Ghost Bride 2

Chapter 26

"But you are Mingyang's closest family member!"

He turned and glanced at me: "From now on, you are!"

I exclaimed in surprise, "Do you plan to find Mingyang and then leave quietly?"

He smiled calmly and said, "Ruoxi, it's a good thing that you've learned to talk back now. I've always worried that you'll stay weak and submissive forever, and that would make me uneasy."

The plane slowly ascended.

The rotors were spinning horizontally, making a rumbling sound.

I stared at half of his face; the white, plastic mask facing me obscured his expression. The vast forest before me was unfamiliar. "Vast forest, your face..."

"Don't ask." He pointed to my chest. "As long as Mingyang is here, that's enough. Don't worry about anything else."

When did you start speaking to me in such a cold tone? My throat tightened, and I forced back my tears: "Then can you tell me, how did you get from Myanmar..."

"You want to know why I didn't die, right?"

"Don't be so cold and sarcastic, as if I'm a nobody."

"How could we be unrelated? You are Mingyang's fiancée, and will be my sister-in-law in the future."

I was speechless. A lump was stuck in my throat.

Section 65: The Dust Settles (2)

In this chilly sky, the person I've been longing for has returned, alive after traversing the vast expanse of time and space. It feels like a lifetime ago. Yet, before me, there seems to be a desolate loneliness, like scattered peach blossoms falling sadly, quietly spreading in the autumn chill. The great forest before me is as cold as the millennia-old snow on Mount Everest. Is this the person who risked their life to protect me?

"If the heart is free, why be bound and stranded?" I stubbornly retorted. Our fingers intertwined, I argued forcefully, "I'm no one's fiancée! I'm just Lan Ruoxi!"

He patted my head, but didn't look at me: "This is fate."

"I hate fate!"

"But they all love you!"

"who?"

"Mingyang, and your grandma too." He felt warmth in his palm, but only for a moment before removing it. "Those who love you won't hurt you! Be good!"

The person who loves me?

And what about you? Don't you love me?

I fell asleep. The plane encountered turbulence, I woke up, turned to look at the vast forest, and there he was, still diligently piloting the plane.

Just as I was about to close my eyes again, I saw a shadow reflected in the glass window next to him—the shadow of a woman's alluring smile.

This is thousands of feet in the air. How could there possibly be anyone outside the window?

He turned around abruptly.

I was horrified! I almost jumped up.

Is it her? The girl swinging on the swings in the school's east playground.

"You're already dead?" She chuckled, a smile curving her lips. "You're one of the even numbers this year, don't forget."

That damn ridiculous statement again.

"The Great Forest!" I exclaimed in alarm, tugging at his clothes.

He slowly turned around, revealing his entire face to me—a completely pale mask.

I woke up with a start, panting heavily.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Big Forest asked me.

I stared blankly out the window, but she was no longer there. At that moment, I truly understood the meaning of being inseparable from someone.

"Are you feeling unwell?" He reached out a large hand and covered my forehead, checking my temperature.

"No."

"You should get some sleep! The helicopter needs fuel; I'll wake you up when we get to the refueling station." He pulled a black eye mask from his pocket. "Put this on, don't overthink it, and just sleep!"

I don't know how much time passed. In the darkness, I couldn't see anything, only hear the wind, and occasionally I could make out human voices in the wind. I groped my way forward like a blind man.

I couldn't see it, but I could hear it. I followed the sound forward, and further forward. I smelled the faint fragrance of orange blossoms. A girl was laughing, her voice as clear and cheerful as a silver bell.

"Ouyang, come quick! Wildflowers are blooming everywhere here, it's so beautiful!" The girl skipped and hopped.

"This place can't compare to my hometown; the fields there are a riot of colors." A rough boy's voice said.

"Then will you take me back to your hometown to see it?"

"Okay! I'll take you back with me after graduation. You're so cute, Xiao Yuan, my dad will definitely like you."

"Do you only have a father at home, and no mother?"

“My mother died early, and my father supported me through college by carrying loads on a shoulder pole and doing small business.”

"Your dad is amazing."

"Yes! I respect him very much. My biggest wish when I grow up is to make sure he doesn't suffer from poverty and doesn't have to worry about me anymore. I'm willing to do anything for him."

"You're so filial! I want to be filial to your father too..."

"Xiao Yuan, you're so kind."

"Where is it good?"

“You are a city kid, but you never look down on me, the son of a farmer.”

"Look at what you're saying, everyone's family history is that of farmers. I like your simple and honest nature. As long as you treat me well, I'll stay with you."

"Would you be willing to come back to the countryside with me?"

The girl laughed, her voice crisp and clear: "After we graduate and get married, I'll go wherever you go. If you go back to the countryside, I'll go back with you!"

The boy hesitated, his voice becoming low and hoarse: "But I don't want to go back to the countryside, it's too poor there. I want to stay in the city..."

The wind was blowing again, seemingly carrying the scent of springtime in the countryside into the sweltering heat of summer.

A whiff of hospital soda water filled the air. I walked slowly forward, and it seemed I heard a girl crying…

"Waaah... Ouyang, you're so good to me." It was still that Xiao Yuan's voice.

"Look at what you're saying, if I don't care about you, who will?"

"I would have died without you..."

"Nonsense! Bah! Saying such discouraging things is very unlucky."

"I felt so awful just now, my stomach hurt so badly, I kept gagging, I thought I was going to die!"

Section 66: The Dust Settles Down (3)

"Don't talk nonsense! It's just acute appendicitis. Who told you to eat so much spicy food? I've told you so many times, you're not allowed to eat spicy rice noodles anymore, it's too irritating to your stomach."

"Okay! I'll never eat that stuff again."

"You're being good now, but once the wound heals, you'll forget the pain and still go back to eating it when you crave it. I don't know that."

"Hehe, Ouyang, you really know me."

"You always make me worry. If I hadn't come to see you today, you would have fainted from the pain and no one would have known! It was so worrying..."

"I know you care about me; you're the best person to me in the whole world."

"Xiao Yuan, let's get married! I want to be able to take care of you from now on."

"Yes, we'll get married right after graduation..."

The clock ticked away, and it seemed as if a century had passed quietly...

When the wheat turns golden, autumn has arrived.

The sound of bicycle bells, ringing softly, drifted across the rice paddies, carrying far and wide...

I followed the sounds of people in the darkness, listening intently. People stood barefoot in the paddy fields, harvesting rice, bubbles rising around their feet. Shiny sickles danced in the golden sea of rice, dust swirling from the threshing machines, the mingled sounds like a song of joyful harvest. Laughter, like that of a lark, rose from the edge of the field, a man and a woman singing in harmony…

"Ouyang, ride slower! Don't fall into the paddy field!" the girl teased excitedly.

"No, I grew up on this edge of the field. I could close my eyes and not fall in."

"You're just bragging!"

"real."

"Everyone's watching us!" The girl's shy voice was filled with happiness.

They all envy us!

"Everyone's busy with farming, don't you have any work to do?"

"You're here! I want to play with you!"

"That's not good, it'll waste your time."

"How could that be? My family has too little land, so we rented it out to other people to farm a long time ago. My father still runs a small business carrying loads on a shoulder pole."

"You said you'd take me back to your hometown after graduation, and now you're only a junior in college, and you've already brought me back?"

"Hehe, I couldn't resist anymore. I brought you back to see Dad, and that settles things between us..."

"What can't you hold back anymore?"

"I'm twenty-two years old, which is the legal marriage age. Although school rules don't allow students to get married, I'm a physically healthy man, I..."

"Ugh!" The girl's shy voice was soft and delicate, gradually being drowned out by the sound of the threshing machine...

The wind that came at me turned into a biting cold wind; winter had arrived.

It looks like someone is taking pictures in the snow. There's a "click, click" sound.

"Shall we build a big snowman?"

Or rather, that Ouyang.

Or rather, Xiao Yuan.

Their voices. I memorized them in the darkness.

"Why build a snowman? It's too much work! The snow will all be gone once it melts," the boy objected.

"But we can take pictures to remember it! When we have children in the future, we can tell them that the picture shows the snowman that your mom and dad built together when they were dating. How meaningful is that?"