Chapter 384: You Didn’t Push Me Away
"Thank you!" Ningwan suddenly thanked Mr. Zhan.
Zhan Hanjue was taken aback and looked at her in surprise.
Ningwan said, "I know, it’s because of me that you’re willing to stay here and do this. You’re willing to come to such a remote wilderness and endure such hardship. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be here at all."
"Then do you know why I’m willing to do all this?" Zhan Hanjue asked.
Ningwan thought, if I didn’t know, I’d be a fool.
"Yes, I know."
"So, what do you mean?" Zhan Hanjue asked eagerly.
Ningwan remained silent.
She gave Little Shitou some medicine and massaged the acupuncture points on his body.
Once Zhan Hanjue finished drying a piece of clothing, he immediately wrapped it around to keep him warm.
"Take off your clothes too, I’ll dry them for you," Hanjue suggested.
Ningwan nodded, not being pretentious.
She handed Little Shitou to Zhan Hanjue to hold, and took off her outer clothing, leaving only her underwear.
Most of Zhan Hanjue’s clothes had dried. He spread them on the ground for Little Shitou to sleep on.
It was unclear if it was the medicine, the acupuncture massage, or the removal of wet clothes.
In any case, Little Shitou’s temperature went down a lot.
Kids are like that, the fever comes quickly and goes quickly.
It seems fierce, but it also leaves quickly.
"Come closer and dry your clothes too," Zhan Hanjue said while drying her clothes.
Ningwan obediently moved closer, feeling warm as she was baked by the fire.
Her skin was very white, like snow, with a crystal-like sheen.
Her body was curvy, and even though she had given birth, there wasn’t an ounce of excess fat on her belly.
Zhan Hanjue couldn’t help but breathe heavily, and her face, illuminated by the fire, seemed to glow with an indescribable warmth and allure.
To hide his embarrassment, he coughed lightly and could only stare at the flames.
Afraid that if he looked any longer, he might impulsively do something irrational.
"Ah."
Suddenly, Zhan Hanjue cried out in surprise.
Ningwan immediately asked, "What’s wrong?"
Zhan Hanjue covered his right eye and said painfully, "My eye hurts."
Ningwan thought of how he had been staring at the firelight, called him an idiot, and quickly went over to check his eye.
"It’s nothing, it’s from staring at the light too long," Ningwan said with relief after checking.
Zhan Hanjue opened his eye, which started to tear involuntarily, looking at her through teary eyes.
Because she was checking his eye, Ningwan was leaning forward.
One tall, one short, from Zhan Hanjue’s perspective, all he could see was a field of snow-white.
And Ningwan, seeing his teary expression, felt her heart tremble.
Realizing something was wrong, she immediately coughed softly, intending to get up.
However, Zhan Hanjue acted faster.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, held her chin with one hand, and kissed her passionately and dominantly.
"Zhan Hanjue."
Ningwan pounded his shoulder, unable to resist calling out.
But soon, Zhan Hanjue silenced her, giving her no chance to speak.
Initially, Ningwan struggled, but soon she melted into the passionate embrace.
When they finally separated, breathless, they suddenly remembered there was a sick child beside them.
Ningwan’s face turned red, and she hurriedly pushed him away to put on the clothes that had been dried.
"I’ll hold Little Shitou, you should put on your clothes too! It’s cold in the mountains at night."
Ningwan picked up Little Shitou from the clothes, her face flushed, as she reminded Zhan Hanjue.
Holding Little Shitou felt like holding a shield, giving her some sense of security.
Zhan Hanjue seemed a bit at a loss too, obediently putting on his clothes.
But after dressing, he looked at Ningwan with deep eyes again.
Being watched by him made Ningwan uneasy, so she couldn’t help but ask, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Zhan Hanjue replied, "Though there was an impulse just now, I was really pleased that you didn’t push me away."
"You have amnesia; I tried but couldn’t push you away," Ningwan reminded him, blushing.
"The fact you couldn’t means you didn’t want to. Ningwan, let’s stop beating around the bush. I want to ask, what do you really feel about me?" Zhan Hanjue asked eagerly.
"What do you mean?" Ningwan pretended not to understand.
Zhan Hanjue had to walk closer and look at her: "What I mean is, I want to reconcile with you, I want to pursue you again. Will you agree?"
Ningwan laughed a little and looked at him: "It’s your business if you want to pursue me. If you succeed, I’ll agree. You asking me now, have I stopped you from chasing?"
"So what you mean is, you’re willing to let me pursue you?" Zhan Hanjue happily held her hand.
Ningwan was about to speak when Little Shitou woke up.
His eyes were open, looking at them; he was obviously a bit scared and started to cry with a pout.
Ningwan quickly comforted him, "Don’t cry, don’t cry, your mother asked me to find you. Don’t be afraid, Auntie is here."
"Auntie, you smell nice." The little guy snuggled into Ningwan’s arms.
Maybe it was Ningwan’s soothing tone, the initial fear disappeared quickly.
Once he wasn’t afraid anymore, he burrowed into Ningwan’s arms.
Zhan Hanjue watched enviously. Being a kid must be nice!
"About the question from before..."
"I’m sleepy, let’s sleep early."
Zhan Hanjue’s words were interrupted by Ningwan.
She held Little Shitou, leaned against the stone wall beside them, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
Zhan Hanjue sighed softly.
He wanted to say, you haven’t answered my question from before.
But unfortunately, Ningwan clearly didn’t want to let him ask it out loud.
He couldn’t sleep the rest of the night, having to watch the fire and keep an eye out for any wild animals.
Fortunately, staying up late was common for him when he worked, so it wasn’t too difficult to endure.
Finally, daylight broke, and Little Shitou was lively again.
Perhaps they had left too many traces yesterday, because the village villagers found their way there early in the morning.
"It really was you who found Little Shitou, that’s great."
The villagers were both happy and disappointed to see that Little Shitou had been found.
Happy that Little Shitou was safe, disappointed because they couldn’t claim the large reward.
However, the result was still pretty good.
Moreover, Zhan Hanjue noticed that after that night, Ningwan’s attitude towards him had noticeably improved.
He was so pleased that he promised the villagers to double the reward money for each of them.
"Mr. Zhan, you are truly amazing, such a good person."
The villagers showered him with praise and flattery.
They finally returned to the village, where Ningwan handed Little Shitou back to his mother.
However, she quickly discovered something strange.
Xunyou and Shuixian, who were supposed to be helping in the village, were nowhere to be seen.