"So where are you going?" Yu Mei asked.
"To auntie Feng's house. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing." She shook her head.
While Li Kong was confused by her reaction, he didn't put much thought about before Li Kong's keen intuition caught something wrong about this "nothing".
"Child surnamed Yu if there's something you want say just say it." Li Kong demanded.
Yu Mei startled by Li Kong's sudden call but she tried to brush it off as nothing again but Li Kong was adamant.
And by the time, she was opening her mouth to reproach him, suddenly a deafening rumble reverberated from her lower body, setting the world into a moment of silence.
Slowly, her head dropped down and her ears turned bright red while on her side, Li Kong started nodding and mumbling.
"I understand. I understand." Li Kong still nodding.
'What do you even understand?!' Yu Mei cursed in her heart.
Yu Mei's already red face had reach the point of explosion and she tried to storm out of the scene but quickly stopped by Li Kong's hand.
She turned her head back and there, Li Kong was still nodding and his lips puckered up.
"It's okay. I understand. I really understand." Li Kong patted her shoulder while nodding.
Yu Mei was a moment away from crying at this point.
She felt like she wanted to dig a hole and buried herself in it to save her from the embarrassment.
"It's okay! If I were hungry, I would act like that too." Li Kong said in understanding.
'What..?' Just before Yu Mei able to finish her thoughts, she was dragged by Li Kong to somewhere.
"Li Kong, I-" Yu Mei wanted to clarify but was cut off short by Li Kong's finger.
"Stt, stt. It's okay just leave it to me." Li Kong winked.
'And just like what I said what do you mean by that...' Yu Mei gave up and resigned to her fate while crying silently inside of her heart.
And just like that, Li Kong dragged her lifeless body.
...
"Li Kong, where are you dragging me to?" Yu Mei had recovered a bit from the embarrassment.
"To your house." He calmly responded.
"My house? Didn't you say you wanted to go to auntie Feng's place?" Yu Mei tilted her head a bit.
"Of course. How else do we have to ask for your old man's permission?" He talked like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
'Permission? What permission?' Yu Mei was flabbergasted and couldn't keep the track of the conversation and when she wanted to ask further, she heard Li Kong's voice.
"We arrived."
Having not recovered yet, she could only watch Li Kong as he walked to her front door and knocked on it a few times before a voice appeared coming from the house.
"Yes. Who is it?"
Shortly after the door opened, the figure behind it was revealed. It was the village chief, Yu Hao. His height was almost the same as someone like Ye Cheng with him being a littler shorter than the latter. But unlike Ye Cheng that couldn't care less about his appearance, Yu Hao was well-kempt.
"Hi, uncle Yu." Li Kong greeted him with a smile.
"Hi, Li Kong." Yu Hao sent a smile back. "How did it go with your uncle today?"
"It went great." Li Kong beamed his teeth and raised a thumb up.
Yu Hao wasn't fazed by his strange demeanor and congratulated him before getting on the point.
Yu Hao scrutinized both Li Kong and Yu Mei and he found their hands were joint together, causing his eyebrows raising up.
"Now, I doubt that you come in this evening only to told me that."
"I come to ask for permission." Li Kong replied earnestly.
"Permission?" Yu Hao tilted his head a bit.
"Mhm." Li Kong nodded.
Yu Hao slowly turned his head and his line of vision met with his daughter for a brief moment.
Yu Mei consciousness came back to her at once and she immediately raised both of her arms to shape "X" and shook her head so fast it left afterimages.
Yu Hao was confused for a moment by this interaction and redirected his attention back to Li Kong, who watching him expectantly and at that moment, he felt enlightened.
'Hah... The smell of youth.' Yu Hao sighed exasperatedly and gently shaking his head.
'I remembered the past with Yingya. She was just like this too. She'll pretend she doesn't want to do anything but if you don't do anything, she will sulk for days and berate me for not being understanding. Like mother, like daughter.' Remembering the pain and headaches of the past made Yu Hao wanted to roll out a single tear.
Back at the present, although Yu Hao had no problems with Yu Mei playing with Li Kong, but this matter was entirely different.
Yu Hao recalled the pranks Li Kong pulled against his own uncle and shivered at the thoughts the same thing happened to him.
At a smaller scale, Li Kong's pranks could be considered harmless prank little children would do from time to time.
But the main problem was Li Kong wasn't doing it from time to time but every single time, at any moment and any situation.
'But surely, he has grow past that age right? Right?' Yu Hao thought about it as serious as he could but in the end, he only sighed.
'My time had passed now.' Yu Hao shook his head. 'Time for the youth to make decision for themselves.'
Yu Hao got his attention back at the situation and looked back at her daughter with a warm gaze.
'Don't worry, sweetheart. Father got this.' He conveyed through his eyes.
Yu Mei received her father's assuring gaze and relaxed the tension inside of her body.
'I believe in you, dad.' With a hopeful eyes, she replied back to her old man.
On the other hand, Li Kong stood there silently, waiting for Yu Hao's answer.
Yu Hao realized that he had made the youth waited for a long time and brought himself back. He cleared his throat and met Li Kong's eyes.
"Li Kong." Yu Hao's tone was solemn.
Subconsciously, Li Kong fixed his posture and stand upright.
"Next time..." Li Kong and Yu Mei simultaneously gulped.
"... you don't have to ask for any permissions." Yu Hao ended it with a smile.
Li Kong was delighted and started to thanking his kind uncle while Yu Mei was dejected and utterly confounded by her father's betrayal.
"Do you hear that, Yu Mei? Now we can go to auntie Feng's house!"
Yu Hao was swept up by Li Kong's cheerful voice before suddenly, he realized something was wrong.
"Wait. Why are you going to Feng's house?" Yu Hao visibly perplexed.
"Hmm? I thought that you already know, uncle." Li Kong was also confused now. If his uncle didn't know what he's going to do, then what kind of permission that his uncle gave to him?
Yu Hao realized he was talking about an entirely different conversation and asked for Li Kong's explanation.
Realizing his mistake, Yu Hao burst out into laughter while Li Kong stood like a statue, looking absolutely clueless. Behind him, Yu Mei had grabbed on some shove and started digging her own grave.
"Oh... It was that kind of permission. I thought you..." Yu Hao played with his chin amusingly.
"What?" Suddenly, Li Kong's head popped out in front of his eyes.
Yu Hao refrained from speaking any further instead he smiled a little then sent a meaningful gaze to his embarrassed daughter and winked.
"If it's only to have a dinner, I don't see any problems with that."
"Thank you, uncle!" Li Kong bowed before going to Yu Mei's side. "Hey, what you're doing with the shovel? We're going to be late!" Li Kong placed his hand on Yu Mei and shaking her soul to a tour in attempt to awaken her.
"See you later, uncle!" Li Kong waved goodbye and pulled Yu Mei with him.
Yu Hao returned the wave before suddenly he heard footsteps coming behind him and he turned back his body.
"It's nothing." Yu Hao gazed back to see two persons running to somewhere. "It's just youth thing. Now let's get inside and let me cook for you today."
...
'How did I get here?' Yu Mei rested her forehead on her hand.
It felt like she just blinked and suddenly she ended up sitting in someone else's house.
In front of her was platter of food, line up at a certain manner to appeared pleasing to the eyes. The food's ingredients mainly rabbit and deer meat with herb and sauce to enhanced the flavor.
If only I didn't skip lunch. Would all of this happen? She cried silently in her heart.
"And for the last..." A feminine voice was heard coming from the kitchen.
A lady, looking in her prime, entered the table with plates full of food.
Seeing this, Li Kong, who was chatting with Ye Cheng, immediately got up from his seat.
"Let me carry it for you, auntie." Li Kong offered his hands.
"Oh, you don't have to do that." Feng Rouyi said with a cheery voice and put the pan on the center of the table.
"Yeah, listen to her Li Kong. Age haven't caught up to her yet." Ye Cheng pointed his index finger to Li Kong and said mindlessly.
Bang!
The table and Yu Mei jumped in unison and Li Kong looked in horror but fortunately none of the food spilled out.
"And what was that supposed to mean, my dear lovely husband?" Feng Rouyi gazed warmly at her husband, a bit too warm even.
Looking to those eyes, Ye Cheng knew he messed things up and cold sweats began dripping down his back.
But Ye Cheng didn't just waste his entire life for nothing, years of experiences had honed him to becoming the man he was now and from the years he gone through, he had gained the most important skill to guarantee his happiness and well-being for foreseeable future and the said skill was...
To be professional husband.
With almost instinctual reaction, Ye Cheng arose from his seat and pushed her wife's body downwards to leaned at the arm that he already placed at his wife's back.
"I meant you are still as beautiful as the first time I see you. Look at your face, there wasn't even a wrinkle and even if there was, I would be loving you more because I've been blessed to be able to grow old with you." His voice gradually turned warmer and his eyes shone charmingly.
Feng Rouyi looking as if dazed but shortly after, she blushed uncontrollably and rosy red painted her beautiful face.
"Yes..." She replied in almost docile voice.
While on the other side of the table, Yu Mei already gasped and covered her mouth with both of her hand while Li Kong couldn't care less and stared at the plate in front of him
Feng Rouyi noticed that her guests were staring at her with strange look and she immediately pushed her husband away.
After that, she tidied herself up even though there was no need for it and sat silently which followed by Ye Cheng.
Feng Rouyi was still hadn't recovered from Ye Cheng's sudden declaration and with rosy blush on her cheek, she whispered something to Ye Cheng.
Soon after she was done whispering, Ye Cheng's brain short-circuited for a moment before he looked in disbelief at his wife while Feng Rouyi feigned ignorance and played her poker face while her ears remained cherry red.
Awkwardness filled the air and no one could said anything for a moment before a starve-stricken and grumbling voice appeared.
"When will we eat the food, uncle? Yu Mei starving already!" Li Kong complained and pointed at Yu Mei.
"Hey! I never say that!" Yu Mei glared at Li Kong.
The awkwardness slowly dwindled as the youth's bicker grew louder.
Ye Cheng cleared his throat loudly, prompted Li Kong and Yu Mei to be silent.
"Let's eat." Ye Cheng said.
After that, Li Kong immediately targeted the soup and everyone followed suit and they ate together.
The atmosphere was lively with Li Kong always chatting and eating merrily and Feng Rouyi felt satisfied watching Li Kong ate with full appetite and that was where she suddenly became curious and she redirected her gaze to Yu Mei.
"So what makes you suddenly want to join us, little Mei?" Feng Rouyi piqued. "You couldn't be dragged here by Li Kong right?" Feng Rouyi jokingly said and laughed.
'You won't believe what I'm going to tell you, auntie.' Yu Mei recited while stuffing her mouth with food.
"Iw bekaws Yu Mwe wa stwarvin so I brouw her hir." Li Kong stated clearly.
"No talking while chewing!" Ye Cheng quick to berate him.
Watching the dispirited Li Kong, Yu Mei chuckled a bit, not realizing the observing eyes placed upon her.
"Is that so?" Feng Rouyi muttered to herself before smiling.
Recalling the scene that happened before, Yu Mei suddenly grew curious about how Feng Rouyi and Ye Cheng came to be.
"So, auntie. How did you and uncle Ye met?"
Feng Rouyi was taken back by the sudden question but shortly after her expression turned warm and nostalgic.
"Oh, you don't want to know how I met this hunk of steel." Feng Rouyi nudged her husband side which invited bewildered look from Ye Cheng.
Watching the bewildered look from her husband, Feng Rouyi cackled before started narrating a story.
It all started with a naughty child that wandered deep into the forest and met with another equally disobedient child in an accident.
The girl was always curious about the forest and one day, she decided to ventured deep into the forest and when she wanted to get back to home, she was unable to traced back her way.
She roamed aimlessly and before she realized, the forest had dimmed.
The girl started to sob and walked with tears in her eyes and she ended up standing in front a large boar.
The girl broke down crying and just as she thought it was all over, an arrow whistled through the bushes and hit the boar and penetrated deeply into its skull.
The girl stopped crying and looked at the direction where the arrow came from and from there, emerged a tall figure.
It was a familiar face.
She had seen the young boy's face, he was the son of the hunter not far away from her house. Although she knew about him, but because he was too boorish, she never took the chance to approached him and neither did he too.
The young boy asked her what she was doing and then, exasperatedly sighed.
After that, he closely inspected the girl and found that she twisted her ankle.
The boy sat the girl on top of the boulder and took out bandages and ointment and treated the girl's ankle carefully.
The cold ointment touching her skin, caused her to gasp in pain. The girl asked him to do it gentler while the boy outright ignored her and her ankles wrapped perfectly. But the girl still couldn't walk properly.
The boy once again sighed and carried the girl on his back wordlessly. The girl protested for a moment but in the end, she fell silent and leaned fully to his back.
On the way back, the girl was amazed by the young boy's wits as he seemed to able to anticipate anything and act accordingly. The young boy maneuvered through the forest, avoiding the beasts' territory.
The girl mustered courage and tried to strike a conversation with the boy and the girl found that the boy also went to the forest without permission. The girl and the boy talked about many things and without they noticing, they already arrived on the village's entrance.
A commotion was could be seen from afar and suddenly, a woman in her thirties separated herself from the crowds and ran into their direction. The young boy helped the girl to stand up properly and the woman hugged her child tightly and cried.
Feeling her mother warmth, droplets of tears welled up from the corner of her eyes and the girl wailed in her mother's embrace.
After crying for a while, the girl cleared her eyes and saw that the young boy who had helped him was furiously rubbing his head while glaring tearfully at the tall muscular man besides him, his hand clasped into fist.
Her mother gave her thanks to the boy and then dragged the girl home. There she was disciplined in the name of love by her mother meanwhile her father could only glanced at her with pity in his eyes.
Days gone by and the girl went back to her daily life as if nothing had happened, but for some unknown reason, she couldn't take off her eyes from the boy. The way he talked, the way he reacted, his mannerisms.
All of them. She was completely enchanted.
It continued tomorrow, the day after it and before she could realize, a week had passed.
At some point, she tried to talk to the boy but when she was in front of him, she found herself unable to even string out a words.
The boy looked at her incredulously and demanded what was she doing. The sudden words from the boy startled her and many thoughts surged on her mind but ultimately, only a thank you was came out from her mouth.
The boy was surprised but the next moment, he laughed heartilyand said that it was what a man should've done.
After that, the pair chatted with each other until the boy was called by a tall looming figure in the far. The boy packed his things and departed from the place.
The girl looked sad but nonetheless, she waved her hand.
The boy stopped all of a sudden and coughed for no apparent reason, then muttered, "See you again."
The girl's body shook and with a smile, she replied, "See you again too."
It all started with a little talk, then a little greeting when meeting each other, a little company at random times, a little time spent together, and finally a little closer to each other's heart.