Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Xia Yao walked towards Xia Lanyue step by step, while Xia Lanyue retreated step by step.

Finally, Xia Yao walked to the table and sat down. As if nothing was wrong, he poured two glasses of water, placed one opposite him and the other for himself, and said to Xia Lanyue, "Drink water," before drinking it himself.

Xia Lanyue stood still, looking at the water and then at Xia Yao, not daring to move.

"I have something to tell you," Xia Yao said.

"Hmm," Xia Lanyue responded, still standing in the same spot.

Xia Yao looked at Xia Lanyue sincerely and said, "I apologize to you for what happened with A-Cheng."

Xia Lanyue was stunned. What did he mean by that?

"I didn't think that through and I scared you. I'm sorry."

Xia Lanyue was somewhat taken aback by the sudden apology. "Why the sudden apology?"

“It wasn’t sudden. I’ve wanted to apologize for a while, but I just couldn’t bring myself to say it,” Xia Yao said, lowering his eyes. “But if I was wrong, I was wrong.”

"Why did you plot against me?" Xia Lanyue couldn't help but ask.

“Acheng likes you, and he knows he's not good enough for you. But if you lose your virginity, things will be different. If he then proposes to you, you might be very grateful to him and agree to marry him. That's how it is.”

"That cunning and despicable man!" Xia Lanyue bit her lip. "And what about you? You just blindly helped him without distinguishing right from wrong?"

Xia Yao lowered his eyes. "I regretted it very much that day. I wanted to go find you, but I ended up meeting you in the reeds. Luckily, you were quick-witted enough to get away, so it didn't cause a major disaster."

Xia Lanyue looked at Xia Yao, pondering whether his words were true or false.

“I know you may not believe me, but this apology is sincere,” Xia Yao said, then stood up. “You should rest well. This room is for you. I’ll go to another room.”

Xia Yao left, closing the door behind him. Xia Lanyue stared at the tea on the table, lost in thought. She couldn't understand if this was genuine remorse or if he had some other intention. But one thing was certain: Xia Yao was indeed different from before, seemingly treating her much better. Why was that?

Early in the morning, Xia Lanyue was fast asleep when she vaguely heard someone knocking on the door.

Xia Lanyue suddenly woke up from her dream and sat up.

Xia Yao was standing at the door. Xia Lanyue heard him say that he needed to go back to teaching early, and then she heard his footsteps coming downstairs.

Xia Lanyue got up and looked out the window; the sky was already slightly bright.

The street was deserted, and she only noticed Xia Yao leaving alone.

In the morning, after leaving Yunji Inn, Xia Lanyue went directly to the residence of Zhao Lizhangguan to visit Dai You.

Just as I arrived at the entrance, I happened to run into Village Chief Zhao, who was out.

Village Chief Zhao looked at Xia Lanyue, his brows furrowed. "You've come at the right time. Talk to your brother and make sure he doesn't starve to death." With that, Village Chief Zhao left.

Hearing this, Xia Lanyue realized that Dai You still refused to eat.

She hurried into the house and saw Dai You sitting in the corner with his eyes closed, as if he were asleep.

Xia Lanyue called out to Dai You softly, but Dai You still ignored her.

Xia Lanyue ran outside and saw the village security guard on duty. Pointing to the cell, she asked anxiously, "Young man, did he eat yesterday?"

Village Guard shook his head. "He did drink the medicine that Doctor Zhang gave him yesterday, but he refused to take any more after that. You've come at the right time. Try to persuade him. He'll only be locked up for a month at most, so there's no need for him to be so pessimistic."

Xia Lanyue then realized that she seemed to have underestimated Dai You's feelings. She looked at the village guard, "But he's ignoring me. Can you let me in? I need to talk to him."

The village guard hesitated for a moment, then sighed, "Alright, but you have to hurry. I won't be able to explain it to the village chief when he gets back."

"Okay, I understand. I promise I won't make things difficult for you," Xia Lanyue said gratefully.

The village guard opened the cell door and went out, closing and locking the door behind him, probably afraid that Dai You would break out and he wouldn't be able to catch him.

Xia Lanyue carried the food box into the cell and squatted down beside Dai You. She gently nudged Dai You, but he didn't react. She knew that Dai You was definitely awake, but just didn't want to pay attention to her.

Xia Lanyue took a bowl of water out of the food box and held it to Dai You's lips, "Drink some water, your lips are cracked."

Dai You ignored him.

Xia Lanyue tried to pour water into his mouth, but Dai You wouldn't open his mouth, so she couldn't feed him at all; the water just dripped down the corners of his mouth.

"Xia Yao and I really aren't..." Xia Lanyue tried to explain, but when she looked back at the door and saw that no one was peeking, she continued, "Xia Yao has a woman he likes, but she's married. He doesn't dare to say it, so he asked me to cover it up. He brought me to see you on that condition. I told him that we'd leave here once you come out."

Dai You remained unmoved.

"Dai You, please, let's eat," Xia Lanyue said, shaking his arm.

Xia Lanyue felt helpless. Thinking of the scene from that day and Dai You's injured expression, she seemed to know that these few words wouldn't persuade Dai You, and she felt even more guilty. However, she couldn't bear to see Dai You continue like this.

So, she made a decision.

Xia Lanyue picked up the bowl in her hand, put her mouth full of saliva, then cupped Dai You's face and pressed her lips to Dai You's lips.

Dai You's lips were as dry as a city wall. She gently pried open Dai You's lips with her tongue and sent the water in her mouth into them.

She felt Dai You's body tremble slightly, but he did not resist and accepted all the water that was offered to him.

Xia Lanyue distanced herself from him and looked at Dai You, who was also staring at her, his eyes overflowing with grievance.

The next moment, he pulled Xia Lanyue into his arms and held her tightly, as if she would run away if he loosened his grip even slightly.

Dai You's arms were still strong, and Xia Lanyue was relieved to know that he was alright. She raised her hand and hugged him as well.

Dai You said in a hoarse voice, "A Yue, I knew you cared about me," followed by soft sobs.

After some time, they heard rustling sounds coming from the doorway, and the two quickly separated. Xia Lanyue took a bowl of water and handed it to Dai You, saying, "Drink this quickly."

Dai You stopped refusing, took the bowl, and drank it all.

At this moment, the door was opened, and the village security guard who had been there earlier peeked into the cell. Seeing that both of them were there and that Dai You was already eating, he closed the door with peace of mind and locked it.

Xia Lanyue breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Dai You, who was looking at her while shoveling rice into his mouth.

"Is it delicious?" Xia Lanyue asked.

Dai You nodded, without even glancing into the bowl.

Xia Lanyue took her sleeve and reached out to wipe Dai You's face clean.

“You should eat here. I’ll try to get you out of here as soon as possible,” Xia Lanyue said.

Upon hearing this, Dai You put down his bowl and shook his head. "No, I don't want you to have any further involvement with Xia Yao. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Just make sure you don't have anything to do with him anymore."

Xia Lanyue shook her head with a guilty expression, "I won't."

Hearing this, Dai You smiled knowingly, but his lips were so dry that they cracked when he smiled, causing him to purse them in pain. He then pulled her into his arms once more.

After Dai You finished eating, Xia Lanyue carried the food box out. She didn't dare linger too long, lest the village security be implicated.

The village guard locked the cell door and escorted Xia Lanyue out to the courtyard.

“Your words still carry weight,” Murakami said.

Xia Lanyue smiled and said goodbye to the village security guard.

On the way, Xia Lanyue's mind was filled with the scene from earlier. Her hand unconsciously touched her lips. The feeling was strange; she was clearly nervous, yet she didn't experience the blushing, heart-pounding sensation of a kiss, but she didn't reject him either. She couldn't quite understand her own heart. Did she really like Dai You?