Chapter 15. Desire, Desire

Cheng Qingzhi staggered half a step back, not knowing what was wrong with himself. His entire heart felt as if it was being scorched by a raging fire. He suppressed the burning emotions in his heart and led Cheng Songer into the room.

With warm water and a damp cloth, water droplets fell from his wet fingertips. Cheng Qingzhi wrung out the excess water from the cloth and gently wiped her face.

The midday winter sun shone through the window paper, illuminating his amber eyes. His phoenix eyes, filled with rippling light, exuded charm whether looking up or down.

Cheng Songer suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and retreated slightly, “I’ll do it myself.”

Cheng Qingzhi looked at her, his phoenix eyes brimming with tenderness.

He handed her the damp cloth, revealing an inch of his pure white wrist, dazzlingly white under the glaring sunlight.

As she took the damp cloth, her fingertips brushed against his wrist for a brief moment. The sensation was delicate and soft, like a fine piece of white jade soaked in warm water.

“Thank you,” Cheng Songer said softly, then roughly wiped her face with the cloth. “How is it? Is there any left?”

The blood of animals had a strong fishy smell. The blood splattered on her face had quickly congealed into hard clumps, making it difficult to wash off. Even after Cheng Songer’s furious scrubbing, there were still many areas where the blood stains had not been wiped away.

But there was no mirror here, so she couldn’t see.

“There’s still some,” Cheng Qingzhi said, not knowing what had come over him, his mind out of control.

By the time he realized it, he had already taken the damp cloth from her hand and was half-leaning on the edge of the kang bed, gently wiping away the congealed blood at the corner of her eye.

His movements were very light and gentle. Even so, it still made Cheng Songer’s eyelashes flutter incessantly.

The quiet atmosphere and the close proximity made the air feel strange. Cheng Qingzhi forcibly held back his heavy breathing to prevent his hot breath from falling on her. The corners of his eyes tinged with a faint red.

Cheng Songer sat woodenly, her fingers somewhat at a loss, and mostly feeling embarrassed.

…This distance was too close.

She wasn’t accustomed to such intimate proximity, but seeing Cheng Qingzhi’s patient and meticulous gaze as he wiped her face, she felt too embarrassed to refuse, after all, it was his goodwill.

Cheng Songer kept telling herself, remember when you first crossed over? At that time, Cheng Qingzhi would turn pale with fright just from being touched by you.

Compared to that time, Cheng Qingzhi’s willingness to actively approach her now and have physical contact was already a great improvement.

She secretly wondered if this might be a sign that Cheng Qingzhi had already accepted her.

Realizing this, Cheng Songer felt a hint of joy in her heart. The corners of her mouth couldn’t help but curl upwards, her dark, moist almond eyes brimming with tenderness.

Seeing her smile at him, Cheng Qingzhi’s face suddenly flushed. His hand gripping the damp cloth tightened, his heart surging in his chest as if it might leap out. If he hadn’t been trying so hard to control himself, he might have even dropped the cloth in his hand.

While he was wiping the blood stains off Cheng Songer, a large crowd had gathered outside the house.

These people were all villagers from the Cheng family village. Even though Cheng Songer hadn’t gone around publicizing her killing of the wild boar, what she didn’t know was that in such a closed-off village, news couldn’t be kept secret for more than three minutes. Soon, everyone in the village knew that Cheng Songer had killed the wild boar that had been plaguing the village.

Everyone gathered outside the Cheng family courtyard, which they usually avoided, surrounding the wild boar’s corpse.

Even Liu Su, who had been severely taught a lesson by Cheng Songer just a few days ago, had come.

Looking at the plump and robust wild boar carcass, a glint of greed flashed in Liu Su’s eyes.

“Look, this is the wild boar that has been plaguing our village, eating so much of our grain. Remember how much effort we put into trying to catch this beast before, only for it to escape? Look at the wound on its back, that’s still from when my wife-master injured it last time!”

“It must have been that injury from back then that allowed Cheng Songer to take advantage…”

Liu Su shouted loudly, afraid that others might not hear. He wanted all the onlookers to hear, to make them all covet this wild boar, so that Cheng Songer couldn’t have it all to herself.

Sure enough, after Liu Su’s meaningful words, the attitudes of some residents who had originally come just to watch the commotion began to change subtly.

Indeed, such a large wild boar would be challenging even for experienced hunters to catch. How could Cheng Songer, at such a young age, have managed to catch one so big? It must have been that the wild boar was already injured, allowing her to stumble upon it by sheer luck.

Inside the house, Cheng Songer’s face darkened. Did they think she was dead? How dare they covet her things right in front of her house?

Cheng Songer stood up and went out. Her unpleasant expression made Liu Su, who had just been instigating others, quiet as a mouse.

She swept her gaze over the men and women gathered in front of her house. These people had been looking greedy and covetous just moments ago, but from the moment she came out of the house, they all lowered their heads in unison, not daring to meet her eyes.

These people were all opportunists, willing to listen to whoever said things that benefited them.

More importantly, none of them wanted to be the first to step forward. They all preferred to hide in the crowd, waiting for someone else to be the pioneer. If they won, they could share in the spoils; if they lost, they could retreat unscathed.

Cheng Songer sneered inwardly. Since these people didn’t want to step forward, she would pick them out one by one.

She first swept a glance at Liu Su: “You said the wound on this wild boar was inflicted by your wife-master?”

Liu Su, already wary of Cheng Songer after being threatened last time, wouldn’t have said such things if he wasn’t so greedy for the wild boar meat.

Seeing Cheng Songer’s unfriendly gaze, he immediately regretted it, but with so many people watching, he couldn’t back down now. He could only steel himself and say, “Yes, this is indeed the wound inflicted by my wife-master. If I may say so, if it weren’t for my wife-master’s strike that wounded the wild boar’s vitals, you might not have been able to kill it.”

Liu Su was subtly reminding her that his wife-master also had a claim to the wild boar meat.

Cheng Songer scoffed disdainfully: “Hah!”

This scornful sound made Liu Su’s heart burn with anger: “Cheng Songer, what are you laughing at? What do you mean? You took advantage of the situation and now you won’t admit it?”

“What do I mean? I’m laughing at how shameless you are!” Cheng Songer threw a blatant direct punch, disregarding all notions of village camaraderie and neighborly feelings.

The original owner had already offended everyone in the village, so she didn’t need to consider anyone’s feelings, and could be more direct in her rebuttals.

“You say the wound on the wild boar was inflicted by your wife-master? What a joke! Who doesn’t know that your wife-master was knocked into the opposite ditch by the wild boar and couldn’t even crawl out, let alone touch a hair on the boar? The real person who wounded the wild boar hasn’t even spoken up, and you’re here trying to steal the credit?”

Liu Su was so angry his whiskers were trembling: “You’re talking nonsense—”

“Besides, the wild boar came down from the mountain half a year ago. Even if it had been chopped by a thousand-year-old tortoise, let alone wounded, the wound would have healed long ago. Don’t you all agree?”

Cheng Songer suddenly turned the tables, directly aiming at those who were watching the spectacle.

The onlookers, who had been sitting on the sidelines watching the fight, were suddenly dragged into the battlefield. They looked at each other, unsure of what to do, and chose to remain silent due to herd mentality.

But Cheng Songer refused to let them be cowards. She singled out one person, changing the situation from one against many to one on one, bringing herself back to the home field advantage.

“Don’t you think what I said makes sense?” Cheng Songer’s eyes stared straight at her.

Cheng Songer had a pair of almond eyes that usually looked harmless, but when she narrowed them slightly, they became full of menace, giving the other person a great sense of intimidation.

“Yes, you’re right.” The person, not daring to offend the tough troublemaker, hurriedly agreed.

With the first person taking the lead, Cheng Songer swept her gaze towards the outer circle again: “What about the rest of you?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” the herd mentality made these people start to echo the first person, all standing on Cheng Songer’s side.

Cheng Songer smugly exchanged a glance with Liu Su.

Liu Su glared at her hatefully and left in a huff.

Seeing the instigator leave, the others also dispersed, and her small courtyard returned to peace.

She turned around to find Cheng Qingzhi standing at the door, watching her.

Cheng Songer’s heart skipped a beat, suddenly having a bad feeling. She walked up to Cheng Qingzhi and said softly, “Was I too fierce just now? Did I scare you? Don’t be afraid, I was just pretending. You know I’ve changed long ago.”

Cheng Qingzhi was slightly stunned, then smiled faintly: “I know. I’m not afraid.”

How could he be afraid? He could barely contain his admiration.

In his eyes, Cheng Songer at this moment was like a lofty mountain and a bright moon, standing brilliantly in the clouds.

The sharp edge in her brows and eyes was dazzlingly beautiful, every inch radiating a brilliant aura that deeply shocked him.

He was like a person curled up in a ditch, looking up at the bright moon hanging high above. But gazing at the moon for too long inevitably makes one feel ashamed of their own insignificance.

Hearing his response, Cheng Songer breathed a sigh of relief: “It’s good that you’re not afraid of me. You should go back inside now.”

“Why?” Cheng Qingzhi didn’t understand.

“I’m going to process the wild boar. It’s quite dirty, you shouldn’t watch.”

Cheng Qingzhi shook his head: “I don’t mind the dirt.”

He had done so many dirty and tiring jobs before, and only this person in front of him would care for him like this.

How could she be so good? Cheng Qingzhi’s heart was filled with a sour and numb feeling, like a body about to freeze in the icy snow suddenly being immersed in a warm, steaming hot spring.

She thought of him in every little detail, cared for him, and even when her voice was a bit loud while talking to others, she was afraid of frightening him, explaining to him with an anxious look, eagerly observing his reaction.

Cheng Qingzhi’s body seemed to be softening and swelling uncontrollably. He watched Cheng Songer processing the wild boar with a knife, his gaze lingering on her involuntarily. Such gentleness was like an addictive poison.

The more gently she treated him, the more he couldn’t help but desire more, crave more.