"Thank you for saving me." Nangong Yichen smiled.
"Silly child, you're Mommy's son. It's only right for Mommy to save you." Chu Lingzhi pinched his soft, tender little cheek.
Getting bitten by a snake in exchange for him accepting her and calling her "Mommy"—it was worth it.
"Actually, I'm not afraid of pain at all." Nangong Yichen looked at her.
"Mm, Mommy knows you're a brave and strong good boy." Chu Lingzhi's eyes sparkled as she praised him.
"So, if a non-venomous snake comes near me in the future, don't save me." After all, it wouldn't kill him if it bit him.
"..." Chu Lingzhi was taken aback. Was he saying he wasn't afraid of pain because he blamed her for saving him?
"Haha..." At that moment, Chu Junyu's crisp laughter rang melodiously through the mountain forest.
Chu Lingzhi and Nangong Yichen looked at him in confusion.
They saw him sitting on the ground with Nangong Yehen, his clothes somehow stripped off by Nangong Yehen.
His bare little body looked utterly adorable. Nangong Yehen was tickling his back with a leaf, making him laugh heartily.
A child's laughter was both innocent and pleasant, inexplicably lifting one's mood.
Nangong Yehen's refined, handsome face also bore a father's gentle smile.
Seeing them having so much fun, Chu Lingzhi's heart felt as if something had bumped into it.
There was joy, there was emotion, there was sweetness...
Nangong Yichen was also moved by this warm scene. He walked over, picked up a twig, and poked it at Chu Junyu's back.
Nangong Yehen's leaf tickling made him laugh, but Nangong Yichen's twig poking hurt so much that he jumped up like a kangaroo.
Turning around to see Nangong Yichen poking him, he grabbed Nangong Yichen and forcibly stripped off his clothes. The two little kids tumbled into a play fight.
The mountain forest was nearly drowned out by their laughter.
Happy times always passed so quickly.
They thought four hours would be hard to endure, but before they knew it, the sun was setting and dusk was approaching.
Nangong Yehen was now full of energy and strength. With his powerful arms, he carried the two precious children and led Chu Lingzhi down the mountain.
It had taken three hours to climb up, but going down the small path was faster—only two hours to return to Lizhu Village.
The villagers had already butchered the wild boar. At Fu Chunyan's house, they prepared a delicious feast.
The whole village gathered together for a lively and joyful dinner.
After dinner, the villagers chatted in the yard for a while before heading home to sleep.
In the deep mountains, they all liked to lie in bed as soon as it got dark, rarely even watching TV.
Chu Lingzhi and Nangong Yehen also returned to their room to rest in bed.
Though they weren't like the villagers, busy with farm work all day, climbing for hours up and down the mountain left their whole bodies exhausted.
Lying in bed, they soon drifted off to sleep.
In the deep mountains, on a moonless late night, it was pitch black.
Chu Lingzhi felt as if she closed her eyes and opened them, and it was already day.
And Nangong Yehen, who had been in the same bed, had gotten up at some point—his spot was empty.
Chu Lingzhi got up and looked at the other bed.
The two little treasures were also up, their blankets neatly folded on the bed.
Chu Lingzhi climbed out of bed, put on her shoes, and walked out of the room.
In the yard, after washing up, she saw Fu Chunyan walking back from the path with a flower basket.
From a distance, she saw Fu Chunyan beaming, her joyful expression like she'd won the lottery.
"Lingzhi, you married a good husband!"