Chapter 15
Newly Arrived in Another World 015: Laying the Cards on the Table
At the very center of the round table in the room, the roast meat had been cut neatly and arranged on a round platter, garnished with a few bright green leaves at the side.
The roast meat sizzled with oil; some pieces were still bubbling slightly. A variety of spices had been sprinkled over it, the red chili powder contrasting with the green leaves beside it, making one unable to resist digging in with gusto.
“You’re back just in time. Sit,” Lianyi said, her plump, fair hand making an inviting gesture.
As soon as the man sat down, a cup was handed to him.
“There’s hot tea in the cup. When eating roast meat, it’s best to drink something warm. Otherwise, when meat fat meets cold liquid, it doesn’t melt easily—hard to digest and it can make you gain weight.” At this point, Su Lianyi paused, glanced at the man’s tall, lean, well-built physique, then thought of her own body full of excess flesh, and felt as though she were telling a bad joke.
She hurriedly shut her mouth, saying no more, unwilling to humiliate herself further.
She stole a glance at the man. He seemed to be thinking about something and paid her no attention at all.
She then placed another small dish in front of him. “There’s minced garlic and soy sauce inside. If you find the flavor too light, you can dip the meat in it. Garlic enhances flavor and cuts through greasiness, and it can also kill bacteria.” She didn’t know why she was rambling on like this. Perhaps, having lived alone since graduating from university, she had grown accustomed to loneliness; now that there was someone beside her, she couldn’t help but say a few extra words.
The man, still deep in thought, picked up a piece of roast meat with his chopsticks, dipped it lightly in soy sauce, and put it into his mouth. The meat was fresh and delicious, charred on the outside and tender on the inside. The moment it touched his tongue, a rich aroma spread instantly. This level of skill would be impressive even in the countryside—one could easily believe it came from a famous chef in the city.
Seeing the man’s thick brows knit tighter and tighter, Lianyi felt a flicker of unease. “Is it bad?” she asked.
She had tasted it herself and thought it was quite good. Could it be that ancient people and modern people had different tastes? Very possible. She still remembered the first meal she had made—dumpling soup—and the man’s disdainful look. Then there were the sweet potato pancakes, which he had eaten as if they were poison. It seemed this barbecue might not qualify as “ancient-style flavor” either.
The man’s brow furrowed once more, then slowly relaxed. He continued eating the neatly cut meat on the plate without saying a word.
For a moment, Lianyi actually had the feeling that the man was about to lay his cards on the table with her. But in the end, he chose silence, which meant that he did not want to do so just yet—or perhaps… he was still hesitating over whether to do so at all.
She picked up a piece of meat, put it into her mouth, and chewed slowly, taking a sip of hot tea along the way.
Concealment was not necessarily good; laying the cards on the table was not necessarily bad. Not to mention that she had never deliberately tried to impersonate the original owner of this body—even if she had, she could never do it so perfectly that no one would notice. After all, she was a doctor, not an actress. She was not an angry radical, but neither was she numb or indifferent. Asking her to commit evil acts—even as an act—was simply something she could not do.
The oppressive dinner finally came to an end. Lianyi briskly cleared the table, carrying the bowls and chopsticks into the kitchen.
There was a wooden basin on the stove. Lianyi grabbed a handful of soapberry powder and tossed it in, treating it as dish soap. This purely natural stuff was truly non-toxic and harmless. Just as she was about to add water, she discovered that the water jar outside was completely empty—only then did she remember that she had used all the water to wash clothes earlier.
There were two wells in the village, one at the eastern end and one at the western end, dug collectively by villagers who had pooled their money.
In ancient times, productivity was low. Digging a well relied almost entirely on manpower and was extremely expensive. A luxury like a well was not something ordinary villagers could own individually.
You’ll never believe why I moved to… Karachi
Lianyi knew the location of the western well; it was on the way to the Sun family’s house. So she put on a convincing show of finding two wooden buckets, picked up the shoulder pole behind the door, and prepared to carry them. But fetching water, which looked simple, turned out to be very difficult in practice.
The two buckets were clearly empty, without a single drop of water, yet they pressed painfully on Lianyi’s shoulders. More importantly—she couldn’t balance the shoulder pole at all!
The two wooden buckets swayed back and forth as she struggled left and right to keep her balance. Suddenly, the pole became light, and the swaying stopped. She turned her head and found that the man had appeared behind her at some point, reaching out to steady the pole. “I’ll do it,” he said, taking the pole and walking away.
Watching the man’s back as he skillfully carried the shoulder pole away, Lianyi smiled faintly. This person of unknown identity was quite gentlemanly. If they could continue like this—each pretending not to know while actually knowing perfectly well, keeping to their own boundaries—it wouldn’t be so bad.
Of course, such muddled living could not last forever. Either she would leave once she became familiar with this world and had plans for her future life, or the man would leave once he obtained what he wanted or completed his mission. No matter which it was, it would mark the end of this life together. The two were like competitors, racing against time to see who would reach the finish line first.
She scooped out the small amount of water left in the jar to wash the dishes. By the time the dishes were clean, the man had returned carrying two full buckets of water.
Splash, splash—after pouring them into the jar, he picked up the two empty buckets again and left.
The courtyard was quiet. Two living, breathing people each silently went about their own tasks, neither saying an unnecessary word.
Su Lianyi moved a large basin next to the water jar, used a large ladle to scoop out water, added more soapberry powder, stuffed yesterday’s dirty clothes and bedsheets into the wooden basin to soak, took off her shoes, and rhythmically stomped hard inside the basin.
When the man returned and saw Su Lianyi’s fair, tender bare feet, his whole body stiffened. He quickly turned his head away, deliberately avoiding looking at her feet. After pouring the water into the jar, he bolted out of the courtyard as if fleeing.
Su Lianyi was puzzled. She lowered her head to look at her own feet, utterly confused. Was this… really so improper? Even if it were improper, did it warrant such a reaction? She couldn’t understand it at all.
What she didn’t know was that in ancient times, a woman’s feet were extremely important and absolutely could not be seen by any man other than her husband. If a man saw a woman’s feet—or touched them—it would be considered an act of impropriety.
The man went back and forth fetching water five times, while Su Lianyi also washed five times before the clothes barely returned to their original colors.
“Come in for a moment,” the man’s voice came from inside the house just as Lianyi finished hanging the clothes one by one on the clothesline.
“Alright, just a moment,” Lianyi replied. She straightened her collar, lowered her sleeves, and casually smoothed her hair. Taking a deep breath, she walked in as if preparing for negotiations. If she wasn’t mistaken, the man had wanted to ask her something earlier but had been hesitating; now, he must have finally made up his mind.
Thinking of the man’s cold gaze and the killing intent he occasionally radiated, Su Lianyi’s eyes shifted slightly as she began thinking of ways to guard against danger and preserve her life.
The round table had been wiped clean, with an oil lamp placed at its center. Though the light could not compare to modern lamps, after looking at it for a while, it felt quite bright.
The man sat on a stool, turned sideways toward the door. The dim yellow light fell evenly over him, highlighting his upright posture. His facial features were sharply defined; if one ignored the sores on his face, he was quite pleasing to the eye.
Lianyi raised her head and looked at him. His straight-backed sitting posture and the aura of severity and lethality surrounding him made her involuntarily think of… a soldier?
Sorry for the late update today. I’m going out of town tomorrow to attend a friend’s wedding, and today I went to the mall to buy a set of formal clothes, which took up some time. (I’ve gained so much weight that all my old clothes are useless!)
Starting tomorrow, barring special circumstances, updates will be posted at 18:00 so readers can follow along more easily. Muah!
