Luzhou Moon - Chapter 157
Unable to resist his focused gaze, Yue Ruzheng had no choice but to give in.
He was slower than the average person when he worked and was also more prone to injury. Yue Ruzheng had wanted to stop him, but thinking that he would be disappointed, she just pretended to be reassured and let him do his best.
When spring arrives and flowers bloom, the vegetable garden is full of lush green leaves, and tender new shoots hang from the bamboo trellis. She loves the vegetable soup that Lian Junchu makes for her the most. The fragrant and slightly salty taste she had when they first met is an irreplaceable memory in Yue Ruzheng's heart.
Hedgehogs would occasionally appear in the yard, and sometimes Yue Ruzheng would think of catching them and keeping them as pets, but Lian Junchu would stop her, saying, "These are used to running in the wild; keeping them as pets will only make things worse."
Yue Ruzheng had no choice but to give up and take the big yellow dog far away so that it wouldn't hurt the hedgehogs.
As the mother hedgehog's movements grew increasingly sluggish, Yue Ruzheng began to look forward to the birth of her baby hedgehog.
"Xiao Tang, do you think they'll stay here after they give birth to their babies?"
"Maybe not..."
"Sigh..." she sighed, feeling that life had lost its liveliness.
As the weather gradually warmed up, one morning more than a month later, Lian Junchu happily told her that there were already baby hedgehogs.
Yue Ruzheng went over with him and secretly parted the haystack. Sure enough, they saw several very young hedgehog cubs huddled around their mother, their gray spines still soft and their eyes barely open.
Seeing this scene, Yue Ruzheng felt a surge of warmth in her heart. She gently covered the firewood and tied Dahuang to the back of the house. Dahuang was very depressed, feeling that its owner didn't like it anymore, especially the lady of the house, who was unwilling to let it go and kept it tied up, not giving it freedom.
After a while, the woman finally loosened the ropes, but her spirits immediately dampened.
It turns out the hedgehog left.
No one knows when it started, but suddenly the hedgehog family disappeared from the yard. By the time Yue Ruzheng noticed, the area behind the firewood was completely empty.
With red eyes, she went to find Lian Junchu, who was gathering herbs in the mountains. He was startled when he saw her like this.
What's wrong with you?
"The hedgehog..." She hadn't intended to cry, but seeing him overwhelmed her with sorrow, and she choked out, "The hedgehog is gone."
"Dead?!" he said, quite surprised.
Yue Ruzheng angrily exclaimed, "No, they're gone! They're nowhere to be seen!"
Lian Junchu took a breath and said, "Didn't I tell you? Animals that live in the mountains will eventually leave."
Yue Ruzheng said dejectedly, "How come after raising them for so long, they don't have the slightest affection for me?"
Lian Junchu looked at her and smiled, "Ruzheng, you're still like a child."
...
After the lights were turned off at night, she lay on Lian Junchu's chest, still feeling somewhat sorrowful.
Lian Junchu, unsure why she was so distressed, comforted her, saying, "You already have Dahuang to keep you company; the hedgehog will eventually have to return to its home."
"It's not just about this..." Yue Ruzheng gently stroked his arm, "Xiao Tang, don't you think everything eventually comes to an end?"
Lian Junchu paused for a moment, then lowered her head and pressed her hair close to hers, saying, "I won't."
"Will you always be with me?" She knew it was a silly question, but she still wanted to hear what he had to say.
"Mmm," he said softly, "I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay here with you."
Yue Ruzheng's eyes stung with tears. She held them back, leaned in, hugged him, and kissed him.
His breathing was deep and long, and their bodies were pressed tightly together...
That night, Yue Ruzheng had a dream. In her dream, flowers bloomed everywhere, filling the courtyard with fragrance, and large pear blossoms swayed gracefully under the moonlight. The hedgehog family had returned, and a small, round baby hedgehog had crawled onto her skirt, stretching out its tiny paws to climb onto her. She squatted down, gazing into those bright black eyes, and for some reason, felt a sense of déjà vu…
The Dandelion Dream (Part 1)
In early summer, a torrential downpour began. Lian Junchu waited anxiously at home for Yue Ruzheng to return, but she did not. So she put on a raincoat, tied an umbrella with a rope, carried it on her shoulder, and hurried towards the mountain path.
After searching for a long time, I finally found her standing alone at the entrance of a cave, her clothes mostly soaked.
"Little Tang!" she called out, waving from afar.
Lian Jun rushed over, only to find her clutching several packets of medicine tightly in her arms. He was startled: "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"
"I'm not sick." She pursed her lips, her eyes sparkling.
"Then why did you buy the medicine?" he asked, puzzled.
Unable to contain her joy, Yue Ruzheng, disregarding his rain-soaked clothes, hugged him tightly and sweetly said, "You're going to be a father!"
"What?!" He was stunned, as if he didn't understand what she was saying.
"I said, you're going to be a father!" Yue Ruzheng repeated loudly, her eyes filled with boundless happiness and satisfaction.
A glimmer of a smile slowly appeared in Lian Junchu's eyes, followed by a smile on his lips. He took a deep breath of the rain-laden air.
"That's good. That's good." For a moment, it seemed that he could only say these two simple words.
On the way back, he wished he could hold an umbrella for her, and climb the mountain for her, stopping every few steps as if afraid something might happen to her.
"These medicines are just for nourishing the body, so don't worry too much," Yue Ruzheng said as she took off her coat after returning home.
But she didn't hear a reply from him. She turned to the side and saw him standing there blankly, not even bothering to change his wet clothes, just staring straight at her.
"Hey, Xiao Tang, what's wrong with you?"
He then snapped out of his daze and said shyly, "I was looking at you... why isn't your belly getting bigger?"