Chapter 46: Do You Want to Tie Up the Wicked Woman?

Bai Lixuan resentfully grabbed the dog leash and tied it to the leg of the table against the wall.

All of his reluctant actions were seen by Qiu Yiyao, who mistakenly thought he had deliberately set the dog on her.

Furious, she scrambled up from the ground. "You really hold grudges, don't you? You even set your dog on me! Are you even a man?"

Bai Lixuan looked a bit dazed, frightened by the reprimand to the point that his mouth fell open and he was about to start crying again.

Bai Peiyu hurriedly tried to soothe him, not forgetting to explain to Qiu Yiyao, "Ah Hei was raised by me to protect Lixuan, which is why it gets so fierce when it sees strangers."

Hearing this, Qiu Yiyao recalled the dog barking that night. Could it be that Bai Lixuan had brought the dog along to help her drive Li Zhen away back then?

And then the dog accidentally injured Li Zhen?

She wanted to ask, but she was afraid Bai Peiyu would cleverly guess her plan, so she could only reply, "Oh, I misunderstood then."

Bai Lixuan sat on the chair in the corner of the room, keeping his eyes fixed on Qiu Yiyao with a gaze mixed with a hint of fear.

Sensing this, Qiu Yiyao deliberately made a funny face at him, scaring him so much that his lower lip quivered with immense grievance.

Turning to see Bai Peiyu's solemn expression, she forced herself to swallow her frustration and hold back her tears.

Qiu Yiyao walked around the living room, and the smell of mold mixed with various other foul odors kept assaulting her nostrils.

Unable to bear it any longer, she pinched her bridge of nose and asked in confusion, "Why don't you bring him to live with you?"

Living with one person or two made no difference.

Bai Peiyu did not answer her question. Instead, he raised his feet and walked into the small room nearby. The sound of running water drifted out, as if he was washing something.

Qiu Yiyao followed him inside and discovered it was actually a kitchen.

The kitchen contained some old-fashioned cooking utensils, pots, bowls, and ladles.

Curious, Qiu Yiyao stepped closer and saw that Bai Peiyu was washing a watermelon.

"Did you buy this?"

"I grew it. Right behind the house. If you are interested later, you can go take a look."

After washing it, he placed it on the stove and gently sliced it with a kitchen knife. A crisp cracking sound rang out as the watermelon split into two halves.

"Wow, this melon looks great."

Qiu Yiyao found it incredible; she had never expected Bai Peiyu to know how to grow watermelons.

Bai Peiyu cut the watermelon into several wedges, picked up the largest piece, and handed it to Qiu Yiyao. "Have a taste and see how it is."

Qiu Yiyao took it without standing on ceremony. "Thanks! I bet this is going to be super sweet."

She impatiently took a bite, and sweet juice filled her mouth. Perhaps because it had been soaking in water beforehand, it was cool and refreshing, yet not uncomfortably ice-cold like something taken straight out of a refrigerator.

"This is delicious! Hey, Mr. Bai, you're really something."

Qiu Yiyao couldn't help giving him a thumbs-up.

"If you like it, eat more."

Bai Peiyu picked up another piece and turned to walk out of the kitchen.

Seeing that there was something good to eat, Bai Lixuan hurried over, took the watermelon, and immediately buried his face in it, devouring it.

The loud, slurping sounds he made were somewhat grating on the ears.

Within a couple of bites, he had gnawed the piece of watermelon clean.

Seeing the circle of red juice around Bai Lixuan's mouth and two watermelon seeds stuck to the corner of his lips, Qiu Yiyao was amused. "He really is just a child."

Turning her head, she saw Bai Peiyu watching him the whole time, his gaze carrying a touch of gentleness.

Perhaps sensing Qiu Yiyao's gaze, Bai Peiyu put down the melon rind in his hand and walked toward the back door. "Come on, I'll take you to see the watermelon patch."

"You bet."

Qiu Yiyao had never set foot in a melon patch before, and upon hearing this, she perked up and followed him out the back door.

After walking only a few meters, she saw a large patch of lush green plants.

Some had already borne fruit, while others were still just small seedlings.

Judging by the leaves, there were quite a few different varieties of vegetables in the patch.

Qiu Yiyao had rarely worked the land and couldn't recognize most of them.

Bai Peiyu introduced them to her one by one, filling her with deep admiration. "Did you grow all of these by yourself?"

Bai Peiyu shook his head in denial. "No, Lixuan helped a lot too. Growing these for him means that even if I'm not around in the future, he can still take care of himself."

As he spoke, he turned his head and gave Qiu Yiyao a deep look.

His eyes carried a melancholy that Qiu Yiyao had never seen before; even though it was only a fleeting glimpse, it shocked her.

Was he worried about something?

"This is the watermelon patch."

Bai Peiyu's voice interrupted Qiu Yiyao's train of thought. She looked up and saw that he had already walked a few meters ahead.

At his feet, several large, round watermelons looked extremely tempting.

Qiu Yiyao bent down, targeted the largest one, and imitated the watermelon-selecting secret she had seen on TV. Slightly curving her index finger, she tapped on the watermelon, and a crisp sound rang out.

"Wow, does this mean it's fully ripe?"

Qiu Yiyao shouted happily, looking up at Bai Peiyu with a smile, her large eyes curving into crescent moons.

Her childlike joy brought a smile to Bai Peiyu's face, making him unable to hold it back.

He bent down and picked the watermelon. "As expected of you. We'll take this back later and let Uncle Qiu have a taste too."

"Mm-hmm."

Qiu Yiyao straightened up and looked around. Not far away, a pear tree stood upright, its branches laden with green pears.

"There are even pears!"

Qiu Yiyao happily ran over, failing to notice the winding watermelon vines sprawling everywhere underfoot. Before she knew it, she took a tumble and fell flat on her face.

Seeing this, Bai Peiyu burst into a loud laugh from behind.

Under normal circumstances, Qiu Yiyao would have rushed over to interrogate him and curse him for taking pleasure in her misfortune.

Yet this time, she didn't do that. Instead, a sudden wish welled up in her heart—she hoped he could always remain this happy.

...

Qiu Yiyao frowned as she carefully scrubbed the mud off her hands in a small wooden bucket.

Carrying several large pears in his arms, Bai Peiyu walked in through the back door. Seeing her frown, he said with a hint of reproach, "You're a grown-up now, how can you still get so excited just seeing a few pears?"

"So I took a fall. I'm not made of mud, am I going to shatter?"

Qiu Yiyao looked at the scratch on her palm caused by a small pebble. Seeing that Bai Peiyu wasn't paying attention, she wiped her hand on her clothes and walked out of the kitchen as if nothing had happened.

Yet Bai Peiyu seemed uneasy. He walked straight over to her, grabbed her hand to inspect it, and remarked, "And you talk about Lixuan. I think the two of you are about the same age."

He pulled a snow-white handkerchief out of his pocket, meticulously wiped the water stains off Qiu Yiyao's hand, and then wrapped it up for her.

Qiu Yiyao felt a bit resistant and tried to pull her hand back. "There's no need, it's just a tiny scratch, it'll be fine by tomorrow."

"Why do you have so much nonsense to say?" Bai Peiyu looked up at her and "threatened," "Do you know how much pesticide was sprayed in the field back there? What if it seeps into your skin and your hand rots away in the future?"

Qiu Yiyao was startled. Was it really that serious?

She looked down at the snow-white handkerchief. "Then tie it tighter for me, make sure it doesn't fall off."

"You asked for it."

Bai Peiyu grabbed two corners of the handkerchief and pulled hard. Qiu Yiyao felt her hand being wrapped so tightly that the veins bulged, and she hurriedly cried out, "Okay, okay, it's tight enough!"

Bai Lixuan had been sitting nearby watching the two of them, completely baffled. "Big brother, are you going to tie up the bad woman?"

Hearing this, Qiu Yiyao deliberately put her hands on her hips, glared at him, and "threatened," "Tie her up, tie her up! Careful I don't tie you up instead."

Upon hearing this, Bai Lixuan was so scared he clamped his mouth shut.

Bai Peiyu comforted him helplessly, "Don't be scared, she's just trying to scare you."

"Big brother, please don't bring the bad woman here next time, okay? I'm scared."

Bai Lixuan shrank back into the corner, whimpering with a voice on the verge of tears, looking utterly aggrieved.

Speechless, Qiu Yiyao thought to herself: *I'm already so big, and besides, I'm not a sadist—I don't hit kids.*