KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK...
"Ma’am, could we please have a sip of water?"
With Tang Rou on his back, Lin Feng knocked on the door of a house. The door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman wearing an apron.
"Oh dear, on such a rainy day, how did you two end up like this? Quick, co inside." The aunty was very simple and honest; without even asking about their origins, she imdiately invited them in.
"You ca down from Zhizi Mountain, right? Why did you go out without an umbrella? And what were you doing up on Zhizi Mountain so early?"
As soon as they entered, the aunty kindly offered them tea and water, asking after their well-being.
"We originally ca to Zhizi Mountain to see the teor shower. The weather forecast said it would be clear for the next few days, so we didn’t bring an umbrella. Early this morning, her stomach started hurting, and I didn’t have any dicine, so I carried her down to find so brown sugar water. Ma’am, do you have any brown sugar water here?" Lin Feng explained everything.
"Yes, yes, I drink it myself..."
At this point, the aunty glared at Lin Feng and said, "You n, always thinking only of yourselves! Not taking proper care of your won. It serves you right, having to carry her all this way down!"
But despite her words, the aunty very warmly brought out the brown sugar, skillfully mixed it with hot water, stirred it evenly, and offered it to Tang Rou, intending to help her drink it.
Seeing such a warm-hearted aunty, Tang Rou felt a little embarrassed. "Ma’am, I can do it myself," she said, reaching for the porcelain bowl.
The middle-aged aunty was about to hand the bowl to Tang Rou, but then she changed her mind. Glaring at Lin Feng again, she pushed the bowl into his hands. "You call yourself a boyfriend? You’re so incompetent! Can’t you see your girlfriend is unwell? You still want her to do it herself? I really don’t know how you managed to win over such a beautiful girl..."
At her words, both Tang Rou and Lin Feng were dumbfounded. So the aunty thought they were a couple!
Tang Rou stole a glance at Lin Feng, her gaze hazy, her shy eyes filled with happiness.
Seeing Lin Feng looking sowhat dazed, she hesitated for a mont before saying, "Ma’am, we’re not a couple. We’re just classmates..."
Lin Feng had thought the aunty would believe them. But instead, she gave Tang Rou a knowing, affectionate look. "Dear girl," she said, "don’t be shy. I’m an experienced woman. The mont you two walked in, I saw the way you looked at this young man. Your eyes were full of affection and happiness. I’ve been in love too, you know. You’re definitely very fond of this young man, aren’t you?"
"Ma’am... you... what are you saying?!"
The aunty’s words made Tang Rou’s pretty face turn beet red; she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
"Haha, Ma’am, you’re truly perceptive. My apologies. Is it alright if I feed my girlfriend now?"
The priority now was to treat Tang Rou. Hearing the aunty’s words, Lin Feng decided not to explain further. He simply took the bowl and began feeding Tang Rou spoonful by spoonful.
Indeed, seeing them walk in so intimately, a young man and woman alone heading to Zhizi Mountain to watch a teor shower—who would believe they weren’t a couple?
When Lin Feng brought the spoon to Tang Rou’s lips, she hesitated for a mont. She hadn’t expected Lin Feng to lie so readily, claiming she was his girlfriend.
A mont later, however, Tang Rou blushed. She glanced at Lin Feng, then smiled happily and opened her cherry-red lips, drinking the sweet brown sugar water that seed to warm her very heart.
"Drink slowly, don’t choke..." Lin Feng cautioned.
Seeing this, the aunty turned away, shaking her head with a smile. "Still say you’re not a couple? Who do you think you’re fooling?" she murmured.
After Tang Rou finished a large bowl of brown sugar water, Lin Feng massaged an acupoint on her inner thigh. After a short while, Tang Rou whispered, "Lin Feng, it’s okay now... I feel much better."
Just then, the aunty brought them a bowl of congee and a dish of pickled vegetables, placing them on the large table. "You two haven’t had breakfast, have you? Co, eat while it’s hot. My old man went to the market and didn’t eat the breakfast I made for him. Skipping breakfast isn’t good, especially for young folks like you."
The two exchanged a glance, then sat down at the table and began to eat the congee.
The aunty sat nearby, watching them eat. "Many young people have co to Zhizi Mountain in recent years," she said. "It seems they co because of the mountain’s na. The na seems to be related to so saying..."
"Holding hands with you, growing old together with you," Tang Rou said, looking up with a smile.
After saying this, she gave Lin Feng a charming glance, then lowered her head and continued drinking her congee.
"Yes, yes, that’s it! Little miss, what does that saying an? Why do all you young people like it so much?" the aunty asked curiously.
"It ans... um... sothing like holding hands with the one you love and growing old together..." As Tang Rou spoke, her voice grew softer and softer. She glanced at Lin Feng, and when he looked her way, she quickly lowered her head again.
"Is that what it ans? What’s so special about that? Isn’t that what everyone hopes for in love and marriage? Anyone can do that." Hearing Tang Rou’s explanation, the aunty sounded a little disappointed. She had thought the phrase would be much more profound.
"I see you two don’t look very old. Are you still in school?" the aunty asked.
"Huh?" Tang Rou was taken aback by the question and hesitated, unsure how to answer.
"Ma’am, you have sharp eyes indeed! We are students, freshn at Jiangzhou University, haha." Lin Feng quickly chid in. He was afraid Tang Rou would honestly tell her they were high school students.
High school students and university students dating—the implications were completely different. Although telling a stranger like this aunty didn’t really matter, she clearly seed like the chatty type. If he told her the truth, she would undoubtedly lecture them in a parental tone about how high school students shouldn’t date, and Lin Feng couldn’t stand that.
Seeing that the rain outside had stopped and the sky had brightened, Lin Feng stood up. "Ma’am, thank you so much. We really don’t know what we would have done without you. Um, now that the rain has stopped, we need to get back to school for classes, so we’ll be going. Thank you again!"
"Don’t ntion it, it was nothing. But you, you must take good care of your girlfriend in the future. Don’t let her suffer."
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Faced with the chatty aunty, Lin Feng quickly agreed, eager to leave.
As they were about to leave, Tang Rou took off the silver necklace she was wearing. "Ma’am, you must accept this. It’s not just to thank you for your help, but also for sothing you said..." She pressed it into the aunty’s hand, giving her no chance to refuse.
The aunty tried to refuse for a while, but she couldn’t overco Tang Rou’s insistence and finally accepted it. "Dear girl," she asked curiously, "you said you’re thanking for sothing I said? What did I say that you feel you must thank for?"
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