Dandy Escapes From Marriage - Chapter 25

Shen Ke felt like the abacus beads were about to jump onto his face. He couldn’t quite handle it, so he turned to wash his clothes, trying to shift his attention.

 

He had never encountered someone so direct and enthusiastic before.

 

He used to not enjoy going out much and rarely met strangers. He only had some contact with colleagues and their families who frequently visited his father. Some of them had hinted at wanting to be related by marriage, whether it was their own desire or their daughters’ intentions, he wasn’t sure.

 

Regardless, they were all subtle and reserved. The boldest girl had only dared to sneak glances at him during banquets.

 

He thought he could handle such situations, but unexpectedly, he encountered someone completely different.

 

This person seemed to be oblivious to subtlety, flaunting their boldness in certain aspects, occasionally scratching him with their claws, but it didn’t hurt, just tickled a bit.

 

The next day, as dawn broke, a few scattered clouds hung in the sky.

 

Shen Ke got up as usual, washed up, and practiced in the courtyard. Since he started walking to town every day, he had stopped running and instead split firewood.

 

After a while of chopping wood, he started sweating slightly, so he stopped and fanned himself with his collar.

 

Casually glancing around, his gaze suddenly paused when he saw Liu Shu smiling by the window. He hesitated for a moment, then stiffened his movements, buttoned up his collar, pretended not to have seen anything, and continued chopping wood.

 

Liu Shu admired the handsome man chopping wood for a while before happily getting up from bed, even his morning grumpiness disappeared.

 

While washing his face in the kitchen, Shen Ke passed by him and washed his face and hands in a basin.

 

Liu Shu glanced at him, his gaze lingering on the back of his neck for a moment, then casually remarked, “You’re sweating.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Did you sleep well last night?”

 

“…Pretty well.”

 

“Do you still get used to sleeping alone?”

 

“…I’m used to it.”

 

“Ah, I’m not used to it anymore.” Liu Shu sighed sadly. “We used to sleep so happily together in the inn.”

 

“…” Did they?

 

After a good breakfast, before the sun had fully risen, Liu Shu wanted Shen Ke to stay a bit longer, but he was afraid of being late for sunbathing. After some hesitation, he urged, “You should leave—”

 

“I’m leaving.” Shen Ke picked up his bag, almost simultaneously saying.

 

“Okay, I’ll walk you out.” Liu Shu put on his grass hat and they left together. After a short walk, they arrived at the wickerworker’s house, and he waved, “Come back soon.”

 

“Yeah, you take care too, don’t faint from exhaustion again.”

 

After exchanging some reminders, they parted ways.

 

The wickerworker sat in the courtyard drinking porridge. When he saw Liu Shu come in, he was about to ask if he wanted some, but saw the guy walk past him to the wall, prop up his hands, stick his head out, stare at the figure walking away for a while, then casually come over and sit down as if nothing had happened.

 

“Porridge, do you want some?” the wickerworker asked concisely.

 

Liu Shu looked at the clean white porridge in his bowl, feeling a bit envious, but still shook his head, “I’ve eaten already.”

 

The wickerworker didn’t say anything more, just increased the speed of eating his porridge.

 

“If I go bamboo-cutting today, can I go hunting too?” Liu Shu began to negotiate with him.

 

“Hunting?” The wickerworker looked at him in surprise, focusing on his thin arms, “You want to hunt?”

 

“Yeah, any problem?” Liu Shu squinted.

 

The wickerworker shook his head, “No problem, do as you like.”

 

In the morning, the two went up the mountain. The wickerworker cut bamboo in the bamboo forest, surprised to see him actually carrying a bow into the woods. But he didn’t say anything, just continued with his work, thinking they should make an extra dish for lunch to comfort him.

 

“I’m serious, it’s not because I lack skill, there’s just nothing to hunt in the woods!” Liu Shu said indignantly, picking up some dishes and eating two bites, “Hmm? What’s this dish? It’s surprisingly delicious.”

 

“Pork stir-fried with potatoes.”

 

“It’s really good!” Liu Shu ate three bowls of rice in a frenzy. When he looked up, he found that the wickerworker had also finished eating, and there wasn’t a single grain of rice left in his bowl.

 

Upon careful recollection, he realized that the other person had only gone to refill his bowl once. For mature men like them, after doing physical work, their appetite would increase. Even he was eating more than before. These two small bowls were definitely not enough.

 

“Am I almost finished your rice?” Liu Shu suddenly felt apologetic. He used to think it was just a matter of adding an extra set of tableware, but now he realized that with his eating habits, he could easily eat them out of house and home, especially since he hadn’t been able to come up with anything himself, and he had been coming here for lunch every day, it was really inappropriate.

 

“No problem.” The wickerworker denied it.

 

Liu Shu didn’t believe him, so he went into the kitchen and lifted the lid of the pot. To his surprise, even the pot was scraped clean.

 

The wickerworker: “…”

 

Liu Shu turned his head and suddenly said, “Next time you go to town to sell things, take me with you. I’ll help you sell.”

 

“Can I?” The wickerworker asked excitedly. Ever since he witnessed the other’s selling skills, he had been thinking about it but was too embarrassed to bring it up.

 

“Of course you can. You just need to provide me with lunch!”

 

“No problem, no problem.” The wickerworker said excitedly, not knowing what to say. Finally, he took out a plate of melon seeds and a large watermelon from the cupboard and handed them over. “These are for you.”

 

Liu Shu was speechless.

 

After a short nap at noon, he got up to start working. He hadn’t learned how to use the daily utensils, so after making a few bamboo dragonflies, he suddenly had an idea, “Big brother, can you make a rabbit or a bird?”

 

“I haven’t done it before, but I can try.” The wickerworker paused for a moment, looked directly at him, and after nearly a month of observing, he hadn’t seen the kid sit still for more than half an hour. He thought for a moment before tactfully suggesting, “Would you consider learning another craft?”

 

Liu Shu’s mouth drooped. “Do you also think I’m no good?”

 

“It’s not that you’re no good, just that you’re not good at it.” The wickerworker wanted to say that Mrs. Zhu’s son, who was only nine years old, did it as a hobby, and even the bamboo strips he cut were better than his, but he held back and instead looked at the bow hanging on the wall. “You wanted to go hunting, right?”

 

“Yeah, can I go now?”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

Liu Shu picked up his bow and rushed out, clearly excited. He plunged into the woods, squatted for a while, didn’t find any prey, but picked a lot of wild fruits, especially mulberries.

 

On the way down the mountain, he saw a familiar figure in the distance and shouted, “Ah Ke, Ah Ke! Ah Ke!”

 

Shen Ke turned around, waited in place, and watched him jog over, a smile involuntarily appearing on his lips.

 

“Look at the good things I picked.” Liu Shu pointed proudly to the fruits in his clothes pocket.

 

“So many mulberries.” Shen Ke took the leaves from his head. “Did you pick them in the woods?”

 

“Yeah, I originally wanted to go hunting, but I didn’t see any prey.” Liu Shu walked home with him, worried, “There’s not a single hunter in this village. Is it because there’s no prey at all?”

 

Shen Ke gazed into the mountains for a while before saying, “There should be prey.”

 

“Okay, then I’ll try again.” Liu Shu suddenly sniffed and finally leaned over to smell him, “What’s that smell? It smells so good.”

 

Shen Ke smiled and opened his bag. “Roast chicken.”

 

Liu Shu looked at him in surprise. “We’re having roast chicken today?”

 

“Yeah, I got my monthly salary today.” Shen Ke smiled.

 

Passing by the wickerworker’s house, Shen Ke went to settle the bill first, as they had agreed beforehand that Liu Shu would eat lunch here, and he would cover the expenses once he got paid. However, the wickerworker refused, saying that they had already discussed it.

 

“I’m helping him sell goods, and he’s providing me with lunch.” Liu Shu explained quietly to him, but he also had a little plan in mind. This way, it would be convenient for him to go to town and hang out with Shen Ke.

 

Shen Ke understood and thought it was a good collaboration. He even offered to pay the wickerworker for taking on an apprentice, but the wickerworker refused again.

 

“He’s not suitable for this. It’s better to switch to another trade sooner rather than later,” Shen Ke said.

 

But the wickerworker remained resolute. In fact, he had been quite happy this past month. Although he didn’t show it, since Liu Shu came to learn the trade, his place had become much livelier. The courtyard was always bustling, and Shen Ke would show up in the evenings to take Liu Shu away. If they had free time at night, they would bring a few villagers over to chat. Although he couldn’t join in the conversation, hearing about the trivial matters made him feel warm. This home was no longer so desolate.

 

“Never mind.” Seeing him continue to refuse, Liu Shu was about to retreat to the outhouse when he grabbed Shen Ke, smiled, and said, “I’ll just help him sell more things to make up for it.”

 

It seemed that was the only option. After they returned home, Liu Shu went to wash the mulberries while Shen Ke skillfully cooked in the kitchen, but his proficiency was limited to cooking.

 

“Try it.” Liu Shu fed a mulberry to him, and Shen Ke, sitting by the stove with tongs in hand, took a bite.

 

“How is it?”

 

“Delicious. You should have some too.”

 

“I ate a lot when I was picking them.” Liu Shu kept feeding him, and Shen Ke couldn’t stop eating. His mouth was almost full, so he had to use his hand to block Liu Shu’s feeding.

 

“Hahaha!” Liu Shu suddenly burst into laughter, pointing at his mouth. “Your mouth is all purple.”

 

“Really?” Shen Ke couldn’t see his own face now, but judging from his laughter, it should be quite amusing. He couldn’t help but laugh too. “Is it ugly?”

 

“Not ugly, just strangely amusing.” Liu Shu laughed until tears almost came out, reaching out to wipe the juice off his mouth. He missed a spot a few times.

 

The candle flame flickered, and Liu Shu suddenly came to his senses, realizing they were too close, their breath almost mingling. He gradually suppressed his smile, and his Adam’s apple bobbed lightly.

 

A strange atmosphere lingered between them as Shen Ke stared into his eyes, unmoving.

 

Liu Shu’s eyes half-lowered, gazing at his lips, his body leaning forward slowly, his eyes flickering. But just as they were about a finger’s distance apart, he stopped and moved his thumb from the corner of his mouth to his lips, suddenly chuckling softly. “The food is burnt.”