Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

Deep in the alley, Chen Jie pushed open the door, turned to look at him, her eyes bright, and her voice couldn't suppress the allure: "Come in."

The door closed gently behind me.

As soon as Chen Jie put down her briefcase, Liu Xiangyang wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

Her body stiffened slightly, then softened and she leaned into his arms.

"What's the rush..." Her voice was low, with a hint of reproach, but she didn't struggle.

Liu Xiangyang rested his chin on her shoulder, his nose brushing against the hair behind her ear, and took a deep breath.

"miss you."

Chen Jie didn't say anything, but turned her head away, her ears turning bright red.

Liu Xiangyang turned his head and touched her earlobe.

"What?"

Chen Jie's body trembled slightly.

"...Don't call me that."

Liu Xiangyang didn't listen, and touched her again, his voice muffled in her ear:

"What's up? Missed me?"

Chen Jie struggled for a moment, but couldn't break free; her voice was incredibly soft.

"You...you let go, I'll go cook..."

"I'm not hungry."

Liu Xiangyang turned her around and looked down at her.

Chen Jie looked up, her eyelashes trembling slightly, her gaze lingering on his face.

Liu Xiangyang lowered his head and kissed her lips.

Chen Jie closed her eyes and let him kiss her.

As they kissed, she gently pushed him away, her voice muffled:

"...Go inside."

The lights were off inside.

The curtains were half-drawn, and the light from the streetlights outside shone through, falling on the clothes scattered on the ground.

Chen Jie lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), her hair disheveled, her chest heaving, and she raised her hand to cover her eyes.

"Oh, the fourth floor facing the sun, fuck..."

Liu Xiangyang lowered his head, removed her hand from her eyes, and leaned close to her ear, his warm breath brushing against her neck:

"What are you doing, looking at me?"

Chen Jie turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

Liu Xiangyang chased after her, touched her lips briefly, then touched them again, his voice muffled, tinged with laughter:

"What?"

Chen Jie finally turned her head, glared at him, but her eyes were soft, and her voice was low:

"...You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

"Um."

Liu Xiangyang lowered his head, buried it in the crook of her neck, and chuckled softly:

"I love seeing you like this."

Chen Jie raised her hand and gently patted him on the back.

They didn't remove it after the photo was taken; it just stayed there.

After a while, she said softly:

"Go ahead and call out."

"What?" he called out.

Chen Jie's shoulders trembled slightly.

Liu Xiangyang called out again, "What?"

Chen Jie pursed her lips, her eyes a little red, but she didn't avoid his gaze.

"You...you only know how to bully me."

Liu Xiangyang smiled and pulled her into his arms.

"I'm just bullying you."

Chen Jie buried her face in his chest and said in a muffled voice.

"Stop dawdling, hurry up..."

Liu Xiangyang lowered his head, leaned close to her ear, and breathed hot air onto her earlobe: "Beg me."

Chen Jie fell silent, her ears turning bright red.

Liu Xiangyang kissed her earlobe and then her cheek.

"What?"

Chen Jie gave a soft "Mmm".

Liu Xiangyang's hand slipped inside her waist, his palm resting on her lower abdomen, warm to the touch.

Chen Jie's breathing became heavy for a moment, but she did not dodge.

"Beg me!"

Chen Jie didn't answer, but buried her face even deeper.

Liu Xiangyang lowered his head and kissed her ear.

"Xiangyang, please..."

-

I don't know why, but whenever I write about Chen Jie's story, my thoughts flow like a spring.

The curtains in the room weren't fully drawn, letting in a beam of light from a streetlamp, which fell on Chen Jie's heaving chest and slightly upturned neck.

She bit her lip, her voice suppressed, soft and fragmented, as if afraid of being overheard, or as if she couldn't help herself.

Liu Xiangyang lowered his head and kissed away the tears that had seeped from the corners of her eyes.

"Why? Shout it out." His voice was muffled and he was panting.

Chen Jie shook her head, buried her face in his shoulder, and clung to him even tighter.

……

After an unknown amount of time, only the rapid breathing of two people remained in the room.

Chen Jie curled up in Liu Xiangyang's arms, her face pressed against his chest, her fingers slowly tracing circles on his abs.

Liu Xiangyang leaned against the headboard, his hand resting on her bare back, gently stroking it. "I'm coming here to stay in Harbin for three months."

Chen Jie looked up at him.

"Three months? Why?"

"Training," Liu Xiangyang said, "the Municipal People's Hospital, barefoot doctor training."

Chen Jie was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up:

"real?"

"Um."

She propped herself up and looked at him:

"Then can you stay here with me?"

"There are dormitories at the training center," Liu Xiangyang paused, "but you can come out on weekends."

Chen Jie smiled and pressed her face back against his chest.

"Three months..." she muttered softly, the happiness in her voice barely concealed.

Liu Xiangyang's hand was still gently stroking her back.

"Happy now?"

Chen Jie smiled and nuzzled against his chest.

It was quiet for a while.

Chen Jie suddenly spoke, her voice muffled:

"Towards the sun."

"Um."

"I want to have a son for you."

Liu Xiangyang paused for a moment.

He looked down at her and said, "Didn't we agree to wait another year?"

Chen Jie didn't look up, her fingers still tracing names on his abs, her voice soft, yet carrying a hint of stubbornness:

"But I don't want to wait any longer."

Liu Xiangyang remained silent for a few seconds.

"Let's wait a little longer," he said. "Until we return to the capital..."

"I can't wait any longer."

Chen Jie looked up at him, her eyes shining brightly and softly.

"Xiangyang, I'm thirty." Her voice lowered. "If I wait any longer, I'll be thirty-one, and I'll be almost forty when my child graduates from elementary school."

"By then, when you're old and faded, will you still love me like this?"

Liu Xiangyang flipped over and pinned her down, his hands supporting his weight near her ears, his eyes fixed on her.

"What? Do you think I'm that kind of person? I wish I could be a part of you."

"You're all talk and no action; nobody would believe you."

Chen Jie wrapped her arms around his neck, fed him a pill, and said in a soft, sweet voice:

"Xiangyang, please let me have one for you, okay?"

She paused, then tightened her grip on his neck with both hands:

"I just want a child with you."

Liu Xiangyang's voice was muffled and unclear from being suffocated.

His hand moved from her back to her chest, gently caressing her.

"What? Don't worry, even if you're seventy or eighty, I'll still do it to you every day," he mumbled.

Hearing his words, Chen Jie was overjoyed and released him, saying, "Aren't you afraid of straining your back?"

"What's there to be afraid of? Ever heard of a perpetual motion machine? My kidney is a perpetual motion machine," Liu Xiangyang said. "Didn't you just experience it?"

"Get lost," she said coquettishly. "Don't change the subject. I want to have your child, okay?"

Liu Xiangyang remained silent.

Chen Jie looked up at him.

Liu Xiangyang lowered his head and kissed her forehead.

"Okay," he said.

Chen Jie was stunned.

"What did you say?"

Liu Xiangyang looked at her, a smile in his eyes:

"I said okay, then let's have the baby."

Chen Jie's eyes immediately reddened.

She buried her face in his chest, her shoulders trembling slightly, but she didn't cry out. Instead, she held his arms tighter and tighter.

Liu Xiangyang patted her back gently.

The light from the streetlights outside the window shone through and fell on the two people.

After a long silence, Chen Jie's muffled voice came from his chest:

"It's settled then."

Liu Xiangyang hummed in agreement.

"Have a son."

"……Um."

Chen Jie laughed and lightly punched his chest: "Xiangyang, I've been thinking about it again!"

The bed, which had collapsed once before, started creaking and shaking again.

-

The Lunar New Year is almost here! Wishing all my readers a prosperous Year of the Horse, with great fortune, instant wealth, swift success, boundless energy, and the joy of being a groom every night, counting money until your hands cramp up every day.