Lin Yinci: "They sell everything, it's very lively."
Ling Shuangjiang: "Okay."
The three of them walked down the street, attracting a lot of attention. Ling Shuangjiang was already a local celebrity, and many people knew that he lived here. With Xie Wang, who was outstanding in appearance and physique, accompanying them, many people frequently cast curious glances at them.
Xie Wang asked, "On the day of Frost's Descent, are you going to wear sunglasses?"
Ling Shuangjiang: "No need."
The local market here is a melting pot, offering a wide variety of local delicacies and snacks.
Xie Wang carried the small vegetable basket for Lin Yinci and patiently accompanied her as she picked and chose, finding it tedious at all.
Lin Yinci looked up and noticed he was sweating a lot. She took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped his forehead: "Are you tired?"
Xie Wang smiled and shook his head: "Not tired."
Lin Yinci glanced at Ling Shuangjiang again and said to Xie Wang, "It's rare to find a child willing to accompany an elder to buy things."
Xie Wang took her arm and said, "If you're bored, I can come shopping with you every day."
The crabapple and plum blossom cakes from Aunt Li's shop next door had just come out of the oven. Ling Shuangjiang had been eating them since he was a child and missed the taste terribly. When he arrived at the shop, he smiled and said, "Aunt Li, I'd like three servings."
Aunt Li chuckled as she packed his food, craning her neck to sized up Lin Yinci and Xie Wang. "Ah Jiang, who's the man next to your mother? Is he a relative? He's really handsome!"
Ling Shuangjiang took a bite of the sweet and sticky plum blossom cake, and together with Aunt Li, she looked Xie Wang up and down with a smile: "Is he handsome?"
Aunt Li nodded: "Of course! Tall and handsome. My daughter is coming back from Shanghai these days. If he doesn't have a boyfriend yet, we can exchange contact information."
Ling Shuangjiang's smile faded, and she whispered to Aunt Li, "He's my boyfriend."
Aunt Li was taken aback and quickly said, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was Frost's Descent. Here's another piece of plum blossom cake for you."
Ling Shuangjiang smiled and shook her head: "No need, it's alright, Aunt Li, I'll be going now."
Aunt Li said, "Okay, take it easy."
Xie Wang was helping Lin Yinci choose seafood when a faint floral fragrance suddenly wafted around them.
"Plum blossom cake, one for you and one for Mom."
Xie Wang quickly accepted it with both hands: "Thank you."
Ling Shuangjiang ate her own portion and squatted down to help Lin Yinci pick out crabs and sea cucumbers.
After spending half a day shopping, the three returned home laden with purchases.
They could go home by water. Lin Yinci was tired, so the three of them boarded a small boat to go home.
Xie Wangxian boarded the boat first, helped Lin Yinci sit down, and then took Ling Shuangjiang's hand to protect him.
After settling the two in, Xie Wangcai sat down.
The cabin was spacious, with a tea table between the three of them. Xie Wang took out two bottles of water from his bag, unscrewed the caps, and handed them to the two women. "Mom, it's Frost's Descent. Have some water."
After spending half a day together, Lin Yinci had developed a good impression of Xie Wang. Instead of drinking directly, she asked, "What about you? Do you have any water?"
Xie Wang shook his head: "I'm not thirsty."
Lin Yinci frowned slightly: "You drink it, I'm not thirsty."
Xie Wang pushed it over, saying, "Please drink."
“Give him my water, you can drink your own.” Ling Shuangjiang helped Lin Yinci open the bottle cap. “I forgot to buy water earlier, and you must be tired after shopping for so long.”
Xie Wang naturally refused Ling Shuangjiang's water, and pushed it to her again: "You drink it."
Ling Shuangjiang glanced at the sweat on his forehead and sighed softly, "I'm really not thirsty. You've been shopping with Mom for so long, you must be tired too."
Xie Wang's expression flickered slightly: "Then you drink first, and I'll drink what you leave."
Lin Yinci nodded: "Okay, you two can share a bottle."
Ling Shuangjiang was amused by the two of them, and while unscrewing the bottle cap, she glanced at Xie Wang's expression out of the corner of her eye.
Xie Wang seemed very nervous, his Adam's apple bobbing unnaturally.
Ling Shuangjiang smiled slightly, took two sips, and handed the drink to Xie Wang.
Xie Wang didn't hesitate or dare to look at him, and calmly finished drinking the rest of the water.
Ling Shuangjiang noticed that Xie Wang's bag was quite large, but it only contained two bottles of water.
"Master Lin, is this your godson?" the old man rowing the boat asked with a smile. "I just heard him call you 'Mom'."
Lin Yinci smiled gently and said, "Yes."
The old man praised her, saying, "You are truly blessed."
Lin Yinci chimed in, "Yes, they are indeed very fortunate."
Xie Wang smiled calmly, somewhat regretting that Lin Yinci hadn't introduced his identity to others.
That's normal, though, he hasn't been officially hired yet.
At most, he was given the title of a childhood betrothal partner.
Back home, Lin Yinci was busy in the kitchen, while Xie Wang strolled alone in the courtyard of Ling Shuangjiang's house.
This place is quite large, and judging from its style, it has a history of at least fifty or sixty years.
Xie Wang had always been very curious about Ling Shuangjiang's room and wanted to go inside and take a look.
He guessed that it must contain many of Ling Shuangjiang's childhood memories.
Aunt Fang was watering the flowers when she made a long, rambling phone call.
Seeing that she seemed to have something urgent, Xie Wang asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
Sister Fang said, "Sister Lin said that Ajiang's house is leaking a bit. The repairman was originally scheduled to come and fix it tomorrow, but Ajiang came back early. There might be a heavy rain tonight, so I asked the repairman if he could come now."
Xie Wang looked up: "Is it leaking a lot?"
Sister Fang: "It's not much, just a small piece. But it's damp at this time of year, and if it leaks, I'm afraid A-Jiang will have to move to another room for a while."
Xie Wang murmured, "If it's leaking, isn't it easy to fix?"
Aunt Fang: "Hmm, it's not difficult. We have the tools at home."
Xie Wang sized up the height of the eaves: "I'll fix it, I should be able to."
When Ling Shuangjiang called Xie Wang to eat, she searched around before finding him squatting on the roof.
He looked up and asked, "Xie Wang, what are you doing?"
Xie Wang raised the hammer: "Mom said your room is leaking and there might be a downpour this evening, so I'm doing emergency repairs."
Ling Shuangjiang looked at the gloomy sky: "Let's wait for the repairman. It's dangerous up there. You should come down first."
"It's okay, the waterproofing compound left by the repairman last time is still here. It's very easy to use, I know how."
Seeing that the two hadn't gone inside to eat for a long time, Lin Yinci hurriedly came out. When she saw Xie Wang squatting on the five-meter-high roof repairing the leaking roof tiles, she exclaimed in surprise, "Why did Xiao Xie go up there? It's so dangerous for him without any experience!"
Sister Fang also ran out: "The repairman can't come today, but Xiao Xie said he wanted to give it a try, so I found the materials for him."
Ling Shuangjiang walked to the ladder, looked at the dangerous height, and frowned slightly: "Xie Wang, come down."
"It'll be done soon." Xie Wang continued to repair the leaking area step by step, unhurriedly.
He dared not relax about this matter.
What if the rain is too heavy and the leak occurs again in the early morning, soaking his little frost?
His body is weak and cannot withstand much stress.
Ling Shuangjiang's eyes followed Xie Wang's every move closely, fearing that he might make a mistake and get injured.
His heart was practically in his throat.
Xie Wang had already gone up to such a high place, and Lin Yinci was worried that their constant calling of his name from below would disturb him, so she stopped trying to stop them.
Seeing that Ling Shuangjiang was very nervous, she comforted her, "Xiao Xie is very capable and can do everything, so don't worry."
"Yes, my husband does all the work on our roof. Xiao Xie is so tall, it'll be fine for him."
“He can’t even fix a light bulb; he’s never done anything like that before.” Ling Shuangjiang’s voice was soft, her chest rising and falling slightly. “He’s also clumsy and has a short temper, especially up here…”
"It's alright, look how well he did."
Lin Yinci gently patted Ling Shuangjiang's back: "Baby, don't worry, okay?"
Ling Shuangjiang gripped the hem of her dress with her fingers and nodded gently.
About fifteen minutes later, Xie Wang waved to the people below: "I'm done, now go down."
"Xiao Xie, you must be careful," Lin Yinci reminded him.
"Okay, Mom," Xie Wang replied.
It was not advisable to move upright on the eaves, so Xie Wang could only face the eaves and walk backward step by step.
Seeing this, Ling Shuangjiang quickly helped Fang Sao hold the ladder for Xie Wang.
Ling Shuangjiang was worried about every step Xie Wang took, and her eyes were always on him.
Lin Yinci observed his expression and smiled meaningfully.
Finally, Xie Wang jumped down from the ladder.
He held up the bucket, raised his eyebrows at Ling Shuangjiang, as if asking for a reward: "I've fixed your roof, so you don't have to worry about leaks tonight."
Ling Shuangjiang took a deep breath and frowned, asking, "Are you injured?"
Xie Wang: "This is nothing serious, you won't get hurt."
Sister Fang said, "I knew it, Xiao Xie would definitely be fine."
Lin Yinci walked over and took Xie Wang's arm, gently patting the dust off his clothes. "Shuangjiang was so worried when she found out you were up there fixing the roof. She almost got angry with us."
Upon hearing this, Xie Wang turned around abruptly, quickly walked to Ling Shuangjiang's side, and gently lowered his head to comfort him: "I'm fine, don't worry."
Aunt Fang and Lin Yinci looked at the two young people and covered their mouths to chuckle.
When they went inside to eat, Ling Shuangjiang noticed that Xie Wang's right leg seemed to be walking abnormally.
But after observing for a moment, he realized that it didn't look like he was injured.
Xie Wang ate his meal with great relish, and when he served food to Ling Shuangjiang, she didn't refuse and slowly finished her food.