"Spray, spray, spray!"
Coming down from the mountain covered in sweat anyway, Lin Zhilan held the water hose and sprayed the two boys, sending them fleeing in all directions around the yard.
Linlin's laughter and the boys' shrieks pierced through the courtyard walls.
Li Xuan hesitated to speak. After a few tentative attempts, he was gradually tasting the sweetness of expressing himself.
"Mom, I want to go play."
Wang Rou chuckled softly, "Go ahead."
For the first time, Li Xuan actively took her hand. "I want you to come with me."
Wang Rou's heart softened, and she squeezed his hand.
With Wang Rou and Li Xuan joining in, the yard descended into utter chaos. The one-sided spraying turned into a full-blown water fight.
When Linlin got drenched over the head once again, everyone stopped in a tacit agreement.
But the little girl just haphazardly wiped her face and shrieked, hiding behind her brother.
Jiang Chengzhou tucked her behind him and continued the battle.
Once they had played enough, Lin Zhilan finally called a truce.
By this time, everyone was completely soaked.
Wang Rou took a deliriously happy Li Xuan home to change clothes.
Lin Zhilan also told Jiang Chengzhou and Yan Yuan to go back to their rooms, dry off, and change into dry clothes.
After losing weight, Jiang Chengzhou was about the same size as Yan Yuan, so Yan Yuan could fit perfectly into Jiang Chengzhou's clothes.
Linlin held the face of Lin Zhilan, who was changing her clothes, and whined endearingly, "Mommy, I want to play more~"
Lin Zhilan tapped her forehead in exasperation. "Your voice is already hoarse from shouting, and you still want to play?"
"Play tomorrow?"
"Play next year."
Linlin counted on her fingers, "Ten tomorrows?"
Lin Zhilan chuckled, "Three hundred and sixty-five tomorrows."
In Linlin's eyes, this was an astronomical figure. She let out a sigh of despair and flopped backward onto the bed.
After Yan Yuan's grandfather's rheumatism improved, he went out to sea much more frequently.
He was getting older, and Yan Yuan was still young; he wanted to save up more money for his grandson.
Yan Yuan was often home alone, so Lin Zhilan would sometimes have Jiang Chengzhou invite him over to play.
Sometimes Yan Yuan agreed, and sometimes he declined.
Lin Zhilan observed a pattern: whenever he did come over, he never came empty-handed.
It would be large crabs, conches, or pretty seashells...
Lin Zhilan didn't say anything, supporting the boy's way of maintaining his self-esteem.
However, she would occasionally ask Yan Yuan to help her grind herbs. Whenever she invited him over to play after that, the success rate would be higher.
But there were exceptions.
As long as Linlin acted cute and threw a tiny tantrum, Yan Yuan would inevitably soften.
Today they were having shepherd's purse dumplings.
The two boys washed the vegetables while Lin Zhilan kneaded the dough.
The shepherd's purse was washed, blanched, scooped out, squeezed dry, and minced. Mixed with scrambled eggs, two spoonfuls of sesame oil, and a little seasoning, the filling was ready.
By this step, Jiang Chengzhou was already starting to regret his skepticism.
There was no way this wouldn't be delicious, right?
...
Wang Rou brought Li Xuan home.
The excitement on Li Xuan's face had not yet faded. His little face was flushed, and the bright light in his eyes couldn't be concealed.
Chen Hehua originally wanted to scold them a bit, but seeing her grandson so unusually happy, she changed her tune: "Hurry up and take off those wet clothes so you don't catch a cold."
"Mhm." Li Xuan's voice was even louder than usual.
Wang Rou also returned to her room to change.
She had just taken off her outer layer, leaving only a white tank top underneath.
The summer clothes, already thin to begin with, clung tightly to her body because they were soaked through with water.
Smooth, translucent skin, and a curvy figure...
Black hair, wet clothes...
Li Jiang pushed the door open and walked in, only to be met with this alluring, sensual scene.
Wang Rou jumped in fright. She used her clothes to cover her front and angrily said, "What are you looking at!"
Li Jiang stood rooted to the spot. His throat felt dry, the tip of his nose grew hot, and a streak of bright red trickled down.
He hurriedly raised a hand to cover it, but his eyes were still glued to Wang Rou, somewhat dazed.
"You have a nosebleed."
Seeing this, Wang Rou forgot her embarrassment and annoyance. She dropped her clothes, stepped forward, helped him pinch the bridge of his nose, and then used a handkerchief to cover it for him.
Only when her cool fingers touched his cheek did Li Jiang suddenly snap back to reality. He awkwardly turned his face away. "I'm fine. It's hot out, just a bit of internal heat."
Even though he said that, his eyes kept stealing glances at Wang Rou's body.
Wang Rou wasn't stupid; how could she not notice?
Her cheeks flushed crimson as she glared at Li Jiang. "Get out, I need to change."
"Go ahead and change, I won't look." Li Jiang voluntarily turned his back.
Wang Rou couldn't push him out, and feeling uncomfortably wet, she had no choice but to turn her back and change quickly.
The rustling sound of fabric rubbing together scratched at Li Jiang's heart, making it itch.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. In his peripheral vision was her slender back and a waist so small he could wrap his hands around it, with wet hair clinging to the side of her neck...
Li Jiang felt his nose getting even hotter.
Wang Rou buttoned up and turned around, biting her lip. "Why did you suddenly come back?"
Li Jiang's Adam's apple bobbed. "I bought two watermelons from a local villager. I brought them over for you guys to taste."
"Oh..."
"I'll take your dirty clothes out and wash them for you."
"No need, I'll wash them myself."
Li Jiang said, "Your hands are meant for drawing. It'll just take me a second to wash a couple of garments. Don't worry about it."
Wang Rou stopped talking, because the man was practically pressing down on top of her.
Wang Rou was sitting on the bed, her wet clothes piled on a nearby chair.
Li Jiang could have easily walked around to get them, but he deliberately reached over from the other side. His arm brushed past her shoulder, radiating an intense heat.
Wang Rou instinctively shrank back, but behind her was already the cold wall.
Li Jiang rested one hand on the wall beside her and leaned over to reach the wet clothes on the chair.
This posture almost half-circled her in his embrace.
"You..." Wang Rou's voice trembled. She had barely uttered one word when Li Jiang seemed to trip, completely losing his balance and falling toward her.
"Ah!" Wang Rou let out a short yelp, instinctively closing her eyes and putting her hands up in front of her.
Of course, Li Jiang did it on purpose.
Men were very good at pushing their luck.
In the past, he used to think that it would be enough if Wang Rou just smiled more.
Now, although Li Jiang was afraid of scaring Wang Rou, he had become greedier, and he was finding it harder and harder to suppress that greed.
The collision Wang Rou anticipated never came.
Li Jiang braced his elbow against the wall, though his chest still inevitably pressed against hers.
Even through two thin layers of summer clothing, Wang Rou could clearly feel the drum-like beating of Li Jiang's heart in his chest.
"You did that on purpose!" Wang Rou said angrily.
Li Jiang's lips curled up. Having stopped using the beauty cream for a while, his skin had returned to a bronze color, giving his smile a slightly wicked charm.
"How do you know I did it on purpose? Am I not allowed to lose my footing?"
What Li Jiang feared most was his wife looking devoid of joy or sorrow. Seeing her look so angry and full of life like this only made him want to tease her more.
"You dare bully me?" Wang Rou looked at him in disbelief, a layer of mist forming in her eyes.
Li Jiang's heart tightened. Just as he was about to get up and apologize, Wang Rou grabbed his shirt with both hands and bit down hard on his chest.
"Hiss..."
Arriving even faster than the pain was a tingling numbness that shot straight from his tailbone to his brain.
Wang Rou let go, glaring at him. "Do you still dare?"
Li Jiang's breath was unsteady. "I dare. How about you take another bite?"
