Transmigrated as the Husband of a Vicious Villainess - Chapter 14

In the afternoon, Ji Baiqing and Wen Miao took a walk through the fields together. They checked on the progress of the work and, in passing, took the opportunity to annoy the other educated youths.

Once their inspection was complete, they headed home to process the wild vegetables and mulberries they had gathered earlier that day.

Ji Baiqing drew a bucket of water from the well and washed the mulberries in a red-flowered iron basin. She fed a few to Wen Miao, used the rest to brew a small jar of wine, and spread the remainder out on a bamboo tray to dry for tea.

Drawing from the previous night’s experience, Wen Miao felt much more at ease this evening. Seeing that Ji Baiqing had washed her hair, she mirrored the other woman’s tenderness from the night before, picking up a towel to help dry it.

Unlike Wen Miao’s long, curly tresses, Ji Baiqing’s hair was straight and shoulder-length. It suited her temperament perfectly when she wasn’t smiling, her expression was cool and distant, as if keeping the world at arm’s length.

Her hair dried faster than Wen Miao’s. The two sat in the courtyard just as they had the night before. Ji Baiqing glanced at the beauty’s exquisite profile and suddenly spoke:

“Wen Miao, why exactly were you sent to the countryside? Can you tell me more about it?”

She had wanted to ask this for a long time. The original book hadn’t offered much of an explanation, but because they hadn’t been close before, she had kept the question buried in her heart.

At the mention of this, a trace of loneliness crossed Wen Miao’s face. She asked softly, “Do you really want to hear it?”

Ji Baiqing noticed her low mood immediately. She leaned against Wen Miao’s shoulder, nuzzling her affectionately. “If you don’t want to talk about it, then just act like I never asked,” she said softly.

She wanted everything to follow Wen Miao’s heart. However, such consideration made Wen Miao feel a bit self-conscious instead.

Wen Miao reached out, tentatively stroking Ji Baiqing’s soft hair. “If you want to know, there’s no harm in telling you.”

She began to recount her family situation. Under the melting moonlight, the glow seemed to favor the beauty particularly well.

Wen Miao’s “grandmother” was actually her maternal grandmother. Her father had married into the Wen family, and Wen Miao took her mother’s surname. Her mother, Wen Lingyue, was the eldest daughter. Wen Miao’s grandmother had been a secretary to a founding hero and was exceptionally strong-willed; even though she had four daughters, she required all their husbands to marry into the family.

The Wen family had a legacy to uphold. Wen Lingyue and her sisters held high positions in various fields. Wen Miao’s father, Li Wenyu, had set his sights on the Wen family’s wealth and chose to marry in.

But Wen Lingyue’s health was frail. She passed away from illness when Wen Miao was ten, leaving behind a large inheritance in a bank account and a traditional courtyard house for her daughter.

The very next year, Li Wenyu brought another woman into the house. That woman brought along a daughter four years younger than Wen Miao, named Li Xin, who looked remarkably like Li Wenyu.

Fortunately, they weren’t allowed to gloat for long. Wen Miao’s grandmother personally brought people to kick them out. Considering his role in fathering Wen Miao, she gave him a small apartment in a tenement building.

When Wen Miao was young and still held onto hope for her father, Li Wenyu would often sneak over to ask for money. Wen Miao would use her allowance to help him, only for that money to be spent on his new wife and Li Xin.

Later, as Wen Miao matured and realized her father had cheated during her mother’s marriage, she never gave him another cent.

However, in early 1975, a quota for sending one youth per household to the countryside was assigned to Li Wenyu. His wife, Wang Yao, found out early through bribery. She gritted her teeth and spent 200 yuan to buy a job for her daughter, Li Xin. Consequently, Wen Miao was the only eligible youth left on Li Wenyu’s household register.

Since Wen Miao didn’t have a job in Beijing, she was forced to go to the countryside.

Hearing the woman recount her past in such a flat tone made Ji Baiqing’s heart ache. She moved closer and wrapped a long arm around Wen Miao’s slender waist.

Not knowing which words of comfort to offer, she looked up at Wen Miao’s face. In the deep night, one side of the beauty’s face was blurred, but her light-colored eyes were bright, holding a shimmer of moonlight.

Ji Baiqing’s lips curved. She had intended to ask if she was sad, but she changed her question at the last second.

“Are you happy now?”

Wen Miao looked down in surprise, meeting Ji Baiqing’s eyes, which were as beautiful as obsidian. Infected by the smile in the other woman’s gaze, her own eyes curved.

“I am very happy now.”

It was strange. She had been at Yunshui Village for less than half a month, yet her days in Beijing felt like a lifetime ago. Life here wasn’t as hard as she had expected; in fact, because of Ji Baiqing, she was happier than she had been in a long time.

Ji Baiqing’s smile deepened. “As long as you’re happy.”

Being Wen Miao’s friend was her goal, so it was only natural to want her friend to be happy every day.

Looking at Ji Baiqing’s radiant face, Wen Miao’s gaze seemed scorched by the warmth. She hurriedly looked away, her long hair falling behind her ears to hide the blush on her cheeks.

She stood up flustered and stammered, “Al… alright, it’s late. Let’s go back to sleep.”

She thought to herself: Why is Ji Baiqing so open about everything? Aren’t girls supposed to be subtle about their feelings?

Ji Baiqing was so direct that it made Wen Miao feel incredibly bashful. Wen Miao wasn’t ready to “accept” her yet. She still needed more time to determine her own orientation before she could give Ji Baiqing a proper response.

Watching Wen Miao hurry into the room, Ji Baiqing was confused. Why is she walking so fast?

Thinking about how much Wen Miao had talked, Ji Baiqing set up some firewood to boil water. Once it cooled to a drinkable temperature, she carried a cup into the bedroom.

She felt around to turn on the flashlight on the table and whispered: “Wen Miao, are you asleep?”

Wen Miao’s eyelashes flickered. “No,” she answered in a muffled voice.

Ji Baiqing walked to the bedside and handed her the water. “You talked so much just now. Is your throat dry?”

Wen Miao hadn’t noticed before, but now that she mentioned it, she did feel thirsty. “Yeah, a little.”

She took the water and drank. It was still warm.

Under the steady beam of the flashlight, Ji Baiqing leaned over and asked softly, “In a few days when the village has a break, should I take you to town?”

“There isn’t much to do, but we can buy things at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Are you craving meat? Next time we’ll buy some pork and maybe a bone to stew some soup for you.”

Wen Miao watched her talk, a complicated swirl of emotions settling into a quiet calm. She took a deep breath and finished the water.

“Okay, let’s go next time.”

“The packages from my grandmother must have arrived by now.”

“I need to write them a letter, do you want to write one to them, too?”

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