"You..." Yang Ruxin finally became aware, realizing that they’d kissed again. To be precise, this time it was the other person who initiated it, taking advantage of her.
"Actually, I was hoping to see you blush," Gu Qingheng added softly as he licked his lips, his voice gaining a raspy quality.
Yang Ruxin’s face indeed started to feel warm, and she couldn’t help but lift her hand to cover it. This guy... even if her face turned purple from blushing, could he see it?
"I can feel it," Gu Qingheng laughed lowly.
Yang Ruxin frowned. Was this man a worm in her stomach, knowing everything she was thinking?
"Big sister..." Just when Yang Ruxin felt she should do something to "retaliate," Sanni’s chattering voice came from behind her, followed shortly by a line of little munchkins running over. This group included her own siblings, as well as Little Liuzi’s brother Xiaoshun, the youngest great-grandson of her third uncle, Goudan, and two kids from Xiaobudong Village.
Sanni was lively. After the family split, their meals improved, and there was no one to scold or beat her, so she naturally went back to her playful nature. Yang Ruxin didn’t want to restrict her sisters and would let Sanni and Zhou Xiao take the three younger ones out to play every day, sharing some simple snacks from home with their friends.
The result of the little ones running around the village was that they soon made many friends. Of course, there were the good ones and those with ill intentions. They treated the good ones well, but for those with malice or who had bullied them before, Sanni wouldn’t tolerate their behavior. In the past, they did not dare, but now with big sister around, any provocations would be met decisively with: fighting.
Even if they couldn’t win a fight, wasn’t Zhou Xiao there? That boy was unbeatable in fights with his peers and even those slightly older than him, throughout the entire village.
The direct consequence was that Sanni quickly became the leader of the village kids, and Xiaoshun and the others became her loyal followers.
Yang Ruxin was thus able to stay home and be well-informed about the happenings in the neighboring villages, especially about the old family home.
For instance, Feng Caie became ill after her last visit and hadn’t been able to leave her bed since; Yang Anshi had also quieted down and hadn’t stepped outside for several days. No more loud voices were heard from either of them, and the fieldwork was mostly done by Old Man Yang and Yang Baixiang. As for Yang Baichuan and Yang Baifu, they would join in the fieldwork but always found an excuse to slip away after a short while, causing the nearby villagers to shake their heads in disapproval.
"What happened?" Yang Ruxin could no longer be concerned with her shyness, quickly turning her head, sure that there must be some new development; otherwise, Sanni wouldn’t have rushed back so frantically.
"Little Aunt left..." Sanni’s eyes were bright with excitement, "She took Yang Ruyu with her, and a carriage came to pick them up, with pink curtains hanging on it..."
"That horse was so tall," Sini said excitedly, gesturing with her small hands, "and its tail was so thick..."
"It’s not as handsome or impressive as the big horse my dad has," Little Zhou Ying muttered.
Yang Ruxin glanced at Zhou Ying, wondering if Qi Yong could find out where the child’s family was, but she soon just smiled, patting the two girls on their heads: "Let’s get our own carriage in the future. But for now, hurry and go find your second sister to get some sesame candy for you, then go and play."