Chapter 16: The Man Who Only Knows How to Make Boiled Pork

"Having tasted Lin Ruanyuan's sauce once for dipping meat, why does today's boiled pork taste a bit fishy?"

Twisting his brow, Bai Cheng'an glanced at the relaxed girl dipping sauce.

The girl looked up and smiled sweetly at him.

"It's... it's not bad," Lin Ruanyuan sighed sincerely.

She meant it. Although there were no scallions or cilantro as accompaniments, Bai Cheng'an's sauce was indeed passable.

Due to the pain in her leg, she barely ate anything. She managed to eat half a bowl of rice and a few pieces of pork, enduring the pain as she chewed.

Because of her injury, Bai Cheng'an took care of everything. He even brought water for Lin Ruanyuan to wash up with, which softened her heart.

Softened further, she drifted off to sleep in a daze.

When she woke up again, she found herself nestled in his warm and sturdy embrace.

Bai Cheng'an stiffened his body, keeping one hand on the other side, not touching her at all.

Pursing her lips, Lin Ruanyuan listened to the gentle rain outside the cabin. If it rained, the mountain road outside would become muddy, making it difficult for her to travel into town.

In addition to her leg injury, picking chestnuts was out of the question.

As a result, the progress of redeeming her jade pendant would inevitably be delayed. Even if she made a net profit of fifty cents a day, she would still have to sell chestnuts for another two days to earn it back.

"Why are you awake?" She considered the problem while the top of her head suddenly heard a low, thoughtful voice.

Outside, the rain drizzled down, and even the wind blowing into the cabin seemed cooler than in the past two days.

Gasping for cold air, Lin Ruanyuan simply burrowed back into his warm chest.

Her tongue always got tied when she spoke, so she didn't feel like talking much.

She gently nodded and closed her eyes, intending to go back to sleep.

In that split second with her eyes closed, she seemed to feel the man holding her breathe a little heavier.

Just as she was about to say something, the man holding her waist tightly spoke first.

"Go to sleep early, don't move around." Bai Cheng'an's voice was hoarse as he held her restless hand.

With just that sentence, Lin Ruanyuan knew something wasn't right.

It seemed she had touched a place she shouldn't have and strummed a string she shouldn't have.

Oh dear, she only harbored thoughts of becoming this man's wife. It wasn't time to be his wife yet.

Her hands around the rough man's waist dared not move, and her legs on his lap were as still as a koala, afraid that things might escalate if she didn't behave.

Outside, the faint sound of rain, inside the gradually heavy breathing. Lin Ruanyuan, who had been chilled to the soles of her feet by the autumn wind, suddenly felt hot all over.

She was guilty; her heart wasn't pure anymore.

Neither of them slept well that night. The rain drizzled outside all night, and sure enough, the ground was damp the next morning.

Lin Ruanyuan gritted her teeth and prepared to set off. The road was muddy, making chestnut picking impossible, but the supermarket had clean chestnuts for sale.

Although it would cost more, every little bit she earned was a bit.

She had already promised Bai Cheng'an that she could return the jade pendant in five days. What she said, she would definitely do

His voice grew a bit heavier, followed by a deep inquiry.

"Rede... rede... redeem the jade pendant." Meeting the man's intense gaze, Lin Ruanyuan explained earnestly.

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Bai Cheng'an furrowed his brow tighter. "Why the rush? If you catch a chill in this autumn rain, you'll have an even harder time redeeming the jade pendant."

Though unsure how she managed to pawn off the jade pendant so quickly, Bai Cheng'an sensed her urgency and believed she wasn't lying.

"Fi... five days." Lin Ruanyuan stuttered out, extending her hand with difficulty to emphasize the timeframe.

She had promised to return the jade pendant in five days. She couldn't go back on her word.

"If you insist on going today, there aren't many people out on such a cold day." Seeing her persist in wanting to go out, Bai Cheng'an reached out and pulled her back from the doorway.

Autumn rain brought autumn cold. In just a few days, her clothes seemed thinner again.

A brief gust of cold wind at the door made her hands feel icy. Subconsciously, she gripped tighter. Bai Cheng'an wanted to warm her up.

Persuaded by him, Lin Ruanyuan reluctantly gave up her plan to sell chestnuts. With few people on the cold streets and her limping gait on muddy paths, it wasn't feasible.

Fortunately, the medicine Bai Cheng'an applied seemed effective. Resting today, maybe she wouldn't limp tomorrow.

Once you decide to slack off, you become lazy. Just after finishing the dough Bai Cheng'an kneaded, she began to feel drowsy again.

Half-leaning, she dozed off for a while until she heard clinking sounds from inside the house, waking her up drowsily.

That rugged man was again preparing dinner.

Lin Ruanyuan still remembered his fierce demeanor when he first brought her back, saying his wife must know how to cook.

And what happened? She cooked only on the first day; in the two days since, she hadn't even lit a fire.

With such inconsistency, why did she like him so much?

Watching the man busy around with a smile, Lin Ruanyuan's smile froze momentarily when she saw him preparing boiled pork again.

A man willing to cook is a good man, but eating boiled pork every day would also get tiresome.

Besides, pork was fatty, and she used to rarely eat fatty meat.

As he sliced the meat to prepare it, Lin Ruanyuan, with her soft limp, hurried over to him.

"Stop!" Her slender hand grabbed his strong wrist, hurriedly interrupting.

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"Only one word," she said, her tongue less tangled. Lin Ruanyuan pursed her lips; she seemed to have found a way to stop stuttering.

"Hmm? It's noon; I'll make something to eat." Bai Cheng'an, caught off guard by her sudden grip on his wrist, wasn't angry but spoke in a low voice.

"I... I... I'll do it." Every extra word made her stutter again.

Pursing her lips, Lin Ruanyuan realized she needed to start with two words if she wanted to avoid stuttering.

"You'll do it?" Bai Cheng'an glanced down at her leg and smirked.

"Yeah." Lin Ruanyuan nodded decisively.

"Leg feeling better?"

"Fine... fine... fine." Lin Ruanyuan's eyes sparkled, as lively as a deer running through the woods.

With just a gentle glance, Bai Cheng'an was momentarily stunned.