Yan Zheng held her head and gently kissed her forehead: "Sleep, I'll stay here with you." Then he carried Jiang Xi back to bed.
Yan Jing'an glanced at his outstretched arm, quietly withdrew, and closed the door behind him.
When they reached the main house, Lin, who was sitting at the door, hurriedly stood up and looked at him helplessly.
The sunlight hadn't yet entered the room, so it was somewhat cool inside.
Yan Jing'an glanced at Lin, or perhaps he should call her Du Ling from now on.
He stepped out of the courtyard, entered the woods, randomly found a tall tree, pulled on a rope, and climbed up the tree in one smooth motion.
I found a sturdy branch and lay down on it.
Sunlight filtered through the green leaves, dappling his face and body. He hadn't slept for two days and two nights. Looking at the lush greenery, his eyelids began to droop without him realizing it.
Yan Jing'an had a dream.
In my dream, the river was frozen white in a heavy snowfall, then covered by snow again, leaving only a vast expanse of white between heaven and earth. Jiang Xi, dressed in black, was soaking in the river, starting as a black dot and gradually being buried by the snow until he was completely integrated with it. He leaned against a tree and watched it go.
Ah Zhao, look ahead, don't live such a hard life.
Mr. and Mrs. Jiang missed Yan Jing'an very much. Whenever they visited them, Mrs. Jiang would hold his hand and say, "Try to think more positively, child."
Yan Jing'an said, "Auntie, I know."
What did I know? I knew I was too young and impetuous back then, and that I had oversimplified things.
Just like back then, if I had been more insistent, not letting her be my manager, and not insisting on participating in that competition.
How can I let go of Jiang Xi's death and live a carefree life?
He couldn't figure it out, but what could he do? There were many people in the world carrying heavy burdens, and Jiang Xi was an immeasurable weight, like a fencing barrier, an insurmountable chasm in his heart.
Carry this weight with you and live life to the fullest.
As the sun rose higher, sunlight filtering through the doors and windows fell on Jiang Xi's brow.
Yan Zheng lay down beside her and reached out to cover her.
She was sleeping soundly, seemingly utterly exhausted, her brows and eyes relaxed, her breathing long and even. Her long hair spread across the pillow, adding to her tranquility.
Yan Zheng looked at her, his thoughts unconsciously drifting away.
More than a decade ago, when Jiang Xi contracted pneumonia, Yan Zheng overheard many elderly people in the courtyard saying, "That girl from the Jiang family is probably not doing well."
By then, Yan Zheng already understood the bad omen. He knocked on the Jiang family's door twice a day, hoping for good news.
Finally, after countless prayers, Heaven was kind enough to him, and Jiang Xi's illness began to improve, and she later returned home.
On the day he returned, Yan Zheng hesitated at his door, wanting to go up and take a look. Hearing the sound of Jiang's parents coming down from the third floor, he quickly closed the door slightly and hid behind it.
Two adults walked past the doorway.
Jiang's mother choked up, "Mom said that was their last bit of strength."
Mr. Jiang, who was standing nearby, put his arm around his wife's shoulder and whispered something, but he was too far away to hear it.
I didn't understand it before, but now I finally understand the reason.
His little girl might have had a bell. It's just that her grandmother used the bell to save her granddaughter's life during a bout of pneumonia, which caused the bell's original form to shatter, and the last bit of its power became a birthmark, imprinted on Jiang Xi's body.
Why did the grandmother in their world die young? Considering Jiang Xi's dream, it's not hard to guess that it's related to the illness she suffered from.
It is clear that Jiang Xi's parents did not tell her these things, which may have been Jiang Xi's grandmother's intention.
He stopped Yan Jing'an from speaking just now.
This is something no one could handle, let alone Jiang Xi. He didn't want her to understand too soon that since he had already attributed all the reasons to the world, he might as well continue down the wrong path.
Around noon, Xiao Hei started whimpering from hunger. Yan Zheng was woken up by its whimpering. He had stayed up all night and didn't even know when he had fallen asleep.
He subconsciously reached out to touch Jiang Xi's cheek to make sure she was alright before pinching his brow and getting out of bed.
The sun was shining brightly in the yard. Yan Zheng went to the kitchen door to wash his face and rinse off. He took two sweet potatoes to feed the deer, only to find that there were still two uneaten sweet potatoes in its trough. He looked out of the yard in confusion.
It was Du Ling, who was currently scattering grass into the rabbit hutch.
Because of her special status and some communication difficulties, Jiang Xi had not yet figured out the situation regarding the bell, and Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an simply tacitly agreed not to involve her.
Bored and worried about Jiang Xi, she dared not venture too deep into the woods. Instead, she stayed home feeding the rabbits and deer, and sometimes went to the fields to pull weeds, dig wild vegetables, or pick mushrooms.
Yan Zheng looked around and, not seeing Yan Jing'an, figured nothing should have happened, so he picked up the bucket and went to milk the goats.
Jiang Xi usually does this kind of work, and he's not very good at it. It took him half an hour to squeeze out just enough to fill the bottom of the bucket, which looked to be only two or three hundred milliliters.
Thinking about Xiao Hei's appetite, he knelt down on one knee and squeezed in for a while longer.
The ewe snorted in frustration and sometimes kicked her hind legs.
Little Black is getting bigger and bigger now, and I reckon in about ten days, the goat milk won't be enough for it to drink.
After feeding Xiao Hei, he washed his hands and prepared to cook. Not sure if Jiang Xi would wake up later, he decided to prepare food for four people.
Looking around the kitchen, there were freshly picked mushrooms and some champagne berries, as well as a basket of wild amaranth with a bunch of wild scallions inside.
He then went to the vegetable garden and picked a few sweet potatoes.
I steamed four bowls of root and yam rice, stir-fried sweet potatoes, stir-fried wild amaranth with wild scallions, stir-fried pork with wild mushrooms, and also steamed a salted fish.
The fire was still burning. He went inside and glanced at Jiang Xi again. Seeing that she was still asleep, he leaned over and pinched her nose.
Jiang Xi was sleeping soundly, dreaming of eating grilled fish.
Suddenly jolted awake, she opened her eyes, glanced at Yan Zheng, then closed them again, muttering, "We're eating. Don't go visiting other people's rooms while you're eating."
Helpless, Yan Zheng stepped forward, took off his dirty shirt, and squeezed next to her.
He leaned close to Jiang Xi's ear and said, "Greedy cat, time to eat fish."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xi, who was still asleep, smacked her lips twice: "I'm already eating."
Yan Zheng couldn't help but chuckle, a rare boyish expression appearing on his handsome face. Yet, he felt a pang of sadness; he had indeed been eating vegetarian food lately, which was why she was dreaming of meat.
He said in a deep voice, "Get up and eat, or you won't be able to sleep tonight."
Jiang Xi opened her eyes groggily, glanced at him, and then naturally leaned into his arms, her shoulder exposed as she turned over.
Stray hairs brushed against Yan Zheng's strong shoulders and neck, causing a slight itch.
She pouted and muttered, "You're so annoying, I can't even sleep in."
Yan Zheng stroked the back of her head and touched the delicate crook of her neck. His eyes were dark. After a moment, he chuckled and said, "We can sleep in, but why don't we do something else? How about we get up tomorrow?"
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