Chapter 13: True Handsome_1

Once Qin Jin left, Li Qiao also knew who had been hiding behind the haystack.

No wonder she thought that green outfit looked familiar.

It was what Li Jinhua had worn yesterday.

She finally understood why Li Jinhua had acted so strangely.

Because she had planned to catch Qin Jin in the act of infidelity from the morning.

But there was one thing she couldn't figure out, how did Li Jinhua know Cai Hechuan would come to her house?

A vague and ominous fear took hold of her heart.

She no longer had the mood to read.

Sitting idly made it easy to drift into wild thoughts, so she opted to distract herself by cleaning.

After tidying up both the inside and outside of the house, she went out to collect discarded vegetable leaves to feed the rabbits.

On her way back, she met Old Mrs. Qin, who had just finished joyously drinking, and greeted her, "Grandma, have you had a good meal? Where's Jin?"

"Eh, that stinky kid is still out there eating and drinking like there's no tomorrow." Old Mrs. Qin noticed the watermarks at the entrance and murmured, "Qiaoqiao, did you see who spilled the water?"

Li Qiao dared not answer, "I didn't see it."

Old Mrs. Qin cursed under her breath, "It must be that stinker offending someone again, and they came to warn us."

Li Qiao secretly stuck out her tongue, feeling sorry that Loser Qin got blamed.

She finished feeding the rabbits and cleaning their hutch, and as she was disposing of the waste, she ran into Du Xinxin, whom the youth had tipped off.

They exchanged greetings.

From Du Xinxin, Li Qiao learned that Qin Jin, drunk as a lord, had ended up on Feng Guanggun's bed and immediately ran to pick him up.

Du Xinxin sighed, "It's such a pity for Li Qiao. Not only is she beautiful, she is also diligent and ambitious. Why would she marry Loser Qin?"

Wang Nannan said, "What do you think she was striving for in college for?"

"Do you think she would divorce after getting into college?"

"Definitely. I heard her previous boyfriend was a college student. They had a massive argument because her family disapproved; it was practically a life or death situation..."

"..."

When Li Qiao arrived at Feng Guanggun's house, he was standing at the door of the main hall cursing someone, and of course, the person being cursed was Qin Jin, who had taken over the newlyweds' bed, leaving the bride nowhere to sit and forcing her to leave the room.

Qin Jin was unreasonably combative, "I am still a virgin. My presence on your bed is a blessing, bringing you great fortune. You should be giving me a red envelope instead of kicking me out—don't you know what's good for you?"

At this statement, the onlookers in the courtyard burst into laughter—the man was married and still claimed to be a virgin.

"The virgin, your wife has come for you."

Qin Jin, dizzy from drinking, struggled to get up when he heard the words 'your wife'.

He saw Li Qiao approaching with a polite yet slightly awkward smile, and said gently, "Jin, let's go home."

Qin Jin felt an unexpected softness in his chest and followed her with unsteady steps.

Li Qiao quickly supported him, and as they crossed the threshold, she apologized for the drunken indiscretion, "Feng Dafa, sister-in-law, I'm really sorry for taking over your marital bed."

Seeing this, Feng Guanggun was actually the one who felt embarrassed, "You're taking it too seriously."

...

Li Qiao helped the drunken man home, out of breath and complaining, "You always get drunk, and always have to drink."

All of a sudden, Qin Jin opened his eyes, held her face preventing any struggle, and scrutinized her closely, "Why do you look so pretty? Your lips so red and your teeth so white. There's a poem, what was it... beside the donkey, a person like the moon, telling the moon suspected of frost and snow."

Li Qiao nearly died laughing, "It's clearly 'beside the wine jar, a person like the moon, pale wrists like frosty snow.' Ignorance is indeed scary."

"You! Are you my wife or not? If you are my wife, you cannot make fun of me, apologize right now."

Helplessly dealing with a drunkard, Li Qiao complied, "Alright, I apologize, I shouldn't have made fun of you."

"That's more like it!"

Old Mrs. Qin came in to pour water and saw the scene inside. She left smilingly and thoughtfully closed the door for them.

Thinking that before long, she should be able to hold a great-grandson.

Li Qiao, hearing the noise, turned her eyeballs.

From the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of Old Mrs. Qin's shadow, and she felt both embarrassed and annoyed. The posture of bending over was too tiring, so she prepared to take off her shoes to get on the bed, but before she could lift her foot, the young man closed his eyes, and his hand also loosened.

He muttered, "My wife, Loser Qin's, really is quite handsome."

Li Qiao thought to herself, what's the use of being handsome? You're sleeping in the bed as if I'm a pillow.

To prevent a headache, she massaged his temples for quite a while and fed him water.

Old Mrs. Qin came in twice, each time giving him two loud slaps, cursing him for being no good. Li Qiao was shocked and speechless, he was just drunk and hadn't caused trouble, how could he be considered no good?

Could it be because nothing had happened between them as it should have, that the old lady was angry?

Looking at his red face, she worried he would wake up and think the pain was her doing.

She hurried to massage him.

Qin Jin didn't wake up until noon the next day. When he opened his eyes, he saw Li Qiao sitting properly at the desk, her plump cotton clothes making her look as sturdy as a bear, her hair was parted on either side into two braids. As unrefined as it gets, but when she turned her head, her clothes suddenly looked much better on her.

His voice slightly hoarse, he said, "Was it you who looked after me when I was drunk?"

Not feeling any discomfort.

Even his clothes had been changed.

"Who else could it be if not me?"

Qin Jin's mood improved, lifting the corners of his lips, "You do have a conscience."

Li Qiao: "..." When was she ever without conscience?

Qin Jin put on his clothes and went outside, and before long, he brought in a bowl of food to eat.

"It must be cold sitting here all day, right? Hurry up and finish writing so we can go catch fish by the river together," he said unequivocally.

Li Qiao, without forgetting to reply while answering questions, said, "Sure, soon." It was said that some straightforward men's way of dating was to take their girlfriends fishing or catching cicadas; his initiative to bring her along meant that he was starting to accept her, and she needed to seize the opportunity to form a good relationship with him.

After the New Year, when she was living at school, he would be more willing to do her part of the job.

After Li Qiao finished the problem in her hand and tidied up the desk, she went out with him, thinking it would be just the two of them.

Unexpectedly, it was a group.

A bunch of teenagers, aged around eighteen or nineteen, full of vitality, those with partners were hugging their partners, those without were carrying tools and slinging arms over each other's shoulders, talking about which family's wall was easy to climb and which girl was the most handsome.

"Ah Jin, the wind outside is a bit strong, and it's cold," Li Qiao intentionally moved closer, hoping he would warm her hands like other husbands did for their wives or hold her in his arms and whisper.

To her surprise, he said, "That's still warmer than you sitting still."

She watched as he picked up twigs from the ground and vigorously whipped the dead grass on the side of the road, sending it flying all over.

Li Qiao was exasperated, this is not something she would even do at the age of three, how childish!

Feng Family Village and Tulou Village shared a reservoir.

The group crossed the road, walked a distance, and arrived at their destination.

The river surface was covered with a thick layer of ice.

Li Qiao cautiously stepped onto it and followed a few others towards the center of the river.

Qin Jin had some skills; he tapped around and finally made a hole in the ice. Before long, they started catching fish.

Scooping them up one ladle after another.

Li Qiao found it incredibly fascinating and couldn't help but exclaim, "You're really amazing."

Qin Jin raised an eyebrow, "Just average."

After filling the buckets they brought along,

Qin Jin strung up the large fish and ordered the younger ones to deliver them to the homes of the village chief and the team leader; only after that, the rest were divided amongst the group.

Li Qiao thought he was quite worldly-wise.

Nowadays, the property was collectively owned. Although people often fished from the reservoir, no one ever managed it, but if someone were minded to make an issue out of it, he would inevitably get into trouble. By winning over the village chief and the team leader, as long as they kept quiet, nobody else could stir up trouble.