once it went into the finger. Pei Wu tried to pick it out for a long time, but there was still one splinter left on his index finger.

Jiang Ru couldn't stand it anymore and leaned closer to take a look: "Where is it? Let me see."

She was almost a head shorter than Pei Wu, and suddenly leaned over, looking down to examine Pei Wu's hands closely. To get a better look, she stood very close, her face almost touching Pei Wu's clothes.

Her profile was beautiful, with a few strands of hair clinging to her temples, and her double buns were cute and clever. Because of the sun, there were faint beads of sweat on her forehead. At this moment, her large eyes were staring intently at Pei Wu's hand.

Pei Wu reacted for a moment before taking a few steps back in shock. He had been holding a needle in one hand, about to pry it in, but Jiang Ru startled him, and he accidentally stuck it in a little.

With this prick, bright red blood gushed out, forming a droplet on the finger.

Jiang Ru was baffled: "Are you out of your mind? Why are you stabbing yourself for no reason?"

Pei Wu's ears turned bright red, and he could only futilely try to explain, "Why are you standing so close?"

This made it seem like Jiang Ru was in the wrong. Jiang Ru retorted, "I just wanted to see how your hands were, what's wrong with that?"

Pei Wu was speechless after hearing her words, and stubbornly stared back at Jiang Ru.

After a while, Jiang Ru had no choice but to give in and fetched water to call him over to wash his wound.

Pei Wu knew he was in the wrong, so he shuffled over and reached out his hand. Jiang Ru took a ladle and scooped up a ladle of water to rinse Pei Wu's wound.

The blood droplets were washed away, but more blood kept gushing out. When Jiang Ru saw that it was almost washed away, she took out a handkerchief and asked Pei Wu to press it against his fingers.

She carried her own handkerchief with her. Pei Wu was silent for a moment, then reached into his pocket, only to find that he didn't have a handkerchief.

In the instant he hesitated, Jiang Ru had already placed the handkerchief on his hand. She didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all; instead, she thought Pei Wu was stupid. She said, "Press it down to stop the bleeding. How could you be so silly?"

The handkerchief was already in his hand, and Pei Wu couldn't very well throw it back. He could only hold it in his hand and tell Jiang Ru clearly, "I'll return the handkerchief to you once it's washed clean."

Jiang Ru didn't care much: "What's the big deal? You don't have to wash it."

"You have to wash it." Pei Wu looked at her seriously and said, "You absolutely have to wash it."

Jiang Ru: "...Okay, you wash."

She discovered that Pei Wu was so stubborn that not even ten donkeys could pull him back, and he always had a lot of his own little schemes, which were inexplicable.

Pei Wu's hand was pricked, and the thorn hadn't been removed yet. He was struggling to remove it alone under the sunlight. Jiang Ru couldn't bear to watch and kindly asked him, "Do you need help?"

Pei Wu shook his head, indicating that he did not need it.

Okay, Jiang Ru won't ask anymore.

Pei Wu worked hard for a long time and finally managed to pick out that stubborn thorn. Jiang Ru gave him a perfunctory clapping and continued making a cage for the chicks.

She also makes mistakes, but not as easily as Pei Wu. It took her all morning to barely manage to put the cage together.

Jiang Ru also cut down a large bamboo to make a food bowl for the chicks, which was just right.

It was almost noon, and lunchtime was approaching. Pei Wu had mentioned that his guests would be arriving in the afternoon, so they needed to prepare something to entertain them.

Pei Wu said he wanted to steam some buns. He acted quickly, immediately preparing the tools and starting to knead the dough. Jiang Ru also helped to chop the filling. Before long, the buns were steamed.

In the quiet courtyard, everything was in perfect order. Jiang Ru sat to the side, watching the white smoke rising slowly from the pot, and vaguely sensed something.

The guest who is coming is probably very close to Pei Wu, which is why Pei Wu specially served them steamed buns. When Jiang Ru came, he also brought out the cured meat from his home.

Jiang Ru couldn't sit still any longer and asked, "Who is this guest you're talking about?"

If she were Pei Wu's relative, Jiang Ru felt she might need to go into hiding. After all, she had only vaguely mentioned a cousin and hadn't told Pei Wu that she was actually a very distant relative. If they met, wouldn't she be exposed on the spot?

Although they are indeed related by blood, it seems like a forced connection, and it just doesn't feel right. What if she and Pei Wu are stirred up again and develop a rift?

She asked the question, staring nervously at Pei Wu, who replied, "Classmate."

Jiang Ru breathed a sigh of relief. If it was a classmate, then there was nothing to worry about. Classmates wouldn't ask too many questions, and naturally they wouldn't ask about their kinship. Jiang Ru was relieved.

Besides steamed buns, Pei Wu also prepared two side dishes. Not long after the food was served, a person walked over from a distance along the road.

The man was wearing a blue cloth shirt, his hair was tied up with a ribbon, he wore cloth shoes, and he carried a bag on his back. He was walking towards them step by step.

Jiang Ru looked closely, then silently took two steps back.

She glanced hesitantly at Pei Wu, then looked closely at the newcomer, and hesitated to speak.

Pei Wu sensed that she had something to say, so he asked, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Ru: "..."

It's a strange coincidence, yet also quite bizarre, but somehow understandable, because Jiang Ru had met this person before.

This was the same Mr. Shuqi she had met at the market last time, when there seemed to have been some misunderstanding. Jiang Ru silently took another step back.

A note from the author:

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