Chapter 87 I can smell it, you're about to have your menstrual period...
A dark-skinned figure was seen hunched over, facing away from the doorway, hammering away with nails. His body was soaked with sweat.
The downpour had arrived; the torrential rain poured down, crashing against the ground like hundreds of whips lashing at it simultaneously, creating long, sharp splashes of water, accompanied by an overwhelming, malevolent wind.
The pomegranate tree in the yard swayed violently, bending over, shaking its head, and sprouting many flowers and leaves.
Summer rain always comes so suddenly, bringing with it a stuffy, cool chill.
The figure made no attempt to hide, dismantling and rebuilding part of the original chicken coop.
From a distance, one could almost hear the pounding rain, as big as copper coins, crashing against his back, slid down his spine, and then down his waist and thighs.
He felt as if he were submerged in a river, with wave after wave crashing and attacking him relentlessly, leaving him in a terrible state.
Jiang Shuifu's eyes darted around and she saw the chicks beside her.
They were chirping pitifully, their sleepy eyes darting around as they slept soundly when a sudden downpour sent them flying.
They are afraid of rain, and getting wet in the rain can easily make them sick. And this chicken coop can hardly withstand the onslaught of a downpour. Before long, just when they were about to be soaked to the bone, the owner appeared, scooped them up, and saved them.
The chicks all ran towards the eaves and towards Jiang Shuifu.
Seeing the chicks running in droves in the rain, Jiang Shuifu immediately went back to put on a coat, opened an umbrella, and went to greet them.
The chicks all ran under her umbrella, and she moved them into the side room to keep them warm.
Shen Jizhao was still repairing the chicken coop. He divided the coop into layers and placed many wooden planks in the middle so that the chicks could go up to the upper floor to take shelter from the rain. He also laid out a lot of straw and cloth to better keep them warm.
He waved his heavy "water sleeves," his vision blurred by the rain, streams of water flowing down his forehead, the sound as loud as drums echoing in his ears, filling his entire world.
Suddenly, the world became quiet, the vision became clear, and the dripping water stopped.
He slowly raised his eyes, and a corner of the eight-ribbed umbrella appeared in his line of sight.
The eight-ribbed umbrella was large, and the rain, which had been trying to continue pounding on him, was inexplicably stopped. It was extremely displeased and could only roll along the umbrella surface and splash water at his feet.
His body was thus protected within a carefully defined circle. At this moment, he was isolated from the world, kept out of all storms, and could not be harmed in the slightest.
He slowly turned around, his eyes filled with hope, but upon closer inspection, he saw more worry. What was she doing out in such heavy rain?
Did he wake her up?
His brow furrowed unconsciously, but stopped abruptly when he turned to search.
Where was the woman?
There was no one in front of him.
The rain instantly lashed down on the lonely man, striking the wounds on his chest and back, causing them to swell and fester, as if that brief moment of shelter was merely a figment of his imagination.
As dawn broke and the rain fell, the fresh, damp scent of the earth carried a faint, sweet aroma.
Her presence.
He can't possibly not smell it.
As wise as he was, he understood instantly.
She was there to shelter others from the wind and rain, but not him; he was just benefiting from it.
All he had was that she passed by and paused briefly for a moment.
In that instant, he was the one who was saved.
Even after she left, the world continued to be a turbulent place.
Time flashes back in an instant; once upon a time, every spot under her umbrella was reserved for him.
How could he not be tempted?
Jiang Shuifu closed the door, changed her clothes, ran to the bed, wrapped herself in her thin blanket, and continued to sleep. After going out for a short while, her body was covered in dampness, and her nose became itchy.
"He's an idiot."
Only a fool would rush back in such heavy rain just to protect the livestock.
Shen Jizhao denied it, because it was his promise to her that he would raise the chickens well and come back, and would not leave her alone again.
Their home needs to be managed, just as she used to.
The sun was high in the sky. Although the downpour had stopped, the weather remained gloomy. Jiang Shuifu slowly woke up, and Pan Tao immediately brought in breakfast.
After washing up, Jiang Shuifu's eyes lit up when she saw the things on the table.
"Where did these wontons come from?"
She was surprised to be able to eat wontons, her favorite breakfast.
These wontons are steaming hot, with a wonderfully fragrant aroma. The oil is glistening golden, and they're sprinkled with chopped scallions—they look incredibly tempting.
Her eyes lit up, and her lips never left her mouth. She immediately sat down, scooped up a spoonful, and began to eat.
She asked casually, "Did he go to town?"
The peach across from him, who was also enjoying her meal immensely, shook her head: "I don't know, it was brought from the kitchen."
As soon as she entered the kitchen, she saw two bowls of fragrant wontons, which she assumed were bought by His Highness.
Jiang Shuifu secretly resented him. She also wanted to go to the morning market, so why didn't he wait for her? Did he not want to take her, and was only giving her this once in a while, afraid that she would run away?
She ate with increasing gusto, even finishing the soup, but still felt unsatisfied. These wontons seemed to be from a different vendor at the morning market; their flavor was richer and clearer, more to her liking.
.
Shen Jizhao was nowhere to be seen all day, and he didn't say when he would return. Jiang Shuifu didn't care about him; the main problem was that she had no food to eat.
So far, she has only eaten wontons for lunch, and she is hungry.
Fine, I knew men couldn't be relied on. She and Pan Tao went to the kitchen and cooked for themselves.
But when they reached the side room, they froze, their steps halting instantly, and they pricked up their ears.
There were heavy, labored breathing sounds coming from inside.
Jiang Shuifu could inexplicably sense that the breathing sound was scalding hot and full of heat.
She casually pushed open the side room, and Pan Tao exclaimed in surprise:
"Miss, Your Highness, is His Highness dead?"
"No, no!"
The peaches were terrified, jumping and spinning around, fearing that if anything happened to Shen Jizhao, they would suffer the consequences.
It's no wonder that Pan Tao was making a fuss; the man lying on the ground was in terrible condition. His face was flushed, and his ears and neck were as red as a boiled crab.
It seems like he has a fever, a high fever at that.
I thought he was so amazing.
Jiang Shuifu approached him step by step, stopping when she was a foot away from him.
He lay weakly on the cold ground, his soaked clothes long since changed, now replaced by his wrinkled, worn-out, bright red rag nightgown.
She was extremely puzzled. She reached out a finger to touch him, but immediately pulled it back, her disgust obvious.
With just a flick of her finger, her pajamas were torn, but why hasn't this rag worn out after he's worn it for so long?
At that moment, the man's eyes flickered, and she scoffed:
"So what if he's dead? He's already a dead man, isn't he? Perfect, let's just run away!"
In her heart, he had long since died.
The man, his eyes darting around, only vaguely heard these words: "She's going to run away again?"
No, she can't do that.
Shen Jizhao exerted all his strength to break free from his extremely dazed mind, regained control of his body, and moved his fingers.
Just as Jiang Shuifu was about to get up and leave, a large hand suddenly grabbed her arm with surprising strength, as if afraid she would actually run away.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was hoarse and wet.
"Didn't you promise me? Don't run away, okay?"
The words were full of supplication.
Jiang Shuifu felt a sharp pain from his grip and shook off his hand. He pleaded with her, assuring her:
"I won't die, I'm just tired. I'll be fine after a good night's sleep."
He won't die, she shouldn't leave, okay?
She gave him a fling in annoyance, and to her surprise, she actually managed to shake him off. She stumbled and fell to the ground, turning around to scold him, but he was already unconscious.
His rags and nightgowns were completely torn, revealing wounds all over his body, including his back and legs; almost his entire body was covered in injuries.
It turned out that he not only had a high fever, but was also seriously injured, including some fatal wounds.
Jiang Shuifu gritted her teeth, but still turned and left. With a creak, the side room instantly returned to its original lifeless state.
.
When Shen Jizhao woke up, it was five days later. He was surprised to see the familiar arrangement above him; he had been sleeping on a small couch.
And what about her?
He immediately turned to look for Jiang Shuifu, who was fast asleep wrapped in the bed.
Did she bandage his wound?
She agreed to bandage his wound!
Jiang Shuifu was getting up later and later, feeling increasingly tired and dizzy. Today, she woke up at noon again.
Her lunch was already laid out on the table: a bowl of wontons.
Shen Jizhao had just returned. After he came in, he immediately took out his purse from his waist and poured out a full amount of silver coins.
"The money I earned selling vegetables today."
Jiang Shuifu was completely bewildered. She sipped her wonton soup slowly and glanced at him with a puzzled look.
A glimmer of light appeared in Shen Jizhao's eyes as he explained:
"Didn't you say you wanted me to hand over my money? From now on, all my money will be yours."
Jiang Shuifu almost spat out her soup. She didn't care for such a paltry sum. If he was so capable, he should hand over his little treasure to her! She would reluctantly accept it.
From then on, Shen Jizhao stared at her with his seemingly normal eyes, which actually sparkled with starlight.
He gazed at her while she ate, he gazed at her when she went out to stretch and swing, and he even secretly gazed at her when her aunt came to chat with her.
The old woman, being an experienced woman herself, could easily sense it. She covered her face in embarrassment and ran away.
"Oh my, at my age, I'm still witnessing such intimate moments between women. It's so embarrassing! Your husband must really love you to death!"
Jiang Shuifu pursed her lips. What was he going to do? What nonsense was he spouting!
She thought he was going to stop, but to her surprise, he became even more aggressive at night, glancing at her every now and then with a hint of excitement, as if he had obtained something he valued. The worst part was that he refused to change the dressing, which had gone bad and caused the wound inside to split open, giving off a putrid smell.
She felt dizzy, gagged, and spat out a mouthful of food. Unable to hold it in any longer, she angrily yelled at him:
"Shen Jizhao, get out of here! You stink!"
The man who was being scolded still held his head high and refused to change his medication: "I have your scent on me, I won't change it!"
Jiang Shuifu's eyes widened in shock, finally realizing what had gotten into him. She got out of bed and walked towards him step by step.
She deliberately moved closer to his neck, tilting her head as if to lean in, and his body immediately tensed up, his clenched fists betraying his bewilderment.
She then quickly covered her nose, shattering his illusion with disgust:
"I wasn't the one who applied the medicine to you. And I, sorry, happen to be the one who wouldn't help you when you were dying. I'm just allowing you to move to the small couch for a few days, so you don't die next to me and bring bad luck!"
Shen Jizhao's eyes darkened instantly. So that's how it is. He had been deluding himself.
But then he smiled wryly and sniffed his own scent:
"I don't smell bad, I like it very much. When I'm in the same room with you, I can smell your unique sweet scent, I can smell your restless, intermittent, sometimes light, sometimes heavy breathing, I can smell your restless and depressed mood, and I can even smell..."
He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
The man's eyes suddenly changed, and he shot her a sharp look, "You're about to get your period."
!!
Jiang Shuifu's eyes widened in shock. He was such a pervert! Not only did he sneakily smell her scent, but he could also detect the scent of her impending menstruation!
Her ears turned slightly red, and she felt herself getting hotter and hotter.
She was getting increasingly dizzy with anger, and her steps were almost unsteady.
Shen Jizhao knew when to stop; he was simply speaking from the heart and had no intention of offending anyone.
"I'm taking my leave. I feel a chill on my body."
The man, carrying his bedding, was about to leave when a figure came crashing down on him.
Instinctively, he gave it a full hug.
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Author's Note: Two chapters tomorrow.
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