Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

Chen Jie looked at him, bit her lip, and still stood up and took off her clothes.

The wooden tub wasn't very big; when she stepped inside, some water spilled out and splashed onto the ground.

Liu Xiangyang pulled her over, making her turn her back to him and lean against his chest.

Chen Jie gave a soft "hmm" and leaned back, pressing herself even closer.

The air was thick with moisture and steam was rising.

Liu Xiangyang reached out, brushed her wet hair aside, and leaned down to kiss her shoulder.

Chen Jie trembled slightly.

"Towards the sun..."

"Um."

She didn't say anything, but just leaned back a little further.

Liu Xiangyang's hand slowly moved upwards from her waist.

Chen Jie pressed his hand down, her voice trembling slightly.

"Stop messing around...didn't we agree that I would scrub your back...?"

Liu Xiangyang smiled.

"You wipe yours, I'll touch mine, it won't delay anything."

Chen Jie was amused by his antics, turned around and glared at him, but he took the opportunity to kiss her.

She tried to dodge, but couldn't.

Liu Xiangyang released her, leaned back, and looked at her with bright eyes.

"Didn't you say you were going to scrub my back?"

Chen Jie was stunned for a moment, then realized what she meant and her face turned red.

"you……"

"What, you don't know?" Liu Xiangyang raised an eyebrow.

Chen Jie rolled her eyes at him, turned around, picked up a handkerchief, wet it, and wiped his chest.

After wiping it twice, Liu Xiangyang shook his head.

"That's not how it works."

Chen Jie looked up at him: "Then how do we do it?"

Liu Xiangyang took her hand and took the handkerchief away.

"Use this." He pointed to Chen Jie.

Chen Jie looked down at herself, then looked up at him, her face flushed red.

"you……"

He weighed it in his hand.

Chen Jie paused, her breath catching in her throat.

"Like this," Liu Xiangyang said in a low voice, with a hint of amusement, "just draw a circle."

Chen Jie bit her lip and glared at him, but didn't look away.

She slowly bent down.

The water rippled gently.

Chen Jie rubbed against him twice and then stopped, looking up at him.

Liu Xiangyang said with his eyes closed.

"Yes, that's it, don't stop."

Chen Jie blushed even more: "You just know how to humiliate people."

The steam was thicker, making people's eyes sting.

Liu Xiangyang placed his hand on her waist and gently stroked it.

After a while, he helped her up.

Chen Jie looked up at him, her eyes watery and her lips slightly parted.

Liu Xiangyang didn't say anything, but turned her around so that her back was to him and she leaned against the edge of the bathtub.

The bathtub shook violently, splashing some water onto the floor.

Chen Jie bit her lip, gripped the edge of the bathtub, and looked back at him.

"Towards the sun..."

"Um."

"Be gentle..."

Liu Xiangyang lowered his head and kissed her.

The water rippled outwards in concentric circles, shattered on the barrel walls, fell down, and then swirled back in.

Monday morning at Chen Jie's home

Liu Xiangyang woke up before dawn.

Chen Jie was still curled up in his arms, her face pressed against his chest, breathing shallowly, her hair spread out on the pillow, fast asleep. He looked down at her for a moment, then gently pulled his arm away.

Chen Jie stirred, mumbled something indistinctly, turned over, and continued sleeping.

Liu Xiangyang tiptoed out of bed and put on his clothes. There were leftover steamed buns from last night on the table in the outer room. He took one and started eating it while putting on his shoes.

I pushed open the door; the yard was quiet, and the sky was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn. The bicycle leaned against the wall, with the pieces of wood I'd brought back last week still strapped to the back seat—the basic shape of the bicycle was still there; I'd continue working on it next week.

He stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth and pushed the cart out of the courtyard gate.

The sun had just risen when we arrived at the hospital.

Liu Xiangyang parked his car in the shed, locked it, and walked towards the dormitory with his bag.

There was already some activity in the corridor; someone was carrying a toothbrush cup to the washroom, and someone was squatting at the door tying their shoelaces.

Pushing open the door to room 206, Wang Dazhu was squatting on the floor rummaging through things. Hearing the noise, he looked up and said, "Hey, you're back!"

Liu Xiangyang grunted in agreement, walked to his bed, and put his bag down.

Wang Dazhu leaned closer and lowered his voice: "You weren't here last night, and Li Jianshe and Chen Weidong had a fight."

Liu Xiangyang glanced at him: "What's all the noise about?"

"It was all because of Zhao Xiaoman and Lin Xue," Wang Dazhu said with a gossipy look. "The two of them were red in the face and almost came to blows."

Liu Xiangyang smiled and asked, "What do you mean?"

"One thinks Zhao Xiaoman is absolutely gorgeous, the other thinks Lin Xue is pretty." Wang Dazhu shook his head. "Do you think they're that serious? If you ask me, neither of them is pretty."

Liu Xiangyang's interest was piqued by his words: "Oh, so who do you think is prettier?"

Wang Dazhu leaned closer and said, "That girl at window number three in the cafeteria, her butt is as round as a millstone. She's good at giving birth. That's what you call beautiful."

Liu Xiangyang glanced at him, then recalled the nearly 200-pound beauty: "Dazhu, you can do what ordinary people can't."

"Hehe." Wang Dazhu waved his hand, "I'm the only son in my family, so I definitely need to find a wife who can give birth to sons."

Liu Xiangyang smiled and said, "Then let's go see your future wife?"

"Don't talk nonsense. It's not even close to happening yet. Besides, she's a worker. Why would she be interested in a peasant like me? She can just look at me and forget about it."

After the two finished breakfast, they went to the classroom, where many students had already arrived.

When Liu Xiangyang pushed the door open, Zhao Xiaoman was sitting in her usual spot. Her eyes lit up when she saw him come in.

"Liu Xiangyang! Over here!"

Liu Xiangyang walked over and sat down next to her.

Zhao Xiaoman tilted her head and looked at him with a smile: "How was your weekend?"

Liu Xiangyang opened the lecture notes: "Not bad."

"What do you mean by 'it's alright'?" Zhao Xiaoman leaned closer. "Were you uncomfortable at your relative's house?"

Liu Xiangyang glanced at her: "Why are you asking about this?"

Zhao Xiaoman blinked: "Just asking."

Liu Xiangyang didn't reply, and instead looked down at his lecture notes.

Zhao Xiaoman wasn't annoyed. She took a piece of candy out of her pocket and placed it on his desk.

"For you."

Liu Xiangyang looked down and saw it was a White Rabbit candy.

He looked up at her.

Zhao Xiaoman had already turned back to look at the lecture notes, a smile playing on her lips.

Liu Xiangyang smiled and put the candy in his pocket.

After a while, Zhao Xiaoman leaned closer again and whispered:

"Liu Xiangyang, which day this week are you free?"

Her eyes sparkled with anticipation, but when she saw that Liu Xiangyang didn't react, she became anxious: "You promised me, don't say you're too busy or anything."

"What do you want to do?"

"Let's go see a movie," Zhao Xiaoman said matter-of-factly. "We agreed on that last week, didn't you forget?"

Liu Xiangyang thought for a moment.

"Wednesday or Thursday, after class in the afternoon."

Zhao Xiaoman's eyes lit up even more: "Wednesday it is! It's a deal!"

Liu Xiangyang nodded.

"Um."

Zhao Xiaoman was satisfied. She turned back, her lips curling into a wide smile.

Wang Dazhu leaned over and said, "Take me with you to the movies! I love watching movies."

Zhao Xiaoman glanced at him: "If you call Xiaohua from Exit 3 of the cafeteria, I'll take you with me."

Wang Dazhu choked for a moment, then looked at Liu Xiangyang, his face turning red with embarrassment: "I...I haven't spoken to anyone yet."

"What are you afraid of? Just be bold and you might just succeed," Zhao Xiaoman said to Wang Dazhu with a smile.

"Forget it, I won't interfere with your relationship."

-

I'm about to go back to work. Have you all bought your train tickets yet? I still haven't gotten mine; it's so hard to buy.