Mu Yi'an led the way, with Jiang Shuyun following closely behind. He was genuinely afraid of snakes, both physically and psychologically.
Once inside the mountains, Mu Yi'an was full of life, like a fish returning to the sea or a monkey returning to the mountains, completely at ease.
"Jiang Shuyun, do you see that patch of yellow flowers?"
"Where is it? Ah, that patch over there? It's dandelions, right? They're yellow."
"No, it's chrysanthemums. Let's pick more to take back later. We can make chrysanthemum tea, which is good for the eyes. We can also dry them and stuff them into pillows, which is said to cure insomnia."
Mu Yi'an walked closer to take a look. There were quite a few chrysanthemums in this patch. She wondered if the pharmacy would accept them. Mu Yi'an was now back to square one; she had no house, no car, and little savings. She felt uncertain. She felt like she was back in high school, seeing something and immediately thinking about whether it could be sold for money; only money could give her peace of mind.
"You can sleep well, Mu Yi'an, how did you know I have a sleep disorder?"
"I don't know, I fall asleep as soon as I lie down every day."
"Yeah, you sleep so well, I didn't even know you moved away."
Jiang Shuyun muttered softly, "Mu Yi'an must be a strong person. Once he's thought things through, he can move forward without looking back."
"I'll get you a chrysanthemum pillow when we get back, and see if it works."
"No need, I can fall asleep easily just by listening to your breathing every day."
It's true. Since arriving here, except for the first two nights when he fell asleep slowly, he quickly fell asleep after listening to Mu Yi'an's breathing.
"My breathing can even help me sleep, it's not snoring, is it? Are you too embarrassed to say it?"
"No, I didn't hear you snoring!"
"Maybe I wasn't tired. When I was in school, I would sometimes stay in the experimental field for several days at a time, and I would snore at night. That's what my boyfriend at the time said. It kept him from sleeping, so we broke up. I feel much more comfortable now. I still prefer to have a big bed all to myself."
Mu Yi'an had forgotten which boyfriend, or rather, which male companion, that man was.
"Aren't you a staunch non-marriage advocate? How come you have a boyfriend?"
As soon as Jiang Shuyun finished speaking, she realized she had said the wrong thing, and unsurprisingly, she received a big eye roll from Mu Yi'an.
"Not getting married doesn't mean I don't date. Women have needs too. Are you detached from worldly desires and living like a monk? No, even monks break their vows."
"No, I'm a normal man, how could I not have needs?"
Jiang Shuyun felt a little uncomfortable discussing such a private topic with Mu Yi'an in the open mountains. What if someone overheard them?
"So you're applying double standards, aren't you? It's normal for you to have needs, but it's strange for me to have them?"
"No, I just misspoke. After all, women are very private about these things and won't say them out loud."
Jiang Shuyun was truly afraid of Mu Yi'an; he was really good with words, and Jiang Shuyun was no match for him.
"That's because you don't understand women. Many women are more adept at having fun than men. However, I can accept a one-on-one relationship, but I can't handle multiple partners. We're going to be living together from now on, and I've never considered a sexless life; it's harmful to our physical and mental health."
The problem of contraception is difficult to solve. There aren't various types of condoms available now, and other methods aren't reliable. In ancient times, there were contraceptive soups, but we don't know if they were harmful to the body. Watching palace intrigues and family power struggles, it seems like people lose their fertility after a while—I wonder how that was done?
Mu Yi'an muttered to herself, her mind now filled with thoughts of contraception.
Jiang Shuyun's face flushed slightly. He had dated quite a few girlfriends before. He was over forty before he came here and didn't have a girlfriend; to be precise, having female companions was abnormal. They were both non-marriage and childless, and their relationship was merely to satisfy each other's physical needs.
"Stop talking now, we're not in a rush. Your concerns are valid; it's not the right time for us to have children. Raising these three children was difficult enough, let alone more."
"Alright, I'm not in a hurry. Without a stable life, I'm not in the mood to think about those things. When people are well-fed and warm, they think of lust; when they are hungry and cold, they think of theft. Our current savings can't withstand any unexpected events."
Having figured it out, Mu Yi'an ended the conversation. She could tell that Jiang Shuyun was still a bit shy.
"Let's go inside and see what we can eat. We can't have come all this way for nothing."
"I'll listen to you. I don't recognize anything. The only thing I recognize is a dandelion, and I even made a fool of myself with that."
"It's okay, I won't laugh at you. We have different living environments. You have your strengths, and I have mine. We can complement each other's strengths and weaknesses. It's not a big deal. I'm not good at internal conflicts; I usually look for problems in others."
Mu Yi'an made a joke, but there was a hint of truth in her words; she truly didn't engage in internal strife.
"I understand. I'm not an insecure person. I'm just used to being pampered, and suddenly I feel lost."
Jiang Shuyun felt like she had suddenly run on the wrong track, surrounded by unfamiliar things, and unable to go back, so she was trying to adapt.
"That's good, mental health is more important. Ah! I see chestnuts!"
Mu Yi'an abruptly changed the subject, catching Jiang Shuyun off guard. He only saw Mu Yi'an dashing forward with incredible speed and agility. Jiang Shuyun followed closely behind, stumbling and scrambling along.
"Jiang Shuyun, chestnuts, I love chestnuts the most, especially chestnut stewed chicken, the taste is unbeatable."
Mu Yi'an looked at the fluffy ball that had fallen to the ground. It was fine; it wasn't spoiled. It hadn't rained recently, so the chestnuts were ripe and fresh.
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