The Missing Husband Returned (06)

Xue Ci could faintly hear the man's voice, but the door muffled it.

So when he heard the words "how many times," his first thought was that he'd misheard.

Zhao Ying's character was even more honest and simple than his own, and he only grew as a person after going into business later on.

After they married, he had never taken the initiative to suggest being intimate.

So...

He wouldn't say anything so strange.

Insects and mosquitoes flitted about, and the toilet water Xue Ci had sprayed before bed had long since worn off. He curled his toes, his whole body rosy pink. "I didn't hear you."

Actually, only after asking did Lu Xiunan suddenly realize it-why was he asking such a question? What did it have to do with him?

He wanted to say, "Never mind," but when he opened his mouth, his throat felt blocked. His heart felt as if a feather had brushed against it, and his body burned. Whatever he did felt like scratching an itch through a boot.

Unless he could find out the answer to his question.

He couldn't understand what was wrong with him either, and before he came to his senses, he had asked again.

"I mean, that thing between husband and wife. How many times a day did we do it before?"

With Song Xueci looking the way he did, his husband must have done it every day.

The person outside remained silent. Anxious to get an answer, Lu Xiunan pulled on his clothes and pushed the door open.

The moonlight was like water, casting a gauzy veil over Song Xueci as he stood outside the door. His profile was serene and innocent as he looked up and gazed into the distance.

A lotus emerging from clear water.

That was the description that came to Lu Xiunan's mind.

When Song Xueci came back to himself and looked his way again, he immediately averted his eyes.

Oblivious, Xue Ci asked, "What did you just say? There was a noise over there, so I didn't hear you."

A bird had been flapping about in a tree nearby, making so much noise that it caught his attention, and he hadn't heard what Zhao Ying said.

Face-to-face with him, Lu Xiunan couldn't bring himself to say it. Expressionless, he said, "Never mind."

Xue Ci noticed that Zhao Ying's hair and body were damp. He must have taken a cold shower.

There were lots of mosquitoes outside, and he had already forgotten slapping Zhao Ying. Wrinkling his nose, he urged, "Hurry back inside and go to bed."

The night breeze made Xue Ci's voice sound soft and gentle, with a slight nasal quality.

Without a doubt, Lu Xiunan once again thought he was acting coquettishly.

He said, "Oh," and followed him inside, closing the door and switching off the light behind them.

Song Xueci was thrifty and ran the household carefully, and he had told him to do just that yesterday.

He was living under someone else's roof, so he had no choice but to obey.

Once they were both in the bedroom, Lu Xiunan was about to turn off the light when he saw Song Xueci sitting on the bed, holding a bottle of toilet water. "Husband, could you help me put some on?"

He had called him husband, so how could he refuse?

Lu Xiunan walked over and took the bottle. The smell of the toilet water was so strong that it covered up Song Xueci's scent.

Xue Ci had several bites on his back and lower waist. They itched so badly that he reached back to scratch them.

His skin was fair and delicate, and a few casual scratches left red marks.

They were shocking to see.

Lu Xiunan frowned and caught his wrist. "Don't scratch."

Xue Ci turned back, his voice pitiful. "It itches..."

That one word made Lu Xiunan's eyelids twitch. He pressed his lips tight and held his breath, his voice low and husky. "I'll put the toilet water on for you. You'll scratch your skin raw."

Xue Ci's face fell. "What should I do, then?"

Lu Xiunan said, "I'll press them with my fingers."

Naturally, Lu Xiunan had never done manual labor, but he had been a motorcycle enthusiast for years, and his hands had long since developed a thin layer of calluses.

Song Xueci looked slender, but he wasn't gaunt.

On the contrary, he had flesh everywhere he should.

When a finger pressed down lightly, soft flesh bulged around it.

The man breathed more shallowly, and his movements grew slow and deliberate. Rather than pressing, he was rubbing back and forth.

Song Xueci seemed to be ticklish. A few rubs of his fingers made his shoulders tremble uncontrollably, and all his skin turned pink.

Lu Xiunan stared, entranced, until a soft, watery voice rang out-

"It's a little uncomfortable... could you be gentler?"

What was this?

Did he speak like that when he did that sort of thing with his husband too?

At a time like that, the more polite he was, the more erotic it would be.

The little widower had a delicate frame and supple limbs. When he arched his back slightly, his lovely shoulder blades showed.

Lu Xiunan's breathing grew ragged, and half his body felt as if it had been struck by electricity.

His gaze flickered. After applying the toilet water, he turned off the light and lay down to rest without a word.

The itching had completely stopped, and Xue Ci drifted peacefully into sleep.

He had no idea that the man beside him barely slept all night.

When Xue Ci woke the next day, the bedroom was empty. He went looking for the man in alarm, but fortunately, he hadn't gone out. He was washing up in the cramped little kitchen.

"Awake?"

Over the past few days, Lu Xiunan had gradually grown used to the conditions in the village. Now, even cooped up in this crude, crowded house, he no longer complained.

He looked at Song Xueci, who didn't seem fully awake yet. A few strands of his soft black hair stuck up, and sleep marks still creased his face, making him look dazed.

Yet somehow, he was also captivating.

Lu Xiunan had the urge to take a bite out of his cheek.

He knew what would happen. Song Xueci's skin was so delicate, and he was afraid of pain. If he used a little force, the other man would tremble and cry out, but he was too inarticulate to know how to retort. All he would do was stare at him with wide eyes, looking aggrieved.

Song Xueci called that being angry.

Lu Xiunan quickly shook himself out of it. He was only a fake husband. Whenever the other man came to his senses, he could leave too.

In any case, he had kept his distance from beginning to end and hadn't taken advantage of him.

Song Xueci, on the other hand, had already seen his body.

"Mm..."

Xue Ci was oblivious to the man's thoughts.

He brushed his teeth slowly, thinking about what to eat today.

The body had muscle memory. Zhao Ying should know how to cook, right?

After washing up, Xue Ci called the man out of the bedroom. "Are you hungry?"

By now, Lu Xiunan had figured out Song Xueci's way of speaking. He asked in return, "Are you hungry?"

Xue Ci tilted up his little face and nodded.

The way he depended on him completely made Lu Xiunan cough. "Then I'll go out and buy something."

The car Fu Yun had arranged for him was still parked nearby. A trip to town shouldn't be much trouble.

But Xue Ci had no intention of letting him go out. "There are vegetables and noodles in the fridge."

Lu Xiunan's expression froze. "You want me to cook?"

Xue Ci said, "You always did the cooking before..."

Washing his underwear was one thing, but now he had to cook for him too.

He'd just consider it a debt he owed Song Xueci.

Lu Xiunan gave up resisting and took a bundle of greens and a tub of thin white dried noodles from the fridge.

This was what Song Xueci's husband fed him?

He sneered inwardly, but it took him ages to cook the noodles. He complained that the water from the tap ran too slowly, that the fire took too long to get going, and that insects had chewed the leaves, never once thinking he might be the problem.

By the time he had cooked two bowls of noodles, Lu Xiunan had managed to scald two fingers.

He carried the noodles over to Song Xueci with a stony expression, only for the other man to turn his nose up at them.

Although he didn't say anything, he ate very little of his bowl and frowned deeply while he ate.

Lu Xiunan didn't know what he was doing or what he had been expecting. His eyelids twitched with anger, and even more irritatingly, he still had to clean up the kitchen.

If he didn't clean up, was he supposed to wait for Song Xueci to do it?

His fingers were so slender that it would be even more troublesome if he cut himself.

The man radiated coldness as he silently gathered the bowls and chopsticks and went into the kitchen.

No one had cooked in the kitchen for a long time, and dust was everywhere. Lu Xiunan was a bit of a clean freak, and his frown eased slightly after he finished cleaning everything.

But when he came out, Xue Ci was nowhere to be found in the house.

He was like a cat, vanishing without a trace as soon as he hid.

Lu Xiunan searched everywhere he could think of before realizing that Xue Ci must have gone out.

Where could he have gone?

The image of the tall man who had walked beside Song Xueci a few days ago appeared in his mind.

Had he run off to that man's house to mooch a meal?

His scalded fingers throbbed, and Lu Xiunan felt as if his heart couldn't take the anger.

He had washed his underwear and cooked for him, yet he still had to go looking for another man!

Meanwhile, Xue Ci took several larger-denomination bills from his money jar and slipped quietly out of the house while Lu Xiunan was in the kitchen.

[Can amnesia make someone lose their cooking skills too?]

He asked Eleven in confusion. After all, it was the first time he had eaten noodles that bad since getting married.

Eleven: [It's possible. Think about it, host. Some people get hit on the head and become stupid, then pick up random things off the road to eat. He may have lost his sense of taste.]

"..."

Xue Ci quickened his pace.

A Hui set up his meat stall early, so he should have returned by now. After Xue Ci knocked, he soon heard heavy footsteps inside.

When the door opened, Xue Ci was startled by the sight before him.

A Hui looked as though he had just finished slaughtering an animal. He was bare-chested, and blood still clung to his solid muscles.

Startled, Xue Ci took a small step back.

A Hui immediately found a towel and wiped it off, then put some distance between himself and Xue Ci. He looked at him awkwardly, afraid that his appearance would scare him away.

Xue Ci wasn't exactly afraid; the smell of blood coming from him simply made him uncomfortable.

Clutching the bills, he considered his wording. "Have you had time to cook lately?"

The tall butcher nodded silently. He was like some kind of beast: fierce-looking, but actually very obedient.

"Could you make two extra portions?" Xue Ci held out the money and reminded him, "You forgot to take the two yuan last time. Remember to deduct that first."

A Hui nodded again but didn't take the money.

Xue Ci went inside and put the money on the table.

Someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see A Hui holding a bamboo basket filled with peaches. They looked freshly picked from the tree.

Xue Ci's stomach growled uncontrollably.

His face flushed with embarrassment, and he gave A Hui a sheepish smile.

"I didn't eat breakfast..."

A Hui felt as though it had been a long time since he'd seen Xue Ci. To spend a little more time with him, he first washed and cut the peaches and brought them to him, then went to make breakfast.

The man worked deftly, and a bowl of wonton noodles was ready in minutes.

His kitchen was outside the main room. Just as he carried out the bowl, he caught sight of a figure from the corner of his eye.

It was Xue Ci's husband, Zhao Ying.

There was no trace of guilt on A Hui's face. He didn't understand marriage or monogamy; he simply did as Xue Ci said-

If Xue Ci didn't want him to, he would stay home and wait.

A Hui continued carrying the noodles inside.

Lu Xiunan had come looking for Xue Ci. A Hui's earlier manner had made him think he had the wrong place, but when he glanced inside, wasn't the person sitting there eating peaches his wife, Song Xueci?!

Sweet juice stained his lips, and he licked them with the tip of his tongue, leaving them glossy.

Lu Xiunan shot A Hui a cold look. Sure enough, the man was staring fixedly at Xue Ci's face like a lecher.

He really had some nerve. Didn't he know Song Xueci already had a husband?

The peach was so juicy that it had gotten all over Xue Ci's hands. He took the tissue A Hui offered and wiped his fingers, only to hear a cold voice from the doorway-

"What are you doing?"

Xue Ci froze and looked toward the door.

Zhao Ying... why was he here?

His first thought was that A Hui had seen the protagonist.

Alarmed, Xue Ci immediately got out of his chair and ran over to Zhao Ying. "Didn't I tell you to stay home? Why did you come out by yourself?"

Lu Xiunan's lips curled faintly, and his tone was sarcastic. "You really don't seem to want anyone else to see me."

At home, he was perfectly willing to call him husband and loved acting coquettishly, yet in front of an outsider, he looked panicked.

It was as if he couldn't bear to be seen with his husband.

Xue Ci didn't hear the undisguised jealousy in the man's tone. He only thought the other man had seen through him, and guiltily bit his lip.

Quite a few villagers would come to A Hui's to buy meat that morning. If the protagonist stayed any longer, more people would see him.

Xue Ci urgently grabbed Zhao Ying's arm. "Let's go home."

The word "we" softened Lu Xiunan's expression a little, and the warm, soft touch on his arm made him suppress his anger and say, "Oh."

Then he saw A Hui pick up a basket and a lunch box, apparently intending to go back with them.

Lu Xiunan bent down close to Xue Ci. "What did you come here for?"

Xue Ci told him the truth. "I asked if he could help make two extra portions of food from now on."

Lu Xiunan said, "Didn't I already cook?"

Xue Ci looked troubled. He spared him the embarrassment of saying why, but Lu Xiunan could tell.

"What about the peaches in that basket? Did you buy those too?"

Xue Ci looked back and only then noticed the fruit basket A Hui was carrying.

"A Hui gave me those."

Xue Ci was used to gifts from men, but Lu Xiunan, standing opposite him, couldn't accept it.

He wanted to say something else, but suddenly remembered-he wasn't Song Xueci's husband. Why was he worrying about it?

Whether other men coveted Song Xueci or pursued him, it had nothing to do with him.

A Hui carried the fruit basket all the way to the house himself. Lu Xiunan shut himself in the bedroom, where he wouldn't have to see it.

Perhaps it was because he'd burned those two fingers, but he actually felt a little aggrieved.

Song Xueci still hadn't spoken to him of his own accord or come to check on his hand.

What was this?

But perhaps he had gone to buy food because he was afraid Lu Xiunan would burn himself in the kitchen.

Song Xueci still cared about him as a husband.

In less than a few seconds, Lu Xiunan had soothed himself. Feeling better, he washed the clothes Xue Ci had changed out of.

It was almost like a habit.

After washing the clothes, he saw Xue Ci sitting in the main room, carefully counting the small-denomination bills in his piggy bank. "Didn't I give you money?"

"Mm..."

Xue Ci gave a perfunctory answer.

He was worried about money. The protagonist couldn't go out to earn any for the time being, and Xue Ci didn't dare use that huge sum of unknown origin.

Fortunately, someone called for him at the door that evening.

Xue Ci immediately pushed Lu Xiunan, who had been following behind him, back into the bedroom and shut the door.

Lu Xiunan almost hit his nose.

Voices drifted in from outside from time to time, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He could only sit in the chair, his face sullen.

They made it look as if he'd come here for an affair, and the thing was, he'd never even touched Song Xueci.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Lu Xiunan inexplicably felt his back grow hot, and his breathing turned heavy.

It was only natural for a little wife to ask his husband for it.

But though the two of them slept in the same bed, they'd never even touched each other. At most, Song Xueci would accidentally brush his leg against him while turning over.

Then he would quickly move away, as if he'd been burned.

It kept him awake in the middle of the night.

The conversation outside finally ended. Lu Xiunan came out of the bedroom and found a large box in the house.

Xue Ci was huddled in front of the cardboard box. He was so small that Lu Xiunan could pick him up with one hand.

The box was full of assorted things. Lu Xiunan frowned. "What are all these? Who came to see you just now, a man or a woman? How old were they? What did they want? Are you going out with them later?"

"..."

Xue Ci was dumbfounded. He said after a moment, "Slow down..."

Lu Xiunan stared into his round eyes, coughed, and pointed at the box. "What are all these?"

"Handicraft work. An older sister in the village who makes clothing and jewelry gave it to me."

The woman was a supporting female character in this rural novel, named Ruan Siyu. After her fiancé broke off their engagement, she had gone into business and gradually expanded it. She had already achieved some initial success. She couldn't finish all her orders alone, so she gave some to him and paid him by the piece.

"What's that?"

Xue Ci followed the direction Zhao Ying was pointing and looked into the corner of the cardboard box. "That's a cat-ear headband. The lace ribbons still need to be glued on."

Accessories were very popular in this era: pearls, rhinestones, lace, velvet... there were all kinds.

Lu Xiunan gave the cat ears a complicated look, then glanced at Xue Ci's face.

Xue Ci was still counting the little accessory parts when he heard a very clear gulp.

He tilted his face up. "Are you hungry?"

Lu Xiunan: "..."

A barely perceptible embarrassment was hidden in the man's expression.

He looked down and found that something was swelling out of control again.

"I'm all right." His voice was low and husky as he crouched down without betraying anything. "How long will these take?"

Xue Ci was slow and meticulous with handicrafts and could only earn a little spare change. "Probably three or four days."

Lu Xiunan stared at his slender, pale fingers.

At a glance, they weren't hands meant for labor. They were better suited to playing the piano.

He suddenly thought that when he left, Song Xueci would probably miss him terribly without a husband. Perhaps he could take him to the city to learn the piano, as repayment for saving his life.

He could provide material support, but he couldn't give him anything else.

Meanwhile, Xue Ci was worrying about something else.

Besides bringing him a box of accessories, Ruan Siyu had also told him something: his family's cornfield needed weeding, or the corn seedlings wouldn't get enough nutrients.

Xue Ci had never worked in the fields. Aunt Song Liu's son had just had a baby, so she had gone to the county town to help care for the child, and Zhao Ying couldn't go out either.

He wasn't familiar with anyone else in the village.

After thinking it over, the only person he could ask for help was A Hui.

Xue Ci got up, intending to go to A Hui's house and bring back two meals while he was at it.

He put on his coat and a straw hat.

It was the first time Lu Xiunan had seen Song Xueci wear a hat.

The brim almost hid his fresh, delicate little face, leaving only a pointed, snow-white chin visible.

Seeing that he was about to leave, he immediately asked, "What are you going out for?"

After explaining the whole situation, Xue Ci reminded him, "Be good and stay home. I'll bring you something to eat when I come back."

Was he treating him like a dog?

Lu Xiunan raised his eyelids. "So you're going to see another man again?"

"..." Xue Ci corrected his strange wording. "I'm going to ask him for help. I don't know anyone else who can farm."

Lu Xiunan's brows drew tightly together. After a moment's silence, he gritted his teeth. "I'll go."

Xue Ci froze, then refused. "No, you need to stay home and recover."

"My wound healed ages ago, apart from those two fingers I burned cooking today." Lu Xiunan mentioned it as though in passing.

Sure enough, Xue Ci came over.

"They do look a little red."

The concern in his voice made Lu Xiunan's heart feel light.

He was crazy.

He had to be crazy to want Song Xueci's attention, and even to go help him weed that worthless cornfield.

Since Zhao Ying had said he would go to the field, Xue Ci didn't go looking for A Hui. At noon, A Hui delivered lunch on time.

Zhao Ying had become much pickier about food and barely ate a few bites.

The two of them took an afternoon nap at home. Once it was dark and no one was on the road, Xue Ci took him to the cornfield.

The moon was bright, illuminating the field clearly.

The corn had been planted a month ago and had already grown almost waist-high.

Xue Ci had brought two weeding shovels, one for each of them, but Zhao Ying took both. "Don't weed. Just go home."

"Mm?" Xue Ci asked in confusion. "What's wrong?"

On top of doing handicrafts, he actually had to work in the fields. The shovels were so sharp that a casual scrape could draw blood, and the field was full of mosquitoes and bugs.

Lu Xiunan frowned deeply. "You're slow. You'll get in the way of my work."

"..."

Xue Ci slowly said, "Oh," and immediately felt no burden. "Then I'll go home."

Lu Xiunan looked behind him. There wasn't a single streetlight on the country path, and tall cornfields rose on both sides.

"I'll walk you back."

"I know the way."

Xue Ci had just finished speaking when Zhao Ying suddenly took a long stride toward him.

The distance between them abruptly closed. Startled, the young man instinctively stepped back, only for the man to wrap an arm tightly around his waist.

"Are you really stupid, or are you pretending?"

...W-what?

Xue Ci stared blankly.

Soon, he felt the hand around his waist tighten.

"If someone suddenly came along the road and held you down like this, could you get away?"

The man's hot breath fell against the top of Xue Ci's head. His shoulders trembled. "I could call for help."

"Call who?" Lu Xiunan bent down, bringing his face close to Xue Ci's. "There's no one here, just cornfields everywhere. If you called out, he'd cover your mouth and drag you in."

"He could hold you on his lap, and no matter how loudly you screamed, no one would hear."

"Or he could gag you and do it right there."

Xue Ci trembled all over at his words. His eyelashes quivered violently, and his voice shook just as badly. "N-no, that wouldn't happen..."

"Why wouldn't it?" Lu Xiunan's voice was low and husky. He stared at Xue Ci's lips, plump and moist, as if a bite would make them drip.

"You smell so damn good, and your eyes are so big."

"Looking the way you do, you make people want to kiss you."

Xue Ci lifted his face, wanting to ask him to stop, but when he looked up, the man's face was right in front of his.

His eyes were frighteningly dark, as if he meant to swallow him whole.

Xue Ci's lips were noticeably swollen, and his whole face was damp and red. His chin was wet.

There were signs that the center of his lower lip had been sucked.

"Mm... my mouth is so sore."

When Zhao Ying got home and pushed open the door, the little wife he had been longing for was in someone else's arms, kissed until he was thoroughly flushed.

His little wife saw him too, his features more alluring than Zhao Ying had ever seen them.

Every time his lips parted, a rich, warm, moist fragrance escaped.

"Husband... save me..."

Zhao Ying's heart jolted, and his temples throbbed.

He was about to step forward, only to find that he couldn't move at all.

Another man was forcing kisses on his little wife, but he couldn't do anything. He could only watch.

"Boo-hoo..."

Xue Ci let out a soft cry and wept quietly. His damp eyes soon lost focus.

No!

Xue Ci is my wife!

Zhao Ying clenched his fists hard, his blood rushing backward through his body. With a fierce look, he lunged forward, and just as he reached for the strange man's collar, a flash of white light appeared before his eyes-

"Doctor, doctor! He's awake!"

Hearing the commotion, a man in a white coat, with graying hair and glasses, rushed in and looked at the dark-skinned man sitting on the bed, an oxygen tube in place, breathing heavily.

"He hadn't woken up for so long, I thought he never would!" The doctor sounded excited. "It's nothing short of another medical miracle!"

Author's note:

If he hadn't woken up soon, his wife would have been gone.

And there are lots of mosquitoes and bugs in the fields in the countryside at night. This is an imaginary setting, an imaginary setting-the bugs have disappeared~