“You look tired.”

Xia Xinyu spoke her true feelings in the language of Xia Xinyu.

Chen Yuan was even more extreme; you would never hear the truth from him.

“Huh?” Xia Xinyu was stunned for a moment, then touched her face and asked nervously, “What’s wrong? Do I have dark circles? Or have I aged a lot in one day?”

“No.” Chen Yuan shook his head and explained, “I mean, you’ve been busy all day and you look tired. Let me make some noodles.”

“You scared me. I thought I was aging prematurely…”

Although she said that, Xia Xinyu actually thought that Chen Yuan saying she was tired had some other meaning, or that something else might happen later.

After all, the atmosphere just now was quite right.

Obviously, she was overthinking it.

[But if you had just—]

Xia Xinyu’s inner voice stopped abruptly.

Chen Yuan suddenly realized that this was abnormal, so he quickly thought of a possibility—crap, my superpower is refreshing weekly!

Being refreshed was normal, but she was clearly about to say something crucial. What the hell are you doing, Superpower?!

Wait, according to last week’s logic, if I try hard to listen to Xia Xinyu’s inner voice, I should be able to hear it?

Thinking this, Chen Yuan was like a person in the desert craving water, searching for the ability that he had initially found annoying, but suddenly missed after losing it.

Soon, like plugging in a battery, it worked.

[I might not be able to take it at all.]

Huh?

If I did what just now, you wouldn't be able to take it?

No, are you even human?

You cut out all the crucial parts for me?

Did you work as a censor on Qidian in your previous life?

“Let me do it, you don’t know how to use this stove.”

Xia Xinyu simply smiled, sat on a small stool in front of the earthen stove, lit a handful of cogon grass, and threw it into the stove.

After the grass burned brightly, she threw in firewood.

Chen Yuan saw a gas stove next to it, so he asked in confusion, “Is the gas used up?”

“Yeah, I just got home today and found out the gas was gone. The gas delivery person said they can’t come until tomorrow, so I can only use the wood stove.” Xia Xinyu explained, “Actually, I haven’t used this stove in a long time either.”

“I know how.” As he spoke, Chen Yuan walked to Xia Xinyu’s side, helped her up, and added firewood himself. Then, he used the fire tongs to stir it, making the fire burn even brighter.

Sitting behind Chen Yuan, Xia Xinyu rested her chin in her hands, stared at him, and teased, “You’re quite capable, aren’t you?”

“My grandma’s house is in Hexiang’s countryside, and they have this kind of stove too. I used to roast sweet potatoes with it all the time.”

Chen Yuan was a person with strong practical skills for the sake of food.

When other people return to their hometowns, the grandchildren set their sights on an animal, and the grandparents will slaughter it to make it the protagonist of dinner.

Chen Yuan was different.

Grandpa, this chicken is dead, but it shouldn’t be chicken plague. It might have suffered a serious head injury.

You can just tell Grandpa if you want to eat it. You don’t have to kill it yourself, good boy. Put down the steel pipe.

“Okay, the pot is hot. I’ll put the noodles in.”

Seeing that the large black pot was already steaming, Xia Xinyu poured some oil from the oil pot. After the oil was hot, she fried two eggs, frying both sides until golden brown. At the same time, she poured in the water from the electric kettle that she had just switched on. Once the hot water boiled and the egg soup turned milky white, she put in a handful of noodles.

“You have to keep vigil tonight, so you should eat a little.” Chen Yuan said.

“No need, I’m not very hungry.”

Xia Xinyu didn’t know why, but she never felt hungry. She clearly hadn’t eaten much. Perhaps she had lost her sense of hunger after being hungry for too long.

When the noodles were almost ready, she looked around and found some cured meat that hadn’t been finished during the New Year, so she cut some meat and put it in the pot.

As far as Chen Yuan could see, Xia Xinyu’s family wasn’t that poor. The building was similar to the neighbors’, just a little older. The furniture in the house was also complete. However, because her parents had passed away and no one was managing the house, and she had just returned, it didn’t seem particularly well-stocked.

“Do you eat chili peppers? I’ll go to the yard and pick some more.”

But it was clear that she wanted to make this bowl of noodles as rich as possible, even if it meant going to the dark backyard to pick vegetables.

“How dare I challenge the chili peppers of your Jingnan.”

Chen Yuan took the initiative to put the noodles into his own bowl and sat at the wooden table in the kitchen, eating without any awkwardness. He even took the initiative and said, “You sit down and rest. Just pretend we’re still in Xiahai.”

Xia Xinyu forced a smile, sat down opposite Chen Yuan, and sighed with some bitterness, “I really want to go back to Xiahai with you now.”

“You really are tired.”

“Yeah, very tired.” Xia Xinyu nodded and said honestly, “Although everyone is kind and tells me to mourn in peace and to move forward strong, having to respond with a smile every time is like being a robot. It feels strange.”

Being busy can indeed cover up sadness.

But when the busyness ends, at the moment of relaxation, thousands of fatigue flood into the heart. Xia Xinyu was a little overwhelmed at this moment, so she lay down on the table, pillowed on the back of her hand, and planned to take a nap.

However, as soon as she lay down, there were fingers gently tapping her head.

Xia Xinyu looked up in confusion, and Chen Yuan placed a hand that was much larger than hers in front of her. She quickly understood, so she didn’t stand on ceremony and rested her forehead on the back of Chen Yuan’s hand.

“The smaller the contact area, the greater the pressure. Sleeping on my hand will be a little more comfortable.” Chen Yuan explained.

While Xia Xinyu closed her eyes to rest, she joked, “Yes, it’s more comfortable than a pillow, and it has a heating function.”

Most people would think that they are the kind of shy, introverted girls.

But Xia Xinyu knew that Chen Yuan’s shame threshold was even lower than hers. It was just that his face could hold back his expression, and he could also say some insincere words with a straight face, so he seemed aloof and calm.

In reality, he was probably even more awkward than her.

Xia Xinyu fell asleep like this, while Chen Yuan transformed into a one-armed hero, eating noodles with one hand as restrained as possible.

It wasn’t that Xinyu’s noodles weren’t delicious. Even her boiled eggs had the blessing of a beautiful girl, so it was impossible for them not to be delicious. If it were the former him, he would have inhaled this bowl of cured meat and egg noodles in a storm, slurping it all up.

But ‘I’m gonna eat, eat, eat’ also had to be triggered according to the occasion.

For example, at this moment, slurping quietly wasn’t bad.

Looking at Xia Xinyu, who was wearing mourning clothes and a mourning cap, and whose temperament was particularly cool under the dim light of the light bulb, he increasingly wanted to know what that sentence was that he didn’t hear when the superpower was refreshed just now.

If you wanted to _______ just now, I might not be able to take it at all.

Filling in the blank was even harder than math question number sixteen.

The key was that you really couldn’t guess randomly.

However, the answer ‘use my hand as a pillow’ should be ruled out.

After all, she was sleeping peacefully now.

“Sister Xinyu…”

Just then, that cousin’s voice suddenly came from the door.

Chen Yuan turned his head, and Xia Xinyu also raised her head. The two of them, inexplicably nervous, looked stiffly at the cousin who was even more stiff than them.

The air, briefly froze.

“Zhou Zhou, you—”

Xia Xinyu felt a headache. Why did this cousin have to be the one to come in?

Why couldn’t it be this cousin? You’ll know the reason soon.

“My dad said the bedding upstairs is ready. Chen Yuan gege can sleep with sister… no, Chen Yuan gege can sleep in sister’s bed!”

What nonsense are you talking about, you silly cousin!

Xia Xinyu blushed at this sentence, and the culprit cousin ran away in a panic after saying it.

“He… got nervous when he saw you, so he can’t speak properly.” Looking at Chen Yuan with extreme shame, Xia Xinyu quickly said, “Hurry up and eat your noodles. After you finish eating, go and rest. Sleep in my room. It’s been cleaned.”

“Your accent is really interesting…”

Faced with this situation, Chen Yuan knew how to relieve the embarrassment.

But he really did think it was interesting. Before this, his greatest understanding of the Jingnan dialect was—if the locals like you, they will friendly call you a *xiang li bie*.

As for this ‘gege’…

After hearing it, he still couldn’t hold back a little.

But this dialect should be different depending on the person. If a girl with a nice voice said it…

“Chen Yuan gege.”

“…” Xia Xinyu suddenly said a cute and playful dialectal female voice, almost stopping Chen Yuan’s heart.

It was like something very, very sweet melting in his chest, directly hitting his soul.

Having heard the Dao in the morning, one can die content in the evening.

It seems like even if I died now, it wouldn’t be anything…

“Means Chen Yuan *gege*. Do you understand that?” Looking at the frozen Chen Yuan, Xia Xinyu explained in a serious manner.

Damn it, she’s explaining it to me!

“I understand.”

Lowering his head, Chen Yuan slurped up the noodles that would get lumpy if he didn’t eat them soon, pretending to be calm.

Damn it, I almost agreed!

I’m really annoyed if you don’t come, Superpower.

Also, what is the superpower that you, you bastard, refreshed?

Come on, Superpower!

While Chen Yuan was full of flaws because of his momentary gaffe, and could only eat noodles in silence, Xia Xinyu glanced at him sideways, covering her mouth, her eyes smiling into crescent moons.

She swore that she just wanted to tease Chen Yuan. She didn’t expect the attack to be so strong.

Boys, why do they like it so much when people call them *gege*?

How strange.

If Chen Yuan called me Xinyu *jiejie* in the dialect, I definitely wouldn’t feel anything.

Of course, it could also be because I don’t understand the dialects of Haidong at all.

“You came here today by high-speed rail… if you go back, you should also take the high-speed rail.” Xia Xinyu asked with some puzzlement, “Do you have money on you? Did you rob Zhou Yu again?”

“Robbing two thousand yuan is really robbery.”

More than two thousand yuan can be filed as a case.

“Then what is it?” Xia Xinyu asked.

Could it be that he has already told his parents about coming here?

“This is a man’s secret.”

If this secret were revealed, Old Chen would die.

Of course, it’s not because his act of giving himself money is wrong. If Mom knew, she would also give it to him.

It’s just that in the Chen family.

That old thing, he overstepped.

“A man’s secret…” The more Xia Xinyu listened, the more suspicious she became, and she pressed on, “And two thousand, why so much?”

It’s two thousand five.

Faced with her many doubts, Chen Yuan took out a half-thick white mourning envelope and handed it to Xia Xinyu with both hands: “I won’t say the social pleasantries about grief and acceptance. If you have any sad things, just tell me directly.”

Chen Yuan rarely went straight.

But at this moment, he was very sincere. So sincere that Xia Xinyu didn’t ask any more questions and accepted the white envelope.

“Come to the mourning hall after you finish eating. I’ll go over first.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

From afternoon until now, Chen Yuan had basically eaten nothing, so he was still very hungry. Since there was only one person left, he could trigger the passive skill—I’m gonna eat, eat, eat.

Clutching the white envelope in her hand, Xia Xinyu lowered her head and walked towards the mourning hall.

However, as soon as she came out, she found her two cousins, who were not related to each other by blood, gathered together under the mourning shed.

Among them, Uncle’s son, Xu Zhou, stretched out his hand and placed it on the table, while Aunt’s son, Zheng Minghao, rested his forehead on his hand…

“It doesn’t feel that comfortable.”

“I’m just saying that’s what they do…” Xu Zhou explained halfway, suddenly feeling a cool breeze blowing from behind, fear making him subconsciously say, “Let go, let go!”

“Let me feel it again. Without the blessing of love, how comfortable is this pillow…”

“Comfortable?”

Zheng Minghao raised his head in surprise and saw Xia Xinyu’s gaze.

And Xu Zhou, who was gnashing his teeth next to him, wishing he could shoot himself to death with laser eyes—damn it, I’m a dog if I play with you again!

“If you two spread this around.” Pointing her finger at the two of them, Xia Xinyu calmly reminded, “Just wait to receive the Si Chu Secret Scrolls as a New Year’s gift.”

“No, Sister, I will definitely keep my mouth shut!” Zheng Minghao apologized with his hands clasped together.

“…”

Xu Zhou was subtly stunned by this warning.

Until Zheng Minghao shouted at him painfully, “You don’t understand the Si Chu Secret Scrolls at all!”

“So, terrifying?”

Xu Zhou, who was studying in the urban area of ​​Shaoxiang, didn’t understand this kind of thing.

He only knew that Sister Xinyu was in the best class in the best high school in the city, and was a very awesome academic.

“However, if you can honestly confess some things, I’ve decided not to send you the Si Chu Secret Scrolls for the time being.”

“Confess, confess, I’ll confess everything!”

Zheng Minghao, who feared the Si Chu Secret Scrolls like a tiger, was like a spineless traitor, surrendering before the torture even began.

“I’ll talk.”

Xia Xinyu turned her head and glanced at the kitchen. After finding that he hadn’t come out yet, she looked back at the two of them, with a smile on the corner of her mouth, but asked with a smile that was not very obvious, “When I wasn’t around, what did they say about Chen Yuan?”

(End of this chapter)