Attention Sir, I Have Your Heart Handcuffed!-Chapter 553 - 401, Small Village, Everything is Ning Jing (First Update)

Chapter 553: 401, Small Village, Everything is Ning Jing (First Update)

Shi Nian reached out and brushed her temple, blushing awkwardly: "I just wanted to make an early breakfast for Youyou. But for some reason, I’ve been forgetting things lately, and I couldn’t even find the pot and rice."

"So that’s what’s going on."

He raised his eyebrows high but then gently lowered them. He just gave a faint smile, took Shi Nian’s hand to help her up, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and held her protectively in his embrace.

"It’s not that you’re forgetful, it’s that I just changed the location of the pot and rice. You know, this is Jiangnan Ancient Town, and in summer it’s inevitably humid. I’m worried the rice might get damp and spoil."

He gazed at her tenderly, reaching out to brush aside the strands of hair on her forehead that were damp from nervous sweating: "Besides, I told you not to cook. In this day and age, cooking has become the job of a family cook. Women don’t need to suffer from the smoke and oil, just being beautiful is enough."

What he said sounded reasonable enough.

Shi Nian blushed slightly: "So that’s how it is. Youyou actually told me the same thing, saying that daddy won’t let me cook, but I just feel like I’m a negligent mother."

He laughed and nudged her shoulder to guide her back to the room: "What are you saying? There’s nothing negligent about it. A meal is really nothing significant. Your love for your daughter is well understood by her."

"Moreover, when it comes to negligence or not, loving your wife is a man’s natural duty. If you cooked every day, that would be my negligence. You go play with Youyou, or browse the internet, watch some TV. I’ll take a quick shower and soon come down to cook for Jieyou."

Shi Nian couldn’t refuse, so she returned to the room.

Youyou sat obediently on the sofa reading a fairy tale book, and Shi Nian wandered to the bookshelf, randomly picking out a book to read.

Time quietly flowed, the sunlight cast the shadow of the banana leaves outside the window onto the white wall, with light and shadow shifting, like ever-changing ink paintings.

Though she was reading, she still saw the sunlight and banana leaves’ shadows on the wall, and Shi Nian knew her mind had wandered.

She kept inexplicably hearing the sound of water, knowing it was him showering. This sound of water left her restless.

It’s just her husband taking a shower, as a wife, what’s there to fuss over?

She couldn’t help but blame herself, clenching her fist and tapping her head.

What’s wrong with me?

Since she couldn’t concentrate on reading, she gave up and stood, picking up a handmade coarse cloth bag to go out.

The traditional Hui-style ancient house had one hundred square meters just in the front yard. The courtyard was landscaped with artificial hills, winding paths leading to seclusion, even the green moss on the bricks was lush, far from appearing naturally.

Shi Nian stood watching, recalled an anecdote about garden-making in Jiangnan, knowing that such good moss was cultivated by watering with glutinous rice water.

Carefully treading on the moss, she stepped out the front door.

Outside the door was not a spacious place, but a narrow alley. Opposite was the back wall of another garden. A small door opened on the back wall, and a young man happened to come out too, the two meeting in the alley, unable to avoid each other.

The young man greeted naturally: "Sister-in-law, heading out so early? Is Youyou still asleep?"

His tone was that of long-time neighbors, familiar and friendly.

Shi Nian suddenly felt very awkward. With such familiar neighbors, she didn’t even know their name, and though they greeted her, she didn’t know what small talk to make, so she resorted to the most formal words, nodding and smiling: "Morning. She got up early and is reading by herself."

The young man naturally walked over, seeing the cloth bag in her hand, he laughed: "Oh, a few months ago sister-in-law said she wanted to learn hand-weaving, and now you’ve learned it and even made a bag."

Shi Nian was surprised, knowing that in some ancient villages in Jiangnan and Shanxi, old looms from the Ming Dynasty still existed, with elderly people making such coarse cloth by hand. She had been curious, but... she smiled awkwardly, knowing she hadn’t learned it herself: "This wasn’t woven by me, I bought it."

The young man tilted his head to look at the bag, then smiled: "Looking at the pattern formed by the warp and weft, it seems like the character ’Nian.’ This can’t be bought, it’s obviously handmade."

Shi Nian found herself at an even more awkward standstill, her mind blank.

The young man laughed again: "Then I’ve guessed correctly; it must be Mr. secretly learned and quietly made it for you."

Shi Nian felt even more embarrassed: "Really? He didn’t tell me anything about it."

The young man didn’t find it strange, smiling gently with his head bowed: "Mr. has always been like that towards you, quietly doing many things for you without asking for your knowledge, just wishing you could live peacefully."

Shi Nian lowered her head in thought, and realized she agreed with this reasoning.

Luckily, she couldn’t remember many things, yet she had no doubts about this understanding, so she nodded happily, "Yes, he’s always treated me like that."

Walking out of the narrow alley, ahead was still an alley, just with a few more cross paths intersecting. Shi Nian instinctively turned and took another path. Standing at the crossroads, the young man seemed to notice the unfamiliarity and evasiveness in Shi Nian’s eyes as he walked over, and he nodded with a smile, "I’m Xiao Li, Li Le Wen. Sister-in-law, you probably forgot, right?"

His words seemed to have another layer of meaning.

Shi Nian couldn’t help but ask, "Sorry, Xiao Li, from the look on your face, do you think it’s quite normal for me not to remember you?"

And she forgot about things from Jieyou’s childhood, would inexplicably find her own home unfamiliar, even unable to find the kitchen... These things felt crazy to her, yet to her husband or Youyou, there was nothing unusual. So she wanted to know, if these things were viewed from outsiders’ eyes, like the neighbor Xiao Li, would they also find her abnormalities?

Unexpectedly, Li Le Wen just smiled faintly, "Yes, it couldn’t be more normal. Sister-in-law forgot, there was a traffic accident a year ago, you took a hit to the head. Everyone in the village knows, and your husband has already told everyone, so if one day you suddenly forget again, please bear with it."

Shi Nian was stunned.

Is that how it is?

She couldn’t help but smile wryly and shook her head.

Li Le Wen then asked, observing her expression, "What’s wrong, sister-in-law? Is it because you forgot again and don’t believe what I’m saying?"

Shi Nian only smiled wryly, "It’s not that I don’t believe, it’s because I woke up this morning finding that I can’t remember anything again. I just find it a bit funny, after watching so many years of Korean dramas in college, I never thought my fate would one day mirror a Korean drama, that’s several levels higher than simply being a fan."

Li Le Wen also laughed, "Television dramas are also derived from life, after all, car accidents and amnesia really happen in reality."

Shi Nian took a deep breath and nodded, "Alright, I’ll just consider myself the female lead in a drama, a star, oh, and now I feel like I’m glittering all over."

It was just a joke, but Shi Nian suddenly froze.

— That sentence inexplicably felt somewhat familiar. Who did she hear it from, and when?

Back then, who was described by those words?

A vague figure floated in her mind, light as ink, drifting away like clouds as soon as the brush strokes opened. She strained to remember, but only managed to conjure a fleeting silhouette, totally indistinct.

She sighed in disappointment, knowing she had forgotten again.

Li Le Wen saw her laughing to herself and then sighing wistfully, so he smiled indulgently, "Sister-in-law, if you need to buy something, better hurry and buy it, don’t get lost again and make your husband and Youyou worry. I have something to do, I’ll be leaving now."

Shi Nian nodded farewell, "I just want to get some pickles for her, to go with the plain porridge. Go ahead, Xiao Li, goodbye."

Li Le Wen turned and walked away. He was a handsome young man, wearing a simple denim shirt and matching denim pants; his back tall, with a strong, steady stride.

Shi Nian stood in place, unconsciously watching that back for a long time.

Feeling it somewhat familiar.

It seemed the figure in her mind, as light as a cloud, was also tall and striding steadily like that.

But when she thought this, she immediately smiled to herself, embarrassed.

Ahem, she must be overthinking it. That elongated silhouette, such ethereal qualities, clearly belongs to her husband, doesn’t it?

— Her mind was filled with a bittersweet nostalgia, yet it was mixed with certainty, that the figure lingering in her memory must be her husband, the father of her child, naturally, how could it be anyone else?

All her life, she has loved and could only love one man. No second one.

A lifetime, just two people, that is the love she seeks.

.

It wasn’t until Li Le Wen’s silhouette disappeared from sight that Shi Nian snapped out of it, realizing she had stood too long at the crossroads of the alleys, and hastily turned toward the end of the left alley.

There stood a locally owned "Welcome Supermarket." This was a small village, calling it a "supermarket" was far from "super," more like the tiny convenience store from childhood.

Shi Nian entered, and the thin female shopkeeper wasn’t particularly warm, just nodded, "You’re here."