Chapter 127
The houses here have local characteristics and are protected cultural relics. Jiang Zhinian seems to see the years left over from history in these pink walls and black tiles.
"Shi Ye, what are we having for lunch?"
"It depends on what you want to eat."
There weren't many restaurants in the town, most of them concentrated in the riverside area with abundant water. Shi Ye led Jiang Zhinian down the street with ease and familiarity: "The dishes here aren't too spicy, take your pick."
Jiang Zhinian held Shi Ye's arm and suddenly found that Shi Ye seemed to be very familiar with this ancient town. It was not the kind of familiarity that a tourist had been to a few times, but the kind of familiarity that he had known every brick and every tree here thousands of times.
"Shi Ye, have you... lived here before?"
Shi Ye nodded: "When I was a child, my mother would bring me back to live for a while every year."
Jiang Zhinian's heart moved: "Is your mother from the ancient town?"
"Yes." Shi Ye brought Jiang Zhinian back, and he had no intention of hiding it. "My grandfather's family still lives in this ancient town."
In fact, Jiang Zhinian had thought about this problem before. Shi Ye lived alone in Yongning, and usually only had some simple interactions with Uncle Wen and Uncle Liu's family. Not only had he never met other relatives, he had never even heard Shi Ye mention them.
Even when they got married, it seemed like they didn't need to inform anyone.
Where did Ye's mother's relatives go at that time? Why was there no contact at all? Unexpectedly, today, Shi Ye took the initiative to solve this mystery for her.
However, after returning to his grandfather's house, he had to stay in a B&B, which showed that Shi Ye's relationship with them was not very good.
"So, are we going to visit your grandfather?"
"No, my mother was kicked out of the house and has lost contact with that place."
Shi Ye's mother is considered the town's golden phoenix. She has always had excellent grades since she was a child, and she performed very well in the high school entrance examination. She was snatched away by a key high school in Yongning and was given intensive training. At the beginning, Shi Ye's grandfather was a little reluctant to let a girl go to study in another place alone because it was too far away.
They were a relatively traditional family, but in the end they couldn't change their beloved daughter's opinion and let her go out to study.
Later, Shi Ye's mother was admitted to the medical department and worked in her current hospital after graduation. Her family loved their daughter and bought her a house near the hospital to make it convenient for her to commute to get off work.
It was originally a perfect story, but everything came to an end after Shi Ye's mother came back from an exchange program in the UK. She was pregnant, not married, and even refused to tell her parents who the father of her child was.
The furious father said that he would "sever the father-daughter relationship", and the stubborn daughter really returned to Yongning alone and began the difficult life of a single mother.
It was not until Shi Ye was five years old that his mother gradually realized that "only when you have a child do you understand the kindness of your parents." That's why she took Shi Ye back to the small town to live for a short period of time every year.
Unfortunately, until Shi Ye’s mother passed away, she never took the initiative to visit her parents and ask for their forgiveness.
After listening to Shi Ye's mother's story, Jiang Zhinian felt sad. She could even imagine what that woman looked like when she was young. She was beautiful, proud and stubborn. She would rather endure all the suffering alone than bow her head.
"Shi Ye, when we come back this time, what do you want to do..."
"No, I just brought you back to visit." His mother had passed away, and he didn't have much affection for his grandfather's family. Whether it was reconciling the past grudges or crying bitterly, it didn't mean anything to him.
…
After dinner, the two took a walk along the river, but before they had taken a few steps, it suddenly started to rain.
At first, the two of them could still try to walk towards the B&B in the drizzle, but the rain got heavier and heavier, so Shi Ye had to take off his coat and hold it on his head, and then hug Jiang Zhinian in his arms.
"Don't be anxious, don't run. Just take a shower after getting wet in the rain." Shi Ye was afraid that Jiang Zhinian would be in danger if he ran in a hurry.
Jiang Zhinian smiled and snuggled into his chest, hugging him tightly, hiding in this small safe space: "Got it."
"What are you laughing at?" Shi Ye felt helpless when he saw Jiang Zhinian smiling happily in the heavy rain.
"Shi Ye, don't you think... it's fun?" She originally wanted to say something romantic, but when the words came to her lips, she felt it was a bit too literary, so she simply changed it to fun.
Shi Ye understood what Jiang Zhinian meant, and raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "It's not romantic when you have a cold."
…
When they arrived at the B&B, the owner saw that they were soaked and just asked them to go to the room to rest first and come down later to check in.
"The luggage has been delivered to your room. Call me if you need anything."
After thanking the boss, the two returned to the room.
"Go to the bathroom and take a shower first." Shi Ye opened the suitcase and searched for a towel for Jiang Zhinian. "Don't catch a cold."
Because of his height, Shi Ye was actually wet more than Jiang Zhinian. Jiang Zhinian went into the bathroom and took off his coat. When he took the towel handed to him by Shi Ye, he suddenly grabbed his wrist.
"You're wet, too."
"Hmm?" Shi Ye lowered his eyes and looked at Jiang Zhinian.
Jiang Zhinian lowered his head slightly, not daring to look into Shi Ye's eyes: "Do you want to... wash together?"
Shi Ye raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile: "Are you sure?"
What is there to be sure of? Jiang Zhinian was unable to answer his question and wanted to close the door in a hurry, but Shi Ye was tall and had long legs, so he knew who owned the bathroom door with just a raise of his hand.
Pushing it open and closing it, Jiang Zhinian took two steps back and watched Shi Ye naturally raise his hands to take off his shirt, revealing his distinct abdominal muscles. He couldn't help swallowing.
The bathroom was small, and Jiang Zhinian hesitated to move in her half-wet clothes. Shi Ye looked at her sideways against the light: "Can I help you?"
Jiang Zhinian quickly shook his head, turned his back, and slowly unbuttoned his knitted cardigan. The moment his bare shoulders were exposed, his back was covered by a hot body.
The hot breath kissed her fair shoulders. In a half-asleep state, Jiang Zhinian wondered if Shi Ye's expression would be different from that in the morning if there was a large mirror in the bathroom.
The shower was turned on, and hot air instantly filled the bathroom. In this narrow, dreamlike space, Jiang Zhinian hugged Shi Ye's back tightly with her arms, as if the world would end in the next moment.
"Shall I help you put on the shower gel?"
"Um……"
The big hands filled with delicate foam stroked back and forth, taking good care of everything from the fragile back of the neck to the sensitive tailbone.
Jiang Zhinian closed her eyes and hummed a few times, lazy and charming. She felt like she had turned into a fish. No matter how slippery she jumped around, Shi Ye would always hold her down and make her unable to move.
Shi Ye looked down at Jiang Zhinian's expression, raised his hand and pinched her lower back: "Loosen up a bit, the front hasn't been wiped yet."
Jiang Zhinian was reluctant to let go, but still turned sideways obediently.
His fingers, stained with foam, were placed on his collarbone, moving back and forth and downward.
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