Chapter 27 Changfeng, your sister-in-law wants to go.
Moonlight filtered through the curtains, swaying on their intertwined shadows. The lingering scent of herbs mingled with his faint cedar fragrance, spreading into a gentle mist in the dim light.
His large hand gripped her neck, and through the thin callus, it inadvertently rubbed against her skin.
His thin lips seemed to be burning hot as he kissed her without leaving a single gap.
The air seemed to have been completely stolen away, and vision went out of focus in the dim light, leaving only the outline of his high nose and jawline clearly visible.
The intense heat enveloped her, and this time she could clearly hear that Rong Chengzhou's breathing was much heavier than usual.
Finally, she belatedly realized what was happening, and grabbed his shirt with her hand in front of him, her fingertips sinking into the folds of the fabric. She tried to push him away, but couldn't muster any strength.
Time passed slowly, and he held her by the back of her neck, her body stiff as she lay before him.
In the midst of their dazed kiss, he suddenly loosened his grip, lifting her slightly to give her only a tiny space to breathe. His nose brushed against hers, their breaths mingling, slightly hoarse. She opened her eyes, meeting his half-closed gaze, which held a dim light in the room and a small, flustered reflection of herself.
Between their intertwined breaths, his voice was hoarse: "I'm sorry."
"I..." As consciousness gradually returned, Jiang Mingxue leaned back. She opened her lips, wanting to reply, but no sound came out.
The V-neckline hung loosely, its delicate white gleaming in the dim light. Tonight, she wore a light purple loungewear set, a long shirt and trousers.
She wasn't sexy at all, yet she somehow reminded him of the way she looked in a strapless, off-the-shoulder wedding dress during the day.
His wife looked more beautiful than usual in the mirror. He had no intention of peeking, but when he turned his head slightly, he captured the whole scene.
His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and the man's eyes, deep and intense, turned away with restraint.
He reached out, straightened her collar, carried her back to her original spot, and covered her with the blanket: "I'm going out for a bit, you should get some rest."
"Oh..." Jiang Mingxue didn't know what he was going out to do, and she didn't have the energy to ask right now.
The last bedside lamp was also turned off, plunging the room into complete darkness.
Then came the sound of footsteps, until the bedroom door opened and closed.
Only when she was alone in the empty room did she belatedly touch her lips.
His warmth still seemed to linger there.
The kiss came so suddenly that her mind was in turmoil. Originally, only Rong Chengzhou was having trouble sleeping, but now even she was wide awake.
--
On the open-air balcony of Songyunting, Rong Chengzhou leaned on the railing with one hand, the cigarette between his fingers glowing with a scarlet light that flickered in the dead of night.
A cool night breeze swept by, and half of the cigarette ash accumulated, falling in a rustling sound as the wind blew it down, but it couldn't extinguish the flames within him.
For him, the purpose of cigarettes was to keep him alert.
Since meeting Jiang Mingxue in Haining, he has never smoked again, and has almost forgotten what it feels like to smoke.
Now, picking it up again is simply out of options.
Marriage was optional for him; from beginning to end, his attitude towards this marriage stemmed only from a sense of responsibility.
Respect her wishes, do not disturb or interfere, and maintain a marriage in name only with a wife with whom you have no feelings.
This was their prenuptial agreement, and he has been fulfilling it.
But with his gentle wife by his side tonight, he is no saint.
The smoke rings were slowly exhaled, gradually blurring the outline of his face.
Tonight's loss of control was because he crossed the line.
The warm yellow light in the living room cut through the dark night sky, and a tall, slender figure stood at the boundary, backlit for a long time.
He didn't come to his senses until the cigarette burned out completely and the heat reached his fingertips.
He calmly stubbed out his cigarette, tossed it into the spotless ashtray, and turned away.
--
When Rong Chengzhou returned to the bedroom, Jiang Mingxue was still awake.
Hearing the sound of water running in the bathroom, she suddenly opened her eyes.
Didn't he already take a shower last night?
Why was it washed again?
Although she had never experienced it herself, she knew what taking two showers in one night meant for a vigorous adult man.
But... doesn't Rong Chengzhou have that kind of problem?
And she didn't even react to a kiss, so how could he?
Time passed by, and half an hour later, Rong Chengzhou still hadn't come out.
Jiang Mingxue lay on the bed, full of doubts, and waited and waited. Finally, an hour later, she heard the bathroom door open.
Rong Chengzhou changed into a new set of pajamas, walked quietly to the bedside, lifted the covers, and lay down.
As he walked in, Jiang Mingxue smelled a faint scent of tobacco and the minty aroma of toothpaste.
He not only took a shower and changed his clothes, but also brushed his teeth again.
Jiang Mingxue asked, "Did you just go for a smoke?"
The man paused slightly, seemingly surprised that she was still awake.
He amplified the movement, pulling the corner of the blanket over his lower abdomen.
He then slowly said, "Hmm, did I choke you?"
Jiang Mingxue immediately understood.
That makes sense.
He took a shower because of the strong smell of smoke, not for any other reason.
She shook her head: "No, actually the smell of smoke on you isn't bad, you don't need to worry about me so much."
Rong Chengzhou didn't answer, but only asked, "Do I need to go to the clinic tomorrow?"
Tomorrow is Sunday. Jiang Mingxue: "No need, I'll rest tomorrow."
The man hummed in agreement: "Then let's go check out the wedding venue tomorrow."
"good."
The conversation paused temporarily; neither of them spoke, but both knew the other was awake.
Jiang Mingxue, a doctor of high medical ethics, kindly and softly asked him, "Do you need me to press it again?"
"......"
Rong Chengzhou almost couldn't catch his breath.
After a long silence, he answered slowly and deliberately:
"No."
If you keep pressing it, I won't be able to sleep tonight.
"Oh." Jiang Mingxue didn't think much of it. "Then go to sleep early, goodnight."
"Okay, goodnight."
--
The next day was the weekend, and neither of them set an alarm clock. They both went to sleep at 3 a.m., but Jiang Mingxue slept until 10:30 a.m., while Rong Chengzhou still got up at 5 a.m. to go for a morning run.
After she washed up, she came out of the bedroom and saw Rong Chengzhou sitting on the living room sofa watching a tablet.
Seeing her come out, he looked up and asked, "You're awake? Would you like something to eat?"
Jiang Mingxue shook her head: "No need, we can just have lunch later."
It's awkward to eat breakfast or lunch at 10:30, so I just have brunch.
Rong Chengzhou nodded and told Aunt Lian to prepare lunch now.
Jiang Mingxue walked over and observed his complexion. Apart from some dark circles under his eyes, his mental state was alright.
But I still can't help but worry: "You've only slept for two hours, and you're getting up early to exercise. Aren't you going to catch up on your sleep?"
Rong Chengzhou said calmly, "Not for now. If you get sleepy, just take a nap."
Jiang Mingxue: "Okay."
Rong Chengzhou gestured for her to sit down: "Come and choose a wedding venue."
"OK."
Jiang Mingxue walked over, then suddenly remembered that she hadn't taken the medicine in the refrigerator.
"Wait a moment."
She turned and went to the kitchen, took out the medicine that had been refrigerated last night, heated it up slightly, and handed it to Rong Chengzhou: "I almost forgot, this is from this morning."
Rong Chengzhou glanced down at the dark liquid and asked for the first time, "The radiation dose at high altitudes is very low, and the harm is not as great as you think. Do you need to drink it so frequently?"
"..." Jiang Mingxue was stumped by the question.
How can we explain that this was his biological mother's request?
Madam Rong was worried that the medicine would take too long to work, so she specifically instructed yesterday that since traditional Chinese medicine has few side effects, as long as it doesn't kill you, you should take as much as you can.
She had already controlled the dosage within a reasonable range, but she was taking one dose in two separate doses. After all, her purpose was to treat the illness, not to treat it as a tonic as Rong Chengzhou thought.
"It's nothing, I was just asking casually, I didn't mean to question you."
Rong Chengzhou put down the tablet, took the medicine bowl, and drank it.
After taking the medicine, Rong Chengzhou asked Jiang Mingxue to choose the wedding venue and decor. As she said, these options were selected by him and Madam Rong after two rounds of screening, and she only needed to make the final decision.
Jiang Mingxue sat next to him, swiped the reference images above, and quickly made her choice without hesitation.
Because Jiang Mingxue hadn't eaten breakfast, lunch was half an hour earlier than usual.
After lunch, Rong Chengzhou went to his bedroom for a nap, while she went to the balcony of the study to tend to the flowers and plants.
This week, Grandpa Jiang had some herbal seedlings delivered to her, and Madam Rong also sent her some rare seasonal flower seeds to help her pass the time.
Jiang Mingxue squatted on the greenhouse floor and used a small shovel to plant the plants into flowerpots.
She heard footsteps approaching and looked up to see Rong Chengzhou, who should have been sleeping in the bedroom, walking in.
"Why aren't you asleep?" she asked in surprise, holding a sprig of mugwort, her hands still covered in dirt.
Rong Chengzhou, dressed in black casual home clothes, walked towards her and said, "I've come to see you."
I was going to sleep, but then I remembered that she was planting herbs all by herself and I was worried that she wouldn't be able to manage, so I got up again.
"Are these all going to be planted?" he asked, looking at a patch of green leaves on the ground that looked remarkably similar.
Jiang Mingxue: "Yes, it's very troublesome to transplant them one by one, and you'll get soiled on your body. You didn't get much sleep last night, so go and catch up on some sleep first."
Rong Chengzhou didn't answer. Instead, he squatted down with her, found a mugwort plant with the same shape, pointed to the flowerpot next to her, and asked, "Can we plant it here?"
Unable to dissuade her, Jiang Mingxue could only nod: "Yes, all these plants should be planted together."
Rong Chengzhou nodded slightly and followed her steps to plant the seeds.
By the way, is this mugwort?
"Yes, mugwort and wormwood look very similar. The difference is that mugwort has white down on its stem and back, which is why it appears white."
Rong Chengzhou nodded and silently made a note of it.
If she's not home, he can help her take care of things when he has time.
"The one with long leaves is the creeping rose, and what about the one with fan-shaped leaves next to it?"
Jiang Mingxue: "That's basil, it can kill germs and treat infectious diseases."
Seeing his interest, Jiang Mingxue would proactively introduce each medicinal herb to him: "This is ginseng, which we often eat. Its root is used medicinally. The leaves are palmate and turn red in autumn."
"This is catnip. Its stem is quadrangular and its leaves are smooth and hairless. It can be used to treat colds and flu."
"......"
These herbs look extremely similar, and even Jiang Mingxue sometimes has to distinguish them. However, Rong Chengzhou's ability to distinguish them and his memory are stronger than she imagined. While helping her plant them, he was able to easily remember their names, but he still couldn't remember all their uses.
Jiang Mingxue: "It's okay. There are too many kinds of herbs, and they all look very similar, so it's easy to get them mixed up. It's already impressive if you can distinguish these dozen or so."
Rong Chengzhou hummed in agreement: "I saw a copy of 'Compendium of Materia Medica' on your bookshelf. May I look at it?"
“Of course you can.” Jiang Mingxue didn’t think much of it. “I’ve already memorized that book. You can take it if you’re interested.”
Rong Chengzhou: "Okay, thank you."
The cell phone on the shelf rang; it was Rong Chengzhou's phone.
After planting the herbs, his hands were covered in dirt. He didn't try to hide it from Jiang Mingxue. He wiped his hands clean with a wet wipe before answering the phone unhurriedly: "Hello, what's up?"
"Brother Rong, are you coming to the horse farm for a few laps this afternoon? You've been back for over a week, and you didn't even tell the brothers beforehand. I only heard about it from Old Duan in your compound."
The greenhouse was quiet, and the voices from the other side could be faintly heard; they sounded like Rong Chengzhou's friends from Beicheng.
Rong Chengzhou refused decisively: "I won't go."
"Let's play a few rounds, it's just for an afternoon. Song and the others are here today, let's have a good get-together."
Rong Chengzhou brushed the dirt off his clothes and said, "I have something to do today. You guys have fun, don't worry about me."
The voice on the other end was excited, and the volume had even increased a few decibels: "What's wrong with you on the weekend? Haven't seen each other for a year, and our feelings have faded?"
Rong Chengzhou didn't answer, but turned his head and asked, "Do you want to ride a horse?"
Jiang Mingxue was finishing up when she heard this and shook her head: "I don't know how."
He said calmly, "I can teach you."
Jiang Mingxue thought for a moment, and since she had nothing to do in the afternoon, she said, "That's fine too."
Rong Chengzhou nodded and picked up the phone again: "What time in the afternoon?"
"Oh, so you're coming back again? Have I awakened your conscience?"
The man's expression was indifferent; he simply said, "Your sister-in-law wants to go."
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