Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Chapter 104 Unable to Face

"Ayou, why are you ignoring me?!"

Dai You turned his back to her, said nothing, and continued walking forward.

“Ah You…” Her words did not stop him; instead, they made him quicken his pace.

She rushed up to him and hugged him from behind. "Let's go, anywhere is fine, let's leave here, to a place where no one knows us..."

"Don't talk nonsense," Dai You said, pulling away from her arms that were wrapped around him and walking forward without looking back.

"Dai You, do you want to see me die?!"

Upon hearing her words, Dai You trembled, stopped in his tracks, and turned around.

She pulled the hairpin from her hair, held it against her neck, and backed away. "Let me see if your claim of caring is true," she said, pulling the hairpin away slightly before suddenly thrusting it towards her neck...

"Ah!" Xia Lanyue covered her neck with her hand and sat up abruptly.

She took deep breaths to calm her panic.

"Ah Yue, what's wrong?!" At the door, Dai You rushed over upon hearing the commotion, his tone filled with anxiety.

"I'm fine," Xia Lanyue said, trying to keep her tone calm.

The door was pushed open a crack, and Dai You seemed uneasy, wanting to come in and check. But the door had been propped up with a stool the night before, and it was now banging against the stool, making a loud clanging sound.

"Don't come in, I'm really fine," Xia Lanyue raised her voice, trying to stop Dai You from entering.

The door stopped making noise.

After a moment of silence, Dai You spoke again, "Breakfast is almost ready, come out and eat."

"I'm not eating," Xia Lanyue said irritably.

"You didn't eat yesterday..."

“I said, I’m not hungry!” Xia Lanyue replied to Dai You in a firm tone.

“Alright then,” Dai You’s voice was somewhat timid.

But when Xia Lanyue thought about what happened yesterday afternoon, she felt that Dai You's appearance was not worthy of pity, because she was the one who was wronged.

Xia Lanyue picked up the hairpin from beside her pillow and examined it closely. The hairpin in her dream was the same as the one she had given to Wang Cui.

The one in her hand was made by Dai You based on that one. I wonder what Dai You was feeling when he made it.

She kept recalling the dream, and at the same time, she thought about Dai You's words. He said that Dai Xiyue begged her to take her away, but looking at this, it was clearly a threat.

Does Dai You really like this crazy Dai Xiyue? If he does, why did he push her into that situation and not leave with her? If he doesn't like her, why is he so good to me now? Is it out of guilt?!

She had many questions in her mind and decided to have some more drinks that night.

In the kitchen next door, once everyone was present, they began to eat.

Xia Huifang noticed the injury on Xia Yao's mouth as soon as he entered the room and asked anxiously, "What happened to your mouth?"

Xia Yao's eyes darted around, as if he didn't know how to explain. Just then, he glanced intentionally or unintentionally in the direction of Xia Lanyue's house before slowly saying, "I bumped into it."

Xia Huifang quickly noticed this detail. She seemed to understand the meaning in those eyes, and a smile gradually appeared on her face. She didn't ask any further questions.

At this moment, Xia Lanyue, in the east room, had a rumbling stomach. She hadn't eaten all day and was really struggling to cope. But she didn't know how to face those people, so she simply forced herself to endure the hunger, thinking she would wait until they left before getting something to eat.

After the meal, once everyone had gone about their own business, Xia Lanyue gently opened the door and peeked out through the crack. Finding no one in the yard, she secretly slipped into the kitchen.

On the table, in a bowl, were two steamed buns and an egg, which, if she wasn't mistaken, were meant for her. She didn't care about anything else, picked up the buns, and started stuffing them into her mouth in large mouthfuls. But she ate too quickly and accidentally choked.

At this moment, Dai You walked in.

Xia Lanyue kept hiccuping, whether from choking or fright.

Dai You walked straight over, filled a bowl with water, placed it on the table in front of her, and then left as if he hadn't seen her at all.

So, he could see it all!

Xia Lanyue picked up the bowl, took a sip of water, and patted her chest to help herself swallow the rice.

Not in the mood to go out, Xia Lanyue returned to her room, picked up the book she had taken from the west room and started flipping through it, but she couldn't concentrate on a single word.

Listening to the children reading outside the window, Xia Lanyue couldn't help but worry about Xia Yao. She wondered how badly his injuries were. A few days ago she had stabbed him in the chest, and yesterday he had been punched several times; he had suffered terribly.

Finally, it was noon, the time for the private school to close.

Hearing the children playing in the yard, Xia Lanyue wanted to check on Xia Yao's condition, so she immediately got up, straightened her clothes, and opened the door.

Before they could even see Xia Yao, they saw Dai You carrying firewood out of the kitchen.

Startled, Xia Lanyue quickly retreated back into the house and closed the door.

She still couldn't bear to see Dai You; just seeing him reminded her of yesterday's scene, and her heart would race. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

Then, the sound of him chopping wood could be heard outside.

"Was he doing this on purpose?!" Xia Lanyue couldn't help but think. Otherwise, why didn't he go to town? And why did he have to chop firewood at this particular time?!

Xia Lanyue was a little angry and sat back down on the edge of the bed, puffing out her cheeks.

About half an hour later, the courtyard became quiet; the children's voices and the sound of chopping wood disappeared.

"Very good, it's alright. I'll go see Xia Yao tonight," Xia Lanyue thought to herself.

As dusk approached, Xia Lanyue heard a noise coming from the kitchen. She quietly opened the door and saw that Xia Huifang had returned. So she ran into the kitchen to help Xia Huifang cook.

"Ah Yue's home? You haven't eaten for the past two days, you must be starving! I'll stir-fry some dried radish and cured pork for you tonight," Xia Huifang said with a doting expression.

Xia Lanyue was flattered and said, "I'm fine, Aunt Xia."

"Don't worry about it, just eat more later," Xia Huifang said with a smile. "You're just eating too little and being too polite. Look at Acheng, he's afraid he won't get any, so he's shoveling all the food into his own bowl." As she spoke, Xia Huifang shook her head.

Speaking of Acheng, Xia Lanyue suddenly thought of something, "Aunt Xia, can Acheng swim?"

“He can’t,” Xia Huifang said readily. “He choked on water when he was little, and then he refused to learn. He’s a big guy, but he’s really stupid.”

Xia Lanyue had always had a question: the reason why the thug who wanted to catch her that day didn't continue to chase her was probably because he couldn't swim!

"Why are you suddenly asking this?" Xia Huifang asked.

"Nothing, just asking. Does Xia Yao know how?" Xia Lanyue asked.

Now, Xia Huifang seemed to understand something and said with a smile, "He doesn't know either. He wasn't very healthy when he was young, so he never had the chance to learn." After saying that, she seemed to realize that she had said something wrong and quickly corrected herself, "Ah, but he's healthy now and in his prime, so he has the strength."

Hearing this, Xia Lanyue thought of his weak appearance when he was knocked to the ground by Dai You, which was completely different from what Xia Huifang said, and couldn't help but smile.

Seeing Xia Lanyue's expression, Xia Huifang assumed that Xia Lanyue understood her meaning, and a meaningful smile appeared on her face.

During dinner, Xia Lanyue kept her head down and ate without looking up.

Dai You picked up a piece of cured meat, intending to put it in Xia Lanyue's bowl, but Xia Lanyue raised her hand and blocked it with her chopsticks, twisting her body slightly to the other side to express her refusal.

Others who saw it simply assumed it was a quarrel between siblings and didn't ask any further questions.

Only Xia Yao understood what was going on. He looked at Dai You's dejected appearance and revealed a subtle, almost imperceptible, sneer.