Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Early in the morning, Xia Lanyue woke up very early and arrived at the guesthouse lobby to wait for Xia Yao to bring her breakfast.

But he didn't come today.

Xia Lanyue sat in the corner and waited until Xia Yao's shift ended, confirming that he wouldn't be coming today.

She couldn't help but wonder, what's wrong with Xia Yao today? Is he too busy or has something happened? Thinking that she hadn't seen Xia Yao for several days, Xia Lanyue decided to go visit him later.

Xia Lanyue first went to Wang Xiang's shop and received some of her share from Wang Xiang.

Then, carrying some food, they went to the residence of the village head, Zhao.

However, she made a wasted trip; Xia Yao wasn't there.

But when the village guard revealed where he had gone, she became furious. She had been so worried, and he had actually accompanied Miss Zhen to visit a friend.

What puzzled her even more was why Xia Yao was accompanying Zhen when she visited her friend.

"I don't know," Cunbao said, looking at Xia Lanyue with a troubled expression.

Xia Lanyue suddenly felt a suffocating sense of frustration. "When will Xia Yao be back?"

“I have even less to say about that,” said the village official.

Xia Lanyue felt that if she continued to ask, she would lose face, so she didn't press the matter further.

She left the official residence, walking in a daze, and unknowingly arrived at Xia Yao's house in the East Alley.

When Xia Lanyue reached the tree at the alley entrance, she was stunned for a moment. She hadn't expected to be here, but since she was already here and had things in her hands, she decided to go and say hello to Xia Huifang.

But when she passed by her neighbor's house, she heard the neighbor talking about Xia Yao and her, and that's when she stopped.

A village woman said, "Hey, did you see that woman who just walked by? Xia Yao's fiancée."

Another woman chimed in, "Oh, it's her. What happened between them? I heard they had a fight."

"This girl was kidnapped and stayed outside for two days. After she came back, Xia Yao kicked her out. I guess something happened outside."

"Did they annul the engagement?"

"I haven't heard about it, but Xia Yao has been getting very close to Zhao Lizhang's niece lately. He even brought her to our house once. I wonder if he has other ideas."

"Sigh, men, they always have someone better, they always have their eyes on her. I heard that the woman they're not betrothed to isn't even from around here, she's all alone and they're bullying her. By the way, what's going on with Xia Yao's mother?"

Did the Zhen family come by? Did they stay overnight or...?

Xia Lanyue suddenly felt like a joke.

"His mother? I don't know. She went back to the village and doesn't seem to know anything about Xia Yao and this Zhen woman."

……

Xia Lanyue couldn't listen to what was going to happen next.

She calmed herself down and, with a skeptical attitude, pushed open the door to Xia Yao's house.

The yard was quiet; it didn't look like anyone was home.

Xia Lanyue couldn't help but walk to the front of the main house and gently knock on the door. There was no response. Then she pushed the door open and went inside. Sure enough, no one was there.

Xia Huifang really went back!

Xia Yao didn't tell her to come back?!

Yet he still brought Lady Zhen as a guest?!

Xia Lanyue sneered. Is he really just a guest?!

With mixed feelings, she left the main house, left the door slightly ajar, and walked out of the Xia family's courtyard.

Back at Yunji Inn, Xia Lanyue sat by the window, lost in thought.

She felt increasingly unable to understand Xia Yao's feelings. Recalling the events of the past few days, she couldn't even sense what kind of existence she held in Xia Yao's heart.

Do you like it?

She wasn't sure anymore.

Thinking back on the details of their interactions, Xia Lanyue realized that Xia Yao had never mentioned what he liked about her.

The more she thought about it, the more panicked she became. These emotions piled up in Xia Lanyue's mind, tormenting her and making her constantly doubt this relationship. Gradually, she became pessimistic.

Perhaps, his choice of her was merely a matter of protecting her reputation after a series of coincidences, or a sense of belonging stemming from their shared origins? But none of those were love.

Xia Lanyue shook her head; she dared not think any further.

She feared that even the last reason to keep them going would be gone.

Xia Lanyue looked into the distance, trying to calm herself down.

Just then, she looked out the window and saw a familiar figure appear on the street in the distance.

It was Xia Yao, walking towards her, accompanied by a young woman.

She had never seen this girl before. She had an oval face, round eyes, and thin lips. From a distance, her face was very lively and delicate.

This must be the Zhen family.

They walked side by side without any intimate gestures, but Xia Lanyue could see a shy look on the girl's face.

Xia Lanyue unconsciously stood up and looked at them, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart.

Xia Yao and Zhen Shi walked along chatting and laughing, without glancing up at Xia Lanyue.

But Xia Yao stopped when he reached the bottom of the inn.

Xia Yao turned to Madam Zhen and said, "Miss Zhen, I have something to attend to, please excuse me. Don't tell Chief Zhao later."

Madam Zhen covered her mouth and laughed, "Don't worry, I won't tell. After you finish your business, go back early."

Xia Yao watched Zhen leave, then turned and walked into Yunji Inn.

Xia Lanyue stood by the window and overheard their conversation. Sure enough, the girl was Zhen Shi.

At this moment, Xia Lanyue had many questions she wanted to ask Xia Yao.

Soon, someone knocked on Xia Lanyue's door.

Xia Lanyue knew it was Xia Yao who had arrived, and suppressed her emotions as she said, "Come in."

Xia Yao pushed the door open and entered, then casually closed it behind him.

"Ah Yue, the weather is so nice today, didn't you go out for a walk?" Xia Yao saw Xia Lanyue's gloomy face, but pretended not to notice.

"I'm going," Xia Lanyue said with a fake smile.

"Oh, where did you go?" Xia Yao walked to the couch opposite Xia Lanyue and sat down.

"Let's go to your house," Xia Lanyue said directly.

Xia Yao was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and asked, "Did you miss me?"

Xia Lanyue sneered, "You miss Xia Huifang, don't you? I haven't seen her for the past few days, shouldn't I check on her?"

"Oh dear, look at me, I've been so busy these past few days that I forgot to tell you, she went back to the village. A-Niu is getting married in a few days, and the family needs to prepare some things, so she went to help," Xia Yao poured two glasses of water, placing one in front of Xia Lanyue. "A-Yue, are you free? A-Niu wants some rice cakes for his wedding and is asking for your opinion."

Xia Lanyue took a deep breath. "Okay, I promised A Niu, I will definitely be ready."

“I knew A-Yue was the best,” Xia Yao said with a smile.

"Don't you... have anything else to say?" Xia Lanyue couldn't help but ask.

“Yes, I’ve been quite busy lately, so I might not be able to take care of you,” Xia Yao continued. “The higher-ups think that Village Chief Zhao is not capable enough and has no achievements, so they’re putting pressure on him. Now, Village Chief Zhao is putting pressure on me again, asking me to come up with a solution,” Xia Yao said, frowning.

Hearing this, Xia Lanyue was disappointed; this was clearly not what she wanted to hear. And the "busy" Xia Yao mentioned probably wasn't about accompanying the girl shopping or visiting relatives. But since he said so, Xia Lanyue could only nod in agreement, "Then thank you for your hard work."

"By the way, Ah Niu is getting married on the first day of next month, which is three days from now. What are you going to prepare? Can we prepare together?" Xia Yao asked.

Xia Lanyue took a deep breath. "It's okay. Since you're busy, just go about your business. I can handle this little thing." She then forced an awkward smile.

Xia Yao seemed to consciously ignore her emotions, neither asking nor showing concern. "That day, I'll pick you up earlier. Remember to dress nicely."

Xia Lanyue nodded, her eyes devoid of light.