Chapter 64: Shameless!

Her hand?

Lin Muyu was taken aback.

She set her book aside. Although she did not know what Xie Zhao wanted to do, she still reached out her hand.

The next moment, his hand covered hers.

A burning warmth enveloped her through their touching palms. His rough fingertips rubbed the back of her hand, gradually applying a bit of pressure.

Lin Muyu felt a rush of heat surge up from where their skin met. She stared blankly at Xie Zhao’s hand.

The young man’s hand had prominent veins, but his fingers were long and slender, beautiful as carved jade.

But the hardships of recent days had already left rough calluses and cuts across his palm.

As they scabbed over, they scraped against her palm, sending waves of heat through her skin.

“It must hurt, right?”

Lin Muyu suddenly spoke.

She looked up at Xie Zhao, her heart stinging as if pricked by a needle, filling with a dense, aching bitterness.

How could this be Xie Zhao’s hand?

She still could not forget that day under the willow tree at the edge of the village, when the youth stood tall and straight like a proud pine, completely out of place among them and the rest of Shishui Village.

But what about now?

On his shoulders rested the weight of the Xie Family, of her, and of the babies.

He had to bend his back and bow his shoulders, struggling bit by bit to scrape together a living.

A wave of bitterness welled up in Lin Muyu’s heart, her eyes already growing red and moist.

“You clearly… could have had a better life.”

Her voice trembled.

The sunlight from the window fell into her reddened eyes, and Xie Zhao clearly saw the heartache in them.

For some reason, in this instant, his heart also softened completely.

“This is the best life.”

The next moment, Xie Zhao pulled her hand with a slight tug, drawing her directly into his embrace.

He held Lin Muyu tightly.

He rested his chin against her hair, gently rubbing against it.

“I already walked the other path. It was unspeakably bitter, and I spent a lifetime regretting it.”

Xie Zhao said softly, “Heaven has favored me by letting you, Xibao, and Lebao appear before me again. Heaven only knows how grateful and thrilled I am.”

His voice paused. A moment later, he pulled back slightly, staring straight into Lin Muyu’s eyes.

“This is the best life. Thank you for appearing in it.”

As his words fell, Lin Muyu’s tears could no longer be held back.

Xie Zhao said, thank you for appearing.

Did he not blame her anymore?

Did he not blame her anymore for being the string that held back his kite?

Lin Muyu took a deep breath, a thought in her mind gradually hardening into resolve.

She looked at Xie Zhao and said, “Next time, find me some high school textbooks, Xie Zhao. I want to study, take the college entrance exam, and become an educated person. I absolutely won’t hold you back!”

Xie Zhao grinned.

He bared his teeth in a smile at Lin Muyu. “Deal! If my wife wants the stars in the sky, I’ll find a way to pluck them down for her!”

Lin Muyu couldn’t help but let out a smile.

“You always say the sweetest things.”

She chided with a smile.

But after she said this, Xie Zhao squeezed her hand again with a serious expression. “How is it just sweet talk? Or are you not satisfied with how I ‘do’ things?”

Whether intentional or not, Xie Zhao deliberately dragged out the word “do.” He even leaned down over her with an imposing presence, his scent enveloping her in an instant.

Lin Muyu froze.

He… what did he mean?

Her pretty face flushed red, and a delicate pink crept onto her earlobes. If one leaned close, the fine peach fuzz on them was clearly visible.

Xie Zhao’s eyelids twitched.

He felt little Xie Zhao spring to life again.

He took a deep breath, let go of Lin Muyu’s hand, and with a helpless laugh, scraped his finger down the bridge of her nose.

“See if you like it.”

Only then did Lin Muyu blankly realize that something was resting in her palm.

It was Shanghai Brand vanishing cream.

At that moment, she actually felt a faint sense of disappointment in her heart.

As it turned out, it wasn’t what she had thought.

“What is it? What are you thinking?”

Seeing her in a daze, Xie Zhao couldn’t resist teasing her. “Are you disappointed because I didn’t ‘do’ anything?”

Having her thoughts exposed, she felt both embarrassed and annoyed, and couldn’t help but reach out and give him a light punch.

“What are you talking about!”

“Shameless!” she chided.

Xie Zhao saw her flushed cheeks, her beautiful almond eyes shimmering with a watery light, utterly captivating.

Especially her lips.

Full, small, and tinged with a soft pink.

The sight made his heart flutter in confusion.

Xie Zhao finally couldn’t hold back. In a sudden rush of blood to his head, he quickly leaned down and planted a kiss on Lin Muyu’s lips.

Lin Muyu stared at him, her eyes wide with shock.

“Doing it is a must, but unfortunately, not right now.”

Xie Zhao’s voice was husky as he whispered in her ear, “You just gave birth, and it’s too hard on your body. Don’t tease me, wife.”

After saying that, Xie Zhao stood up, took a deep breath, and quickly turned to leave the room.

A young body really couldn’t handle temptation!

Back in his day!

When he had entered the business world, no matter how many temptations were laid out before him, he had gritted his teeth and refused them all!

How was it that after being reborn, he couldn’t even handle a little teasing from his own wife?

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but in his past life, he had heard that women had lochia after giving birth and their bodies hadn’t recovered yet. Doing that would cause her body a lot of harm.

Xie Zhao took a few deep breaths, chanting frantically in his head.

Xie Zhao, oh Xie Zhao, for your future bedroom bliss, you must endure!

Once my wife’s body recovers, what kind of “meat” won’t I get to eat?

When the time comes, it won’t matter if it’s on the bed, the floor, the chairs, or in the yard…

Heh!

Stop!

Don’t think about it anymore!

The more he thought about it, the hotter he got!

Xie Zhao simply ran out to the yard, scooped up a handful of water, and splashed it onto his face.

Even though spring had begun, the water was still bone-chillingly cold. The moment it splashed onto his face, it made him shiver.

But with this jolt, he cleared his head completely.

Tian Xiufen also waved her hand, calling everyone to eat.

“Hurry up! Clear the table!”

Tian Xiufen called out. She wiped her hands on a rag and turned to Xie Youzhen. “You need to find some time this afternoon to fertilize the vegetable garden. The land over by Xiaohegou was only cleared last year. Even if we’re just planting soybeans, we still have to fertilize it regularly!”

Spring was just around the corner.

It was already the thirteenth day of the Lunar New Year.

In two more days, it would be the Lantern Festival. Once the festival passed, it would be time to prepare for spring plowing.

It was all tedious and exhausting physical labor.

Plowing the fields, raising seedlings, and transplanting rice seedlings.

Vegetables had to be planted in the dry fields, plant ash burned to fertilize the soil, and their own farmyard manure carried on shoulder poles to water the fields.

At times like this, a man’s role and contribution were paramount. Those exhausting physical labors were basically done by men, while women managed the household.

Washing clothes, cooking, taking care of the kids, and tending to the family vegetable garden. When the busy farming season became truly overwhelming, they would also grit their teeth and head out to the fields.

If a baby cried too hard, they would strap them to their back with a sling, or leave them at home, telling the older children to watch the younger ones. Otherwise, they would simply lock them inside the house, where no one would care even if they cried themselves hoarse.