Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Xia Lanyue stood in the courtyard until someone returned.

More than being tired and exhausted, she was afraid of the dark.

There were no lights on in the room, not because she didn't want to, but because she didn't know how.

Finally, someone returned. Xia Lanyue stepped forward to take the bucket from Tian Guang's hand, but Tian Guang stopped her, saying, "Standing in the yard in the wind, go back inside. You don't need to do this work."

At this moment, Dai You also returned, carrying water, walking shakily and cautiously.

Tian Guang turned around and saw Dai You, saying in a slightly reproachful tone, "This child didn't rest yesterday, why is he still working so hard today?"

"I'm not tired, Uncle Tian."

Tian Guang and Dai You poured water into the vat together, then urged Dai You to go to the main house to rest. "Tonight you'll share a room with me, and your aunt and Miss Yue will share a room. Go and rest now."

"No, Uncle Tian, ​​I'll sleep here."

"This is the kitchen!"

"This woodpile is enough. I'm tough and don't care much about such things."

"No, this is no place to sleep."

……

Xia Lanyue had something she wanted to ask Dai You, but the two of them kept talking and talking. She was still very weak and couldn't wait for them to give her an answer, so she went back to her room to sleep.

Late at night, Xia Lanyue was half asleep when she seemed to hear the door creak. A gust of cold wind blew past, waking her up and a sense of unease rose in her heart. Something was wrong! It seemed like someone had come in!

She opened her eyes abruptly, and what came into view was a dark figure standing by the window.

Xia Lanyue's nerves tensed instantly. She wanted to scream, but due to immense fear, her voice was stuck in her throat and she couldn't let it out. Her body was also stiff and unable to move.

Is this person here to rob us? Or is he Dai Xiyue's enemy? Or...? Xia Lanyue's mind raced as she analyzed all the possible scenarios.

"Take your medicine, young lady," a familiar voice drifted over gently.

Drink... medicine?! That voice... it's Dai You!?

Xia Lanyue wasn't sure until the person repeated, "Take your medicine, Miss."

It's really him!

Xia Lanyue finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling her body calm down. But immediately, anger surged up again. Is this how you deliver medicine? At that moment, Xia Lanyue just wanted to curse!

She sat up abruptly, glaring at Dai You, but in the darkness, Dai You had no idea what was happening.

Dai You blew on the tinderbox in his hand, and the dim light illuminated the scene inside the room. When he saw Xia Lanyue glaring at him, he was stunned for a moment. Then, as if nothing had happened, he handed the bowl in his hand to Xia Lanyue.

Xia Lanyue didn't answer; she was still a bit emotionally unstable. So, neither of them moved or spoke for a while.

Dai You put the tinderbox on the ground, picked up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful of medicine, and drank it. "It's not bitter, you can drink it now."

Xia Lanyue looked at him in surprise. Did he think she was refusing to drink it because she suspected there was something wrong with the medicine?!

Xia Lanyue remained silent, sighed softly, turned her head to the other side, raised her right hand, and moved her fingers, indicating that he should hand over the medicine.

Dai You understood what she meant and placed the bowl in her hand.

Xia Lanyue took the bowl, raised it to her lips, and the familiar taste rushed into her nose first. She couldn't help but frown, then took a deep breath and drank a big mouthful. It was both bitter and scalding hot! She almost vomited.

She became even more angry.

Then he held the bowl on his lap and didn't drink a drop for a long time.

Dai You didn't urge him, but held the tinderbox and waited quietly.

"Don't come to deliver medicine in the middle of the night." Xia Lanyue complained. Seeing that Dai You didn't reply, she glanced at him. Dai You was looking at her with a tired expression. When he saw her looking at him, he nodded.

Xia Lanyue's heart softened immediately upon seeing his expression. She felt a pang of guilt; if it weren't for Dai You these past few days, she might still be crying somewhere. He was clearly exhausted, yet he still brewed medicine for her in the middle of the night—how could she have been so angry with him?!

Xia Lanyue no longer hesitated, quickly drank the whole bowl of medicine, and handed the empty bowl to Dai You.

Dai You didn't seem to care. He took the bowl, said, "Rest now, Miss," and turned to leave.

After returning to the kitchen, Dai You closed the door, lay down on the mattress by the wall, and muttered repeatedly, "Ah... Yue, Ah Yue... Ah Yue."

Early in the morning, after waking up, Wang Cui sat on the bed thinking about something. Then she nudged Tian Guang, who was sleeping soundly next to her, with her foot. "Wake up! I heard from A Xiang yesterday that A Yue came from the capital?! Did you know about this?"

Seeing that Tian Guang was still unconscious, he kicked him again, saying, "Wake up, I'm asking you a question."

When Tian Guang woke up, Wang Cui asked him again, and he slowly replied, "I don't know."

"Yesterday she said you saved her again, what does that mean?"

"Yesterday I went fishing by the river and there were two people floating in the water, so I went over and pulled them out."

"What!" Wang Cui's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my, you're their savior! Shouldn't they repay you properly?"

“I save people to accumulate good karma, I don’t need them to repay me,” Tian Guang said, ignoring Wang Cui’s words.

"If you don't want it, I will. I need to think carefully about what I want," Wang Cui said happily.

Upon hearing this, Tian Guang was no longer sleepy and sat up immediately, saying, "Don't make things worse."

Seeing his serious expression, Wang Cui stopped smiling and ignored him.

Wang Cui sang a little tune as she strolled happily around the yard, glancing at the kitchen every now and then.

Even after all the chickens in the village crowed, Dai You still hadn't come out. Wang Cui stood at the door of the kitchen, hesitating whether to knock.

At this moment, the kitchen door opened, and Dai You came out.

"Oh dear, did I wake you up?" Wang Cui changed her previous attitude and smiled with concern for Dai You.

Dai You was a little unaccustomed to it and paused for a moment. "No, I'm already awake," he said, then looked up at the sky. "Aunt Wang, I'm not a good cook, so I can only help you out."

Wang Cui said with a big smile, "There's no need for you to lift a finger, just wait for your meal."

As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves and went into the kitchen.

Dai You wanted to help start the fire, but Wang Cui refused and kicked him out of the kitchen.

He could only sit blankly at the doorway of the kitchen, and gradually, he fell asleep leaning against the door frame.

When Xia Lanyue woke up, she felt pretty good. Although her forehead was still hot, she felt much better.

Her door faced the kitchen door directly. When she went out, she saw Dai You asleep against the doorframe. Perhaps he heard the noise, because Dai You woke up as well.

Their eyes met, and Dai You stood up to greet her, "A-Yue."

He called out "Ah Yue" quite naturally.

Xia Lanyue nodded, both in response to the form of address and in affirmation of the tone.

"Brother, have you rested well?" Xia Lanyue asked, then realized it was inappropriate. Aunt Wang hadn't slept in her room last night; Dai You probably slept in the woodshed, sleeping on a pile of firewood—how could he possibly get a good rest!

Dai You nodded.

However, judging from his complexion, he did look much better. Xia Lanyue was thinking about what happened yesterday and was about to ask him when Wang Cui interrupted her.

"The moon is awake!" Wang Cui's voice was particularly penetrating in the early morning.

"Yes, good morning, Aunt Wang."

"Good morning!" Wang Cui said with a smile as she came out of the kitchen and then went to the chicken coop to collect the eggs.

On his way back, he passed by Xia Lanyue, held out an egg, and said to her, "This egg is for you."

Xia Lanyue quickly refused, "No, no, Aunt Wang should eat it."

Wang Cui turned her head, feigning anger at her rejection, then smiled and went back to the kitchen to continue cooking.

Just then, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and a little figure ran in—it was A-Xiang.

A man followed behind, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a broad jaw; he was short but sturdy.

When the man saw Xia Lanyue, he was probably attracted by her appearance and stared at her intently.

Seeing this, Dai You moved a few steps in front of the man and coughed a few times.

Xia Lanyue also felt a little awkward, so she took the opportunity to move a step behind Dai You.

Realizing he had lost his composure, the man quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Mother, A-Xiang refuses to eat at home and insists on eating here."

“Hmph, how could he possibly like eating such awful food?” Wang Cui said.

"Mother~" the man said with a hint of reproach, "We have guests, aren't you going to introduce them?"

Wang Cui came out of the kitchen, pointed at the man, and said, "This is my son, Tian Kuan. They live at the end of the village." Then she pointed to Xia Lanyue and Dai You and said, "This is Miss Yue and her brother."

"Hello, Brother Tian," Xia Lanyue greeted Tian Kuan.

"Hey, hey," Tian Kuan chuckled, "Hello to you too."

"Ha," Wang Cui laughed disdainfully, turning to Xia Lanyue and saying, "My son is just like his father, honest and quiet."

"Mother, I'm going back now. I'm going to the fields with Lin Xiu today. I'll come back to pick up A Xiang later. Oh, by the way, you don't need to take A Xiang to Mr. Xia's place today. Mr. Xia is sick." After saying this, Tian Kuan said goodbye to everyone and left.

"Mr. Xia, there's someone here with the same surname as her. I'll definitely meet them if I have the chance," Xia Lanyue thought to herself.