To Be the Male Lead's Deceased First Wife in a Historical Chinese Exam-focused Novel - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: I’m Not Unhappy

The steamed bun, now cold, seemed a little dry. Yan An, who was eating a dry food for the second time since coming to this world, no longer felt satisfied or excited. Squatting at the entrance to the courtyard, she looked like a pitiful dog locked out of the house.

Aunt Li’s family, returning from their farm work, saw this very scene.

“Little Yan, why are you sitting at the door?”

Initially, Aunt Li didn’t believe it when she saw the figure. But as she got closer and confirmed it was indeed Yan An, she fell silent for a moment. She thought that Yan An, after waking up, had not only become much better to Wen Ying but had also undergone a complete personality change.

Yan An looked up at Aunt Li. Behind her were a woman and two men, who were probably her daughter-in-law, husband, and son.

“Aunt Li, I’m waiting for Wen Ying,” Yan An said in a muffled voice.

That person didn’t even leave a note. She had been on edge all day.

“Oh, goodness, you can’t just sit at the door and wait for her like this. People who don’t know might think you two had a falling out. Little Ying took two bundles of firewood to town to sell this morning. It takes a lot of time to go back and forth. But she should be back soon,” Aunt Li said with a laugh. She had never seen Yan An so clingy to Wen Ying.

Yan An was stunned. Wen Ying had gone to town by herself? And she even took two bundles of firewood to sell?

Although she had had this guess before, now that it was confirmed, Yan An immediately felt at ease.

Yan An’s gloomy mood instantly disappeared, and she became bright and cheerful. She smiled and said to Aunt Li’s family, “Okay, I understand. I’ll just wait a little longer.”

Seeing her like this, Aunt Li didn’t say anything more. She led her family back, shaking her head with a smile.

Yan An didn’t care what they thought. She stood up and looked at the area below the slope, wanting to see where Wen Ying was.

“Honestly,” she thought. “Why didn’t she take me with her to town? I was so excited about going!”

She waited for a long time, and finally, a familiar figure appeared in her line of sight. The original owner had excellent vision, and Yan An naturally recognized the figure.

She snorted, turned, and went back into the courtyard, closing the gate. After thinking for a moment, she went into the study and took out a book, pretending to read it, trying to see if she could make sense of anything.

For example, if it was poetry or songs like in her previous life, she could try to forcibly remember the characters based on their meaning.

After a short while, Yan An, with her keen ears, heard the sound of the front gate opening. Her face became even more tense as she unhurriedly flipped through the book.

Wen Ying, who had returned, probably didn’t find Yan An in the room and came to look for her.

Wen Ying opened the study door and, sure enough, saw Yan An sitting inside, flipping through a book. Wen Ying glanced at the book and couldn’t tell what it was.

“Are you hungry? Did you eat the steamed bun I left for you in the kitchen?” Wen Ying asked.

“I ate it,” Yan An replied flatly.

Hearing her voice, Wen Ying’s eyebrows subconsciously furrowed slightly. Looking at her sitting there calmly, flipping through the book, Wen Ying’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. A thought, like a raging storm, suddenly swept over her, causing her fingertips to tremble slightly.

Her throat was choked up. After a long time, she finally found her voice. Wen Ying’s hand, which was still on the door, gripped it tightly, her knuckles turning pale.

“Is there anything you want to eat? I’ll cook later?” Wen Ying asked tentatively.

Hearing that she was only saying this and didn’t even offer an explanation for leaving her alone in the morning, Yan An got a little angry.

“What is there to eat? It’s still just wild vegetables,” Yan An tried to keep her voice flat and normal.

Although she was a little angry, if she flared up and let her know, it would seem like she cared too much about her.

“Heh,” she thought. “I don’t care about her. I’m just angry because she ruined my anticipation of going to town without even saying a word!”

Wen Ying tried her best to control her breathing. “I went to town today and bought some rice and flour. We can have rice or noodles tonight.”

Hearing this, Yan An glanced at her but didn’t say anything.

Wen Ying’s gaze fell on the book in her hand. She asked, “Can you understand it now?”

Yan An slammed the book shut and put it away. She got up and said with a pout, “I still can’t understand it.”

But there were a few characters that looked similar to the ones she knew. She could try to piece them together with the characters she recognized.

Hearing her say that, Wen Ying suddenly relaxed. Her face softened a little. Recalling Yan An’s expression from earlier, she understood everything now.

“What’s wrong? You seem unhappy,” Wen Ying asked.

“I’m not unhappy,” Yan An said, walking past her into the courtyard, still being stubborn.

Wen Ying looked at her back as she went to look at the things she had brought back. She pursed her lips, guessing why Yan An was unhappy. She then explained, “You were too tired yesterday. Plus, the blisters on your feet had just been popped, so it wasn’t good for you to walk too far. I also wanted you to get more rest, so I didn’t call you.”

Wen Ying never spent money on an ox cart when she went out. Not to mention, she had to carry two bundles of firewood to town to sell. It would be too tiring for Yan An to walk with her. An ox cart cost two coins per person, and the money for two people could almost buy half a sheng of rice.

“I…”

Hearing her say that, Yan An suddenly didn’t have the courage to be angry anymore. The other person had considered her well-being and wanted her to rest more. But she had misunderstood her and gotten upset, making her look both useless and petty.

“Oh, what did you buy?” Yan An awkwardly changed the subject.

Wen Ying saw that Yan An’s expression had softened and that she was a little awkward and wouldn’t look at her, but was still actively trying to start a conversation. Wen Ying’s heart, which had been in her throat, finally dropped. Only then did she realize she was breaking out in a cold sweat.

She slowly took a deep breath to calm herself down. She walked forward and said, “I bought one dou of rice for 70 coins, one sheng of coarse flour for 15 coins, and a total of 40 coins for oil and salt. I bought one jin of eggs for 15 coins, and vegetable seeds for 25 coins.”

As she spoke, she bent down and took the flour out of her backpack. When she straightened up, there was a string of bright red candied hawthorn in her hand.

She held the candied hawthorn out to Yan An and said, “I brought this for you.”

Yan An stared blankly at the candied hawthorn. The sweet scent of the sugar coating filled the air. Even though Yan An wasn’t a big fan of sweets, the thought that this candied hawthorn must be delicious popped into her mind.

“You…”

Coming back to her senses, she looked at Wen Ying with a slightly complex expression. She hadn’t expected that in their dire situation, this person would still think to bring her a candied hawthorn from town.

“I also wanted to buy you some other kinds of sugar cakes, but they were too expensive. I could only afford this kind now. When we have more money later, I’ll buy you some others.”

Seeing that she didn’t take it to eat, Wen Ying pursed her lips, a little disappointed. She figured Yan An probably looked down on these kinds of treats that children ate.

Yan An took the candied hawthorn and held it out to Wen Ying’s mouth.

The sweet smell of hawthorn mixed with the sugar filled her nostrils. Wen Ying came back to her senses and immediately took a step back.

“You eat it. I brought it especially for you. I don’t like sweets.”

“You’re lying.” Yan An’s tone was a little soft. She hummed, “How can someone not like candied hawthorn? Hurry up and eat. I want to eat it, too.”

Wen Ying’s hand, which was hanging at her side, rubbed the hem of her clothes. She turned her head away. “You eat first. Leave the last one for me.”

The topmost candied hawthorn was usually the largest and most vibrant one on the string.

“No, you eat it!” Yan An forcefully held the candied hawthorn to Wen Ying’s mouth, not giving her a chance to refuse.

The sugar coating was already touching her lips, and she could even taste the sweet flavor. Wen Ying, feeling helpless, had no choice but to bite off the topmost candied hawthorn. She said in a muffled voice, “You eat the rest. I’m not eating any more.”

“Okay,” Yan An said, taking a bite in a muffled voice. She knew she could just forcefully feed her the rest, and Wen Ying wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

As she ate, she looked into the other basket. She could already hear the chirping sounds and had a guess about what was inside.

She leaned in and saw six small, yellow, fuzzy chicks huddled together. Yan An’s eyes lit up.

These were chickens! Chickens that could lay eggs and be eaten!

“Cute!” Yan An exclaimed.

Wen Ying looked at her joyful expression and smiled. The chicks that had just hatched a few days ago indeed looked fuzzy and cute.