Chapter 263: So It’s Not a Hidden Weapon
Jiang Yichun really wanted to pick up where they left off last time, so he looked down at Bai Ruozhu. So what if her husband might return? He could just take her back!
Could a man like that, who shirked his responsibilities, really take good care of Bai Ruozhu? If he was still alive after the fall, why didn’t he come back immediately to find her? It’s been almost a year; maybe he had remarried and had kids by now.
How could a man like that be compared to him? He had saved her multiple times and helped her a lot. Even if he couldn’t be by her side all the time, he still genuinely cared for her.
Jiang Yichun finally admitted that his past concern for Bai Ruozhu was indeed a form of care and protection. He even felt like slapping himself when he remembered he did not think highly of Bai Ruozhu, the widow, before. Luckily, he had never said that in front of her; otherwise, given her temperament, she would probably hate him to death.
At this moment, Bai Ruozhu was feeling extremely anxious. Although she had mentioned losing her first kiss, it wasn’t really a kiss in the true sense. Was it about to happen now? She wanted to push Jiang Yichun away, but there was a bit of excitement in her heart, even a hint of anticipation.
Jiang Yichun’s face slowly descended closer to hers, his features magnified. Bai Ruozhu instinctively closed her eyes. She could already feel his breath and, even, his lips lightly touching her.
"Wah wah...!" Little Dengdeng suddenly burst into tears on the kang bed.
Startled, Bai Ruozhu pushed Jiang Yichun away hard. He stood there, stunned and unable to react, while Bai Ruozhu had already crawled out from under his arm to scoop up Dengdeng from the kang bed.
Upon checking the time, it turns out it was already past Dengdeng’s feeding time. The fact that this little guy held out until now before crying was quite impressive.
"My son is hungry." Bai Ruozhu’s voice was a little stifled. Thinking about how they almost kissed earlier, she didn’t dare to face Jiang Yichun.
"Oh." Jiang Yichun replied, his mind seemed to be somewhere else.
Bai Ruozhu glared at him, "I am not comfortable with you being here."
"Huh?" Jiang Yichun finally got it. She was about to breastfeed, yeah, it would be fine if he was close to her, but if he stayed around this time, that would be inappropriate.
"I’m leaving then." Jiang Yichun said, throwing one last look at Bai Ruozhu. He didn’t dare to linger. Seeing Dengdeng cry made him painfully restless.
It was strange. He felt unexpectedly attached to this child. Just a look at him made him feel at ease, and when the child cried, his heart ached. Was it because of his feelings for Bai Ruozhu translating into affection for the child?
After confirming Jiang Yichun had left, Bai Ruozhu proceeded to breastfeed the baby, sounding off one complaint after another, "Stinky boy, you’re starving, huh? If you were hungry, you should’ve grumbled sooner."
Acknowledging that she herself had forgotten about the time, Bai Ruozhu’s face flushed again at the thought of her recent emotional turmoil.
After feeding Dengdeng, she laid down for a quick rest before heading to West Market. She went to pick up the finished hook needles from the Blacksmith Shop. The blacksmith rummaged around for a while before scratching his head and saying, "I made ten for you, how come one is missing?"
The blacksmith looked around some more and finally said apologetically, "I’m really sorry, my mind isn’t what it used to be. Can we make do with one less?"
"It’s fine, nine is enough." Bai Ruozhu had initially made a few extra, so it didn’t matter if one was missing.
The blacksmith apologized again and only charged Bai Ruozhu for the nine hook needles.
Bai Ruozhu returned to the stall with the hook needles. Little Dengdeng was still asleep, so she distributed the hook needles to her mother and Fusa. Both of them agreed that these newly-made hook needles were better than the one they used last night, and they seemed eager to use them.
Business was slow at the stall, so Fusa took out some thread spun by her mother-in-law the night before and said to Bai Ruozhu, "Since we’re not busy, I’m going to practice some more. You can give me some pointers."
"Sure." Bai Ruozhu immediately agreed.
Lin Ping’er also wanted to practice, so Bai Ruozhu pointed out a few things to her before finally taking some yarn and demonstrating herself.
A customer approached the stall after a while. Bai Ruozhu was so engrossed in her crocheting that she didn’t even notice the customer. But when the customer saw what Bai Ruozhu and the others were doing, his face turned green instantaneously.
Yes, the customer was the head of the assassins who visited the day before. Fearing that Bai Ruozhu would take the hidden weapon to Jiang Yichun from the blacksmith shop and that his subordinates might not be Jiang Yichun’s match, he decided to take matters into his own hands. But this was the scene that greeted him when he arrived.
His lips twitched. The weapon they claimed to have an increased power, the hook that can cause bleeding, turned out to be a woman’s toy. The hook was for threading!
Bai Ruozhu must be using this needlework as a cover-up, he thought unwillingly. The hidden weapon must be concealed somewhere else! He was unwilling to admit that he had misjudged the situation. That would be too humiliating.
Ultimately, when he saw Bai Ruozhu crochet a small hat with that so-called "hidden weapon," his face fell even further. Okay, he had to admit, he had indeed misread the situation.
With a gleeful smile, Bai Ruozhu tried the small hat on Dengdeng. This blue hat really suited Dengdeng. To make it even cuter, she added two bear ears to the top of the hat. Lin Ping’er and Fusa marveled at this, asking Bai Ruozhu if these were cat ears. They were impressed by her creativity.
Bai Ruozhu wanted to clarify that those were bear ears, but how could she explain the concept of adorable, cartoon-style bears? After all, people at this time would never associate bears with the word "cute."
Alright then, let them be cat ears. Let’s just say she didn’t crochet the ears well and that’s why they are round instead of pointed.
At this moment, as she turned her head, she saw the head of the assassins. She felt a jolt in her heart, but quickly calmed down. She felt that since she had informed Jiang Yichun and he knew about this man, she felt as if she’d found her mainstay and was not as afraid as before.
"Welcome, sir. What would you like to eat?" Bai Ruozhu enthusiastically greeted him, put on her apron, and moved behind the iron pan, calling out to Bai Zehao, who was playing with Dengdeng, "Brother, what are you doing? A customer is here, and you’re not even greeting him?"
You see, Bai Zehao, who was squatting on the ground, leaped to his feet and said apologetically with a shy smile, "I didn’t see you. Please, sir, have a seat. Your order will be served shortly."
The assassin chief was in no mood to hang around. His subordinates must have seen what the hook needle really was by now, and being here only made him feel humiliated. However, leaving the Bai’s food stall abruptly might arouse suspicion.
"Give me the most expensive pancake." The assassin head said coldly.
Bai Ruozhu quickly prepared his order along with a bowl of soup. Bai Zehao served him the food. The man began to eat absent-mindedly.
Bai Ruozhu wiped her hands clean and went back to crocheting with Fusa until the man paid and left, only then did she let out a sigh of relief.
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