Their current posture was rather peculiar.
Tang Weiwei was crouched in front of Xu Xiuwen, completely caught off guard when he stole a kiss from her.
The kiss didn't last long, but it was enough to leave Tang Weiwei feeling weak and unsteady.
Flustered, she hurriedly wiped the water droplets off Xu Xiuwen's feet before lowering her head, picking up the bucket, and walking out. Before leaving, she softly reminded him, "I'll go now. You rest well."
Watching the shy look on her face, Xu Xiuwen couldn't help but smile smugly.
After Tang Weiwei left, Xu Xiuwen turned off the lights and lay down on the bed.
The room had no windows, and once the lights were out, it plunged into complete darkness.
Xu Xiuwen pulled out his phone and started texting Cheng Lu and Xiao Youran.
He chatted with them for a long time before finally putting the phone down.
Lying on the old wooden bed, he stared up at the pitch-black ceiling, lost in thought.
...
The next morning, Xu Xiuwen was awakened by the crowing of roosters.
At the crack of dawn, roosters from every direction—east, west, north, and south—were crowing.
Xu Xiuwen checked the time on his phone.
It was 6 a.m.
Thinking it was still early, he considered lying in bed a little longer. But then he remembered that as a visiting son-in-law, sleeping in might leave a bad impression.
So, he got up.
Walking out of the "bedroom," Xu Xiuwen noticed that the main door of the earthen house—the main room—was already open.
Was it Tang Weiwei or her grandmother who opened it?
Xu Xiuwen didn't see anyone in the main room. He stepped outside to look, but still found no one.
Turning around, he walked toward the small fenced yard outside the back door.
Tang Weiwei happened to be coming out of the kitchen.
She was wearing the clothes Xu Xiuwen had bought her, though she had added a bright red apron over them.
Her lovely oval-shaped face was flushed, either from the wind or the heat of the stove.
Her hair, tied back neatly into a ponytail, wasn't too long or too short.
Her slightly long bangs partially obscured her face, making her crescent-shaped eyes shimmer with a watery brilliance that was stunning.
When she saw Xu Xiuwen, Tang Weiwei's eyes lit up with a mix of excitement and shyness.
Perhaps waking up to see Xu Xiuwen in her childhood home felt strange to her.
She smiled and greeted him, "Xu Xiuwen, you're awake!"
"Yeah."
"Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yeah."
"That's good," Tang Weiwei said, relieved.
Remembering the bowl of noodles from last night, Xu Xiuwen asked, "Are you preparing breakfast?"
"Uh-huh."
"Just make something simple, no need to overthink it."
Tang Weiwei paused for a moment before quickly realizing Xu Xiuwen didn't want her to feel pressured or embarrassed.
Her crescent-shaped eyes curved into a smile, completely disappearing into two perfect arcs.
"Mm, I'm cooking noodles. It'll be ready soon. After breakfast, I'll head to the village entrance to buy some pork and butcher a chicken. Lunch will be quite a feast, so eat plenty then."
"No need to kill the chicken, just buy some meat."
"It's fine. Grandma said we should kill a chicken," Tang Weiwei replied shyly.
After saying that, she turned and went back into the kitchen.
Xu Xiuwen instinctively glanced into the yard.
There were only two chickens in the yard—one rooster and one hen.
He paused, a bit taken aback, but then another thought quickly occurred to him.
Although he and Tang Weiwei had introduced each other as classmates to her grandmother last night, her grandmother had lived a long life. Surely, she could tell the true nature of their relationship when her granddaughter brought a man home for the first time.
If Tang Weiwei's grandmother, had agreed to kill a chicken, could it mean that she had accepted him?
Even if it wasn't full acceptance, at least it wasn't disapproval.
This thought instantly lifted Xu Xiuwen's spirits.
But he wasn't completely sure and felt he needed to ask Tang Weiwei to confirm.
Excited, Xu Xiuwen followed her into the kitchen.
However, as soon as he entered, he realized that Tang Weiwei's grandmother was also there, sitting behind the stove, feeding straw into the fire.
When Tang Weiwei saw Xu Xiuwen come in, her face turned even redder.
She stood by the stove, shyly lowering her head.
Her grandmother, after adding the straw, glanced at Xu Xiuwen with a kind expression.
Xu Xiuwen quickly greeted her, "Hello, Grandma."
Grandma said, "Don't come in here. Go wait in the front room."
"Okay."
Xu Xiuwen obediently left the kitchen and sat down in the main room to wait.
Before long, Tang Weiwei came out carrying a bowl and placed it in front of him.
Xu Xiuwen asked, "Why is there only one bowl of noodles? What about yours and Grandma's?"
Tang Weiwei lowered her head and said, "You eat first."
Xu Xiuwen was silent for a moment before nodding. "Alright."
After placing the bowl and chopsticks in front of him, Tang Weiwei turned and went back to the kitchen.
A moment later, she returned with a small bowl filled with red chili peppers.
Excitedly, she said, "Xu Xiuwen, try this! Grandma made these chili peppers. They're really good."
Xu Xiuwen didn't refuse and gave them a try. The taste was indeed good, though a bit spicy.
Despite the spiciness, he quickly finished the large bowl of noodles.
Tang Weiwei asked if he was full, and when Xu Xiuwen said he was, she took the empty bowl and chopsticks back to the kitchen.
A while later, Tang Weiwei came out again.
Xu Xiuwen asked, "Have you eaten yet?"
Tang Weiwei nodded and then said, "Xu Xiuwen, you can rest at home. I'm going to the village entrance to buy a few things."
Xu Xiuwen couldn't sit still anymore and quickly said, "I'll go with you."
Tang Weiwei gave him a look and asked, "Are you afraid of my grandma?"
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Xu Xiuwen's face. "No, I just feel like taking a walk."
Tang Weiwei didn't doubt him and nodded. "Alright, let's go together. Do you need to get ready?"
Xu Xiuwen was about to say no when he suddenly felt a pressing need to use the bathroom.
Following Tang Weiwei's directions, he made his way to the small outhouse in the yard.
The scene and smell there don't need much description—let's just say it wasn't the most pleasant experience.
That said, Xu Xiuwen wasn't the type to be fussy. After all, his childhood visits to his grandmother's house weren't much better than this.
After finishing in the bathroom, Xu Xiuwen and Tang Weiwei headed to the village entrance to buy meat.
Xu Xiuwen asked along the way and learned that in villages like this, people usually bought meat from the vendors at the village entrance. However, Tang Weiwei's family was poor, so they hardly ever bought meat except during the Chinese New Year.
As for vegetables, nobody sold or bought them. Every household had their own land where they grew enough vegetables for their own consumption. If someone was running short, they could borrow some from their neighbors, either returning it later or not.
On the way to buy meat, Tang Weiwei introduced him to the village and its way of life.
Xu Xiuwen couldn't help but feel a deep sense of both poverty and backwardness. The lifestyle of the villagers was vastly different from that of city dwellers.
Along the road, they encountered several villagers. These were mostly middle-aged women, dressed in the typical rural style of brightly colored, mismatched floral patterns.
These women stood at a distance, chatting among themselves, occasionally pointing toward Xu Xiuwen and Tang Weiwei. But none of them approached to greet Tang Weiwei, and Tang Weiwei didn't make an effort to greet them either.
In most villages, people were at least distantly related in some way. So, the unfamiliar relationship between Tang Weiwei and the villagers surprised Xu Xiuwen slightly.
Besides the adults, they also came across many children. These kids, both boys and girls, ran around nearby. Some of the braver ones circled them from a distance with wide, curious eyes, while most simply stared at them with innocent gazes.
The children's clothing was even more telling. Many of the boys wore patched-up clothes, and not just one or two patches, but several.
Just from walking around briefly, Xu Xiuwen got a clear sense of the village's situation—it was desperately poor.
Following Tang Weiwei, they arrived at the home of the local butcher near the village entrance.
The pork on the cutting board looked quite fresh.
Tang Weiwei carefully selected a piece of meat and was about to pay when Xu Xiuwen quickly pulled out his wallet, taking out a crisp 100-yuan bill.
Before coming, Xu Xiuwen had made a trip to the bank and withdrawn 5,000 yuan, which he placed entirely in his wallet.
At first, the butcher didn't think much of it, but when he caught sight of the thick stack of hundred-yuan bills in Xu Xiuwen's wallet, his eyes widened in astonishment.
Tang Weiwei stubbornly pushed Xu Xiuwen's money back and paid with the small change she had in her pocket.
The butcher, snapping out of his surprise, took the money and curiously asked, "You're Tang Weiwei, right?"
Tang Weiwei hadn't expected the butcher to recognize her.
She hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.
Before going to college, Tang Weiwei had always been careful to keep to herself and rarely interacted with others. Because of this, she assumed that no one in the village knew her well.
What she didn't realize was that she was actually quite famous in the village.
Tang Weiwei had always excelled in her studies. After starting high school, her name became even more renowned as she consistently ranked first in her entire school.
Any family with children attending the town's high school had heard of Tang Weiwei.
The butcher's child happened to attend the town's high school as well, just two grades below Tang Weiwei.
Tang Weiwei eventually got into college, becoming the first university student from their village. In 2005, college students were still relatively uncommon, so it wasn't just their village — even neighboring villages knew of her.
However, the butcher wasn't particularly focused on Tang Weiwei. He asked instead, "Who's the one standing next to you?"
Tang Weiwei replied softly, "My classmate."
"A college classmate, huh? The young man looks like he's from the city."
"Yeah," Tang Weiwei nodded.
The butcher suddenly sighed. "Ah, our Xiaoxiang will be taking the college entrance exams next year. If she could get into college like you and bring home a rich city husband, I'd be set for life."
Hearing this, Tang Weiwei's face flushed red. She grabbed Xu Xiuwen's hand and hurriedly walked out.
Once they were outside the butcher's house, Xu Xiuwen smiled and asked, "Why are you walking so fast?"
Tang Weiwei turned to glance at him, speaking in a low voice, "He was talking nonsense."
Though the butcher had spoken in a dialect with a heavy Chongqing accent, Xu Xiuwen still understood.
He chuckled, "I don't think he was talking nonsense. Around here, I doubt there's anyone wealthier than me. I guess I qualify as a rich city husband, don't I?"
Tang Weiwei's face turned even redder. She hastily explained, "I didn't— You have to believe me!"
Xu Xiuwen stepped closer. "Believe you about what?"
Tang Weiwei's face shifted between shades of red and white as she lowered her head, muttering softly, "I didn't… I didn't like you because of your money…"
Before she could finish, her eyes had already reddened.
Realizing he'd gone too far with his teasing, Xu Xiuwen immediately softened his tone. From his time with Tang Weiwei, he knew her well enough to understand she wasn't the type to chase after a rich man.
He had only meant to tease her, but he hadn't expected her to be so sensitive. Seeing her on the verge of tears, he quickly offered words of comfort until her mood gradually improved.
Looking at Tang Weiwei's blushing cheeks and shy demeanor, Xu Xiuwen felt his heart skip a beat. He reached out to pull her into his arms and lowered his voice. "Weiwei, you're just too adorable. I'm crazy about you."
Tang Weiwei's face turned crimson, but her heart was filled with sweetness. She hadn't forgotten where they were, though. Nervously glancing around, she said, "Let me go. What if someone sees us?"
Xu Xiuwen held firm. "I'm holding my woman. Who cares what anyone thinks?"
Tang Weiwei let out a shy, soft whimper and buried her face in Xu Xiuwen's chest. After a long moment, she spoke, her voice so faint it was almost inaudible.
"Don't say such things. Who… who's your woman? We're not even married yet…"
Xu Xiuwen was almost overwhelmed by her teasingly shy demeanor. She was becoming more and more irresistible.
And they hadn't even crossed that line yet. If they did… wouldn't she drive him wild?
Noticing how red her ears had become and how tightly she was clenching her hands, Xu Xiuwen decided not to push her further. He let go of her, and Tang Weiwei immediately stepped back a few paces, turning her back to him.
Once she'd calmed down, she spoke in a small voice. "Let's head back."
"Alright," Xu Xiuwen replied.
Back at Tang Weiwei's house, they stepped inside and saw her grandmother chatting with two unfamiliar middle-aged women.
When Tang Weiwei noticed the women, she blushed and introduced them, "Aunt Li, Aunt Shen, this is my classmate, Xu Xiuwen."
Xu Xiuwen, however, didn't hesitate. "Aunt Li, Aunt Shen, nice to meet you. I'm Xu Xiuwen, Weiwei's boyfriend."
Unlike Tang Weiwei, who was shy about admitting their relationship, Xu Xiuwen had no reservations. He saw no reason to hide it. After all, Tang Weiwei had brought him home. Who wouldn't figure out their relationship? Even if he claimed to be just a classmate, no one would believe it.
Besides, if he kept insisting they were only classmates, it might lead her grandmother or the aunts to suspect he wasn't serious about Tang Weiwei or was unwilling to take responsibility.
That day in the hospital room, Xu Xiuwen hadn't admitted their relationship in front of others because he felt the timing wasn't right. But here, in front of Tang Weiwei's family and relatives, he saw no reason to hold back.
Hearing this, the woman Tang Weiwei called Aunt Li, a simple and honest rural woman, just nodded quietly without saying much.
The other woman, however, was different.
Aunt Shen had an oval face, peach blossom eyes, and hardly any wrinkles. She didn't look like a typical rural woman. Not only was she attractive and youthful, but she also carried an air of elegance.
After hearing Xu Xiuwen's words, she carefully and thoroughly sized him up, her gaze running over him from head to toe.
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