I Transmigrated and Already Had a Wife - Chapter 18

Jiang Zhou stopped the ox cart outside her house, then turned to look at the woman beside her. Lin Muwan’s long lashes fluttered as she looked back, her gaze gentle and warm.

Jiang Zhou’s breath hitched. She lowered her eyes, pinched her fingertips, and stiffly jumped down from the cart. Her feet stumbled, but she quickly steadied herself. She walked around the ox, her limbs moving awkwardly, and stammered, “I, I’ll help you down.”

Lin Muwan stared at the hand she extended. After a long moment, she placed her own hand on Jiang Zhou’s wrist and quietly said, “Thank you.”

Jiang Zhou’s heart, which had been clutching tightly, pounded for a few seconds. Her eyes fell on the fair hand resting on her wrist. Her throat tightened, and she suddenly felt very thirsty.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t considered replacing the original owner and becoming Lin Muwan’s real wife. But the thought of Lin Muwan one day finding out she wasn’t the original owner and seeing a look of disgust on her face caused her unbearable heartache.

But if she could never go back, and the original owner could never return, wouldn’t it be fine as long as she didn’t admit it…?

She felt ashamed of this sordid thought that had sprung up in her mind. She turned her face away, and the bright sparkle in her eyes completely dimmed.

Lin Muwan had no idea what she was thinking. She stepped down from the cart, withdrew her hand, and smiled slightly as she walked past Jiang Zhou, leaving a faint, pleasant scent—Lin Muwan’s own fragrance. Jiang Zhou knew it; she fell asleep breathing in this scent every night.

A sudden, unfamiliar tightness returned to her chest. She bit the soft flesh inside her lip and turned to see the figure disappearing through the doorway.

She carried the water buckets and placed them beside the stove.

Just then, someone outside called out to her, “Brother Jiang.”

Jiang Zhou looked in the direction of the voice. It was Jiang Liu, one of the workers—a short man who seemed quite sharp.

He stood at the courtyard gate, craning his upper body to look over at her.

Jiang Zhou frowned. She finished arranging the water buckets, walked over, and asked, “Brother Jiang, is something the matter?”

Jiang Liu scratched his head. Unlike Zhang Tieniu’s honest nature, he smiled and said, “Just now, I heard Tieniu mention your plan to raise rabbits. The others asked me to come and see if we could raise them together. The busy farming season is almost over, and everyone will be idle at home. Usually, they go to the town for temporary labor, but they don’t earn much and can only return home once a month, so they don’t really like going.”

?!

Raise rabbits with her?

Jiang Zhou instinctively looked towards Zhang Tieniu, who was currently leading the village team in filling the pit with stones and didn’t notice the situation over here.

Jiang Zhou’s heart involuntarily began to pound. Was Jiang Liu speaking for himself, or for all of them?

It wasn’t impossible to let them join, but she was still in the experimental phase. To rashly involve them…

Jiang Zhou shook her head inwardly. She spoke honestly, “This is my first time raising rabbits, too. However, everyone could try hunting some game, and I could definitely try to help you sell it for a higher price. As for raising rabbits, you can wait until I’ve tried it out. If it works, I’ll tell everyone how to do it.”

“Good, good. Thank you, Brother Jiang! I’ll go tell the others now.”

Jiang Zhou nodded. Little did she know that in the following days, the men of Jiang Family Village would actually organize a hunting team, but that was a later story.

Right now, Jiang Zhou had her own worries.

If only she had a mobile phone, she could search online or call her teammates who had experience dating for advice.

It was truly frustrating.

After all these days of being together, she really couldn’t bear to leave Lin Muwan.

Jiang Zhou was silent for a moment. She stretched her neck to peer through the window. Not seeing Lin Muwan, she tiptoed closer and strained her ears to listen to the activity inside.

“Yingying…”

“You can’t eat that.”

“Yingying…”

“Be good, I’ll get you some meat later.”

Lin Muwan’s cool voice was exceptionally gentle, like a clear spring or mountain dew, seeping into Jiang Zhou’s heart. She subconsciously licked her lips, her face filled with jealousy.

Why had things suddenly become like this? Before, even when she woke up in the morning with the soft jade (Lin Muwan) in her arms, her heart had never been so unsettled.

She attributed her abnormal behavior to the fact that she liked gentle people.

Lin Muwan today was too gentle. Her defense, which she believed to be solid, crumbled under Lin Muwan’s tenderness. Lin Muwan gently straightened her collar, gently smiled at her, and gently coaxed Zhouzhou—all the things she liked.

How could she not be moved?

Jiang Zhou stood by the window for a while until Grandma Zhang from next door came in. She nervously called out through the window, “Wife, Grandma Zhang is here.”

Lin Muwan was squatting on the ground, playing with Zhouzhou. Hearing the call, she turned her head and stood up, meeting a slightly flustered face with a flush of red on her fair cheeks. Lin Muwan frowned and said, “Coming.”

Jiang Zhou hastily fled the small courtyard.

She didn’t dare to return until dinner time, purposefully avoiding looking in that direction.

Lin Muwan frowned, watching from the courtyard as Jiang Zhou held a blueprint in one hand and pointed at the empty space with the other, constantly explaining things.

Her tall figure was particularly noticeable in the crowd.

Though she was a woman, she was not shorter than the group of men. She was a good half-head taller than Lin Muwan, too, which explained why her cross-dressing had gone unsuspected for so many years.

After dinner, everyone dispersed. Madam Jiang claimed she was old and went back to her room as soon as they left. Only Jiang Zhou and Lin Muwan remained in the courtyard. Although the courtyard wasn’t large, the sudden quiet after the commotion made it feel even more empty.

Both were silent. Jiang Zhou’s silence was due to guilt; she was using the original owner’s body and was having improper thoughts about her wife. Lin Muwan’s silence was due to a long-established habit; even if she wanted to speak, she couldn’t find a topic.

Jiang Zhou filled a basin with water and placed it in front of Lin Muwan. She rubbed her hands and pointed at the wooden basin, “You wash up first. You’ve been tired all day.”

Lin Muwan pursed her lips and stared at her. After a long moment, she lowered her eyes, a flicker of emotion passing through them.

She paused and then quietly began to wash up. Jiang Zhou stood silently beside her, waiting. When Lin Muwan was finished, Jiang Zhou directly used the water she had used to wash her own face.

It wasn’t the first time Jiang Zhou had used Lin Muwan’s leftover water. The first time, she was shocked and suspected Lin Muwan had ulterior motives. Later, Jiang Zhou had used her water on other occasions, but this time, she felt an inexplicable sense of shame.

Lin Muwan turned and walked into the house, with Zhouzhou following closely at her heels.

Jiang Zhou stood next to Lin Muwan, catching her expression through the water droplets: her lips were pressed into a straight line, and the expression on her face was growing colder.

What had she done to upset her?

Jiang Zhou wiped her face and cautiously glanced at the window, which hadn’t been closed yet. The room was dark; Lin Muwan hadn’t lit a candle after going in.

Straining her ears, she could still hear the sounds of things bumping and a distressed whimper from Zhouzhou.

Jiang Zhou licked her lips and tentatively asked, “The candle is by the window. Is Zhouzhou alright?”

A very cold voice came from inside the room, “Fine.”

The voice carried a frosty chill. Jiang Zhou shivered. She quickly picked up the wooden basin, walked quickly to the doorway, and dumped the water.

“Why don’t you light a candle?” Jiang Zhou pushed the door open. By the faint moonlight, she could barely make out a dark figure sitting on the edge of the bed.

She pinched her fingernails, hesitated for a moment, and thought about lighting a candle. She paused, then walked toward the bed.

She hadn’t figured out how to face Lin Muwan, so perhaps she shouldn’t light the candle.

It wasn’t so dark that she couldn’t see the path, anyway.

She felt very guilty.

Seeing her approach, Lin Muwan lay down in the inner part of the bed without saying a word, turning her back to Jiang Zhou.

Jiang Zhou: “…”

Well, it seemed she was still angry.

Jiang Zhou carefully lifted the edge of the quilt and slipped in. She lay flat, staring at the ceiling, her hands folded over her abdomen.

She didn’t dare to move.

A long while passed.

“Are you asleep?”

“Mm.”

Jiang Zhou turned her head slightly, staring at the blurred shape of the back of her head. She shifted closer to the edge of the bed. “Are you angry?”

“No.”

Jiang Zhou choked.

After all these days of living together, she had somewhat figured out Lin Muwan’s temper. Combining this with what had just happened, a realization dawned on Jiang Zhou.

Could she be shy?

If she was shy, that would be too adorable.

Jiang Zhou wasn’t entirely sure if Lin Muwan was shy because she had used her wash water, though it was also possible she was angry.

She leaned more towards her being shy.

Jiang Zhou reached out, took hold of Lin Muwan’s clothes between two fingers, and gently pulled. She whispered, “I can’t sleep. Let’s chat for a bit.”

“I’m tired. I don’t want to chat.”

“Weren’t you asleep?”

The perfect conversation ender.

She waited for a long time.

Jiang Zhou: “…”

Had she really upset her?

“Wife.”

She waited again.

Jiang Zhou pouted and obediently closed her mouth, trying to drift off to sleep.

After a while, Jiang Zhou’s tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open. She was suffering from insomnia.

A soft, shallow breathing sound reached her ears, followed by a warm body pressing against her.