Extra: A Lifetime Appointment
Another summer.
The scorching heat enveloped the entire Xiangshan Mountain. At the hottest time, the pond in the backyard of the bamboo house became shallower.
The coolest time of the day is when the darkness retreats and the daylight appears. The summer heat has been there all night and now it is cool.
A breeze blew in through the window, gently and softly brushing against Pei Zhouwu's cheek.
He wagged his eyelashes and slowly woke up from his sleep.
The shadows of the bamboo outside the window swayed gently in the wind, and the soothing rustling sound made him feel extremely relaxed.
Last night, Liu Fuying felt it was too crowded and hot inside, so she turned over from him in the middle of the night and insisted on sleeping on the outside.
After regaining some consciousness, he turned his head sideways.
Unexpectedly, the empty bed outside suddenly woke him up from his sleepiness. He sat up immediately and looked around the room, but saw no one.
Normally she likes to sleep in and doesn't want to get up, but today is strange, it's not even dawn yet.
Pei Zhouwu got out of bed, opened the door and stood in the yard. He looked around the house, but still could not see a single person.
"Ah-Hina?"
He walked around the three or four flower beds in the yard and went to the bamboo house opposite which had just been built last fall.
There are two small beds in the room, for Xi'e and Xiyun to sleep on.
However, there was no sign of her in this room.
The two children had already returned to the capital a few days ago, so Liu Fuying would not have come in unless there was something important.
He went out the door to the big room in front.
There are still two compartments, the front one is the kitchen for cooking and boiling water, and the back half is separated by a door to become a bathroom where people can take a bath.
Although the layout is not much different from before, the arrangement of the tables and chairs in the house has changed a lot. Many valuable potted plants are placed here, all of which were selected by Liu Fuying himself. Pearl curtains and gauze curtains are also there. Even the small bathroom is decorated with a special atmosphere.
However, there was still no sign of Liu Fuying in the kitchen or bathroom.
Pei Zhouwu went around to the edge of the pond. Behind him, near the small bamboo forest, was a fish pond that had been opened up separately last year. It was filled with various fish of different colors and sizes.
On weekdays, the two children like to squat by the pool and play.
Today, not only this bamboo house, but it seemed that the entire Xiangshan Mountain was quiet, as if he was the only one left.
There was a covered swing in the firefly field outside the pond. He thought that Liu Fuying might have gone there. Even though he was doubtful and it was not dark now and he could not see the beautiful sight of fireflies all over the sky, he still went into the water to look for her.
Swim out of the pond and go to the firefly land.
The still swing didn't look like anyone had been there. Such silence made Pei Zhouwu feel even more uneasy.
Since his wedding last year, he has never been separated from Liu Fuying for a single day.
Why today...
He can't possibly run away secretly again, right?
When I returned to the bamboo house, the yard was still as empty as before.
In his heart, he kept telling himself not to be overly suspicious. She was helpless before, but it was different now. She had no reason to disappear quietly anymore.
But until noon, the mountain gate was still quiet.
He could no longer sit still. Just as he opened the bamboo fence and stepped out, he heard the sound of approaching carriages and horses not far away.
Soon, the carriage carrying people arrived at the door.
Before the car stopped, the curtain was lifted up, revealing Liu Fuying's face.
"Husband."
Seeing Pei Zhouwu standing at the door, she smiled at him in surprise.
However, Pei Zhouwu couldn't laugh at all.
After the carriage stopped, Liu Fuying walked towards him carrying bags of things, but he turned his head and strode into the door, looking a little angry.
Liu Fuying paused, pouted and thought to himself that something was wrong.
After rushing into the room, she slowly approached Pei Zhouwu who was sitting in front of the bed with a flattering look on her face.
"Husband." She put down her things, sat on the other side and held his arm. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone down the mountain without saying hello. I made you worry."
Pei Zhouwu looked back at her. Although he didn't say anything, his eyes seemed to have already scolded her.
She knew he would be worried, but she did it anyway.
"Husband, I couldn't sleep last night because of the heat, so I decided to go down the mountain this morning. When I woke up in the morning, you were still sleeping, and I didn't have the heart to wake you up, so I thought I would be back around noon."
She shook Pei Zhouwu's wrist and acted coquettishly towards him with a smile.
"There's an ice jar on the carriage outside. We can put it in the house so we don't have to worry about the heat when we sleep at night. There are only two of us in the mountains. If you have servants around, we can just send them down the mountain to buy some. You don't have to go yourself."
Pei Zhouwu still didn't speak.
"I chose that time on purpose to go down the mountain. It was cool then. Otherwise, I would have been dying of heat on the way."
She stuck to Pei Zhouwu, insisting on sticking to him tightly.
"Husband, I just had a few cakes for breakfast and didn't have lunch. I'm starving."
She took Pei Zhouwu's hand and put it on her belly, and said tenderly: "Listen, my stomach is growling."
Pei Zhouwu lowered his eyes and looked over, only to see that her left and right index fingers were wrapped in gauze.
Just as he was about to ask, Liu Fuying withdrew his hand first.
"It's okay. I accidentally bumped my hand and broke the skin while buying something in the store. Let's not talk about this anymore. I brought back some delicious food."
She stood up and went to the other side to get the package to open it.
Although Pei Zhouwu had some resentment, he also felt sorry for her injury, so he took the package from her hand, carefully opened all the contents, and placed them on the table one by one.
"Husband."
Liu Fuying hugged him from behind.
"Don't be angry. It won't happen again next time."
"I'm not angry." Pei Zhouwu finally spoke.
He was just worried and afraid that Liu Fuying would disappear from his world again like he had done many years ago.
I just heard him slowly let out a sigh of relief and thought, forget it, it's all his fault.
Suspicion is the worst thing between husband and wife. He should trust her.
Then he pulled Liu Fuying to sit down, and told her that the food was heating up in the kitchen in front. He turned around and went out. After coming back with the food, he fed her personally. Even though her left hand was injured, it did not stop him from being happy.
Liu Fuying smiled with her eyes curved, knowing that he had forgiven her.
Perhaps when he was rummaging through the package just now and saw half a pack of longevity noodles wrapped in oil paper, he was no longer angry.
Today is Pei Zhouwu's birthday.
A few days ago, someone from the father-in-law's residence came to ask Pei Zhouwu how he planned to organize the birthday banquet.
Pei Zhouwu refused and only wanted to spend time alone with Liu Fuying.
At night, Liu Fuying put the packet of longevity noodles into the pot. He did not allow Pei Zhouwu to help and pushed him out of the kitchen to prevent him from entering.
When she came out with the hot noodle soup, Pei Zhouwu was sitting at the stone table in the flower garden in the yard.
His gentle eyes seemed to melt water.
"Try it."
After putting it down, Liu Fuying handed over the chopsticks.
When he saw her hand wrapped in gauze, he looked worried but did not ask any more questions, fearing that she would find it a spoilsport.
I took the chopsticks and picked up the longevity noodles, and took a bite and tasted the sweetness.
Liu Fuying did not add sugar. Perhaps it was the sweetness that seeped out of his heart that spread onto his tongue, which made it taste sweet.
Just as he was about to take a sip of soup, he suddenly felt the bun on his head move.
The original hairpin was pulled out by Liu Fuying, and then a new one was inserted.
He raised his head and touched it, it felt like jade.
Suddenly, he seemed to understand something, and when he was about to turn around, Liu Fuying hugged him from behind, leaned on his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek.
Pei Zhouwu pulled the hand that was on his shoulder and gently stroked her gauze-wrapped fingers with his fingertips.
"After I learned from Captain Kong that you picked up the wooden hairpin from the coal with your bare hands, I felt guilty. You thought I carved it myself, but in fact... Later I thought, I must carve a firefly hairpin for you myself."
"Does it hurt?" Pei Zhouwu asked her.
"It doesn't hurt. Actually, I have been secretly learning since I returned to the capital, but I didn't have many opportunities because I was afraid of being discovered by you. It was only last month that I finally carved a hairpin that was praised by my master. Today, only the finishing touches are left for this white jade firefly hairpin. But I was nervous and worried that I wouldn't be able to finish it before noon, so I hurt my hand in my anxiety. It's okay."
"Why do we have to be so secretive about this?"
"I wanted to give you a surprise."
She pressed closer to Pei Zhouwu and spoke in a whisper, using a very intimate tone.
"My dear, every year on your birthday, I will give you a firefly hairpin carved by me. Even when I am seventy or eighty years old, I will still make it for you."
She was grinning foolishly, and Pei Zhouwu smiled as well.
"Okay, I'll be looking forward to it."
Fireflies on a summer night flew around the flowers, carrying their fragrance with them as they flew past their eyes. As their wings flapped, several bright lights flickered as if bearing witness.
Witness the lifelong promise of two people.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
