Ye Qiu went to Old Jack's house, sat for a while, had a few snacks, and took two carrots.
He left more than ten Gold Soul Coins behind, then headed home.
Ever since Xiao Wu had become the boss of the Notting Academy work-study students, Xiao Chenyu had been covering their meal expenses. So Ye Qiu had actually managed to save quite a few Gold Soul Coins, including the money he'd earned from Xiao Wu and the extra allowance Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo had given him.
Ye Qiu was quite wealthy by Holy Soul Village standards now. You could even call him the richest man in the village.
He didn't mind giving away most of his savings. After all, he didn't need to make any Hidden Weapons, and earning more money would be easy for him. More importantly, he'd grown up eating Old Jack's food, so he ought to support him in his old age.
With a coarse burlap sack of carrots hanging around his neck, Ye Qiu walked toward his home with Xiao Wu.
"Ye Qiu, where's your home?" Xiao Wu asked softly, nibbling on a carrot as she tugged at the hem of his clothes.
"Are you just trying to make conversation?" Ye Qiu rolled his eyes. She'd clearly seen his memories, so how could she not know where his home was?
"If you have something to say, just say it."
Ye Qiu knew Xiao Wu well enough to know that, even if she was a little silly, she wouldn't ask such an obvious question.
Xiao Wu pouted, clung to Ye Qiu's arm, and leaned close to his ear to whisper, "I want to know. Why did you tell me to stay away from Tang San?"
"I'll find a time to tell you later. But if you want to get closer to him, I won't stop you." Ye Qiu furrowed his brow. If he hadn't been afraid of scaring Xiao Wu, he would have told her about Tang Hao, the Titled Douluo, long ago.
Noticing Ye Qiu seemed unhappy, Xiao Wu hurried to explain. "N-no, I don't want to get closer to him! I've always listened to you."
"Could you loosen your grip a little? It's hot when you're this close!"
Hearing the annoyance in Ye Qiu's voice, Xiao Wu realized she'd been holding on too tightly. But she really was telling the truth—she'd refused to spar with Tang San many times.
Before long,
Ye Qiu arrived at his little wooden hut.
It was divided by wooden boards and a curtain into a bedroom, a living room, and a bathroom. Small as it was, it had everything he needed.
"All right, we're here."
Ye Qiu fished a key out of his clothes and, with a sense of ceremony, unlocked the shabby door.
Xiao Wu followed close behind.
"Ah, I'm exhausted!"
Ye Qiu ignored the dust on the bed and lay down immediately.
Seeing Ye Qiu lying there with his cheeks flushed from exhaustion, Xiao Wu couldn't help rolling her eyes. Aside from training and bullying her, he was always so lazy.
Xiao Wu stood still, taking in the small room. It was cleaner than Tang San's home, but much smaller. It looked as if a single room had simply been divided into several sections. When she looked at Ye Qiu again, there was something new in her eyes.
Ye Qiu got up and started looking for a rag and a basin, ready to tidy up the somewhat dirty little place. "Silly rabbit, why are you still standing there? Don't tell me you expect me to do all the work myself?"
"..."
Xiao Wu fell silent for a moment. Her lips moved as if she wanted to object to Ye Qiu's name for her, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she blushed and asked, "D-do you have any spare rags and basins?"
"You don't need to be so formal. They're all old, worthless things. Go look around and use whatever you find." Ye Qiu raised an eyebrow and waved a hand. Everything in his wooden hut was old, and he'd hardly bought anything new. He definitely wouldn't need any of it in the future, either.
"Mm." Xiao Wu nodded slightly. As she turned to leave, she scrunched up her face and looked at Ye Qiu with a little hurt. "Don't call me a rabbit anymore."
Her voice wasn't as firm as before. Instead, it sounded almost like a plea.
With that, Xiao Wu carefully made her way into the bedroom.
Watching her go, Ye Qiu scratched his head, puzzled. He didn't think he'd bullied her. Why had she suddenly become so docile?
Although he was a perennial bachelor, after sharing each other's thoughts for so long, Ye Qiu understood how Xiao Wu felt about him.
Sometimes, when Ye Qiu was out shopping and liked looking at other graceful, mature women, he'd pay her little attention. Xiao Wu would get so annoyed that she'd deliberately pick a fight and try to get him to hit her.
Things were moving a little faster than Ye Qiu had expected. Was this the effect of the romance-filled Douluo Continent? Or did sincerity really win someone's heart this quickly?
Ye Qiu shook his head and put those thoughts aside. There was still a long future ahead of them. It was too early to think about such things.
A stick of incense later,
After tidying up the cramped bathroom and the table in the living room, Ye Qiu walked into the bedroom. He saw Xiao Wu kneeling on the wooden bed, scrubbing it with a wet rag as if she were giving it a bath.
Ye Qiu froze, then rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "I mean... are you actually stupid? You've soaked the bed. How long do you think it'll take to dry?"
"Huh?! I-I didn't know..."
Xiao Wu froze too, then sat back on the bed, looking confused.
She'd never done anything like this before.
Seeing Xiao Wu with her gray hair and face smeared with dust, her clothes soaked, Ye Qiu opened his mouth, then decided not to make a big deal out of it.
"Why don't you get down and take a bath first? I'll handle the rest." Ye Qiu waved her down from the bed.
"Okay."
Xiao Wu nodded gently.
As Ye Qiu took the rag from her, he reminded her, "If the cold water doesn't work, I boiled some water under the eaves earlier. It should be about right by now. If I'd kept heating it, I could've peeled the skin off you, you rabbit."
Xiao Wu had been feeling a little touched, but Ye Qiu's words immediately darkened her expression.
"Ye Qiu! I told you not to call me a rabbit!"
At noon, the sun blazed overhead.
Outside Tang San's blacksmith shop, Ye Qiu was walking over with several lunch boxes.
"Xiao San! Xiao San!"
Before he even reached the door, Ye Qiu called loudly inside.
Tang San was inside cleaning up a pile of stinking wine bottles and using Hidden Weapons to nail rats and cockroaches to the walls. Hearing Ye Qiu call out, he frowned beneath his dust-covered face. Remembering what his father had told him in the letter, he immediately went out.
"Ye Qiu, what do you need?"
Ye Qiu waved the things in his hands. "What do you think? I brought you lunch. Grandpa Jack knew we'd just gotten back and wouldn't have much food at home, so he specially made a portion for us. The old man has trouble getting around, so I brought it over."
With that, Ye Qiu pursed his lips. He knew there was plenty of food in Tang San's Twenty-Four Bridge Moonlit Night, but this was an old man's kind gesture.
"Then thank you."
Tang San smiled faintly. Although he had food, he'd rather have a hot meal.
"You're welcome. Here, this one's yours. It's still hot—a big lunchbox of shit."
Ye Qiu grinned as he placed the lunchbox in Tang San's hands.
Tang San's mouth twitched. Ye Qiu's phrasing left a lot to be desired.
The words "lunchbox" were supposed to go together.
"By the way, where's Xiao Wu?"
"Don't worry, she's still at my place, waiting for me to bring her lunch. She's alive and kicking. If there's nothing else, I'll head back." Ye Qiu waved a hand, showing no intention of staying.
"Mm."
Tang San nodded. There was still plenty of time. He didn't need to rush into winning Ye Qiu over and getting him to follow his lead.
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