A certain nimble soldier climbed the wall and settled down effortlessly, legs dangling in perfect balance. Next to him stood little Heidan, while further along the wall was Song Wei.
As soon as Lin Zhen sat down, a slender, fair hand appeared before him. He followed the hand with his eyes to see Song Wei offering him something.
“Want some pine nuts?”
She was willing to share, purely because he was Heidan’s brother.
Pine nuts? Lin Zhen thought. Those tiny things barely count as food.
Despite his thoughts, he opened his hand. His large palm, calloused and rough, looked drastically darker compared to Song Wei’s delicate, pale hand.
Lin Zhen wasn’t bothered by his skin tone. If anything, he’d be alarmed if he were pale.
Song Wei placed a small handful of pine nuts into his palm, but as she watched, they looked so meager in his massive hand that she felt stingy.
“What’s so great about these tiny things?” Lin Zhen grumbled before tossing a few into his mouth—shells and all—and crunching down on them.
Song Wei’s expression twitched at the sight. He could actually chew through the shells? His teeth were something else.
“You’re doing it wrong, Brother! You’re not supposed to eat the shells!” Heidan exclaimed, demonstrating the correct way to eat pine nuts.
Lin Zhen gave him a sidelong glance.
“You think I don’t know that? But these things are so tiny—what’s left to eat if you throw the shells away?”
Song Wei couldn’t hold back and muttered, “A boar can’t appreciate fine grain.”
Lin Zhen’s ear twitched.
“What did you just say?”
Song Wei kept her gaze forward and replied, “Nothing. Focus on eating melon.”
Lin Zhen, now familiar with her slang, knew “eating melon” meant watching a show. He silently mused that city folk really had odd ways of talking, but he didn’t press further.
Instead, he turned his attention to the scene below.
Wang Xiaohua stood in the courtyard, passionately calling out to Luo Yecheng. Her high-pitched cries of “Brother Yecheng!” made Lin Zhen’s head throb.
What was wrong with her voice? Who taught her to talk like that?
It turned out Wang Xiaohua had been mimicking the soft-spoken tones of the educated youth. She believed that speaking delicately would make her more appealing.
But her attempt to transform her naturally coarse voice into something sweet was a disaster. The result was so grating that it drew laughter from the crowd.
Meanwhile, Wang Xiaohua remained convinced of her romantic sincerity. She felt she was deeply in love, and that her “Brother Yecheng” would surely be moved by her devotion.
Unbeknownst to her, Luo Yecheng was praying for her to disappear.
Terrified she might barge in, he pressed himself against the door, unwilling to take a single step lest she drag him out and humiliate him further.
“What’s going on here? Does that girl have a hole in her throat or something? Why does her voice sound so awful?” Lin Zhen asked Song Wei, unable to bear the shrill cries any longer.
Song Wei was chewing on a pine nut. She rolled up her sleeves and launched into the tangled web of drama involving Wang Xiaohua, Luo Yecheng, Jiang Xiaowan, and Lin Xiaocao.
Her speech was fast but clear, her voice crisp and melodic like a songbird’s—completely different from Wang Xiaohua’s strained wailing.
Lin Zhen was impressed. He realized it wasn’t soft, delicate voices that annoyed him—it just depended on the person. Song Wei’s voice, for instance, was pleasant and charming.
Born and raised in Haishi, Song Wei spoke with the naturally gentle tones of a southerner, a stark contrast to the loud, boisterous speech of the north.
After explaining the convoluted love-hate relationships, Song Wei smacked her lips, thirsty from all the talking.
She wanted a drink of water but didn’t want to miss the action. Glancing at Wang Xiaohua, she decided to endure the thirst.
Lin Zhen, having listened to the backstory, was stunned.
“What kind of nonsense is this? That Luo Zhiqing has such bad character, and this girl still wants to marry him? Is she out of her mind?”
He was so shocked that his voice rose, drawing the attention of the crowd below.
Villagers looked up in surprise, finally noticing Lin Zhen sitting on the wall.
“Isn’t that Lin Zhen? When did you get here? Why didn’t you say something?” one auntie called out.
Lin Zhen grimaced.
“What am I supposed to do. Do I have to yell when I come here? Auntie’s joke is not funny.”
Meanwhile, Wang Xiaohua continued her delusional declarations of love.
“You don’t understand Brother Yecheng’s brilliance! He’s so outstanding! It’s only natural for several girls to fall for him. Just because you don’t understand him doesn’t mean you can judge his character!”
The crowd’s attention returned to Wang Xiaohua, but many still wanted to chat with Lin Zhen, asking about his leg and whether he could return to the army.
Faced with Wang Xiaohua’s brainless loyalty, Lin Zhen was speechless.
“Is there seriously nothing wrong with her? She’s a lost cause. Whose family is she from?”
Heidan, always ready with an answer, replied, “She’s the village chief’s granddaughter.”
Lin Zhen was incredulous.
“Really? The village chief’s family is normal enough. How’d she turn out like this?”
An auntie chimed in, “Not everyone turns out perfect, you know. She probably wasn’t raised right.”
Down below, Wang Xiaohua shouted with concern,
“Brother Yecheng, are you okay? Did that wretched Jiang Xiaowan’s family hurt you too badly? I’m here to take care of you!”
She pushed open Luo Yecheng’s door with brute force, despite his feeble attempts to block it. He stumbled and fell to the ground as Wang Xiaohua barged in.
The crowd gasped.
“What happened?” Song Wei muttered, leaping down from the wall and rushing to the front of the action.
Lin Zhen watched her swift movements, stunned.
“She looks so delicate, but she’s quick on her feet,” he muttered, before following her lead.
Inside the room, Wang Xiaohua had hauled Luo Yecheng to his feet and was dramatically lamenting his injuries.
“Brother Yecheng, are you okay? Look at what that Jiang Xiaowan has done to you! You’re hurt so badly you can’t even stand! Let me take you to the village doctor—you can’t let this get worse!”
Song Wei arrived just in time to witness the spectacle.
Leave a Reply