Chapter 30: Let's not crave the limited-edition warmth of the hearth, let's create a time-travel version...
"Look at this chestnut, it's practically a medal for my act of bravery today."
"Ji Amin?"
Before Ning Lu could finish speaking, she saw Ji Ming bend over, almost sliding off the chair.
Without even putting away the spoils in his hands, he stepped forward and helped the person up.
"Good heavens. What's wrong with you?"
Ning Lu lifted him up and reached out to check the temperature of his forehead; it was cool.
Thankfully the fever has subsided, but it's still too cold.
She was both surprised and frightened, and shook him while gripping his shoulders.
"How are you?"
Ji Ming caught his breath, shook his head to free himself from her grasp, and leaned back in the recliner.
His eyes flashed with his usual teasing and mischievousness: "Don't worry, he won't die."
"Neuropathy."
She reached out and tested the still-warm hand warmer on the table, then quickly stuffed it into his arms.
"Although you are still alive, your body is as cold as a dead person."
Her gaze shifted downwards and caught sight of the tassel stubbornly tucked between his fingers: "How did it fall off? Is my embroidery really that bad?"
She found this tassel somewhere, thought it was pretty, and insisted that Ji Ming teach her needlework. It took her a long time to finally sew it on.
Ji Ming's assessment of her at the time was: "She may be ugly, but she is sturdy."
"It's alright, I'll sew it again later. Next time it will definitely be better than this time. Then I will be the number one embroiderer in your Jiang Kingdom."
Before Ji Ming could even make a joke at her, Ning Lu quickly chimed in.
"What's wrong with you? It's snowing so hard outside, you should be staying in bed and warming yourself by the fire, why did you run here..."
Just as she was about to continue, Ning Lu looked up and met Ji Ming's gaze, and suddenly choked.
He leaned back lazily, his eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions: tenderness, inquisitiveness, and a heart-wrenching, agonizing love...
Not to mention that after transmigrating, she had the original owner's face, which would be easily overlooked in a crowd. Even before transmigrating, when Ning Lu dressed up for a heartwarming and empowering psychological group counseling session, she had never seen eyes full of emotion.
Damn it, she only went out for a short while, why does she inexplicably feel guilty about cheating?
Ning Lu was startled by the thought that popped into her head and sprang up from the ground.
"If there's nothing else, I'll give the chestnuts to Aunt Zhang and ask her to stir-fry them. Then I'll ask her what she wants for dinner tonight. You can sit here for a while."
The man raised an eyebrow and watched her rush out of the room as if fleeing, until her figure disappeared into a corner of the courtyard.
As he ran his thumb along the remaining stitches on the hand warmer, the smile on his lips gradually faded.
I don't know how Ning Lu communicated with Aunt Zhang, but she made a lot of noise in the kitchen.
Before he could react, the man had already nimbly leaped back into the room, carrying meat in one hand and a pot in the other: "Ji A-Ming! Aunt Zhang said you ordered roast meat for today!"
"It was sent by Cen Wei."
"You're like a mind reader! I've been craving this for so long!"
The panic on her face before leaving had long since vanished, replaced by a cheerful expression, making her look like a lucky charm.
Ji Ming did not refute.
She had too many strange and wonderful ideas in her mind. He didn't have the ability to guess them out of thin air, but he had a good memory and had heard her mention them once.
Aunt Zhang initially planned to bake it for her in the kitchen and bring it over, but the girl got carried away and insisted that it was better to do it herself than to eat something baked by someone else. She then sat alone in the yard, making clanging and banging noises, seemingly doing something.
As evening approached, the sky gradually darkened, and the sound of the wind outside subsided.
Ning Lu pulled Ji Ming down under the eaves and pressed him into a chair. Before he could react, she had already stuffed bowls and chopsticks into his hands.
The snow was falling heavily, and a charcoal brazier was burning brightly at my feet.
Ning Lu glanced at Ji Ming, whose face was pale, went inside, took out her cloak, and stuffed it into his arms.
"Cover yourself up more, so you don't catch a cold."
The scent of soapberry, still warm from her touch, enveloped him. Ji Ming paused for a moment, then smiled faintly and hugged her tightly without a word.
"What is this for?"
"Barbecued meat."
Ning Lu dragged over a long bench, spread her legs, and introduced it to him in a serious manner: "This is a charcoal brazier, which is filled with charcoal. This wire mesh on top is for grilling meat, also known as a grill pan. The seasonings in your hand are my unique recipe."
"Next, I'm going to show you how to grill pork belly."
Her bamboo chopsticks gently pressed the tender pork onto the baking tray, and with a sizzle, juices splattered everywhere.
Ning Lu took a deep sniff, then swallowed hard.
As white smoke rose, she flicked the bamboo chopsticks, flipped the pork belly over, and the lard sizzled as it was rendered. Her face showed even greater satisfaction.
Ji Ming watched from the side, casually picking up a roasted chestnut and squeezing it hard with his fingertips.
Snap—
The brownish-gray chestnut fuzz spreads out in twos and threes, revealing the golden flesh inside.
Looking up, I saw that she was still focused on grilling the meat, so I casually tossed a few peeled chestnuts into the small bowl in front of her.
"Alright! The patient should have the first bite!"
Ning Lu picked up two pieces of roasted pork belly and handed them to him, only then noticing that she had a pile of peeled chestnuts in front of her.
"Wow! Mr. Ji, you're so capable! You've finally figured it out!"
"You're getting better and better at it!"
Her round eyes formed a crescent moon in her fawning smile.
Ji Ming's earlobes turned pink from her few words, and while he muttered that she was too outspoken, he peeled chestnuts with even more enthusiasm.
After taking a couple of bites of her secret-recipe roasted meat, Ji Ming's frail body was still unable to handle the greasy taste, so he simply took the bamboo chopsticks she used for roasting the meat and started turning it over for her.
Ning Lu crossed her legs, intending to give him some pointers, but to her surprise, he was very perceptive and quickly grasped her preferences.
She was overjoyed and praised Ji Ming's virtues from both sides, making him smile before he finally picked up his homemade sauce and began to eat with relish.
Even so, she didn't forget to brag to him about her achievements that day.
From the moment she stepped out, she felt someone was following her, to Xie Qinghe's gossip, outsmarting the thief, and finally, her distant meeting with Cen Wei.
As soon as she finished speaking, the bowl in front of her had turned from one into two.
The first one was stuffed with chestnuts, while the second one was piled up like a small mountain of pork belly.
Each piece is perfectly marbled with fat and lean meat, cooked to perfection, and even a few bites will splatter with oil.
Ning Lu let out a long sigh and looked in the direction he was moving. She saw his long, slender, fair fingers moving across the charcoal basin, while his wide sleeves always managed to gracefully dodge the oil stains.
grace.
She nudged Ji Ming's shoulder lightly and gave him a flirty wink: "Ji Ming, you're so capable!"
In no time, she had gotten into the habit of praising him, but he wasn't used to it yet and didn't know how to respond. He choked up and stammered, only managing an awkward reply.
This is the first time in over twenty years that I've received praise so easily.
After a while, the charcoal fire was about to go out. Ning Lu had eaten and drunk her fill, and Ji Ming washed his hands and sat down beside her, holding a hand warmer.
Wearing fur coats and with the fire in the stove, the two stood side by side, watching the snow fall in the courtyard.
Ning Lu couldn't help but sigh again, "So comfortable, Ji A-ming. So fulfilling, how can a person be so happy?"
"As expected, there are good days when you're alive."
A few months ago, when she woke up in the deep mountains, she never dared to imagine that she would have such a comfortable life today.
The person next to her hadn't spoken for a long time, so Ning Lu thought he had fallen asleep. She turned her head to look, only to find that he was also focused on watching the snow falling outside the courtyard.
The faint moonlight reflected into those quiet eyes, adding a touch of humanity to the person.
My breath hitched, my heart raced, and I wanted to turn my head to breathe, but I couldn't look away.
Inexplicable, without any warning...
"What are you looking at?"
"Look at you," Ning Lu said as if possessed, "you're becoming more and more like a living person."
The man chuckled softly, his chest heaving, and asked in return, "What's the difference?"
I like living people.
Before he could finish speaking, Ji Ming's smile froze, and he glanced at her sideways.
Realizing what she had said, her heart tightened, and she silently pinched her thigh, trying her best to maintain a proper smile.
She used all her strength to pull herself out of Ji Ming's reflection in his eyes and lowered her head to take a breath.
Ning Lulu, wake up.
Your main task is to go home early, find a nine-to-five job, and live a life of waiting to retire and collect your pension.
Don't be tempted by the limited-edition warmth and dream of being a lucky heroine who travels through time.
Ning Lulu!
She raised her head, speaking with a strong and calm voice, "What I mean is, you're more human now, very reliable. I think you're very dependable, and if possible, I'd like to continue being your teammate. I don't mean anything else. The 'like' I'm talking about isn't the same as the 'like' in other contexts, so please don't mind or overthink it. Of course, I know I saved your life, but you don't have to repay me with your body. What I said before still stands. I know that in your ancient times, reputation was paramount, and I won't ask you for a title just because we went through hardships together and slept in the same bed. I also won't tarnish your reputation. Don't worry, no matter what your status is, I won't pester you. After all, even if a deal doesn't go through, the friendship remains."
"Heh..."
Ning Lu nearly fainted after speaking such a long sentence in one breath. She took a deep breath and looked up at Ji Ming.
The ice-cold person became increasingly animated under her machine-gun-like, unrestrained speech, and her smile reached her eyes.
As his smile widened, Ning Lu's ears turned completely red. She turned around, placed her hands on her knees, and sat up straight.
"What I mean is, you look much more relaxed than when we first met. Ji Amin, that's good, and it'll also benefit your recovery."
"Um."
"Mmm." Ning Lu echoed his response.
The two looked at each other and smiled.
His eyes were so full of affection that Ning Lu found it even harder to bear than his previous probing and guardedness.
She couldn't help but start to reflect on whether her modern way of interacting with men and women was too ambiguous and intimate for the ancients.
Ning Lu rubbed her hands together and pointed to the courtyard: "Today is the first snow. I heard that wishes made on the first snow will come true. Make a wish."
After saying that, she put her hands together in prayer without waiting for his response.
The night sky was a deep blue, while the glow of the charcoal fire cast an orange-red hue.
Ji Ming sat up straight silently and looked at her quietly.
It was dazzling and exceptionally bright.
What did you wish for?
Ning Lu suddenly turned to him and asked.
Caught off guard by the question, Ji Ming finally blurted out after a long pause, "Wishes won't come true if you say them out loud."
"That's all just for kids." She didn't take it seriously and continued to tease him: "If you don't tell me, how will any kind person help you make it happen?"
"So what is your wish?"
"You go first," Ning Lu insisted.
Her small face suddenly drew closer, bringing a wave of warmth.
Ji Ming's restless heart skipped a beat, and he slowed his breathing.
"I……"
"I hope this snow lasts a long time."
His usual playful and teasing tone made it impossible to tell whether he was telling the truth or not.
Ning Lu accepted it all as the truth: "It will be very cold if it snows for a long time."
She pulled her clothes tighter, curled up into a ball, and looked at him apologetically: "I'm sorry, Ji A-ming, I can't help you fulfill this wish."
"now you."
He hadn't expected anything from her anyway, so Ji Ming didn't take it seriously and raised an eyebrow to ask her a question.
"Me? Of course I want to go home as soon as possible."
Ji Ming tilted his head.
"Although the Kingdom of Jiang is vast, it's not difficult for you to return home..."
Ning Lu smiled and patted his shoulder: "If it really is in Jiang Kingdom, then of course it's not difficult."
"I don't know how I got here, so I don't know how to get back."
She was just grumbling casually, but she found that Ji Ming was listening very attentively.
With a sudden thought, she relented and sat down directly in front of him: "Tomorrow, heat up a pot of wine, and I'll tell you the story slowly. Okay?"
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