My Wife Came From A Thousand Years Ago

Chapter 97: Children cannot be led astray

For Winter Melon, this neighborhood was familiar territory.

Incredibly familiar—before Xu Qing took it in, the big trash bins by the walls had been its dining hall…

“Does it think we’re going to throw it back?” Xu Qing asked thoughtfully when he saw Winter Melon hiding behind Jiang He’s legs.

“Throw it back where?”

“Over there. That’s where I found it.”

Jiang He followed his gaze, then walked in the opposite direction. “Then let’s not go there.”

The winter sunlight wasn’t hot, just warm and soothing on their bodies. They had both eaten their fill, and Winter Melon had just been fed too. Holding hands, they strolled leisurely, as if they had nothing better to do.

After a while, Jiang He couldn’t help but ask, “Do you just like picking things up?”

Xu Qing replied, glancing up at the small flags fluttering around the residential complex. “It’s almost New Year. You guys have something similar where you’re from, right?”

Before Jiang He could answer, he continued, “Well, it’s probably not like this. Here, we can eat and drink as we please… In the old days, we’d set off fireworks and firecrackers. Now that’s banned, so we just play with them secretly.”

“New Year?”

“It’s a day for family reunions. No matter how far away you are, you’re supposed to go home—that’s why we have the Spring Festival travel rush. Remember that scene I showed you, with all those people packed onto trains?”

Jiang He said nothing. She looked up through the bare branches of the trees in the complex, sighed, and stared at the sky.

“My home is your home. I’ll take you there to put up spring couplets… We’ll put some up here too.”

“Mm.”

“It’s the first year for us… We should commemorate it. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to buy new clothes to wear on New Year’s Day.”

Bang!

As they chatted, a firecracker exploded in the distance. Xu Qing glanced over at a group of kids and smiled. “That’s a firecracker. Just light it, and it goes off.”

“Is it fun?”

“It should be… Winter Melon’s scared of it. Next time, I’ll get you some sparklers.”

Now that the winter holiday had started, the complex was livelier. Not only were the local kids free from school, but young people who had moved away would also bring their children back or leave them with their grandparents while they went off to enjoy themselves.

Jiang He watched the children playing in the open space, sometimes feeling an unreal sense of calm.

Everything was so peaceful, so pleasant.

“Xiaoyan!”

Xu Qing spotted Xiaoyan standing nearby with her hands in her pockets, watching the boys set off firecrackers. He raised his hand in greeting.

“Xu-ge!”

Xiaoyan was about to cover her ears when Xu Qing’s voice distracted her. Her hands paused just as a firecracker went off with a bang. Her shoulders twitched, and she shot a glance at the boys before covering one ear and running over to Xu Qing.

“Still scared of firecrackers at your age?” Xu Qing teased.

“I’m not scared!” Xiaoyan shook her head vigorously. “They’re just really loud!”

“Then why are you watching…? This is Jiang He-jie.”

“Hello, jie!”

“Hello.”

Jiang He squeezed Xu Qing’s hand tighter and blinked at the little girl who barely reached her waist.

Her twin ponytails swung back and forth, making her look very lively.

“She’s Aunt Cheng’s granddaughter. You know, the one who always carries a basket.”

Xu Qing explained. Jiang He gave a barely noticeable nod. If Xu Qing introduced someone to her, there was usually a reason—even if it was just a little girl, she took it seriously.

In the past six months, she had noticed that Xu Qing always acted with purpose. He rarely did pointless things unless they were particularly interesting.

“Is this Winter Melon?”

When Xiaoyan greeted Jiang He, her eyes were already glued to Winter Melon. After a moment of scrutiny, she exclaimed in surprise.

The last time she saw it, it had been a skinny little thing. Now, it had become a big fat cat.

“Yep, it’s growing faster than you. Eat more.”

“I don’t want to become a little fatty!”

Xu Qing joked with her for a bit, then took Jiang He to sit on a bench and enjoy the sun, handing the leash to Xiaoyan so she could play with Winter Melon.

“The neighbors here are all nice people. Aunt Cheng is a bit nosy, but she’s really kind. When I was a kid, if I got locked out while my parents were away, she’d let me stay at her place to watch TV and do my homework.”

Watching Xiaoyan happily show off Winter Melon to her friends, he casually told Jiang He about his childhood.

This complex was his childhood home. He’d moved to a new place with Xu Wenbin and his wife for a while, but he came back when he started university.

“Why did you introduce me to her?” Jiang He asked curiously.

“Don’t you think she’s cute?” Xu Qing looked surprised.

“She is cute…” Jiang He glanced at the bouncing Xiaoyan and asked, “Is that the only reason?”

“What else?”

Xu Qing asked back, pausing. “I just want you to meet more people. Otherwise, life’s too boring… Do you think I have some ulterior motive?”

“Maybe…”

Jiang He tilted her head thoughtfully, unsure where this strange idea came from.

She just felt that Xu Qing always seemed to connect everything he did.

Like when he first held her hand…

Jiang He looked down at Xu Qing’s “pig trotter” hand, which was playing with her fingers again.

“She spends every winter and summer holiday at Aunt Cheng’s place. Sometimes, she brings her homework and plays with Winter Melon… Holiday homework is like a student’s job, assignments to do at home.”

Xu Qing traced her palm lines with his finger, as if reading her fortune, then suddenly said, “I think I’m becoming a hand fetishist.”

“What?” Jiang He asked, hearing a new term.

“It means I really like hands.”

Jiang He paused, then turned her head away. “You always did.”

“Maybe.”

Xu Qing didn’t explain that it was because his ‘permissions’ were limited to hands…

If he had more permissions, she’d know what a true scoundrel was.

“Jiang…”

Xiaoyan ran over with the cat, starting to say a name but getting stuck. Xu Qing helped her out: “Jiang He-jie.”

“Jiang He-jie!” Xiaoyan said sweetly. Then she looked at their joined hands and asked, “Are you Xu-ge’s girlfriend?”

Before Jiang He could answer, Xu Qing grinned and asked, “Do you know what a girlfriend is?”

“Of course I do!”

“What is it?”

“It’s… it’s…” Xiaoyan’s big eyes widened as she struggled to explain.

Her face flushed red, and she finally shouted, “It’s a girl who’s a friend!”

“So cute.” Xu Qing smiled at Jiang He and didn’t elaborate.

Kids shouldn’t know too much.

It wouldn’t be good if they got the wrong ideas.

“If you like Winter Melon, come play with it.” He patted Xiaoyan’s head gently. “You can play with Jiang He-jie too.”

“Okay!”

Xiaoyan nodded enthusiastically.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!