Xu Nuo's eyes lit up, her gaze darting back and forth between the two of them, and she said in a soft, sweet voice, "Then wait for me, okay? Just a little while."
The two walked into the ancestral hall. Seeing that Li Xian hadn't followed them in, Xu Nuo waved to him and said, "Come in."
He didn't move, looked at her and said, "I'll wait outside."
"There's still half an hour left, you can't just stand here."
Xu Nuo turned to look at Xu Yan, who was already sitting next to Luo Chen. Li Xian was standing there, wasn't he giving Luo Chen a chance?
She stepped forward, reached out and pulled on the crossbow in his hand, trying to scare him into coming in.
His wrist was instantly grabbed, and he hissed, "Watch your hand."
The crossbow bolt was rough-sharpened, and she was gripping the rough, uneven part. If she pulled it too hard, it would chafe her palm.
Xu Nuo felt the roughness of his palm, quickly let go, breathed softly, and then looked up at him to ask, "Are you really not coming in?"
Li Xian nodded, slung the crossbow behind his back, and said in a low voice, "There are too many people, I'm not used to it."
"Alright." Xu Nuo didn't press him any further. "Then wait here for a while."
Xu Nuo turned around and went back to the ancestral hall, where she sat down with Chang Zicheng and Li Hong, and the two of them buried themselves in solving the problem.
Xu Yan and Luo Chen sat at another table, talking in hushed tones.
Xu Nuo, somewhat melancholy, propped herself up with her hands and drifted into a daze.
They looked so well-matched, but unfortunately, their relationship was destined to be unsuccessful.
Suddenly, something occurred to her and her eyes lit up.
Let's add Li Xian to our college entrance exam preparation team! Anyway, in the original book, Li Xian, Xu Yan, and Luo Chen all went to university.
In 1988, Li Xian's parents were exonerated, and he returned to Shanghai with Xu Yan, who was preparing for the college entrance examination, and also reunited with his maternal grandfather.
However, his maternal grandfather was really no good.
Of course, that's a story for another time.
Since they're both going to pass the exam anyway, what difference does it make if they pass a year earlier or later? At least it gives the male and female leads a chance to get to know each other, and Luo Chen won't fall too deeply into the relationship.
Chang Zicheng finished writing the questions, and Xu Nuo took a look and nodded: "Yes, it seems you have almost mastered this type of question. Remember to go back and do more practice questions."
"Practicing coding problems?"
"Just do more practice problems."
Chang Zicheng nodded and agreed.
After checking Li Hong's test paper, today's class ended.
Xu Nuo packed her notebook and books into her schoolbag and couldn't wait to walk out with Xu Yan.
Li Xian leaned against the tree, his eyes closed, as if he were asleep.
They opened their eyes as soon as everyone got close.
His gaze fell on Xu Nuo, who was talking to Luo Chen and not looking at him.
Xu Yan said, "Comrade Li Xian, let's go."
He nodded and turned to walk up the mountain.
"Brother Luo Chen, do you remember Chen Mingxue?" Xu Nuo asked him in a low voice.
Luo Chen thought for a moment and seemed to vaguely remember it.
"She's the daughter of your dad's colleague before you went to the countryside," Xu Nuo reminded him.
Luo Chen was also from Lu County. He had met Chen Mingxue a few times before he went to the countryside. It was during these few meetings that Chen Mingxue fell in love with Luo Chen. Unfortunately, she was too dense to understand. Luo Chen then went to the countryside to become an educated youth, but Chen Mingxue still couldn't forget him.
Luo Chen nodded: "I vaguely remember, what's wrong?"
Suddenly, Xu Yan's exclamation came from ahead: "So much honeysuckle!"
Xu Nuo's attention was drawn to the sight, and she quickly looked up to see the white flowers climbing all over the mountainside. She was eager to pick them.
Li Xian stopped her: "There are bugs."
She's afraid of bugs.
Xu Nuo withdrew her hand and took a step back with regret.
Her gaze then fell on a tree not far away, and she pointed to the round, green fruits, asking Li Xian, "What are those?"
Li Xian had already reached out and picked one for her. The round apple was in his large palm. He asked her, "Wild apple, do you want it?"
Xu Nuo nodded: "Yes."
She reached out, took it, and smelled it. It had a sweet, fruity aroma, and she really wanted to take a bite.
She looked up at Li Xian and said, "I want to eat."
Holding the apple, head tilted back, looking incredibly obedient, Li Xian pinched his palm: "Eat it."
Then she said pitifully, "I didn't wash it."
Li Xian was taken aback, not expecting her to want to take a bath. After thinking for a moment, he said, "There's a mountain spring nearby, shall we go?"
Xu Nuo nodded and asked him to pick more into the basket.
Looking at the basket full of green fruits, Xu Nuo's eyes sparkled. She could ask Xu Yan to make some dried fruit slices and apple pie when they got back.
Turning her head, she saw Luo Chen and Xu Yan chatting and laughing as they picked flowers. She sighed helplessly, her eyebrows furrowing in worry.
Alright, let's log off for now, little assist guy.
She skipped and hopped along with Li Xian to wash the fruit.
The mountain spring wasn't far, but the mountain path was rugged, so Xu Nuo walked slowly, and Li Xian also walked and stopped frequently.
Li Xian was very familiar with the mountains and found her some chestnuts and wild strawberries.
That basket of bright red wild strawberries, each one exuding a sweet and sour fruity fragrance, made Xu Nuo peek into the small basket every now and then, and then happily say, "So cute."
Li Xian, carrying a basket, walked behind her. Upon hearing this, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Xu Nuo was delicate and afraid of getting tired, so she rested twice along the way before the two of them reached the mountain spring.
There's a break in the mountain wall, and the spring water flows out from there.
Li Xian found a clean rock for her to sit on, and then she took the basket and went to wash.
Knowing she was delicate, he washed each fruit carefully and meticulously, picking out the strawberries one by one, washing them clean, and carefully placing them in clusters with large leaves before handing them to her.
Xu Nuo smiled, her eyes crinkling, and happily held the bowl in both hands, only to realize she had no hands to eat with.
She looked up at Li Xian, her little mouth pouting with a hint of grievance.
Li Xian's dark eyes darkened.
The bunch of strawberries ended up in Li Xian's hands again.
Xu Nuo ate as she walked, her gaze lingering on Li Xian's hands. Li Xian, somewhat exasperated, turned to look at her and asked, "What's wrong?"
Then I heard her say in a sweet, coquettish voice, "Your hands are so big."
Xu Nuo needed both hands to hold it, while Li Xian held it firmly with just one hand.
Li Xian paused, nearly spilling her wild strawberries.
Xu Nuo reached out to block him and looked up to remind him, "Li Xian, watch where you're going, don't fall."
Li Xian: "...Okay."
The mountains were full of unfamiliar plants. Xu Nuo was very curious, and when she saw something strange, she pointed at it and asked Li Xian, "What is this? Can I eat it?"
Li Xian glanced at it and said in a low voice, "It's licorice root, you can't eat it."
"Oh." Xu Nuo continued walking forward disappointedly, but then saw a red fruit and ran over excitedly.
Li Xian frowned, wanting to tell her to slow down, but swallowed the words back.
Before she could ask, Li Xian walked over, picked a handful, and held it up to her: "This is gardenia, it can help with jaundice."
Xu Nuo had never given birth and didn't know what jaundice was, so she looked up and asked him, "What is jaundice?"
Li Xian held her wild strawberries in one hand and gardenias in the other, and earnestly explained to her, "It's a disease that occurs when a baby is born."
Xu Nuo thought this stuff was useful, so she pointed to a cluster of gardenias and asked Li Xian to pick them all for her.
As they passed through a mountainous area, Li Xian stopped and pointed to a spot, saying to her, "There are wild ginseng here."
Xu Nuo tilted her head and looked around: "I didn't see it."
Li Xian walked over, squatted down, parted the gap, and rummaged around with one hand for a while, until he had a small ginseng in his hand.
Hand it to her.
Xu Nuo didn't take it: "Don't give it to me, aren't you going to take it... uh, eat it?"
She originally wanted to sell them in the city, because Li Xian initially sold mountain products and medicinal herbs on the black market.
However, apart from Duan San, no one knows that he sells things on the black market.
"I won't eat it." He stood up and put it directly into her small bamboo basket.
Li Xian had a wood-chopping knife strapped to his body and was carrying her small bamboo basket as he walked forward. After taking a couple of steps, he noticed that Xu Nuo hadn't followed, so he turned around to look at her. Xu Nuo was squatting on the ground, looking back and forth at the spot where she had been standing.
They tried to find another ginseng.
Li Xian's eyes held a hint of a smile as he said, "There's none over there, come here."
Xu Nuo stood up in disappointment and walked towards him.
In a short while, Li Xian had another small ginseng root with ginseng roots in his hand. It was a bit small, and Xu Nuo held it in her hand and played with it, thinking that the small ginseng root looked quite cute.
“I’m going to plant it.” Xu Nuo made a big gesture: “It will grow this big.”
Remembering the red bean plant in front of the door, Li Xian nodded.
Xu Nuo played with the ginseng for a little while, then put it back in the small bamboo basket and started nibbling on a wild apple.
When they reached a slightly softer sandy area, Xu Nuo turned to talk to Li Xian, only to suddenly see his expression change, and then he was pulled back forcefully.
Before she could even land, a long, soft thing slid past.
Before Xu Nuo could even scream, a sickle flew out and precisely cleaved the snake's body in two.
The severed snake did not stop writhing; instead, it twisted even more violently, its head pointing directly at the two of them, as if gathering strength to bite her.
Xu Nuo was so frightened that she threw herself on Li Xian, clinging to his shoulders with her hands and wrapping her legs around his legs, her eyes brimming with tears: "Li Xian, save me."
Li Xian's throat tightened. He grabbed the person who was about to fall and, seeing that she was really frightened, led her a few steps in the opposite direction.
Li Xian placed her on a clean spot, his back to the snake: "Don't look, I'll take care of it."
Xu Nuo didn't dare to look at him at all. She closed her eyes and hummed in response, urging him, "Hurry up, I'm scared."
"Okay." He walked back quickly, chopped off the snake's head in a few strokes, wrapped the entire snake's body up, and then, afraid that she would be frightened, took off his outer coat and wrapped it up tightly in a few more strokes.
"alright."
He walked up to her, his hands stained with blood, but didn't get too close.
Xu Nuo's gaze fell on his hands. He thought she was disgusted and took a step back, feeling a little embarrassed: "I'll go wash them."
Xu Nuo quickly stood up: "I want to go with you."
The two went back to wash their hands.
Xu Nuo's white sneakers got some mud on them. She leaned against the mountain wall and rubbed them on the grass, but instead of cleaning them, she dirtied the ones next to her.
Xu Nuo frowned as she looked for something to wash her shoes. A pair of hands reached out and wiped the stains clean in a couple of quick movements.
Li Xian squatted down beside her feet and looked up: "Don't wear white when you come up the mountain in the future, it gets dirty easily."
"Mmm." Xu Nuo nodded obediently, and then, in return, reached out and removed a piece of dry twig from his hair.
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