Love Letter

Zhao Tieying took Zhou Momo off to bathe, while Zhou Yan grabbed a small bucket and put the eels from the ground into it.

Sure enough, there were five eels, each weighing around two or three liang.

They were purely wild eels, golden-yellow and wonderfully plump.

Zhou Lihui must have caught them. Fanwa and Momo were not capable of that. That kid had quite a talent for this sort of thing.

Eels could be made into Braised Eel, Linjiang Eel Shreds, Stir-fried Eel... A number of classic dishes flashed through Zhou Yan's mind.

He had eaten them before, but he really did not know how to cook them.

"Comrade Zhou Yan."

Just as he finished catching the eels, a voice came from behind him.

Zhou Yan turned around and saw a tall young man walking toward him. He was a student from Sichuan Fine Arts Academy who had eaten at the restaurant earlier. He was about Zhou Yan's height, with wheat-colored skin and a buzz cut, looking quite sunny and energetic.

"Hello, classmate. What can I do for you?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile, bucket in hand.

"My name is Ma Xingye. Are you and Xia Yao... quite close?" Ma Xingye asked, unconsciously clenching the hand hanging beside his pocket into a fist.

"Xia Yao and I... get along pretty well, I suppose." Zhou Yan nodded.

He and Xia Yao had been through life-and-death situations together. Though they had not spent much time together, their relationship was indeed fairly good.

Could this Classmate Ma be one of Xia Yao's admirers?

Did he think Xia Yao and Zhou Yan were close, so he had come to confront him in person?

During the meal earlier, he had seemed to keep looking in Xia Yao's direction. It was probably exactly that.

Zhou Yan glanced at his powerful biceps. The signs of training were obvious. If they really fought, Zhou Yan might not win.

"Uh, Classmate Ma, actually, Xia Yao and I..." Zhou Yan was about to explain.

"I know. You two are a perfect match, made for each other." Ma Xingye piled on a smile and rubbed his hands together. "Brother Zhou, I just want to ask you for a favor."

"Huh?" Zhou Yan was a little stunned.

Ma Xingye had already pulled out an envelope and offered it with both hands. "Please help me give this letter to Xia Yao, and have her pass it on to Deng Hong."

Zhou Yan looked at the slightly blushing Ma Xingye.

No, why were you blushing like a tea kettle?

And who was Deng Hong?

"Deng Hong is Xia Yao's roommate and good friend. She was sitting at the same table as her at noon today—the cute one," Ma Xingye hurriedly explained, apparently seeing Zhou Yan's confusion.

Zhou Yan knew who he meant. She was the petite, pleasantly rounded girl beside Xia Yao, with a round little face.

She was quite cute, talkative, and outgoing.

He had not expected this guy to like that type.

"Oh, a love letter." Zhou Yan looked at the envelope, then at Ma Xingye in confusion. "Why not give it directly to Deng Hong, or ask Xia Yao to pass it along for you?"

"I... I..." Ma Xingye scratched his head awkwardly. "I don't dare."

You were such a big, strapping guy. Where was your nerve?!

Zhou Yan silently mocked him in his heart.

Helping someone deliver a love letter was rare enough. The last time he had done it was back in middle school.

After all, more often than not, other people had delivered love letters to him.

No matter what, this was better than getting into a pointless face-to-face fight with some mysterious love rival.

"Fine, I'll deliver it for you." Zhou Yan accepted the task.

"Brother Zhou, thank you! From now on, you're my big brother!" Ma Xingye said excitedly.

"I'll only deliver it. I can't guarantee success."

"I understand."

Zhou Yan washed his hands, dried them on his apron, and only then took the love letter.

Ma Xingye left happily, even making a shooting motion as he walked away.

Zhou Yan had never dated in either of his lives, so he did not really understand the feeling.

After all, he could not even satisfy his own need for security. There was no way he could give a girl enough of it.

What was love?

It would only slow down his money-making.

As Zhou Yan considered when to give the letter to Xia Yao, he spotted three girls sitting on a bench along the riverbank in the distance. One of the backs looked like Xia Yao's.

He was thick-skinned and never blushed when talking to girls.

So he took the letter and headed toward the river.

"Xia Yao."

Xia Yao, Deng Hong, and Zhu Yuyu were sitting by the river, chatting in the breeze. At the sound of his voice, they turned and saw Zhou Yan standing there with an envelope in hand and a smile on his face.

"I have something I want to talk to you about," Zhou Yan said.

"What's he holding? Could it be a love letter?" Deng Hong whispered curiously.

"Could he know we're leaving tomorrow and be planning to confess to Yaoyao? He even prepared a love letter in advance!" Zhu Yuyu was excited too.

"Stop talking nonsense." Xia Yao shot them both an annoyed glare, then stood and walked toward Zhou Yan.

"Let's go over there." Zhou Yan glanced at the two gossipers craning their necks and pricking up their ears.

Especially the round-faced girl—her butt had practically left the bench, and she looked ready to stretch her neck right beside them.

"Okay." Xia Yao nodded and followed Zhou Yan beneath a nearby large tree.

Could he... really be about to confess to me?

Xia Yao had received many love letters growing up, but she had never been as nervous as she was today.

Her heart was beating so fast!

Thump! Thump!

Her mind was a mess. She had already started wondering whether she should refuse or agree.

If she refused, how could she do it gracefully?

Deng Hong's words echoed in her ears: "Yaoyao, why don't you consider it... If you married him, you'd be happy for the rest of your life."

That was true. His Braised Spare Ribs were so delicious, and the Qiaojiao Beef was delicious too...

Xia Yao looked at Zhou Yan standing beneath the tree. Autumn sunlight filtered through the sparse branches and fell upon his faintly smiling face, seeming to soften it further.

If she had to choose someone to spend her life with someday, he did not seem bad at all.

"Zhou Yan."

"Xia Yao."

They spoke at the same time.

"You... you go first." Xia Yao instinctively grabbed the hem of her skirt.

Her aunt's warning, the four-thousand-mile distance between them, the gap between their families—at this moment, none of it seemed so important anymore.

"This love letter." Zhou Yan handed her the letter.

Xia Yao hesitated for a moment before solemnly accepting it with both hands. "Actually, I..."

"It's from a guy in your department named Ma Xingye. He asked me to give it to you, then have you pass it on to Deng Hong," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"...Huh?" Xia Yao froze. The words at her lips caught in her throat. Then she saw the words on the envelope: "To Deng Hong." Her face instantly turned red.

What was this?!

Xia Yao, what were you even thinking?

For a moment, her mind was in turmoil. She was relieved that she did not have to make a choice, but she also felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment.

"He looks big and tough, but I didn't expect him to be so timid. He needed me, a third party, to help deliver a love letter." Zhou Yan smiled easily and looked at Xia Yao's faintly flushed face. "By the way, what were you about to say?"

"Nothing... nothing." Xia Yao quickly regained her composure. Raising the letter in her hand, she smiled and said, "Then I'll give it to Little Deng. She's actually had a crush on Ma Xingye for a long time. I didn't expect him to write her a love letter and confess."

"Really?" Zhou Yan was surprised, but even happier. "That's great. Mutual love will have a beautiful ending."

"Mutual love." Xia Yao repeated the words silently in her heart as she looked at Zhou Yan, then turned and walked toward the riverbank.

"What were they talking about behind our backs? Will Yaoyao agree?"

"Hard to say. Yaoyao's dream is to become a designer. If she married into this small town, would she have to give up her dream?"

Zhu Yuyu and Deng Hong sat on the bench, anxiously fidgeting. Then they saw Xia Yao walking toward them with the letter in hand and a sweet smile on her face.

"Yaoyao, did you agree?" Zhu Yuyu sprang to her feet.

"She's smiling so sweetly. She must have agreed." Deng Hong hurried forward impatiently. "Yaoyao, let's see what the love letter says! We were both worried sick."

"Agreed to what? This isn't for me." Xia Yao smiled and handed the letter to Deng Hong. "It's a love letter Ma Xingye wrote for you. He asked Zhou Yan to give it to me, and then for me to give it to you."

"Comrade Little Deng, your favorite Ma Xingye has confessed to you."

Deng Hong's expression and movements froze. Her eyes gradually widened as she stared at the letter in Xia Yao's hand in disbelief. "Ma Xingye wrote it? For me? He confessed to me!"

"Heavens!" Zhu Yuyu looked stunned too, but quickly cried excitedly, "Deng Hong! Your dream came true!"

"Mutual love is wonderful." Xia Yao smiled and stuffed the letter into Deng Hong's hand. "Quick, open it and see what he wrote."

"Good sisters, let's read it together!" Deng Hong opened the letter with red eyes, her hands trembling.

By the time Sister-in-law Zhao Hong came back with the two children, she had already washed them clean by the river.

The older one wore a smock, while the younger one was wrapped in an apron.

It looked like she had not punished them too harshly. They even came back smiling.

After bathing and changing clothes, Zhou Momo had dried her hair halfway with a towel, then warmed it by the stove for a while. It was fluffy and messy, making her look like a tiny kitten with puffed-up fur.

"Huihui, Fanwa, Mama said we're having Braised Eel tonight. Let's catch some again next time!" Zhou Momo said in her childish voice as she looked at the two boys.

"Okay." Huihui and Fanwa nodded.

"You still dare?" Zhao Hong glared at the two of them, but could not help smiling.

After a simple lunch, Zhou Yan pushed the Twenty-Eight Bicycle out to buy groceries.

"Xia Yao is heading back to Mountain City early tomorrow. When you go into town later, buy her some puffed rice candy to take home. That girl is such a good person," Zhao Tieying said as she followed him outside.

"Okay." Zhou Yan answered and pedaled away.

Zhou Yan first bought beef and spare ribs, then headed over to the docks. He saw Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai clearing away bowls and chopsticks. Parking his bicycle in front of the stall, he smiled and said, "Brother Jie, Brother Hai, my soup pot is starting to sell."