edited by Tanalei ! Thank you for becoming my editor!
"I want to continue the stroll because I like being with you," said Shen Li. To say that Yu Dong was surprised to hear this would be not wrong. She had never thought she would hear such words from Shen Li. Compared to her other two husbands, he was the one who always followed the 'norms' of society and what was expected of him. She believed that after realizing the details about her identity, he would keep his distance from her. She was, after all of not his lawfully wedded wife. Nonetheless, she still felt happy upon hearing his confession. At least her hard work wasn't in vain, and Shen Li seemed to like her a bit more than before?
Shen Li, who didn't hear her answer, thought that maybe she felt burdened by his suggestion. He couldn't help but scold himself for being too reckless and selfish. Of course, his wife was feeling burdened! She worked the entire day, and now he was asking her to sacrifice her sleep and go on a stroll with him. Wasn't it too demanding on his part? "I mean, if you are tired, we can-"
"Do you like flowers?" Yu Dong suddenly asked, interrupting Shen Li. She really wished that Shen Li would change his habit of overthinking soon. She was just thinking about where she should take him. It's not like the modern world where there used to be restaurants or malls. Right now, if she wants to take her husband on a date, she has to carefully consider and think about a nice spot that could be used as their dating site in this village.
"Flowers? I - I do like flowers," answered Shen Li, a bit startled by her sudden question. Weren't they talking about going on a stroll? What was with this unexpected question of whether he liked flowers or not? Nonetheless, he still answered the question honestly. No mer would dislike flowers. They were so pretty and smelled so good; who wouldn't like them?
"Very well then, let's go," said Yu Dong stretching out her hand for Shen Li to hold.
Shen Li looked down at her outstretched hand and hesitated for a bit; he couldn't help but look around them. If someone saw them walking holding hands, who knows what kind of rumors that person might spread around the village. He didn't want to create trouble for Yu Dong.
"Come on, the place where I'm taking you is pretty far away. The path is uneven as well. I'm afraid you will hurt yourself if I don't hold on to your hands, so come on - take my hand. "said Yu Dong. She didn't care about what people might say about her; after all, she was already on their hit list. To be precise, her name must be underlined with red in their little black books. So something like this wasn't too big of a problem.
Shen Li swallowed and took her hand, flinching slightly when her warm hand touched his cold one. He didn't know that her skin would remain warm no matter how cold it was; maybe it had something to do with her powers.
Yu Dong also wasn't unaffected by his touch. She suddenly felt her heart thump a little more wildly than before. Her skin seemed to be burning; no, it was as if tiny electrical shocks were shooting throughout her body as she intertwined her fingers with his. Her nose twitched because of embarrassment as she coughed, "Ahem, let's go. Hold on to my hand, alright, or you will fall."
Shen Li had long noticed her twitching nose that had gone red and felt happiness bubble in his heart. His wife, who wasn't as unaffected by him, looks like she was also a bit shy. "En," tightening his hold on her hand, he responded shyly, his voice brimming with happiness as he walked side by side to his wife. Their shoulders brushed against each other, and nothing felt more wonderful than this.
-
That's what Shen Li thought, but he seemed to have overestimated himself because after walking for less than an hour, he was crouching on his knees. Huffing and puffing as he glared at the ground, he felt too useless. His wife was taking him on a date for the first time, and yet here he was panting like an animal because he couldn't walk a mountain trail!
He looked up at Yu Dong, who was looking down at him, her lips twitching as she tried her best not to laugh at him, "You can laugh if you want. I know I look foolish like this while you look perfect and you're not even breaking a sweat!"
Shen Li didn't want to snap at Yu Dong, but this was too unfair! How can his wife be so freaking perfect that she can hunt, cook, and even have magical powers! Yet here, he could not even walk a dang rocky trail.
Yu Dong fixed her expression as soon as she could when she heard Shen Li snap like that. Maybe it was too much of her to bring him here, but the place where she wanted to take him was really beautiful... And she didn't want to return without showing it to him. So, she did what every boyfriend would do for his girlfriend when she was in a tetchy mood after walking in her high heels. She crouched down in front of Shen Li and said, "Get on, I will bring you up. "
Shen Li, however, shook his head as he resolutely refused. "I'm too heavy for you, this path is too long, and you will get tired carrying me. We should just return ho-"
"Do you trust me?" asked Yu Dong, interrupting him again as she looked over her shoulder.
Was that even a question? "Of course I do," Shen Li replied
"Then get on. I won't drop you. I promise. As for returning home, We are not going back until I take you where I want to, so you better hop on, or we are going to spend the night here crouching in the middle of nowhere."
When she put it like that, what else can Shen Li do? He slowly stood up straight before wrapping his arms around Yu Dong's neck and settling himself on her back.
Once Shen Li was settled, Yu Dong stood up straight without even breaking a sweat.
However, her movements were a bit rushed, which jostled Shen Li, who had never been carried on a piggyback ride. He was surprised and tightened his hold on her neck, not hard enough to choke Yu Dong but enough to bring his face close to hers. Shen Li looked at Yu Dong, who didn't say anything, and started walking forward. Her momentum slowed, and she was careful not to startle him again. Surprisingly at ease, Shen Li placed his chin on the crook of her shoulder, burying his face in her neck. 'This... This doesn't seem so bad.. I could get used to this,' he thought to himself.