Moonlight shone over the horizon as the wind blew softly, bringing the chill of the winter with it. Shen Li, who had never come out of the house after seven of the evening, felt that everything was magical, from the soft rustling of the leaves to the gentle winds softly caressing his face. But most magical of all was his wife.
Shen Li furtively looked at Yu Dong, who was walking by his side. He slowly drank the beautiful image of her inky black locks fluttering in the wind as the white moonlight illuminated her pearly white face making it look fairer than porcelain. Her sharp eyes were firmly fixed on the road, but from time to time, she would slant them sideways to look at him.
Between them, there was nothing but silence, yet Shen Li loved it. Yu Dong's gentle scent of lavender mixed with dewdrops of the morning wafted over him each time the wind blew past them, and Shen Li couldn't help but feel a swift dizziness pass over him. She was beautiful - more beautiful than any woman he had seen before.
"You know, we have been walking for a while now. I believed you would have thought about what you want to talk about by now," said Yu Dong, suddenly breaking the silence that was wrapping them up like a warm cocoon, "I mean, I do like having a serene walk, but I would appreciate knowing my husband a bit more than I do, don't you think so?"
Shen Li's cheeks turned red as he looked away from Yu Dong's gaze. Eyes dropping to his toes as he fixed his gaze on the road, "What... what do you want to know? I will tell you anything you want to know. Just ask me."
Yu Dong knew that Shen Li would respond like this. If it were Ye Liu, he would have chatted on and on about his likes and dislikes; even Chen Mi was quite clear about his preferences, like little bun, Chen Mi was really expressive, it was easy to find about him. But Shen Li, this guy, was way too shy and introverted. He was always silent and hardly ever showed his genuine emotions, which made it hard for her to read him. Yu Dong smiled and then, speaking casually, "What do you do when you are free? Your hobbies, I mean, it would be good if I know what you like to do in your free time." Yu Dong inwardly thought, 'so I can get you a gift you like.' Previously, when she brought the hairpins, Chen Mi and Ye Liu liked them. Only Shen Li's reaction was a bit lukewarm.
It was clear that Shen Li didn't like jewelry much, unlike other mers. So, Yu Dong wanted to know about his likes to ensure he enjoyed his gift next time.
Shen Li was surprised; he didn't think Yu Dong would ask about this. No one had ever cared about what he wanted to do or what he liked. He, himself, didn't know what he liked... He had always done what others told him to do, "I - I don't know, I have never thought about it before." Shen Li could feel his ears burning as he answered Yu Dong, what kind of answer was this? Not knowing what he liked? Was there anything more embarrassing than this? "I have always done what my parents asked me to, and later on, I was too busy with, you know, worrying about what I was going to do to bring Chen Mi some nutritious food and - I never..."
"In other words, you never thought about yourself, right?" Finished Yu Dong as she understood the gist of the matter, she wasn't surprised by Shen Li's answer. She knew what kind of person Shen Li was. As the first husband, he had always taken on the responsibilities that should have belonged to Yu Dong, but because his wife was too unscrupulous, he was the one who had to take care of the family and a pregnant Chen Mi. It wasn't shocking that he couldn't think about what he wanted to do - hobbies, likes, these things belonged to those who had the privilege - who had extra time to do them but when one didn't even know what they were going to eat tomorrow, how can they think about such things?
Shen Li nodded his head, too ashamed to admit that he was so dull. Yu Dong chuckled at his antics and brushed away the hair that was hiding his face like a curtain, she didn't know why Shen Li liked to let his hair down instead of tying it up like Chen Mi and Ye Liu, but now she had more or less of an understanding, maybe it was because of his lack of self-confidence. Though Ye Liu and Chen Mi couldn't align with the aesthetics of this world either, they were younger than Shen Li, which was already good enough, but Shen Li he was over eighteen, and his skin was tanned after working in the field, so he wasn't what anyone would call beautiful in this world.
Of course, it was if one thought about it along the line of this world's aesthetic, and because Yu Dong wasn't from this world to her, Shen Li's tanned olive skin was something she liked a lot. So, according to her, it was a shame that Shen Li usually hid his face behind his long hair.
But never mind, she will slowly help him build his confidence, but before that, she has to make him learn how to enjoy his life. "Then you think about it, when we go back home, you have to think about what you want to do, alright?"
Shen Li looked up, his vision no longer barricaded by his long hair. His eyes fell directly on Yu Dong's palm-size face before he swallowed and said, " Alright."
He didn't know why he was so helpless against her, but he wanted to do everything she asked him.
"Ah, we are here," Yu Dong smiled before her gaze fell on her fields. Luckily after yesterday night, no one seemed to have come out to cause trouble; her fields looked fine. "Now we can -"
"I don't want to go back yet," blurted Shen Li, clasping her sleeve as he softly murmured, "I want to continue taking a stroll with you because I like it very much, Dong Dong."