Someone arrived to sell bamboo shoots, and Liu Duo went to attend to her duties. Ye Liu watched her go, wondering if he should tell her he had spotted Liu Liushi and her son.

So he went to her side, as she took accounts and delivered change to the villager, all the while chatting happily.

"Liuzi, why are you staring at me? Do you think I'm pretty when I work hard? Hehe..." Liu Duo gave him a cheeky wink, before going back to managing the accounts.

.

He dragged a stool over and sat before her, "Yes, you look wonderful! I'm completely mesmerized!"

He said the last part in a whisper, only for her ears.

She looked at him fondly. There he went, being silly again. She pulled a serious face and said, "Report your expenses for today. How much did the bamboo shoots sell for, and how much for the ox-cart? Best you be honest about them!"

Pffft, Ye Liu let out a chuckle as he reached a hand out and touched her nose, "Today, Li Wazi and I..."

He did as he was told. He recounted every single detail of what they did, including where they stopped and how long they stopped for. He told her everything without sparing a moment.

"And after that we met your mother and your brother. We gave them thirty wen and asked them to get home soon."

At that point, Liu Duo stopped writing and looked up at him, "What were they doing in town?"

What happened? Why had they left the house and gone to town?

"I don't know. I asked them to come to our place. Your brother wanted to see you anyway, but your mother was unwilling!"

He noticed Liu Duo had furrowed her brow, and he supposed that he had been right. She was at least a little concerned about them.

"Oh." Yet, she did not ask any further and continued her work.

Liu Ran. She remembered Liu Duo had loved this brother very much. And this little brother had been quite dependent on her.

Whenever she had been given a lot of work, Liu Ran, who was no older than eleven at the time, would help her with some. So, by then, he was experienced with any type of household chores or farm work!

Ai... she shook her head in frustration.

By noon, Ye Yang and Ye Mo had returned from farming to have lunch. And later they stayed home to help process the bamboo shoots.

Because of the previous night, Liu Duo still held a tiny grudge. She wouldn't look at Ye Yang, nor would she speak to him.

Ye Yang felt slightly anxious about this. When Liu Duo went upstairs to get new rice paper, he followed her too.

Li Wazi and the gang didn't realized Ye Yang had disappeared. They continued with the work, chatting among themselves.

Liu Duo barely entered the room when Ye Yang went in too and closed the door behind him.

Hearing a sound, Liu Duo looked back to find Ye Yang, who had just shut the door, "Yang? What are you doing?"

Why hadn't she realized he had been following her? There wasn't any sound at all!

He didn't reply as he walked directly to her, head hanging low, "Are you still angry?"

Liu Duo looked away to grab the rice paper she had come for. She was certainly still mad at his lack of trust!

She wanted to leave, but Ye Yang held her by the arm, blocking her, "Little Duo, don't stay mad. Alright?"

Gosh, this voice! So enticing! Low and rough and wonderful to the ears!

Her pride wouldn't let her admit it, so she looked sideways and said, "I was never mad. Now let go of me."

Did this stoic one know how to apologize?

At this thought, the ends of her mouth curled up. The anger towards him disappeared.

Ye Yang did not let her go. He saw her frown had gone, and he knew that she wasn't mad anymore. His anxiety also dissipated.