Chapter 8 What are you doing standing here on your wedding night?
After leaving the commune, the two went to the supply and marketing cooperative.
Although the original owner loved beauty, she didn't have many clothes, let alone decent ones. Now that she was getting married and going to the island with Lu Ye, she would have to meet his comrades-in-arms and military wives. How could she not have a few decent clothes?
The supply and marketing cooperative didn't have many clothing styles. After looking around, Jiang Suining picked out two dresses for herself, one bright red and the other a pale yellow floral print. She also bought a dark blue work skirt, which would go perfectly with a collared white shirt. Since she couldn't wear cloth shoes with a skirt, she chose a pair of white plastic sandals. She had originally wanted to buy leather sandals, but the supply and marketing cooperative was out of stock.
After buying her own clothes, she bought two shirts, one black and one white, for Lu Ye, and picked out two sets of shirts and pants for Jiang's mother and Jiang Fengnian. Since Lu Ye said that the island supply and marketing cooperative had everything, she only bought clothes and would buy the rest on the island.
Lu Ye accompanied Jiang Suining around the mall and spent 100 yuan and an industrial voucher to buy her a Plum Blossom brand women's watch.
Jiang Suining was very happy and kissed Lu Ye on the cheek. Lu Ye's breath hitched and the tips of his ears turned red instantly. Jiang Suining laughed when she saw this, thinking to herself that her man was quite innocent.
It was afternoon when the two returned to the village. As soon as they got home, Jiang Fengnian pulled Jiang Suining aside and whispered in her ear.
Jiang Suining was stunned when she heard this: Zhou Xiaomei had taken the family's money and grain coupons and run away.
It turned out that Zhou's father had indeed been tempted by Jiang Suining's words last night. He immediately went home and wanted to cut Zhou Xiaomei's hair. Zhou Xiaomei refused to comply, and the father and daughter got into a fight. Zhou Xiaomei was weaker and was beaten up by her scumbag father, who then cut her hair.
This afternoon, the Zhou family stormed into the brigade headquarters, claiming that Zhou Xiaomei was missing, along with their money and food coupons. The brigade leader told them to call the police, but the Zhou family, having driven their daughter away, had no face to do so. In the end, they could only swallow their anger and suffer in silence.
Jiang Suining didn't think that it was Zhou's father cutting his hair that drove Zhou Xiaomei away. She was afraid that Zhou Xiaomei had long had the idea of running away from home. After all, if she didn't leave, she would most likely be sold by her father to the village bully as his wife.
But where will she go? An island, it must be an island. If her guess is correct, Zhou Xiaomei can only marry the male lead by going to an island.
Interesting. Jiang Suining was eager to know what would happen if the female supporting character and the female lead fought over a man.
As dusk settled, the lights came on in the main room of the Jiang family home.
Jiang's mother specially changed into a brand new blue cloth shirt and polished the octagonal table until it shone. On the table were four dishes and a soup: braised pork, steamed fish, eggplant with fish-fragrant sauce, stir-fried green beans, and a pot of steaming chicken soup.
“Sui Sui,” Jiang’s mother held her daughter’s hand, “If your father could see you get married…” Before she could finish speaking, she choked up and could not speak.
"Mother, this is a joyous occasion, you mustn't cry," Jiang Suining comforted her mother.
"Mother isn't crying, Mother is happy." Jiang's mother smiled through her tears.
Jiang Fengnian brought in a jar of homemade rice wine: "Brother-in-law, you must have a couple of drinks on this joyous occasion." He broke the clay seal, and the aroma of the wine immediately filled the air.
Lu Ye stood up, poured the wine, and picked up his glass: "Brother, I'd like to toast you." He drank it all in one gulp, then poured Jiang Suining a small half-glass, "You should try some too."
The milky white liquid had a light rice aroma with the fragrance of osmanthus. Jiang Suining took a sip; the smooth, sweet, and refreshing taste was delightful. The juice flowed down her tongue, and when she swallowed it, it was slightly pungent, so she covered her mouth and coughed a few times.
Lu Ye quickly patted her back and brought her tea to soothe her throat.
Jiang's mother watched this unfold and nodded secretly, thinking that this child knew how to care for others. She picked up a piece of tender meat from the belly of the fish and put it in Lu Ye's bowl: "Little Lu, Sui Sui has been spoiled since she was little. When we go to the island, you will have to be more tolerant of her."
"Mother!" Jiang Suining interrupted, feigning shyness and blushing, "How old am I? Why are you still talking to me like that?"
“No matter how big he is, he’s still my precious child.” Jiang’s mother added another bowl of chicken soup to Lu Ye’s bowl. “This chicken was raised by us and has been stewing for an afternoon. Try it.”
"Thank you, Mother," Lu Ye said, his voice coming naturally. He then placed another piece of braised pork into Jiang Suining's bowl. "Eat more, we have to travel tomorrow."
Jiang Suining picked at the piece of braised pork, hesitating for a long time before taking a bite. Seeing this, Lu Ye frowned slightly: "You don't like it?"
"Not really," Jiang Suining chuckled dryly, "I just don't like fatty meat."
"You bite off the lean meat, I'll eat the fat," Lu Ye said casually.
"This, this isn't quite right," Jiang Suining said, but without a moment's hesitation, she bit off half a piece of lean meat from the braised pork.
Lu Ye picked up the remaining half of the fatty meat with his chopsticks and casually put it in his mouth, showing no disgust whatsoever.
Jiang Suining looked at his puffed-out cheeks and the way his Adam's apple slid up and down as he swallowed, and felt inexplicably embarrassed.
"You little rascal, you've always been picky about food since you were little. Xiao Lu, you can't spoil her too much." Jiang's mother said this, but she was very pleased in her heart.
“Mother, it’s not a big deal,” Lu Ye said nonchalantly. “As long as Sui Sui is happy.”
"Lu Ye, you're so sweet." Jiang Suining felt as sweet as if she had eaten honey. She put a chicken leg from her chicken soup bowl on his plate. "Here, take this. You can't refuse it, and you can't say you don't like it."
Lu Ye hadn't expected Jiang Suining to anticipate his refusal, so he didn't give it back to her.
When Jiang's mother saw Lu Ye go to Jiang Fengnian's room at night, she quickly gave her son a wink. Jiang Fengnian reacted quickly, and after entering the room, he picked up his luggage and stuffed it into his arms: "You're a man with a wife now, why are you still squeezing in here with me? Go, go, go sleep in Sui Sui's room."
Lu Ye hesitated when he thought of the three rules, but Jiang Fengnian pushed him out of the house. When he tried to go back in, the door was already locked from the inside.
Helpless, he carried his luggage to the main room, looked at the wooden door of Jiang Suining's house across the street, and hesitated before stepping forward.
She had just washed her hair and taken a shower inside the house. Her hair was wrapped in a towel, and she was only wearing a close-fitting white floral sleeveless vest.
She was thin, but she was still twenty years old. Her young body was shapely in the vest, which had a low neckline that revealed a large expanse of fair skin and delicate collarbones beneath her long neck.
Lu Ye never expected her to open the door. As a warm fragrance wafted in, her snow-white, jade-like skin suddenly came into view. His mind went blank, and he was instantly ignited.
Water droplets slid down her long, slender neck from her damp hair, staining her white skin and the neckline of her vest. His eyes darkened, his throat bobbed, and he forced himself to remain calm as he took the basin from her hands: "I'll go pour some water."
Lu Ye rushed into the yard with the basin as if fleeing, scooped up the water to wash his face, and felt the warmth of the water. Only then did he realize that the water was the one Jiang Suining had just used. The girl's snow-white skin and exquisite figure immediately appeared before his eyes again, and the fire in his body that was about to be extinguished suddenly flared up again, with a faint tendency to move downward.
"Damn it!" he cursed under his breath, shaking his head to clear his mind of the images. He poured out the water from the basin, drew half a basin of cold water from the well, and washed his face and rinsed off. It took him a while to calm the burning sensation in his body.
Back in the main room, Lu Ye saw that Jiang Suining's door was ajar, and the luggage that had been thrown on the floor was nowhere to be seen. He touched his wet head and wondered whether he should go into Suining's room to sleep.
Lu Ye was speechless. He licked his lips, feeling a surge of anger. Did he not want to go in? But they had agreed on three rules: marriage would begin from when they were dating. What kind of couple would sleep in the same room at night?
Hearing the commotion, Jiang's mother put on a coat and came out. Seeing this, she stepped forward and grabbed Jiang Fengnian's ear: "You brat, you don't even know when to bully people. Go back to sleep right now!"
"Ouch, Mom, be gentle, I need to go to the toilet." Jiang Fengnian covered his ears, wincing in pain.
"Hurry up and put him to sleep!" Jiang's mother let go of her son and kicked him before saying to Lu Ye, "Little Lu, don't take it to heart. He had a fever when he was a child, which damaged his brain."
Jiang Fengnian stumbled as he stepped out of the door and staggered into the toilet.
“I’m fine,” Lu Ye quickly explained. “You should go to sleep.”
"It's getting late, hurry up and go inside, you can't keep the bride waiting." She pushed Lu Ye into Jiang Suining's room, then closed the door behind her. With a smile, she walked to the altar and lit three incense sticks for her deceased husband: "Sui Sui's father, your daughter is getting married today. Her husband is Lu Ye, the son of your comrade-in-arms. He's a good boy and treats Sui Sui very well, so you can rest assured."
Lu Ye was forced into Jiang Suining's room, standing stiffly in front of the door with his hands clasped together.
Jiang Suining was already wearing a loose shirt and was sitting on the bed tidying up the bedding.
"Sui Sui, it wasn't my idea to come in. It was Mother who pushed me in. My older brother... he wouldn't let me sleep in his room." Lu Ye swallowed hard and explained.
Jiang Suining found his awkwardness amusing and took a few deep breaths to suppress it. Then she had the urge to tease him again: "On our wedding night, whose room do you want to sleep in if not mine?"
"There's no one else here, I just want to sleep in your room!" Lu Ye's survival instinct was extremely strong, and he blurted it out almost without thinking. After saying it, he felt extremely embarrassed and rubbed his hands together to try to cover it up. "Don't worry, I won't break the three rules. I'll sleep on the floor tonight."
Three rules? Jiang Suining was stunned for a moment before she realized that it was the rule "even after getting a marriage certificate, you still have to start dating." She couldn't help but wipe her forehead. The original intention of that rule was to enjoy the feeling of being in love, but how did it turn out differently in his case? Was this a case of shooting herself in the foot?
"This Lu Ye is too stubborn," she muttered to herself, pointing to the outside and saying, "The ground is dirty and damp, and there aren't any extra mattresses or blankets. You can sleep on the outside. I've brought a new quilt."
“This, this violates the second clause of the three-point agreement.” Lu Ye hesitated. He naturally wanted to sleep in the bed, not because it was comfortable, but simply because he wanted to be closer to Jiang Suining.
"..." Jiang Suining was speechless. She suddenly understood Zhou Xiaomei's decision to give up on him and could only comfort herself: Don't be angry, don't be angry. This man is just clueless. He can be taught slowly in the future and eventually be tamed.
She quickly composed herself and flashed a perfect smile: "Okay, very good. Feel free to sleep wherever you like!" She then went inside, covered herself with a thin blanket, and turned her back to Lu Ye. "Turn off the light and go to sleep!"
She was angry. Why? Had he done something wrong? Was it because he had said he wanted to sleep in her room? But that didn't seem right either. She had clearly told him to sleep on the outside of the bed, but then she told him to do as he pleased. Lu Ye carefully analyzed their conversation after entering the room, but he was still completely confused. He was anxious and wanted to ask her for clarification, but remembering that she had just said she wanted to sleep, he held back.
Jiang Suining waited a moment, but still couldn't hear Lu Ye's movements. She became even angrier, turned around and sat up: "Hurry up and take off your clothes, turn off the light and go to bed!"
"Yes! Go to sleep immediately!" As if he had heard a command, Lu Ye stood up straight, quickly took off his clothes, turned off the light, groped his way to the bedside, hesitated for a moment, and finally lifted the covers and lay down.
Jiang Suining was exhausted and fell asleep shortly after turning off the lights.
Lu Ye listened to the even breathing beside him, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter what. Suddenly, Jiang Suining turned around and took his arm that was outside the blanket.
His breathing became heavier, and he moved away a little. Unexpectedly, Jiang Suining moved with him and even hugged him, her legs pressing down on him without any regard for her own safety.
Damn it! He gasped, his lower abdomen tightened, veins bulged on his forehead, and a thin layer of sweat appeared.
Moonlight streamed through the window lattice, casting the shadows of the two figures onto the mottled earthen wall, creating a tranquil silhouette.
A note from the author:
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