Bride Swap Backfire: My Cousin's Rebirth Made Us a Power Couple-Chapter 37 - 34: Showing Up at the Door
Zhao Jing and De’an delivered some steamed buns and flatbreads to Xiaoao Mountain, along with a bucket of hot rice soup.
By the time the two of them returned to the Chen family’s home, braving the downpour, the clean clothes they had just put on were soaked through again, their shoes and hems caked with mud.
Chen De’an let out a violent sneeze and couldn’t help but curse, "This damn weather! It’s enough to freeze a man to death."
Hearing him, Chen Wanqing quickly poked her head out of the kitchen. "You two, hurry inside! I’ve made some ginger soup. Drink a couple of bowls to warm yourselves up."
The soup was brewed with aged ginger and had been simmering for some time. Its pungent aroma was noticeable from a good distance away, and Chen De’an wanted no part of it.
But he had to drink it whether he liked it or not. GLUG, GLUG. After two bowls, Chen De’an let out a loud burp and shivered, a wave of coldness seeming to expel itself from his body.
"This soup is strong stuff, Sis! How much ginger did you put in it?" He felt like the pungent aroma was permanently seeping into him.
Chen Wanqing ignored her brother and asked Zhao Jing, "Do you want some more?"
Zhao Jing quickly waved his hands in refusal. "Please, spare me."
At his words, the other two couldn’t help but chuckle.
Chen Wanqing shooed the two of them into De’an’s room to rest.
"I put a brazier in the east room. You two go and warm yourselves, and dry your clothes while you’re at it. I’ll bring some water for your feet in a bit. Take off those straw sandals and put on your regular shoes."
"Don’t go to all that trouble, Sis," De’an said. "Jing and I can just rinse our feet in the rainwater."
Chen De’an pulled Zhao Jing outside. Chen Wanqing followed, shouting and trying to stop them, but she was a step too late.
By the time she got outside, the two were standing on the steps of the main house, holding their feet out to let the runoff from the eaves rinse away the mud.
Chen Wanqing scolded them irritably. "You two should be more careful! De’an, you’re not even fully recovered. If you have a relapse after all this fuss, we’ll see if you’re crying then... And Jing, why are you fooling around with him? Didn’t you just tell me that you must always put your health first?"
Chen Wanqing walked up the steps and pulled back the two boisterously laughing boys. Just as she was about to hurry them back to the east room, the closed courtyard gate was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
Chen Wanyue stood at the entrance, holding an oil-paper umbrella, her face filled with rage as she watched her older cousin grasping the clothing of both Zhao Jing and De’an.
’De’an was one thing; he was her biological brother, so it was fine for them to be close.’
’But Zhao Jing was an unrelated man—and what’s more, he’d been betrothed to *her* since they were children. If her cousin had any sense of decency, she wouldn’t be tugging at his clothes.’
’What infuriated Chen Wanyue most was that Zhao Jing, who was always so proper and reserved and never said more than a few words to other girls, was letting her cousin tug at his sleeve without a hint of resistance.’
’Chen Wanyue’s face turned livid with rage, as if she were being publicly cuckolded.’
She wanted to fly into a rage, but then she couldn’t help but think, ’If they really are involved in something improper, isn’t that actually a good thing for me?’
Despite this thought, her expression remained sour.
Without so much as a greeting, she stared stonily at Zhao Jing through the sheet of rain and said, "Zhao Jing, come out. I have something to say to you."
Zhao Jing merely frowned at her, remaining as still as a statue. Annoyed, Chen Wanyue stamped her foot. "I need to discuss something important with you! Don’t hide, you can’t avoid it. Hurry up and come out. I’ll wait for you outside the gate."
After she spoke, she glanced down at her dress and shoes, clenching her fists in a silent scream.
’My shoes are soaked, my dress is soaked, and mud almost splashed onto my face. I’m a complete mess!’
’Of course. Nothing good ever happens around Zhao Jing. He’s my personal jinx!’
"Wanyue, don’t go back out there," Chen Wanqing said. "Whatever it is, you can talk with Jing in the kitchen."
Chen Wanqing then looked at Zhao Jing. "Jing, Wanyue came all this way in a downpour; it must be for something important. You two should talk in the kitchen. It’s still warm in there, not cold like it is outside."
"I understand. I’ll go over now."
Zhao Jing’s face was taut, and an aura of cold indifference emanated from him.
He walked down the steps without an umbrella and entered the kitchen in a few quick strides.
Chen Wanyue saw this and followed him. But after stepping inside, she turned her head to glare at Chen Wanqing and Chen De’an on the steps, warning, "You two stay away. Don’t eavesdrop on our conversation."
Chen De’an scoffed, pointing a finger at Chen Wanyue. "Who wants to listen to you talk? You think you’re a songbird, that your words are as pleasant as music? Your voice is like a broken gong, on par with a screeching owl! Hurry up, say your piece, and get out. Don’t ever come to my house again."
He added emphatically, "I get annoyed just looking at someone as ill-mannered as you. From now on, I’ll hit you every time I see you in my house."
Chen Wanyue glared viciously at Chen De’an. "If you have the guts, then hit me right now! Stop showing off with empty words and trying to scare people... This broken-down courtyard of yours? I wouldn’t come back even if you begged me."
"You..."
BANG!
"Alright, De’an, don’t stoop to her level," Chen Wanqing said, stopping him. "She’s just a girl, and our cousin at that. It’s pointless to argue with her. If an outsider heard, they would say you’re the one without manners."
"How could I possibly be ruder than her? Sis, did you see how arrogant she was? I’ve never seen a girl with worse manners! She saw us and didn’t even greet us as ’cousin.’ She acted like a debt collector, with her nose stuck as high in the air as it could go! We must have been cursed with eight lifetimes of bad luck to end up with a cousin like her."
Chen De’an added, "It’s a good thing Mom’s not home. If she saw the way Chen Wanyue acts, she’d be angered into a fit."
"Enough about her. Go back to your room and warm up by the fire. And change your shoes."
Watching Chen De’an return to his room, muttering under his breath, Chen Wanqing glanced at the closed kitchen door, then at the pouring rain. Her thoughts couldn’t help but turn to her father, working out by the old locust tree.
’Who knows when this rain will stop. Father and the others aren’t dressed warmly; it would be awful if they got soaked and fell ill.’
’I should make more ginger soup later and bring it to them. At least it will help them warm their bodies.’
But with De’an and Zhao Jing having been soaked in the rain multiple times, Chen Wanqing was also worried their health couldn’t take the strain.
It seemed she would have to make another trip herself.
’But the mountain path is wet and slippery; it’s not safe for me to go alone...’
’I can only pray the heavens make the rain stop soon. Otherwise, Father won’t be the only one suffering—I’ll be suffering right alongside him.’
Chen Wanqing went back to her room. As she sifted the ground medicinal herbs, she stared out at the curtain of rain, lost in thought.
The entire courtyard was silent, filled only with the sound of rushing water as the rain washed over the ground.
Before long, however, Wanyue’s suppressed, angry voice drifted from the kitchen. Her accusations and questions were laced with a hint of hysteria.
Chen Wanqing put down her work and rose, heading toward the inner chamber.
The inner chamber was small but warmly decorated. On a desk by the bed sat a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone, along with a small vase holding several chrysanthemums.
The zinnias, in vibrant purples and reds, released a gentle fragrance that added a touch of charm to the small boudoir.
Chen Wanqing picked up a book from the desk and began to flip through it listlessly.
