First watch of the night.

--------------

The wind in June feels warm on the face, yet not hot. Chuxia holds Yingying’s little hand as they stroll through the fields, and that feeling is simply awesome.

In that time and space, she grew up in the city, though she had been to a few rural resorts with her family, those places were man-made and decorated, inherently different from this pure natural original ecology village.

Moreover, there is not a trace of pollution in this era, and even chemical fertilizers are rarely used. It’s truly pure green, and there’s not an ounce of chemical odor in the air.

The scent of flowers, grass, and earth mixed together, waves of wheatfields already showing a hint of yellow tips, dancing in the wind. It just makes one feel so carefree!

Take a deep breath and exhale exaggeratedly, Chuxia feels her whole body so light and translucent, almost wanting to float into the air...

Coming to this era, though she lived in the countryside, life back then was poor and hard, she couldn’t even fill her stomach and there were a bunch of unpleasant relatives, so she never had the mood to appreciate the natural scenery of this era. Now, she finally experiences this joy for real.

Thinking about the concrete jungle of the future, this place is truly like heaven!

"Aunt Chuxia, what are you thinking about?" Yingying looked up at Chuxia and asked with a bright smile.

"Nothing, I just feel that this place is so beautiful, and I am in an especially good mood." Chuxia turned to the little girl. "The competition is in four days, are you nervous?"

"Mhm." The little girl nodded, "Originally, the teacher wasn’t going to let us rest today, but then for some reason, we were allowed to rest, but the teacher reminded us not to forget to practice at home. Aunt Chuxia, I’ll just play for this little while. After lunch, I’ll start practicing and I promise not to slack off."

It seems the little girl misunderstood her earlier question, so Chuxia laughed and said, "I don’t think you’re slacking off at all. Besides, combining work and rest is the only way to get good results.

If you were made to practice, practice, practice every day, by the end your mind would be like mush, and if you make mistakes, you’d feel particularly frustrated, and as a result, you’d just find that the more you practice, the worse it gets..."

"Aunt Chuxia, how do you know?" The little girl looked at Chuxia with a surprised face, "It’s really just like Aunt Chuxia said. Every time, as it gets closer to the end, my scores get worse.

Sometimes the teacher would scold me, and I’d get even more flustered. The more I think fast, the slower I get. The more I think not to make mistakes, the more mistakes I make. Yesterday, Teacher Tian was even brought to tears by me."

"So what did you end up doing?" Chuxia asked.

"I reassured Teacher Tian, saying that I will work doubly hard at home and won’t let her down. Teacher Tian said she believes I am the most hopeful one and told me I mustn’t lose.

However..." The little girl glanced in the direction where Zhou Huakang was staying, lowered her voice, and said, "Teacher Tian also mentioned that when the time comes, I must have Seventh Uncle accompany me, saying that with him, I am sure to get good scores."

Seventh Uncle = good scores?

Chuxia was truly speechless. It seems that Teacher Tian Tian has a great fondness for Zhou Huakang; otherwise, she wouldn’t have said such things. Doesn’t she worry that the child will repeat her words to the elders?

"Aunt Chuxia, I feel that what the teacher said is not quite right. What do you think?"

"Ah?" Slightly surprised, Chuxia couldn’t help but laugh. If the teacher knew that she couldn’t even fool a child, how would she feel? "I feel the same as Yingying. Whether Seventh Uncle goes or not is still uncertain, but Yingying, are you worried if Seventh Uncle doesn’t go?"

"Not worried." Yingying shook her head, then hesitantly nodded, "A little worried."

"What do you mean by both worried and not worried?"

"I feel that the results will be the same whether Seventh Uncle is there or not, but I am worried that if Seventh Uncle doesn’t go, Teacher Tian Tian won’t like me. She has reminded me several times..." The little girl looked at Chuxia with a conflicted face, "Aunt Chuxia, do you think I should insist on having Seventh Uncle go with us?"

"Why don’t you ask him if he’s willing to go? Besides, on the day we go, it won’t just be the two of us. If Seventh Uncle doesn’t go, let Uncle Wenbin or Uncle Zhe go with us, you can pick one."

"Then I choose Uncle Wenbin." The little girl blinked, looking at Chuxia with a serious face. "Aunt Chuxia, it’s not that I dislike Uncle Zhe, it’s mainly that Uncle Zhe doesn’t smile much, and I’m a little afraid of him."

"Alright, then let’s have Uncle Wenbin go with us." Chuxia chuckled as she took Yingying’s hand, "Let’s go find Uncle Wenbin now and see if he’s free that day."

"Okay."

A big hand and a little hand together found Lin Wenbin who was dozing under a tree. "Bro, Yingying likes you." Chuxia playfully poked him, "Aren’t you afraid of bugs flying into your mouth, daring to sleep here?"

"To come out with you today, I rushed some documents overnight. Do you think I’m tired?" Lin Wenbin sat up and pointed at a grass mat opposite basking in the sun, "Sit and talk."

"Bro, you’re the best to me." Chuxia looked at Lin Wenbin with gratitude. Even though they were half-brothers who only acknowledged each other midway, he genuinely treated her exceptionally well.

Even a biological brother couldn’t have done this much.

"Of course, you are my sister. Who else should I be nice to?" Lin Wenbin said with a warm smile, "I have good news for you. Your Aunt Zhiling is going to be a mother-in-law."

"Really?" Chuxia’s eyes widened as she looked at him, "Huang Xu has a girlfriend? From where? How old is she? What does she do? Is she pretty? Does Aunt Zhiling like her?"

"Hearing this string of questions..." Lin Wenbin chuckled and shook his head, "Can you tell me if you’re asking out of concern or just gossip?"

"Of course, it’s both." Chuxia said naturally.

"The girl is from the Capital City too, a classmate of Huang Xu’s. Seems to be around your age. As for her looks, she’s okay, I haven’t seen her, but that’s what Aunt Zhiling said. From the way she talks, she doesn’t seem quite satisfied, but Huang Xu is happy with it. I heard they’re already planning the wedding."

"That shouldn’t be good news for Aunt Zhiling, right?" Chuxia sighed with emotion, "It’s true, once children grow up, they won’t be controlled by their parents. Liking or disliking, you can only watch helplessly."

Lin Wenbin jokingly teased her, "Don’t worry, the two in your belly have a long way to grow up, so there’s no need to worry about that for now."

"Aunt Chuxia..." Yingying urgently reminded Chuxia.

Chuxia smiled as she patted her head and looked at Lin Wenbin, "Bro, there’s something I want to discuss with you. Yingying has an oral math competition next Wednesday. Can you come with us?" (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)