Chapter 38 – A Gentle Heart (1)
Translator: Lunarise
Editor: Lunarise
Proofreader: Livyuna
As soon as the happiness had arrived, it seeped out of her again. What was she thinking? Why did she limit the agreement to just one year? If she hadn’t created a time limit, Shen Fei could be her husband forever. Once they’d performed the marriage rite, they could be married forever unless he divorced her.
Zhao Xi would never divorce him. He was so handsome; she didn’t care if he sat there all day and did nothing but read. She’d still be pleased.
Regret filled her. She’d been so naive! All she had wanted was to cure Shen Fei and have him pretend to be her husband for a year, then she’d let him choose to stay or leave when he recovered. If he chose to stay, she could support the pair of them, but she also didn’t want to hold him back. He was definitely someone important, rich or noble. She couldn’t expect to trap him in this wild valley forever.
Originally, Zhao Xi had planned to wait for him to recover then carry him down the mountain to perform the marriage rituals in the village. That plan, however, was scrapped. She had suspicions that the troops outside the valley were looking for him. If it meant not having to let him go, she’d forgo the marriage rituals entirely and put up with everyone nagging her to get married. It would be worth it.
Shen Fei was the first person to make her food and let her do what she wanted with him. Plus, he was just so handsome. She was sure that she’d never find someone as gorgeous as him, let alone better looking. That was impossible.
She knew her faults. She wasn’t born of some eminent household, nor did she have any ladylike etiquette, piety, virtue, or reservation. At best, she was the lady of a humble household. To be able to keep Shen Fei for a year was a blessing accumulated from who knew how many good deeds in her past life.
Regardless, if he didn’t bring it up, she wouldn’t either. Unless he got sick of this place, of her, and began to insist on leaving.
She put the cover back on the plate and went over to his bedside. She wanted to hug him, but as she stretched out her arms toward him, she caught sight of her hands. They were filthy, covered in dirt, scrapes and scratches. She rejected the notion, frowning.
“I’m too dirty. Eat first. I’ll come back after I’m done washing.”
She’d been gone for days and came home rushing through wind and rain. The dirt was one problem, her odor was another. Shen Fei prized cleanliness above all else. If she got him dirty, he’d go into another sulk. Two days ago, he’d spent an entire day upset because he got a hand dirty by touching the ground. Which begged the question, if he was so afraid of mess, how was he able to go into the garden, pick vegetables, and make food by himself?
The answer hit her when she looked into the bucket and saw that it had been emptied of water. The bucket was twice as big as a normal one, and she had filled it before she left. She thought of the ingredients he had used: eggplant and green peppers were smooth, and freshwater bean sprouts never saw the light. They were easy to wash, so why had he needed two buckets of water to clean them?
No, he must have used the rest washing his hands. She looked at the stack of shower pods in the corner. There were seven or eight less than when she’d left. Zhao Xi sighed. Those were expensive. A few days ago, she’d dropped one and practically overturned the stove trying to get it back. A single pod could be used four times to wash hands and bathing only required one. How did he get through so many in only two days?
She went to the kitchen to boil some water to bathe and wash her hair. Thinking of Shen Fei, she heated more than necessary. He hadn’t washed in two days; he must be uncomfortable by now. He liked bathing way too much, almost to the point of being abnormal.
In an ideal world, he would bathe every few days, and wash his hair every few days. Shen Fei went overboard. He’d make himself sick if he kept it up. She did her best to control him, wiping his body clean every day and only letting him take an actual bath on certain days. Counting the days she’d been gone, today was a bath day.
She washed herself first, then went to get Shen Fei ready for his own bath. He was already waiting, food untouched. Was he planning to eat after, or was he waiting for her to finish so they could eat together? Either way, she was glad he was waiting.
Because of their circumstances, Zhao Xi tried to finish as fast as possible. It took about an hour, but he was still in a good mood. As long as he was clean, he was happy. Although his outward expression was mostly the same, his eyes would light up more often.