klisemfg Chapter 7 He's overthinking it.
Chapter 7 He's overthinking it.
"I didn't expect you to be so good at math."
Chu Ci raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I have many other strengths that you don't know about."
Zheng Yi rolled her eyes at her, "That's enough, you're getting all worked up just from being praised for being fat."
Chu Ci shrugged. "Do you need my help?"
"Free help?"
"How can it be."
Zheng Yi sighed, glanced at her, and said, "So, how much do you want?"
She's been looking at these messy accounts all day; her eyes are tired from looking at them. She might as well hire someone who can do math.
"Thirty coins will do, that's not much."
Zheng Yi subconsciously tapped his fingers, and finally nodded.
"Alright, but if you miscalculate it for me, don't buy books from me again."
Chu Ci took the abacus from the woman's hand with great composure, "Don't worry, it won't be wrong."
After finding a new business opportunity, Chu Ci helped various shops on this commercial street with their accounting.
It didn't end until dark.
The owner of a small jewelry shop even gave her a wooden hairpin with flowing cloud patterns carved on it, which was very elegant.
Upon seeing it, Chu Ci immediately thought of Shi An and accepted it without much hesitation.
I glanced at the sky and realized that it was already quite late.
Chu Ci immediately took his leave and went home.
Shi'an at home has been sewing clothes all day and has already finished two outer shirts and trousers.
He ate a quick lunch as usual, and now he's hungry.
But it was getting dark, and Chu Ci still hadn't gone home.
The man bit his lip, feeling somewhat uneasy.
He didn't starve himself; he went to the kitchen and cooked a sweet potato to eat.
But as time went by and the night grew deeper, Chu Ci still hadn't returned, and Shi An began to worry.
He moved the gate to the courtyard and stood at the entrance to wait.
After waiting for a long time, just as he was about to go to Zhang Cui's house to look for her, Chu Ci finally returned, looking travel-worn.
Shi An finally breathed a sigh of relief and subconsciously took a step forward.
"My lady, you're so late today."
Chu Ci was a little surprised to see the man standing blankly in the doorway. "What are you doing here? Aren't you cold?"
She took the man's hand and felt its coolness.
The next second, she draped her coat over Shi An's shoulders.
"If I come back late in the future, don't wait for me. The weather is still cold, so don't stay outside for too long."
"Um..."
Shi An lowered her head, covering her slightly red ear tips.
The warmth and fragrance of his outer garment made his heartbeat become erratic.
The man's fingers gently caressed the fabric of his outer shirt, feeling a sense of peace and comfort from its soft touch.
Chu Ci pushed the door open into the courtyard, but because she pushed it too hard, the door fell to the ground.
The woman paused, then remembered that Li Ziang had kicked down her front door yesterday, and her mood immediately soured. "Looks like this door needs to be repaired."
Shi An nodded in agreement, "It should be repaired, but have you eaten, my lady?"
"not yet."
"Let's fix it after we finish eating."
Chu Ci noticed the man's thoughtfulness and nodded with a smile, "Okay, have you eaten?"
Shi An answered honestly, "I ate a sweet potato."
"Sorry, I'll come back earlier next time." So this is what her cheap husband ate when she wasn't around.
"It's alright, my lady."
“It’s related,” Chu Ci said, turning to look into the man’s eyes. “I want to have dinner with you. Aren’t we husband and wife? We should be together.”
"!!"
Upon hearing this, Shi An's face instantly turned red, and she couldn't help but cover her cheeks and eyes with her hands.
Chu Ci thought he was crying and was startled. She hurriedly tried to comfort him.
"You...you don't cry. I...I won't let you eat only one sweet potato for dinner anymore. I will definitely come back before dinner from now on, and we'll eat something delicious."
Shi An couldn't hold back any longer and immediately turned around to catch her breath. "I... I didn't cry."
He's just too... too shy.
Chu Ci didn't believe it, so she circled around and came back to him. Only after seeing that Shi An really had no tears on his face did she feel relieved.
"You really didn't cry, so why did you suddenly cover your face?"
The man looked away from Chu Ci's innocent and puzzled expression, unsure how to explain, so he made up an excuse.
"I just...sand got into my eyes."
"Oh, are you done? Do you need me to blow on it for you?"
Seeing Chu Ci about to come closer, the man quickly refused, "No, no need, no need."
"Okay, if you feel unwell, just tell me."
Unable to bear the woman's gaze any longer, Shi An made an excuse to slip away, "Um... I'll go cook now, my wife."
Chu Ci watched his retreating figure and said, "It doesn't need to be too lavish, I'll just eat something simple."
"it is good."
Shi An returned to the kitchen, picked up a cleaver, and began chopping vegetables.
Chu Ci then took his tools and diligently repaired the courtyard gate.
By the time the door was almost repaired, the meal was ready.
Stir-fried cabbage with pork, braised chicken pieces, and a bowl of vegetable soup—Chu Ci ate two large bowls of rice before stopping.
Shi An also ate a small bowl of rice under her influence, even though he wasn't hungry.
After finishing her meal and washing the dishes in the kitchen, Shi An planned to go back to her room to sleep.
He had just reached the door when he found Chu Ci waiting for him.
Upon seeing this, the man's heart skipped a beat, his fist clenched instinctively, and his nails slowly dug into his palm.
Has this day finally come?
She was ultimately going to consummate their marriage...
Just as Shi An was lost in thought, Chu Ci took out the wooden hairpin she had obtained from the jewelry store.
"I got this for free while doing accounting for someone, so I'm giving it to you."
The man stared blankly at the hairpin in the woman's hand.
"Here, for me?"
Chu Ci was a little embarrassed. "Well, although it's not very valuable, I still hope you like it."
Shi An stared blankly at the wooden hairpin, and after a while asked, "So you came here just to give me this hairpin?"
"Ah."
Chu Ci handed the wooden hairpin to the other person, her phoenix eyes smiling beautifully, "Good night, sweet dreams."
After saying that, he turned around and left.
"........."
Shi An watched her retreating figure, standing motionless for a long time, before finally returning to his bedroom in silence and quickly turning off the lights.
He buried his head under the covers, feeling a pang of annoyance.
How could he have misunderstood...?
Of course, he wouldn't admit that he felt a little disappointed.
***
Sanyuan Village, Li Family.
Li Ziang remained unconscious, and Zhang Cui sat beside him taking care of him. She looked extremely haggard and could barely eat dinner.
Zhang Cui's youngest son, Li Yu, was shocked to learn from his father that Chu Ci was the one who assaulted the person.
"That's impossible. There must be some misunderstanding. How could Sister Chu beat my older sister?"
"What misunderstanding? Your mother has already confirmed it, and Xie's second son also said that it was Chu Ci who hit him."
Li Yu frowned, seemingly still somewhat incredulous.
Li Da sat in the main hall smoking. She didn't dare tell her family about her slinking away this afternoon, only vaguely saying that she had already warned Chu Ci.
Zhang Cui thought that her family had beaten Chu Ci to teach her a lesson.
Not long after, Li Ziang, who had been unconscious, woke up and whispered that he wanted to drink water.
Zhang Cui was overjoyed and immediately began serving tea and water to take care of her.
Li Da walked in, glanced at his daughter, stayed in the room for a while, and then returned to the main hall to continue smoking.
After Li Ziang took a sip of water, Li Yu and others quickly inquired about her condition.
"Sister, how are you?"
Li Zi'ang's face turned pale, and he closed his eyes, not wanting to speak.
Seeing her daughter so devastated, Zhang Cui was heartbroken and didn't know what to do, so she could only vent her anger by cursing.
"It's all that brat Chu Ci's fault. She didn't know her own strength. Don't worry, your mother has already avenged you. I'll have her come and apologize to you tomorrow."
No, please don't.
Li Ziang was terrified.
Before breaking her leg, Chu Ci said that if she caused her any more trouble, he would knock her unconscious and throw her into the mountains to be eaten by wild animals.
As she spoke, the woman was like a demon crawling out of hell, chilling everyone to the bone.
Even in her dreams while she was unconscious, Chu Ci was always depicted as a ferocious monster about to devour people.
Li Zi'ang is now terrified and dares not cause Chu Ci any more trouble.
But Zhang Cui didn't quite understand her daughter's feelings; she just wanted to vent her anger. "Why? She beat you up like this; I can't stand it."
Li Ziang visibly trembled upon hearing this, "I said I'm not looking anymore, and I'm not looking anymore. There's no reason why, I'm just not looking anymore!!"
"But your legs are..."
"No buts. Tell my mother to never mess with Chu Ci again. I don't want to dwell on this anymore. Let's just pretend nothing happened!"
After saying that, Li Ziang buried his head in the quilt, looking like he was giving up.
Li Yu listened from the side, secretly alarmed.
It turns out that Chu Ci really did beat up his sister.
Is the Chu Ci (Songs of Chu) really that powerful now?
Seeing that her son hadn't said anything, Zhang Cui raised her hand and patted him.
"What are you thinking about? I didn't see your sister was in so much pain. Hurry up and bring some food over."
After being scolded, Li Yu went to the kitchen, rolling her eyes before leaving.
Li Zi'ang's current state is entirely his own doing; he deserves it.
He has looked down on his "good older sister" since he was a child.
Not only is he ugly, but he's also bad at studying.
She's both stupid and wicked; she's bullied him quite a bit.
To be honest, he only felt relieved this time.