Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

Li Xiangqian's heart was still filled with complicated emotions. Even though his wife's smile was still so warm, he couldn't suppress the doubts that were rising in his heart. Every time he closed his eyes, the face of the strange man appeared in his mind. The faint cold breath and deep eyes seemed to warn him of something. The more he recalled the man's eyes, the more he couldn't ignore the deep meaning behind it.

He didn't know what he was doubting, but the sense of oppression in his heart was getting stronger and stronger. Perhaps it was just his oversensitivity. After all, the people in the village lived a dull life, and there was nothing unusual about their lives. However, the series of untimely coincidences, those seemingly unintentional but extremely precise events, seemed to remind him that behind this peaceful day, there was some unknown secret hidden.

He glanced at his wife again. She was concentrating on picking up food, occasionally exchanging gentle glances with him. That look seemed to be an attachment to the past years and tolerance of the trivialities of life. However, Li Xiangqian could not ignore the strange feeling in his heart, a sense of distance. Although his wife was right in front of him, he felt that he seemed to be less and less able to understand her.

"Why are you not talking? Don't you like eating?" The wife suddenly looked up and asked with a smile.

Li Xiangqian was stunned for a moment, then suddenly came to his senses and smiled quickly, "No, it's delicious."

His wife nodded, seemingly unaware of Li Xiangqian's uneasiness. "That's good," she said softly, "I know you've been in a bad mood these days and a little busy at work. Eat something to relax." Her tone was full of gentle comfort, as if everything could be healed by her care.

Li Xiangqian lowered his head and continued to eat, but he began to wonder in his heart. What was he afraid of? Why did this seemingly ordinary daily life make him feel so depressed?

Suddenly, he thought of the little detail that he had not paid attention to before - what his wife said earlier, about the stranger. She had said, "Don't think too much, everyone is the same." The words were simple, but they carried a strong sense of comfort, making him feel that everything was just his own overthinking.

But why couldn't he get rid of that vague feeling of uneasiness? Was every detail guiding him and telling him something?

"Do you feel that something is wrong in the village recently?" The wife's voice suddenly broke the silence. She looked up with a tentative look in her eyes, as if waiting for Li Xiangqian's reply.

Li Xiangqian was stunned, his heartbeat suddenly stopped. How could she know that he was thinking about these things? He subconsciously lowered his head to avoid making his eyes too heavy. "Nothing, just a little tired, thinking too much." He forced a smile, his tone still calm, although his heart had begun to waver.

The wife did not delve into the matter further. Instead, she smiled lightly and lowered her head to pick up the food again. “That’s just how you are. You keep everything in your heart and don’t like to say it out loud.” Her voice was still soft, but with a hint of worry.

Li Xiangqian looked at her quietly, and the complex emotions in his heart became increasingly difficult to suppress. He knew that his wife had always been like this, trying to make him relax and reassure him. However, he could not forget the look in that man's eyes and his wife's casual avoidance when she mentioned the strange things in the village.

Is all this just a coincidence, or is there something else going on?

He suddenly felt as if he were in a dream, and the scene before his eyes became blurry, as if time had stood still for a moment. His wife's smile was still clear, and the dishes on the plate were still steaming, but his heart seemed to be pulled into another world.

He looked at the food in front of him and suddenly realized that he was not doubting his wife, or the whole village, but himself. He wondered if he had fallen into some kind of panic that he couldn't extricate himself from, whether he could return to that simple life, and whether he could still spend every day like before, without thinking about anything.

"Is there something on your mind?" The wife suddenly spoke up, with a hint of concern in her eyes, "You look a little distracted now."

Li Xiangqian raised his head and saw the deep concern in his wife's eyes. He was stunned for a moment and suddenly felt guilty. She was so gentle and always tried to make him relax, but he was always troubled by these inexplicable fears. "It's okay, I'm just a little tired." He said softly, lowered his head and took another bite of food, "It's really nothing."

The wife seemed relieved and smiled, "That's good, eat it, don't let yourself go hungry."

Li nodded, but his heart began to grow heavier. He knew that he should not let his imagination run wild. There would always be some unsatisfactory aspects in life, and no one's life would be perfect. But that man, that strange look, and his wife's inadvertent uneasiness kept reminding him that he might have underestimated the complexity of the matter.

He sighed softly and decided not to continue this self-torture. He knew that everything would come out in the end, and he only needed to let time slowly unravel the mystery and he would know the truth.

Li Xiangqian sat at the table, holding the teacup tightly in both hands, his eyes lost in deep thought. The room was still quiet, and the air was slightly chilly, as if even the wind outside was waiting for his decision. He thought of He Yuzhu's incident, and the scene seemed to be still vivid in his mind. The man's deep gaze and the threats he inadvertently revealed still made Li Xiangqian feel palpitations. Coupled with some strange phenomena that have occurred in the village recently, he knew that all this was not simple.

"I want to tell everyone." Li Xiangqian's voice echoed in the house, seeming to carry a resolute force. No one spoke, only the whistling of the wind in the house, and his decision seemed particularly heavy at this moment.

His wife sat quietly beside him, with no blame or questioning in her eyes, only a slight worry. She knew that Li Xiangqian sometimes made puzzling decisions, but this time, he was obviously serious.

"Are you really going to do this?" The wife's voice trembled slightly. Her eyes were full of hesitation and uneasiness. She never liked Li Xiangqian to get involved in too many complicated things, because these things always put him in trouble.

"Yes, I have to tell them. I can't keep this secret any longer." Li Xiangqian raised his head and said firmly. His eyes became empty and deep, as if he saw through everything in front of him.