The Kindhearted Girl Gets a Wife 43

Chapter 43

Pingshun had been raining all day, and the entire sky was a bluish-green, merging with the distant mountains.

It was still drizzling in the evening. Because of this, Chen Qingtang closed the store early and came back, to avoid the rain getting heavier and making it difficult to move.

The courtyard was dark, but the lights in the first-floor living room were on, weakening the gloomy feeling from the altar. In the corner was a long-abandoned small sofa with a few holes in it. Chen Qingtang, however, wanted to sit on it.

The sponge underneath had almost no elasticity, and a little pressure was enough to press it to the bottom. Enduring the hardness, Chen Qingtang glanced at her phone. It clearly showed eight-fifty.

She might have to wait for ten minutes, or an hour and fifty minutes.

…

The fine, drizzle-like rain was very obvious under the dim yellow streetlights. Pei Yunle looked up, and the rain pricked her eyes. She walked on the small path full of puddles, took off the very restrictive raincoat on her body, and held it in her hand.

She stepped into a puddle without any hesitation, splashing mud, and releasing a jarring sound wave in this quiet moment of a thousand homes.

Chen Qingtang heard it. She stood up and walked around the first floor, glanced at the still-unmoving main gate, and then sat back down.

Pei Yunle stood outside the door for a while, and her already sore arm finally knocked on the main gate three times.

Seeing Chen Qingtang standing in the light, her already frozen face melted into a smile. She pointed at the corn cob under the window sill. “I’m here to get the form.”

The form under the corn was no longer there. Chen Qingtang glanced at the form in her hand, making sure that it had not been wrinkled by her before handing it to Pei Yunle.

All the required items on it were filled in. Other than a few words that had been blurred by water stains, it was irrelevant as long as it was understandable.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll go now. I have to hurry back to summarize.”

As Pei Yunle said this, her feet had no intention of moving. Her pair of sparkling eyes were completely devoted to Chen Qingtang.

Her wet hair had already dried, a little frizzy and messy. Along the light, you could still see a few stubborn tufts of hair standing up.

Chen Qingtang signed a simple hand gesture to her—Wait for me.

After her arm fell, she immediately went back into the house and came out quickly, with a cup of hot water in her hand.

Pei Yunle dazedly took the cup of water. When they touched, Chen Qingtang’s fingertips brushed against hers. Warm, hot, and ice, three temperatures intersected in this one second. Pei Yunle didn’t even have time to feel what warmth was, only feeling a slight tingling in her fingertips.

Afraid that she would misunderstand, Chen Qingtang handed her the phone. “Thank you for your hard work.”

It turned out that this cup of water was just a reward for her hard work. But Pei Yunle felt that it was not enough, so she shamelessly asked, “Is that all?”

Chen Qingtang was taken aback and subconsciously turned to the side, wanting to give her something. But her mind couldn’t think of what to give. For a moment, she was like a person frozen in place, not knowing whether to advance or retreat.

Pei Yunle lowered her head and looked at her muddy pant legs, which were dirty and wet, clinging to her legs like a thousand-pound weight. She bent down and rolled up her pant legs, all the way up to her thighs. Her two fair, almost purplish legs were bare, showing a strange skin color in the dim light.

As if embarrassed, she put the raincoat in her hand back on, barely covering the base of her legs, and then drank the hot water in her hand in one gulp. The empty plastic cup was carefully placed on the square table.

“Good night, Chen Qingtang.”

Pei Yunle put on her loose, shapeless hat. She was too tired today and really couldn’t come up with any clever thoughts. She had to go back and work overtime and then go to sleep.

Chen Qingtang stared at her two legs, which were almost purple from the cold. Her gaze couldn’t help but move to her arms. The fair, bony arms and the back of her hands showed blue veins. Her body shape was not much different from before, but there was an inexplicable fear.

She took three steps down the stairs in one stride and, through the raincoat, grabbed Pei Yunle’s shoulder. What greeted her was the other person’s surprised gaze.

Chen Qingtang didn’t say anything, just brought the person into the house. The person in her hands was light and airy, as soft as if she had no bones.

As soon as she leaned against the small sofa, even if it wasn’t that comfortable, the familiar and safe environment made Pei Yunle want to curl up in it.

Her thin eyelids slowly closed. She felt like she was curled up in a cloud. Just as she was about to fall asleep, her whole body suddenly shivered. As her consciousness returned, every nerve was stimulated by the wet cold.

A piece of paper was stuffed into her hand: “How long does it take to go back?”

Pei Yunle lifted her eyelids and saw a shadow fall next to her. Chen Qingtang was standing in the dark.

Her voice was a little hoarse from just waking up. “About… thirty-something minutes?”

Pei Yunle wasn’t really sure how long it would take. After all, she usually rode her small electric bike. Even when she came with Zhuang Yumian, she would either ride her electric bike or take a taxi.

As for how long these would take, she hadn’t really paid attention. But it should be good to say a longer time.

It’s too late, it’s not safe.

Chen Qingtang thought so. Seeing Pei Yunle about to close her eyes again, her hair scattered and covering her face, the warm white light in the room cast a soft layer on her, like a homeless stray cat.

She reached out and poked Pei Yunle’s cheek. The soft flesh was pressed down into a small dimple and then immediately bounced back. This painless and itchless feeling made Pei Yunle open her eyes again.

Next to her was Chen Qingtang’s leg, but she didn’t dare to hug it, afraid of being hit back.

“I’m so sleepy, I almost forgot I have to go. I’m leaving now.”

Chen Qingtang watched as she slowly went to find her clothes, and then tidied up the survey form and held it in her arms.

She quickly wrote a new message, “It’s so late, you’re leaving?”

Pei Yunle blinked a few times. Most of her sleepiness was gone, but her face was still dazed. Half of it was her pretending, and the other half was really unexpected.

Her voice was like a mosquito’s buzz, “It’s because it’s late that I have to go. You don’t have to remind me. I’m leaving now.”

Chen Qingtang’s lips twitched. She walked over and closed the door on the first floor.

Seeing this, Pei Yunle’s sleepiness completely woke up. The flames of excitement began to ignite, and soon a fire was burning, burning away all her reason. But she didn’t say anything first, just looked at Chen Qingtang with eager eyes.

Go take a shower.

This was the last thing Chen Qingtang left her with.

…

Pei Yunle spent half an hour in the bathroom. Her hair was half-dry, and she left a trail of prints on the floor with her wet slippers.

She stood between the two rooms, hesitating. Should she go into Chen Qingtang’s room, or Chen Qingtang’s room?

It was a difficult choice.

The key was, what reason should she use to go in?

Today’s development was completely unexpected. She had originally just wanted to test Chen Qingtang’s attitude, but who knew that it was both expected and unexpected.

Pei Yunle paced back and forth in the hallway a few times. She glanced out the window. The drizzle outside seemed to have stopped. She hadn’t expected to be soaked in the rain all day, and her fear of the cold had been mostly cured.

The slippers made a slapping sound on the floor, sticky and high-pitched.

Suddenly, the door opened, and half of Chen Qingtang’s body emerged from inside. The four eyes met, catching Pei Yunle off guard. The fingertip she had been biting was immediately released.

“I just finished washing. I was about to go into my room.” At the end, she also reminded Chen Qingtang, “Is there something you need? Why did you come out?”

Chen Qingtang saw that she had already changed into the pajamas she had given her. Although they were a little thin, she didn’t have any thicker ones. It was much better than wearing wet clothes.

She handed her phone screen to Pei Yunle: If it’s cold, remember to turn on the electric blanket.

Pei Yunle bit the tip of her tongue in her mouth. It seemed that she had to go back to her own room.

She “oh-ed,” low and muffled. Then she walked back to her room.

As soon as she pushed open the door, the wet cold of the room immediately enveloped her. This room had not been lived in for a long time, and it had accumulated the temperature of all four seasons, but in the end, winter had the upper hand.

Pei Yunle sat on the bed. Only after a long time did she feel a wave of warmth. She bent down to find the switch for the electric blanket and found that it had already been turned on.

The whole room was ice-cold, only this small bed was warm, making people want to get into bed and curl up.

Pei Yunle felt an itch at the tip of her nose and sneezed into the air. The goosebumps on her body immediately stood up. She got under the quilt and curled up into a ball.

The warm current flowed through every part of her body, and even her head was hot.

No one wanted to escape this contrast of warmth and cold.

Pei Yunle peeked out from the crack and saw the crescent moon quietly hanging outside the window. It would not rain again tonight.

She pinched the quilt and lifted it to the side, slipped on her slippers, and ran quickly into Chen Qingtang’s room.

The speed was fast, and the movements were urgent. A chaotic sound came from the floor. Chen Qingtang was disturbed by the noise and sat up, and then saw Pei Yunle standing at the door.

All the lights in the house had been turned off. The darkness had already outlined Pei Yunle’s blurry, slender figure.

“Mmm.”

With a wronged sound, Chen Qingtang felt a wave of hot air sprayed on her earlobe. Her whole body, along with the quilt, was wrapped in Pei Yunle’s arms.

She felt the violent rise and fall of Pei Yunle’s chest, and the heartbeat in the silence, one after another, shaking her whole body numb.

The surroundings were filled with a familiar fragrance, and in her arms was the warmth she had longed for. Pei Yunle’s throat began to feel stuffy, as if something was about to burst out.

With the quilt on, the two of them just lay together, their arms against their arms, their thighs against their thighs.

The illusory warmth was now a tangible entity. There was only one pillow on the bed. Chen Qingtang was using it, and Pei Yunle was resting in the crook of her neck.

The rain shelter on the eaves was making a noise. Listening to this ding-dong sound, Chen Qingtang thought it was still raining, and even that the rain was getting heavier. She didn’t turn over, and she didn’t push Pei Yunle away, just maintained this posture.

A drop of hot water hit her somewhat sore and numb side. The freshness of the earth in the air was stained with a hint of bitterness.

Chen Qingtang took her arm out from under the quilt and carefully and tentatively touched Pei Yunle’s face. When she put it back under the quilt, she found that her five fingers were all wet.

Her hair was stuck to her face. Only then did Pei Yunle remember to push it away. She rolled over, and her head hit the bed board directly.

With a thud, Chen Qingtang heard Pei Yunle let out a muffled grunt, and then she covered her head and really cried out loud.

All sorts of emotions came to her head. Pei Yunle seemed to have finally found an outlet. She curled up into a ball and hugged her arms and cried.

She cried so hard that her lower abdomen and chest were heaving together, until an arm wrapped around her waist and stopped her strong rise and fall. It was too dark to see clearly. Chen Qingtang had to tentatively rub the place where Pei Yunle had just been hit.

The warm and soft fingers rubbed her head. Pei Yunle stopped crying. She felt very embarrassed and pulled Chen Qingtang’s hand back under the quilt.

A thick nasal sound sounded in the room, “I’ve made a fool of myself.”

How could Chen Qingtang really laugh at her? She just felt that Pei Yunle was having a hard time, in all sorts of ways.

At the thought of this, the thoughts in her heart faded a little. The hand that was still on Pei Yunle’s waist was also withdrawn, and then she lightly patted her spine in a rhythmic manner.

When she was a child and couldn’t sleep, Grandma Liu would lightly pat her back, one after another, which was the best cradle.

So she was now learning from her, patting Pei Yunle’s back, letting her calm down, and then obediently going to sleep.

Pei Yunle felt the slight trembling on her back, as if it were in sync with the heart in her chest, beating only for Chen Qingtang.