Chapter 15: Overthinking
Chapter 15: Overthinking
Zhou Chenglei frowned as he looked at Jiang Xia, ignoring Wen Wan’s gentle words. When he saw that Jiang Xia wasn’t reacting, he walked over to her.
Jiang Xia was looking down at the tiles, trying to figure out how many she could carry at once with her frail body. She heard Zhou Chenglei’s words but assumed he was talking to Wen Wan.
She reached out, deciding to carry ten tiles at a time to be safe.
Just as her hand extended, it was grabbed.
Zhou Chenglei gripped her wrist and pulled her away from the cart with a gentle but firm tug.
Jiang Xia was taken aback and looked up at him, puzzled.
“Didn’t you hear what I said?” Zhou Chenglei asked, frowning.
Jiang Xia: "."
She heard him, but didn’t realize he was talking to her.
Zhou Chenglei pulled her to the door under the eaves. “Sit down. Does your hand hurt? Have you applied the medicine? It’s Yunnan Baiyao, it works well. Apply some, and it won’t hurt by tomorrow.”
Wen Wan watched as Zhou Chenglei led Jiang Xia away, her face turning red. So, he wasn’t talking to her? She had been overthinking it!
Jiang Xia: “I’ll apply it before bed. I still have work to do, and it will rub off if I apply it now. It would be a waste.”
Yunnan Baiyao is indeed effective, but using it on her minor hand injury seemed like overkill. The medicine probably wasn’t cheap.
Jiang Xia sat down on the threshold and picked up the green military water bottle beside her, about to unscrew the cap.
Zhou Chenglei stretched out his arm, unscrewed the cap for her, and handed it to her. “There’s no need for you to do any work. Apply the medicine and get better soon.”
With that, he walked back to help move the tiles.
Jiang Xia took the water bottle but didn’t drink immediately. She called to her great-grandmother, “Great-Grandma, the sun is strong. Come sit and have some water.”
Her great-grandmother smiled and walked over. Jiang Xia handed her the water bottle, but she waved it away. “I’m not thirsty. This water was opened by Ah Lei, and I’m afraid it’s too sweet. It’s not good for old people to eat too much sugar!”
Jiang Xia: “…”
Her great-grandmother sat down beside her. “Isn’t my Ah Lei very caring?”
Jiang Xia couldn’t deny it. She remembered that he had washed her clothes last night.
“I think Great-Grandma is even more caring. You’re worried about me and don’t want to drink water. Just say it if you want me to drink more.” With that, she tilted her head back and started drinking.
Her great-grandmother chuckled.
This child was articulate and matched well with the quiet Ah Lei.
After spending half the day together, her great-grandmother liked Jiang Xia more and more.
This child worked quickly, had a frail body, but wasn’t at all spoiled. She had a strong spirit.
The villagers all said she would eventually run away, but her great-grandmother didn’t believe it.
“Ai Lei will have good fortune marrying you.”
Jiang Xia choked. “Cough, cough, cough.”
Zhou Chenglei’s official match wasn’t her!
And he was eager to divorce her!
Hearing Jiang Xia’s cough, Zhou Chenglei turned to look at her.
Her great-grandmother noticed Zhou Chenglei looking and called out loudly, “Ah Lei, Xia Xia said she has good fortune marrying you!”
Jiang Xia’s eyes widened. She didn’t say that!
“Ha ha...” Her great-grandmother laughed heartily.
Zhou Chenglei knew his great-grandmother was teasing Jiang Xia and didn’t pay much attention, turning back to continue moving the tiles.
Wen Wan: “...”
She watched the man across from her, who seemed to be deliberately keeping his distance while moving tiles. She was astonished. What was going on?
Weren’t they getting divorced?
This didn’t seem like it at all.
Why would Jiang Xia say something like that?
Just then, Wen’s father asked Zhou’s father, “This house hasn’t been lived in for a long time. Why are you repairing it?”
Zhou’s father: “The children are married now, and the old house isn’t big enough. My younger son and his wife are moving in.”
Wen Wan was surprised and blurted out, “They are moving in together?”
Zhou’s father gave her a puzzled look, not understanding why Wen’s daughter was so agitated, but he replied, “Yes, we two old ones are also moving in.”
Wen Wan looked thoughtful.
That’s not how it was in her previous life. She had heard that Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei divorced, and Jiang Xia immediately went to the city to find her lover.
She had also heard that Jiang Xia didn’t even get a marriage certificate and followed Wu Qizhi without any formal status.
Later, she boarded a train to attend university, and she saw Jiang Xia and Wu Qizhi on the same train, heading to her parents’ place. Wu Qizhi even reminded Jiang Xia to convince her parents to help him find a job.
This wasn't how it was supposed to be!
Zhou Chenglei should have divorced Jiang Xia, and Jiang Xia should have been with Wu Qizhi.
What went wrong?
Jiang Xia and the great-grandmother, one old and one young, sat under the eaves, watching them move the roof tiles, chatting intermittently.
Mostly, it was Jiang Xia asking questions. She feared being questioned, so she took the initiative to gather information about the Zhou family and the small fishing village.
The roof tiles were quickly unloaded, and throughout the process, Zhou Chenglei didn’t even glance at Wen Wan, deliberately avoiding her as he moved the tiles.
When the tiles were unloaded, Wen Wan had to leave with her father. She couldn’t help but look back at Zhou Chenglei, puzzled about what went wrong.
If Zhou Chenglei didn’t divorce her, what was she supposed to do?
She glanced at Jiang Xia, who was sitting in the corner, her skin smooth and glowing.
No, they would divorce.
Jiang Xia couldn’t stand the rural life; she wanted to be a high-ranking official. Living in this dilapidated house, she wouldn’t last.
When the big typhoon came and the roof was blown away, she would be scared off.
A flower raised in a greenhouse couldn’t withstand the storms.
She remembered that in her previous life, a major typhoon hit this area. After the typhoon, the beach was filled with shrimp, and the villagers, even the children, could sell them for a good price.
She was waiting for that typhoon to come, so she could collect shrimp and make some money to cover her high school tuition and living expenses.
The great-grandmother said she needed to go back and cook, and Jiang Xia stood up, saying to Zhou Chenglei, “I’ll help with the cooking.”
Zhou Chenglei was about to climb up to the roof to clear the broken tiles. Hearing her, he glanced at her, wondering if she even knew how to cook. Then his gaze fell on her hands. “No need, my mother and my sister-in-law will take care of it.”
At that moment, Zhou’s mother walked in, holding Zhou Zhou by one hand and a colorful plastic basket in the other. “Let’s eat! We can work more after we’re done.”
Zhou Zhou, with a military water bottle around his neck, obediently called out, “Grandpa, Uncle, Auntie, it’s time to eat.”
Zhou’s father was mixing sand and cement. Upon hearing his wife, he put down the shovel to wash his hands and eat.
Zhou’s mother took out two silver aluminum lunch boxes from the basket and handed them to Jiang Xia. “This one is yours, and this one is Chenglei’s.”
Zhou Chenglei, covered in cement dust, went to wash his hands.
Jiang Xia took the lunch boxes with a smile. “Thank you, Mother.”
Zhou Zhou, holding a green military water bottle, timidly approached Jiang Xia. “Auntie, do you want some water?”
Jiang Xia’s smile grew warmer. “Thank you, Zhou Zhou. Auntie has her own, and I’m not thirsty. Give the water to Grandpa.”
“Okay.” Zhou Zhou seemed relieved and ran to give the water bottle to Zhou’s father.
After washing his hands and face, Zhou Chenglei, still dripping with water, came over to Jiang Xia and took the lunch box she offered. “Go sit at the doorway on the threshold and eat.”
He turned and walked away, picking up a hoe and sitting on its handle, facing the scorching sun.
Jiang Xia looked at him. “Why are you sitting there in the sun? Why don’t you come sit at the doorway? You’ve been working all day, shouldn’t you drink some water before eating?”
There were no chairs, and the house was stiflingly hot. The coolest place was under the eaves at the entrance.
But there was no more space under the eaves.
Zhou’s father sat directly on a bag of cement, and Zhou’s mother pulled Zhou Zhou to sit on another unopened bag.
The cement bags were under the eaves, out of the sun, and more comfortable than the threshold stones.
Zhou Chenglei glanced at her. In the sunlight, her skin was so fair it seemed to glow, her eyes deep and clear, without a hint of disgust or disdain.
He had just finished working, covered in sweat and dust, especially the fishy smell from coming back from the sea. She usually looked at him as if he were a fly.
Sitting together, she didn’t mind his dirt?
(End of Chapter)
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