Village Belle Chapter 126
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 126: So Sister Taozi Missed Him Too
"Milksop, come in quickly!"
Su Tao called out, then hurriedly got up to open the door, not even bothering to put on her outer robe. Anyone who didn't know better would think her own mother had returned.
However, it was just her Milksop who had been "feeding" her.
The pitch-black sky was illuminated only by a faint yellow light from the doorway, reflecting on the boy's face, which was both innocent and delicate. She was inexplicably happy, unable to hide her joy.
"Come in quickly. What are you standing there for?"
Xie Yuntang hurriedly ran over, the lantern in his hand swaying back and forth, his face flickering between light and shadow. He said happily, "Sister Taozi."
"You're not wearing an outer robe. Go put one on."
"I'm not cold, I'm not cold. Why did you come back?" Su Tao looked at him, her face beaming with joy.
She missed him terribly.
Without him, life was boring and there was nothing to eat.
Xie Yuntang's soft, cute face looked a little sullen as he explained, "I wanted to rush home to celebrate your birthday, but it's already passed. Sister Taozi, I couldn't celebrate your birthday with you."
"But I bought you a lot of food. It's at home. Will you come back with me?"
If he weren't so young, outsiders would think he was trying to coax his wife home.
"Yes, yes, yes. Wait here, I'll get my clothes."
Upon hearing about food, Su Tao didn't think twice. She hurriedly grabbed her clothes and took his hand, urging, "Hurry up, let’s go!"
The two children wanted to go back to the Xie family’s house, and Su Fu was worried. He wanted to escort them, but Su Tao refused and pulled Xie Yuntang along.
The road at night wasn't easy to walk on. Xie Yuntang held Su Tao tightly, softly instructing her like a little adult, "Sister Taozi, stay close to me."
"Milksop, how did your exams go?" Su Tao was still quite concerned about his exams.
"It's alright, not too difficult."
"That's good."
"Sister Taozi, have you eaten any eggs? I brought some from the prefectural city, but they're cold now."
Xie Yuntang remembered that she had told Lin Sanzhu about eating eggs that day, so he took out an egg from his sleeve and gave it to her. But he quickly took it back, saying, "I'll cook it for you when we get home."
Su Tao took it and said with a smile, "They taste better cold." Then she started peeling and eating the egg.
Perhaps because no one had been listening to her these past few days, she rambled on and on, "If you hadn't come back, I would’ve starved to death at home. My mother teaches me to cook every day, but I don't want to learn."
"If you don't want to learn, then don't learn. From now on, Sister Taozi, you can eat at my house."
Xie Yuntang felt a pang of heartache when he heard that she cooked every day.
"She’d hit me if I didn’t learn. You have no idea. The oil sizzled so much it almost scalded my face."
"Tomorrow I’ll tell Auntie Su not to make you cook."
"Now that you’re back, I don’t have to. I’ll stay at your house every day, hehe. Then Su Zhi will be the only one learning, and he’ll definitely cry every day."
Lanterns lit up the Xie family’s courtyard, making it bright. Xie Qing and Mrs. Xie-Qin were waiting for the two of them. They had originally planned to accompany Xie Yuntang to find Su Tao, but as soon as they got off the carriage, Xie Yuntang grabbed a lantern and ran off.
Although the two were worried, they let him be.
Their child was growing up, and they had to let go eventually.
Now that the two children had returned, Mrs. Xie-Qin felt a little more at ease. She held Su Tao’s hand and smiled. "Yuntang rushed back after the exams, but he still didn’t make it before midnight. He almost cried on the way."
"Mom..."
Xie Yuntang was a little embarrassed. A man shouldn’t cry. He was just anxious.
Anxious that he couldn’t celebrate Sister Taozi’s birthday with her.
He would definitely celebrate it with Sister Taozi next year.
Su Tao glanced at Xie Yuntang, then shook his hand, sweetly saying, "Brother Yuntang, you're so kind."
Xie Yuntang blushed shyly. "Sister Taozi, you're kind too."
Their childish words amused Xie Qing and Mrs. Xie-Qin, who then let the two children play by themselves.
Inside the house, Xie Yuntang took out a lot of food and placed it on the table in order, earnestly saying, "Sister Taozi, what would you like to eat first? I'll get it for you."
Su Tao exclaimed, "Wow!"
Although she hadn't stopped eating meat these past few days, she still couldn't eat much. Her palate had been spoiled by Milksop.
She reached for a pastry and started eating, her cheeks puffing out, looking endearing and cute. "It’s... so delicious!"
"Milk... burp... Milksop, get me some water." She patted her chest as she spoke.
Xie Yuntang quickly ran out to get her some water and returned soon after. Su Tao took a big gulp and then started eating again.
Xie Yuntang sat quietly beside her, watching her eat. He loved the way Sister Taozi's eyes crinkled when she ate, as if she really enjoyed it.
She took a couple of bites and was already stuffed, which showed that Xie Yuntang had bought a lot.
Su Tao patted her stomach contentedly and burped several times without any regard for her image. "I'm full, Milksop. Keep this for me. I'll eat more tomorrow."
Xie Yuntang listened to everything she said. He obediently sealed the paper bag and placed it in the sealed cabinet.
Then he took out a small box and handed it to Su Tao, looking somewhat expectant and nervous. "Sister Taozi, this is your birthday gift."
Hearing this, Su Tao's eyes lit up, and she took it. "What is it... a bracelet?"
The bracelet was made of blood-red, transparent beads. Although it was also red, like the hair accessories, the two were worlds apart.
The red beads of the bracelet were particularly stunning. They were clearly of high quality.
Milksop's taste was still on point.
She asked curiously, "Milksop, how much did you pay for it?"
Xie Yuntang didn't answer, changing the subject. "Sister Taozi, do you like it?"
The bracelet was expensive, costing over two hundred taels of silver. It was warm in winter and cool in summer. He had asked his father to buy it from outside.
Sister Taozi would definitely not want it if she knew this.
"I like it! Tell me, how much did you pay for it?" Su Tao didn't think like him. She was already planning to sell it for money if she ever fell on hard times.
"It's very cheap, only a few dozen coins." Xie Yuntang was a poor liar. When he lied, his eyes would start darting around.
Su Tao, being a rich second-generation who had seen many nice things, could tell that this bracelet wasn't something worth just a few dozen coins. Seeing that he didn't want to talk about it, she didn't press him for details.
She leaned closer and whispered, "Thanks, Milksop. I'll buy you nice things when I have money."
She then yawned. "I’m feeling sleepy. Let’s go to sleep. Milksop, go to sleep."
Xie Yuntang nodded. Just as Su Tao sat on the bed, he suddenly called out, "Sister Taozi."
Su Tao turned to look at him. "Hmm?"
"Happy birthday," he said softly, full of sincerity.
She grinned. "Thanks. I'll take you to play when you wake up."
"Okay, Sister Taozi, you go to sleep."
"Mmm."
"Sister Taozi..."
Su Tao saw he was going on and on, and was about to pretend to scold him when she heard him say shyly, "I've missed you so much these past few days."
He had missed Sister Taozi so much these past few days, and wanted to say so many things to her.
She was stunned for a moment, then beckoned to him. When he came over, she patted his head. "Milksop, I missed you too. Go to sleep."
"Okay, Sister Taozi, I'm going to sleep."
Xie Yuntang grinned from ear to ear when he heard she missed him too.
So Sister Taozi missed him too.
He had been worried that she wouldn't.
