After stumbling through the greetings, Jing Yi no longer needed to call Chuxia “Brother Chu.” He had to thank Lin Father for holding back his laughter and saying that a few months’ age difference wouldn’t matter for the two children to get along.

 

Jing Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that he felt embarrassed or had a chauvinistic plot, but in his previous life, he was almost forty years old. Now, pretending to be young made him feel ashamed and afraid of being struck by lightning…

 

After that round of jokes passed, Jing Yi showcased his ability to speak and engage in conversation.

 

He didn’t boast when speaking, and he had his own perspectives. His values were correct, and his thoughts were innovative.

 

What was more important was that even if others talked about things he didn’t know, he wouldn’t let the conversation go cold. He would assist in the conversation or listen, satisfying others’ desire to express themselves and making the three elders feel comfortable.

 

This skill was truly remarkable. Lin Qiuying had already returned to her room and didn’t see it, but Chuxia and Dong Jiang and Dong Shan were stunned. Big Brother Jing Yi had such eloquence.

 

Dong Jiang and Dong Shan were particularly admiring: Usually, the adults in the village find it annoying when we children join their conversations, and many grumpy uncles won’t let us speak.

 

It was Jing’s father who noticed the three children from the Lin family staring at them in astonishment, remaining silent and misunderstanding the situation, thinking they were bored and afraid to speak. “Hey, Jing Yi, stop chatting with us. Go play outside with Chuxia, Dong Jiang, and Dong Shan. Young people don’t need to stay inside with us. Isn’t that right, Brother Lin? Let’s chat among ourselves.”

 

Jing Yi: Thank you, Dad! I love you, Dad!

 

Lin Father raised an eyebrow, carefully looked at them, and realized that Jing’s father was indeed carefree and genuinely believed the children were bored, rather than deliberately creating an opportunity for Jing Yi.

 

Seeing that all three of their children were present and it wasn’t just Chuxia and Jing Yi alone together, and they weren’t afraid to talk when encountering villagers, Lin Father continued, “Yes, Xia Xia, why don’t you take Xiaoyi and the two younger brothers outside for a walk? If you go up the mountain, don’t go too deep.”

 

Rural children don’t have much to play with, and they might end up going too far if they’re not mindful when going up the mountain.

 

“Okay! Don’t worry, Uncle Lin!”

 

“Okay, Dad,” Jing Yi and Chuxia said in unison.

 

Chuxia felt shy, and Jing Yi felt pleased.

 

Afterwards, in order to show himself in front of the two future-in-laws, Jing Yi added, “Uncle Lin, Aunt Lin, don’t worry. Before I started trading, I used to go hunting on Xiaofeng Mountain in the village quite often. I know the dangers of the deep mountains. We’ll just walk around the foot of the mountain, and I’ll take good care of the three of them.”

 

“Okay, thank you, Xiaoyi,” Lin Father replied.

 

Oh well, whether he takes care of them or not, I just want them to wander around the foot of the mountain. But speaking of it, this kid does have the ability to hunt with his hands, which is really good. Let’s have a chat about it another day.

 

When Jing Yi and Chuxia took the two younger brothers and left the house, they walked directly toward the foothills of the back mountain. Because the Lin family already lived on the edge of the village, they didn’t encounter anyone along the way, enjoying the tranquility.

 

It was a rare opportunity, so Jing Yi naturally took the initiative to make a move.

 

“Chuxia, the names of your four siblings in your family sound so nice. Are they all chosen based on the time of birth?” Walking on the road, in order to avoid suspicion, they added two little light bulbs. Jing Yi continued to chat with Chuxia.

 

“Well, initially, Sister Qiuying’s name wasn’t based on that. It was just a nice-sounding name. But then, when I was born in the summer, Dad thought ‘Chuxia’ sounded good, so they arranged it like that.”

 

Chuxia answered without even daring to glance to the side, keeping his gaze fixed on the road ahead.

 

“Yes, indeed, they sound really nice. Among the four seasons, I like summer the most. When summer arrives, my mood improves!” Without needing to look, just hearing that sweet and cheerful voice, Jing Yi knew that his flattery had definitely worked, and he was beaming with happiness.

 

No matter how clever and well-intentioned Chuxia was, he was just a country boy who couldn’t handle Jing Yi’s unconventional “confession.”

 

Instantly, his face started to burn, and even without looking, he knew his ears were bright red. After thinking for a moment, he decided not to say anything more. Anything he said would only make the situation more embarrassing, and if he misunderstood Jing Yi’s intentions, it would be even more humiliating.

 

Seeing Chuxia’s expression, Jing Yi knew that his feelings must have been conveyed. He thought to himself that the boy he had set his sights on was indeed intelligent and perceptive.

 

What made him even more delighted was that when he looked at Chuxia’s face now, there was no disgust or discomfort, only shyness and a hint of anger. Perhaps his rapid progress had startled him.

 

Jing Yi felt reassured. As long as Chuxia had favorable feelings towards him, that was enough.

 

Looking at Jing Yi, who was smiling so much that his eyes couldn’t be seen, with his mouth stretched to the back of his head, and even his big white teeth showing, even though Chuxia was no longer paying much attention to him, he didn’t feel regretful in the least.

 

Today, he had already gained so much, okay!

 

Knowing that the person he liked had favorable feelings towards him was simply the epitome of happiness. As long as he managed it well, these little bits of affection would eventually turn into love.

 

The atmosphere on the scene was both ambiguous and slightly awkward.

 

Fortunately, they had brought the two little light bulbs with them today, so it wouldn’t become awkwardly silent.

 

Listening to their enthusiastic remarks like “I like autumn. There are so many wild fruits on the mountains in autumn,” and “I also like summer. Winter is too cold. I don’t like it!” Jing Yi let Chuxia off the hook and turned to chat with the two soon-to-be younger brothers-in-law.

 

The three of them chatted happily, and Chuxia watched in awe from the side.

 

In fact, as long as Jing Yi wanted to, he could chat joyfully and keep the conversation flowing with anyone, as long as he was willing.

 

The four of them walked and stopped, talking and laughing.

 

Correction, it was three people talking and laughing. Chuxia was still more reserved, at most saying a few sentences and smiling when teased.

 

After the awkwardness from earlier disappeared, Chuxia gradually joined the group chat.

 

However, ever since Chuxia joined the group chat, Dong Jiang and Dong Shan clearly felt that Big Brother Jing Yi was somewhat neglecting them, but as long as Chuxia spoke, Jing Yi would enthusiastically respond.

 

Children in ancient times matured early. The children of those well-to-do families in the city would sit separately from the age of seven or eight.

 

Dong Jiang felt a bit puzzled, sometimes looking at his second brother, sometimes looking at Jing Yi. After silently observing for a while, he suddenly became wary of Jing Yi, firmly controlling the distance between him and his second brother.

 

Since the Lin twins were four years old, it was always Chuxia who took care of them, so they had a special bond with their second brother.

 

Mr. Lin was a hunter and spent most of his time hunting in the mountains, earning a decent income but rarely being at home.

 

Mr. Lin was busy with household chores, and when the 13-year-old eldest sister of the Lin family was busy, there was an endless amount of work. Starting from the age of ten, Chuxia took on the responsibility of looking after his two younger brothers, taking care of them to prevent them from falling or getting lost and playing with them.

 

Therefore, the twins had spent the most time with Chuxia and were particularly close to him.

 

At this moment, clever little Dong Jiang noticed that someone had their eyes on his brother Chuxia. Even if it was his admired Big Brother Jing, he had to create a barrier and observe first.

 

However, Dong Shan, with his straightforward personality, didn’t notice anything. His level of straightness was such that if it weren’t for the generational difference, he could have been best buddies with Jing’s father.

 

He naively thought that Jing Yi wasn’t interested in this topic anymore and quickly changed the subject.

 

“Oh, by the way, Jing Yi, let’s go play at the small mountain stream behind the village! There are still good things to catch there.” Dong Shan said mysteriously.

 

He wanted to create suspense and paused for a moment, but when he saw that no one continued to ask, he had to continue, “Yesterday, I saw Gou Dan and the others catch a lot of small snails in the mountain stream. The snail soup is so delicious.”

 

As Dong Shan spoke, he felt his mouth watering, but he managed to suppress it in time.

 

Chuxia/Dong Jiang: …He’s really my good little brother, not embarrassed at all.

 

Jing Yi heard Dong Shan’s proposal and thought it was not bad. They needed to find something for the two little guys to do.

 

This way, he and Chuxia could keep an eye on them and not worry about any accidents. They could be alone together without feeling awkward. It was perfect.

 

However, he still needed to seek Chuxia’s opinion.

 

“Chuxia, what do you think? Uncle Lin said we shouldn’t go too far into the mountains. I wonder if we can go to this small mountain stream?” Jing Yi looked at Chuxia’s profile and asked softly.

 

Chuxia originally planned to take Jing Yi back to the courtyard to chat after a stroll. He wouldn’t feel awkward when there were more people around. But seeing Dong Shan eagerly staring at him, he knew that he really wanted to eat that snail soup.

 

And looking at Dong Jiang, he seemed slightly interested too, although his expression remained unchanged. But Chuxia knew them both too well.

 

Not to mention the person staring at his profile, even without looking, he could hear the eagerness in their voice.

 

“Yeah, we can go. It’s not far, just about the time it takes to finish a cup of tea. But we’ll only stay there for about fifteen minutes. It’s autumn, the stream water is cool, and we’ve been out for quite a while,” Chuxia quickly glanced at Jing Yi, then lowered his head and spoke to his two younger brothers.

 

Then, the four of them happily walked towards the edge of the stream.

 

This should be a stream left from the side of the Langya Peak on the Dafeng Mountain. The stream is not very wide, about two or three meters, and the water is exceptionally clear. The water flows gently, and it’s the season when maple leaves fall. The maple leaves float on the stream, adding beautiful colors to it.

 

Jing Yi was moved by the scenery and atmosphere before him. It was rare for him to be sentimental. It was wonderful to meet a beautiful person in a beautiful season.

 

But when he looked at the little brat Dong Shan next to him, who was almost naked, all the sentimentality disappeared instantly.

 

Yes, when they arrived at the stream, Dong Shan immediately started yelling and taking off his shoes, socks, and even his pants. Chuxia quickly stopped him, with a black line on his forehead, and told him to roll up his pant legs and go down like that.

 

The deepest part of the stream was only up to their thighs, but usually, it was enough to just touch the snails on the stream’s edge.

 

“Alright, you two can go down. Jing Yi and I will watch you from above,” Chuxia said, and it was certain that he and Jing Yi couldn’t go down.

 

He was an unmarried young man, and going out with another man meant having his two younger brothers with him. Rolling up his pants in front of another man was definitely not allowed.

 

He couldn’t let others see his legs and feet. Even someone else undressing in front of him would be considered indecent exposure, which would harm his reputation. Unless it was necessary, like when doing farm work or washing clothes, there was no need to avoid it.

 

“Okay, Second Brother, Big Brother Jing, wait for us. We’ll definitely make you drink fresh soup tonight!” After saying that, Dong Jiang and Dong Shan confidently splashed into the stream.

 

“Chuxia, it’s too sunny here. Your face is getting red. Let’s go sit under that willow tree for a while,” Jing Yi noticed that Chuxia’s face had indeed turned red from the heat and quickly suggested.

 

After watching the two brothers in the stream for a while, when he finally paid attention to Chuxia again, he noticed that his face was genuinely red, sunburned. He hurriedly spoke to Chuxia.