Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Even though he was avoiding Xie Zhiyu, Shen Song couldn't stop thinking about him.

This longing made him lose his appetite entirely.

He realized his feelings for Xie Zhiyu were completely different from how he felt about his other friends.

He wouldn't miss Qi Yuanjing like this, nor Lin Yue, Old Man Chen, or the other friends he knew who worked in restaurants and taverns.

He did miss them, but it was a completely different feeling from the longing he had for Xie Zhiyu.

By comparing, Shen Song could clearly tell the difference, though he found it hard to put into words.

Shen Song had been off since coming home yesterday afternoon, constantly spacing out. Today, after delivering his vegetables, he came straight home and went to help out in the mountain fields.

The Shen family was surprised Shen Song hadn't gone to the Xie residence and figured something must have happened.

Liu Chunxia mulled it over and called out to Chi Jiu after dinner that evening.

They shared a room and a bed, both being ge'er and close in age, so it would be better for Chi Jiu to ask than for her to do it herself.

To give them space to talk, Liu Chunxia had San Qiu sleep with her that night and made Shen Dashu bed down on the floor in the room with Shen Jue and the other three.

In the dead of night, Shen Song tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

His hearing was sharp, and he could pick up familiar sounds from the courtyard.

It was Zhao Feiyin coming to take his Seventh Brother up to the roof to look at the night sky.

Every night, after the family fell asleep, they'd spend about an hour up on the roof.

Shen Song could occasionally hear the faint scrape of tiles shifting on the roof above him.

They didn't always use the same roof.

Chi Jiu couldn't hear those faint sounds.

He remembered what Liu Chunxia had asked him to do, and he was also curious about what was going on with Shen Song.

"Eighth Brother, did something bad happen to you?"

Hearing Chi Jiu speak, Shen Song turned over, lay flat, and shook his head. "No, nothing."

"You've been sleeping badly these past two nights." Chi Jiu paused, then asked quietly, "I heard from the family that Eighth Brother didn't go to the Xie residence today. Did you and Lord Xie have a fight?"

Shen Song said they didn't fight.

He wasn't good at holding in his emotions, and lasting from yesterday until now was already his limit.

Chi Jiu's question gave Shen Song a chance to open up, freeing him from his confusion.

"Xiao Jiu, if someone kissed you on the mouth, and you didn't actually dislike it, and you didn't really want to hit him or call him a pervert—does that mean you like him?"

Shen Song thought for a moment, then added, "When you see this person, your heart beats really fast, and you get heart palpitations. When he ignores you, your heart aches. When he smiles, when he gets closer, your heart races. When you can't see him, he's always on your mind, and you think about him in everything you do. When you do see him, you can't help but run, wanting to get to his side fast, to be near him, to press close to him. Are these behaviors caused by heart palpitations, or..."

Shen Song asked softly, "Is it love?"

Chi Jiu didn't react much at first, but then he propped himself up on one arm and suddenly leaned in, their faces closing in fast until Chi Jiu's nose touched Shen Song's.

At that moment, Shen Song instinctively pushed Chi Jiu away and turned his head aside.

Chi Jiu used the push to lie back down, the bed letting out a soft creak.

"Eighth Brother, when the person you mentioned gets this close, do you react the same way you just did?"

Shen Song turned his head back, looking at Chi Jiu's blurred profile in the dark. "No, he was too fast. I didn't react in time. My mind went blank, and my body wouldn't obey me—stiff and frozen, only my heart pounding wildly."

Chi Jiu asked again, "Eighth Brother, with your reflexes, do you really think you wouldn't have been able to push him away in time?"

Shen Song was taken aback.

No, he wouldn't have.

Because of his spiritual power, unless the other person had stronger spiritual power, he would always be able to react and push the person away.

Clearly, Xie Zhiyu had no superpower or spiritual power.

So there was only one possibility: on a subconscious level, he had never thought to guard against Xie Zhiyu.

Before he had even figured out his feelings for Xie Zhiyu, his body had already made an instinctive choice.

To accept everything about him.

It wasn't that he couldn't push him away—it was that he didn't want to. That was all.

"So I do like Xie Zhiyu, right?"

Shen Song said this happily.

He had never felt this kind of affection before.

It fascinated him, but it also scared him.

Chi Jiu let out a soft sigh. "You've finally opened your heart to love. Eighth Brother, I hope you never get hurt in love."

Shen Song thought it was strange that Chi Jiu would say that, so he asked, "Why would I get hurt?"

Chi Jiu said, "Love is a double-edged sword—it can bring you great happiness or great pain. Everyone's experiences are different, so it's hard to say exactly how someone gets hurt in love. I just hope Eighth Brother only knows happiness."

After hearing Chi Jiu's words, Shen Song roughly understood what he meant. He smiled and said, "I'll be fine, Xiao Jiu. Don't worry."

Chi Jiu took a long look at Shen Song. He couldn't see his face clearly in the dark, but he knew he was smiling.

"Good."

That was enough.

Shen Song had figured out that he was in love with Xie Zhiyu.

Earlier he couldn't sleep because he was confused; now he couldn't sleep because he was excited.

The next day, after delivering his vegetables, Shen Song wanted to go tell Xie Zhiyu how he felt and ask what he thought.

But because he was afraid of marriage and having kids, he forced himself to hold back, steering Eight and a Half Taels to turn around in time and head home.

When he got home, Shen Song saw two people squatting in the courtyard.

Shen Song did a double take, took another look, and remembered seeing them before.

They were his fifth brother-in-law's folks.

Li Laojiu and his wife saw Shen Song return, their eyes lit up. "Is that you, Song Geer? It's been so many years, and you've gotten so big."

Before Shen Song could speak, San Qiu came out of the house. He first shot a sour look at Li Laojiu and his wife in the yard, then said to Shen Song in a gentle tone, "Little uncle, why don't you take Eight and a Half Taels to the cowshed and get him settled? Mom and Dad said to ignore these two."

Eight and a Half Taels also wanted to go back to the cowshed to lie down and munch on hay. The ox gave a little nod, and Shen Song followed Eight and a Half Taels' wishes, leading it back to the cowshed without giving Li Laojiu and his wife another glance.

Once he got Eight and a Half Taels settled, Shen Song returned to the yard and found San Qiu sitting on a long bench at the entrance of the main hall, his eyes glued to the two people in the yard.

Shen Song walked to the main hall, and only once he got close to Shen Sanqiu did he ask in a low voice, "What's their deal? Why'd they show up at our house out of the blue? Are they looking for somebody again?"

Shen Sanqiu, who was usually easygoing, said, sounding a bit annoyed, "They're not here to look for anyone. They're here to mooch off us—food, booze, cash, and a free ride."

This morning, after Shen Song had taken off with a cartload of veggies to deliver, and before the rest of the Shen family had gone out, Li Laojiu and his wife arrived outside the Shen family's fence yard.

The old couple shuffled in and plopped down on the ground. Old Lady Li slapped her thigh and howled, "Oh, why is my life so miserable! I birthed a boy and raised him with all my might, but he doesn't respect his folks, doesn't care about his siblings, and just lives it up for himself."

Old Lady Li tipped her head back and wailed even louder, "Heaven above, if you've got eyes, help this poor old woman! So miserable!"

Liu Chunxia frowned and shouted at Old Lady Li, "What are you hollering about? Did somebody kick the bucket in your family? Why are you screaming at somebody else's doorstep?"

"In-law! You're my kin by marriage! How dare you curse my family like that? Look at your family now—good food, good drink, a nice place to stay—living like kings. At least my family raised a boy for over ten years and handed him over to yours. Mother-in-law, you won't lift a finger for our family? Of all the in-laws in the world, is there any that acts like the Shen family?"

Old Lady Li was bawling, tears and snot running down her face, looking pitiful as hell.

Liu Chunxia put her hands on her hips, barely holding back the urge to smack somebody, and snapped, "What do you mean, your family raised a boy for over ten years and gave him to ours? Don't you remember how Maizi lived under you two before! Did he ever get one full meal? In a village, who isn't poor? But I've never seen a family raise a boy like yours did—you nearly worked a good person to death!"

"In-law, now that your family's got connections and money, of course whatever the Shens say goes." Old Lady Li wiped her nose with her hand and flicked the snot away, sitting cross-legged on the ground, back straight as a board, looking like she was ready to fight to the death. "Fine, the Shen family has prospered and become powerful. We're just dirt-poor folk who can't go up against your family. But in-law, you should know that even if you talk till the cows come home, Maizi came out of my belly. He's the boy I birthed!"

Right then, Zhou Gu was blocking the door to Li Maizi's room, so he couldn't come out.

Old Lady Li spotted Li Maizi's figure and shouted, "Li Maizi! You're living the high life now and don't want to take care of your own folks, huh? Fine then, let's take it to the officials. I'll sue you for being an unfilial son! Let's see who the magistrate ends up punishing."

The imperial court put a huge emphasis on filial piety. Officials had to return to their hometowns for mourning periods when close elder relatives passed away.

The crime of unfilial conduct was one of the ten abominations.

Whenever an elder went to the yamen to accuse a younger person of unfilial conduct, the younger person could not escape punishment—often death, exile, or penal servitude.

And younger people were strictly forbidden from accusing their elders. The authorities wouldn't accept the case and would instead punish the accuser with a major crime.

The Shen family was alarmed by Old Lady Li's words. Liu Chunxia asked in disbelief, "Are you really Maizi's birth mother? You're clearly trying to send Maizi to his death!"

Old Lady Li's lips twitched, and she sneered, "This old woman has no money, so I might as well die!"

Li Maizi was trembling all over. He had always known what his parents were like. He had always known.

From a very young age, he understood that his parents disliked him greatly, and his older brothers, sisters, and younger brothers all disliked him too.

He was superfluous in the family.

A burdensome liability.

But no matter how much he knew, he was still a person—a living, breathing person.

Hearing his birth mother say those things, how could he not be hurt?

Li Maizi was so anxious he couldn't speak. Zhou Gu kept soothing him, comforting him, "Maizi, don't listen to her nonsense. What she says is just bullshit. Don't take it to heart. Look, who in our family doesn't like you? You're so good—normal people would like you, Maizi. They're not normal; they're sick in the head. We don't listen to people who are sick in the head spouting nonsense."

Li Maizi nodded, but his hands were still trembling uncontrollably. He tried to speak but couldn't get the words out.

At that moment, Li Laojiu said, "Father-in-law, mother-in-law, we're not here to demand anything from your family. We just want both families to get along well in the future. Now that your family has property on Hutou Mountain, and we live in Shanwagou, close to your land. Tell me, two hundred mu of land—can just Bing Jie'er and her husband, plus one young boy, really manage it well?"

Shen Dashu, who had been silent all along, snorted, "You've certainly done your homework on our family's affairs. You must have spent no small amount of money these past days."

Li Laojiu smiled, the wrinkles on his face deepening.

"Father-in-law, what are you saying? It was kind-hearted people who told us about your family's difficulties. The Li family is only thinking of your good, considering everything for your sake—that's why we came."

Liu Chunxia laughed at that. "You're thinking of our good?"

Li Laojiu said, "How is this not for your good? Father-in-law, mother-in-law, think carefully. Bing Jie'er has two children, and the little boy was just born not long ago—he needs his mother. Your fourth son-in-law was originally a hunter, rarely dealing with people, and he looks fierce. The workers probably fear him on the surface but don't truly respect him. As for San Qiu, need I say more? A boy of ten or so, who'll be married off in a couple of years. You're asking him to manage two hundred mu of mountain land and twenty people? Isn't that ridiculous?"

"If you ask me, the Shen family has run out of capable people, so they arranged it this way. But our two families are in-laws! That makes us one family. Since the Shen family has no one available, my eldest, second, and third sons—aren't they all capable hands? When they do the work, father-in-law, mother-in-law, you can rest a hundred percent easy."

The entire Shen family was amused by Li Laojiu's speech—laughed in anger.

They'd truly never seen such shameless people.

Liu Chunxia was about to curse when Li Maizi's voice came through, "Don't even think about it!"

"Which of them can actually work steadily? Eldest brother is greedy for petty gains, second brother is lazy and indolent, third brother loves stirring up trouble, fourth sister is sharp-tongued and mean, sixth brother is sly and shirks work, seventh sister is gluttonous and idle. And me—I'm timid and dull. Of this generation of the Li family, who is actually useful?"

Li Laojiu and his wife were stunned speechless by Li Maizi's words. Recovering, Li Laojiu pointed at Li Maizi and roared, "I see you've grown bold, badmouthing your brothers and sisters like that!"

"What did I say that's wrong!" Li Maizi's voice trembled. "Not just them—the sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, none of them are any good either! The brothers-in-law on the other side aren't decent people either! Don't you dare plant a single one of them on Shen family land."

Li Laojiu frowned deeply, staring at Li Maizi with disgust. "You've cursed nearly the whole family. If you've got the guts, curse your own parents too! I'd like to see if you dare say a single word!"

The crime of unfilial conduct was one of the ten abominations.

If a younger person verbally abused their elders, it was an open-and-shut case.

Li Maizi was furious. He opened his mouth to speak, but Zhou Gu clamped a hand over it. "You shameless old coots! You're heartless! Black-hearted and rotten to the core!"

Old Lady Li reacted faster than Li Laojiu. "What did you say, you little wretch!"

"You're shameless old coots too—heartless, black-hearted, and rotten! You're a pair of jackals, worse than tigers in cruelty! Living today without tomorrow, full of scheming, always plotting how to take advantage of others. What? You want to sue me for unfilial conduct? You can take it to the heavens and still won't have anything on me, Zhou Gu!"

The old Li couple was furious, their heads spinning. They had never been so viciously berated before.

"Oh dear, we're dying, we're dying! This fine boy the Shen family married is cursing people to death! I wonder how his parents raised him, teaching such a vicious little wretch!"

Old Lady Li started slapping her thigh again, wailing like a ghost.

Zhou Gu spat, "Keep your filthy mouth away from my parents! Even mentioning them dirties their good names!"

Old Lady Li was about to retort when Liu Chunxia stepped in and said, "You come to my house and curse my Gu Geer left and right—what kind of logic is that? I'm telling you, if you make another sound, even if you don't report us to the authorities, I will. Let's see what the magistrate makes of you coming to my house at dawn to curse my boy!"

By now, the neighbors from Shen Family Gully had gathered with their farm tools, and the crowd outside the fence yard was growing, all staring intently at the old Li couple.

Shen Gaoshan was among them—he was the one who had organized the people.

"Dashu, Chunxia, what's the situation with these two?"

Shen Dashu said it was nothing, but Liu Chunxia said unhappily, "They're here to sponge off us. They racked their brains for days and finally came up with a reason. They must have been about to die of impatience these past days."

Shen Dashu gently patted his old wife's back to comfort her. Then he explained the whole story to Shen Gaoshan.

Shen Gaoshan looked at the old Li couple, who weren't scared one bit.

After all, they couldn't actually beat them to death.

The Shen family had plenty of work to do, and they had already wasted a lot of time.

Shen Yian and the others couldn't stay any longer, or they'd be too late to open the vegetable shop.

As they were leaving, Xu Hongmei—who hadn't said a word the whole time—spoke to the old Li couple: "If you want to sue Maizi for unfilial conduct, when the authorities investigate, they'll have to summon the village head and the neighbors for questioning. Have you greased their palms or what?"

Xu Hongmei had seen a lot at the vegetable shop—not just how folks from the big houses carried themselves and talked, but she'd also catch them going on about shady business, laws, and rules every now and then.

When Zhou Gu heard what Xu Hongmei said, he slapped his thigh, kicking himself—why hadn't he thought of that?

He knew about this too—heard it from a buying matron for some rich family, who told him about something that went down in her village.

That matron was from Li Family Village. There was an elder in the village who sued a younger kin for being unfilial. The case went to the yamen, and in the end, the village head and all the neighbors got dragged into the courthouse.

To this day, the village head and the neighbors are still locked up together, getting hauled out for questioning every few days.

Family and relatives pulled strings and paid money to go see them, and word was the guy had lost so much weight he looked like a skeleton, having been through hell.

After visiting, several families started camping out at the door of the family that filed the unfilial suit, even trashing their wedding banquet.

They also accused the family of "eating the dead's estate" and aired all their dirty laundry out in public.

The bride was taken back by her family that very day, and her parents said the marriage was off—no way they'd marry their daughter into that family.

The bride's older brothers also beat the would-be groom within an inch of his life.

Because his lying had caused their sister so much humiliation.

In the end, the matter never got resolved, and the families just kept at each other, stuck in a stalemate.

The folks caught in the middle stayed locked up.

Zhou Gu glanced at the old Li couple and clicked his tongue twice. Knowing the Li family like he did, they couldn't handle this.

The old Li couple had no clue about any of this.

They'd only been dragged to jail once before, where they ran into a young guy locked up for being unfilial, and figured out they could use that to squeeze favors out of the Shen family.

After getting out, they'd put a lot of work into digging up dirt on the Shen family, scared of asking for too little.

Who knew there was this catch!

"You're full of it," Li Laojiu said, not buying it.

Xu Hongmei sneered, "Believe it or not. When you file that lawsuit and everyone gets dragged in for questioning, I'd love to see if your family can handle all those folks' relatives coming after you."

The old Li couple didn't dare believe it.

They just hollered that it was impossible.

Xu Hongmei didn't say another word and hopped on the donkey cart to head to the vegetable shop.

"If you two old folks want to sit here, go right ahead," Liu Chunxia said, hoisting two hoes over one shoulder and grabbing Li Maizi's hand with the other, talking to the old couple. "I know exactly what I own. You'd better stay right here in front of the gate where folks can see you—if anything goes missing, I'll say you two stole it."

They weren't about to waste the whole day on these two and skip out on work. The Shen family went about their business like usual.

As Liu Chunxia led Li Maizi out, she noticed his hands were shaking and cold.

She had Yian's donkey cart swing by the school to have Fifth Brother come home first.

Soon, only San Qiu and the kids were left at home.

San Qiu only went up the mountain every three days now. He was learning to write and do accounts from Chi Jiu, and the mountain's bookkeeping was currently handled by Li Geng, with San Qiu helping out.

Seeing that everyone had really left and was ignoring them, the old Li couple felt like they were punching cotton—all that anger with nowhere to go.

They started muttering about San Qiu, saying a young man like him should be thinking about marrying well instead of messing with the family business, and that no man would ever want him.

San Qiu got fed up.

He grabbed some dishwater from the kitchen and sloshed it on the ground, splattering a good bit onto their clothes.

The old Li couple jumped up mad, but then heard a voice from the neighbor's place—a seven or eight-year-old boy perched on the wall, hollering at them: "Hey! What do you two think you're doing! If you lay a hand on Brother San Qiu, I'm gonna call the village head!"

After the Shen family had gone off to work, the villagers had gone back to their own chores.

There wasn't a soul outside the Shen family's fenced yard.

But the neighbors still had eyes out for the Shen family's adults.

The old Li couple had no choice but to glare at the boy, then turn and glare at Shen Sanqiu before plopping back down on the ground in a huff.

They looked dead set on staying until the Shen family did what they wanted.

Fine, they'd just wait it out.

When Shen Song got back, he found the old Li couple looking like they were ready to outlast the Shen family.

Shen Song listened as San Qiu and the kids excitedly told him the whole story, and he got what was going on.

This unfilial conduct law was seriously scary.

When Shen Chong came home and saw the old Li couple in the yard, he already knew what had happened from Shen Yian. He frowned hard, couldn't even look at them without feeling disgust.

Seeing her fifth uncle come back, San Qiu hurried off to find her grandmother in the fields—her grandmother had told her to.

Back home, Shen Song was holding the sleeping Zhao Bao in his arms. The kid loved sleeping in his arms and would wake up the second he was put down.

Shen Song doted on the kid, so he just kept holding him.

He noticed Shen Chong's deep frown and worried look, and figured this wasn't going to be easy to sort out.

He asked, "Fifth Brother, realistically speaking, isn't it Li Maizi's parents who treat him bad? Can't he turn around and sue them?"

Shen Chong shook his head. "No. Even if he's in the right, he'd still get thrown in jail and punished."

Shen Song knew the unfilial conduct law was harsh, but not this bad.

He thought for a moment and said, "Then when the yamen gets the Li parents' accusation, if they investigate properly and find it's a false accusation, they'd get punished, right?"

"No. Because filial piety comes first—parents are never wrong. Even if it's proven to be a false accusation, everyone just gets sent home. If someone's found to have put them up to it, then that person gets hit hard."

Shen Song asked again, "What if Fifth Brother-in-law severs ties with them?"

Shen Chong shook his head again, his voice heavy. "Unless the elders commit treason or rebel against the state, a younger generation initiating the severance of family ties is seen as unfilial. Only if the elders take the initiative to sever ties and remove the name from the family registry would it be acceptable."

Shen Song's eyes brightened. "Then let's find a way to get the Li family to take the initiative to sever ties with Fifth Brother-in-law!"

This was the solution, and the only one that would settle things once and for all.

The question was, how could they possibly get the Li family to agree to sever the ties?

A little while later, Liu Chunxia returned with Li Maizi and Shen Sanqiu.

They went straight into the main hall, ignoring the two people sitting in the courtyard.

Shen Chong stood up right away, slipped an arm around Li Maizi's shoulders, and murmured, "It's okay now."

Li Maizi was a bit shy and nodded, blushing slightly.

After saying those things out loud today, he wasn't as scared anymore. It's just that his body still had a mind of its own, and he couldn't control it.

Shen Chong said to Liu Chunxia that they needed to figure out a way to get the old Li couple to be the ones to bring up severing ties.

Liu Chunxia also thought it was tough when she heard this.

She asked Li Maizi, "Maizi, do you want to sever ties with them? Once you do, you'll have no connection with your birth family anymore."

Since they weren't the ones directly involved, it wasn't their place to decide.

They could only ask Li Maizi what he wanted.

Even though the Li family had gone too far, Liu Chunxia still felt she couldn't make the decision for Li Maizi because of it.

For better or worse, they were still Li Maizi's family.

Li Maizi lowered his eyes, leaning against his husband's chest, a child in each hand.

His Si Ping and Qi Tian.

Both were still so little.

Liu Chunxia wanted to give Li Maizi time to think it over, but before she could say anything, Li Maizi spoke. "Mother, I want to cut ties with them. What kind of family is that? What kind of parents are those? I don't want them anymore. I never want them again."

Li Maizi wasn't crying.

He said it very firmly.

There wasn't even a tremor.

Li Maizi said, "The ones who love me and treat me well are my family. They aren't."

Liu Chunxia looked at Li Maizi, then hugged him. "Alright, no matter what, we'll cut those ties clean."

For greedy people, this was like handing them a chance to open their mouths wide like lions.

It was a massive problem.

The Shen family mostly felt that trouble didn't matter; as long as it could keep Li Maizi from living in fear and misery, it was a good plan.

When the old Li couple heard that the Shen family was proposing to sever ties.

Their first reaction was to say no.

The old Shen couple was just as firm. "If you don't agree, then we'll go down together. You won't see a single copper coin."

"Your family is so rich, how could you possibly want to go down with us?" Li Laojiu wasn't scared of that threat at all.

Shen Chong said coldly, "The people who dragged you away that day—my Shen family can still find them. Taking you up the mountain and throwing you off the cliff would solve the problem too. If the fish dies, it's you who die; if the net breaks, it's your family that's ruined. If you don't want to negotiate properly, then does this threat suit you better?"

Li Laojiu exclaimed in shock, "You'd dare to kill someone? Aren't you a scholar?"

"That's exactly why I've studied—I know the law and how to get around it." Shen Chong looked at Li Laojiu, already annoyed from being hassled repeatedly. "Father-in-law, do you want to talk money, or do you want to talk about lives?"

The old Li couple were both scared by Shen Chong's words.

They didn't dare say anything else, but they didn't want to give up this golden opportunity either.

This was a chance to completely change their family's fortune!

Li Laojiu forced himself to stay calm and said they needed to go back and talk it over.

The Shen family nodded and let them go talk it over.

The next day, the whole Li family showed up. Li Laojiu had some confidence now; otherwise, he would have been genuinely scared.

Who would have thought that the bookish son-in-law could be so scary when angry, talking about killing and beating people?

As expected, the Li family opened their mouths wide and demanded half of the Shen family's assets.

The Shen family was willing to negotiate, but they weren't pushovers. They threw the Li family out on the spot.

Zhao Lu alone was worth two men, and Shen Song was strong too. The whole family chased the Li family out of the village before heading back home.

As they left, they told the Li family to think more carefully about how much they wanted to ask for.

The Li family cursed angrily at the village entrance for a while before being driven even farther away by the villagers of Shenjiagou, who were wielding farm tools.

The Shen family knew this business with the Li family was going to be a long fight.

These past few days, Shen Song would rush home right after delivering vegetables, worried that his family might get bullied.

He didn't even have time to think about Xie Zhiyu's situation.

One day, after delivering vegetables, he went out the back door of the Xu family restaurant and was about to get on the ox cart to head home when he caught a familiar scent of pine.

He looked up and saw someone standing at the mouth of the alley, silhouetted against the light.

The moment Shen Song caught the familiar scent of pine, his heart couldn't help but thump thump thump.

Xie Zhiyu approached and quickly pinned the dazed Shen Song against the wall.

Sensing danger, Shen Song instinctively turned his head to the left, where Xie Zhiyu's arm wasn't blocking, trying to escape. Xie Zhiyu simply raised his hand to block the left side.

Shen Song crouched down, but Xie Zhiyu grabbed both his arms and hoisted him up.

He looked down at Shen Song, his voice low. "Hiding from me?"

Shen Song couldn't bring himself to say he wasn't hiding.

He nodded honestly.

Seeing that Shen Song wouldn't even bother to lie to him, Xie Zhiyu felt choked up. He lowered his head and demanded, "Do you hate me too?"

If you don't like me, why do you always praise me? Why smile at me, be kind to me, stay by my side, and follow me off that cliff?

If you hate me, then you shouldn't have done any of that, Shen Song.

Shen Song tipped his head back, saw the faint redness in Xie Zhiyu's eyes, and heard the slight tremor in his voice.

Shen Song realized that Xie Zhiyu was very upset.

He didn't know what was wrong, but he knew he couldn't lie to Xie Zhiyu, so he said plainly, "They all say that if you kiss, you have to get hitched and have kids. I don't want to have kids."

Not right now, anyway.

Xie Zhiyu was stunned for a moment, his mood, which had sunk to rock bottom, suddenly lifting, as if the storm clouds had parted and rainbows appeared. He was over the moon, a grin he couldn't fight spreading across his face, his ears flushing red.

Shen Song didn't hate him—he was already picturing marriage and kids... Shen Song loves me after all!

"Do you even know what you're saying?" This wasn't the first time Xie Zhiyu had asked Shen Song this question.

Shen Song nodded again, looking flustered. "Xie Zhiyu, I miss you so much. But we really can't kiss anymore. I'll get pregnant with your baby. Qi Yuanjing said he'd help me give birth, and if he can't, there's Doctor Yue. But I'm still kinda scared. I need to get ready properly before I can marry you and have kids."

Xie Zhiyu's heart was pounding faster and his ears were getting redder.

Listen, just listen to this guy, with that stupidly cute face, pouring his heart out to him.

God, it was killing him—Xie Zhiyu felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest.

"Shen Song."

Xie Zhiyu said softly, his voice low and a little rough.

Shen Song looked up at him. "I'm all ears."

"*Shan you mu xi mu you zhi, xin yue jun xi jun bu zhi*—do you know what it really means?"

"Of course I do. It means the mountain has trees, and the trees have branches. When a person is happy inside, others don't know it. You can't trip me up—I've got a great memory, and I never forget stuff I've learned. Heh heh, bet you didn't see that coming!"

Shen Song was pleased with himself for answering Xie Zhiyu's quiz, grinning happily.

Xie Zhiyu raised his hand, his big hand covering Shen Song's cheek and half his head. He said it slowly, word by word, his ears and face on fire, "*Xin yue* means to like, to love. *Xin yue jun xi jun bu zhi* means I love you in my heart, but you don't know it. You dummy, did you get it this time?"

Shen Song's eyes went wide. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

His heart was racing.

Shen Song raised a hand to his chest. "Xie, Xie Zhiyu, my heart palpitations are really bad right now."

"Want me to hold you to make it better?" Xie Zhiyu asked softly.

Shen Song dove into Xie Zhiyu's arms, but his heart didn't slow one bit—it only got faster. He breathed in the familiar piney scent, and he could hear Xie Zhiyu's heart pounding just as fast.

In his ears, their heartbeats tangled together, slowly syncing up until he couldn't tell whose heartbeat was whose.

His heartbeat had Xie Zhiyu's in it, and Xie Zhiyu's had his.

Shen Song's face felt like it was on fire.

What now? What was he supposed to do?

How was he supposed to calm down?

*Shan you mu xi mu you zhi, xin yue jun xi jun bu zhi.*

*Xin yue jun xi jun bu zhi.*

So that's what it meant. That's what it really meant.

Shen Song knew it now—he liked Xie Zhiyu.

Xie Zhiyu was special.

Only Xie Zhiyu was allowed to kiss him.

Shen Song remembered how it felt when Xie Zhiyu kissed him that day, and his face grew even redder.

"Shen Song, I've laid my heart out. What do you say?"

Xie Zhiyu didn't want to go through that failure at the bottom of the cliff again. Today, he was determined to settle things.

Shen Song's face was burning. He said, "Xie Zhiyu, I'll only ever kiss you. No one else."

Xie Zhiyu caught his breath, his heart pounding faster, and Shen Song's was racing just as hard.

Neither of them dared to move, frozen like statues in an embrace, standing stiffly in the alley, holding each other tight, not moving a muscle.

Xie Zhiyu breathed in the faint soapy smell from Shen Song's hair. This wasn't a dream.