Chapter 23.2 - Sincerity (2/3)

On her way, she met many women carrying baskets to deliver lunch to their husbands and sons. They greeted Tang Huan with smiles. Tang Huan responded gently to them, as Jinzhi usually did. One of the nosier women inquired as to why Dong Minghua didn’t go help out at the Song family’s field. Tang Huan pretended to be too shy to answer her question. She didn’t want to tell them that the two families had called off their engagement. People in the village love to gossip. If word got out, she shouldn’t even think about leaving her house for the whole month. If she went out, she would undoubtedly be pestered by others about this.

Tang Huan preferred a quiet environment. She and her master both hated crowded places. That was why being a ‘flower picking thief’ was great. If they saw any men they liked during the day, they could just climb into their beds at night. After being husband and wife for one night, they could simply go their separate ways the next day. Nobody had to be entangled with one another.

When Tang Huan arrived at the field and saw the remaining four- mu unharvested wheat field, she was secretly worried. Song Mo would not be in the mood to do anything else until the harvesting was completed. So she could only tease him a little for the next few days? What kind of opportunity should she seek to confess to him? If she went straight to seduce him without a good reason, then she was obviously not a decent woman. Song Mo would definitely be scared away by her!

“Uncle, come have lunch!”

The bundles of wheat harvested yesterday had been piled up high by Song Mo. Tang Huan walked to the shade, called out to him, and squatted down to set the food on the ground.

Song Mo straightened up and walked towards her while wiping away his sweat.

The two of them sat side by side.

“You haven’t eaten yet?” Song Mo was surprised to see two sets of bowls and chopsticks on the old cloth on the ground.

“Food doesn’t taste as good when I eat alone at home,” Tang Huan explained and served him a bowl of egg drop soup. “I was afraid that eating bread alone would be too dry to swallow, so I cooked some soup. Uncle, drink some soup first to moisten your throat.” The soup was no longer boiling hot, with sprinkles of green onion and yellow egg floating on top, which looked delicious. 1

This was the difference between having and not having a woman at home. If it was Song Mo himself, he would never have thought of cooking soup.

He took over the three-quarters-full bowl, lifted his head, and began drinking.

Tang Huan fixed her gaze on his neck. How could this man look so good all the time? Coarse clothes and tanned complexion hadn’t affected the feeling he gave her at the slightest. Because of this, Tang Huan had never considered nine dreams to be too long. To be constantly up against him was enjoyable for her.

Song Mo finished the soup in one gulp. His entire body felt revitalized, and he began to sweat again on his forehead.

Tang Huan reached into her sleeve for a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.

None of them spoke.

At that moment, all of the sounds around them seemed to stop.

Tang Huan was wiping his forehead seriously, as if she hadn’t noticed the shock in the man’s eyes. And in Song Mo’s eyes, her face was slightly red, her red lips were luscious, and she was so close to him, as if his face could touch hers if he just lowered his head a little.

He wanted to back away, but the tender feeling that flowed up like spring water from the depths of his heart made him remain still, greedily enjoying his niece’s overly intimate actions. He silently convinced himself that it was fine, that his niece was just being filial to him, and that there was no need to make a fuss.

He stared nervously into her beautiful eyes, but he noticed tears welling up in her eyes. She seemed to finally realize that her actions were inappropriate. She wanted to withdraw her hand and turn around, but as she lowered her head, droplets of tears rolled down her delicate cheeks.

Song Mo’s heart trembled, and he couldn’t help but grab her shoulders to force her to face him. “Why are you crying?” he asked in a worried tone.

Tang Huan wiped her tears and sobbed, “Uncle, before my father passed away, I found out that person had a change of heart. I hid under my blanket and cried all night, but then I remembered that I still have my father who loved me so much, so I wasn’t that sad anymore. That day, I wanted to bring up to my father about breaking off the engagement. But who knew that after he went out, he never came back… …Uncle, it has been hard on you these days. If it weren’t for you, I really didn’t know how I am supposed to live on. Other people who had treated me well had either changed or died. I…” She hid her face behind her hands and whimpered.

Song Mo’s heart ached for her. But he was bad with words and could only repeat two sentences: “Don’t cry, don’t cry. Uncle will always be by your side.”

“Uncle, I know that I have been clinging to you day and night for the past few days,” Tang Huan said quietly. “You…you must have thought that I have acted inappropriately at times, unlike how a young lady should act. But Uncle, I’m terrified. Whenever I close my eyes, I feel as if someone is calling out to me in the dark, asking me to go with him. I’m so scared. I can only feel at ease in my heart by hugging Uncle… Uncle, after what happened with Dong Minghua, I don’t want to marry anymore. I just wish to stay with Uncle for the rest of my life, being protected and pampered by you.”

Song Mo glanced at his surroundings and saw that there was no one near them. He stroked her head and sincerely said, “Don’t be silly, I am your uncle, your only relative in this world. It’s human nature for you to hug me when you’re scared. How could Uncle blame you? As for your marriage, you are only sixteen years old this year. After you have completely forgotten about him, Uncle will find you another one.” As he said this, he felt a little bitter in his heart. He couldn’t pinpoint the cause of his bitterness, and he didn’t dare to delve too deeply.

“How come Uncle hasn’t married anyone in all these years?”

Tang Huan looked at him, and when she saw the astonishment on his face, she immediately said, “Uncle is comfortable living alone. I also want to be like Uncle. What’s good about marrying someone? After you marry, you have to help your husband in fulfilling his filial obligations to his parents. If your in-laws have bad temper, you have to put up with it, and you can’t make all of the decisions. I used to believe that it’s enough if the man treats me well, but I now understand that men are the most unreliable. He might treat me well only for a while and not forever. So, isn’t it better if I continue to live a peaceful life at home? Unless…”

Under his curious gaze, she lowered her head, and her pretty face flushed. “Unless that person is handsome, tall, strong, and responsible like Uncle, has no other family members, and treats me as well as Uncle does. Otherwise, I’m really not going to marry anyone!”

Like him?

His chest swelled with uncontrollable joy. Song Mo’s face was hot as he averted his gaze and humbly said, “Uncle is uncultured. I’m not as good as you think I am. You have grown up in the village and haven’t seen much of the outside world. If-”

“If I haven’t seen much of the world, then how much have you seen?” Tang Huan interrupted him unhappily while clutching her handkerchief. “Hmph! I don’t care. I have liked Uncle since I was a child, and I had never found anyone better than Uncle. I had even thought of marrying Uncle and becoming your wife when I grew up… Anyway, if Uncle can’t find someone better than you, don’t force me to marry!”

“I-”

“Okay, quickly eat your lunch. After lunch, Uncle should lie down and rest for a while,” Tang Huan said, pouting as she placed a piece of bread in his bowl.

Song Mo didn’t know what to say. He lowered his head to eat, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her words.

His niece had liked him since she was a child. If…if they didn’t have this relationship… Forget it, it was impossible. He was twelve years older than her. If he was not her uncle, how could such a young girl like him?

When he lay down to rest, he felt as if a large stone was pressing his chest, causing him to feel suffocated and uncomfortable. After repeated attempts to fall asleep to no avail, Song Mo got up and continued to work.

Egg drop soup

(Pic source https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-egg-drop-soup-159379%3famp=1 )