“It’s always like this. If I could pick you up, I would surprise you all the time.”
I held onto Xie Yuancheng tightly, but he grinned mischievously and told me to go back and work on my arm strength so that maybe one day I'd be able to lift him up.
"Ugh, you always try to fool me. I won't let you get away with this next time."
"Hold on tight, I'm going down the mountain."
"So fast?" I struggled to get down. "I wanted to see the hills over there. Let's go take a look, we're already up here anyway."
"Okay, if Ying'er wants to go, I'll carry you there."
"No, put me down. You're still injured. I need to take care of you."
I insisted on getting down, and Xie Yuancheng finally put me down. I took him to see the maple grove we had wanted to see earlier. We looked around for a long time, and I made a pair of glasses with my hands to show Xie Yuancheng that we could only see one spot. He kept saying he couldn't see anything, and my hands were getting sore before the little rascal finally said he could see everything.
"Let's go, it's already noon. Ying'er will get hungry if we don't go down soon. Let's go."
"Okay~ My little Chengcheng is hungry, I'm going to make you something delicious."
"Let me see if you drank honey this morning, because you always say things I like."
"Yuancheng~" I leaned on his shoulder and wouldn't let go: "I was going to cook for you in the first place. It's you who won't let me go to the kitchen. I don't know how to cook."
"No means no. Come on, get on my back, I'll carry you down."
"No! I want to go with you, I'll help you walk." I held Xie Yuancheng's hand tightly, and I wouldn't let him go if he didn't agree.
"Ying'er, I am your man. It's normal for you to rely on me. Don't feel pressured."
"I don't feel any pressure. You're overthinking it. I just want to go with you and not let you suffer alone, okay?"
“It’s fine when it’s flat, but you’ve walked too much this morning. You can choose to carry me or hold me, but I’m not going to let you walk any further.”
"Then I'll carry you on my back. You're strong anyway, I'll just enjoy it."
I leaned over Xie Yuancheng's back and gently kissed his ear. I knew he was worried that I hadn't rested well after giving birth to Yu'er. Although we had recovered well in 2020 when I gave birth to Xizhi and Suling, he was always worried that I wouldn't be able to adapt. Getting pregnant right after jumping off a cliff—he would be worried too if I were in his shoes.
"Ying'er, this is a mountain. If you tease me again, you won't be able to get down the mountain."
"Yes~ I like you so much~ Everything about you is perfect, I love you so much."
Xie Yuancheng tightened his grip, and I took a fan from my waist for him: "Little Chengcheng, quickly cool down, and we'll get some rest when we get back."
"You'll see how powerful I am when we get back. I'll let you go for now." Only then did Xie Yuancheng carry me away.
I rested on his shoulder, glancing at him every now and then. I just love looking at his profile; he looks good from the front and he looks good from the side too.
"Ying'er, hold me tighter, or you'll fall down while you're daydreaming, I won't let you off the hook!"
"Yuan Cheng, let me see your face."
"It's been several years. Apart from going out to run errands and other times when we need to be apart, you see me every day?"
“Hmm~” I quickly shook my head: “This is different. You are dressed in all black with some red stripes, and this is a maple forest. It’s really beautiful at first glance.”
"Ying'er, aren't you going too far with your praise? If I can't help myself, you'll be in big trouble."
"Okay, I'll praise you again when we get back, and tell you all the things you like to hear."
I leaned against Xie Yuancheng to rest. I was already going downhill, and I couldn't let him get flustered, or we'd both fall down together.
Fortunately, he walked steadily, and we arrived safely at the bottom. As soon as I got off, I followed Xie Yuancheng onto his horse. There was a small inn nearby, and Xie Yuancheng made a short detour to get there.
The food here is so-so, mostly vegetarian, but it's perfect for eating right after coming down from the mountain. I don't really like these dishes, so I gave all the good ones to Xie Yuancheng, and I just ate some bok choy and shredded carrots.
"Ying'er, if you don't eat more, I won't let you go out." Xie Yuancheng ordered another steamed fish, and I frowned.
"Okay, I'll eat it." Xie Yuancheng started talking as soon as I put down my chopsticks. Seeing that he wasn't moving his chopsticks, I had no choice but to continue eating.
The guesthouse was a bit small, so I said I wanted to go to the village to take a look. I always felt a sense of guilt when I saw the bright red maple leaves.
"Alright, it's not too far from here, we'll be right back."
"Wait a minute." I thought of a plan and leaned over to Xie Yuancheng, saying, "Let's find a few ordinary-looking people to go to the village and take a look first, then we'll go."
"Ying'er, what kind of wicked idea have you come up with this time?"
“Let’s do it this way. We can split into two teams to go and see. It’s very possible that what we see is not real. I have a feeling that something big is happening in the village.”
"I'll do as you say." Xie Yuancheng is the center; whatever he agrees to, someone will do it.
I still envy the people who do things for him. They were wearing armor just a moment ago, and in the blink of an eye, they changed their appearance and left before I could even see them clearly.
"Ying'er, we'll be there in an hour. Would you like to rest for a bit?"
"No, let's go for a walk around. It's not like the village is the only place we have to go. Let's go and see what's outside Linyang. I haven't looked around properly yet."
"No!" Xie Yuancheng refused outright, and no amount of pleading and begging could change his mind.
The sun outside was already starting to weaken, and I actually leaned against Xie Yuancheng for an hour. He preferred to let me rest in the back of the inn rather than let me go out for a walk, saying it was for my own good!
"Ying'er, it's time, let's go." Xie Yuancheng patted my shoulder. I didn't want to get up, but he grabbed me and we left.
"Why don't we walk around the area? We might be missing out on a lot of information!"
"Linyang is still a bit far from Heping. We are in the safest area, so don't wander around."
"Why didn't you say so sooner? What if something happened to the people they went to investigate? I'm so stupid. You told me not to go outside, how come I didn't think of these things?"
I felt so guilty. Xie Yuancheng assured me they would be fine, and that they wouldn't enter the village, just walk around on the side. However, we don't have the most accurate information we need right now. The government office did investigate, and there was indeed something unpleasant that happened in the maple forest.
Xie Yuancheng brought me out not only to see the scenery but also to see the layout of the maple forest. Of course, I didn't care about that; while I was inside, I felt it was both dangerous and beautiful.
"Luckily, I have a good eye, otherwise I wouldn't have guessed this."
"Ying'er, are you angry?"
"No, it's not a bad thing. You just like to keep things to yourself. If I had known about this trip, I would have given you a massage to relax your whole body, instead of letting you keep it to yourself."
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