Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Seize the Moment

Chun Zhi was drowsy and did not hear him clearly, she asked: “What did you say?” Huo Zheng did not repeat himself.

She was tipsy and bold, and the man before her looked good in every way, so she lifted her hand to pinch Huo Qi’s earlobe and said with a laugh: “Huo Qi, your earlobe is so soft.”

Huo Zheng took her hand away and said calmly: “You are drunk. Go back to your room and sleep.”

She stubbornly shook her head and said: “I’m not drunk. I can still drink!”

As she tried to sit up and pour more wine, she lost her balance and fell backward. Huo Zheng quickly reached out, caught her by the waist, and helped her sit straight.

She had not hurt herself. Smiling with bright eyes, she looped her arms around Huo Qi’s neck and said proudly: “I told you I’m not drunk. I can still recognize you, Huo Qi!”

He could not help a short laugh, then stood, lifted her into his arms, and carried her into the room.

Moonlight poured across the lattice windows.

Her room still looked like a wedding chamber. He set her inside the red gauze canopy and turned to leave, but she grabbed his hand.

Her voice was low as she said: “Don’t go.”

[He is about to leave. Maybe I will never see him again.]

[In this world I am alone. From now on I will guard this tofu workshop and live day by day.]

On the way home she had thought about many things. [I want a child.]

[I can live without a husband, but I must have a child.]

[Only a child shares my blood. A child will never abandon me.]

[Since we already held a fake wedding and I will not marry anyone else in this life, asking Huo Qi for a child is not wrong.]

[He is so handsome. His child will surely be beautiful.]

Thinking this, she pulled on his hand even tighter and called again: “Huo Qi.”

He looked back at her and asked coolly: “What is it?”

She did not answer. She did not know where her strength came from, but she tugged him down onto the bed and lifted her face to kiss his lips.

Huo Zheng froze for a second.

She tasted sweetness like candy, slipped past his lips, and deepened the kiss. Her movements were clumsy and shy. The taste of fruit wine lingered between their teeth.

After a long moment he came to his senses, pressed her back to the bed, and asked in a low voice: “Do you know who I am?”

She gazed at him with hazy eyes. A rosy flush colored her lovely face, adding a few shades of charm as she whispered: “You are Huo Qi, Huo Qi.”

She smiled and breathed the line: “Sing to the wine, seize the moment,” then wound her arms around his neck. Before she could do anything more, he bent and covered her mouth with his.

His kiss was fierce and hungry.

She almost could not breathe.

Their clothing turned messy. No one knew who undid whose belt first. Garments fell one by one. Skin pressed to skin. The red gauze canopy drifted down, and moonlight scattered into a blur on the floor.

…

The next morning, when Chun Zhi woke up, daylight already filled the room.

Her back and waist ached. She wore nothing under a thin quilt that covered the blue and purple marks on her skin.

Last night, she and Huo Qi…

Remembering those tender moments, she could not help blushing and feeling her heart race. She placed a hand on her lower belly. [I want a child. Will my wish come true?]

Thankfully Huo Qi was not in the room, or she would not know how to face him.

[Last night I used the courage of wine to push Huo Qi down.] [You cannot tell a man you want a child.] [Later he will go his way. I only want the child, not the man.]

With that thought, she quickly dressed and stepped outside. Huo Qi was not there.

Porridge simmered on the stove, still hot.

She washed up in the yard, then washed the soiled bedding and hung it to dry.

Before long, an old regular customer came to buy tofu. Chun Zhi felt embarrassed and said softly that she would not open for business these two days.

The regular was a woman in her thirties. One look at the bedding drying in the yard told her enough. She teased with a laugh: “Newlyweds are all affection and clinginess. No wonder the bedding needs washing every day.”

Chun Zhi’s face turned red at once. She walked the woman to the gate, and just then saw Huo Qi coming back, one hand lifting an oil-paper bundle and the other leaning on a cane.

She waited until he stepped in before asking: “It’s so early. Where did you go?”

He did not answer. He simply handed her the oil-paper bundle.

She peeked inside and said in surprise: “Buns from Li’s Bun Shop? You went all the way to West Street this early to buy them?”

Huo Zheng said lightly: “Don’t you like buns from Li’s Bun Shop?”

The last time they went to West Street, he had meant to buy some, but soldiers were driving the street vendors away, so he did not manage to. Last night Chun Zhi was worn out, and he could not cook, so he had gone out to buy breakfast. After doing what a husband and wife do, he could not let her wake up hungry.

Chun Zhi frowned and asked: “I do like their buns, but West Street isn’t allowing stalls now. How did you buy them?”

He said: “If you really want to buy them, you can.”

Just like her regulars came to Peach Blossom Lane to buy her tofu, the Li Household could not set up a stall, so they made buns in their own alley. It was just farther away. He had gone out for some business, then detoured to West Street to ask around, found the Li Household, and bought the buns at their home.

Holding the warm bundle, Chun Zhi blurted: “Your leg still hasn’t healed. How could you walk so far? I don’t have to eat these…”

He looked straight at her and asked: “When you were holding on to me last night, why didn’t you say my leg hadn’t healed?”

Her cheeks flamed red as she stammered: “You…”

Last night she had dragged him onto the bed after drinking, but that was last night. In broad daylight, when he suddenly brought it up, her face burned with shame.

Seeing her like this, he said nothing more.

She opened the bundle and set it on the Eight Immortals Table, ladled two bowls of porridge, and took out two salted duck eggs, then said softly: “Huo Qi, come eat breakfast.”

He answered with a low “mm” and sat beside her.

Before this, they had always eaten facing each other. Only last night, while drinking, had she sat close and leaned on him. After a night of closeness, he naturally sat at her side.

Chun Zhi bowed her head and drank porridge, cheeks still red. Huo Zheng was silent. The little yard was quiet.

He looked up at her, and the image of her last night, clumsy yet bold, rose in his mind. Heat stirred in his chest. His gaze grew hot. Feeling his eyes on her, Chun Zhi blushed even more and asked in a small voice: “Why are you staring at me?”

He said, unhurried: “Weren’t you staring at me like this last night too?”

She whispered in a rush: “Can you not talk about last night anymore?”

If he said one more word about last night, her face would surely burn up.

He asked evenly: “What do you mean, not talk about last night? Do you not plan to take responsibility for me?”

She tensed and asked: “Take responsibility how?”