Yu Dong said nothing she understood Fang Chi's feelings and she understood Mu Yuxi's feelings as well. Making a rebellious promise as a teenager was something every teenager did, however, once they mature they realise that their rebellion phase was nothing but stupidity on their part. Most likely Mu Yuxi realised it too, she might have liked Fang Chi as a teen but once she became an adult she understood her mother's feelings for not letting her get along with Fang Chi.
Yu Dong didn't know Mu Yuxi but the previous owner did, from the memories of the previous owner, Yu Dong realised that Mu Xuan wasn't just the village chief but her daughter, Mu Yuxi was a rather successful businesswoman. She had a rather big business of textiles in the capital and their family was one of the richest in the village - this success, Yu Dong will be damned if she believed that it was Mu Yuxi's hard work alone. Most likely the mer she married had a hand in her success too, compared to Fang Chi who had nothing but a pure heart, her current husband was much more advantageous to her future.
Of course, Mu Yuxi would choose him over Fang Chi who was so poor that he and his grandmother only had two meals a day which most likely comprised of pickled vegetables and coarse grains.
Yu Dong sighed and patted Fang Chi on the back " it's alright, don't give up yet maybe one day you might meet a better match than Mu Yuxi"
Though Yu Dong hardly believed it even though she was the one who said it, after all, Mu Xuan was not only rich but she also had considerable power. Mu Yuxi was the same though she was a scumbag, she was a rich and powerful scum.
Yu Dong believed that one day she might be able to become just as rich as the Mu family but she already had three husbands to take care of, couldn't and wouldn't take another husband because it will too much of a hassle, three mers were enough to keep her on her toes, another one - she couldn't really take care of another mer.
She tried her best to console Fang Chi but the latter continued to cry in the end she took out the oily package that she was carrying and handed it to him before saying " here, eat this. You must be tired after walking so far in the forest. Eat up a little then we - we will continue ?"
Yu Dong didn't know how to stop a crying mer, she always found her friends who cried a pain in her butt. So she wasn't really good at all the coaxing and whatnot, right now she was using the tactic that she used on her younger brothers when they cried. In her experience as long as she fed her younger siblings they would stop crying, so she tried her hand in this technique, as well.
Fang Chi was indeed a bit hungry, he had run away from his house as soon as his match left after rejecting him. Which was to say in the evening around four, now it was already seven in the night, of course, he was hungry.
He took the braised rabbit meat that Yu Doing offered him and started eating and because he was in bad mood he ate even more. After he finished eating, he wiped his mouth that full of oil with the back of his hand and finally looked at Yu Dong in embarrassment, finally realising that he ate her midnight snack " I'm sorry, that it was too good and I ate a little too much"
A little too much was putting it lightly, Fang Chi has actually eaten the braised rabbit meat until nothing was left even the fat residue was eaten by him leaving the packet squeaky clean.
However, Yu Dong didn't mind, she was happy that Fang Chi liked it and patted his shoulder " it's alright, I am glad that you liked it. No chef minds hearing praise, if you want you can praise me a bit more"
"You- you cooked this?" stupefied Fang Chi asked, in his entire life he had never seen a woman cooking for herself and her mer. Whether married or unmarried, a woman never entered the kitchen unless she wanted to sneak a snack or something. But Yu Dong was saying that she cooked such delicious meat? Was there such a good thing? Weren't her husband a bit too lucky?
" that's right " Yu Dong didn't think as severely as Fang Chi did and then she stood up before stretching out her hand to him " come on, get up we should go back. Though it's not midnight, the forest is still dangerous and you shouldn't worry your grandmother like this, she is already old why are you making her worry for you at such advanced age? What will you do if your grandmother followed you all the way to the forest? Hmm"
Yu Dong was from the modern era but her thinking was old school she respected the kind elderly like Fang Chi's grandmother. Thus, she wasn't happy with Fang Chi's act of running away from the house with an elderly at home.
Fang Chi looked at her outstretched hand and obediently listened to her chastising, his face turning a brilliant shade of red if not for the darkness Yu Dong too have caught his flushed face. He was embarrassed but standing up, he couldn't really do it so gritting his teeth he finally spoke up " I - I'm afraid I can't stand up. I tripped while running and now my shin is swollen. It hurts"
Only then did Yu Dong see the ugly swelling on his ankles. Her lips twitched and she finally realised that maybe half of Fang Chi's tears were because of this injury, nonetheless, she looked around and finally found a leaf big enough to wrap around Fang Chi's swelling. After wrapping it Yu Dong instilled her spiritual energy in his injuries. She was afraid that Fang Chi might catch her and become suspicious that's why she used the green leaf to hide the green light that emitted from her fingers when she used her powers .
Fang Chi didn't know what Yu Dong did but his injury that- was hurting so much that he couldn't even stand up, finally stopped throbbing as a warm current spread all over his swelling and wrapped his injury in a warm cocoon. He wanted to ask what Yu Doing did but before he could Yu Dong spoke up " I massaged your swelling, though it won't hurt anymore it's still better if you have it checked by a physician "
" I understand" Fang Chi nodded and took Yu Dong's hand before standing up, seeing him stumble Yu Doing frowned and said, " do you want me to carry you?"
" no" refused Fang Chi at once " if you carry me people might talk"
He wasn't afraid of being talked about because he was already the butt of the village jokes but Yu Dong was different she had three husbands and he didn't want the relationship between them to worsen because of him. So he refused, and there was also the fact that he was afraid of falling for Yu Dong because he found her kindness attractive. He was afraid he might get used to her kindness and cling to her, if that happens then it wouldn't be fair to her because he didn't like her for she was Yu Dong but because her kindness overlapped with Mu Yuxi.
Fang Chi shook his head when he thought of Mu Yuxi again and then hurriedly stood up with the help of Yu Dong.
Yu Dong stabilised his footing and the two of them somehow managed to walk down the mountain where grandmother Fang was waiting for Fang Chi, anxiety rolling off her body as she paced on the foot of the mountain thinking whether to go up the mountain or not to search for Fang Chi but the thing was she wasn't alone - because a lot of mer saw Grandma Fang looking troubled they followed behind her thus when Yu Dong came down the mountain with Fang Chi, not only grandma Fang saw them but the mers did too - and looking at their gossipy expression Yu Dong only had one thought and that was - uh oh.