Secrets can't stay hidden forever, and Qi Fang never intended to keep Yan Xue in the dark indefinitely.
But right now, he hadn’t even found the person he was looking for, nor had he come up with a foolproof plan. He wasn’t ready to be exposed so abruptly.
He glanced at Yan Xue subtly, once, then again, but she remained still, lost in thought. "We have things to do today. Let’s go another time," he said.
To his surprise, Yan Xue countered, "Go where next time?"
Her face was blank with genuine confusion—clearly, she hadn’t been paying attention to where she was looking.
Qi Fang’s handsome face froze for a moment, but inwardly, he relaxed.
Just then, Liu Weiguo suddenly chimed in, "Where are you going? If you need to, go ahead. Zhou Wenhui and I can walk around somewhere else."
Qi Fang turned to look at him—silent, his gaze deep and still as a pond.
Liu Weiguo wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but despite the bright sunshine, he suddenly felt a chill. He rubbed his arms. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
"No, just admiring how carefree you are."
Carefree? His future wife was slipping away, and he still had the mood to wander around…
By now, Yan Xue had noticed where they were standing, but she hadn’t come for a casual visit. "Let’s talk about your situation first," she said.
"Then let’s find a restaurant," Liu Weiguo suggested, more concerned about his own matters with Zhou Wenhui. He patted his pocket. "My mom gave me some ration coupons before I left today."
Zhou Wenhui, familiar with the town, pointed ahead. "There’s a state-run restaurant right over there."
The group changed direction and headed toward the restaurant, and the inexplicable chill Liu Weiguo had felt vanished just as mysteriously.
The state-run restaurant in Chengshui Town was a row of single-story buildings facing the street. Inside, a small blackboard listed the day’s menu in white chalk.
After choosing their meals, they exchanged money and ration coupons for meal tickets at the counter, then took the tickets to the appropriate window to collect their food.
Liu Weiguo studied the blackboard. "They have braised pork today. Should we get that?"
"It’s too expensive," Zhou Wenhui whispered, tugging at his sleeve.
Then she remembered Yan Xue and Qi Fang were with them and blushed, embarrassed.
Yan Xue didn’t mind. "I’m fine with anything."
Qi Fang had no objections either, but Liu Weiguo insisted, "It’s fine. I brought enough money."
He grinned, clearly pleased that Zhou Wenhui wanted to save him money.
Since they’d ordered a main dish, the others settled for simpler options—dishes they could pick up directly from the counter, while the braised pork had to be prepared specially by the chef.
They found a wooden table in the dining area. Yan Xue and Zhou Wenhui sat on one bench, Qi Fang and Liu Weiguo on the other.
In this era, public interactions between unmarried men and women still required caution, especially for couples like Liu Weiguo and Zhou Wenhui.
Liu Weiguo was impatient. The moment they sat down, he asked again, "So, did I pass or not?"
"It’s hard to say," Yan Xue admitted. She’d been mulling it over.
Mother Zhou had been warm and accommodating, even showing approval toward Liu Weiguo. But Father Zhou…
Yan Xue turned to Zhou Wenhui. "Does your father make the decisions in your family?"
Zhou Wenhui nodded. "Yes, he does." After a pause, she added, "He also manages the money."
"Your father manages the money?" Liu Weiguo was surprised.
It made sense for the man to handle major decisions, but in his experience, women usually managed household finances—both in his family and Qi Fang’s.
Yan Xue wasn’t as shocked. She’d noticed that Mother Zhou kept glancing at Father Zhou during conversations, as if seeking approval.
Qi Fang had observed it too. Whenever Father Zhou cleared his throat or set down his cup, Mother Zhou’s expression would flicker almost imperceptibly.
And from the moment Father Zhou learned who they were, he’d only glanced at Liu Weiguo once before falling completely silent.
This was outright resistance—he didn’t even want to know Liu Weiguo.
Sure enough, Yan Xue continued, "This might be tough. It’s not that your father dislikes Weiguo—he just doesn’t want you dating anyone at all."
She explained, "If he merely disapproved of Weiguo, he’d at least listen to his background and maybe criticize something. But he refused to engage at all. That means no matter what Weiguo’s conditions are, they’re irrelevant to him."
Zhou Wenhui had the same worry, which was why she’d hesitated earlier when Liu Weiguo asked.
Seeing her expression, Liu Weiguo knew Yan Xue was right. "Then what do we do?"
If Father Zhou had specific objections, he could work on them. But outright rejection left him with no direction.
"I think the issue might lie with the Jiang Family," Yan Xue said carefully.
Qi Fang was more blunt. "You should find out if her family owes the Jiangs something."
Otherwise, Father Zhou’s attitude wouldn’t be so drastically different—warmly seeing off one family while refusing to even listen to Liu Weiguo, who was clearly more likable than Jiang Debao.
Zhou Wenhui’s face paled. "N-no, that can’t be…"
But her shaky voice and uneasy expression betrayed her fear.
"It’s not hopeless," Yan Xue reassured her. "Just because the Jiangs can do something doesn’t mean the Lius can’t."
Both Zhou Wenhui and Liu Weiguo looked at her—hopeful, nervous, and oddly trusting.
"First, find out what it is," Qi Fang said calmly, placing food in Yan Xue’s bowl. "Then we’ll figure out how to handle it."
Just then, the kitchen window called out, "Braised pork’s ready!" Seeing Liu Weiguo and Zhou Wenhui too distracted to move, Yan Xue stood. "I’ll get it."
"I’ll go." Qi Fang was faster, returning shortly with a plate of glistening, fragrant braised pork.
Objectively, domesticated livestock tasted better—wild game was either too tough or too coarse from constant activity.
But of the four at the table, Liu Weiguo and Zhou Wenhui had little appetite. Qi Fang, though composed, wasn’t one for indulging in food. Only Yan Xue ate a few extra pieces.
Noticing this, Qi Fang quietly added two more to her bowl. By the end of the meal, Yan Xue was pleasantly full.
Back at the forestry station, as soon as they stepped off the small train, Liu Weiguo thanked Qi Fang and Yan Xue before excusing himself.
The young couple clearly needed to talk privately, so Yan Xue and Qi Fang didn’t linger, heading home instead.
That evening, after dinner, Qi Fang was chopping firewood in the yard when Liu Weiguo arrived. Lowering his voice, he said, "I forgot to mention earlier—about that thing you asked me to look into…"
Qi Fang didn’t respond until he finished splitting the log. After washing his hands inside, he said to Yan Xue, "I’m going out for a walk with Weiguo."
Assuming Liu Weiguo needed comfort, Yan Xue simply said, "Don’t stay out too late."
"Mm." Qi Fang responded, only speaking again after they had walked out of the housing area, his voice low as he asked Liu Weiguo, "Did you find the person?"
"No," Liu Weiguo said. "I asked around again, and there really isn’t anyone with your name in our forest farm. Not even anyone with your surname."
Then who was Yan Xue looking for? And why had she married him without a second thought?
Qi Fang frowned.
Liu Weiguo continued, "But there is one in the Xiaojinchuan Forest Farm." The abruptness of the statement nearly caught him off guard.
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. He immediately turned his gaze toward Liu Weiguo, his eyes dark and intense. "Someone with the same name as me?"
"The name is the same, but the surname is different. Like Qi Jiefang, his surname is Qi—the same as Qi Quan."
Liu Weiguo had inquired quite thoroughly. "Maybe you should ask again. Could the person who told you to look for someone have mixed up the name or the location?"
Qi Fang gave a noncommittal "Mm," and even after the forest farm’s power was cut off for the night, plunging everything into darkness, he was still mulling over the matter.
If Liu Weiguo said there was no one in Jinchuan Forest Farm, then there really must not be—he was well-connected when it came to gathering information in this area.
As for the one in Xiaojinchuan Forest Farm, the name sounded the same, and the location was only one character off. Someone careless could easily have made a mistake.
But Yan Xue didn’t seem like the careless type. Could the matchmaker have gotten it wrong?
For some reason, Qi Fang suddenly thought of the roller skates—the person who owned them was in Xiaojinchuan and happened to be looking for a girl to set him up on a blind date.
But a tall, strikingly handsome man with roller skates didn’t quite fit the bill.
Besides, he and Yan Xue had already met several times. She knew he was going to his aunt’s house, and she might even know he was looking for someone. If there had been a mix-up, they would have figured it out by now…
While Liu Weiguo was probably tossing and turning over his own troubles with Zhou Wenhui, he likely had no idea his friend was even more sleepless than him.
Unable to lie still any longer and worried his restlessness might disturb Yan Xue’s sleep, Qi Fang quietly got up, grabbed a small stool, and went to sit outside the main room.
The late spring night was chilly, the world silent, not even the faintest chirp of insects to be heard. Qi Fang tilted his head back, gazing at the bright full moon in the sky, and couldn’t help but think of Yan Xue’s shining eyes—of Yan Xue herself.
He would have to find a chance to visit Xiaojinchuan and confirm whether that Qi Fang was the person Yan Xue had been looking for.
No matter what, he would return the money—even if it meant paying several times over. After all, he had taken another man’s chance at marriage.
If the other man was truly furious and wanted to fight him…
Well, so be it. Again, he was the one who had taken a good marriage from someone else.
Qi Fang lowered his gaze, absently plucking a newly sprouted weed from the base of the wall. Just as he was lost in thought, footsteps approached from behind.
He turned sharply to see Yan Xue pushing open the door to the main room, yawning sleepily. "I wondered where you’d gone. Are you really not sleeping and just stargazing in the middle of the night?"
"It’s windy out here," he said, quickly standing and gently steering her back inside.
"If you knew it was windy, why did you come out?" Yan Xue squinted at him, then huffed. "Move, I’ve got my period."
Only then did Qi Fang notice what she was holding. He stepped aside to let her pass.
A short while later, Yan Xue returned from the outhouse, walking past him straight into the inner room.
She must have been too tired to remember he was still there. Qi Fang sat back down, staring blankly at the moonlight on the ground.
He had barely looked for a moment when the footsteps returned, and a jacket was draped over his shoulders.
Startled, he turned to see Yan Xue standing beside him, mumbling, "You never sleep at night. Do you have insomnia or something?"
Qi Fang instinctively wanted to say he was fine, but the words caught in his throat. After a pause, he quietly admitted, "Mm."
She had wanted to ask ever since Liu Weiguo mentioned it. Seeing how he stayed up late and rose early, it really did seem like insomnia. "How long has it been?"
"Over two and a half years. Almost three."
That timeframe was oddly specific. Yan Xue glanced at him, about to ask more, when he stood and draped the jacket over her instead. "Let’s talk inside."
Qi Fang clearly didn’t want to stay outside any longer. He even carried the stool back in and shut the door firmly behind them.
Yan Xue followed him into the room. "How many hours do you usually sleep?"
"Four or five."
Four or five hours—that really wasn’t much. And that was probably on a good night. On bad nights, like tonight, he’d still be wide awake well past midnight.
"Have you seen a doctor? Tried any remedies?"
This time, the man fell silent. Only when Yan Xue poked him did he finally say, "No."
Her eyebrows shot up. "You’ve had insomnia for over two years and never saw a doctor? What, are you trying to die young so I can remarry?"
The mention of remarrying made Qi Fang even quieter. But during those two years of sleeplessness, he had never imagined someone would travel all this way just to marry him.
Right—the Yan family had even written to him asking for the marriage contract. So why had he been so sure their daughter would come all the way to the forest farm to marry him?
Some things couldn’t bear too much scrutiny. Qi Fang lifted the quilt and scooted closer, wrapping his arms around Yan Xue. "I’ll go. After we finish with the sapling cultivation, I’ll see a doctor."
To his surprise, after barely two seconds, Yan Xue pushed him away.
He froze, thinking she was still upset. "I mean it. I’ll get it treated."
"Not even a doctor would promise that." Yan Xue gave him a look, then got up and slipped on her shoes.
A short while later, the door opened and closed again. When she returned, she was holding a bowl of creamy, jiggling pudding.
"Have something sweet. Maybe it’ll help you sleep." The petite woman handed him the bowl and a spoon.
Before the first bite even touched his lips, Qi Fang was already struck by her thoughtfulness.
How could he ever let her go back to someone else?
Silently, he took the bowl, scooped up a spoonful, and offered it to her first.
"I’m on my period," Yan Xue said hesitantly. But since she had made it and wanted to taste it anyway, she took a tiny bite.
Just a nibble, smaller than a cherry, but the creamy sweetness melted instantly on her tongue.
She savored it. "Not bad. Next time, if it’s just for me, use less sugar."
Since she had made it to give away, she had added a little extra, knowing people in this era generally had a sweeter tooth.
Only after tasting it did she notice the tiny tooth mark left on the pudding—and Qi Fang was someone who valued cleanliness.
She considered just eating the rest herself—it wasn’t that cold anyway—but before she could, he took the spoon back and ate it himself.
He finished the entire pudding in silence, then took the bowl downstairs to wash it. When he returned, he pulled Yan Xue into his arms again. "Let’s sleep."
Because they had lost a day, there was a lot to do the next morning—installing windows and plastering walls—before the sapling cultivation work began and left them with little free time.
That evening, Yan Xue finally delivered the puddings she had made, calling them "milk custards." She gave four to the family who had provided the goat’s milk, four to the Liu family, and since one was left over—too little to give to another household—she tipped it out of the enamel mug, cut it into four pieces, and gave two to the Guo family.
The Liu family's return gift arrived even before the next day. Huang Fengying came by with a plate of steamed buns. "No need to cook tomorrow morning—just heat these up."
As she spoke, she brought up Liu Weiguo. "Thank goodness you all helped give him some advice. He didn’t even tell me or his father—just came straight to you. Honestly, why does he have to set his sights so high? Of all people, he had to fall for a female educated youth from town."
Liu Weiguo’s situation was truly tricky. The main issue was that no one knew what Father Zhou had demanded from the Jiang family—even his own daughter’s future happiness seemed to be part of the bargain.
Zhou Wenhui said she’d go back and ask, but her father definitely wouldn’t tell her directly.
Then came the young forest cultivation work. Both the regular workers and the family teams had to go up the mountain to loosen the soil, weed, and prune the young trees that had been planted less than five years ago. The goal was to manually remove weeds, shrubs, and vines that hindered the saplings’ growth, helping them mature faster. With all that, Zhou Wenhui simply didn’t have the time.
Not just Zhou Wenhui—even Qi Fang couldn’t find the opportunity to leave. It wasn’t until after the young forest cultivation began that he finally managed to slip away early one day and head to Xiaojinchuan.
Unfortunately, he didn’t run into the person he was looking for. He heard someone had called the field headquarters, and after taking the call, the person had left. No one knew when they’d be back.
To make matters worse—or perhaps it was just bad timing—when Qi Fang went to ask, the person had left just half an hour earlier.
This left Qi Fang feeling restless, as if things weren’t going smoothly at all.
And Yan Xue’s actual marriage prospect loomed over him like a sword hanging by a thread, threatening to drop at any moment and cause who knew what kind of damage.
When he returned to Jinchuan Forestry Center, he happened to run into the family team finishing their shift. Qi Fang instinctively scanned the crowd but didn’t spot Yan Xue.
Lang Yue'e, however, noticed him. "Your little Yan sprained her foot this afternoon and went back early."
His brow furrowed instantly. "Was it serious?"
"Didn’t look light. She slipped on mud and fell down a slope. Jin Baozhi carried her back."
At that, Qi Fang couldn’t care less about Qi Fang or whoever else. After thanking her, he hurried home.
Yet before he’d even crossed the railway tracks, he spotted Yan Xue at a fork in the road. One foot was clearly still tender—she barely dared to put weight on it—yet here she was, wandering around again, and so far from home…
Qi Fang didn’t even notice Yan Xue was talking to someone. He strode over. "What are you doing running around with your foot like that?"
His tone was undeniably sharp, making Yan Xue pause before replying, "I’m fine—"
Before she could finish, Qi Fang cut her off. "Last time you said you were fine too, and your foot was black and blue."
And they were in public, with others watching…
Yan Xue pressed her lips together.
The person beside her quickly stepped in to mediate. "No need to get angry—talk it out calmly."
Only then did Qi Fang notice him. His frown deepened. "What are you doing here?"
It was the same guy who’d given Yan Xue the roller skates.
That only fueled his frustration. "You sprained your foot, and instead of resting, you came all the way out here just to see him? Do you even care about your foot anymore?"
"What does me being out here have to do with him?" Seeing him drag an innocent bystander into this, Yan Xue’s voice turned cold. "I came up the mountain to get something and just happened to run into this comrade. He was even telling me to walk less. Could you at least get the facts straight first?"
Qi Fang also hurried to explain, "I’m here to see someone else, not her."
Then, realizing how that sounded, he corrected himself, "I mean, I was looking for someone else and happened to bump into her. I was just about to ask her for directions."
But before he could even open his mouth, her husband had shown up—clearly in a foul mood.
Now Qi Fang felt awkward. Last time they’d met on the little train, he hadn’t been like this. Was he just upset that his wife was running around on a sprained foot?
Even after learning Yan Xue hadn’t come all this way to meet the other man, Qi Fang’s mood didn’t improve much. His handsome face remained stern.
He stepped forward and took Yan Xue’s arm. "What could be so important that you’d drag yourself up the mountain like this? Couldn’t you have asked someone else to get it? Or waited for me to come back?"
Asking someone else wasn’t an option, because what Yan Xue needed was an entire log—one that had sprouted black fungus buds.
She’d discovered it during her lunch break but hadn’t had time to bring it home before her fall in the afternoon, after which Jin Baozhi had carried her back.
It was almost June. She couldn’t afford to wait any longer. The sooner she got the buds home to artificially cultivate them, the sooner she could harvest mature fungus and begin spore cultivation.
Yan Xue lifted her face to look at him. "You’d go find it? Do you even know which log has the buds?"
Realizing what she was after, Qi Fang softened his tone. "Just tell me where, and I’ll look for it."
"That whole stretch of forest is full of fallen logs. I had to search carefully—how would you know which one it is? Or which part of it?"
This was about her chance to bring her brother over sooner. How could she entrust it to anyone else? "Besides, even if I wanted to tell you, do you have the time? Your work team finished ages ago, but you vanished the second your shift ended. I couldn’t even catch you if I tried."
That struck a nerve. Qi Fang had no rebuttal. He simply crouched down. "Get on."
Yan Xue didn’t move. Instead, she turned away, leaning on the makeshift cane she’d been using as a crutch. "You go ahead. I need to hurry and get those buds."
Her foot would heal with rest, but time lost was time lost for good.
If she didn’t plant the spores in time this year, she’d have to wait another whole year. She’d promised her brother she’d do it within six months, and she’d been combing the mountains for buds whenever she had a spare moment.
Besides, Jin Baozhi had someone check her foot—it wasn’t that bad. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared to come out…
She’d only taken two steps when an arm wrapped around her waist.
Before she could react, Qi Fang had moved in front of her, grabbed her arm, and hoisted her onto his back without another word.
"What are you doing?" She thumped his shoulder.
"You said you needed to find the buds, didn’t you?" His expression was still grim, his voice low, but his movements were careful as he adjusted his grip. "I’ll carry you there."
That took Yan Xue by surprise. "You’ll carry me?"
It was all mountain paths—hard enough to walk alone, let alone with someone on his back. Even Jin Baozhi had only carried her a short distance earlier before switching to supporting her as she walked.
Qi Fang just said, "What else? Wait for you to hobble all the way up there yourself?"
Yan Xue fell silent. Qi Fang shifted her higher on his back. "Tell me where to look. I’ll find it for you."
"There’s someone else here," Yan Xue remembered Qi Fang standing nearby. "You said you were looking for someone?"
With the couple in a hurry to fetch something from the mountain, what was he still hanging around for?
Qi Fang quickly waved them off. "Don’t worry about me. I’ll ask someone else."
Without waiting for a response, he hurried away.
Remembering the earlier exchange, Yan Xue smacked Qi Fang’s shoulder. He seemed to know what she was thinking and called after Qi Fang, "Sorry about earlier."
"No problem, no problem!" Qi Fang’s steps only quickened.
Qi Fang turned back to Yan Xue. "Next time, just tell me if you need something."
Before he could finish, a woman’s voice rang out from nearby—laced with disbelief.
"Qi Fang?"
Whoosh!
Qi Fang and Qi Fang both turned their heads at the same time.
Well, now we’ve got a full table for mahjong~
