Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Chapter 76 A Chaotic Rainy Day

The weather is bad today, so Doctor Zhang told Dai You to go home early.

Besides the basket of rice cakes that Xia Lanyue sold at the entrance of the pharmacy, another basket was bought by Zhang Langzhong.

Yes, buy the whole frame!

Xia Lanyue refused to accept the money, but Zhang Langzhong included it in Dai You's wages and gave it to him.

"This won't do, Doctor Zhang, we can't accept this money!" Dai You stuffed the money into Doctor Zhang's hand.

Doctor Zhang kept dodging, saying, "Oh, don't be so polite with me! How can you buy something and not pay for it!"

"No need to buy it, I'll just give it to you as a gift," Xia Lanyue said anxiously.

"Stop dawdling, a patient is looking for me, hurry back, it's raining," Doctor Zhang pushed Dai You's hand away and turned to walk towards the backyard.

Xia Lanyue looked at Doctor Zhang gratefully, unsure of what to say.

After Zhang Langzhong went to the backyard, she gestured to Dai You that it was time to go back.

"If it rains again tomorrow, I won't come out," Xia Lanyue said, her head bowed.

Seeing her expression, Dai You knew he would be scolded if he asked, so he still asked, "What did the shopkeeper talk to you about today?"

"He said he wanted to buy all the rice cakes, but when he saw that I hadn't mentioned cooperation, he stopped buying them."

“He wants your formula, doesn’t he?” Dai You said.

"Ah?! Now that you mention it, it's actually quite possible," Xia Lanyue suddenly realized. "His abacus beads practically bounced right in my face," Xia Lanyue said angrily.

"So, do you want to cooperate with him?" Dai You asked.

“Of course not,” Xia Lanyue turned her face away, then turned back. “But he’s right. If I could make rice cakes in town, I could sell more.”

"Hehe, are you planning to expand your business even further?"

"It's not impossible, I asked the other day, and just the carriage to Baizhou would cost over a thousand coins!" Xia Lanyue touched the purse on her chest. "With all my money coming and going, I haven't even saved enough for the travel expenses yet!"

When money was mentioned, Dai You looked ashamed and said, "Thank you for your hard work, A-Yue."

"It's not hard work...ah," Xia Lanyue was saying when the rain started to pour down.

The two hadn't brought any rain gear, so they hurriedly ran towards the Xia family's house.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and Xia Lanyue soon couldn't run anymore. She bent over, panting heavily, and waved her hand, "I'm not running anymore, I can't run anymore."

Dai You looked at her and couldn't help but laugh. As for why, he didn't know. Then he reached out and took Xia Lanyue's hand, and walked towards the Xia family.

"In this kind of weather, it's most comfortable to stay snuggled up in bed and sleep," Xia Lanyue said.

"Is A-Yue blaming me for dragging you out?"

"Yes, if you hadn't woken me up, I would have been sleeping soundly right now," Xia Lanyue said deliberately.

"Then you won't be able to appreciate such a beautiful view!"

Hearing his words, Xia Lanyue looked around. The flowers and grass by the roadside were even greener and more delicate after being washed by the rain, adding a lot of vitality to the fields. The distant mountains and villages were faintly visible in the rain, like a flowing ink painting, beautiful and moving.

Xia Lanyue suddenly let go of Dai You's hand and ran freely in the rain, enjoying the feeling of freedom.

Dai You followed behind her, looking at her with a doting expression.

Xia Lanyue ran happily in the rain, not minding that she was tired.

As she passed by the river, Xia Lanyue stopped. She looked down at her muddy shoes and suddenly had the idea of ​​rinsing them in the water.

She jogged toward the riverbank, but Dai You grabbed her arm. "What are you doing? That's a river!"

"I rinsed my shoes right there on the shore."

Then, ignoring his objections, Xia Lanyue broke free from his hand and walked towards the river. Dai You, worried, followed closely behind.

As expected, the accident happened. Xia Lanyue slipped on her left foot and almost fell, but luckily Dai You reacted quickly, grabbing her waist with his left hand and pulling her back. Xia Lanyue lost her balance, and her hands, which were originally holding up her skirt, frantically grabbed Dai You's shoulders. Once she regained her balance, she realized that she was facing Dai You, her arms wrapped around his neck, while Dai You's hands were around her waist.

Realizing her actions were too intimate, Xia Lanyue hurriedly withdrew her arm and stepped back. Unexpectedly, Dai You pulled her back with a forceful movement of his arm, forcibly trapping her at that distance.

Xia Lanyue looked at Dai You in alarm. At this moment, Dai You was looking at her intently, his eyes revealing an uncontrollable fascination, his gaze burning so intense that she had nowhere to escape his gaze.

Xia Lanyue hurriedly looked away, trying to avoid his gaze, but Dai You pulled her even closer with a slight tightening of his arm, forcing her to look directly at him. In that instant, Xia Lanyue was so tense that she stopped breathing.

However, her panicked and terrified appearance seemed to pierce Dai You's heart.

Dai You's eyes gradually dimmed. Then, he looked away, took a deep breath, released his arm, turned his body to the side, and said in a casual tone, "Watch where you're going." Then, as if nothing had happened, he walked forward.

Xia Lanyue finally relaxed. She took a deep breath and looked at Dai You, feeling lost. That look from earlier had left her confused and unable to shake off the emotions. She stood there, stunned, until Dai You called her.

"Hurry up," Dai You said, standing not far away, waiting for her.

Xia Lanyue snapped out of her daze and slowly followed. Along the way, she didn't dare to go any closer, but kept a certain distance from him as they walked. The two didn't exchange another word.

When we arrived at the Xia family's house, the rain had stopped.

Dai You turned around and looked at Xia Lanyue behind him. He saw that she was standing quietly with her head down, looking listless.

Dai You said to her, "Wait here for me."

Xia Lanyue looked up at Dai You, and although she didn't know why, she nodded.

Dai You walked into the courtyard and put the basket and carrying pole into the stove. At this moment, A-Cheng and A-Niu were chatting in the kitchen. When Dai You saw them, he gave them a brief greeting and went straight to Xia Lanyue's room. He looked around, picked up Xia Lanyue's face cloth, and came out. Then, at the courtyard gate, he threw the face cloth to her, saying, "Here, wipe your clothes first, then put this on."

Xia Lanyue looked puzzled. She glanced down and realized that her clothes, soaked by the rain, clung to her body, revealing glimpses of her underwear beneath the thin fabric. Xia Lanyue gasped, quickly covering her face with a handkerchief, and complained to Dai You, "Why didn't you say so sooner?!"

“It’s alright, there’s no one around,” he said, then walked closer to her and reached for the face towel.

Xia Lanyue held on tightly, refusing to let go, and said in a panic, "What are you doing?!"

"Hey, why don't you surround it with something? Otherwise, how are we supposed to get inside?"

Xia Lanyue loosened her grip slightly, then Dai You grabbed one corner of the face towel, wrapped it around Xia Lanyue, and said, "Come with me."

As soon as Xia Lanyue entered the courtyard, she heard A Niu and A Cheng talking. She immediately retreated, too embarrassed to go any further.

Dai You walked over, stood beside her, put one hand on her shoulder, and used his body to block their gaze. He led Xia Lanyue back into the house, then closed the door and went to the kitchen.

"Did you come back in this heavy rain?" Ah Niu asked, seeing Dai You soaking wet.

"Ah."

Acheng seemed to be angry with Dai You, so he ignored him and dragged the stool to the side.

Ah Niu noticed Ah Cheng's actions and gently nudged him with his elbow.

Dai You saw it but pretended not to, turned around and started a fire to boil water.

Meanwhile, Xia Lanyue sat on a stool to calm herself after returning to her room. Not long after, someone knocked on her door.

“It’s me,” Dai You’s voice rang out from outside.

Xia Lanyue walked over and opened the door. Dai You came in carrying a basin of hot water, put the basin on the ground, and then left without saying a word.

Xia Lanyue closed the door and threw the face towel into the basin.