To Be the Male Lead's Deceased First Wife in a Historical Chinese Exam-focused Novel - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Sleeping Too Close

In the dim room, Wen Ying’s words rang out. At first, Yan An didn’t react. But when she chewed on Wen Ying’s words and realized what she meant, she couldn’t help but feel speechless.

“What do you mean ‘what do I think of her’? What does she have to do with me?”

Even if she had something to do with the original owner, she wasn’t the original owner, so what did she have to do with her?

She could accept living with Wen Ying and call it “clinging to the female lead’s leg,” but that county magistrate’s daughter was a completely unnecessary character to have contact with!

Of course, unless she could get an investment from her.

Hearing Yan An’s words, Wen Ying slightly closed her eyes and said in a low voice, “If one day you regain your memory, what will you do?”

Yan An: “???”

“What the hell? I’m not the original owner, so how can I regain her memory? If I do regain my ‘so-called’ memory, it can only mean that the original owner has come back, and I, the outsider, would have been squeezed out to who knows where.”

“And the original owner is dead, so how can she come back?”

“Why are you so mysterious today? That’s not going to happen. Don’t think so much about it,” Yan An said, feeling a little speechless. But since Wen Ying would suddenly bring up the county magistrate’s daughter, it couldn’t be just a whim, right?

After thinking about it, she also turned over to face Wen Ying and stared at her face. “What, did you run into her when you went to town today? Did she say something to you?”

Wen Ying still maintained her half-closed eyes and didn’t look back at Yan An. She just let out a soft “mm” when she heard her words.

Yan An was anxious and quickly asked, “Did something happen? What did she say to make you react like this?”

“And she came back and got mad at me.” Yan An added to herself in a small voice.

“Hmm… maybe it wasn’t getting mad,” but Yan An just felt that she had never been treated like that by Wen Ying before, and she was very annoyed.

“She didn’t say anything. We just ran into each other.” Wen Ying closed her eyes, not wanting to say more. At the same time, she regretted the question she had asked Yan An earlier.

“Why did I bring that person up to Yan An? Yan An doesn’t remember anything now, so I can just continue living with Yan An as if nothing happened. Can’t I just not let outsiders get close to Yan An?”

Seeing her like that, Yan An glared at her and suddenly got angry again. With a rustle of movement, Yan An turned her back to Wen Ying directly and said in a cold tone, “Oh, if it’s nothing, then let’s go to sleep.”

“What else can I do in this boring ancient life besides sleeping? Am I supposed to have a heart-to-heart talk with Wen Ying?”

“That would be a waste of saliva.”

Wen Ying naturally heard the unhappiness in Yan An’s tone, but she was also feeling bad at the moment and didn’t know how to comfort Yan An, so she remained silent, which was a kind of agreement with Yan An’s words. The room fell silent again.

Yan An felt her silence and became even more annoyed. She took a deep breath, trying to suppress the annoyance, and just forced herself to fall asleep.

Wen Ying listened to the steady, light breathing coming from in front of her. Her eyelids seemed to tremble slightly. In the end, she slowly moved closer to Yan An, stopping when she was only a fist’s distance from Yan An’s back. She could already smell the faint, pleasant fragrance on her.

Her expression softened slightly. She felt that the Yan An who had woken up with amnesia had an even more pleasant smell on her. She liked the feeling of comfort and security she got from smelling it.

In this way, Wen Ying also slowly fell asleep, maintaining a fist’s distance from her. It was the closest they had been in a long time.

…

When Yan An woke up the next day, she felt warm all over, to the point of being a little hot. Her waist also felt like it was being restrained by something, which made her a little uncomfortable.

She opened her eyes groggily and yawned. Just as she was about to stretch, she realized that someone was hugging her from behind.

Yan An suddenly woke up. She quickly sat up and looked back, and saw that Wen Ying was very close to her.

Yan An was stunned.

In the past, when she and Wen Ying slept, there was always some distance between them. This was the first time they had slept together, let alone hugged each other!

Perhaps Yan An’s movements were too big. The person who was still in a deep sleep also opened her eyes and then saw Yan An glaring at her.

Wen Ying’s heart tightened. Seeing the almost non-existent gap between them, she immediately understood why Yan An was looking at her like that. Thinking of what she was holding in her arms when she was in a daze, Wen Ying’s expression froze for a moment.

“Did I actually hug Yan An in my sleep?”

“Hey, don’t you see that you’re sleeping too close!” Yan An moved to the side and said, frowning as she pointed at where Wen Ying was sleeping.

It was already too much for two gay women to sleep in the same bed every day. Now they had even slept on one side and hugged each other. There was no boundary at all!

Wen Ying slowly sat up, raised her hand to gently smooth her messy hair, and lowered her eyes with a guilty look. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I rolled over to your side last night. Maybe it was a little cold at night, and I moved closer to you where it was warmer.”

Yan An stared at her with a dumbfounded expression. She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she felt an inexplicable sense of weakness from Wen Ying. And her sincere apology made Yan An unable to use the harsh tone she had planned to tell her to stay away from her in the future.

“But, but things can’t just pass like this!”

“You should pay attention in the future. I don’t like people getting so close to me,” Yan An’s tone finally softened a lot. She didn’t use the angry tone that would make her seem unapproachable.

“Mm, I’m sorry. I’ll pay attention in the future,” Wen Ying said softly, lowering her head.

Seeing her like that, Yan An couldn’t be relentless anymore. She pulled at the blanket that was still covering her legs and said stiffly, “Then, let’s get up.”

Even though she said that, Yan An didn’t move. It was also because Wen Ying was sleeping on the outside. If she didn’t get up first, she would have to climb over her to get up. Normally, it would be fine, but they had just hugged each other earlier, and Yan An felt a little uncomfortable.

“Okay. What do you want for breakfast this morning?” Wen Ying obediently lifted the blanket and got out of bed. At the same time, she naturally changed the subject.

“Let’s just use the leftover lamb soup from last night to make some noodles,” Yan An said dryly.

“Okay, then I’ll go knead the dough first.”

As she spoke, Wen Ying had already put on her clothes quickly. In the end, she even took the clothes Yan An was going to wear today and put them on the side of the bed for her.

Yan An looked at her series of actions and felt that Wen Ying was really too considerate. But the more considerate a person was, the more tired they would be.

She was constantly taking care of others, but how many people would appreciate her and take care of her?

After changing her clothes, she saw that the sun was probably good today, so Yan An took off the duvet cover and other things, planning to wash them and hang the duvet out to dry.

Otherwise, in this weather, it would soon get completely cold, and it would be difficult to dry them even if she wanted to wash them.

Wen Ying, who was kneading the dough in the kitchen, naturally saw her actions. She told Yan An to just soak the duvet cover in water, and she would come and wash it later.

Yan An: “…”

She put on a straight face and silently soaked the duvet cover and sheets in water. She then went to feed the chickens. Only then did she get around to washing up. After that, she sauntered to the kitchen with her long hair down and leaned against the kitchen door, staring at Wen Ying.

She came over suddenly, and didn’t say anything. Wen Ying looked up at her in confusion.

“Can you tell me why you don’t want me to do those chores?” Seeing her look over, Yan An didn’t beat around the bush and asked directly.

Wen Ying’s hands, which were kneading the dough, paused. Under Yan An’s gaze, which seemed to be determined to get an answer, she let out a light sigh. “Washing those things will hurt your hands.”

Yan An’s hands were very beautiful. She didn’t want Yan An’s hands to eventually become big-boned and rough like hers.

Yan An: “…Just because of that?”

Wen Ying hesitated for a moment, but still nodded.

Yan An suddenly walked into the kitchen, picked up Wen Ying’s flour-covered hand, and examined it carefully. “But your hands will get hurt too.”

Wen Ying’s hands were clearly hands that did a lot of work. Every finger was full of strength, and her fingertips were so rough that they felt a little prickly.

Wen Ying pulled her hand back, not wanting Yan An to see her hands. In her opinion, it was better for Yan An not to know about her ugly hands, so she wouldn’t dislike her even more.

“It’s okay for my hands, but yours are different,” Wen Ying said softly, pursing her lips as much as possible.

“How are they different? I’m not some rich young lady who doesn’t do any work,” Yan An felt her resistance and let go of her hand, rolling her eyes at her.

“If you really care about your hands, you should also take care of them in the future, you know?”

After Yan An let go, Wen Ying quickly took her hand back and went back to kneading the dough. Hearing Yan An’s words, she didn’t explain that she cared about Yan An’s hands, not her own.

Yan An frowned at her silent demeanor. Thinking about the life Wen Ying used to live, she felt a little bad.

“Stop being so picky. Since we’re living together, we should share the work,” Yan An said impatiently. But what she was thinking was that she would have to buy some hand care products for Wen Ying in the future.

Wen Ying’s hands clearly had not been taken care of since she was a child. They would probably get chapped and have chilblains in the winter.

Wen Ying was about to say something, but Yan An gave her a glare, as if to say that if she said anything else, she would really get angry.

Seeing her like this, Wen Ying finally let out a soft sigh. Although she didn’t continue to voice her opposition, it was not difficult to see her silent resistance through her expression.

However, since she didn’t dare to say it out loud, Yan An pretended not to see her expression and turned to wash the duvet cover.

“I am humbling myself to wash the duvet cover for the both of us, and she’s not happy about it. What an ungrateful person.”

Yan An grumbled to herself as she washed. She felt that Wen Ying’s personality really needed to change. It wasn’t like before, when she had to support the family all by herself.

Halfway through her washing, Wen Ying’s voice came from behind her.

“Breakfast is ready.”

Hearing the voice, Yan An looked at the half-washed duvet cover and finally decided to leave it and go eat the noodles first. After all, noodles get lumpy if you don’t eat them soon!

Yan An thought to herself, feeling justified.

Wen Ying had already brought the two bowls of noodles to the table in the courtyard. Yan An sat down and was about to pick up her chopsticks when she saw Wen Ying bring her hair tie over and simply tie her hair back.

“Eat first. I’ll help you tie your hair properly after you finish eating.”

“Oh, okay. You don’t have to be busy. Sit down and eat with me.” Yan An let her tie her hair simply. This made it easier for her to eat breakfast.

Wen Ying obediently sat down opposite her and ate the noodles in her bowl, her mind a little lost in thought. If it were in the past, how could she have been able to eat her fill and even eat noodles that were more expensive than brown rice?

She looked up at Yan An. It seemed that ever since she woke up, the family’s situation had been getting better.

Thinking of this, Wen Ying pursed her lips and smiled faintly. “Could it be that Yan An is the lucky star that people talk about who can bring good luck?”

Just as they were about to finish breakfast, there was a knock on the door. The two of them looked at each other, got up, and walked toward the door.

They opened the door, but the person standing outside was not Auntie Li, whom they thought it was, but Auntie Wu, the village chief’s wife.

Seeing her, Yan An and Wen Ying were both very surprised, but they quickly invited her in.

“I won’t go in. I still have to go to other houses to give the notice. I just came to tell you to remember to come to the wedding feast on the 20th of this month. My youngest son is getting married.”

Seeing them invite her in, Auntie Wu waved her hands and refused.

Hearing her words, the two of them were stunned for a moment, but they quickly nodded in agreement. They watched Auntie Wu walk away and head toward Auntie Li’s house.

After closing the door, Yan An looked at Wen Ying. “There’s a feast to eat.”

With this, Yan An really wanted to try what an ancient feast was like.

Wen Ying just nodded when she heard this. There were no major formalities for holding a feast in the village. They just needed to inform the people they wanted to invite. Things like handing out invitations wouldn’t happen in the village.

But the thought of a feast meant they had to give a gift of money. Wen Ying let out a faint sigh.

Hearing her sigh, Yan An looked at her in confusion. “What, aren’t you happy that there’s a feast to eat?”

To be honest, in modern times, Yan An really wanted to try the feasts of every province.

Seeing that she didn’t seem to realize the situation, Wen Ying had no choice but to say, “We have to give a gift of money. It’s probably around 200 wen.”

This was already a very decent amount. It wasn’t too low, but it wasn’t too high either.

Yan An: “…” “Okay, I temporarily forgot about this.”

“At least we have some money now,” Yan An mumbled. However, she also knew that if she couldn’t find a stable source of income, their money would eventually be used up.

Wen Ying looked at her, who had just come to this realization, and couldn’t help but smile faintly. She went to eat the rest of the soup and noodles in her bowl. After Yan An also finished, she took both of their bowls to wash.

Yan An was about to go and wash the duvet cover she hadn’t finished yet, but before she could touch it, Wen Ying told her to go let the chicks out to roam around.

When Yan An came back after letting the chicks out, she saw that Wen Ying had taken her place and was washing the duvet cover.

Yan An: “…”

She was too lazy to argue with Wen Ying about these things anymore. She went into the study to find some blank paper. She also went into the kitchen to try to find some charcoal that was easy to carry to use as a pen. She said to Wen Ying, “I want to go to town and have a look these two days.”

She wanted to go to town to find out about the rental prices of different storefronts. If possible, she would also look into the price of land. If they had enough money in the future, they could buy the land, which would also save them the monthly rent.

Hearing that she wanted to go to town, Wen Ying’s body froze for a moment. Some bad guesses inevitably came to mind. Her voice was a little hoarse. “What are you going to do in town?”

“I want to go and see the flow of people in different parts of the city and the rent. I also want to find out where the best place to buy ingredients is. These are all things we need to figure out in advance.”

Thankfully, Yan An’s family owned a restaurant, so even though she hadn’t actually managed the restaurant herself, she knew some general things.

Hearing her words, Wen Ying’s tense body began to relax slowly. “Okay. I’ll go with you then.”

Yan An opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn’t refuse her suggestion. The truth was, she was still a little scared of wandering around in town by herself. She had to at least get to know all the roads in the city first to make sure she wouldn’t get lost.

After Wen Ying hung up the sheets and duvet cover, she went to plant the seeds that had been soaked in water. Yan An followed her and learned how to do it.

There was no harm in learning more about these farming tasks, especially in this ancient agricultural society. Who knows, these skills might even save her life one day.

After they finished all of this, Wen Ying wanted to go into the mountains to chop firewood. Based on the current temperature, she couldn’t chop firewood for many more days. Especially with Yan An’s idea of going to town, she had to go to town before it got completely cold, as it would be inconvenient to move around in the cold weather.

“Wen Ying, let’s go dig some winter bamboo shoots in a while?” Yan An suggested. There were also bamboo forests around Nanya Village. If they could dig some winter bamboo shoots, it would be a rare delicacy for them.

“Mmm. But winter bamboo shoots are hard to find. You should be mentally prepared,” Wen Ying said softly.

In previous years, she would also go into the mountains to look for winter bamboo shoots, but without experience, she might not be able to dig up a few jin of them even after a whole day. Not to mention being able to sell them in town.

“I know,” Yan An said in agreement. Although she had never dug them herself, she had heard that winter bamboo shoots were hard to dig. Otherwise, the price of winter bamboo shoots wouldn’t be so much higher than spring bamboo shoots every year.

When they went into the mountain again, the two of them couldn’t help but recall the unpleasantness from yesterday. Wen Ying’s expression was slightly stiff. She would secretly glance at Yan An out of the corner of her eye from time to time. Seeing that Yan An’s face was a little tense but not too ugly, she secretly let out a sigh of relief.

“Yan An, I’m sorry about yesterday. I was just flustered, so I got so emotional,” Wen Ying said, pursing her lips and lowering her voice a little.

Hearing this, Yan An quickly said, “Stop right there. You already apologized yesterday. Since the matter is over, no one should bring it up again.”

The more she brought it up, the more Yan An would be reminded of Wen Ying’s appearance yesterday, which made her a little annoyed.

Although she knew that Wen Ying was worried about her, the words “How can I be the same as you?” still made her extremely unhappy.

It was true, but was it really necessary to say it out loud?

“Mmm, okay,” Wen Ying’s voice held a faint smile. She felt completely relaxed, and her steps became much lighter.

As usual, Wen Ying chopped the firewood and Yan An picked it up. After they went back, Yan An followed Wen Ying to town. Yan An didn’t want to take the ox cart alone. Wen Ying was carrying firewood and couldn’t take the ox cart, so they had to walk to town again.

Compared to people who normally went to town early in the morning, they started way too late. They hadn’t even reached the city gate yet, but it was already noon. Both of their stomachs were already rumbling.

They found a spot on the side of the road to rest and took out the pancakes and water bottles they had brought to eat for lunch.

Even though she had already experienced a long journey once, Yan An still felt that her feet were extremely tired. She felt that even the soles of her feet hurt.

“Just hold on a little longer. We’re not far from the city gate,” Wen Ying said softly, comforting her as she saw her stretching her legs from time to time.

“Mmm,” Yan An mumbled, taking a bite of the lamb pancake. But she didn’t feel relieved. After all, they would have to wander all over the city after they entered, and they would still have to walk on their own two feet. It wasn’t going to be any easier.

After the experience of running out of water and having to buy some from a tea stall last time, Yan An was smart this time and brought two extra water bottles just to save those two wen.

As she drank water and ate the slightly cold pancake, Yan An turned to look at Wen Ying next to her. “Wen Ying, what do you think if I said we should buy some woodworking tools and go back and make things ourselves?”

Hearing this, Wen Ying looked at her. In the end, she blinked slowly and said, “It’s possible, but if we make them ourselves, we can only make some very simple things like tables, chairs, and benches.”

After all, being a carpenter was a skilled job. A good carpenter could even earn more than ten guan a month. Many families wanted to send their children to be apprentices in those woodworking workshops.

Wen Ying knew a little about these things because her parents had also thought of sending her younger brothers to be apprentices. But the two of them found the work too hard and didn’t want to go after just two days.

“It’s okay. We’ll figure it out slowly,” Yan An comforted her. If she could find a reliable master, she wouldn’t have to figure it out herself.

Hearing her say that, Wen Ying didn’t object. However, after they entered the city and asked for the prices of the tools, Yan An was silent.

“I’m sorry, I’m not worthy.” The woodworking tools they needed added up to five or six guan. Using five or six guan for her to try was not something they could afford right now.

“Forget it. I’ll just keep an eye out for a good master in the future,” Yan An said expressionlessly.

“As expected, no matter what world you’re in, it’s difficult to get by without money.”

Wen Ying looked at her defeated and calm expression and smiled subtly. After selling the firewood, she took her to stroll along the main streets of the city and explained the general situation of each area to Yan An.

Yan An listened to her words. At the same time, she used her charcoal pen to record things on the paper from time to time. She would also go into the shops on the street to find out about the situation. After all this, Yan An had a rough idea of the market in each street.

Wen Ying looked at the paper in Yan An’s hand. She could see some characters on it that she didn’t understand. Compared to the ones she saw in the study, they had simpler strokes and were accompanied by some things that looked like numbers.

Wen Ying’s eyes flashed. She looked away as if nothing had happened.