Chapter 254: The Painted Immortal turns into a Scoundrel
Bai Ruozhu came back to her senses, hastily pushing Jiang Yichun. She didn’t dare to utter another word, fearing that Fang Guizhi would overhear them from the courtyard. She motioned for Jiang Yichun to leave quickly.
Jiang Yichun, with a smirk on his face, calmly stared at Bai Ruozhu, with a hint of mockery in his eyes. He raised an eyebrow at her. Bai Ruozhu instantly understood - he wouldn’t leave until she gave him her permission.
Bai Ruozhu was infuriated. How did the gods in the paintings who usually appeared aloof suddenly become such a pest?
She glared at him furiously, mouthing the words "Get lost."
Jiang Yichun nearly burst into laughter. She really was different from the rest - wouldn’t it have been more fitting for her to be a bit shy in such a situation? She is definitely a feisty one. Seeing her become seriously upset, he stopped teasing her, mouthed "Wait for me" to her, then quickly left.
Bai Ruozhu looked up at the suddenly empty space, slowly exhaling. Guizhi was already at her door.
However, she felt empty when he suddenly left. Looking at Little Dengdeng, who was just now snickering at them from the bed, she found that he had already fallen asleep obliviously.
Fang Guizhi, unaware of what had happened in Bai Ruozhu’s room, passed by Bai Ruozhu’s room without stopping and went to her own room next door.
Bai Ruozhu reproached herself, was she being too guilty? It was highly likely that Fang Guizhi was merely returning to her own room. Fang Guizhi wouldn’t intrude on her sleep. What on earth was she nervous about?
Remembering the smirk on his face as he left, she closed her eyes tightly. What an embarrassing situation she was in!
She quietly went to the bed and laid down next to Dengdeng. Her mind was filled with scenes from earlier. He had pinned her against the wall, his arms barring her way as he leaned in and said, "Two years, I will wait for you for two years. If your husband hasn’t returned after two years, marry me."
"Of course, if you find yourself so in love with me that you can’t help yourself and want to marry me in advance, I am always open to it."
"Don’t I match your standards? I remember you always seem to stare at me."
"But I can’t look away. What should I do?"
...
Bai Ruozhu’s heart was in turmoil, was he serious? Did he say that he liked her?
But, but why did he suddenly like her? Is he not bothered about her situation? Is it really not just gratitude because she saved him? Gratitude is not love, she didn’t want to mix the two.
What about herself? Bai Ruozhu was somewhat unclear about her own feelings. She only felt extremely confused. In her current situation, wouldn’t it be considered extra-marital affairs if she were to romantically engage with someone else?
Actually, Bai Ruozhu innately held traditional views. That’s why she felt particularly guilty, as if she were having an affair.
But what does her past life’s husband have to do with her? She didn’t even remember anything about Changsheng, so why should she care?
Bai Ruozhu softly patted her face, deciding not to think about it and to rest for a bit.
But things didn’t go as planned. In the end, she couldn’t fall asleep. Her heartbeat was faster than usual, and her breath was somewhat rapid.
After looking at the time, she got up and held Dengdeng in her arms to help with the stall. Dengdeng woke up, energized. He clenched a rattle in his little hand, occasionally bursting into giggles.
"Your child loves to laugh. He must be very clever — that’s what the old folks say." Seeing Bai Ruozhu holding Dengdeng, Fusa greeted her while laughing.
Bai Ruozhu also laughed and glanced at Dengdeng, saying, "Then I’ll take your good word for it. My Dengdeng will be clever and capable in the future."
Fusa laughed too, "You are clever, how could your son be bad? By the way, my mother-in-law brought my daughter Niuniu back from the countryside. I’ll bring Niuniu to play with Dengdeng tomorrow."
Speaking of it, Bai Ruozhu had not met Fusa’s child yet, "How old is your Niuniu now? I was wondering why you never brought her to play. Turns out she wasn’t in town before."
"She’s five years old, looks pretty, but is a bit timid." Fusa added, "Before, her grandmother insisted on taking her to the countryside to visit our relatives. We missed her dearly."
Bai Ruozhu laughed when she heard this. If Dengdeng got taken away, she’d also miss him dearly.
Taken away... Bai Ruozhu’s heart gave a thud at the thought. The mere concept of this possibility made her feel like the sky was collapsing.
Her second brother once warned her predecessor that Changsheng wasn’t an ordinary person. And when Changsheng fell from the cliff, his body was never found. The place had no wild beasts that ate humans, even if he was bitten to death by a beast, there should be a skeleton left. There was only one possibility — the man was still alive and had just gone somewhere else.
If Changsheng doesn’t intend to return, it would be fine. As long as he didn’t know about the child left behind in the Bai Family, everything would still be manageable. But if he found out, he might not let it slide so easily.
In ancient times, people valued offspring greatly. Even if he didn’t want to accept Bai Ruozhu, very few would abandon their own flesh and blood.
Fusa held Bai Ruozhu’s hand, asking in a somewhat surprised tone, "Why are your hands so cold? Are you feeling unwell?"
Bai Ruozhu came back to her senses, hastily saying, "It is a bit cold, I’ll stand next to the stove for a bit and I’ll be fine."
Seeing this, Fusa didn’t continue to talk to her any further. Bai Ruozhu went to the stove with Dengdeng and handed him to Lin Ping’er, then went to the iron pan.
At this time, there were visitors, and she began to busy herself. A loose strand of hair fell down her forehead. While tucking her hair back behind her ear, she vigorously shook her head to rid herself of the thought of Changsheng returning to claim his child. This hadn’t become a reality yet. Instead of worrying about it, it would be better to consider how to become stronger as soon as possible. Even if the situation did occur, with her strength, no one would be able to take her child away!
Soon, many customers beginning to queue up for the pancakes. Bai Ruozhu was happily busy. Lin Ping’er helped take care of Dengdeng, occasionally placing Dengdeng in his cradle, and then went to wash some dishes. When Bai Yihong wasn’t fetching water, he would be holding Dengdeng. The entire family adored this child.
"Oh, it’s you!" A lively voice rang out. Bai Ruozhu found it familiar, and turned her head to find the woman who Jiang Yichun had saved when the mule cart was about to hit her.
Bai Ruozhu nodded in acknowledgment of her greeting, not intending to chat extensively.
But the woman approached her, appearing to want to get close to Bai Ruozhu. The maid behind her frowned and spoke softly, "Miss, let’s hurry and leave. You’re the jewel of the family. How could you eat in such a place? If the lady found out, she’s going to kill me."
The woman gave her a sideways glance, saying unhappily, "Are you my maid or am I your maid? Why are you always meddling in my affairs? And who said I was going to eat here? I just recognized someone here and came over to say hello."
She walked over to Bai Ruozhu’s side. She gave a glance of disdain at the greasy iron plate before quickly putting on a friendly demeanor, smiling and asking, "Sister-in-law, you need to tell me about this."