Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Lu Yuan gathered Qi Cheng's long hair and, with a single snip, a large section fell away. The man on the bed remained unresponsive.

Lu Yuan sighed softly, then began to chat with him as if he were fully awake: "Your grandmother wants me to marry a rooster in a wedding ceremony. It’ll probably happen in the next few days."

"If you don’t wake up, you’ll be stuck marrying me—a plain-looking widow with two children. Even if you wake up later, there’ll be no backing out."

Hearing this, Qi Cheng was startled for a moment, but then it dawned on him that this was precisely the kind of thing his grandmother would do.

As for backing out, that would only be an option if he could actually wake up.

Of course, if he did wake up, the deed would be done, and he naturally wouldn’t be able to renege.

As Qi Cheng pondered, he suddenly felt warm breath against his ear again, and his heart skipped a beat.

He had never been this close to any woman before, let alone in such an intimate way.

First, she was cutting his hair, and now she was whispering right by his ear.

But what Lu Yuan said next completely shattered Qi Cheng’s composure.

Lu Yuan glanced toward the door and window, then leaned close to his ear again and said in a teasing tone: "Even though you’re unconscious right now, you’re so good-looking, so young, and you’ve got some nice muscle definition."

She paused her haircutting, placed her hand on his chest, and even gave it a gentle rub: "Feels nice. Having a baby with you might not be so bad after all."

She felt like she was acting like some kind of pervert just to provoke Qi Cheng.

Qi Cheng: …

…?!

A surge of indignation rushed to Qi Cheng’s head.

This woman!

Did she even know what shame was?!

No, she didn’t!

If she did, how could she have been so calm and composed when she brought up washing *that area* while cleaning him?

Lu Yuan watched closely and noticed Qi Cheng’s face turning faintly red—she knew she had gotten to him.

She allowed herself a small smile.

Having provoked him enough, she moved her hand away and continued cutting the remaining hair.

Once she was done, she stood up and walked around to look him over from the front.

Qi Cheng had deep-set features, prominent browbones like mountain ridges, and thick eyebrows that swept sharply toward his temples. His long hair had softened his edges, but with it cut short, he now looked more rugged and masculine.

Now he looked like a handsome, tough guy.

Lu Yuan admired her handiwork for a while, then went to fetch water to wash his hair.

She brought over a basin of warm water, wet his hair, then took some soap, rubbed it with water to create lather, and applied it to his head.

Lu Yuan copied the hair-washing techniques she’d seen at salons, using deft fingers to massage and scratch his scalp.

Qi Cheng had been fuming, but as Lu Yuan washed and scratched his head, he found himself torn between anger and unexpected pleasure.

His itchy scalp was soothed, and the massage relaxed him. He was both irritated and thoroughly comfortable at the same time.

After washing his hair, Lu Yuan began stretching and massaging his limbs. While it felt good, Qi Cheng also grew puzzled.

She seemed too skilled for this to be random—she clearly knew what she was doing.

Had someone in her previous family been paralyzed or bedridden?

Still, he had to admit, this was the most comfortable he’d felt in the two months he’d been lying there.

If only Lu Yuan had a bit more sense of shame.

Lu Yuan spent about fifteen minutes stretching Qi Cheng’s arms and legs before stopping.

She was too tired from working the fields today—that was enough for now.

As Lu Yuan carried the water out of the room, she happened to run into Old Man Li.

She said, "I’m going to heat some water. Uncle Li, could you give Qi Cheng a bath today?"

Old Man Li nodded.

After a moment’s thought, Lu Yuan added quietly, "The doctor who came today specifically said not to make any noise during the bath."

Old Man Li looked puzzled. "Why?"

Lu Yuan said with a straight face: "I’m not sure, but the doctor must have had his reasons."

Old Man Li wasn’t much of a talker to begin with, and when he bathed Qi Cheng, there was usually no one to talk to anyway. He occasionally muttered a few words, but only quietly under his breath.

"Alright then, if the doctor said so, we’ll do as he says."

The water was still warm in the pot. Lu Yuan scooped some out and brought it into the room.

Old Man Li had gone to the outhouse, so Lu Yuan deliberately leaned close to Qi Cheng’s ear and said, "Today I’m going to scrub you down. I’ll be thorough, leaving no corner untouched. I’ll make sure you’re squeaky clean."

Lu Yuan knew Qi Cheng was still conscious. Hearing her words, he must be feeling pretty uncomfortable.

After provoking Qi Cheng, Lu Yuan quietly slipped out of the room to make way for Old Man Li.

About half an hour later, Old Man Li emerged from the room and gave Lu Yuan a strange look.

Old Lady He asked, "What’s wrong?"

Old Man Li glanced at Old Lady He and asked, "Why did she cut A Cheng’s hair like that?"

Hearing this, Old Lady He was stunned for a moment, then immediately turned and hurried into the room.

Soon, Old Lady He’s angry voice rang out from inside: "Lu Yuan, look what you’ve done!"

Lu Yuan flinched. She had expected this reaction from Old Lady He when she cut his hair—it was no surprise.

After spending these past few days together, she knew Old Lady He had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. She might scold a little, but she hadn’t treated the mother and her two daughters poorly.

Because she understood this, Lu Yuan wasn’t afraid of Old Lady He.

Old Man Li, afraid of getting involved, hurried away limping as soon as he heard Old Lady He’s angry voice.

Old Lady He came out of the room and shot Lu Yuan a glare: "I agreed to let you cut it, but I never said to chop it this short!"

"Any shorter and he'd be bald enough to be a monk!"

Old Lady He had originally intended for the hair to be cut but still left about a finger’s length. Yet when she went in to check, it was only as long as a finger joint.

Lu Yuan mumbled apologetically, "My hand slipped, honest! I wanted to leave it longer, but somehow the more I cut, the shorter it got."

Old Lady He snorted coldly: "Bullshit!"

The perfectly even cut didn’t seem like a mistake at all!

At dusk, Lu Yuan planted the vegetable seeds, watered them, and went back to cook.

It was bone soup with rice again today, but Old Lady He had started to economize—there was a lot less rice in the porridge.

After the evening meal was ready, Lu Yuan had Chun Hua go get Old Lady He to eat.

When Old Lady He came out of the room, she threw another dirty look at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan scratched her nose. Ever since Old Lady He went in to see her grandson and came out, she had been giving her the cold shoulder.

The hair was already cut—it wasn’t like she could reattach it.

Besides, it was better this way—it dries faster.

After eating, Lu Yuan went to talk to Old Lady He.

The sky was growing dim, and Old Lady He could no longer do needlework, so she was tying decorative knots.

Lu Yuan walked up to her, but she didn’t even look up.

"Old lady, please let's not talk about Old Man Li tending to Qi Cheng in front of Qi Cheng for now."

Old Lady He initially didn’t want to engage with her, but upon hearing this, she looked up: "Why?"

Lu Yuan weighed her words carefully: "Has Qi Cheng… never been with a woman before?"

Old Lady He snorted: "Sheng Geer (my boy/grandson) has always kept himself pure. Before marriage, he naturally wouldn’t have involved himself with other women."

So he really was a virgin—no wonder he blushed.

Lu Yuan said: "The first time I cleaned him up, I noticed he blushed. The second time, when Old Man Li cleaned him up, Old Man Li didn’t say much, but I think Qi Cheng might have mistaken it for me, so he blushed again."

"Wait." Old Lady He suddenly interrupted, uncertain: "Are you saying my Sheng Geer really is conscious?"

Lu Yuan nodded and continued: "Today, when Old Man Li gave Qi Cheng a bath, I specifically told him not to make a sound. After the bath, I went in to check, and Qi Cheng’s face was still red."

Not only was his face red, but his skin was rubbed red all over. One could imagine how diligently and thoroughly Old Man Li had worked while scrubbing him down.

Hearing Lu Yuan’s words, Old Lady He finally realized—she had been so focused on the hair issue earlier that she hadn’t paid attention to her grandson’s complexion.

Compared to before, it indeed had more color.

Lu Yuan: "Didn’t the doctor tell us to stimulate him more? Maybe it’ll snap him out of it."

Old Lady He thought it over and looked at her: "How do you plan to stimulate him?"

Lu Yuan: "You could talk to him more about the past, and also about how tough it is for an old lady living alone. Maybe he’ll get anxious and wake up."

Old Lady He pondered Lu Yuan’s words seriously.

At this point, Lu Yuan glanced at Old Lady He’s thoughtful expression and tactfully highlighted the main point: "Old lady, you see, there’s still a chance Qi Cheng might wake up. About me marrying him… maybe we should hold off on it for now?"

"Otherwise, when he wakes up and finds out he’s married to a widow, he definitely won’t be able to accept it."

Hearing this, Old Lady He snapped back to attention and looked at her with a half-smile: "You’re not just making excuses to delay, are you?"

Lu Yuan: "How could I? Qi Cheng is so handsome. If he wakes up, I’d gain a god-like husband—I’d be over the moon."

Old Lady He: "Don’t think sweet talk will make me believe you. I’ve noticed that mouth of yours isn’t very honest."

Lu Yuan: …

This old woman was too clever.

Old Lady He continued: "The consummation can wait—until your body is better and you can conceive. But the marriage must happen."

"I’ve already asked the village chief to choose a date. It’s the eighth day of the month, half a month from now—a lucky day. You’ll wed a rooster in the ceremony then. Who knows, maybe we won’t need much stimulation—the wedding itself might work as a luck-bearing ritual for Sheng Geer."

Lu Yuan fell silent.

She had to admit, even if he woke up then, it wouldn’t be because of the wedding luck—it would be from the stimulation.

Old Lady He looked her up and down and said: "From now on, cook five liǎng (about 180g) of rice every day. When the five jīn (about 2.5kg) of rice are finished, I’ll buy more."

Old Lady He had suddenly changed her mind and agreed to buy rice, but the way she looked at her made Lu Yuan unable to smile.

Old Lady He added: "You must eat one egg every day to nourish your body properly."

Old Lady He had been planning to sell the eggs she’d stored when Lu Yuan went to the market yesterday, but after thinking it over, she decided to keep them for Lu Yuan to build her strength.

"Also, I’ll buy cloth to make you a new outfit to wear for the wedding ceremony. Don’t let it seem too poor."

Lu Yuan was suddenly at a loss for words.

She did want to eat well and dress well, but not like this—not under these circumstances.

Fine, a wedding ceremony it would be. Maybe this really would be the thing to wake Qi Cheng up.

Besides, even after the ceremony, there would still be a month left. For now, depending on her hospitality, she had no choice but to compromise—play it by ear.