Chapter 206: Da Yizi Opens Up

He only saw Da Yizi showing no anger or resentment; on the contrary, she leaned toward him.

Xu Yuexin, seeing this, relaxed a breath.

It seems the long separation hasn't changed Da Yizi's feelings toward him.

Da Yizi is only sad and depressed.

Need to use this time to coax her.

Repair the scar in her heart.

Xu Yuexin thought to himself.

When it comes to women, you can never avoid the word "coax."

Especially since Da Yizi has experienced special trauma from her original family.

After entering the station hall, Xu Yuexin bought a ticket to Jinhua and sat down with Da Yizi to wait for the train.

When the train arrived, Xu Yuexin lifted their luggage and boarded together.

Da Yizi has become so thin; Xu Yuexin feels very distressed for her.

All along the way, he has been carrying both of their luggage.

After boarding, the two sat close together, beginning a 30‑hour journey.

Clank— clank— …

Amid the grinding of the train wheels on the rails, Xu Yuexin and Da Yizi ate some Dry Rations.

Da Yizi kept taking tiny bites, and by the end hadn't eaten much.

"I'm so sleepy."

Very soon, Da Yizi mumbled drowsily.

"Sleep."

Xu Yuexin nudged his shoulder toward Da Yizi.

He guessed that Da Yizi had been overthinking these days, with irregular eating and rest, so her energy was so weak.

When Xu Yuexin offered his shoulder, Da Yizi leaned on it and fell asleep quickly.

From now on, he must pay more attention to Da Yizi's mental state.

He must not let this situation happen again.

Looking at Da Yizi's serene, dignified face in sleep, Xu Yuexin took a deep breath and reminded himself again.

…

After the long journey, Xu Yuexin and Chen Yixue arrived at Jinhua.

As soon as they stepped off, the fresh, moist air from the southern mountains enveloped them, soothing their hearts.

Because the reform and opening had been underway for less than two years, there were still few high‑rise buildings near the station, and looking up one could see distant verdant mountains.

"The scenery is really beautiful."

Chen Yixue inhaled deeply and gazed into the distance, saying.

Xu Yuexin nodded, saying nothing.

It seems changing the place still helps.

At least Chen Yixue can now speak up voluntarily.

"Let's go find a guesthouse to stay."

Xu Yuexin lifted their luggage and said.

"I'll carry these two bags."

Chen Yixue proactively grabbed the two parcels in his hand, saying, "I feel I have more strength."

Xu Yuexin knew she wasn't lying; when a person's mood changes, their stamina changes too.

However, he still didn't hand the luggage to Da Yizi.

"It's nothing, a trifle."

Xu Yuexin said lightly, and walked out of the station with Da Yizi.

The small vendors at Jinhua Station were noticeably more numerous than at other stations, and many of the people looked like villagers from the surrounding area.

And they were very proactive and enthusiastic when selling trinkets, which must be an important reason for the later rise of Jinhua's commercial industry.

After leaving the station, Xu Yuexin and Da Yizi boarded a bus heading to Dongyang County.

In later times, the trip from Shi Huo Che Zhan to the county seat only takes one or two hours, but in this era the buses are slow, and Xu Yuexin and Da Yizi rode for a full three hours before arriving.

It broke.

After getting off, Xu Yuexin remembered something and his heart tightened.

He hadn't managed to obtain an Introduction Letter for a guesthouse before leaving.

Although Xu Yuexin planned to rent a small courtyard to live with Da Yizi, he still needed to stay at a guesthouse temporarily before finding a suitable house.

Currently, Beishangguang has hotels that don't require an Introduction Letter, but Jinhua might not.

Xu Yuexin thought anxiously, and tried out a local unit's guesthouse with Da Yizi.

"Comrade, you want a room, right? Without hot water, six mao; with hot water, eight mao; breakfast adds another mao."

The front‑desk clerk didn't even mention the Introduction Letter, and went straight to quoting prices.

"Hot water with breakfast, stay three days first."

Xu Yuexin took out two yuan and seven mao, handed them to the clerk, and said, "If rooms are running low at the back, please let me know."

Xu Yuexin planned to use these three days to look for a house, while also guarding against the situation where no suitable house is found and the guesthouse rooms are all booked.

"Alright, comrade, that'll be two yuan and seven mao in total."

"Here is the room key."

After the waiter collected the money, he handed a bunch of keys tied with a hemp rope to Xu Yuexin.

Xu Yuexin took the keys and saw a few people who looked like merchants walk into the shop from behind, apparently also looking to stay overnight.

Xu Yuexin then understood why the guesthouse did not require an Introduction Letter.

In the early period of reform and opening now, Dongyang was already a commercial and industrial hub.

Because many traveling merchants stayed there, their guesthouse developed like Beishangguang and stopped requiring Introduction Letters.

Climbing the creaking wooden stairs, Xu Yuexin and Da Yizi went upstairs to their own room.

According to later sayings, this should be a Standard Room.

Xu Yuexin placed his clothes and luggage on one bed, leaving the other bed for himself and Da Yizi to sleep.

"You stay in the room; I'll go down to buy breakfast."

Xu Yuexin arranged, and went down toward the guesthouse entrance.

The guesthouse is located in the county seat center, surrounded by several five‑story detached buildings, the rest being brick‑tile dwellings.

Xu Yuexin went to a breakfast stall run by a Sole Proprietorship, bought wontons, and returned to the guesthouse.

"Eat it while it's hot; it's fresh bamboo and pork filling."

Xu Yuexin placed the steaming wontons on the table and said to Chen Yixue.

Chen Yixue stepped forward, picked up chopsticks, tasted a mouthful of the wonton soup, and felt very satisfied. Not long after, she emptied a bowl of wontons.

When Xu Yuexin noticed Chen Yixue eating with great focus, he did not touch the wontons in his own bowl.

When Chen Yixue finished, Xu Yuexin pushed his own wontons toward her and said, "You eat them."

"What about you then?"

"I'll go buy another serving."

Xu Yuexin said.

All along, Da Yizi's food intake had always been small.

Now she finally began to eat properly, which gave Xu Yuexin some relief.

When Xu Yuexin bought another serving of wontons and returned, Da Yizi had already finished the second serving.

Moreover, her gaze fell on the third serving of wontons that Xu Yuexin had bought.

"What, want to eat again?"

Xu Yuexin smiled and placed the wontons on the room's table, saying.

Da Yizi, embarrassed, averted her gaze and said, "No."

"If you want to eat, I won't give you any."

Xu Yuexin set the wontons down, sat at the table, and said, "Eating too much in a short time is not good."

Da Yizi nodded and sat beside him.

"Why did you eat so little before?"

Xu Yuexin, while eating the wontons, asked as if casually.

Da Yizi, nonchalantly, replied, "Nothing, just don't feel like eating."

"There must be a reason."

"No reason, just don't want to eat."

"That can't be; you must have something on your mind."

Xu Yuexin set down the half‑eaten wontons and said to Da Yizi.

Da Yizi avoided his gaze, a vague look appearing in her peach‑blossom eyes.

Seeing this, Xu Yuexin stopped probing and hastened to finish the wontons.

"Let's go out for a walk."

Xu Yuexin said to Da Yizi, "The scenery around here is beautiful."

Da Yizi remained silent, but still walked out of the guesthouse room with him, heading down.

After leaving the guesthouse, Xu Yuexin led Da Yizi to the edge of the county town and climbed a small earthen hill.

In early April, the hill was lush with grass and trees, the meadow green and the flowers bright red.

Xu Yuexin and Da Yizi found a spacious open spot to sit, but discovered the dew on the ground was too heavy.

Xu Yuexin took off his shirt, placed it on the ground, and beckoned Da Yizi to sit.

Da Yizi sat beside him, lifted her face and looked blankly into the distance, "You spend time just with me; could that cause a loss in business?"

"I've already arranged everything."

Xu Yuexin grabbed a stalk of dog‑tail grass, bit it, and said, "And nothing is more important than you."

"Hmph, you know I'm important, yet you disappeared for so long."

Da Yizi, sulking, grabbed a small blade of grass and peeled it, saying, "You must have already stopped caring about me in your heart."

"Hey, Da Yizi finally voiced her feelings."

Xu Yuexin felt a joy in his heart upon hearing that.

Being willing to express dissatisfaction is the start of solving the problem.

Conversely, the kind that stews in silence is the most troublesome.

"It's not that I have no way out."

Xu Yuexin gently wrapped his arms around Da Yizi's fragrant shoulders, and said gently, "In the early stage of a career, it's sometimes inevitable to be swamped."

"Oh, just the career?"

Da Yizi sneered, "Tell me the truth, besides Lin Qingxia, who else are you with outside?"

"She and I really have nothing; she's a big star."

"Maybe it's because I've been staying with her for a long time, and I've picked up the scent of perfume."

Xu Yuexin spread his hands, his face looking aggrieved, and said.

"Alas."

Da Yizi looked at him plaintively, then rose on her own, "It's already that late, and you still can't tell me the truth."

After speaking, Da Yizi walked forward, apparently heading down the earthen slope.

Xu Yuexin hurried forward and grabbed her hand: "I didn't lie to you, it's really like this."

Chen Yixue brushed Xu Yuexin aside, closed her eyes in discomfort: "Stop disturbing me."

"This isn't your fault, it's mine."

"I should have seen this day coming long ago."

Chen Yixue was in great pain at this moment.

Guilt toward her sister, anguish over Xu Yuexin's new lover, and a long‑standing loneliness from never having companionship…

All these emotions tangled together, and Chen Yixue felt her mind about to explode.

Of course, what saddened Chen Yixue the most was that, even now, Xu Yuexin still refused to tell the truth.

Xu Yuexin saw Da Yizi's extreme sorrow and felt uneasy inside as well.

If Da Yizi were truly harmed by a shock—a mishap—he would have no way to explain it to his daughter‑in‑law, and he would live with remorse forever.

Xu Yuexin thought it over and finally decided to lay his cards on the table with Da Yizi.

"To be honest, I really am with Lin Qingxia…"

Xu Yuexin walked up to Da Yizi and said earnestly.

Some things, sooner or later, she must know.

Since it can no longer be hidden, it's better to admit it; perhaps it can still be salvaged.

"Just her?"

Da Yizi, after hearing that, gave no comment but pressed further.

"Hmm, absolutely only her."

Xu Yuexin said seriously, "Think about it: I'm busy with business all day; even if I wanted more women, I wouldn't have the energy."

Is he really not lying?

Da Yizi looked at Xu Yuexin skeptically, trying to discern the truth of his words from the changes in his expression.

(End of chapter.)