Chapter 60: Chapter 61 - 61 She Never Belonged Here in the First Place

The few natives tiptoed up to the strange cattle and threw something down, which immediately gathered the creatures together to eat.

Then they came to the fence gate, stopped, and gently set down the things they were carrying on their shoulders.

A few people huddled together and whispered something, quickly dispersing to begin their respective tasks.

“They’re here to repair the fence,” Zhao Xiyan whispered softly.

Qi Yue saw it too, but she dared not respond.

Zhao Xiyan’s hand was still grasping her arm, forcing her to remain close to his shoulder.

At this moment, her chin was almost resting on Zhao Xiyan’s shoulder.

Moreover, because they were so close, she could even feel his cool body temperature.

Zhao Xiyan was not only blessed with handsome features, but his presence was also like the moon—cool, noble, yet gentle.

The closer she was, the more she couldn’t suppress the palpitations in her heart.

She feared that if she spoke, he would notice something was amiss.

“Let’s not bother with them anymore, let’s sleep!”

Suddenly, he turned to look at her, and their lips brushed against each other, perfectly aligned.

Qi Yue was startled and quickly straightened up.

Zhao Xiyan saw that he was still gripping her hand and hurriedly released it.

“I’m sorry, I forgot.”

A hint of embarrassment and panic flitted across the man’s handsome face, and Qi Yue immediately understood.

Zhao Xiyan’s grip on her was indeed unintentional, and his failure to let go was also without conscious thought, not what she had imagined…

Her heart, fried in oil and burning with fire, immediately calmed down, “It’s alright.”

The two did not speak further and went to their separate beds to sleep.

The next morning, when Qi Yue got out of bed, she saw the fence that the natives had fixed and realized that everything from last night was not a dream.

During breakfast, Zhao Yongzhe mentioned the slashing and burning of the fields. Zhao Yongzhe suddenly seemed to remember something, his expression somewhat uneasy, which made Qi Yue feel uneasy too.

Fortunately, Zhao Yongzhe did not perceive anything amiss and continued discussing the arrangements for the slashing and burning.

“Yueyue, those old residents said they’re willing to go with us to do the burning, as long as we can account to the supervisor’s office at the end of the month. I’ve already talked it over with them, your second uncle and I will go.”

“Fine,” Qi Yue hurriedly took up his words, “I’ll take care of cutting down the trees.”

“No rush, you’ve been tired recently as well, you should rest well at home,” Zhao Yongzhe said, then looked at Zhao Xiyan, “Now that things have settled down, you two should also take more time to develop your feelings.”

Qi Yue’s face instantly flushed red with embarrassment, not sure what to say, only to hear Zhao Xiyan utter a soft “hmm” and gently say, “Thank you, father.”

She instantly found it impossible to raise her head to look upon that face as bright as the full moon.

The family saw the situation between the two of them and all left with knowing smiles and winks.

Shen Yu even said cheerfully, “Yueyue, I think Yanyan has something to tell you. Mother won’t disturb you guys.”

As soon as they left, Qi Yue felt extremely awkward.

“What… what did you want to say to me?”

“Yueyue.”

Hearing Zhao Xiyan call her so earnestly, Qi Yue couldn’t help but look up at him.

“What is it?”

Zhao Xiyan solemnly poured her a cup of tea, his dark eyes seemingly filled with a thousand thoughts.

“I think, I should properly say ‘thank you.’ If it weren’t for you, I, Zhao Xiyan, would have probably been gone long ago. This life of mine is one you’ve given me.”

As he spoke, he paused, as if the next words were difficult to say.

Qi Yue’s heart began to be filled with a bit of unease, and she hurriedly interrupted, “You are a hero, and anyone would have lent a hand. Besides…”

She wanted to say, besides, I have entered the Zhao family, and family should not speak as if they are strangers, but she felt it inappropriate to say, because up to now, she didn’t know what Zhao Xiyan really thought of her.

“… let’s not talk about these things so early in the morning. It doesn’t bode well, let’s talk about it some other time.”

Saying so, she quickly stood up, making up a random excuse.

“A few days ago, I saw a rare herb in the woods, I’ll go look for it again.”

With those words, she swiftly ran away.

As soon as she left, Shen Yu, who had been hiding, quickly came out.

“Son, what exactly did you say to Yueyue? Why did she run away?”

Zhao Xiyan twirled his teacup in his hands and smiled.

“Mother, I just wanted to thank Yueyue. She saved your son’s life after all.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Yu’s face immediately lit up with a smile.

“We should indeed thank Yueyue properly. If it weren’t for her, your father too…”

Suddenly, she stopped smiling and looked at Zhao Xiyan, puzzled.

“Is that all you said? What about the rest? What about the wedding ceremony you two need to hold? When Yueyue entered our family, she didn’t even have a proper wedding ceremony, we must make up for that…”

“Mother, have you ever thought whether Yueyue would be willing to spend her life with a disabled person?” Zhao Xiyan suddenly interrupted her, and his handsome face slowly turned melancholic.

“We can’t keep her trapped here forever; she never belonged to this place.”

His words instantly threw Shen Yu into a panic.

“Didn’t Yueyue say she would heal your leg? If you can stand up again, perhaps the Emperor would reinstate you, and then we might have a chance to return. You and Yueyue could be together…”

“Mother, Yueyue is human, not a deity. As talented as she is in medicine, my legs…”

Zhao Xiyan left the sentence unfinished.

In the two years of his paralysis, the Zhao family had sought famous doctors far and wide, all arriving at the same conclusion—his legs were necrotic, beyond any cure!

Otherwise, the Emperor wouldn’t have so easily discarded him, the young War God.

Qi Yue, who had run far away, was unaware of their conversation. As soon as she had separated from them, she regretted it.

She thought that she should have encouraged Zhao Xiyan to speak his mind.

What if he had the same feelings for her? Qi Yue wondered.

But soon after, she felt relieved she had run away.

If Zhao Xiyan had brought up the topic of divorce, she wasn’t sure how to respond.

To stay or leave, she was still undecided.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

After all, in this world, she had no kin.

Along the way, she had come to regard the Zhao family as her own.

Leaving the Zhao family, leaving Zhao Xiyan, would living a so-called carefree life really make her happy?

“Wait and see,” she told herself. “Chopping down a tree every month, tilling five mu of wild land, the life doesn’t seem too bad.”

But by the next day, this “not too bad” life once again became unsettled.

Around noontime, as Cong Zhonglan and Shen Yu were cooking in the kitchen, Qi Yue was playing with the Zhang siblings, Zhang Qiyun and Zhang Qifeng, while Zhao Xiyan was reading under the eaves.

Qi Yue glanced over unintentionally and noticed that he was staring at a torn page in the book with a look of confusion and frustration on his face.

That book was one they had obtained in exchange for the meat of an odd ox they had caught.

This place wasn’t exactly one where books were common; finding a few damaged ones was already a miracle. Torn and missing pages were the norm.

Since Zhao Xiyan couldn’t move easily or even leave the house, Zhao Yongzhe had found these books to pass the time for him.

All of a sudden, Qi Yue remembered that she still had the desks of father and son Zhao stored in her space. Though she couldn’t take them all out, getting one or two books out shouldn’t be a problem.

She planned to sneak a book out the next time she went to the supervisor’s office to deliver the wood and would say she bought it.

While she was thinking this, she heard several people crying and wailing, rushing toward their direction.

The one running in front was Li Yuan. He was running so fast, and in no time, he was inside the yard. As soon as he entered, he knelt before her.

“Miss Qi, please, save my son. I’m willing to serve you like an ox or a horse to repay your kindness.”

“Please, save him,” he begged.

Qi Yue quickly pulled both people up.

“Weren’t you off to clear the wasteland? What exactly happened?”