Chapter 132: Are You Sure You Aren't Lying to Me?

It was the darkest hour right before dawn when Yun Yingying stumbled all the way to Han Li's doorstep.

She pushed open the courtyard door gently, shooed away the cluster of barking dogs with her foot, closed the door behind her, and walked toward the main house.

Han Li had gone to sleep right after the Yun sisters left the day before, and the moment the courtyard gate was pushed open, his eyes had already snapped wide open.

Yet, hearing no barking, he realized it was Yun Yingying. A smile curved the corners of his lips as he closed his eyes once more.

Yun Yingying opened and closed the door, slipped into the house, navigated by instinct to the edge of the brick-bed, and groped around until she found Han Li.

Her small, cold hand touched Han Li's forehead. Feeling that everything seemed fine, she let out a quiet sigh of relief.

At that very instant, Han Li reached out with both arms and pulled Yun Yingying directly onto the heated bed.

"Ah! Han Li, you scared me to death, mmph."

Someone who practiced martial arts possessed tremendous lung capacity. Before Han Li had even half-tasted his fill, Yun Yingying was already gasping for breath.

"Hah... hah... you bad guy, you scared me half to death."

Han Li first captured Yun Yingying's pair of ice-cold little hands, placing them over his own chest, and then wrapped her snugly inside the quilt.

The two of them pressed closely together. Feeling Han Li's strong, powerful heartbeat, hearing his rapid breathing, and enduring his rather restless hands, Yun Yingying suddenly felt quite at a loss.

Though the two of them usually indulged in plenty of intimate little gestures, they had never experienced anything quite like this.

Before Yun Yingying could even speak, she sensed another peculiar change.

Over the past few days, Han Li had recounted quite a few little stories to her, and Yun Yingying was well aware of what might soon befall her down below.

"Ah, no... we can't do this right now, and besides, I'm really scared."

Sensing the trembling in Yun Yingying's body brought on by her fear of the unknown, Han Li sighed inwardly; it seemed the situation wasn't quite ripe yet.

So, he gently kissed the lobe of Yun Yingying's ear and whispered a single sentence.

Yun Yingying asked in astonishment, "Ah? Won't that cause a lot of damage to your body?"

Han Li murmured softly, "Once or twice occasionally is nothing, but too many times would certainly cause some harm."

"Then what should we do? Or else we could just..."

"How can we do that? You're far too tense right now, and it would easily leave a psychological shadow afterward. We're meant to spend our whole lives together; if I can't even endure this much, how would that ever work?"

"But your health is important too."

"Ahem... ahem. Actually, I read about a method in a book that can temporarily alleviate this symptom."

"What method? Tell me quickly!"

***

Han Li murmured a few words into Yun Yingying's ear, and she was left utterly dumbfounded by the suggestion.

Han Li gave her a tight hug and said, "It's fine, I'll just endure it a little longer and it will pass."

The expression on Yun Yingying's face shifted from initial shock to a gradual, steadfast resolve.

She broke free from Han Li's embrace, her entire body sinking straight down to the other end of the quilt.

Half an hour later, Han Li emerged feeling refreshed and full of vitality, beginning to get up at a leisurely pace.

Yun Yingying rubbed her aching jaw, casting a resentful glance at Han Li. She had barely managed to survive the bouts of dry heaving.

Who would have guessed that he would go for the grand slam right at the end? She couldn't help feeling like she had just been scammed.

Still, it had indeed resolved Han Li's affliction from moments ago, leaving her mind somewhat in a daze.

Moving with even greater haste than Han Li, Yun Yingying bolted to the outer kitchen; rinsing her mouth and brushing her teeth were the things she needed most right now.

Having dressed, Han Li walked into the outer room, wrapped his arms tightly around Yun Yingying from behind, rested his head on her shoulder, and said softly,

"Yingying, you're so good."

"And yet you just tricked me."

"Ahem... ahem. Look how obvious the results are; it proves I definitely didn't lie to you."

"Really?"

"Truer than real gold."

"Then why do I always feel like something's weird?"

"When you're finally able to fully relax, we'll walk that final path and you'll understand."

At this, Yun Yingying's face flushed red once more. She truly had been terrified just now.

It wasn't as if she hadn't seen the little brats running wild on the streets when the weather was hot, but what she had witnessed in Han Li...

Yet this was a topic she couldn't discuss with anyone else. Otherwise, what kind of person would she become? What would Han Li think of her?

If a similar opportunity arose next time, should she try to forcefully overcome it?

Nervousness, fear, vexation...

After finishing their washing up, the two of them sat together in front of the earthen stove, tending the fire and cooking.

Yun Jinjing likely intended to leave the two of them more time together, as she didn't show up until bright daylight when the meal was already prepared.

Yun Jinjing asked, "How are you feeling today, Han Li? If you're still feeling uncomfortable, we'd better go see a doctor."

As she spoke, she cast furtive, assessing glances at her sister. Seeing no abnormal reactions in her gait or movements, she finally let out a breath of relief. In truth, she had only picked up bits of gossip from others and remained half-ignorant about the whole affair.

Han Li replied, "I didn't toss and turn once all night. Right now I feel like I could punch a cow to death."

"Good to see you're fine. Yingying was so worried last night she tossed and turned all night without getting much sleep, and came running over before dawn even broke."

Hearing this, Yun Yingying's face flushed slightly red again. Brushing it aside, she hurriedly diverted her sister's topic.

"Sis, are we going to start wrapping dumplings right after we finish eating?"

"As long as it doesn't interfere with lunch, whenever is fine. Is there something else you want to do?"

"No. If we're not in a rush, let's play a game of chess before we start. We haven't played since the autumn harvest began."

The two sisters quickly settled their morning plans, to which Han Li raised zero objections.

As long as they weren't playing Chinese checkers which dragged him into it, he could just use the time to quietly read a book.

Just as the three of them finished their meal, settled onto the heated brick-bed, and brought out the chess set,

He Mi, Hao Hongmin, and the others arrived to call the Yun sisters to go up the mountain. Seeing the chess board, Yang Xiuying immediately lost all desire to head uphill.

"You guys sure are living leisurely, actually setting out a chess board. Aren't you planning to go up the mountain to forage today?"

Yun Yingying answered, "Han Li wasn't feeling well at all yesterday—probably exhausted from lately—so we decided to take a day off."

"What? Han Li actually got worn out? How are you feeling now?"

Han Li: "I'm all right now."

"You should still go get checked at the clinic. The smaller the ailment, the less you should ignore it."

"I really don't need to see a doctor. I practice boxing regularly and know my own body inside and out."

Seeing that neither Han Li nor the Yun sisters were heading up the mountain today, Yang Xiuying's laziness flared up instantly.

"Our bodies are nowhere near as tough as Han Li's. Why don't we take the day off too? Let's play some chess and cards to give our bodies a rest, what do you say?"

Hao Hongmin glanced helplessly at her roommate, then shifted her gaze to He Mi and Qi Zhaodi.

He Mi smiled generously and said, "Health comes first. Let's all be collectively lazy for a day, then."