Chapter 45: Hold Steady

Chapter 45: Hold Steady

Zhou Ye remained silent, still pondering how to answer Lin Shu.

However, after his prolonged internal struggle, Lin Shu seemed to have forgotten the matter, not pressing him for a reply.

This allowed Zhou Ye to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Over there, Lin Xiaopu pouted guiltily, "I don't think of Big Sister as a flood or wild beast at all! It's just that when Big Sister acts as a teacher, she's especially strict, and it makes me a little scared."

"She doesn't even hit your palms, so what's there to be afraid of?" Lin Shu let it go and walked toward Zhou Ye. Looking at the bundle of bamboo on the ground, she widened her eyes in surprise, "This much?"

This bundle had to contain at least ten bamboo poles, right? And they were all thick, tall moso bamboo. Calculating at seventy *jin* (about 77 pounds) per pole, this large bundle would weigh seven hundred *jin* (about 770 pounds)?!

But then again, Zhou Ye was a man of immense strength. Seven hundred *jin* was nothing, nothing...

Still, Lin Shu couldn’t stay calm. In her previous life, no matter how strong she was, she had never reached this level—at most, she could carry four or five hundred *jin*. Nothing this exaggerated!

Perhaps it was because Zhou Ye was already strong to begin with, so with this added strength, he became even more powerful?

And in such a short time, Zhou Ye had not only cut down over ten thick, long bamboo poles but had also done some simple trimming, removing most of the smaller branches and leaves.

Seeing her look at the bamboo, Zhou Ye explained, "This probably won’t be enough. After we use it up, I’ll go to the back mountain and chop another bundle."

Lin Shu quickly said, "Brother A Ye, it’s enough, it’s enough. With this much bamboo, our courtyard won’t even have space for it."

Zhou Ye nodded and asked, "Have you and Xiao Pu rested enough?"

Hearing this, Lin Shu finally lifted her butt, which felt glued to the stone, and called out cheerfully, "Let’s go, time to head home!"

Zhou Ye carried the basket of mushrooms on his chest and lifted the bundled bamboo with one hand. The front end rested entirely on his right shoulder, with only the tail dragging on the ground. His right arm supported it, making it look stable and secure.

Then, his completely free left arm reached out toward Lin Shu, "Hold on."

"Family doesn’t speak like strangers, so I won’t stand on ceremony with you." Lin Shu giggled, holding Xiao Pu with one hand and looping her other arm through his.

Zhou Ye’s body stiffened for a moment. He opened his mouth but ultimately closed it without saying anything.

He had intended for her to just hold his arm for support, but she had gone and linked arms with him...

"What’s wrong?"

Lin Shu looked up, meeting Zhou Ye’s gaze as she asked.

Zhou Ye quickly shook his head, only muttering softly, "Just hold steady."

Lin Shu smiled and nodded, "Thanks for the help, Brother A Ye."

It was the first time the two had been so close. The laughter in Lin Shu’s eyes and at the corners of her brows seemed to flow over to Zhou Ye.

Zhou Ye’s heart skipped a beat. He averted his gaze, not looking at her, and stared straight ahead at the path down the mountain.

Thinking that Zhou Ye was already carrying over seven hundred *jin*, Lin Shu didn’t put much of her weight on him.

Zhou Ye noticed she was only leaning lightly against him. Keeping his eyes on the mountain path, he said to her, "It’s fine, you can lean on me. I could pull a few hundred *jin* more without any problem."

Lin Shu immediately playfully pinched his arm, "How could you compare me to a few hundred *jin* of weight?"

Zhou Ye fell silent.

The pinched spot didn’t hurt; it felt more like someone tickling him.

Although he didn’t consider himself particularly eloquent, he hadn’t felt there was anything wrong with what he’d just said. So he didn’t understand why Lin Shu had pinched him out of the blue.

Lin Xiaopu giggled beside them, "Brother A Ye, what you said makes it sound like even if Big Sister were a few hundred *jin* heavy, you could still drag her along. No wonder Big Sister isn’t happy."

Zhou Ye: ...

He truly didn’t understand the way women’s minds worked. How had those two things gotten connected?

Forget it, he’d better say less to avoid accidentally upsetting someone again.

But when Lin Shu got angry, she expressed it right away, and once she was done, she smiled and leaned against him again, "What are you thinking? Don’t tell me you’re thinking that you really are too clumsy with words and made me angry, so you should talk less from now on?"

"Ah, looking at your reaction, I must have guessed right!"

Zhou Ye didn’t know whether to speak or not. In the end, he just grunted in agreement like a mute gourd.

"Didn’t I tell you? Even if I really get angry, it never lasts more than fifteen minutes. Besides, just now wasn’t really anger, just a bit of annoyance. How can you be so dull? You can’t even tell when I’m really angry or just pretending. All that bulk for nothing."

Zhou Ye’s lips twitched. Lin Shu thought he understood, but unexpectedly, he slowly squeezed out a sentence, "Sister A Shu is right."

Lin Shu was speechless and didn’t tease this serious fool anymore. Instead, she followed his suggestion and leaned more of her weight on him while firmly holding Xiao Pu’s hand with her left hand, "Brother A Ye, steady now. The three of us are like insects on a string. If you lose your balance and fall, we’ll all fall with you."

Zhou Ye’s arm suddenly felt a softness, and the faint scent of herbs and flowers from the woman filled his nostrils. His body stiffened for a moment, especially the arm that Lin Shu was holding and leaning against. It felt numb and immobile.

He tried hard to ignore the sensation that he shouldn’t be paying attention to, propping up that arm like a wooden post without moving, and grunted with difficulty, "Then hold steady. If you hold steady, you won’t fall."

Lin Xiaopu, standing to the side, smirked. Wherever Big Sister was, Brother A Ye seemed more alive than before. Whether it was Brother A Ye struggling to explain himself, looking frustrated, or hesitating to speak—all were expressions she had never seen before. He felt so vivid.

Zhou Ye was indeed steady the entire way. The large, long bundle of bamboo rested firmly on his right shoulder, and even while walking downhill, the load didn’t sway at all.

Lin Shu, holding onto him, felt very safe.

Most of the villagers who had gone into the mountains to gather mushrooms had already left, but there were still those whose families had someone preparing meals and weren’t in a hurry to return. They were just starting to head down the mountain at this hour. When they encountered the trio on the path, each one was shocked by Zhou Ye’s display.

Wow, such a large bundle of bamboo—it had to be several hundred *jin* (several hundred pounds), right? They knew this kid from Lin Dashan’s family was strong, but they hadn’t expected him to be even stronger than they imagined!

With strength like that, he could do anything!

"A Ye, not working in the fields today? What are you cutting so much bamboo for? Adding bamboo mats at home?"

Lin Shu signaled Zhou Ye not to speak and explained to the woman, "Aunt, it’s because Mom thinks I'm too delicate and sensitive to heat. She specially asked Brother A Ye to cut some bamboo to make a bamboo bed."

The aunt who asked sighed. Although Sweetwater Village had plenty of bamboo, few families specifically made bamboo beds. Bamboo beds weren’t as sturdy as wooden beds and could only be used in hot weather. Once it turned cold, the bamboo bed had to be put away, taking up too much space.

If she was afraid of the heat, she could just ask Grandpa Gao to weave a bamboo mat. Why go through the trouble of making a bamboo bed? Sure enough, having returned from the marquis’ household, this daughter of Lin Laoer’s family was truly high-maintenance.

The village woman thought to herself, but smiled on the surface, "Alright then, watch your step. Aunt will head back first."

As soon as the village woman left, Lin Xiaopu immediately looked at Lin Shu with a look of panic, "Big Sister, that was Aunt Ma, the biggest chatterbox in our village. In less than three days, what you just told her will be all over the village!"