Chapter Three
Every minute or two, Xi Jia would move the fishing rod, either lifting it up or pressing it down, creating ripples that would scare away any fish that might be there.
No matter what looks Mo Yushen tried to give her to stop making a fuss, she remained nonchalant, gazing at the calm water in the distance.
The two's little actions did not escape the notice of Mr. Yue, but the old man took it all as just young people flirting.
Bored, Xi Jia silently counted in her mind. When she reached 120, about two minutes had passed, she went to shake the fishing rod again.
This time, the hand was stopped in mid-air.
Xi Jia turned her head to the side, and Mo Yushen held her wrist in his hand.
She spoke in a low voice, her smile barely audible, "If you say that, I might misunderstand."
They've been married for almost half a year, and Mo Yushen knows Xi Jia fairly well. Verbal coaxing doesn't work on her at all; she prefers something more practical.
With money, everything becomes easier.
"Two Arabian horses have arrived at the club."
Xi Jia frowned, looking at him suspiciously: "How come I didn't know?"
Mo Yushen: "I only arrived two days ago."
Xi Jia nodded, took out her phone from her bag, and called the club manager.
This equestrian club was invested in by Mo Yushen, who spent a lot of money to poach Xi Jia.
"Grandma, what are your orders?" Wu Yang's voice sounded like he hadn't woken up yet.
Xi Jia got straight to the point: "Send me a video of the two new horses that arrived."
Wu Yang had stayed up all night and was taking a nap in the office. He was still not fully awake. While Xi Jia was talking, he went to the restroom to wash his face.
Since Xi Jia already knows, it means that Mo Yushen agreed to give it to her.
"When you come back and watch it, you won't see much difference in the video."
He said, "You should choose first."
Xi Jia understood the implication and asked, "Who will the other one be given to?"
Wu Yang: "Miss Jiang Qin wants it."
Xi Jia hummed in agreement, glancing at Mo Yushen out of the corner of her eye, and the next second she said, "There's no need to wait for me to go back and look at them. My husband said that if I like them all, I can keep them all."
Wu Yang: "..."
Isn't this pushing him to his death?
That Jiang Qin has an absolutely infuriating temper.
Xi Jia didn't say anything more and handed the phone directly to Mo Yushen.
After a moment of eye contact, Mo Yushen finally answered the phone and told Wu Yang, "Give both horses to Xi Jia's horse trainer."
After the call ended, Xi Jia put her phone in her bag, in a good mood.
She felt obligated to accept the money, so she quietly watched Mo Yushen fish without touching the fishing rod again.
Mo Yushen lost badly in the fishing competition, catching only one fish, while Mr. Yue had more than ten fish in his bucket.
"That's about it. I'll go home and cook fish for you all." Mr. Yue began to reel in the line.
Mr. Yue himself is not a cook, so his family hired local relatives to take care of his daily life.
When I got home, a middle-aged woman was already preparing lunch; she had almost finished preparing the vegetarian dishes.
Xi Jia gave the small bucket containing the fish to the aunt, and then followed Mr. Yue to the study.
Mr. Yue was feeling a bit tired, so he leaned back in his recliner and pointed to the bookshelf on his right: "Jiajia, pick whatever book you want to read. I'll give you any you like."
These are all treasures of Mr. Yue, and Xi Jia would naturally not take what belongs to someone else. "I'll borrow them to look at, and you can return them to me when I'm done."
After saying that, she took out her book from her bag and said, "Grandpa Yue, could you please sign this for me?"
Mr. Yue was a humorous person, and he amused himself, saying, "You're basically doing online celebrity worship, right?"
Xi Jia laughed, "That's right, I'm lucky." She handed the book to Mr. Yue and then brought him his reading glasses and a fountain pen.
Mo Yushen brewed the tea and brought it to Mr. Yue.
Just then, Mr. Yue wrote the last few words: May our Jiajia be healthy, joyful, and safe.
In Mo Yushen's view, this was nothing more than a polite blessing.
But for Xi Jia, it meant something different; all she wanted for the rest of her life was to live a healthy life.
"Thank you, Grandpa Yue."
Mr. Yue asked with concern, "Does your head still hurt?"
Xi Jia: "I'm much better, thank you for your concern, Grandpa."
Mo Yushen was completely baffled by their conversation, and he didn't dare to ask too many questions in front of Mr. Yue.
After resting for about fifteen minutes, Mr. Yue asked Mo Yushen, "Want to play a game of chess with me?"
Mo Yushen: "As long as you don't mind my poor chess skills." He went to the bookshelf, took out a chessboard, set it up, and then brought over a chair.
Mr. Yue then remembered to ask, "Does Jiajia know how to play chess?"
Xi Jia smiled faintly and shook her head, "I can't understand it at all."
Mo Yushen glanced at Xi Jia, unable to figure out what she was up to.
Of the four arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—she lacked talent in painting, but she was proficient in all three.
Xi Jia didn't understand Go, so she didn't join in the fun and went to the bookshelf to find some books to read.
The phone rang at home, and Mr. Yue got up to answer it.
Grandma called to remind Mr. Yue that Xi Jia was currently taking Chinese medicine and had to avoid many things, and she told Mr. Yue all of them.
After hanging up the phone, Mr. Yue patted his forehead and said, "Look at my memory." He then quickly told his relative who was cooking to stir-fry a few more vegetarian dishes.
"Jiajia, you can't eat fish for lunch, so I made a lot of vegetarian dishes for you," Mr. Yue said regretfully to Xi Jia as he entered the study.
After being reminded, Xi Jia remembered that the old Chinese medicine doctor had told the old woman that she had been so focused on the novelty of fishing that she had forgotten about not being able to eat meat.
"It's alright, I'll eat the fish you caught next time I come to visit you."
Mr. Yue: "Perhaps you won't need to take medicine next month. Grandpa will cook fish for you himself then."
Xi Jia smiled and said, "Then I'll take your kind words."
Mo Yushen remained silent throughout, glancing at Xi Jia every now and then, but she did not respond.
Mr. Yue remained in his study, so he didn't feel comfortable asking Xi Jia directly what was wrong. Instead, he sent her a message: "Are you feeling unwell?"
Xi Jia was sitting on a wooden chair by the door reading a book when she saw the message. She turned to look at Mo Yushen and their eyes met.
She raised her eyebrows at him, her gesture quite flirtatious.
In the end, she didn't reply to that message.
Mo Yushen was busy playing chess with Mr. Yue and didn't have time to ask any questions.
It wasn't until after lunch, when Mr. Yue was tired and went to the inner room for a nap, that Mo Yushen had a chance to be alone with Xi Jia. He asked directly, "What medicine did you take?"
Xi Jia stood by the stone platform in the courtyard, looking at the lake view.
After a long pause, she replied, "Medicine for headaches."
Mo Yushen knew about her illness; her father had mentioned it to him when they got married.
Why don't you go to the hospital?
"I looked at it, but it was useless."
How long have you been in the mountains?
"More than ten days."
Mo Yushen recalled the words written by Mr. Yue in his book: May our Jiajia be healthy, joyful, and safe.
He glanced at her sideways. "Why didn't you tell me when you had a headache?"
Xi Jia shook her head: "I can't remember why I didn't tell you back then." She smiled, "We weren't a truly sincere couple, so whether I told you or not, it wouldn't make any difference, would it?"
The courtyard was quiet for more than ten seconds.
Xi Jia broke the silence: "Didn't you already give me two horses? Consider it a token of appreciation for the sick."
Mo Yushen didn't reply, his hands in his pockets, also gazing at the lake.
She couldn't remember the ring or the Go set.
It's not just headaches anymore; my memory is also failing.
A short while later, shouts came from the roadside at the foot of the hill.
It was Mr. Yue's nephew who came to pick up Xi Jia.
Xi Jia waved goodbye to Mo Yushen, slung her bag over her shoulder, and hurried down the stone path.
She gained a lot from the trip, and Mr. Yue gave her six of his treasured books.
Mo Yushen's gaze shifted from the lake to the stone path in the mountains, where the graceful figure receded into the distance.
After that, they got into the car and soon disappeared.
It rained again in the mountains at dusk.
Xi Jia sat in the corridor of her grandmother's house reading a book. In half an afternoon, she had already read a third of the book.
I was engrossed in watching when my phone rang.
Wu Yang, the manager of the equestrian club, called, but the news wasn't good.
Xi Jia sat up straight in the recliner. "What do you mean?"
Wu Yang touched the tip of his nose, not daring to utter a sound.
Xi Jia rephrased her question, "Who disqualified me from the competition?"
Wu Yang thought to himself, "Who else could it be?"