Chapter 30: First Update

"You? What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Facing Fu Wei’s sour expression, Lin Xuexia still could not suppress the excitement in her heart.

Earlier, when Fu Wei spoke to her about the self-study exam diploma, Lin Xuexia had no idea where to start. She hadn't finished middle school or high school, and she had forgotten most of her elementary school lessons. To make her review from scratch—she didn't know where to begin. Even if she started with middle school material, she feared she wouldn't understand the math, physics, or chemistry, and the foreign language would be like reading a heavenly script...

But starting from elementary school, Lin Xuexia felt no psychological pressure. She decided to do a few sets of third-grade problems first to build up some confidence.

"I’ve been swindled; that food money of mine was a total loss," Fu Wei said, extending his palm. "You dug a hole and buried me in it. Refund me."

"No refunds!" Lin Xuexia stifled a laugh, pretending to be fierce as she smacked his palm. "You deserve it. Who doesn't know about your sinister intentions?"

Fu Wei backhanded her, pinning her wrist and pulling her into his arms. His imposing eyes stared unblinkingly at the woman in his embrace. He gave her bottom a pat and scolded, "In the dead of night, I'm trying to court my future wife, and you go and bring along a lightbulb."

Lin Xuexia smiled brightly. "I want to, I want to, I want to."

She laughed happily, burrowing into Fu Wei’s chest like a little gopher. "I have to tutor an elementary schooler with their reading and homework, so don't you go bothering me."

Fu Wei held back his laughter, thinking to himself that with her level of knowledge, she was actually tutoring someone? Forget it, he would just watch from the sidelines.

He looked down at the woman in his arms. Her expression still held excitement and a smile; she suppressed her laughter, her lips pursed, but her cheeks puffed out slightly, and those large, round eyes shone like stars.

When he first met her, he always felt she possessed an alluring, voluptuous femininity. Yet, when they spent time together, she would occasionally show this playful, childlike side. No matter what version of her it was, he wanted her.

Fu Wei lowered his head, kissing her eye sockets, then trailing down to linger on her lips.

Lin Xuexia closed her eyes, feeling her face being made damp all over by him. Apart from lacking a big tongue, he was just like a puppy.

That night, they cooked a sumptuous spread so that someone wouldn't complain about losing money on food costs. The two sat at the round table in the living room to eat. Fu Wei didn't like to talk while eating, burying his head to devour the food, while Lin Xuexia ate slowly, enjoying this quiet, cozy moment.

However, outside, the wind howled and thunder rumbled, eventually turning into a torrential downpour. A damp, moist chill crept into the room through the gaps, making everything feel sticky and humid, even making it feel heavy to breathe.

As it rained, the dust hung in the air, but the rain was so heavy, like a diligent cleaner, determined to scrub the entire world clean.

Lin Xuexia opened the door, and the emergency light in the hallway flickered on. She stretched her neck to look through the window at the rain. Crystal-clear droplets splattered against the windowsill, and the ground outside was soaked.

She frowned, hesitated for a long moment, then walked back into the room and said to Fu Wei, "It’s so late and the rain hasn't stopped. Why don't you stay over tonight?"

Fu Wei was sitting on a wooden chair in the living room. The chair wasn't high, and his legs were crossed like scissors, elongating his frame. On the black-and-white television not far away, the names of the actors from the movie that had just finished were scrolling by.

Hearing this, he turned his head and stared fixedly at Lin Xuexia. "Then where do I sleep?"

In Lin Xuexia's room, there was only one bed.

"Don't play dumb," Lin Xuexia rolled her eyes. There was only one quilt; where else could he sleep?

Fu Wei replied, "Should I sleep in the hallway? I can push these chairs together and barely manage for the night."

Lin Xuexia countered, "Go ahead, see if you fall off and break something."

She couldn't believe this man said that. With his size, was he planning to perform acrobatics in the middle of the night?

Fu Wei stood up, walked over, and hugged her from behind. His voice was hoarse and low as he asked, "Then tell me, where do I sleep? How would I know if you don't say?"

Lin Xuexia glanced at him and said coolly, "Sleep on the floor. You’re still young; you won't get rheumatism from one night. I'll lay out a straw mat for you."

Fu Wei lowered his head, collapsing entirely onto her shoulder, and let out an "Oh." What a heartless woman.

Lin Xuexia patted his face and led him to the master bedroom, pulling a blanket from the cupboard. "I'll sleep on the inside, you sleep on the outside, and you can use this blanket."

"Really?" Fu Wei swept Lin Xuexia up by the waist and sat on the edge of the bed. He pressed his forehead against hers. "I didn't expect such a great stroke of luck today."

Lin Xuexia said, "...Go wash up quickly. I'll dry your clothes for you first; don't wear dirty clothes to bed on my sheets."

"Take off your inner trousers first, wash them, and I'll hang them on the bamboo basket to dry. They’ll dry easily."

Fu Wei gasped. He not only felt his abdomen tighten and a wave of heat surge upward, but just imagining that scene made his nose feel hot, too.

He held the Lin Xuexia in his arms, his body frozen for a long time, except for one other place, which was stiff as a board.

Lin Xuexia pushed his chest. "Why aren't you moving? It takes time to dry clothes."

"Wrap yourself in a long towel until your clothes are dry," Lin Xuexia murmured secretively.

Anyway, she wasn't the one without clothes; whoever didn't have clothes to wear was the one who should be embarrassed. Truth be told, she wouldn't mind taking a look and appreciating the view.

Fu Wei's mind was in chaos. He was silent for a moment before finally blurting out, "I brought a raincoat."

Lin Xuexia: "?"

"Wife, the rain seems to have let up a bit. I'll head back today; you get some good rest."

With that, Fu Wei grabbed his things and left. Lin Xuexia leaned against the door, watching his retreating figure, thinking to herself that he was... fleeing in panic?

She couldn't help but chuckle.

The young Fu Wei didn't seem to have such a thick skin yet.

In the past, it was always Fu Wei teasing her; now, had it turned into her teasing Fu Wei?

Lin Xuexia thought to herself: As long as I'm not shy, the one who is shy will be someone else.

*

The rain fell all night and didn't stop in the morning. Lin Xuexia looked through the glass window at the rain and couldn't help but sigh. In such grey, damp, and gloomy weather, she really didn't want to go out.

The temperature was lower than yesterday. Lin Xuexia had originally wanted to wear long sleeves, but then she remembered the local climate—fearing it would stop raining by noon and warm up—so she wore a short-sleeved shirt inside and brought a jacket for the outside.

It was November, and the weather had cooled down considerably. Gone was the intense heat of midsummer, but the daytime temperatures were still high enough that wearing short sleeves was no problem.

She wore a pair of blue rain boots and a pink raincoat over her clothes. She also brought a spare pair of shoes. As soon as she stepped out, she saw Gao Chunyan and her daughter dressed the same way; Liu Yangqun, wearing a raincoat, was even holding two umbrellas.

It was her first time going to the stall with her mother, and she ran into this kind of weather. She didn't know if she was lucky or unlucky.

Liu Yangqun felt it was actually quite good; at least no one would recognize her now.

The three of them moved slower than usual to reach the stall. Gao Chunyan rode the tricycle, while Liu Yangqun and Lin Xuexia walked alongside, occasionally helping to steady it. With the rain, visibility was lower than usual, and it was much harder to endure.

They arrived relatively early. The vendors selling shoes and bags nearby probably wouldn't come out this morning, and the couple with the fruit stand didn't appear either—they had only learned to sell porridge for one day and had since gone back to honestly selling fruit, giving up on the side venture.

After much effort to set up the rain canopy, Gao Chunyan immediately took off her raincoat. "It’s boiling me to death!"

Staying inside the raincoat was stuffy and hot. It was a good thing it wasn't a midsummer rain, or it would have been even worse. The hair on Gao Chunyan's forehead was wet, and it was hard to tell if it was sweat or rain; she looked exceptionally disheveled.

Liu Yangqun glanced at Gao Chunyan, kept her head down, and helped with the work. Before long, Zhao Huiru arrived, and they got down to business.

With the rain canopy pulled across three sides, it was much more comfortable inside. Not long after, customers began to rush in to buy food. Few were willing to sit down and eat rice noodles in the rain, so they bought porridge or sticky rice from Lin Xuexia and left in a hurry.

Only a sporadic two or three people ate rice noodles.

Liu Yangqun didn't even have time to eat a bowl of rice noodles at her mother's stall. She checked the time, knowing she would be late if she didn't rush to school. Lin Xuexia stuffed a huge lump of sticky rice into her hands, filled with several pieces of char siu pork, braised beef, and braised pork belly, telling her to eat on the way.

Liu Yangqun swallowed hard. She looked up at Lin Xuexia. The sky had brightened, and although it was still raining and the light was dim, she could clearly see Sister Xuexia's face. Her cheeks were as white as jade, without a single flaw; she was even prettier than the actresses on TV. She was just like the kind of soul-stirring girl described in the magazines others would pass to her.

Yesterday, when she returned home, she didn't go straight to her room. She had stood by the door and secretly heard Sister Xuexia talking to her mother, saying she would accompany her to buy shoes.

Clutching the rice ball, Liu Yangqun felt a warmth in her heart. She couldn't bear to wolf it down on the road, so she endured her hunger, planning to savor it slowly once she reached school.

The elementary school she attended had a lovely campus. Her classroom was on the fifth floor of the newly built teaching building. To send her to study here, her mother had paid a sponsorship fee for the new building.

The building was new and beautiful, with tiled floors. It was a bit slippery when it rained, but some mischievous students actually liked to slide around and chase each other.

Liu Yangqun entered the classroom, and her seatmate, Jiang Jingqing, was already sitting there with a carton of milk and a caterpillar bread on her desk.

Jiang Jingqing often had all sorts of beautiful, sweet cakes in the morning, like cupcakes, pork floss bread, or this strip-like caterpillar bread—brownish-yellow with winding, flaky pastry on top that looked just like the patterns on a caterpillar. It was very fragrant and filled with red bean paste.

Bread and cakes were expensive; she couldn't afford such things in the morning.

Liu Yangqun's heart gave a slight tug. Her originally happy mood dipped at this moment. She walked over and put her schoolbag in the drawer.

She touched the still-warm rice ball and couldn't help but swallow. In front of Jiang Jingqing, she had originally felt a bit embarrassed to eat it, but she was just too hungry, and remembering the meat inside, she couldn't control her hands.

Liu Yangqun closed her eyes, thinking, let them mock me or say whatever they want.

She opened her packed sticky rice ball and took a bite. It was as if fireworks were exploding in her brain—it was so delicious, truly delicious! In that instant, the cakes and bread she used to envy were all cast to the back of her mind.

Liu Yangqun realized that, just like her mother, she loved spicy food. In the morning, she preferred salty things; she loved meat, not sweets. Cakes and bread were things she didn't even like.

Thinking about how she could go to the stall with her mother in the future, eat rice noodles with braised beef, and have the choice of sticky rice, porridge, cold dishes, braised food, and boiled eggs... what kind of heavenly life was this?

Liu Yangqun ate with a face full of yearning.

"What are you eating?" the girl next to her, Jiang Jingqing, couldn't help but ask. What Liu Yangqun had in her hand seemed so tempting—a strange, fragrant aroma composed of spicy, salty, sour, and sticky notes that made one's mouth water just by smelling it.

The sauce-colored chunks of meat were particularly striking against the snow-white sticky rice. With every bite, the sauce splattered, rich and alluring.

Liu Yangqun said, "It’s just a regular rice ball. You wouldn't like it. It was made by a very pretty older sister."

After saying that, she returned to her daydreams, not noticing that Jiang Jingqing was swallowing her saliva repeatedly beside her.