"It's better than some people who think grapes are sour just because they can't have them. After all, some people live half a life without ever receiving a single flower."
Ye Manman couldn't tolerate anyone being sarcastic towards her. She reassured He Chen to go ahead and make breakfast, and after firing back at Li Hongmei, she slammed the door shut and carefully started looking at the room's arrangement.
Besides the fresh flowers and petals, the room was elegantly decorated everywhere; many places displayed exquisite handmade crafts, and even several handmade bamboo woven bags with different patterns.
It's indeed hard to imagine this is a rural man's room.
Li Hongmei was struck by her precise jab again, almost spitting blood in anger.
In her youth, she watched as her sister was doted on by He Chen's father with all sorts of things that made her extremely envious.
Now she has to watch their son pamper his wife, which she simply can't bear.
Just then, Li Hongmei's husband returned from outside, curious to see He Chen bustling in the kitchen.
"He Chen brought his wife back? Why don't I see her?"
He looked towards Li Hongmei at the center of the room, only to receive a big roll of her eyes.
"His wife is more esteemed than us. They've just married, and He's already making breakfast for her. We, as his aunt and uncle, don't even know if we have that privilege."
As soon as she finished speaking, He Chen brought out breakfast, swiftly carrying it to the room like a gust of wind.
Li Hongmei glanced over—a bowl of thick mixed grain porridge and a plate of small pickles, obviously not for them.
She spat and planned to go out and shout around, "Truly an ungrateful wretch, not recognizing family once he has a wife."
Ye Manman's face immediately scrunched up when she saw the porridge and pickles, but she didn't say anything.
After all, conditions are generally like this in this age, especially in this pretty remote village.
She ate a few bites and asked curiously,
"Why aren't you eating?"
He Chen pressed his lips together, "I've eaten, not hungry."
He had been worried that catching a bride so early might mean Ye Manman wouldn't get breakfast before heading home with him, so the porridge was something he had cooked early in the morning, keeping it warm in the corner of the kitchen with a small stove.
Concerned that his aunt and others might see and eat it first, he purposely blocked it from their view.
"What did you eat in the morning then?"
Ye Manman didn't doubt him; after all, with all the flower picking and room decorating, he must have gotten up very early, probably having eaten by then.
Unexpectedly, He Chen blushed with embarrassment at her question.
"Ate some wild fruits from the mountain."
Thinking that, since he had caught a wild boar recently, people occasionally went up the mountain hoping for luck, the wild fruits must have been mostly raided.
Ye Manman was displeased again.
"You ate fruit alone and didn't give me any, just letting me eat this?"
She pushed aside the porridge she barely ate, wrinkling her nose in anger.
"I won't eat it. You finish it and take me up the mountain to eat fruit."
He Chen didn't expect this reaction from her, recalling how upset she was last time when she lost two wild peaches; she probably thought all the mountain fruits were as delicious as peaches.
But that's not the case; actually, most wild fruits are unpalatable, and those tasty ones have been raided long ago.
He didn't want Ye Manman to go hungry eating those, hesitating to take her bowl and unsure how to convince her.
"You should finish the porridge first; I'll take you after you eat."
Ye Manman snorted, her eyes intently fixed on him, speaking in a voice of grievance.
"You must dislike the bowls and chopsticks I've used, thinking because I've eaten from them, you won't touch it?"
Her expression and tone were filled with such grievance that her eyes even shimmered with tears, which made He Chen feel like half of his heart was melting and the other half was clenching hard.
He could only deny it urgently, but Ye Manman, still angry, walked away to sit back on the bed, pulling down all the flowers on the mosquito net.
"Men really are adept at lying; do you just not like me at all, disdain me, not even want to marry me?"
Her sugary voice carried a faint sobbing tone, scaring He Chen into a frenzy. He hurriedly gobbled down the bowl of mixed grain porridge, swallowed it whole, and rushed next to her nervously saying.
"No, it's not like that, I want to marry you, I don't disdain you, look, I've finished it."
He showed her the empty bowl, eager to prove it.
Ye Manman didn't react, still lowering her head, "Then you just don't like me anymore, marrying me only because your aunt suggested it."
He Chen became more anxious upon hearing this.
He put down the bowl, bending his legs to squat in front of her, looking very much like a big dog seeking forgiveness for a mistake.
"No, no, it's not that, it's my fault, my inability to convey; the wild fruits on the mountain don't taste good, I feared you'd go hungry, so I said it like that, I… I like you, I sincerely want to marry you!"
He stammered out the sentence for quite a while, his face flushing red before he forcefully uttered the final words, looking like blood was about to drip from his face.
He was tremendously anxious, terrified Ye Manman might think he didn't like her.
He wouldn't dare speak what's truly in his heart; faced with the person whom he's cherished deeply for many years, he found every word tangled in his gut, afraid to vocalize it, fearing it would scare her.
The air suddenly quieted down, He Chen squatting with his hands resting on his legs, afraid to move.
Suddenly, Ye Manman laughed out loud, her soft, clear voice echoed throughout the entire room.
"He Chen."
She lifted her head, not a single tear on her face, her eyes instead smiling into crescent shapes, cheeks fair and incredibly cute.
"So, will you take me up the mountain? You promised to pick peaches for me last time and send them to my house, and you didn't, continually leaving me waiting."
He Chen didn't react for a moment, realizing that with him squatting in front of her, the proximity between them was very close. Looking up suddenly, he caught sight of her moist lips, causing fireworks to explode within his mind.
He hurriedly got up, feeling somewhat overheated; instinctively, he unbuttoned two buttons on his shirt.
"Sorry… sorry, I wasn't intentionally not sending them, it's because the next morning, I learned about our engagement, and heard you shouldn't meet before marriage, so I didn't dare to go."
Originally, he intended to send the extra meat along with the peaches to their house, but none of it got delivered.
However, he preserved all the pork into cured meat, apart from his aunt's share, with plans to make the rest for her to eat.
As for the peaches…
"Now, shall I take you to eat some? I'm the only one who knows that spot, the peaches are all very big."
"Really?"
Ye Manman's eyes lit up, she quickly stood up, "Then let's go now!"
He Chen seeing she didn't pursue it further, breathed a sigh of relief, quickly nodding, then swiftly cleaned up the dishes and took her up the mountain.
The mountain path wasn't easy to traverse; last time, the path leading to the peach tree had been trampled flat by people, making it less challenging. This time, as they went up the mountain, Ye Manman stopped abruptly after just a few steps.
"He Chen."
Hearing his name tenderly called out by her like this made He Chen feel overheated again; he couldn't help but unbutton two more buttons, practically leaving the shirt unbuttoned.
Ye Manman pointed at the troubling weeds and dry branches beside her, unsatisfied, saying,
"I don't want to take this path, see how the dry branches are scratching my skin, it hurts."
Hearing her say this, He Chen promptly moved forward to check, seeing indeed shallow red marks on her legs, he became flustered.
"Does it hurt badly? Should we head back then? Your legs are injured."
Ye Manman admitted it hurt a little, but she was more eager to eat those large peaches.
"No, I want to eat peaches now."
She pouted, looking like she was about to cry.
"He Chen, I want them now~"