Make Her Heart Flutter - Chapter 20

“Really.” The uncle tried to promote his goods again, unwilling to give up.

Shang Chumu still shook his head in terror; he was afraid of such soft, slippery, elongated creatures.

The uncle then turned his gaze to Jiang Qi.

Jiang Qi felt like crying but had no tears, maintaining her usual indifferent expression: “Thank you, but no need. You should keep them.”

The uncle sighed in frustration: “These are good things, and you don’t want them. How about this, I’ll give you two fish in exchange for them.”

“Uncle, you should keep them for yourself. Look, we’ve already caught quite a few,” Chi Shuang declined with a smile.

However, the uncle was an enthusiastic man. Muttering, “You kids shouldn’t be so polite,” he fished a black fish and a crucian carp from his bamboo basket.

“Really, there’s no need. Take them home to eat; we have enough already,” Tang Qiluo chimed in.

But the uncle was stubborn: “My daughter and son aren’t home, and my wife and I can’t eat that much by ourselves. In the heat of summer, they won’t keep for long.”

Unable to refuse, the group had no choice but to accept. After this incident, Shang Chumu absolutely refused to go back into the water.

Still, they had caught enough fish to eat. As dusk approached, the group headed back.

Truth be told, catching fish was exhausting, they had been bent over for over an hour. Yet no one complained.

And so, Jiang Qi could only silently rub her sore back.

She was joking, if she were the first to bring it up… Jiang Qi glanced discreetly at the following PD. If this episode aired, the hot search would definitely be about her bad back.

She couldn’t allow such embarrassment in front of the entire nation! Thinking this, Jiang Qi straightened her back a little more.

Chi Shuang glanced sideways and noticed Jiang Qi’s harmless little adjustment.

Jiang Qi didn’t often join their conversations, so it was quite normal for her to walk alone on the side, and no one paid much attention.

Soon, it grew dark. Once they reached the main road, streetlights appeared on both sides, though they were spaced far apart, leaving some stretches of the road in darkness.

Fortunately, a few scattered households lined the road, ensuring they didn’t have to feel their way home in the dark.

“Ah! I’m so tired!” Jiang Ran let loose as soon as she got home, kicking off her knee-high rubber boots and sprawling dramatically on the sofa.

“Ranran, go take a shower! Look, there’s duckweed from the water still stuck to your calves!” Shang Chumu, who had a slight case of mysophobia, couldn’t stand seeing Jiang Ran plop directly onto the sofa and immediately erupted.

“Neener neener!” Jiang Ran pulled a face at Shang Chumu: “This is Sister Chi and Sister Jiang’s sofa. I’m not listening to you!”

No sooner had she spoken than a force lifted her up.

She was slim and petite. Jiang Qi, standing at 177 cm, had no trouble hoisting her: “Thanks for reminding me. Go take a shower now, do you still want to eat grilled fish or not?”

The moment she heard “grilled fish,” Jiang Ran, who had been flailing her fists in protest, immediately switched to an obedient expression: “Okay, Sister Jiang. I’ll go right now, Sister Jiang.”

Everyone was thoroughly amused by this lively character.

Once Jiang Ran was coaxed into washing up, Jiang Qi and the others moved on to the next phase.

Tang Qiluo was in charge of chopping firewood, Yan Xu was responsible for building the barbecue stand, and Shang Chumu assisted Yan Xu by handing him tools.

Jiang Qi and Chi Shuang were outside at the washing station, handling the fish they had caught that day.

Three grass carp. Two of them weighed about three jin each, while the third was a little under two jin. There was also a snakehead fish weighing two to three jin, and four or five crucian carp.

Crucian carp generally don’t grow very large; even the bigger ones only weigh a little over one jin. They have many small bones, but their flesh is tender and delicate.

While taking stock, Chi Shuang had already decided the fate of these fish.

“Tonight, let’s grill the two larger grass carp and make a sour fish soup. We can save the crucian carp to stew with tofu tomorrow, how does that sound? I’ve been craving it…”

“Sure.” Jiang Qi’s reply was as concise as ever. Chi Shuang wanted to eat it? Then of course, they had to make it happen!

Seeing her agreement, Chi Shuang smiled sweetly. “Xiao Qi, you’re just too good!”

“Not really. I was going to cook anyway, it’s no trouble.” Damn your mouth!

The words slipped out before Jiang Qi could stop them, and she wished she could slap herself twice. Watching Chi Shuang’s expression freeze for a couple of seconds, Jiang Qi thought gloomily that this was all they could ever be.

The courtyard lights had been turned on, casting a warm, yellowish glow. With a slight turn of her head, Jiang Qi could see Chi Shuang’s delicate features and her fair, slender neck.

Under the lamplight, it was hard to resist the urge to leave a mark of possession on that skin.

Jiang Qi swallowed imperceptibly.

To save time, Jiang Qi and Chi Shuang took opposite sides of the washing station, each handling one of the grass carp.

By the time they were nearly finished, the grill had been set up over there, and the firewood had been chopped.

After their earlier exchange, Jiang Qi hadn’t initiated any conversation, and neither had Chi Shuang. A subtle awkwardness hung between them.

Finally, Chi Shuang turned the bamboo basket upside down and shook it a couple of times. A small flatfish dropped into her waiting hand.

Without the sunlight to illuminate it, the fish looked utterly ordinary and unremarkable.

“Let’s keep it.” Jiang Qi’s voice cut through the silence, cool and crisp like melting snow.

“Mm.” Chi Shuang lowered her eyes, responding with a single syllable, a rarity for her.

Sensing Chi Shuang’s low spirits, Jiang Qi felt a pang in her heart but consoled herself with the thought that a short, sharp pain was better than a long, drawn-out one.

She had already considered this possibility: according to that book, Chi Shuang would develop feelings for her.

But to prevent the tragedy that would befall them, Jiang Qi had to be ruthless and nip this tiny, budding flower in the storm.

After finding a container to fill with water for the little flatfish, Jiang Qi carried the prepared snakehead fish back to the kitchen.

With Chi Shuang outside keeping an eye on the grilling fish, she set about making the sour fish soup.

She had grown quite adept at lighting the stove and no longer ended up covered in soot and ash.

The firewood crackled and popped as it burned.

The early summer night was pleasantly cool, especially with the occasional breeze that swept over her skin, leaving her heart feeling hollow.

As Chi Shuang fed firewood into the grill, she calmly analyzed their current situation.

In their first life, Chi Shuang had suddenly changed after their marriage, imprisoning her, confining her, even injecting her with strange drugs.

In their second life, Chi Shuang hadn’t participated in the variety show, and “Jiang Qi” had used every means to pressure her, eventually drugging her in an attempt to mark her. In the end, she had leaped from the hotel room window.

In the third life… Chi Shuang secretly built up her own influence, though it still couldn’t rival the Jiang family’s century-old foundation. However, based on her experience from the first life, she knew the Jiang family wasn’t a corrupt clan that aided and abetted evil deeds.

She set a trap, just like in the second life, but this time, when “Jiang Qi” attempted to drug her and force a mark on her, she was discovered by her stern and impartial uncle, who took her back home for discipline.

Through repeated “accidental” exposures, the Jiang family’s uncle gradually lost trust in his nephew. In the end, Jiang Qi met the same fate as in the first life.