Chapter 21

Seeing Xiao Changyuan’s firm stance, Yun Pianpian discussed it with him: “Since we’re buying an ox anyway, why not wait until next spring? Then we can also buy a piece of land and use the ox to plow it. That way, the ox won’t go to waste. What do you think, husband?”
Xiao Changyuan hadn’t expected Yun Pianpian to suggest buying a piece of land just for the sake of an ox.
But since Yun Pianpian had already agreed to buy him the ox, Xiao Changyuan naturally didn’t object to her suggestion.
“Fine.”
Yun Pianpian stood up. “Then I’ll go to A Yu’s house now and ask him how much his ox cart cost.”
Before she could even turn around, her slender wrist was firmly grasped by Xiao Changyuan.
Yun Pianpian heard his low, icy voice beside her ear.
“You’re not allowed to go.”
Yun Pianpian turned her head and looked at Xiao Changyuan in confusion.
“Why can’t I go?”
Xiao Changyuan pressed his thin lips together and said nothing.
His dark, cold eyes were like a frozen abyss, covered by endless ice and snow.
Yun Pianpian thought for a moment and suddenly seemed to understand.
“You don’t like me going to see A Yu?”
Xiao Changyuan looked at her expressionlessly, not uttering a word.
Yun Pianpian asked doubtfully, “You don’t like A Yu?”
Xiao Changyuan parted his thin lips, his voice cold and his tone low.
“I don’t like anyone.”
He not only disliked Xie Yu, but also Mu Bai, Jiang Cuicui.
He disliked everyone in Jiangjia Village.
The only person he liked was his wife.
Hearing this, Yun Pianpian finally realized that something was wrong.
She frowned slightly.
There was a reason why villains became villains. Most of them had gloomy, obsessive, and extreme personalities and disliked making friends. They possessed an aura comparable to the protagonist’s halo, yet they often missed out on good fortune.
Rather than saying they missed out on good fortune, it was more accurate to say they pushed it away with their own hands.
These villains built towering walls of ice in their hearts, shutting out all things beautiful beyond the cold barriers. This extreme behavior ultimately led them toward eternal coldness and boundless death.
In the original story, Chu Yi had gathered countless followers who helped him greatly.
But behind Xiao Changyuan, there was no one.
He always fought alone, isolated.
Yun Pianpian lifted her gaze to look at the silent Xiao Changyuan.
She suddenly wanted to open this cold, heavy door and let the warm sunlight pour in, so he would no longer be alone.
“Why don’t you like them, husband?”
Xiao Changyuan replied, “They look annoying.”
“Then do you like me?”
Xiao Changyuan froze for a moment, turning his handsome face away.
His voice was low and cool, carrying a hint of awkwardness.
“I do.”
Yun Pianpian had expected this answer, yet a strange feeling stirred within her.
It was as if someone had gently tickled her heart.
A little itch.
Yun Pianpian had known for a long time that Xiao Changyuan liked her.
If he didn’t, he wouldn’t act like a jealous pot all day, even getting jealous over Jiang Cuicui.
But liking and loving are not the same.
Liking is a shallow form of love; love is a deep form of liking.
What the white moonlight sought was not his liking, but his love.
Even though Yun Pianpian clearly knew Xiao Changyuan liked her, hearing it with her own ears still stirred something unusual in her heart.
She tried hard to ignore that strange feeling, simply lifting her eyes to continue guiding Xiao Changyuan.
“Why do you like me, husband?”
Xiao Changyuan thought for a moment and answered seriously, “Because you are my wife.”
Yun Pianpian asked, “If you had another wife, would you like her too?”
Hearing this, Xiao Changyuan was immediately taken aback.
He turned his handsome face to the side, gazing at Yun Pianpian with a confused expression.
His dark, profound eyes looked incredibly pure, almost innocent, like the deep night sky.
He had never considered such a question before.
Yun Pianpian spoke slowly, “Husband, you like me not because I am your wife, but because we need each other, help each other, and depend on each other. That is why we like one another. Because when there are cracks in life, sunlight can shine through.”
Xiao Changyuan frowned slightly. “I don’t understand.”
Yun Pianpian explained, “If I didn’t need you, and you didn’t need me, even if we lived under the same roof, we would become the most familiar strangers. Because we are two independent individuals, like tightly sealed stones, sunlight cannot penetrate a flawless stone. Only when we open the cracks in our lives, learn to need others and let others need us, can we feel the warmth of the sunlight.”
Xiao Changyuan said, “I don't need warmth.”
He didn’t need the warmth of the sun. All he needed was his wife.
Yun Pianpian whispered, “But I need warmth.”
Xiao Changyuan pressed his thin lips together and said nothing.
Yun Pianpian continued, “I need warmth, which is why I asked my husband to help me light the fire. Actually, I learned how to do it a long time ago, but I pretended not to know so I could spend time with you and have you come to the kitchen to help me.”
Unmoved, Xiao Changyuan replied, “I think you just don’t know how to light a fire and are making up excuses.”
This stubborn fool was utterly unyielding.
Yun Pianpian grew a little angry. To prove her point, she immediately ran into the kitchen to light the fire.
But after trying for a long time, she still couldn’t get it to catch.
Frustrated, she threw the firewood aside.
She had intended to use this to show that her words made perfect sense.
Instead, she had ended up shooting herself in the foot.
Xiao Changyuan watched her expressionlessly.
Though he said nothing, Yun Pianpian felt as if he were silently mocking her.
Her face tightened with indignation as she declared righteously, “It’s because this firewood is too damp.”
Without a word, Xiao Changyuan took the fire starter from her hand, bent down, and lit the fire in the stove. The dry wood quickly caught flame.
The roaring fire in the stove felt like a burning slap across Yun Pianpian’s face.
Xiao Changyuan lifted his cold, dark eyes to look at her.
“Any more excuses?”
Yun Pianpian’s pride was wounded. Huffily, she said, “I don’t feel like cooking today! You can just go hungry!”
Stubborn as a rock in a latrine!
Stinky and hard!
Let him starve!
Fuming, Yun Pianpian ran back to her room to vent her anger by eating osmanthus cakes.
In the end, Xiao Changyuan cooked a pot of vegetable and shredded pork noodles for dinner.
He even thoughtfully served a bowl for Yun Pianpian.
Seeing no reason to refuse free food, Yun Pianpian angrily finished the noodles, then stomped to the kitchen to wash the bowls. After that, she huffily washed up, climbed into bed, and finally fell asleep while clutching the quilt in a huff.
Xiao Changyuan found it rather unbelievable.
His wife could get this angry and still fall asleep.
It was truly baffling.
Yun Pianpian had gone to bed early, so Xiao Changyuan wasn’t tired yet.
But her soft, shallow breathing was like a lullaby.
It made him drowsy.
Xiao Changyuan blew out the candle and soon fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, he suddenly caught a faint scent of blood.
Xiao Changyuan’s eyes snapped open, cold and murderous.