Strange Woman

The two of them were about to leave after dinner when Jiang Danhe stopped them.

“Go after you’ve digested your food, otherwise you’ll catch a cold.”

“It’s fine. Ermm, no. Let’s wait a while.”

Xiaoguo was suddenly reminded that Xiao Zhu was still a child. Her body was definitely not as strong as an adult. Besides, she had eaten a lot. It would be terrible if she caught a cold once she went out.

Obediently, Xiao Zhu sat on a stool and waited for the food to go down.

After a while, before leaving, Jiang Danhe warned the two of them to stay a little longer before going out.

Xiaoguo and Xiao Zhu nodded in agreement. However, just as the man turned around and left, the two of them were already fully dressed. They put on their raincoats and bamboo hats and quickly ran out.

“Sister Xiaoguo, are you sure you don’t need to change?”

Xiao Zhu looked at Xiaoguo’s clothes regrettably. One look and she could tell that the material used on her outfit looked expensive.

“It’s fine. I’m not changing.”

Xiaoguo was in a hurry to get to the beach, so she didn’t have time to change. Of course the main reason was that her outfit she had on was the simplest and cheapest style out of all the clothes she had brought.

When Xiao Zhu heard this, she gave up trying to persuade her and brought Xiaoguo to the beach.

It turned out that the fishing village was near the sea, but the residential area was separated from the beach. Xiao Zhu’s family lived at the edge of the village. After leaving the house, the two girls went around a few small roads and arrived at the seaside. The reason why the sea was visible from Xiao Zhu’s attic was because the house was situated on higher grounds. In the entire village, only one or two families had two-storey houses. The other houses were mostly single-level.

The moment she stepped on the beach, Xiaoguo felt a change in the feel under her soles.

The rain was coming down in a drizzle. The rising fog blocked their vision, but it also added a hazy beauty to the sea.

Xiao Zhu led her with familiar steps towards the place where sea creatures could be found.

Xiaoguo followed closely behind her and tried her best to feel the sand under her feet. Although the ground had solidified a little due to the rain, she could still feel the unique texture of the sand.

Ripples could be seen on the surface of the sea as the raindrops fell from the sky. Due to the storm last night, a lot of sea creatures and seaweed had become stranded on the beach due to low tide

Xiaoguo’s first reaction when she saw them was to pick them up, but she didn’t bring any basket with her and she really regretted it.

Although it was raining, it did not stop the villagers from rushing to the beach. Many people in raincoats and bamboo hats were bending down to pick up the gifts from the sea.

Xiaoguo’s expressionless face was hiding her excitement very well. She was consumed with regret for not bringing the basket.

“Sister Xiaoguo? Look!”

Seeing that she was in a daze, Xiao Zhu thought that she was looking for seaweed, so she lowered her head and started looking around. She quickly found one and handed a large piece of seaweed to her.

The minute she did that, Xiaoguo couldn’t take it anymore. “Xiao Zhu, go home and get the basket. I’ll stay here to pick the seafood. Hurry, if not, someone else will get to them before us!”

“Huh? Oh!”

Xiao Zhu responded in a daze. Then, she threw down the piece of seaweed in her hand and ran back to get the basket. Along the way, she kept wondering. “Didn’t Sister Xiaoguo say that she was only going to take a look? Why did she become so excited all of a sudden?”

Xiaoguo picked up the seaweed that Xiao Zhu had thrown down like a baby. “This child…”

“How could she throw it away just like that? The piece of seaweed was nearly washed away by the waves.”

At this moment, she couldn’t care less if her shoes would get wet. She rolled up the hem of her dress and stepped into the water. The rain had caused the weather to turn cold and the sea water was freezing. Once she entered the water, it was so cold that she almost passed out.

“I am going all out!”

Xiaoguo was already mesmerized by the seafood in front of her. As she started picking, her hands were quickly filled up. Seeing that more people were slowly approaching her vicinity, she felt extremely anxious. Then, she looked around helplessly—Xiao Zhu had yet to appear. In order to pick up more seafood, she had no choice but to lift a layer of her skirt and wrap it around herself to use it as a temporary basket.

Fortunately, she was wearing another layer under her clothes, so at least she wasn’t exposed. If one didn’t look carefully, they wouldn’t be able to tell that she was holding her skirt in her hands. It looked like she was holding some kind of cloth wrap instead.

Just as Xiaoguo was enjoying herself, Xiao Zhu arrived late with a handsome man following behind her.

“…”

The smile on Xiaoguo’s face suddenly disappeared the moment she saw the man. She stole a glance at Xiao Zhu, who was looking guilty.

“Sister Xiaoguo, the basket is here…” Xiao Zhu said pitifully. She didn’t finish her sentence. “The basket is here, but Brother Jiang is here too.”

Xiaoguo quietly took the basket and carefully transferred the seafood from her skirt into it. Then, she mustered her courage and looked at Jiang Danhe’s dark face.

“I…”

“Have you had enough?”

Jiang Danhe interrupted Xiaoguo’s explanation.

“I guess.” Xiaoguo swallowed. To be honest, she wanted to continue picking up more.

“…” Jiang Danhe took a deep breath and said gently to Xiao Zhu, “Go back first. I’ll bring Sister Xiaoguo back to make ginger soup for you in a while.”

As soon as he said that, Xiaoguo realized that Xiao Zhu was not feeling well. She immediately asked worriedly, “Xiao Zhu, are you alright?”

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I might have caught a cold while running back.”

Xiao Zhu quickly shook her head shyly to show that it was not a big problem. It felt really nice to have people showing concern for her.

Xiaoguo was relieved to hear that she was fine. “Hurry up and go back. I’ll go find some ginger for you. When you get back, quickly crawl under the covers. Do you understand? We’ll get back really soon.”

Xiao Zhu listened to her words in a daze. She obediently returned home and lay under the covers—her entire heart was filled with warmth. She really liked Sister Xiaoguo.

On the other side, Xiaoguo patted her soaked clothes and hurried towards the land.

“Have you gotten enough?”

Jiang Danhe took the basket from her hand and looked at the contents. The results were quite impressive. Even though she did not have any tools, she did manage to collect a lot of seafood.

“That should be it. Let’s hurry back and make ginger soup for Xiao Zhu.”

Before Xiaoguo could finish speaking, Jiang Danhe swiftly picked her up and placed her firmly on his back. She only came back to her senses when he took off her shoes and held her frozen feet in his hands.

Xiaoguo moved her feet awkwardly. It wouldn’t be good if anyone saw them. She blushed and looked around at the people around them. Although the two of them weren’t making much noise, their actions were enough to attract one or two pairs of eyes. Those who saw them were whispering to each other. When Xiaoguo saw this, she started struggling more vigorously.

“Don’t move. There will be more people looking at us later.”

As soon as Jiang Danhe finished speaking, Xiaoguo immediately became obedient. She pressed herself against his back like a quail and hid her face against his neck.

Jiang Danhe stole a glance at her and was amused by her cute behavior. He held back his laughter and said solemnly, “Look at your cold feet. Aren’t you afraid of falling sick!”

Xiaoguo was about to say that she wasn’t afraid. She had healing powers. What was there to be afraid of? But when she saw his worried side profile, her heart softened. She pretended to be weak and said, “… Yes…”

“It’s good that you are afraid!” Jiang Danhe was stubborn but soft-hearted. He did not let go of her feet. Even though the back of his hand was turning red from the wind, the warmth in his palm was still as hot as ever. It passed through his palm to Xiaoguo’s feet.

Xiaoguo wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself tightly against his back. Her heart was filled with joy.

After the two of them left, a girl not too far away from them took off her bamboo hat, revealing her teary eyes. She looked at the couple leaving in the distance. The sadness in her heart turned into tears that flowed down her face. It was impossible to tell if they were tears or rainwater.

She didn’t look away until the two figures had disappeared. In her mind was the back of the man she couldn’t forget. “If only the woman on his back was me…”

The girl muttered to herself.