After ending the call with Cheng Lu, Xu Xiuwen called An Shishi.
Xu Xiuwen loved Cheng Lu more, but An Shishi was also his woman, and he wouldn't favor one over the other.
An Shishi didn't have a TV at home, so she couldn't watch the drama series.
Xu Xiuwen called her mainly to ease her longing.
In fact, An Shishi was more clingy than Cheng Lu and Tang Weiwei.
She didn't say it outright, but every time they talked on the phone, her excitement and reluctance to hang up said it all.
Xu Xiuwen understood this.
Most girls become more attached after giving themselves to a man, wanting to be close to him.
If the man fails to notice this and doesn't show enough care, the girl will feel insecure.
Xu Xiuwen was not that insensitive, so he always said sweet things to make An Shishi smile.
After calling both Cheng Lu and An Shishi, Xu Xiuwen sent a text to Tang Weiwei.
Tang Weiwei hadn't told her grandmother about their relationship, so they always communicated via text.
After contacting the three women, Xu Xiuwen thought about Bai Yue'er, who he hadn't heard from in a while, and decided to call her.
"Xu Xiuwen, you actually called me?" Bai Yue'er's voice was full of surprise.
Xu Xiuwen chuckled, "You didn't call me, so I had to call you."
Hearing his voice, Bai Yue'er laughed from the bottom of her heart.
Her laughter was sweet, but unfortunately, Xu Xiuwen couldn't see it.
After laughing a few times, Bai Yue'er pouted, "Why didn't you call me sooner? I've been back for days, and you didn't call once."
"Well, I didn't want brother Shi to misunderstand. If I kept contacting his fiancée, what would that look like?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Yue'er's expression instantly turned cold.
She snorted lightly, then asked, "Then why are you calling now? Aren't you afraid anymore?"
"Isn't today special? The drama series premiered today, and I think brother Shi can understand that." After a pause, he continued, "Did you watch the drama?"
Bai Yue'er felt a surge of resentment.
She coldly snorted, "No, I didn't."
"Brother Shi called me. He watched it, so I thought you did too."
"I don't have a TV at home."
"Oh, I see. I called to ask your opinion, but if you didn't watch it, never mind."
Bai Yue'er didn't say anything.
The atmosphere turned cold.
Xu Xiuwen had to change the subject, "If the drama becomes a hit, you'll become a star. How do you feel about that?"
Bai Yue'er, imagining the drama's success, found she wasn't as excited or happy as she expected.
Instead of answering, she asked, "What about you?"
Xu Xiuwen laughed, "Of course, I'd be happy."
Bai Yue'er suddenly snorted, "You should be happy. If you become famous, all the girls at school will flock to you. You'll be thrilled!"
Xu Xiuwen detected a hint of jealousy.
He couldn't help but laugh, "I smell jealousy."
Bai Yue'er paused, then denied it, "Don't talk nonsense. I'm not jealous!"
Xu Xiuwen laughed heartily, "I didn't say you were jealous, but you just admitted it."
Bai Yue'er stomped her foot, clenching her little fists, "Xu Xiuwen, you're so annoying!"
Xu Xiuwen said nothing.
After a few seconds, Bai Yue'er added, "Weiwei and I are good friends. I have to keep an eye on you. If you do anything to hurt her, I..."
She paused, unsure what to say next.
Hesitating, she finally said, "I'll scold you!"
Listening to Bai Yue'er's weak threat, Xu Xiuwen shook his head in exasperation.
An Shishi also claimed she'd keep an eye on him for Cheng Lu, but ended up betraying her trust.
Xu Xiuwen thought, As long as you don't betray Weiwei, that'll be enough. You say you'll watch out for her, but it's not convincing.
At this moment, Bai Yue'er suddenly said, "I don't care. You've made so much money, you have to treat me to a meal. Otherwise, it's too unfair for me."
"No problem. When school starts next year, I'll treat you to a meal first thing. Eat whatever you want as a thank you for acting without a fee."
Bai Yue'er teased, "That's more like it."
"How have you been since you got home?"
Bai Yue'er bit her lip, "What can I say? I stay at home every day, help my mom with chores, and sleep."
"You didn't go out? Brother Shi is from your village, isn't he? You didn't visit him? He didn't come to see you?"
"I didn't go anywhere. Why would I visit him? I don't like him. He did come to see me, but I didn't want to go out with him."
Xu Xiuwen sighed, "Do you dislike brother Shi that much?"
Bai Yue'er thought, If you were forced into an engagement, would you like the person? And after knowing someone as excellent as you, how could I be interested in Shi Xiangming?
Seeing Bai Yue'er stay silent, Xu Xiuwen sighed again, "Take care of yourself at home. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."
"Okay..." Bai Yue'er actually wanted to keep talking, but she didn't ask him to stay.
Bai Yue'er had complicated feelings towards him.
She knew she liked Xu Xiuwen a lot, but Xu Xiuwen already had Tang Weiwei, and she herself was engaged.
There were too many obstacles between them.
However, she was unwilling to marry Shi Xiangming.
If she had never met Xu Xiuwen, although she didn't like Shi Xiangming at all, she might have succumbed to the situation after graduating from the College and eventually married Shi Xiangming.
But she had already met Xu Xiuwen.
How could a girl who had seen a wild wolf ever like a domestic dog?
Back in the small room, the first episode of the TV drama had just ended.
Ning Jiali happily rushed over, hugging Xu Xiuwen's arm excitedly, "Cousin, this show is so good, you look really handsome in it."
Xu Xiuwen rubbed his cousin's head and laughed.
That night, Su Province TV aired two episodes of the drama.
When the drama ended, it was already nine o'clock.
The biggest difference between the countryside and the city is the evening.
At night, the village had no streetlights and was pitch dark everywhere.
Looking up at the sky, the stars were twinkling, and the Milky Way was particularly clear.
If you set up a mat in the yard and lay on it to watch the stars, it would be a nice experience.
But you must have a mosquito net, or you'd be covered in bites in no time.
Even indoors wasn't particularly safe.
Around the ceiling lamp inside the house were countless mosquitoes and small moths.
These mosquitoes and moths seemed fearless, buzzing around the bulb.
By around nine o'clock, his uncle and aunt had gone back early.
The eldest aunt's family, humiliated, also left.
Ning Jiali stayed behind, not leaving with her parents.
The second aunt's and youngest aunt's families also stayed.
Their homes were in town, so they chose to stay over.
There were six beds in the grandmother's house.
Three beds in the big room at the front.
In the back three small rooms, apart from the rightmost kitchen, the remaining two rooms had beds; the leftmost was Ning Jiali's room, and the middle room had two beds.
After arranging, the second aunt and her husband took one bed, the youngest aunt and her husband another, and Xu Xiuwen and his cousin Wu Qiang shared one bed in the big room at the front.
Ning Wanqiu took the little cousin from the youngest aunt's side and shared a bed, while the grandparents took the other little cousin from the youngest aunt's side in another bed; all of them shared a room.
Ning Jiali still slept in her room, in her bed.
After deciding the sleeping arrangements, everyone washed up and went to bed.
Xu Xiuwen, having no fondness for these relatives, went to bed immediately after washing up.
He made it clear he didn't want to be disturbed.
The second aunt's and youngest aunt's families did want to chat with Xu Xiuwen, but seeing him go to bed, they gave up.
After the lights were out, the five quickly fell into a deep sleep.
But Xu Xiuwen couldn't sleep at all.
He had underestimated the "power" of his two uncles!
Their snoring was thunderous and relentless.
How could anyone sleep through this?
Xu Xiuwen thought his uncles' snoring wasn't this bad before?
He admired his aunts and cousin; they must be used to this torment.
Xu Xiuwen tried all sorts of ways, but none worked.
Finally, he gave up. He opened his eyes, staring at the dark ceiling.
The noise was unbearable, so he sat up, dressed, and left the big room, closing the old wooden door behind him.
He headed to the car to sleep for the night.
Reaching the back door of the front house, he unbolted it and walked into the yard.
On the east side of the yard was a double iron gate, used for tractors to enter and exit, with a lock that was just hanging, not locked.
Xu Xiuwen removed the lock and was about to leave.
"Who's there?"
A voice sounded behind him.
Xu Xiuwen froze.
He turned and asked, unsure, "Lili?"
"Cousin?"
Ning Jiali heard Xu Xiuwen's voice and quickly walked over on the stone-paved path in the yard.
She was wearing a deep red set of autumn clothes and pants, with a cotton jacket over them.
The winters in the countryside were particularly cold, and she hunched her body against the chill.
"Cousin, why aren't you asleep? Are you going out?"
Recognizing Xu Xiuwen, Ning Jiali asked in confusion.
Xu Xiuwen explained, "That room is too noisy, I can't sleep at all."
Ning Jiali quickly understood the reason, as she had also heard her two uncles snoring.
Thinking about how her cousin couldn't sleep because of their snoring and was even forced to escape from the room, she couldn't help but chuckle.
She stopped laughing and asked, "What are you going to do, cousin?"
Xu Xiuwen said, "I plan to sleep in the car for a while."
"What? How can that be?" Ning Jiali immediately shook her head, "Sleeping in the car is so uncomfortable."
Xu Xiuwen gave a bitter smile, "What else can I do? I can't stay up all night."
Ning Jiali didn't respond.
Xu Xiuwen said, "Alright, you go back to sleep, I'll head to the car."
As he spoke, he went to unlock the door, preparing to leave.
At this moment, Ning Jiali suddenly called out softly, "Cousin~"
"What's the matter?"
Ning Jiali's face turned as red as blood, but fortunately, the night concealed it all.
She took a deep breath, then whispered, "Cousin, why don't you sleep in my room instead?"
Without thinking, Xu Xiuwen refused, "I sleep in your room, and you go to the big room? That won't do!"
Ning Jiali shook her head, "I'm not going to sleep with our second cousin."
"Then you won't sleep?"
Ning Jiali found that her cousin could sometimes be this dense.
She had already mustered the courage to say it, yet he still didn't get her meaning.
Did she have to spell it out explicitly?
Ning Jiali felt her face burning.
She explained, "I mean, I'm willing to sleep with you."
Afraid of being misunderstood, she quickly added, "We're cousins, so it's okay even if we sleep in the same bed, as long as we don't-"
Her words abruptly stopped.
Xu Xiuwen finally understood what she meant.
His first reaction was to find it absurd.
Wasn't this nonsense?
Although Ning Jiali hadn't yet turned eighteen, at sixteen, she was already a young lady with a fully developed body.
If they slept together, what kind of situation would that be?
Xu Xiuwen rejected without hesitation, "No way, we can't sleep together."
Ning Jiali, feeling shy about her suggestion, was stunned by Xu Xiuwen's refusal.
She forgot her shyness.
Her face changed, and she asked sadly, "Cousin, do you dislike me?"
Xu Xiuwen couldn't help but laugh, "How could I dislike you?"
"Then why don't you want to sleep with me?"
"We're cousins, even if we were siblings, at our age, we can't sleep together."
"You do dislike me!" Ning Jiali's eyes reddened, and her voice carried a sobbing tone.
Xu Xiuwen thought, my cousin can't cry, otherwise, if she wakes others and they find us secretly meeting in the yard at night, and worse, if they see her crying, it'll be a real mess.
Xu Xiuwen quickly comforted in a low voice, "Don't cry, I really don't dislike you."
Ning Jiali actually started sniffling, "I know you dislike me because of how my mom treated you and Auntie in the past."
She paused and continued, "Cousin, I apologize on behalf of my mom. Will you forgive her?"
Xu Xiuwen was speechless.
He did have significant issues with his aunt, but he held no grudge against this lovable cousin.
When they were younger and visited for the New Year, Ning Jiali would follow him like a little tag-along, calling him cousin and always sharing her treats with him.
Although many of her cherished snacks were just ordinary treats to him, a city boy, these gestures made Xu Xiuwen fond of his little cousin.
However, their rare meetings over the years had eroded those childhood bonds.
Thinking of those childhood memories and his cousin's once adorable smile, Xu Xiuwen's heart softened like cotton.
He reached out and patted her head, comforting her, "Alright, I don't dislike you. I'll agree to your request."
Ning Jiali smiled at this.
She stepped forward, took Xu Xiuwen's arm, and pulled him towards her room.
Xu Xiuwen followed her passively to her room.
Ning Jiali's room was simple: a bed, a desk, a chair, and a large redwood wardrobe.
Her bed was a canopy bed, consisting of bed boards, railings, posts, and a canopy top.
The railings were seven-section vertical slats, with four posts, making it a typical four-post bed, and the canopy top was also in seven sections.
Most people wouldn't know why it was in seven sections.
Having read an article on the subject, Xu Xiuwen knew.
In traditional furniture, "beds never leave seven," with dimensions often being three feet seven or four feet five inches seven.
The "seven" in the bed's dimensions was for good luck, symbolizing "the bed never leaving the wife."
A canopy bed was essentially a small house.
The seven-section canopy top symbolized the Big Dipper in the sky, resonating with the idea of "heaven above," and implied "heavenly blessings."
Some might call this superstition.
But Xu Xiuwen preferred to believe it was an embodiment of the ancients' aspirations and blessings based on astronomy, geography, and traditional culture.