Chapter 93: Staking a Claim

Chapter 93: Staking a Claim

In rural mountain villages, occasional arguments and quarrels among village women are quite common. Just as elders don’t join in when children play and roughhouse, the men of the village don’t intervene in disputes between women, as it would be unseemly.

Zhou Ye didn't know if his actions counted as intervening, but he had been provoked by Gao Shi’s words. He had only demanded that Gao Shi apologize to A Shu—he didn’t think he had gone too far, nor did he feel it was wrong to stand up for A Shu.

So what if she was a woman? If a woman did something wrong, couldn’t he, as a man, reason with her?

Aunt He thought A Shu was delicate, and Zhou Ye felt the same. If he hadn’t been there to protect her, given A Shu’s fragile physique, she would've stood no chance against Gao Shi if she had gone mad and started hitting people.

Zhou Ye frowned at the thought. If he weren’t by A Shu’s side when she got into an argument with someone, would she end up getting hurt?

A Shu would never resort to violence, but he worried she might encounter someone like Gao Shi, who twists things around.

Zhou Ye remembered how A Shu had been reduced to tears by Gao Shi’s words.

He suddenly realized he couldn’t bear to see A Shu cry.

If she were to cry, it shouldn’t be tears of injustice, but rather... (He imagined a different kind of crying, perhaps from joy or passion, hinting at intimate thoughts.)

Zhou Ye froze abruptly, his brows furrowing, his hands clenching tightly.

He didn’t want to hide from A Shu anymore; he wanted to be honest with her.

With this thought, he looked over at A Shu and saw that she and her mother and sister were no longer talking as much as before, just exchanging a few words here and there.

Suddenly, he strode over to them, his steps quick and urgent, his expression dead serious. Anyone seeing his demeanor would have thought something terribly important had happened.

The mother and daughters gradually fell silent, all looking at this man who had suddenly hurried over, puzzled.

Zhou Ye stopped before them, his hands pressed against his sides, and suddenly bowed to He Guixiang. "Auntie, I’d like to speak with A Shu alone for a moment."

He Guixiang was caught off guard for a moment, then said after a moment, "Oh! Yeah, sure."

Having received her permission, Zhou Ye turned to Lin Shu and, under her surprised gaze, asked, "A Shu, may I speak with you alone for a moment?"

Seeing Zhou Ye so formal and serious, Lin Shu had thought something was wrong, but it turned out he just wanted to talk to her?

He had first asked the only elder present for permission, and now he was asking her directly. Should she praise him for being so polite and proper?

Lin Xiaopu, seeing her older sister hesitate, teased and urged, "Sis, go on! A Ye wants to talk to you alone. You two can go by the fish pond next to the vegetable patch—it’s cool there with the water, and we won’t hear you from the courtyard."

He Guixiang also looked at her, a smile in her eyes. "Go on."

Under the gaze of her mother and sister, Lin Shu started to feel a twinge of embarrassment.

Dumb A Ye, making such an "invitation" right in front of her mother and sister—it was enough to get people thinking all sorts of things!

Couldn’t he have waited until she was sitting alone? Why did it have to be now?

The more Lin Shu thought about it, the more annoyed she became. "You ask me to go, so I have to go?"

Zhou Ye stared at her, looking extremely anxious. "A Shu, I have something very important to tell you. I can’t wait another moment."

Lin Shu was skeptical, but seeing Zhou Ye so agitated, she began to wonder if she had overthought it. Maybe Zhou Ye really did have something important to say, something that wasn't appropriate to share with her mother and Xiao Pu?

She quickly stood up and followed Zhou Ye out of the courtyard gate.

Zhou Ye listened to Lin Xiaopu's idea, leading Lin Shu along the stone path past the vegetable patch beside the courtyard to the fish pond behind the house.

He walked ahead silently, checking on her every few steps. He seemed to want to offer her a hand but held back, looking extremely awkward.

Lin Shu: ...

It was their own vegetable patch—was she likely to trip or stumble?

When the two of them finally stopped by the fish pool, Lin Shu watched as mountain spring water gushed noisily from a long bamboo pipe. The clear surface of the water reflected their figures: the woman slender and graceful, the man tall and burly, making the woman appear especially delicate. She waited for a while, but Zhou Ye didn’t speak.

She turned her head to look at him, meeting his gaze. In that brief moment, he no longer seemed as calm and steady as he had been in the courtyard. Instead, he radiated a restless energy, his gaze intense enough to burn her.

"Speak. Didn’t you say you had something very important to tell me right now?"

Zhou Ye usually maintained a comfortable distance when talking to her, and this time was no exception—a polite distance for conversation between members of the opposite sex. But suddenly, he leaned in closer, his tall, sturdy body now extremely near hers, so close that they could smell each other’s scent.

Lin Shu was slightly startled by this unexpectedly forward move.

"A Shu, you asked me why I’ve been avoiding you since this morning, didn’t you?" As soon as Zhou Ye spoke, he realized his voice had sounded rough from nervousness.

Hearing this, Lin Shu suddenly understood what Zhou Ye wanted to tell her. She felt a twinge of discomfort, and her heart started to panic.

Zhou Ye... he wouldn’t really say it, would he?

How could he talk to her about something like that? Wouldn’t that just be being a creep?

Zhou Ye’s throat moved. A bead of sweat slid down his temple, and he swallowed slightly. His lips moved a few times as if he were trying to speak, but the words he had prepared earlier suddenly vanished from his mind. In the end, all that came out was an awkward sentence: "A Shu, I dreamed about you this morning."

The words were uttered with great difficulty, his voice tense and rough.

Lin Shu looked at him, seeing how much effort it took for him to speak. It wasn’t even hot out, yet he was already sweating buckets. She had intended to scold him for being a jerk, but somehow the words wouldn’t come. Instead, she simply said, "Oh," her cheeks slowly flushing a light pink.

"Then what?"

"Then, I did something very improper to you in the dream." The lump in Zhou Ye’s throat seemed to vanish all at once. Speaking became less difficult, flowing more smoothly, though everything from his neck down was turned red—whether from shame or guilt, it was hard to tell.

"I felt guilty, which is why I avoided you."

Lin Shu thought about how his face had darkened with anger at Gao Shi’s words earlier, how he had insisted on making Gao Shi apologize to her. Suddenly, she didn’t feel like staying mad at him.

"Oh, is that all... I thought it was something serious. It’s just a dream—what's the big deal?"

Thinking she hadn’t understood, Zhou Ye explained in a low voice, "A Shu, it wasn’t an ordinary dream. I dreamed that I kissed you on the mouth, and we were tightly wrapped up together..."

Lin Shu was totally embarrassed. She thought she had developed a thick skin after all her years in the apocalypse, but Zhou Ye’s earnest, serious expression as he explained made her flush with shame.

Ugh! These things were better left unspoken—why did Zhou Ye, this idiot, have to say it to her face, and so directly at that?!

"A Shu, I’m sorry. You can scold me or hit me a few times if you want."

Hearing this, Lin Shu didn’t hold back. She balled her hands into fists and started punching his chest repeatedly. "Shut up, shut up! How dare you say such things, Zhou Ye! Aren’t you ashamed?!"

To Zhou Ye, her blows were like nothing to him. He stood there taking it.

He watched Lin Shu’s reaction closely, noting that she seemed more embarrassed than angry. His heart, which had been racing anxiously, slowly settled.

Of course, he was ashamed too—ashamed of himself, embarrassed to show his face, ashamed to speak of it.

But he had something else in mind, so for now, he could push past the embarrassment.

"A Shu, are you still angry?" Zhou Ye asked.

Lin Shu withdrew her hands, which had been pounding his chest like a hammer, and gave him a soft look. "What good would getting angry do? Can you control your dreams and keep me out of them?"

Zhou Ye was stunned.

If he hadn't misunderstood, A Shu’s words meant… he could dream of her again in the future? Even if he did those kinds of things with her in his dreams, it wouldn’t matter?

At the thought of the scenes from his dream, his Adam’s apple bobbed nervously.

Truth be told, he wasn’t that obtuse; he could sense it.

A Shu seemed to like him a little, but that affection…

It’s not enough, he thought to himself.

"A Shu, I remember you saying you never wanted to marry in this lifetime," Zhou Ye said.

After hitting him, Lin Shu’s earlier embarrassment had mostly faded. She crossed her arms, raised an eyebrow, and replied, "Yes, I said that. For me, eating and drinking well is what matters most. Everything else depends on my mood."

Zhou Ye pressed on, "But you also said that if Uncle Lin and Aunt He were truly worried about you later on, you’d find a man you like and take him as a live-in son-in-law."

Lin Shu noticed his intense gaze fixed on her. She tilted her head, smiled, and nodded. "Yes, I said that too. So? What are you trying to say?"

"A Shu, do you find me easy on the eyes?" Zhou Ye asked.

Lin Shu pretended to hesitate before answering, "You'll do."

Though it was only a "you'll do," Zhou Ye knew she was agreeing with him. A Shu was too clever not to understand his meaning.

"A Shu, if someday you decide you want to marry, could you marry me?" Zhou Ye looked at her, his expression unusually serious and solemn.

Lin Shu couldn’t help but reflect.

Did she come across as a player, or was Zhou Ye just particularly slow on the uptake? That day at the market, she’d said those things out of frustration with his constant attempts to distance himself from her.

She had already made the first move and kissed him—how could she possibly wait until later?

Seeing her silence, Zhou Ye’s heart dropped slightly. He pursed his lips and suddenly blurted out, "A Shu, I like you."

Lin Shu looked stunned.

She remembered Zhou Ye as the type who wouldn’t say a word even if you beat him with a stick—so reserved and quiet. How come today his words were growing increasingly bold and unrestrained with each sentence?

Hmph, he even dared to talk openly about that kind of dream right in front of her. He was clearly not as subtle as he seemed.

She felt somewhat deceived. Zhou Ye wasn’t as innocent and harmless as he appeared.

Look how clever he was, already trying to secure the position of future husband in advance.

As Lin Shu delayed giving a definite answer, Zhou Ye grew anxious. "A Shu…"

"A Ye," Lin Shu sighed, deciding to stop teasing him. "I already took the initiative to kiss you. Don’t you get it? It’s not about later—it’s here and now. I want to date you. You’re really dense."

Hearing this, Zhou Ye froze like a statue for a long moment.

After a while, he still seemed unable to believe it and asked, "A Shu, are you saying we’re…"

Lin Shu crooked her finger, beckoning him closer. The moment he lowered his head, she swiftly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him down, and planted a firm, loud kiss on his lips with a loud "mwah." Smiling brightly, she declared, "Consider it stamped. From now on, you’re mine!"