“Fengfeng had me bring over a bowl of fried rice for you, she said… it smells really good,” Nan Quanyou was somewhat timid as he placed the bowl of rice on a round table inside. Seeing this, Brother Fu quickly started eating his dinner.
Lin Qiaoyun didn’t feel like stopping him, simply saying, “I’ll return the bowl to you later.”
“Th-that’s fine, but…” Nan Quanyou’s gaze shifted to Qiaoyun’s cold expression. He didn’t know what to do with his hands and feet, nor dared to approach her, maintaining a distance that could fit three people between them.
Still, he summoned his courage and said, “The words I said to you last night were probably… too blunt, so I want to, I want to apologize now. I don’t know if you could… could you not take it to heart?”
Lin Qiaoyun still stood there, her pride intact, and replied in a disgruntled tone, “Whether I take it to heart or not, does it make any difference in the end?”
“No, it’s not the same,” Nan Quanyou replied.
Lin Qiaoyun noticed an unusual tone in his voice, so she asked, “Then why don’t you tell me, what would happen if I took it to heart, and what if I didn’t?”
Nan Quanyou laughed awkwardly at her question. It was too formal a question for an ordinary peasant like him, so he responded more directly, “I was thinking last night, and again today for a long time, that I shouldn’t have given an answer so quickly… I should have thought about it more…”
He began fussing with his pants, rubbing his hands on them as he went on, “Fengfeng advised me last night. She agreed with me bringing you back… back to the village. And Brother Fu would still… still see me as his father…”
Upon hearing these words, the gloom that Lin Qiaoyun had felt all day began to fade, and she started listening more intently.
Nan Quanyou’s words continued in a fragmented way, “Fengfeng also said that we are both still relatively young, and perhaps in the future, we could have… have another child…”
Hearing this, Brother Fu, who was eating, suddenly turned around and asked, “Mom, Uncle Nan, who is going to have a baby?”
Lin Qiaoyun quickly urged Brother Fu to continue eating and she brought a stool for Nan Quanyou to sit on. This was the first time he had been able to sit since he arrived in the house.
Lin Qiaoyun also sat down next to him. At this point, she realized that Nan Quanyou regretted it, he wanted her now. The sudden realization almost made her cry.
“You managed to understand so quickly? Why did you reject me last night then?” Lin Qiaoyun still couldn’t forget about last night.
“I, I… It was too sudden last night, I hadn’t considered it at all.”
“I came to help you with cooking every day, didn’t you realize?” For the first time, Lin Qiaoyun started to cry.
“I thought… you were just a good-hearted person, and I also had Fengfeng send you things.”
“So, all those times you were sending me things, it was to thank me for cooking for you? I thought… I thought…” Lin Qiaoyun sounded disheartened again.
Nan Quanyou was rubbing his hands on his pants, looking rather embarrassed, “Back then, my leg was lame, how could I have imagined that you would… you would be interested in me.”
“…” In fact, during the time Lin Qiaoyun had helped him, she had initially pitied him, but gradually, she found Nan Quanyou to be a good man. Unlike many men who acted like lords at home, unable to do anything, he was gentle and respectful to her. Unlike the other men she’d met outside, who would harass her when they found out she was a widow.
Nan Quanyou stammered,”You said, you want… want to go back to Daping Village with me? I’ll…I’ll go back after a while.”
Lin Qiaoyun’s face lit up with joy, “Quanyou, I… I’ll go back with you.”
It seemed she was also stuttering.
Nan Quanyou continued to stutter, “if you have time, pack up your things and… and also sort out your affairs with your master.”
…
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