Chapter 23 Emotional Escalation

Lunch was quickly finished, and Chen Jie patted his stomach and went back to his room for an afternoon nap.

Su Yunjin was busy with household chores, washing dishes and laundry.

Little Douding, having listened to Chen Jie's words, took a bowl of pork bits outside, positioned a small stool by the door, and started munching away with a crunch, crunch. In no time, half the bowl was in her stomach.

It looked like she might finish the bowl of pork bits before any kids could even show up.

But the kids were timely, lured by the delicious smell, and then a group of children, big and small, came over, watching Little Douding eat the pork bits with relish, each one swallowing hard.

Little Douding didn't even give them a proper glance, just focused on eating.

Just then, a five-year-old boy couldn't resist anymore and approached Su Yunrui, asking, "What are you eating?"

Little Douding glanced at the boy and replied, "Pork bits!"

"Gurgle, it smells so good, I think I had it during the New Year."

"Really?"

"Yeah, can I have some?"

The little boy asked tentatively.

Little Douding thought for a moment and said, "Then will you play with me later?"

The boy was taken aback, thought it over, and replied, "If you give me some, I'll play with you."

"Take one."

Little Douding handed a piece of pork bit to the little boy, and he took it and popped it straight into his mouth, chewing with relish!

Seeing the little boy actually get to eat the pork bits,

the other kids also crowded around and said, "I'll play with you too."

"I'll play with you too..."

Suddenly, all the kids wanted to play with Su Yunrui, and Su Yunrui was giving out one piece of pork bit to each child until a little four-year-old boy came up.

By that time, only the last piece of pork bit remained in Su Yunrui's bowl.

"I'll play with you too."

The little boy gazed eagerly at the last piece of pork bit, and Su Yunrui also looked at the last piece, really wanting to eat it.

She seriously looked at the little boy and said, "Can I... not play with you?"

The little boy, hearing this, looked at Su Yunrui and then the pork bit in the bowl before bursting into tears. Su Yunrui instantly felt bad and said, "Alright, alright, we'll play together, we'll play together."

She quickly handed the last piece of pork bit to the little boy, who snatched it up, tears dropping as he ate. Watching him lick his lips, Su Yunrui asked, "Is it tasty?"

"Mhm mhm,"

The little boy nodded, and Su Yunrui said helplessly, "Just looking at it makes my mouth water~ smack~"

That afternoon, Su Yunrui experienced what it was like to be treated like a princess. The world of kids is so simple — having eaten Su Yunrui's food, they now had to take care of her.

The pork hock they wouldn't let Su Yunrui play with before was now hers to play with first.

The children who previously ignored her started talking to Su Yunrui.

For a moment, Su Yunrui felt like the king of the kids.

Meanwhile, Su Yunjin in the courtyard was smiling at the scene, then turned to look inside the house — all these changes had stemmed from that man's transformation.

When Chen Jie woke up, he found Su Yunrui happily playing outside but didn't see Su Yunjin. Chen Jie asked Su Yunrui, "Where's your sister?"

Su Yunrui, who was currently riding on a little boy's back playing horseback fighting, said,

"Sister took a basket, seems like she went to dig for wild vegetables."

Chen Jie was startled and felt touched, she really never rests.

Chen Jie, feeling bored, sat cross-legged at home and began to cultivate the Yang Chun Skill. As he practiced, he noticed that his physical condition was improving day by day. Could this be what was referred to as qigong in his past life?

Chen Jie wanted to learn the martial arts of this world. However, before beginning his training, he knew that building a solid foundation was essential.

Thus, an afternoon passed by.

For dinner, Su Yunjin came home to cook. They had a meal of wild vegetable and tofu dregs soup with sorghum flatbread.

It was a simple meal, yet the family enjoyed it immensely. A meal of such high caliber was not something other villagers would have except during festivals.

For the commoners of this era, it was normal to go all year without tasting any meat or fish.

Both Little Douding and Su Yunjin expressed complete satisfaction with the bowl of wild vegetable soup dotted with tofu dregs.

After having filled their stomachs, Su Yunjin cleaned up the dishes, while Little Douding had already run over to Chen Jie to tell him about her day's adventures and how much fun she had.

Watching her like this, Chen Jie smiled and gently patted her head.

Once everything was tidied up and night had fallen, Su Yunjin bent over to make Chen Jie's bed. Chen Jie, observing her lean figure and the graceful curves, couldn't help but show his appreciation.

It was a man's pure admiration for beauty.

When Su Yunjin finished making the bed and turned around, she caught Chen Jie's undisguised gaze, felt flustered, and hastily headed towards the inner room.

Chen Jie reached out and pulled Su Yunjin into his arms. She couldn't help but let out a yelp, "Ah."

Chen Jie wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered in her ear with a breath as soft as orchids, "Tonight, sleep in the outer room."

Su Yunjin's face flushed red, but she still said, "Ruirui is still here, let me go quickly."

"What if I don't?"

Chen Jie breathed on her, and Su Yunjin felt her body go weak. Just when she thought she couldn't escape Chen Jie's grasp for the evening,

Suddenly, Chen Jie let her go. She turned to him, puzzled as to why he released her. Chen Jie then smiled and said, "If you don't want to, I won't force you."

Su Yunjin felt a surge of emotion. How gentle this man was.

Just as she was awkwardly trying to figure out how to respond, a voice suddenly called out from the inner room, "Sister~"

Su Yunjin looked up at Chen Jie.

"Go ahead."

Chen Jie, always understanding, Su Yunjin bit her lip, looked up, and with eyes as profound as autumn water, she said to him, "Give it some time."

Having said that, she ran away like someone fleeing to the inner room and closed the door, leaning against it, her mind heavy with thoughts.

Little Douding looked at Su Yunjin in confusion and asked, "Sister, what's wrong? Did brother-in-law bully you?"

"No, let's sleep."

Su Yunjin climbed slowly into bed after calming down. Little Douding said, "Sister, you didn't bolt the door."

Su Yunjin glanced at the door bolt and said, "No need."

"Oh."

Little Douding responded with a hint of understanding yet confusion.

Before, Su Yunjin would have bolted the door at night out of fear of Chen Jiu Si's impulsive actions. Today, however, she didn't.

Chen Jie shook his head as he watched the direction Su Yunjin had left. One couldn't eat hot tofu in haste. The harm he had done to her in the past was too great. Forcing her now might leave psychological scars, so it was better to take things slowly.

At least everything was moving in a positive direction. He believed it wouldn't be long before he could enjoy this swan meat, which would come to him willingly.

Lying in bed, Chen Jie soon fell asleep. However, in the middle of the night, he gradually opened his eyes. Although he had only slept for about four or five hours, his spirit was very full thanks to the constant use of the Yang Chun Skill.

The reason for his awakening wasn't just because he had slept enough but because he had heard the sound of an information update.

The daily information had updated again.

"Panel."

Chen Jie called out to summon the information panel.