Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Chapter 132 Wang Xiang's Advice

Xia Lanyue and Xia Yao were walking down the street when they were recognized by a woman passing by.

"Miss Rice Flower, is that you?"

Xia Lanyue looked up at her sister-in-law. What a coincidence! This was the one she owed money to. "It's me, sister-in-law. I still owe you fifty coins."

"Oh dear, I already got it. After you stopped selling rice cakes, I heard there was a shop selling them and thought it was you, so I went to check it out. The shopkeeper said it wasn't you making them, but you had told them about it, so the clerk gave me five packs of rice cakes. The shop is doing really well now, how did you end up selling your skills?"

Xia Lanyue was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Yes, it's not convenient for me right now, so this is the only way."

"Oh dear, what a pity. I heard you even got a beating from Village Chief Zhao because of this. I'm afraid someone was jealous of your good business and deliberately sabotaged you," the sister-in-law said. Then she noticed Xia Yao next to her and quickly explained, "I don't know what happened. I was just talking nonsense. Well, you're busy, I'm leaving."

Xia Lanyue watched her sister-in-law leave, then looked in the direction of the market. It turned out that Jiang Di really took her words to heart. Thinking about it, she felt a warmth in her heart, and she wanted to go and check out the shops.

To her surprise, Xia Yao actually offered to go with her, something he never did before. Xia Lanyue had no idea what he was up to this time.

When Abei saw Xia Lanyue at the shop entrance, he happily greeted her, "Sister Dai, you're here! We've missed you so much!" Then, with a worried look on his face, he asked, "Are you feeling better?"

Xia Lanyue smiled at Abei, "I'm fine, I'm doing well." She glanced around the front hall but didn't see Jiang Di. "Jiang Di, is he here?"

Abei shook his head and looked at Xia Yao warily, "He's not here."

Xia Lanyue seemed to understand what Abei meant, and turned to Xia Yao, saying, "Wait here for me, I'm going to check the backyard."

Xia Lanyue gently pushed open the door leading to the backyard and saw Wang Xiang diligently making rice cakes. Xia Lanyue was somewhat stunned; he seemed quite skilled at it, as if he had done it quite often.

Upon seeing Xia Lanyue arrive, Wang Xiang was also taken aback. "Miss Dai, what brings you here?! Are you feeling any better?"

Xia Lanyue smiled and said, "Yes, thank you for your concern, Manager Wang. I'm much better."

"Thank you for your hard work, Manager Wang. Why did you have to do it yourself?"

"Oh, haha, Jiang Di asked me to do it," Wang Xiang stopped what she was doing, "You arranged to come over today?"

Xia Lanyue shook her head. "I was just passing by and came to take a look. If he's not here, then forget it."

“Oh, he’s gone on a long trip, he’s not here. Did you come by yourself, young lady?” Wang Xiang said, looking towards the front hall.

"I came with my friends."

Wang Xiang nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

Just as Xia Lanyue was about to leave, Wang Xiang called out to her, "Miss Dai, if I'm not mistaken, the person waiting for you in the front hall is Xia Yao, isn't he?"

Xia Lanyue nodded. "It's him. What's wrong?"

"What does Miss Dai think of Jiang Di?" Wang Xiang asked, seemingly unrelated to the question.

"Him? He's a good guy, very loyal, a good person," Xia Lanyue didn't know how to describe him.

"Heh," Wang Xiang laughed out loud, "Good person." Then, he raised his head, "I've known you for a while now, and I trust your character. But there are some things I want to say to you."

Xia Lanyue's heart skipped a beat. She didn't know what he was going to say and had a strange feeling of unease. She nodded, signaling him to continue.

“Jiang Di is young and doesn’t understand matters of the heart very well. Sometimes he doesn’t understand his own feelings and may misunderstand. I know Miss Dai only sees him as a friend, and I hope we can keep our distance so he doesn’t have any unfounded speculations or misunderstandings that could damage our friendship,” Wang Xiang said, glancing at Xia Yao and then observing Xia Lanyue’s expression. “Both of us are sincere towards Jiang Di and don’t want to hurt him, right?”

Now Xia Lanyue understood Wang Xiang's meaning. Jiang Di had developed special feelings for her, which was why Wang Xiang was worried. Wang Xiang was well-informed and must have heard the rumors about her and Xia Yao. Out of concern for Jiang Di, she said those things.

However, she truly only saw Jiang Di as a friend, without any ulterior motives, and she cherished this friendship very much, not wanting it to be ruined.

"Miss Dai?" Wang Xiang called Xia Lanyue softly again when she saw that she didn't respond, "Are you listening?"

"Ah, yes, Manager Wang is right. I understand what you mean. I know what to do. Thank you for your guidance," Xia Lanyue smiled at Wang Xiang.

Wang Xiang smiled and said, "Miss Dai is a smart person. I like dealing with smart people the most."

"Heh, Manager Wang, you flatter me. I'm quite stupid; otherwise, how could I not see things clearly?" Xia Lanyue smiled awkwardly. "If there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

"I'll see you out," Wang Xiang said, following Xia Lanyue to the front hall.

Then, Wang Xiang saw Xia Lanyue and Xia Yao off at the shop. After they had gone some distance, she returned to the front hall.

Wang Xiang turned to Abei and the other men and said, "No one is allowed to mention to Jiang Di that Miss Dai came today, understand?!"

On the way back, Xia Lanyue felt uneasy. She felt that nothing had gone smoothly lately, and the thought of it made her feel bad.

They didn't exchange any words along the way until Xia Lanyue could no longer walk.

"Xia Yao, I need to rest for a while. Why don't you go back first?" Xia Lanyue said, hugging a tree by the roadside.

Xia Yao looked at Xia Lanyue, remained silent for a moment, and then handed the food box in his hand to Xia Lanyue.

Xia Lanyue was taken aback, then took it, inwardly complaining, "This guy won't even bring a food box!" Just as she was getting annoyed, she saw Xia Yao turn around and squat down in front of her.

"Get on, I'll carry you."

Xia Lanyue was stunned. What had happened to this guy these past two days? He seemed like a completely different person. Was this still the Xia Yao she knew? Xia Lanyue looked at Xia Yao's profile, where he had a determined expression.

At this moment, Xia Yao urged, "Stop looking, hurry up."

Xia Lanyue felt that this gesture was too intimate, and she was a little embarrassed. "I'm very heavy, you can't carry me, let's forget about it."

"There are wild animals here at night. You don't want to die here, do you?"

Xia Lanyue looked at the sky; there were still two hours before it got dark. She should be able to get home by now. "I..."

Seeing that she remained motionless, Xia Yao stood up, looked at Xia Lanyue and said, "I understand, you want me to hug you?" After saying that, he stretched out his hands.

Upon seeing this, Xia Lanyue quickly hid behind a tree, stammering, "No, no, I...I..."

“Then come up,” Xia Yao said, squatting down again.

Seeing this, Xia Lanyue realized she couldn't refuse, so she reluctantly climbed onto Xia Yao's back.

Xia Yao's back was not very broad, but it was very straight.

She could also faintly smell a fragrance, which should be from Xia Yao, a light scent of ink that matched his temperament perfectly.

Xia Yao had some difficulty getting up, so she tried to stay still to avoid putting extra strain on herself.

She lay quietly on his back, not daring to speak.

She couldn't see his face, but she could feel his breath and body temperature.

Gradually, Xia Lanyue seemed to realize that Xia Yao was running out of strength, because his muscles were trembling slightly, his clothes on the back were soaked with sweat, and large beads of sweat were dripping onto the back of her hands.

But Xia Yao remained silent, seemingly gritting his teeth and persevering.

Xia Lanyue felt a pang of pity. Looking at the village not far away, she whispered to Xia Yao, "Um, we're almost there. Let me down."

Xia Yao slowly squatted down and put her down.

Xia Lanyue steadied herself, and before she could think of how to express her gratitude, she heard Xia Yao muttering under his breath, "What kind of lousy body is this? So weak?!"

She was taken aback and looked at Xia Yao in confusion. He was panting heavily, patting his chest. His eyes met hers unintentionally, and then he looked away in a panic.

"Alright, you can walk back slowly. I'll go back first," Xia Yao said, walking ahead without waiting for Xia Lanyue to speak.

As Xia Lanyue watched Xia Yao's retreating figure, she suddenly felt that he was a stranger. Was he really the Xia Yao she knew?