stroll together
One day, Zhu Ying was still not home. After lunch, Xu Ruoyan pushed open Pei Jue's door and peeked out.
Yes, she now has Pei Jue's tacit permission to enter Pei Jue's room without knocking.
Pei Jue was not surprised by her appearance; he simply poured her a cup of tea and pushed it in front of her.
Xu Ruoyan picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp.
With a clatter, the teacup was slammed onto the wooden table. She pulled Pei Jue up, saying, "The weather is nice today, and the snow has mostly melted. Let me take you for a walk."
Pei Jue stumbled as she pulled him, almost falling to the ground.
When he looked up, he saw Xu Ruoyan give an embarrassed smile, and then he felt the grip on his arm loosen considerably.
“We’ll just take a walk around the village, we won’t go far. Staying at home all day isn’t good for your physical and mental health,” Xu Ruoyan said, winking at him.
Pei Jue asked, somewhat puzzled, "What do you mean, 'at home'?"
Xu Ruoyan was taken aback, then waved her hand: "Oh, it's not important. Anyway, let's hurry up and get back before the sun goes down."
Before Pei Jue could express his opinion, he felt a weight on him. He reached up and found that Xu Ruoyan had draped a cloak over his shoulders.
"I can't let you catch a cold, or Zhuying will kill me." Xu Ruoyan went around to him and tied the rope for him, then lifted the hood of the cloak and put it on his head.
However, Pei Jue seemed to have gone off-topic. He adjusted the brim of his hat and said in a serious tone, "I dare not, Zhu Ying."
Xu Ruoyan: "..."
How can this person's attention be so easily diverted?!
In short, Pei Jue was still dragged out by Xu Ruoyan.
There was still a short distance from their small courtyard to the village. After the snow melted, the mountain path became extremely muddy, which made it difficult for Pei Jue to walk. So Xu Ruoyan deliberately slowed down and held tightly to Pei Jue's sleeve, afraid that he might slip and fall on the muddy path.
They walked in silence for a while, then Pei Jue suddenly spoke up: "Madam."
Xu Ruoyan looked up at him: "What's wrong?"
"I'm cold."
Xu Ruoyan looked at Pei Jue's outstretched hand and fell silent.
From childhood to adulthood, apart from her parents, she has never held hands with anyone else, let alone with a man.
Xu Ruoyan stared at Pei Jue's slender, porcelain-white hands, feeling troubled.
Perhaps it was because it was really too cold, Pei Jue's hands looked even paler than when he was at home.
After struggling internally for a moment, Xu Ruoyan obediently took Pei Jue's hand, rubbed it between her palms, and occasionally breathed on it.
Pei Jue lowered his eyes, his expression obscured by the large hood.
Even though he couldn't see anything, he still tried to imagine Xu Ruoyan's expression and actions at that moment.
Without realizing it, he smiled quietly.
When Xu Ruoyan looked up, this was the scene she saw: this handsome man showed her a rare smile, the smile on his lips was like the sunshine melting the winter snow, making people feel warm inside.
After staring at his upturned lips for a while, Xu Ruoyan couldn't help but smile as well.
"Are you this happy just from going out for a walk?" Her voice trembled slightly with laughter.
Pei Jue nodded first, then shook his head.
"I'm so happy because you're with me."
He wasn't saying anything to make Xu Ruoyan happy. Perhaps it was because most of his previous relationships were fraught with scheming and backstabbing, or perhaps it was because he hadn't been in contact with such a vibrant life for a long time since the accident. In any case, Xu Ruoyan's arrival and companionship were a delightful surprise in his life.
He had actually anticipated that Xu Ruoyan would try to run away. To be precise, no girl would likely want to spend the rest of her life with a blind man like him in that dilapidated courtyard. Therefore, no matter how long Xu Ruoyan stayed by his side, he was always grateful to her.
It's just that people are hard to be satisfied. After getting something they've been longing for, even though they know they should be content, they can't help but want to grab more.
Xu Ruoyan didn't think much about it and simply said, "If you want, I'll take you out for a stroll whenever I have free time."
Pei Jue nodded quickly. After a pause, he silently withdrew his hand from Xu Ruoyan's and then extended his other hand to her: "This one is cold too."
Xu Ruoyan immediately felt extremely regretful: she had made the promise too quickly, and this young master was too difficult to please.
Helpless, she could only grab Pei Jue's outstretched hand and pull him forward, saying, "Let's hurry up, or we'll be late."
They said they were going for a stroll, but there wasn't much to see. The village was too small, and there weren't many people around. At most, they would buy some meat and vegetables to replenish their family's food reserves.
However, there is still one troublesome thing: Pei Jue is too conspicuous.
As Xu Ruoyan spent more time with Pei Jue, she naturally didn't notice anything amiss. However, the villagers were not worldly-wise, so even though Pei Jue was wearing the crudely made clothes that Xu Ruoyan had casually bought, his otherworldly demeanor still seemed out of place in this small village. It made his coarse linen clothes look like the most fashionable fabrics from Jiangnan that were presented as tribute to the palace.
After receiving the probing glances from passersby for the fifth time, Xu Ruoyan had become numb and simply pulled Pei Jue forward with her head down.
Pei Jue was already unsteady on his feet, and now that she was pulling him, he stumbled even more.
"Why is Madam walking so fast?"
Pei Jue was not only unsteady on his feet, but his voice also sounded shaky.
Xu Ruoyan then realized what was happening. She suddenly stopped, causing Pei Jue to almost bump into her.
She turned around, bluffing at Pei Jue, trying to cover up her mistake:
"How dare you say that! Don't you see how many girls, young men, and old ladies have all taken a second look at you on the way here!"
Pei Jue looked aggrieved: "Madam, have you forgotten that I can't see?"
Okay, we've missed the point again.
Pei Jue continued to express his grievances: "Besides, it's because they wanted to see me, not because of me."
...
Xu Ruoyan was completely out of options.
This kind of charming and cute approach from a handsome man is irresistible to anyone!
"Yes, I misunderstood you." Xu Ruoyan could only apologize honestly.
"Then the lady should compensate me."
Xu Ruoyan couldn't help but pinch his cheek: "Hey, I've noticed you're really serious about things."
Pei Jue just kept his lips pursed and didn't say anything.
Xu Ruoyan was so angry she laughed.
"Alright, alright, what kind of compensation do you want?" She tapped Pei Jue's nose. "I'm warning you, you can't go too far."
Pei Jue immediately said, "It's not too much to ask, is it?"
Xu Ruoyan glared at him, even though she knew he couldn't see her.
It seems this person had been planning this for a long time; given a chance, they'd climb right up.
It was time to sell the second batch of herbs they had gathered, so Xu Ruoyan agreed.
The next morning, when Xu Ruoyan pushed open Pei Jue's door, she found that he had already tidied himself up and was sitting obediently on the edge of the bed waiting. As soon as he heard the door open, he turned to look at Xu Ruoyan.
Like a young woman waiting for someone to come and fetch her bride.
Xu Ruoyan slammed the door shut and laughed for a full minute before going back inside.
"What were you doing, Madam?"
"It's nothing," Xu Ruoyan said, suppressing a laugh. "Let's go."
Pei Jue nodded, got up, touched the bamboo basket Xu Ruoyan was carrying, took it, and carried it on his own back.
Xu Ruoyan raised an eyebrow: "Can you do it?"
Actually, she shouldn't have been worried. After all, based on her observations, Pei Jue's martial arts skills were more than enough to handle this small basket. But for some reason, Pei Jue's martial arts level dropped sharply whenever he was with her, and he almost fell over when walking on flat ground.
Xu Ruoyan sighed inwardly, thinking that Pei Jue trusted her too much.
The journey to the town was a bit longer, and Xu Ruoyan was worried about letting Pei Jue walk the whole way, so she hired a horse-drawn carriage in the village early on. Although it was simple, it was better than nothing.
In the end, they arrived in town earlier than they had arrived in the village the day before.
Xu Ruoyan first took Pei Jue to sell the herbs, which brought in a lot of money. Then she took Pei Jue into a clothing store.
“Your clothes are too worn out, don’t wear them anymore, I’ll buy you a nicer set,” Xu Ruoyan said.
Although the store wasn't big, there were enough styles for the two of them to choose from. Xu Ruoyan held up a white outfit in one hand and a light blue outfit in the other, compared them in front of Pei Jue, and then shoved them into Pei Jue's hands, pushing him to try on the clothes.
As expected, Pei Jue was like a clothes hanger; no matter what style of clothing he wore, it looked great on him, making one wonder if the rough country fabric could rival the priceless silk.
Xu Ruoyan couldn't help but glance at her a few more times, her eyes filled with admiration for her own taste.
Pei Jue was already tall and slender, and when he wore that white robe that looked like moonlight and flowing water, he was as pure and holy as a deity who had stepped out of a painting, making people dare not have any fantasies.
The results were very satisfactory. Xu Ruoyan didn't hesitate any longer and paid the money with a wave of her hand.
Seeing that she paid so readily, the shopkeeper gave her two headbands as a gift.
Xu Ruoyan held the hair ribbon embroidered with a golden divine bird and examined it for a while. She then gestured for Pei Jue to lower his head, gathered his long, loose hair with one hand, and wrapped a hair ribbon around his head with the other, tying a loose knot.
Before Pei Jue could react, Xu Ruoyan had already quickly tied another hairband onto her head.
She grabbed Pei Jue's hand and shook it: "Let's go, let's continue shopping."
Although the town wasn't crowded, it was much more lively than the village. It was noon, and the sounds of vendors calling out their wares filled the air, along with the enticing aromas of various delicacies that made Xu Ruoyan's mouth water.
When she passed a steamed bun stall, she couldn't resist any longer. She let go of Pei Jue's hand and rushed over, threw down a few coins, and began to eat heartily. Only when she was halfway through eating did she remember to touch Pei Jue's hand.
"It smells so good, so delicious." Her mouth was so full that her words were a little unclear.
Pei Jue just smiled and then took a bite from her hand.
"It really smells delicious."
He thought, if everyone could live such a peaceful life, who would be willing to risk their life to fight and kill?
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