Chapter 52 With You

“Shaoxuan, you should just stay at home and not come with me,” Si Qingyu said helplessly to the man beside her.

She had been resting at home for a few days, spending almost every moment with him in the bedroom. Today, she thought the fine weather was suitable for going up the mountain to gather medicinal herbs, so she gritted her teeth and cruelly rejected his amorous advances.

She had no idea what his body was made of. Si Qingyu even wondered if men in this world naturally had better stamina than women, or if he was just an exception.

Luo Shaoxuan stood beside her, lightly gliding his fingers under his eyes. His elongated, beautiful eyes were filled with persistence as he said softly, “If you don’t take me with you, I’ll secretly follow behind.”

He already knew how to grasp her thoughts and knew she had a soft heart. By saying this, she would certainly compromise.

Sure enough, the graceful-looking woman sighed helplessly, “But the path in the deep mountains is not easy to walk. I may not be able to take care of you.”

Luo Shaoxuan grabbed her hand and lowered his head to play with it, utterly unconcerned. “I can take care of myself.” He paused for a moment, looking at her affectionately, his voice intimate and gentle, “And I can take care of you too.”

His fingers, as long and exquisite as jade, drew small circles on her palm, sending a tingling sensation straight to her heart, accompanied by a hint of numbness.

Si Qingyu quickly withdrew her slender hand, roughly wiping her itchy palm. With slightly reddened ears, she turned her head to look at the courtyard gate. “If you want to follow, then follow. See what you need to bring. There’s no food on the mountain.”

She meant that if he could, he should bring some food and drink.

Luo Shaoxuan’s lips curled up, his beautiful eyes looking at her profile with a triumphant smile. “Alright, I’ll bring some cakes.”

“Mm, I’ll wait for you outside the courtyard.” With that, she walked out of the courtyard in a hurry.

Si Qingyu took a deep breath of the air outside the courtyard. She hadn’t been out for several days, staying in the room all day. Although she enjoyed the peace and quiet, staying on the bed for days was truly unbearable.

She carried a basket on her back for collecting medicinal herbs and stood at the courtyard gate, staring blankly at the mountainous area. She had a feeling of being reborn.

She never imagined she would actually get married. After her adoptive mother passed away, she had a family again, and even a person to spend her life with. It was like finally finding a home, and her heart was very peaceful.

Si Qingyu gently placed her hand on her chest, feeling that this sensation was truly wonderful. It was a mixture of happiness, contentment, and a tinge of bittersweet feeling.

She couldn’t help but chuckle softly, her eyes brimming with tenderness as if it would overflow. At this moment, Si Qingyu’s appearance had no trace of aloofness or coldness. She was like a satisfied child, laughing openly with a hint of childishness.

The ice and snow melted, and tenderness overflowed.

If Luo Shaoxuan saw Si Qingyu like this now, his heart would surely melt into a puddle along with her gaze, unable to leave her.

The bamboo door behind her sounded, and Si Qingyu turned her head to see that he had actually brought out a basket. The corner of her eye twitched slightly. “Shaoxuan… there’s no need to bring a basket, right? Just wrap the snacks in a clean silk handkerchief. It’s not convenient to carry it like this.”

“It’s not just snacks.”

“Ah?” Then what else did you bring?

Luo Shaoxuan walked up to her and opened the lid of the basket. Indeed, there was more than just snacks inside…

There was a complete set of teacups and teapot, and she even saw the grapes she had planted in the yard when she had nothing to do. But… they weren’t ripe yet.

Si Qingyu felt it was necessary to remind him. “Shaoxuan… we’re going deep into the mountains to gather medicinal herbs.” Not to go camping. “There’s no need to bring so many things. You only need to bring what you’ll eat. We’ll be back soon.”

“But I brought very little.” Luo Shaoxuan looked at her innocently, taking an unripe grape from the basket and putting it into his mouth, chewing it with a calm expression.

“……”

What else could she say? Sigh, Si Qingyu turned around and pointed the basket on her back towards him. “Put it inside then. It’ll be less tiring to carry it this way.”

“But there’s tea inside.”

It would spill.

Si Qingyu’s back stiffened slightly. She frowned in frustration, a little embarrassed. Recently, her mind hadn’t been working well. She turned back, clearing her throat in embarrassment. “Then tell me when you get tired of carrying it like this.”

“Mm…” Luo Shaoxuan looked at her with a smile in his eyes. He lowered his head and gently bit her lips, his nose pressed against hers. “My wife cherishes me so much, it makes me almost lose control.”

Si Qingyu, who had been a little embarrassed, instantly recalled the scenes on the bed these past few days. With a calm expression, she pushed his face away and turned to walk towards the forest. “Shaoxuan, when we get back, I’ll brew you a bowl of cooling tea to suppress the fire in your heart.”

She had to find a way to extinguish this fire that she didn’t know how to put out.

Luo Shaoxuan, who was left behind, watched her back with a smile still on his lips. He took a step and followed her.

…

The deeper they went into the mountains, the harder it was to walk. Si Qingyu pushed aside the hanging branches in front of her, grabbed a weed on the small slope, and stepped on it for leverage.

She looked up at the scorching sun high in the sky and wiped the fine sweat on her forehead with her sleeve. She turned her head to look at Luo Shaoxuan at the bottom of the slope. He looked leisurely, and she didn’t even see any sweat on him.

Si Qingyu was a little envious of his physique. She grabbed a weed beside her and bent down, reaching out her hand to him. “Shaoxuan, come.”

The man looked up at her with a sweet gaze and stretched out his white jade-like hand to grasp hers. Si Qingyu exerted a little force with her hand and pulled him up.

The first thing Luo Shaoxuan did after coming up was to take out a silk handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her face. Seeing her slightly flushed face from the heat, his heart ached. “Why don’t we rest for a while?”

Si Qingyu shook her head. She had just come up and hadn’t even started yet. If they rested so soon, who knew when they would finish.

She adjusted the basket on her back and looked at him. “If you’re tired, rest here for a while. I’ll be nearby.”

“Where you go, I’ll go.”

She knew he would say that. Si Qingyu couldn’t be bothered to say more. He indeed didn’t look tired. She turned her footsteps slightly, her eyes looking at some weeds on the ground. “Then just stay beside me.”

“Mm.”

Luo Shaoxuan followed her at a leisurely pace, his eyes never leaving her for a moment. Seeing her serious look, she was so beautiful.

A mischievous thought suddenly arose in his mind. He took a green grape from the basket and walked up to the woman squatting on the ground with graceful steps, bringing the grape to her lips. “Eat it.”

Si Qingyu didn’t look at what was in his hand. Whatever he gave her, she opened her mouth and ate it. A sour and astringent taste instantly spread on the tip of her tongue. Si Qingyu’s brows furrowed tightly from the sourness, and she looked up at the man who was smiling with curved eyes, his broad sleeves lightly covering his lips.

He even asked deliberately, “Is it delicious?”

Si Qingyu was so sour that her whole body became more alert. Even her teeth felt softened by the sourness. She took a small breath and said to him through gritted teeth, “It’s so delicious.”

Hearing this, Luo Shaoxuan reached into the basket again. “Do you want more?” He said, bringing a second one to her lips.

She leaned back a little to avoid it and used her hand holding the medicinal herbs to push his hand away. “No, you eat it yourself.”

Luo Shaoxuan retracted his hand and threw the grape into his mouth, chewing it with a calm expression.

How could this person eat something so sour!

Just looking at it made Si Qingyu’s teeth feel a little sour. She shook her head and threw the medicinal herbs in her hand into the basket on her back.

Before she could take two steps, food was brought to her face again. Si Qingyu thought it was a grape and reflexively turned her head to the side, but she heard the person beside her say, “It’s a snack.”

Only then did Si Qingyu take a closer look at the snack in front of her. She glanced at him and took a small bite.

Luo Shaoxuan withdrew the snack, his elongated beautiful eyes looking at her slightly reddened profile from the sun. He stuck out the tip of his tongue and rolled the remaining snack into his mouth, watching her chew slowly.

…

This continued until noon. Si Qingyu had been wandering in the upper area and hadn’t entered the deeper part of the mountains. Not to mention that the path inside was difficult to walk, she also didn’t know if there would be any danger. After all, Luo Shaoxuan was following her, and she didn’t dare to take that risk with him.

Si Qingyu stood up and stretched, rubbing her slightly sore neck. In front of her was a small hill. A little further beyond the hill was the deep part of the mountains.

She looked at the scorching sun already hanging overhead and weighed the basket on her back. She thought it was enough for today. They should go back and prepare lunch.

Si Qingyu’s feet turned slightly, about to head back, but she didn’t notice an extremely smooth pebble under her feet. She accidentally stepped on it and slipped, her body falling backwards. Her hand instinctively waved in the air but didn’t grab onto anything.

Luo Shaoxuan, who had been following closely beside her, had his pupils contract fiercely the moment she slipped. With extreme speed, he discarded the basket in his hand, took a step forward, and easily grabbed her hand.

He could have easily pulled her back with a gentle tug, but Luo Shaoxuan’s eyes darkened. He fell towards her, bringing her into his embrace, tightly protecting her entire body as they rolled down the small slope together.

Fortunately, the bottom of the slope was covered with soft weeds. Si Qingyu, still in shock, propped herself up from his embrace and looked at him with concern and heartache. “Shaoxuan… are you hurt anywhere?”

However, he didn’t say a word and just gazed at her fixedly.

She hurriedly wanted to get up from on top of him, but he pressed her down with both hands. Luo Shaoxuan lay among the weeds, his exquisite and picturesque features appearing even more enchanting. His elongated and deep black eyes were like bottomless pits as he looked at her, seemingly wanting to draw her in.

Si Qingyu stared blankly at his eyes, momentarily forgetting to get off him.

Luo Shaoxuan tightly grasped her hand and moved it slowly, shifting it to her shoulder to remove the basket and toss it aside.

She looked at him in confusion, still worried about whether he was injured. She grabbed his mischievous hand on her waist and frowned at him. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

The man lying on the ground was irritated by her insensitive and wooden demeanor, his lips slightly pursed. His gaze slowly turned resentful as he looked at her.

Seeing that he seemed to be fine, Si Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief and got up from on top of him. “Do you know how dangerous that was just now?”

Luo Shaoxuan lay on the ground without speaking, looking at her with a distant gaze, not getting up.

Si Qingyu picked up the scattered medicinal herbs and put them back into the basket. She turned her head and saw Luo Shaoxuan still lying on the ground, puzzled. “Why aren’t you getting up yet? Are you planning to spend the night here?”

The sun alone could kill a person. However, Si Qingyu looked around and noticed that there just happened to be tree shade blocking the sunlight here.

The person on the ground dejectedly plucked the weeds beneath him with his jade-like hands, his exquisitely shaped lips slightly pouting. That sulking appearance of his was indeed adorable.

Si Qingyu chuckled softly and lowered her head to kiss his pouting lips, rubbing his forehead dotingly. “Get up quickly. I’ll go back and make lunch for you to eat, okay?”

Only then did Luo Shaoxuan’s sulkiness dissipate a little. He pursed his lips and leaned towards her. “I want more.”

This was what people meant by “give an inch, take a mile.”

Si Qingyu looked at him with amusement and lowered her head to peck his lips once more.

He instantly broke into a smile, and Si Qingyu finally helped him up from the ground.

She brushed off the grass debris from his body.

Si Qingyu picked up the basket beside her and held his hand, walking in the direction of home.

From a distance, their conversation could still be heard.

“What do you want to eat later?”

“Mm, I want to eat what you’ve eaten.”

“……”

“…… When we get back, I’ll brew you a bowl of cooling tea first.”