CH 60.2

translator: baumkuchen

Lu Qingjiu grabbed a few glass bottles and stored all the honey inside. Then, he gave Zhu Miaomiao a call to ask if she wanted any. 

The moment Zhu Miaomiao heard that it was natural honey, she perked up. She was currently part of the goji berry health party, so there was no way she was going to pass up natural stuff like this. “Yes yes yes, send me some!”

Lu Qingjiu said, “Still the same address as before?”

“En, just send it to the office,” Zhu Miaomiao said, “It’s really busy right now, I don’t even have the time to chat with you. Right, is that variety show you mentioned last time still going on? After I’m done over here, I was planning on coming over to get in one the ruckus.”

“No, it’s not going on anymore. There were a few accidents that occurred over here, so they’ve all already left.” 

“Left?” Zhu Miaomiao asked, “Where did they go?”

“I don’t know,” Lu Qingjiu said, “Maybe they went to a different place to film their program.”

Zhu Miaomiao said regretfully, “Then that’s a real pity, but I still want to come over and stay with you for a few days. Everything over there is delicious, my cravings are killing me.”

Lu Qingjiu laughed and said, “Welcome, welcome.”

If not for Zhu Miaomiao putting in all that effort to help them start up their Taobao shop in the beginning, they would probably still be worrying over how much vegetables they would have to sell to buy meat to eat right now. Currently, the standard of living in this house had gone up, they could afford to feed Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu up until they were pale and plump, which Zhu Miaomiao’s contributions had helped a lot in. Even though clearly, Yin Xun didn’t want to be pale and plump, after all, as Bai Yuehu’s backup rations, once he got fattened up it seemed like his death wouldn’t be too far off.

But fortunately, Lu Qingjiu was here, he wouldn’t easily let his pet, oh wait, no, his son, be eaten by Bai Yuehu.

Zhu Miaomiao told Lu Qingjiu that she’d be coming over at the end of the month, Lu Qingjiu’s birthday. Lu Qingjiu agreed.

It was March, and Lu Qingjiu’s birthday was at the end of March. Even though he didn’t usually have the habit of celebrating his birthday, he was still going to buy a cake. It could be considered him improving the lives of the two bottomless pits at home. 

After acquiring honey, within a few days, Lu Qingjiu baked a huge honey cake in the oven. One was naturally willing to put in as much as they wanted into their own homemade cakes. He poured honey, eggs and milk into the batter as if money didn’t mean anything to him, resulting in a cake that was as fluffy as a cloud, its golden baked surface emitting a sweet fragrance. Making a cut, the entire cake wobbled like a springy pudding, especially alluring. Even Lu Qingjiu couldn’t help but have a few more slices.

Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu were full of praise for this honey cake. Yin Xun even begged Lu Qingjiu to make another one tomorrow, to which Lu Qingjiu smiled and said okay okay okay, I’ll make a big one tomorrow.

Of course, he didn’t forget to give a piece to the biggest contributors, the little bees. The qinyuan were all very happy to receive this cake, saying that they’d never eaten something so delicious before, and that it was their first time learning that honey could be used like this, humans were really such mystical creatures. 

Mystical creature Lu Qingjiu, “……” Right, there was only one human, him, in this entire household, wasn’t that mystical enough?

The weather gradually turned warmer, tree branches and bushes alike all beginning to bloom with lovely flowers. The whole world was brimming with life.

Lu Qingjiu called Zhu Miaomiao and sent her a big packet, asking her to send some strawberries over before she came.

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It seemed like Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu had never eaten this kind of fruit before. The two’s imaginations were utterly limited by their poverty.

Spring was the season for eating strawberries. Strawberries’ fruiting season was very short, and they weren’t easy to preserve. Lu Qingjiu planned on letting Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu eat as many as they wanted to, and if they couldn’t finish them all, he’d use the rest to make strawberry jam.

“Are these strawberries?” Yin Xun had seen strawberries before, but he’d practically never eaten them before. He looked at the red fruits packaged in the foam container and blinked. “So pretty.”

Lu Qingjiu said, “Let me wash them first, after that you can eat them.” 

Zhu Miaomiao would only be arriving a day later while the strawberries had arrived today. From a single glance, it could be seen that the strawberries had been carefully selected, with each one of them being almost about the size of half a palm and a deep red colour, emanating the unique aroma of strawberries.

Bai Yuehu seemed to have never eaten this fruit before either. He stood to the size with Yin Xun, watching Lu Qingjiu wash them. As he washed, Lu Qingjiu said, “I don’t know if there are any strawberry seedlings being sold in town. If there are any, I’ll buy them. The strawberries grown by Yuehu would definitely taste better than these.”

After he finished washing them, he stuffed one each into Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu’s mouths with a smile.

The huge fruit made Yin Xun’s cheeks bulge. He took a few bites before his eyes lit up, saying, “Sooo good!” 

Bai Yuehu nodded. He bit into the strawberry, and the red juice stained his thin lips, making his already-gorgeous face look even more alluring. This allure, however, wasn’t feminine, rather, it had a kind of coldness to it that made it so one didn’t dare to look at him. He said, “Tastes good.”

“Mm, you two can just eat first, I’ll wash the rest,” Lu Qingjiu said, “Eat however much you want, if you can’t finish them, I’ll use the remainder to make strawberry jam.”

The two nodded, then sat down and began to happily eat strawberries, each one taking one and stuffing them into their mouths. When they were done, their lips were stained red.

Lu Qingjiu himself ate as he washed. Zhu Miaomiao had sent them quite a lot this time. It looked to be around a few tens of jin, there should be enough for all of them to eat. 

As they were eating, however, the door sounded with the sound of knocking. Lu Qingjiu, thinking it was Li Xiaoyu from next door, didn’t ask before opening the door. Who knew that when the door opened, the face that appeared behind it was that of someone who shouldn’t have been here. When Lu Qingjiu saw his face, he was stunned stiff.

“Sorry.” At the door stood Jiang Buhuan, who should have long since left Shuifu village. He seemed to have suffered an injury on his arm. His expression was extremely ugly. “I’ve come to bother you again.”

“Ah?” Lu Qingjiu replied, “Why are you…… back here?” There wasn’t anyone next to Jiang Buhuan, it seemed he’d come alone. 

“Can I come in?” Jiang Buhuan had a bitter smile on his face. 

Lu Qingjiu thought for a moment, then stepped back, letting him in.

Jiang Buhuan stepped into the courtyard and saw Bai Yuehu, who was currently eating strawberries with Yin Xun. When he saw Bai Yuehu’s face, his eyes filled with amazement, clearly shocked by Bai Yuehu’s heaven-defying beauty.

“If you’ve got something to say, just say it.” Lu Qingjiu casually found him a stool and gestured for him to sit.

After Jiang Buhuan sat down, a chill ran down his spine due to Bai Yuehu’s piercing gaze. He let out a dry cough, then whispered, “That, why is your friend staring at me? Does he want a signature?” The look in his eyes was far too horrifying, but the two of them had never met before, could it be that he was a crazy fan of his?? 

Lu Qingjiu thought, you still dare to give him a signature? You might be torn apart and eaten by him as soon as you pull out your pen. Of course, he couldn’t say this, so he just replied tactly, “No need, he’s not the type to chase celebrities.”

“Then what is he staring at me for?” This was Jiang Buhuan’s first time finding that someone’s stare could be this terrifying.

Lu Qingjiu had to hold back a laugh. “You stole his tomatoes.”

Jiang Buhuan, “……” 

“Twelve of them, even.” Lu Qingjiu covered his mouth with a hand, his shoulders shaking slightly.

Jiang Buhuan, “……” He didn’t know what to say, was this called rightful retribution? He was already coated in a layer of cold sweat from Bai Yuehu’s gaze, and was even beginning to tremble slightly.

After Lu Qingjiu was done laughing at him, he went to appease his family’s fox spirit who was practically radiating a black aura of resentment. “Yuehu, leave some strawberries, tonight I’ll make strawberry flavoured honey cake. Also, go give the cow some strawberries, strawberry milk is delicious.”

Only after hearing that there would be his favourite honey cake did Bai Yuehu let Jiang Buhuan off. Otherwise, Jiang Buhuan might have been stared at until he fainted today. 

After sending Bai Yuehu off, Lu Qingjiu focused his attention back on Jiang Buhuan. Compared to the first time he’d seen him, the current Jiang Buhuan looked incredibly haggard. He looked to have broken his left arm, there were dark circles under his eyes and his entire person looked thin and pallid. No matter how he looked at him, he felt like something was wrong. “Did something happen to you?”

Jiang Buhuan laughed bitterly, “Yeah.”

“Do you remember that accident that happened when we were leaving?” Jiang Buhuan asked.

“I remember,” Lu Qingjiu said, “You’re talking about how your driver suddenly fell asleep, right?” 

“Yes,” Jiang Buhuan said, “At the time, I thought that one we left this place, it would all end, but only later did I realise, this was only the beginning……” His voice was shaky and full of fear. “After that, a lot more things happened.”

Lu Qingjiu quietly listened to him continue to speak.

“Like how there was a sudden gas leak at the hostel we were staying at. If not for me suddenly waking up in the middle of the night, we might all have died. As well as the brakes failing…… All in all, it’s as if there’s someone who wants us all dead,” Jiang Buhuan said, “Do you know that there was a car accident that happened here a few days ago?”

“A car accident?” Lu Qingjiu was confused. “I didn’t, are you talking about Shuifu village?” 

“Yes,” Jiang Buhuan said, “Actually, I reached town a few days ago.”

Lu Qingjiu’s eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Jiang Buhuan said, “After reaching town, we took two cars to get to your village. I was driving in front, while the rest followed behind.”

In a trembling voice, he said, “But halfway there, we got lost on the mountain roads. There was clearly only one road, but no matter how we drove, we couldn’t see the end……” 

Lu Qingjiu said, “Do you think it was due to something supernatural?” He thought of how he’d been stuck on the mountain with Yin Xun and Zhu Miaomiao, with no way of getting down, before. At that time, it had been Bai Yuehu who’d come to get them. If there was no Bai Yuehu, they would probably all have died on that mountain.”

“I don’t know.” Jiang Buhuan let out a wry smile. “After that, as we drove and drove, something happened.”

From his description, Lu Qingjiu learned that the car behind him suddenly sped up, crashing into him. He’d had a death grip on the wheel, and hence had managed to escape death, but the car behind him, which had been filled with people, had gone right off the cliff, everyone in that car dying just like that.

Jiang Buhuan had broken his arm in the accident, but that wasn’t what had made him so afraid. What had terrified him was that after he drove back to town and reported the incident, he’d learned that there hadn’t even been a second car. On the still-damp mountain roads from the recent rain, there had only been one set of tire tracks. The second car that Jiang Buhuan had described had never existed. The frightened Jiang Buhuan had contacted his friends who had been in that car, but learned that they were all still alive and well, and didn’t know anything about them going to Shuifu village together, even feeling like Jiang Buhuan might be going crazy. 

“I don’t understand.” After he was done, Jiang Buhuan tugged painfully at his hair. “I clearly saw those people, and my car has marks from being struck from behind, but why do they all say that that car doesn’t exist……

After hearing everything, Lu Qingjiu was silent for a moment. “Are you sure that what hit you was your friends’ car, and not something else?”

Jiang Buhuan’s expression froze.

Lu Qingjiu continued, “You…… Over this period of time, did you have any bad feelings?” 

Jiang Buhuan smiled bitterly. “I did.”

Lu Qingjiu said, “What kind?”

Jiang Buhuan said in a dull voice, “I’ve been feeling like I’m about to die.”

And this feeling had been getting stronger and stronger, so strong that even a gust of wind felt like a blade that was going to split his head open, so sharp that the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.