Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Before Pei Mu could react, Zhong Yizhu let out a short startled cry and pulled the quilt over his head.

Pei Mu walked over and blew out the candle, opening his mouth to explain but feeling that whatever he said would sound strange.

Then on second thought: he was just in his own house, not wearing clothes after a bath—why should he have to explain?

Silently, Pei Mu put down the dirty clothes, took clean undergarments from the chest, and dressed. Even as he approached the bed, his brow remained furrowed.

The moonlight was very bright tonight, streaming through the window lattice into the room, allowing him to see the figure huddled under the covers on the bed.

Pei Mu pulled back the covers and got into bed. At the slight movement, the figure in the bedding beside him shuddered suddenly.

Remembering what had happened to him with Lai Laoer, Pei Mu gritted his teeth and finally spoke.

"I didn't mean to. I'm used to it, forgot there was someone else in the house."

Zhong Yizhu buried himself in the bedding, his heart pounding like a drum. The image in his mind refused to fade. His face flushed red with embarrassment and fear, not knowing what Pei Mu intended.

Was he going to make up for what he didn't do last night?

The bad memories from before and what the groomsman had said flooded back, making him like a startled bird. Even the movement of Pei Mu getting into bed made him flinch.

Startled and terrified, and seeing a man's naked body for the first time, the heat radiating from him made the bedding hot and stuffy until he could barely breathe.

Hearing Pei Mu's explanation, Zhong Yizhu was taken aback, but hesitated without moving.

A habit, huh...

The person beside him made no further move. When he could no longer hold his breath, Zhong Yizhu quietly pulled the quilt down a little to get some air.

The moonlight tonight was so bright that even without deliberately looking, he caught a glimpse of Pei Mu's burning red ears in his peripheral vision.

For some reason, at that moment, Zhong Yizhu's anxious heart suddenly settled.

He felt that what Pei Mu said was probably true.

Zhong Yizhu turned over gently, revealing his entire head.

The room was utterly quiet. He wanted to say "I understand," but in the end, he said nothing, only closing his eyes, his ears equally red.

...

Neither of them slept well that night. The next day, they both woke up rather late.

Because of what had happened the night before, they barely spoke to each other that morning.

Zhong Yizhu was thin-skinned, even avoiding eye contact.

After washing up, Pei Mu went to the backyard to deal with the pelts he had skinned the day before. Frowning at the murky liquid in the wooden basin, he racked his brain but couldn't figure out why he had done something so stupid last night. Had he eaten too many cakes and gotten poisoned?

Both preoccupied with their own thoughts, they finished their chores and breakfast. Then Pei Mu picked up the basket with the pheasant and hare, and silently walked with Zhong Yizhu toward the Zhong family's old house.

The fields had just been harvested, so it was a slack farming season. As soon as they entered the village, they attracted a lot of attention.

Their marriage had been the hottest topic over tea and after meals in the village these past few days. That day, Zhong Yizhu had shocked everyone by saying in front of the villagers that he had chosen Pei Mu himself. After the gossip spread, some said he was not demure, and harsher ones called him shameless. If there had been other unmarried girls or young men in his family, they would have been tainted by his reputation...

If the betrothal target had been a desirable catch, it might have been understandable, but it was Pei Mu, the Jinx. They couldn't understand and couldn't fathom why, and even wondered if Zhong Jia Xiao Ge'er had been bewitched—how else could he have the courage to marry that jinx?

Everyone in the village knew about Pei Mu's experiences. With such a hard fate and a bad temper, even if marrying him didn't result in being cursed to death, he might be beaten to death.

The villagers secretly shook their heads. The city-born delicate young man—just looking at how viciously Pei Mu had beaten Pei Jin, he probably couldn't even take one of Pei Mu's punches.

Look, his third-day return visit didn't even have a festive air. He only brought a shabby basket as a gift, Pei Mu remained silent with a sullen face, and Zhong Jia Xiao Ge'er also looked out of sorts.

Tsk tsk, what kind of marriage was this...

On the other side, Sun Yunniang had been waiting for the two of them to arrive since early that morning.

These past two days, while Zhong Yizhu worried about her at Pei Mu's house, she too had been constantly thinking about him.

She couldn't help but wonder how he was getting along with Pei Mu, whether he was being bullied. After thinking about all that, she worried whether her Zhu Ge'er would manage to get good meals.

Cooking was said to be easy to learn. After Zhong Yizhu's engagement, Sun Yunniang had called him to learn whenever she cooked. Unfortunately, after half a month of lessons, she had to admit that some people were just naturally bad at cooking.

She worried that Zhong Yizhu wouldn't eat well, and also worried that his terrible cooking would waste ingredients and incur the blame of his husband's family.

In short, she worried about everything.

Three days after the wedding, it was time for the return visit. Sun Yunniang had bought ingredients the day before, planning to cook a nice meal for her young man to nourish him. She opened the courtyard gate and was busy preparing dishes in the kitchen. Just as she finished frying a plate of meat, she heard Zhong Yizhu's voice at the door.

Sun Yunniang hurried out to greet them. She was all smiles at first, but as soon as she came out, she noticed Zhong Yizhu's listless expression, and her heart lurched.

Zhong Yizhu saw her, came forward and called "Mother" again with a smile. Pei Mu, following behind, handed her the basket: "I caught two wild animals yesterday. Brought them for you to try."

Although Sun Yunniang was worried about her son, she didn't show it on her face. When she took the basket, she realized both animals were alive.

The usual return gifts in the village were just eggs or a couple of catties of meat, which was considered very good. Meat was expensive, and game was even pricier. Since Pei Mu was willing to give such a gift, he probably wasn't dissatisfied with Zhong Yizhu.

She temporarily suppressed her doubts, smiled, and welcomed them into the main hall to sit. She brought out tea and snacks, laying out several kinds of sweets and treats.

Pei Mu took one look and knew those were probably Zhong Yizhu's favorites. Sure enough, Zhong Yizhu happily picked a plum and put it in his mouth, then pushed the plate toward Pei Mu. "You eat too, don't be polite."

Perhaps because he was home and Sun Yunniang was there, Zhong Yizhu put aside the previous matter for the time being and was much livelier than at Pei Mu's house.

Pei Mu silently took a piece of pastry from in front of him. When he bit into it, he paused—fragrant and sweet, it was osmanthus cake.

Meanwhile, Sun Yunniang glanced at the sky and stood up to call Zhong Yizhu.

"Zhu Ge'er, come to the kitchen with me to help prepare lunch. I'll pack these up for you to take back later. Don't eat too many snacks, or you won't have room for lunch."

"Oh, okay."

Zhong Yizhu obediently put down his treats and stood up. Sun Yunniang turned to Pei Mu: "Son-in-law, please rest here a while. I'm sorry for the lack of hospitality, but please don't mind."

Pei Mu shook his head. "Call me if you need help."

Given Zhong Yizhu's cooking skills, going to the kitchen would only be a hindrance. He knew the mother and son probably wanted to talk privately, so he tactfully gave them space.

Pei Mu held the osmanthus cake, lost in thought.

When he was little, he had secretly fantasized: if his father had been Zhong Er Ye, what kind of life would he have had?

Whenever things were too hard, he would quietly imagine it. Probably being able to eat enough and stay warm, having a bed to sleep in, a cotton quilt, not having to freeze in a shed, not being beaten, and maybe even having osmanthus cake every day!

He couldn't understand how parents could be so different. As he grew older, he gradually realized that fathers like Zhong Er Ye were rare in this world, and naturally, fathers like Pei Song were also not common.

Back then, the best life he could imagine was that. Now that he had seen Zhong Yizhu, he realized how impoverished his imagination had been.

Pei Mu picked up a plum and put it in his mouth. The sweet and sour flavor filled his mouth. He used his left canine to grind the plum pulp, couldn't help thinking about how Zhong Yizhu had gotten up early yesterday to prepare food for him to take up the mountain.

He rarely felt fortunate that he was the one who had married him and brought him home.

So silly, and clumsy with work—if he had married into another family, he would probably have been taken advantage of completely...

Meanwhile, in the kitchen on the other side of the main hall, Sun Yunniang pulled Zhong Yizhu aside, who was about to wash the vegetables.

She first rolled up Zhong Yizhu's sleeve to check, then checked the neckline of his shirt for marks. Seeing that it was white and clean with no marks, her anxiety finally eased a little.

"Mother, what are you doing?"

Zhong Yizhu, bewildered, just stood still as his mother fussed over him. Sun Yunniang looked at his still-innocent expression and didn't know what to say. She pulled him over, popped a piece of meat into his mouth, and lowered her voice: "I'm checking if he hit you."

Zhong Yizhu chewed the meat and shook his head, then explained, "Of course not. Why would he hit me?"

Sun Yunniang was still uneasy and pressed further: "Does he have any weird habits in bed that hurt you?"

The bed... Zhong Yizhu flushed red. Remembering last night, even his neck turned red. He hadn't expected his mother to ask him this, but he knew she was just worried, so he suppressed his embarrassment and whispered, "No."

If he told his mother that they hadn't consummated the marriage yet, she would probably only worry more. Zhong Yizhu reasoned, and felt instinctively that Pei Mu wasn't the kind of person his mother was worried about.

Since he hadn't been mistreated, Sun Yunniang finally felt relieved. She stroked Zhong Yizhu's hair: "Then why do you look so down?"

Zhong Yizhu tugged at Sun Yunniang's clothes, his tone very soft: "I didn't sleep well because of the new bed, and I missed you, Mother."

Sun Yunniang's eyes crinkled into a smile. This was the first carefree smile she had shown since they arrived: "Why are you still acting like a child after getting married?"

The mother and son shared a tender moment, and they worked with smiles on their faces in the kitchen. When the food was ready and they carried the dishes to the main hall, Pei Mu also got up to help. Soon, the table was full of dishes.

Sun Yunniang had stewed the mountain chicken that Pei Mu had brought, along with the dishes she had prepared. It was almost as lavish as a New Year's feast for an ordinary family in the village.

Since there were only the three of them, they didn't stand on ceremony. The three sat around the table. Pei Mu picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and his expression froze.

Sun Yunniang noticed his reaction: "What's wrong? Don't you like it?"

Pei Mu denied it: "No, it's very delicious."

He was just surprised that the mother and son's cooking skills could be so different. He had previously thought that Zhong Yizhu's terrible cooking was a family tradition...

The meal was peaceful and relaxed, an entirely different experience from eating at Wang Pingan's house.

Sun Yunniang remembered Zhong Yizhu's preferences and served him food, and included Pei Mu as well. Pei Mu didn't refuse and ate more than he realized.

When he put down his chopsticks, he realized he was a bit full.

Zhong Yizhu also ate until his stomach was full. He put down his bowl contentedly and said flatteringly: "Mother's cooking is still the best."

Sun Yunniang wanted to laugh but couldn't help worrying: "No matter how I teach you, you can't learn. Where does your usual cleverness go..."

She then looked at Pei Mu: "My boy is a bit spoiled. Please be patient with him, Pei Mu. If you don't like the food here, just come to me, and I'll cook for you."

Pei Mu glanced at Zhong Yizhu: "I'm not picky. There's nothing to be patient about. You don't need to bother."

After the two helped clear the dishes and were about to leave, Sun Yunniang indeed packed the snacks into a basket and gave them to Zhong Yizhu to take. Zhong Yizhu kept looking back as he walked, only turning back when he reached the corner, but his mood was a bit down.

Pei Mu followed behind him and suddenly spoke: "You can come back anytime you want. I don't care about that."

Zhong Yizhu said sullenly, "Going back to my mother's place often will cause gossip."

If a married man frequently returns to his mother's home, it only shows that the husband's family treats him poorly. Pei Mu already had a bad reputation. If he really did that, the villagers would gossip about Pei Mu even more.

Pei Mu said indifferently: "Do you think I care about a few more words from them? Besides, they wouldn't dare say it to my face."

Zhong Yizhu turned back to look at Pei Mu. After staring at each other for a moment, he suddenly said, "Are you just saying that because you think my cooking is bad and you don't want to eat it?"

"You!" Feeling his kindness was unappreciated, Pei Mu didn't bother to explain. He simply strode ahead.

Zhong Yizhu lagged behind, but his beautiful eyes secretly curved.

He knew Pei Mu's kindness well, and he wasn't without hesitation or temptation. But even if Pei Mu didn't care, those annoying rumors—it was better to keep them to a minimum.

The heart isn't made of stone; how could it not feel pain?

It was just numb and accustomed. He couldn't just add new wounds without care.

Anyway, he would leave this matter for later.

Ahead, Pei Mu was already striding so fast he was almost out of sight. Zhong Yizhu quickened his pace to catch up. Just as he was halfway there, he found that the man in front had slowed down.

Zhong Yizhu also gradually slowed his hurried steps, carrying the basket and out of breath.

The person ahead didn't speed up again, so Zhong Yizhu simply followed slowly.

The two kept this distance, close but not too close, walking all the way home.

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Author's note: Asking for a tutorial on how to painlessly acquire a pretty little follower.

Don't worry, they'll live with Mother later. This chapter has a small red envelope. See you tomorrow at midnight.