"My mom said she saw you go out, and I thought you went back to the county," Song Yueying asked Qi Yanjue while scooping water. "Did you go to the mountains again?"

"I didn't go into the mountains, but I took a bath in the river and washed my clothes. It took some time for the clothes to dry," Qi Yanjue replied.

Song Yueying casually asked, "What are you doing swimming in the river at midday?"

Qi Yanjue had no answer to this. He couldn't very well say that she said he smelled bad, which was why he went to bathe in the river!

Just as she was worrying, Song Yueying stopped scooping water and turned to look at Qi Yanjue, "You...you went to bathe in the river in broad daylight, aren't you afraid of being seen naked!"

Oh dear! She accidentally blurted out what was on her mind.

That's awkward!

Song Yueying dared not look at Qi Yanjue's face again and quickly turned her back.

When Song Yueying said this, Qi Yanjue didn't yet understand what "seeing through the light" meant. But seeing her guilty expression, he guessed the gist of it.

Qi Yanjue's expression stiffened for a moment, and he explained, "I went to a place where no one goes. There are no rice paddies or land there, only jumbled rocks."

"It's right at the foot of the mountain on the other side."

"Isn't it more dangerous to take a bath in a place where no one goes?" Song Yueying's tone was full of disapproval. "What if you accidentally drown and no one comes to save you when you shout for help?"

"I can swim, I won't drown so easily." Qi Yanjue was confident of this.

“There are many reasons for drowning, but it’s not a matter of whether it’s easy or not.” Song Yueying scooped some water and poured it into the wooden basin. “You’ve clearly never heard of this saying.”

"People who drown are usually good swimmers."

"Because only people who can swim go to the river to bathe, or if they see someone fall into the water, they will jump in to save them. People who can't swim don't dare to go into the water easily."

People who drown are usually good swimmers. Qi Yanjue had never heard anyone say this before, but he thought it made a lot of sense.

He walked over to her and put a few peaches from the cloth bag into the basin of water.

She glanced at him sideways, said nothing, and washed the peaches he had put in the basin along with the peaches.

Worried that any remaining peach fuzz might be left, Song Yueying washed the peach very carefully. After washing one peach clean, she looked around for something to put it in.

Qi Yanjue walked to the cupboard, took out a bowl, and placed it in front of Song Yueying. "Put the washed wild peaches in this bowl!"

"Thank you." Song Yueying thanked her with a smile, put the two washed peaches into the bowl, and continued to wash the remaining peaches.

Qi Yanjue stood beside her, watching her carefully wash the wild peaches. He said softly, "I understand what you mean. I won't go into the water so easily in the future."

She said all this because she was worried about him and didn't want him to die for no reason. Since she was so concerned about him, he naturally had to think about her in return.

Qi Yanjue bent down and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, I won't leave without saying goodbye. I'll definitely tell you wherever I go in the future."

Song Yueying was placing the washed peaches into a bowl one by one when she heard Qi Yanjue's words and glanced at him again.

She wanted to say that he didn't actually need to tell her where he was going. But considering that they had both decided not to divorce, she held back.

Song Yueying washed the peach twice before she was satisfied and took a bite. The sweetness spread on her tongue. "Mmm, this peach is so sweet, is it really wild?"

"They're wild." Seeing that she liked them, Qi Yanjue said, "If you like wild peaches, I'll go pick some more this afternoon."

“Okay! I’ll go pick them with you.” Song Yueying nodded repeatedly, and adhering to the principle of not eating alone, she picked up a peach and handed it to Qi Yanjue.

"Here, you should try some, it's really delicious."

Qi Yanjue shook his head and refused, "You eat it, I don't like sweets."

"Fruit isn't considered a dessert, so hurry up and take it," Song Yueying urged.

Qi Yanjue had no choice but to take the peach and eat it.

After finishing one peach, Song Yueying wanted a second one. She reached out and grabbed another peach to eat, while picking up the bowl of peaches with her other hand.

Qi Yanjue said, "Let's go, let's take some peaches to my mom. If she eats such sweet peaches, she might not miss my dad as much."

Although Qi Yanjue thought what she said was unreliable, he still followed her out of the kitchen.

The two walked into the main room together and saw Song's mother sitting at the square table, holding the watch in her hand and looking at it over and over.

His face showed a mixture of joy at regaining what he had lost and sorrow that he could not express.

Song Yueying leaned close to Qi Yanjue and whispered, "Looking at my mother like this, I don't need to guess, she must be missing her deceased husband, who is my father."

The fragrance of wild peaches, mingled with her unique scent, wafted straight to his nose. Qi Yanjue shuddered, an indescribable surge of energy coursing through his body.

His body instantly resembled a fully drawn bow.

Unaware of the change in the people around her, Song Yueying was still chattering away: "Holding the belongings and reminiscing about the deceased's life must be hard to bear."

"At times like these, you need to eat something sweet to ease the bitterness in your heart."

"Don't keep that long face. Smile! A smile is contagious. My mom will definitely feel better if she sees us smiling."

Before Qi Yanjue could even process the twisted logic in her words, Song Yueying had already taken a bowl and walked up to her mother.

"Mom, eat some peaches, they're very sweet." Song Yueying placed the bowl on the square table in front of her mother.

Seeing the resemblance between her daughter and her deceased husband, Song's mother felt much better. Glancing at the peaches in the bowl, she asked, "Where did you get these wild peaches?"

"Qi Yanjue picked them," Song Yueying replied with a smile, pointing in Qi Yanjue's direction.

Seeing her daughter's delighted expression, Song's mother smiled as well. She stood up and gently patted her daughter's arm, saying, "Xiao Qi dotes on you, so you mustn't bully him."

"I didn't bully him," Song Yueying protested, while simultaneously pondering her mother's words. Did Qi Yanjue care for her? She hadn't sensed it.

Qi Yanjue's ears turned red when he heard what Song's mother said.

Song's mother ignored her daughter, who was sometimes clever and sometimes foolish. She handed the recovered watch to Song Yueying, saying, "You can keep it."

“These are your husband’s belongings. Why would I keep them?” Song Yueying shook her head and refused. “If anyone should keep them, it should be you. I don’t want to keep them for you.”

“My husband is your father, so his belongings will naturally be left to you.” Song’s mother glared at her, annoyed. “Besides, you’re not keeping them for me, you’re keeping them for yourself.”

Song Yueying still refused, "I don't want it, you can keep it yourself! You can take it out and look at it when you have nothing to do, and reminisce about the good old days."

"Besides, you dare to let me keep your watch! Aren't you afraid that the watch you finally got back will be tricked away by Song Rumeng again someday?"

Song's mother was taken aback. Thinking of her daughter's previous extravagance, she felt a little like hitting her.

Noticing that her mother's expression was unusual, Song Yueying hid behind Qi Yanjue, looking completely fearless.

Song's mother was amused and annoyed, but at the same time, she was secretly pleased that her daughter had a powerful backer. She couldn't remember how Xiao Qi had treated Xiao Yingzi before, but she felt that things were different now.

Her daughter was right. They had finally gotten the watch back; they couldn't let Song Rumeng trick them again. Putting the watch in her coat pocket, Song's mother reached out and took the bowl of peaches from the table.

"Hey, hey, hey! Mom, where are you taking my peaches?" Song Yueying hurriedly chased after her and asked.

Song's mother did not answer her and went straight to the kitchen.

Song Yueying followed her inside, with Qi Yanjue trailing behind the mother and daughter. A short while later, the three of them returned to the main room, each carrying a bowl, chopsticks, and a soup bowl.

Sitting around the square table, the aroma of chicken soup filled the air. Looking at her daughter and then at her son-in-law, Song's mother felt her eyes inexplicably well up with tears.

This was the scene she had always longed for, and now that her wish had finally come true, she felt happy but also wanted to cry.

Watch as Qi Yanjue took a spoon and a bowl, filled a bowl with chicken soup, and placed it in front of Song's mother.

Qi Yanjue picked up another bowl to fill with chicken soup, and Song Yueying blinked and said, "You can fill your own and Mom's bowls, I'll fill mine myself."

Qi Yanjue raised an eyebrow at her, his expression asking why.

"Why?" Song's mother asked directly.

“I don’t like oily soup,” Song Yueying replied, and then she saw Qi Yanjue carefully skimming the oil off the surface of the soup with a spoon.

Qi Yanjue placed a full bowl of chicken soup in front of her and said, "There's no oil left."

Song Yueying didn't know what to say, but her heart was filled with sweetness. She whispered a thank you. Looking into the bowl, she saw a chicken leg, a chicken wing, and a few pieces of chicken.

Looking again at Song's mother's bowl, there were chicken legs, chicken wings, and a few pieces of chicken meat.

Qi Yanjue's bowl contained chicken feet, wing tips, and a chicken neck, which gave her a jolt. Looking up, she met Song's mother's smiling gaze, and calmly looked away.

With a gentle nudge of her chopsticks, the tender, stewed meat easily separated from the bone. Song Yueying picked up a chicken leg from her bowl, intending to place it in Qi Yanjue's bowl…

Qi Yanjue raised his hand to block her hand, and at the same time moved his own bowl away.

"I don't like chicken legs, I like chicken feet and wing tips." Song Yueying pouted and pointed to his bowl, saying, "They're all in your bowl."

Qi Yanjue said, "Chicken legs have fewer bones, so they're easier to gnaw on."

"I don't like chicken drumsticks because they have a lot of meat on them," Song Yueying said, then added, "I like chicken feet and chicken wings."

Seeing that she was speaking seriously and didn't seem to be refusing, Qi Yanjue could only extend his bowl in front of her, saying, "Put what you don't like in there, and take what you like yourself."

Song Yueying immediately beamed and put the chicken leg and chicken meat into his bowl. Then she took the chicken feet and wing tips from his bowl and put them into her own.

Watching her daughter and son-in-law interact, Song's mother smiled and then her eyes welled up with tears. "You care for me, and I care for you; this is the way a couple should get along."

Her daughter has just as good taste as she does, and has found a good man to entrust her life to.

The three of them were eating braised rice and drinking pheasant soup when a series of urgent and heavy knocks on the door broke the cozy atmosphere inside.

Qi Yanjue frowned suddenly and subconsciously looked towards the door.

Song Yueying and her mother exchanged a glance, understanding forming in each other's eyes. At this time, no one would come to visit, except for that oddball next door.

"Judging from this commotion, it's probably not a good thing," Song's mother said quietly.

“The lesson we just taught them wasn’t enough, that’s why they dared to come back and cause trouble again.” Song Yueying stood up. “You guys eat, I’ll go out and take a look.”

She was going to see what tricks Song Rumeng was up to this time.

Song's mother and Qi Yanjue also stood up.

"I'll go with you."

"I'll go with you."

Song's mother and Qi Yanjue both said in unison that they wanted to go with her.

Song Yueying initially wanted to say no, but remembering her mother's fierce nature, she nodded in agreement. She looked at Qi Yanjue, "Mom and I will go out; you don't need to go."

"Okay." Qi Yanjue knew he couldn't change her mind once she made up her mind, so he could only tell her, "If you encounter any problems that you can't solve, just call me."

“Okay.” Song Yueying readily agreed.

Song's mother walked up to Song Yueying and said, "Little Yingying, you must keep a close eye on things. When I hit people, remember to stay far away and don't get caught up in their misbehavior."

"Mom, don't worry. As soon as you start hitting someone, I'll immediately run far away and I'll make sure those people don't get involved," Song Yueying assured her earnestly.

The mother and daughter talked as they walked toward the door of the main room. Qi Yanjue put down his chopsticks and waited for them to come back before eating.

Just as Song Yueying and her mother stepped out of the main room, an unmistakable knocking sounded at the door again.

After a deafening crash, the courtyard gate was forcefully kicked open. It slammed to the ground with a bang, sending splinters of wood flying and dust billowing everywhere.

Song Yueying and her mother, who were standing at the entrance to the main room, were stunned, their gazes involuntarily fixed on the fallen courtyard gate. Qi Yanjue, who was inside the house, heard the noise and immediately came out to check.

A group of people rushed in and stopped right in front of the three of them.

Then, everyone was dumbfounded.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Song Yueying quickly regained her senses. Her gaze swept over the faces of the people who had burst through the door and stormed into her yard with an aggressive air.

Hehehe, quite a few people came, including aunties I know and uncles I don't.

"The way everyone's barging in..." Song Yueying paused deliberately, then pointed a finger at the ground, "What's the meaning of this?"

When she asked the question, the villagers looked at each other, wondering what she meant. They didn't even know who had broken down the gate.

I saw everyone rushing inside, so I followed suit.

"Ah!" Song Rumeng screamed, as if she had discovered something terrible. "Cousin, how could you hide a man in your house?"

“That’s right, Zhao Dongxue, Song Rumeng, you two are shameless,” Wang Muxiang chimed in. “You’re having sex in broad daylight at home.”

"You're trying to ruin the morale of our brigade!"

“We all know that you and your daughter are going through a difficult time as widows, and we are willing to help you, but you…you…”

"Oh dear!" Wang Muxiang sighed heavily, looking at Song Yueying with disappointment. "Yueying, you're still young, how could you do such a shameless thing?"