The Nightmare Experience of a Useless Person

"Zhiyang, do you believe that good people are rewarded?"

The night wind was chilly, but thankfully he was dressed warmly. Qingjun pulled his sleeves tighter, leisurely leaning against the windowsill, enjoying the whispers of nature.

"Of course." Jiang Zhiyang was busy setting up the basin, answering Qingjun's question while adjusting the water temperature for her.

"But," Qingjun said with his eyes closed, appearing extremely peaceful, "many of them are not blessed by the gods. The virtuous die young, while the wicked prosper. There are quite a few such examples, aren't there?"

"The water temperature is just right. Soak your feet first. I'll chat with you after you've washed up." Jiang Zhiyang patted the corner of his clothes, casually wiped the water droplets off his hands, and got up to walk outside.

"But I want to hear your answer now." Qingjun lazily twisted her body, then put her hands on the table and buried her face in her arms. "Then I don't want to wash my feet."

Her voice was soft and gentle, like a spoiled little tabby cat, but cuteness is sometimes useless, like now.

"No, you walked all day and you're not going to soak your feet properly, or your feet will hurt tomorrow." Jiang Zhiyang said, hands on his hips, his tone like that of a father over fifty.

"Then you can help me wash. Sit down, and we'll soak together." She stretched out her legs, waiting for her "old father's" service.

"This won't do!"

Although marriage and the ceremony are inevitable, the fact that they haven't exchanged vows or gone through the proper betrothal rituals seems a bit too casual. Nobody wants a casual man!

But then again, they'd already kissed... and it was Qingjun who suggested washing their feet together... so he half-heartedly agreed, hoping she'd take responsibility...

"Some customs and etiquette don't need to be taken too seriously. They're just two feet, the feet for walking...everyone has them."

Before Qingjun could finish speaking, Jiang Zhiyang suddenly sat down, lifted Qingjun's foot, and took off her shoes.

His hands were thick and large, and through a layer of cloth, he gently supported Qingjun's calves, carefully immersing them in the water after removing her shoes and socks.

Skinny and small, Jiang Zhiyang thought, if he put his palms together, the circumference of that area wouldn't even be as big as his palm, but it was too soft, like a piece of tofu, and would break if he applied the slightest force...

He lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes like curtains, covering the haze beneath them, but his burning red ears had already betrayed him completely. His timid appearance was like that of a child who had done something wrong.

The basin wasn't big, so touching was inevitable. He gently lifted Qingjun's foot and let her step on the back of his foot, then held that position and waited for the water temperature to drop little by little.

"Did you help that beggar today in hopes of receiving a reward?" A warm sensation spread from the soles of her feet, causing her tense muscles to relax. Qingjun lay there lazily, and a hint of sleepiness even crept into her mind.

"Perhaps," he said, raising his head and letting his gaze fall naturally on Qingjun's eyes and brows.

"Good deeds are rewarded, but in the end, it is human reward, not divine reward. As the saying goes, human nature is inherently good. Even the most wicked person has a part of their heart that is inclined towards goodness. They exchange their own goodness for the goodness of others. Perhaps such good deeds do not have the opportunity to be rewarded, so people imagine it as divine reward. If you have good intentions, heaven will surely bless you. You can put your mind at ease with your own goodness."

"Imagine? Don't you believe in gods?" Qingjun looked up and met his gaze.

Jiang Zhiyang shuddered in fright, splashing water everywhere. "I don't know, and I've never seen it before."

"People should believe more in what they can see with their own eyes. For example, Old Jiang. He saved Master Dong, which allowed him to meet Aunt Dong, find love, and start a family. He helped many people, so the Leshan Hall receives a lot of donations every year, which supports everyone's lives." Jiang Zhiyang spoke very slowly, as if he had fallen into a memory.

With the gods no longer needed, Qingjun's mood was far from pleasant. After all, he was right: good people help each other, and the accumulation of small acts of kindness nurtures love, trust, and unity among humankind. By diverting the energy spent on conflict to creation, humanity has been able to thrive and endure throughout the long river of history.

In this light, compared to Jiang Zhiyang's good deeds, the blessings from the gods seem insignificant and not worth mentioning...

Two pairs of feet filled the small basin. In the shimmering water, one pair of feet was big, and the other was small; one pair was black, and the other was white. They represented yin and yang, male and female.

Qingjun casually lifted her foot, and glistening water droplets slid across her delicate skin, tracing the clear outline of her ankle bones, before dripping down and stirring up even more surging waves in her turbulent heart.

Jiang Zhiyang's gaze slowly lost focus. He naturally wrapped Qingjun's feet with a dry handkerchief, then gently placed them on his knees, kneading Qingjun's calves with varying pressure.

It felt so good. Sleepiness washed over her, and Qingjun leaned against the table by the window, closing her eyes. All those messy, meaningful and meaningless things could be put aside for now. Right now, all she needed to do was enjoy the intimate touch, the light bamboo scent, and the cool raindrops.

It's raining.

"It's raining!" His thoughts were abruptly pulled away. Jiang Zhiyang quickly wiped his feet, put them in his shoes, and then picked Qingjun up and carried her to the soft bedding.

"The clothes are still outside!" He rushed out of the house, gathered the clothes into a ball, and casually piled them on Qingjun's bed. Without saying a word, he turned around and closed the window and extinguished the stove fire in one go.

On the bed, clothes were scattered in a mess, some inside, some outside, Jiang Zhiyang's, and Qingjun's.

Jiang Zhiyang washed his hands, patiently separated them one by one, smoothed them out, folded them, and then neatly placed them in the wardrobe, with Jiang Zhiyang's on the left and Qingjun's on the right.

Qingjun felt very happy watching Jiang Zhiyang do these small things. She sat up and, imitating Jiang Zhiyang, folded the clothes into a neat square and handed them to him, waiting for him to take them.

On rainy days, the bamboo forest is inevitably even colder, and the sounds of rain hitting the bamboo leaves and swaying branches become exceptionally clear, like the whispers of evil spirits, stirring up Jiang Zhiyang's wicked thoughts.

"It's so cold," he murmured, his cough weak, clearly needing someone's suggestion.

"Then do you want to...?"

"want!"

"...Put the bedding on the edge of the bed, so people can be closer together; it should be warmer."

Just to the side of the bed? Reasonable, but disappointing...

But being able to get even a little closer is already incredibly satisfying! If only there wasn't a dog in between...

Jiang Zhiyang secretly exerted his strength to move the big fat dog from his left side to his right side, and then shifted a little bit so that he could get closer to Qingjun!

"Hoo~"

Ah Lang heavily ground against Jiang Zhiyang's belly, once, again, and many times returning to his original position. From then on, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl were no longer separated by the Milky Way, but by a "non-human" dog!

"You were sent by Jiang Shuo to spy on me, weren't you? Traitor!" Jiang Zhiyang lifted Ah Lang's ear and whispered devilishly.

The answer he received was not a malicious bark, nor sharp teeth, but a sudden stench!

"Hoo~"