Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Dai You carried water into Xia Lanyue's room. He wet his face towel, wrung it out, and handed it to Xia Lanyue.

Xia Lanyue took the bag and wiped her face and hands. "What do you think that person wanted to do by kidnapping me?"

"What else could he do by kidnapping a girl? He must be doing something bad," Dai You said angrily. "But don't worry, I'll beat him up tomorrow, and he'll know to be scared. Let's see if he dares to do anything bad again!"

These words touched Xia Lanyue deeply. He was always there for her when she was vulnerable, offering her support and comfort. Xia Lanyue felt very lucky to have Dai You by her side, but while she was happy, she was also afraid that she might lose him if she wasn't careful.

Xia Lanyue snapped out of her daze and replied, "Let's go together tomorrow. I'm going to kick him a few times too."

"Oh no!" Dai You exclaimed as he looked at Xia Lanyue's arm. "A-Yue, your arm is injured. There's blood on your arm." He then grabbed her arm to check.

"Huh?" Xia Lanyue was stunned. How come she didn't know she was injured?!

She looked in the direction Dai You was staring at and saw bloodstains, but the bloodstains seemed to be left by Xia Yao; they were from his hands.

Thinking of this, she suddenly became worried about Xia Yao, wondering how he was doing now.

After Dai You returned to his room, Xia Lanyue secretly slipped into Xia Yao's room.

"Why didn't you knock?!" Xia Yao said, staring at Xia Lanyue at the door.

"I'm afraid others will hear," Xia Lanyue whispered.

Xia Yao had changed into clean clothes and was sitting by the window. A bulge appeared on his clothes where he had wounded, which caught Xia Lanyue's attention.

"How's your wound? Let me see," Xia Lanyue said, leaning closer.

"It's alright, you can go back now," Xia Yao said.

"I'm worried. Did you apply any medicine to your wound?"

Xia Yao shook his head.

"Why aren't you applying it? Where's the medicine? I'll apply it for you," Xia Lanyue said, looking at the small table beside the bed.

"No need, the medicine is in Mother's room, it's not convenient to go right now," Xia Yao said.

"Then wait a moment," Xia Lanyue said, turning and walking out.

Seeing this, Xia Yao quickly grabbed her arm, "What are you doing?"

Xia Lanyue pushed his hand away, telling him not to worry.

At this moment, Xia Lanyue was most concerned about Xia Yao's injuries. She didn't care whether it was night or whether Xia Huifang had already rested. All she wanted was to get some medicine as soon as possible, so she knocked on Xia Huifang's door.

A short while later, Xia Lanyue came to Xia Yao's room with medicine and cotton strips.

"Take off your clothes, I'll apply the medicine for you," Xia Lanyue said to Xia Yao.

"What did you tell your mother?"

"Tell me I injured my foot."

After hearing this, Xia Yao looked at her ankles and found that she wasn't wearing shoes and had several fresh wounds on her feet. He was very surprised and asked, "Why aren't you wearing shoes?"

"I lost one of my shoes while running around."

Why didn't you say anything on the way back?

"I told you, will you carry me on your back?" Xia Lanyue joked.

"Hmph," Xia Yao snorted coldly, "You can still joke around, so nothing must have happened."

"What is it you're talking about?" Xia Lanyue asked, tilting her head.

Xia Yao was taken aback and looked at Xia Lanyue, as if he had something to say, but ultimately did not say it.

Xia Lanyue didn't ask any further questions, but only urged Xia Yao, "Take off your clothes."

Xia Yao took the medicine bottle from her hand and said, "I can do it myself, you can go back."

“That won’t do, you can’t see,” Xia Lanyue said, reaching out to unbutton Xia Yao’s clothes.

Xia Yao panicked and tried to stop her, grabbing Xia Lanyue's hand. The action froze for a second, the two looked at each other, and then simultaneously released each other's hands.

"Stop dawdling, I'll apply the medicine for you and then I'll leave."

The medicine bottle returned to Xia Lanyue's hand. She took out his handkerchief, dipped it in some medicine powder, and waited for Xia Yao.

Xia Yao hesitated for a moment, then unbuttoned his shirt.

Xia Yao's wound was of unknown depth; a thin scab had formed around it, and it was no longer bleeding.

Xia Lanyue gently pressed a handkerchief soaked in medicinal powder onto the wound. Although her movements were gentle, Xia Yao still winced from the stinging sensation of the powder.

Seeing this, Xia Lanyue blew on his wound to try to relieve his pain.

Unbeknownst to her, this gust of wind caused Xia Yao's face to turn bright red all the way to the roots of her neck, making her look like a boiled shrimp.

Xia Yao also felt his face burning. He tilted his head back slightly, turned his face to one side, and pursed his lips, as if he was enduring something.

Xia Lanyue paid no attention to anything else, focusing only on applying the medicine. Once she finished, she withdrew her hand and said, "All done."

Xia Yao didn't look at her, turning his back to avoid her gaze and straightening his clothes. When he turned back, he was as cold as before.

"Thank you, Yue, get some rest..." Xia Yao's words were interrupted by a cough coming from outside the window.

Xia Yao was stunned, looking slightly nervous. Xia Lanyue saw this and looked out the window curiously.

"Does A-Yue need some medicine for her feet?" Xia Yao changed the subject. "I'll go get you some water, you wait here."

"what?!"

Xia Yao's attitude changed so quickly that Xia Lanyue didn't react for a moment. By the time she realized what she had heard, Xia Yao had already turned and left, leaving only the words, "You wait here, don't go anywhere."

Xia Yao was concerned about her?! Xia Lanyue was stunned, flattered by the sudden concern. Remembering their eye contact in the reeds that afternoon, her face flushed uncontrollably.

She paced back and forth in the room, waiting for Xia Yao.

Not long after, Xia Yao returned.

However, he came up empty-handed.

Xia Lanyue looked at Xia Yao with a puzzled expression, not understanding what was going on.

Xia Yao quickly explained, "I put the water in your room, you'll see it when you get back," and then stepped aside to make way for Xia Lanyue to go out.

Seeing that his meaning was so clear, Xia Lanyue knew it wouldn't be appropriate for her to stay, so she nodded to him and went back to her room.

After hearing Xia Lanyue close the door, Xia Yao quietly walked out of the house, left the door slightly ajar, and went out into the courtyard.

Acheng was already waiting here.

"She's back?" Acheng asked.

“Didn’t you just hear that? Why are you asking?” Xia Yao said.

"Oh dear, this woman is as slippery as an eel, she got away," Acheng said with a regretful tone.

Hearing this, Xia Yao breathed a sigh of relief, a look of satisfaction on his face. However, the night was too dark for A-Cheng to notice.

"She didn't recognize me, did she?" Acheng asked.

"no".

"That's good, next time..."

"There won't be a next time," Xia Yao said seriously, looking at A-Cheng. "You're not allowed to have any more designs on her."

"Huh?!" Acheng stared at Xia Yao, thinking he had misheard.

"I'm telling you, stop trying to seduce her. This is enough. You've gone crazy this once," Xia Yao said to A-Cheng, word by word.

"why?"

“Because, from now on she belongs to me,” Xia Yao said, then turned and went back into the house.

Only a surprised Ah Cheng was left standing outside the courtyard.