Lu Xiao Shu listened to his endless explanation patiently as they slowly galloped a circle. When he was done, she excitedly grinned, “I can go on by myself! I’ll be fine alone!”
Lin Fang thought about it and smiled, “Alright! Just go slowly! Wait for me. I’ll be right behind you!” He passed the reins to her and showed her how to hold them and how to control her strength. Then, he got onto his white horse and lightly kicked the horse’s belly, driving his horse to catch up to Lu Xiao Shu.
“Woohoo! It’s been so, so long since I had so much fun!” Lu Xiao Shu rode her horse slowly around the track. She glanced at the beautiful scene in front of her: the blue sky and lush green mountains. The cool mountain breeze brushed over her skin and it was undeniably mood-lifting.
She almost let out a deep sigh: It really has been a long time since I rode a horse, but the words were stuck in her throat.
Lin Fang laughed, “If you really love it, I can bring you here often in the future!”
“Sounds great!” Lu Xiao Shu tilted her head as she smiled, “But you can’t tell my brother!”
Lin Fang was shocked to hear that. He asked in a monotone, “Oh? Why is that? I thought we used to play together all the time.”
“God knows if he broke a nerve!” Lu Xiao Shu pouted, “Anyway, he’ll be angry if he found out that I was out. He’d probably teach me a lesson.” She looked at him with begging eyes, “Lin Fang, you must never betray me, okay?”
Of course, Lin Fang would never betray her. Instead, if she wanted him to betray her brother, he would probably agree after some thinking.
Lin Fang could relate to her feelings as he felt angry at Lu Qi. Damn you, Lu Qi! You really are a piece of work! When I asked why Xiao Shu hasn’t been out recently, you acted dumb about it. Well, well. It was all your fault after all! Oh, right. It must be because of those rumors! Huh? Do you think I’m that weak? So what if there are rumors? Would I treat Xiao Shu badly because of that? We’re still brothers and instead of giving me a hand, you’re going to drag me down…
“Hey! You’re not thinking of telling my brother, are you?” Lu Xiao Shu got worked up. His friendship with her brother had always been close and it was an obvious fact to her.
“Ah? Of course not! Why would I ever do that?” Lin Fang was snapped out of his trance as he shook his head and smiled, “I’ll never tell him. If you got told off because of me, I could never forgive myself.”
Lu Xiao Shu smiled in relief, “Good! Oh, let’s get out of here and take a ride somewhere else. It feels meaningless to go around in circles here.”
“But you—”
“I’ll be slow. It’s going to be alright.”
“Oh erm… okay.” Lin Fang sighed and nodded. Even though he was quite worried about her, he could not bear to see her disappointed face if he did not allow it. Oh, dear. Since I’ll be with her, it should be fine.
Lu Xiao Shu chuckled and said, “I’ll be off first. You should catch up slowly, not too fast though!” Immediately, she whipped the leash on the horse and it neighed, galloping off with a sprint.
“Xiao Shu!” Lin Fang was in shock. He was just about to urge his horse to chase after her, but he remembered what she said. Nevertheless, he knew that she was always a show-off. What if he caught up and she ended up gaining speed? That would only make matters worse!
He could only follow her slowly while shouting, “Slow down! Xiao Shu, be careful!”
“I know!” Lu Xiao Shu’s laughs chimed from the turn ahead.
Lin Fang sighed again before pursuing her at an average speed.
Both of them rode in the forest for half a day. Lu Xiao Shu was completely overjoyed, but it was a pity that she could not go faster. Once she rode any faster, Lin Fang would be shouting for her to slow down so she was forced to keep it down to not raise any suspicion. Besides, the red horse was still young so it could not run too fast.
Nevertheless, her day had already been amazing so far.
Ever since she unluckily went back in time, became an infant, and lost her birth parents for some reason, she had learned to cherish what she had and be content with it. For instance, today might not be perfect, but if she ignored that little disappointment, it was already a huge surprise.
They got tired and ended up beside a lake in the forest. Once they let the horses rest and graze freely, they sat down on the grass by the lake.
“It’s beautiful here! The water is so tranquil and green! It looks almost like a painting!” Lu Xiao Shu took a deep breath of fresh air with her eyes closed. She was lost in the moment as the sunlight was just right and the air was filled with the fresh smell of grass.
Lin Fang smiled as he watched her calmly. Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide, scaring him spitless.
Lin Fang laughed nervously and turned away, faking a cough, “If you like it here, why don’t we come here more often?”
Lu Xiao Shu gazed at him, making him feel guilty and shy as he dropped his head. She replied, “Ah, forget it! This place is part of your home. Why should I keep coming here?”
“It’s fine! I don’t mind having you here. I swear!” Lin Fang panicked.
“But I mind!” Lu Xiao Shu tilted her head and blinked at him. She said with a straight face, “Besides, it wouldn’t be proper if anyone heard of this. Unless… you give me this land!”
Lin Fang was dumbfounded, eyes wide and speechless.
Lu Xiao Shu thought that it was funny. “I was just joking! Don’t take it seriously!”
How could he take it as a joke? Not only did he take it seriously, he even felt guilty about it. “I’m sorry Xiao Shu. To be honest, it’s not a big deal if I give this to you. It’s just that the land isn’t mine to begin with. I think I don’t own any property…”
Lin Fang grew solemn. He suddenly felt that this was an actual problem. He was already thirteen years old, yet he did not own anything other than the allowance that his family provided him with! The manor, farmland, forests, courtyards, or any shops were all not his.
How could he allow this?
“How about… I ask my father for this land for the New Year’s? I could give it to you then. What do you think?” Lin Fang said seriously.
“You really want to give it to me? Are you sure? I think this piece of land is worth a lot of money!” Lu Xiao Shu got lucky. She was really just fooling around with him.
“Of course!” Lin Fang momentarily relaxed and smiled, “Since my family probably wouldn’t miss this place, it’s settled then!” As long as you like it, what’s a little land to me? It’s just a pity that I couldn’t make the decision. If I could, I would give you everything the Lin Family owns. Hmm… it would be best if you became the Lin Family’s mistress. That way, even I would be yours.
Lin Fang was merely thinking of it, yet he could not help yearning for that to come true.
“You’re really generous.” Lu Xiao Shu was somehow a little annoyed instead.
Lin Fang could notice the irritation in her tone as he looked at her in astonishment.
Eventually, Lu Xiao Shu got tired of going in circles with the conversation, so she asked directly, “You’re being very peculiar today. Why are you suddenly so nice to me? You were never like this before. Is it because— you want a favor from me?”
“No! It’s not that!” Lin Fang was stunned. His heart probably skipped a beat.
Throughout his life, he had never done anything like this. He had never once made a confession to anyone. This was truly a huge fright for him. He was so nervous tgat he wanted to run away from this place.
Lu Xiao Shu grew even more suspicious at that. “You still think you can trick me? Look at you! You’re obviously hiding something!”
“I—” Lin Fang felt his tongue dry up. The excuses he made up were all too lousy that it should not be uttered.
Lu Xiao Shu did not pester him for the answer, yet she huffed indignantly, “Isn’t it for your family’s Jinshi shop? Don’t worry! Even though Bi Teng Shan Ren’s popularity has grown, he’s still a loyal person who sticks to his promises. Since he made a deal to work with your family, he would never change his middle man out of a sudden. There haven’t been any new paintings recently, but that’s because the old man has gone for a trip. I’m sure there will be more paintings after this. You can tell that shopkeeper to not worry over this. There’s no need for all of this.”
“You, you— oh…” Lin Fang was listening with an open mouth which could not stop stuttering. He might have felt relieved at the close call but he could not help feeling disappointed.
He could not believe that she did not catch on that he was interested in her at all. Instead, she thought that it was because he wanted those paintings from Bi Teng Shan Ren.
On the contrary, this was actually good. At least he was saved from being awkward.
He sneaked a peek at Lu Xiao Shu. She’s still young, so it’s probably normal for her not to catch on. It’s alright and he knew it. Anyway, he would always be there to accompany her and protect her, so that she could never leave him.
“I can’t believe that you caught me!” Lin Fang smirked and added, “Since you told me that, at least I can give them an update now. So, you can just drop by anytime if you like this place. Just take it as gratitude from the Li Family’s Jinshi shop. What do you think?”
Lu Xiao Shu’s eyes lit up. Now you’re talking!
“Okay!” So, she nodded exuberantly and grinned cheerfully.
“Then it’s decided! I’ll go pick you up whenever I’m free.” Lin Fang was very excited as he grinned, “There’s nothing to worry about. I won’t let Lu Qi know and this will be a secret between us.”
Hmm. His words felt weirdly suspicious, but there was nothing wrong with that.
“Then I guess it’s settled!” Lu Xiao Shu giggled.
Once they had enough fun, Lin Fang sent Lu Xiao Shu home.
Lu Xiao Shu did not want him to drop her off in front of her house. She hopped off the carriage at the edge of the village and they parted with their farewells.
Just as she reached her house, her mother, Miao Cui Lan coincidentally returned from the farm with a cabbage that she just harvested. When she saw her daughter, she snapped, “Where have you been the entire day? Did you run off somewhere again to play your wild games?”
Now, Miao Cui Lan had stopped carrying the bean curds and selling them herself, and Jin Er did not need his nanny anymore. However, as his nanny’s family was poor, she asked to stay to help with work.
Miao Cui Lan and the others saw that she was healthy and hardworking. The fact that she was honest with her work too made them keep her with them. Once they had her tag along several times, she was confident enough to go out and sell bean curd by herself.
“Erm… I was at Yu Er Zui. Yeah… to check on the grapes there. Mother, they’re ready to be plucked!” Lu Xiao Shu grinned.
There was a large farm owned by the Lu Family at Yu Er Zui. Mainly, they planted bamboo and there was a huge forest of aged trees. It was roughly forty or fifty acres big and in that forest, Lu Zhong specifically grew many wild grapes. Every year, they would harvest the grapes and send them to Mr Wu to be made into wine.
