QTEBS Chapter 22

When Jiang Shengyan was in a daze, he heard a series of loud noises from outside.

He was woken up, “Who the hell is out there?”

Without even putting on shoes, he walked out of the bedroom barefoot. In the living room stood an older woman, holding a bag and smiling awkwardly, “Mr. Jiang, did I disturb you?”

Jiang Shengyan furrowed his brows, “Aunt Lin, weren’t you supposed to come tomorrow?”

A basket of vegetables was at Aunt Lin’s feet. “I was worried you wouldn’t have anything to eat, so I came over early.”

This old house had always been kept clean and well-maintained. Jiang Shengyan softened his tone, “I’m going to sleep for a bit; can you keep it down?”

Aunt Lin replied with a series of “okay”s.

She watched Jiang Shengyan walk back into his bedroom before loosening her grip on the tightly held bag and quietly moving into the kitchen.

It was hot again today. Zong Yuan had gotten up early and Chen Hongmei had prepared a meal, hesitating to pack another portion. “Xiaomo, why don’t you take a meal to Boss Jiang?”

Zong Xiaomo was brushing her teeth and washing her face. “Mom, I’m not familiar with him. Why don’t you let my brother go?”

“Really, a big girl like you can’t even take a meal over,” Chen Hongmei said, washing a pot and boiling water. “Your brother is busy. If you’re not familiar, you’ll get familiar if you see him more. My daughter isn’t ugly.”

“Mom!”

Zong Yuan washed his face, walked over, and picked up the portion packed in a basket. “Mom, I’ll go. I’ll be right back.”

When the door was knocked on, Aunt Lin was cooking porridge. She wiped her hands and said, “Coming, coming!”

When she opened the door, she saw, “Oh, isn’t this the son of the old Zong family? What brings you here?”

Aunt Lin was just over forty, slightly plump, with a kind and gentle appearance. She was wearing an apron and the thin string around her waist pinched layers of fat.

Zong Yuan peeked through the crack of the door and looked inside; there was no sound at all and he couldn’t tell if Jiang Shengyan was sleeping or if something had happened. “I’m looking for Boss Jiang. Is he here?”

Aunt Lin opened the door and let him in. “Mr. Jiang is still sleeping; you can come in and wait.”

There was a rich aroma in the room. Zong Yuan discreetly surveyed his surroundings and asked Aunt Lin, “Do you know me?”

“Of course! Who doesn’t know you in the ten-mile eight-village area? You bring glory to the nation, what a good role model!”

Zong Yuan responded, “You’re from the neighboring village, right?”

Aunt Lin replied, “Yes, from the neighboring village.”

Zong Yuan glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. “It’s nothing urgent. I’ll take my leave.”

Before Aunt Lin could say a word to keep him, Zong Yuan had already stepped out. She watched his back and said, “You’ve grown so big!”

“Who came?”

Jiang Shengyan lazily walked over and sat on the sofa. His nose twitched as he caught a familiar smell of smoke. “Tsk, that country bumpkin is here.”

Aunt Lin said, “Country bumpkin?”

Jiang Shengyan rubbed his hair, “It’s fine. You can go back once the meal is ready; I won’t trouble you with anything else.”

Aunt Lin laughed awkwardly and asked with concern, “Can you take care of yourself?”

“I can.”

The past couple of days had been sunny and they needed to finish harvesting the wheat before the rain came. Zong Yuan worked quickly, moving at a pace that matched that of two people in just one morning.

0046 clicked his tongue in praise, “As expected of Zong Yuan, excellent at everything.”

Zong Yuan wiped the sweat that dripped down to his chin, “Don’t bother me.”

The sun was so scorching that even looking at it was difficult, making a grown man feel restless.

0046 said, “Calm down, calm down.”

At noon, Jiang Shengyan went out for a walk and, almost on a whim, wandered near Zong Yuan’s house. Zong Xiaomo was hurrying towards the fields when she spotted him and froze for a moment. “Boss Jiang!”

Jiang Shengyan felt no discomfort at all. He squinted at the food she was carrying, “Are you delivering food to Zong Yuan?”

Zong Xiaomo nodded, flustered as she tried to leave. “My brother hasn’t eaten yet; I’ll go first.”

Jiang Shengyan stretched out a hand to stop her, “Give it to me; I have something to do over there anyway.”

Without waiting for Zong Xiaomo’s consent, he snatched the food from her with one hand and stepped forward, quickly increasing the distance between them.

Zong Xiaomo called out, “Wait, do you know where it is?”

Jiang Shengyan gave her an “OK” gesture.

Zong Yuan was sitting under a tree, resting. He had a lot of wheat chaff stuck to him, which was itchy and uncomfortable. There was a clear stream around the corner at the base of the nearby mountain. Since no one else was planting crops in this area except for their family, he planned to wash himself a bit after Mother Zong or Zong Xiaomo brought him the meal.

When Jiang Shengyan arrived, he saw Zong Yuan sitting there in a daze.

He quietly approached from behind, holding his breath, “Hey.”

Zong Yuan didn’t respond.

Zong Yuan’s eyelids twitched and he straightened his face to look at the smug Jiang Shengyan, “What are you doing here?”

Jiang Shengyan dangled the basket of food with two fingers, “Bringing you food. No need to thank me.”

Zong Yuan glanced back the way he came and didn’t see anyone else, which made him relax a bit. “Thanks, Boss Jiang. If you’re not busy, you can go back.”

He stood up and walked towards the stream, looking anything but ready to eat. Jiang Shengyan, feeling displeased, coldly said, “You’re not planning to eat the food I brought?”

Zong Yuan continued walking, “I’m just washing my hands.”

Washing his hands was such a hassle; couldn’t he just say that? Jiang Shengyan put down the food and followed him towards the back of the mountain.

There weren’t many flowers by the stream but there were quite a few weeds. Zong Yuan carefully looked over the water, ensuring he didn’t see any fish before he sighed in relief.

He swiftly took off his clothes, shaking them off, and stepped into the cool water, feeling refreshed as he took a deep breath.

The stream wasn’t deep; it was likely a small branch, which was why there were no fish. The water was shallow enough to reach Zong Yuan’s lower abdomen, barely covering his private parts.

Jiang Shengyan stood a short distance away, stunned.

His eyesight was exceptionally good; whether it was Zong Yuan’s relaxed expression or the way the water droplets slid down his rippling muscles, he could see it all clearly.

His instincts told him not to look, but in reality, he could only stand there very uncomfortably, extremely uncomfortably, unable to move his feet.

Zong Yuan caught a glimpse of him and said, “Boss Jiang.”

Jiang Shengyan jolted awake, almost jumping up. “You exhibitionist!”

Before Zong Yuan could retort, 0046 cried out in terror, “Zong Yuan, Zong Yuan, there’s a fish!”

With a splash, Jiang Shengyan watched as Zong Yuan’s face changed dramatically, rushing to the shore and directly in front of him.

Zong Yuan was running away from the fish.

Jiang Shengyan’s expression was one of shock, his gaze fixed on the fish Zong Yuan had run away from.

Zong Yuan’s face stiffened, feeling awkward. “Boss Jiang, why don’t you go back first?”

Jiang Shengyan muttered, “You have quite the capital.”

He instinctively glanced at himself, then at Zong Yuan, whose face was a colorful mess of red and green, quite the spectacle.

Zong Yuan took this comment as a compliment, feeling bashful but also a bit cheeky. He casually strolled around, getting dressed while being modest, “Just a small thing, just a small thing.”

Jiang Shengyan was in a daze.

It wasn’t until he mindlessly followed Zong Yuan to sit under a tree to eat that he remembered, “You’re afraid of fish.”

Jiang Shengyan wore a strange expression, desperately holding back laughter.

Zong Yuan paused in his eating action, “I’m not.”

Jiang Shengyan snorted, mocking him internally while still leaving him a bit of face. Chen Hongmei’s cooking was excellent; today’s lunch was prepared by her—a simple stir-fried dish of green vegetables and diced peppers. Watching Zong Yuan eat made Jiang Shengyan feel hungry again. “I’m hungry.”

Zong Yuan pulled out another set of chopsticks from beneath the food basket and passed a portion of food to Jiang Shengyan. “Eat.”

Jiang Shengyan disdainfully pushed the green vegetables into Zong Yuan’s bowl. “Why is there such a thing as green vegetables?”

Zong Yuan was taken aback.

Fu Xin secretly put the green vegetables into Zong Yuan’s bowl, pouting and acting coy. “Honey, could you eat it for me? Why does this world have green vegetables?”

Zong Yuan put the green vegetables Jiang Shengyan had pushed into his mouth, “Fu Xin.”

Jiang Shengyan’s ears perked up. “Who?”

Zong Yuan set down his bowl, smiling fondly, concealing a deep sense of longing and nostalgia. “My first love.”

Jiang Shengyan dropped the bowl he was holding and the white rice rolled into the dirt, turning black. A sudden surge of inexplicable rage welled up inside him, and he sneered, “Don’t fucking call out your first love’s name in front of me.”

“I find it disgusting.”

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