LW chapter 45

 

Chen Qing finally realized that today was his wedding day and that this would be his home from now on.

He sat back down on the bed, looking a bit dazed and nervous. Even his breathing slowed down.

Zhou Yuan sensed his nervousness and took his hand. He sat with Chen Qing on the bed. “Your things were sent over two days ago. Do you want to unpack them now?”

It was a good distraction, so Chen Qing nodded.

Zhou Yuan moved the box into another room. He had seen the wooden box before, it had originally been placed at the foot of Chen Qing’s bed.

Zhou Yuan didn’t let Chen Qing do it himself. Instead, he had Chen Qing sit on the bed while he opened the box.

Aunt Sun had packed it very neatly: Chen Qing’s everyday clothes were on top, his undergarments were in the middle, and his other belongings were at the bottom.

Zhou Yuan took all of Chen Qing’s clothes out of the box. His wardrobe was large, but he didn’t have many clothes, only a few scattered here and there.

Chen Qing didn’t have many clothes either. Even when everything was put inside, it took up less than a third of the space. Zhou Yuan decided to buy Chen Qing more clothes in the future and make more wardrobes to store them.

After finishing with the outerwear, Zhou Yuan saw that the remaining clothes were smaller garments. Zhou Yuan was about to reach for them.

Chen Qing’s face flushed. He stepped over to Zhou Yuan’s side and held onto the hand that was touching his clothes. “I’ll do it myself.”

Zhou Yuan set them down, but didn’t leave. Instead, he stayed beside him. “I saw you put your clothes at the foot of the bed before.”

Chen Qing blushed and put the smaller clothes in the wardrobe without looking at them. Then he explained, “The previous wardrobe was too small to fit them.” He had originally stayed in Meng Tao’s room, which was filled with his old belongings. He didn’t feel comfortable putting his belongings there, so he kept them at the foot of the bed.

After packing the smaller clothes, only Chen Qing’s daily necessities, sewing tools, unfinished handkerchiefs, pouches, and other tools remained.

Zhou Yuan seemed very interested in all of these items and asked him about each one. Squatting on the floor was too troublesome, so Zhou Yuan placed all the items from the box on the bed.

Under the thick quilt was a pile of red dates and peanuts. At night, Chen Qing sat there, not daring to press on them. It seemed that Zhou Yuan had noticed the red dates and peanuts under the bed because he simply lifted them up and swept them to the farthest part of the bed.

After doing so, Zhou Yuan pressed his shoulder and told him to sit on the bed. After a moment’s thought, he bent down to help Chen Qing take off his shoes.

He held Chen Qing’s foot and found that it was small, too. Since they hadn’t seen the light in years, they were white and translucent.

Chen Qing tried to pull his feet back, but Zhou Yuan held them tightly.

“Don’t do this. It’s dirty.” Chen Qing couldn’t pull his feet back, his voice trembled.

Zhou Yuan held his foot and helped him sit on the bed. The two were so close that their breaths intertwined.

Chen Qing sat a little further away on the bed and looked at his few belongings, feeling embarrassed.

Aside from what he had just seen, there were many scraps of cloth, some of which were leftovers from making clothes for Zhou Yuan.

After counting them one by one, Zhou Yuan realized that he had bought many things for him, such as hair ties and bracelets that he was reluctant to use. Lastly, there were several pouches on the bed.

The pouch that Chen Qing had been using was originally embroidered with a swan pattern. However, because the Sun family came last time and Sun Lao Er took it, Chen Qing cut it. The pouch he used now was plain with only an orchid design on it.

“I made this one and was going to give it to Li Xin, but he thought the color was too dark, so he didn’t take it.” Chen Qing picked up two indigo pouches. However, Zhou Yuan’s gaze fell on a pouch almost pressed under the quilt.

Although Zhou Yuan didn’t know how to sew, he could tell that this pouch’s embroidery technique was different from the others’.

Chen Qing saw Zhou Yuan looking at that pouch and said, “Did I ever tell you that before I came to Luohe Village, an old woman brought me back?”

Zhou Yuan picked up the pouch. The more he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.

Chen Qing leaned closer and said, “This was a gift she gave me when she decided to take me. I handled her funeral arrangements later, and I kept this pouch as a memento.”

After saying that, he looked at Zhou Yuan, who didn’t seem to be listening at all. Chen Qing blinked. “Zhou Yuan?”

He thought Zhou Yuan was upset, and his heart felt uneasy. This was his third marriage.

Zhou Yuan suddenly seemed to recall something. He immediately opened the wardrobe he had just closed and took out the items he had brought back from his hometown. He had placed all of his grandmother’s clothes at her grave, keeping only one piece.

Chen Qing followed him. “What is it?”

After searching for a long time, he found a pouch among the pile of belongings. Chen Qing was stunned.

The two pouches were almost identical.

He stared blankly at Zhou Yuan. “This…”

Zhou Yuan held the two pouches together and hugged Chen Qing tightly. “Was it you?”

When he returned home, the villagers told him that his grandmother had passed away and that only an empty grave remained. They said that she was going to buy him a husband to bury her.

When Zhou Yuan returned to the nearly collapsed house, the entire door was covered in cobwebs. When he pushed the door open, dusty air came out.

His hometown wasn’t like Luohe Village, which had mountains and water. When the wind blew, it nearly overturned the house.

The items inside had been blown about in disarray. Zhou Yuan went into his grandmother’s room and opened the wardrobe.

Inside were his grandmother’s neatly folded clothes.

When he left his hometown, he took those clothes with him. While sorting through them, he found a pouch wrapped inside one of the garments. At the time, he hadn’t paid it any mind and quickly forgot about it.

He hadn’t expected that the pouch was a match for the one in Chen Qing’s hand.

Zhou Yuan hugged Chen Qing so tightly that he felt a little breathless. Chen Qing didn’t say anything, just gently patted Zhou Yuan’s back.

“While I was packing and preparing to leave, I overheard people saying that my grandmother had passed away.” Chen Qing hugged him back. “Since grandmother gave me a bride price, I told the steward that I wanted to do something for her.

“But there’s not much I can do.” Chen Qing’s voice caught slightly. “I didn’t have money at the time, so I could only quickly dig a hole and light a string of firecrackers.”

Zhou Yuan slowly let go of him and cupped his face with his large hands. “You did very well,” Zhou Yuan said.

His voice was hoarse, and he kissed Chen Qing’s forehead again. “Turns out you were meant to be mine.”

If it hadn’t been for his grandmother’s accidental death, Chen Qing would have been waiting for him at home.

After all the twists and turns, what was meant to be his was always going to be his.

Chen Qing rubbed his eyes and sighed, realizing that everything had come full circle. They had been together for years, and they were still together.

Zhou Yuan held his hand and went back to the bed. They weren’t in the mood to unpack his things now. Zhou Yuan put everything back in the box and pushed Chen Qing onto the bed.

Chen Qing had just cried, and the corners of his eyes were red. He was still shy and didn’t dare look Zhou Yuan in the eye.

Zhou Yuan had too many emotions in his heart, almost overflowing. He looked at Chen Qing and slowly leaned down.

This wasn’t their first kiss. This time, Zhou Yuan was much more eager. Chen Qing was slightly breathless and unable to move his hands, so he could only clutch at his hair.

Zhou Yuan’s movements slowed slightly as his emotions surged, it seemed as though the alcohol in his system had returned. He kissed Chen Qing’s forehead, eyes, and ears, murmuring, “Mine, mine.”

Li Xin had decorated their bridal chamber, and the red gauze curtains on the bed were a wedding gift from him.

Aside from a minor issue at the beginning, Chen Qing’s wedding night could be considered perfect.

He only felt the gauze curtain before him trembling nonstop, shaking his vision until it was unfocused. He wanted to reach out and grab it, but it was difficult. Suddenly, he broke free, and the red gauze came closer and closer to him.

Just as he was about to touch it, a strong force seized him, and the gauze moved far away again.

“Zhou… Zhou Yuan.” Chen Qing’s voice was as soft as a mosquito’s.

“Hm?”

“No, you can’t do that.”

“I know.”

But knowing was one thing and doing was another.

The thin gauze couldn’t save Chen Qing. His eyes lost focus, and he no longer knew this world.

The dragon-and-phoenix candles in the room went out as dawn approached, but the activity inside continued until daybreak.

Zhou Yuan quickly got dressed and went to the kitchen to boil water. He brought it back to wipe down Chen Qing’s body. Afterward, he got back into bed and hugged Chen Qing. However, Chen Qing slept restlessly, occasionally letting out a sob.

Chen Qing turned over again, mumbling something, so Zhou Yuan let him lie on his body and went back to sleep.

When ordinary people get married, they have to get up early to pay respects to their in-laws. However, Zhou Yuan had no parents, so this step was skipped.

Chen Qing woke up in a daze. He tried to get up but couldn’t even move his fingers. He whimpered, and Zhou Yuan held him, saying it was still early and that he could sleep a little longer.

As soon as Zhou Yuan finished speaking, Chen Qing fell back asleep.

When he woke up again, daylight had already appeared on the third day. He woke up from hunger.

“Zhou Yuan?” His voice was hoarse, and his throat felt like it was filled with boiling water—extremely uncomfortable.

Zhou Yuan was in the main room. Hearing his movement, he rushed into the bedroom. “You’re awake?”

His lower body still felt numb, as if it would fall apart if he moved.

“Are you hungry? I cooked something for you.” Zhou Yuan noticed the swelling on his eyelids and lips and the purple marks on his neck that looked like kisses. Zhou Yuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

“What time is it?” Chen Qing asked.

“It’s the middle of the Si hour now.” Zhou Yuan brought over a bowl of plain rice porridge, helped Chen Qing sit up, and slowly fed him.

“It’s already Si hour?” Chen Qing swallowed the porridge. He had never woken up this late before.

“It’s fine. You can sleep a little longer. We won’t return until tomorrow,” Zhou Yuan said. Zhou Yuan said, “Rest a while after eating.”

Chen Qing was a little puzzled. “You’re returning tomorrow? Isn’t it three days later?”

Zhou Yuan smiled and said, “Today is April 17th.”

“Huh?”

Chen Qing couldn’t believe it. He tried to sit up, but his back hurt too much. “Did I sleep all day?”

Zhou Yuan scratched his head. “You were too tired, so you need more rest.”

Zhou Yuan had really held back for too long. Since Chen Qing had laughed so hard at the beginning, Zhou Yuan lost control.

“You can’t blame me for this. Who told you to laugh so hard at that time?”

Chen Qing remembered something like that happening at night. Seeing the mix of surprise and irritation on Zhou Yuan’s face, Chen Qing, who was good at hiding his emotions, broke down and laughed.

The charming atmosphere from before was ruined by Chen Qing’s laughter. Zhou Yuan tormented him the whole night. Trapped on the small bed, Chen Qing found the gauze curtain beside it to be an out-of-reach lifeline.

He lowered his eyes, silent and a little shy. His cheeks and ears turned red and took a while to fade.

After finishing a bowl of porridge, he lay back on the bed and turned his back to Zhou Yuan, not wanting to look at him.

Zhou Yuan spoke again. “Li Xin came to see you yesterday.”

Chen Qing pulled the quilt over his head. He was too embarrassed to see anyone.

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