Chapter 307

Zhou Shihe, holding a book, was as quiet as a fairy in a scroll. Her charm was so subtle and nuanced; every detail exuded a fascinating, delicate temperament, and every gaze could make people fall for her.

She also had a unique ability: even if it was a very simple piece of clothing, as long as she wore it, it looked exceptionally extraordinary, as if she could turn decay into magic and the ordinary into treasure.

Women are very sharp. Feeling him silently watching her, Zhou Shihe's fingers holding the book tightened quietly, her petite mouth pursed slightly, and the book shifted slightly without a trace, allowing her head to hide better behind it.

After doing all this, she flipped a page every once in a while, very rhythmically.

It wasn't until that person withdrew his gaze and picked up an envelope to start checking it that she settled her mind and continued reading "Jane Eyre."

Hearing the rhythm of her flipping pages slow down, Li Heng asked out of the blue: "Is there any secret hidden in this book?"

Zhou Shihe was stunned, then pondered for a moment and said: "Yes."

Li Heng was just asking casually and didn't expect to actually get an answer. He raised his head: "What is it? It wouldn't be related to me, would it?"

Zhou Shihe smiled knowingly, put down the book, and revealed a gentle and clear face, "See for yourself."

Hearing this, Li Heng put the envelope he had just opened aside, got up, went to the bed, and took the book from her hand.

With just one glance, he was dumbfounded!

This...

This actually contained Aunt Shen Xin's strategy for her daughter to capture him, recorded in red ink after a paragraph of text.

For example, what caught his eye on this page was Strategy 6: The Noble Withdrawal!

That's right, this was the 6th strategy, and the move was "The Noble Withdrawal."

Detailed annotations were also made afterward: Cut off communication when you are chatting most enthusiastically, face him sideways, hold a book or other things in your hand, and leave him alone to stare at your profile and let his imagination run wild.

Shen Xin told her daughter through text: Remember a bottom-layer logic: the feeling you give him must often be something he fantasizes about himself. Leave him enough space for fantasy, and he will have more reverie.

After reading, Li Heng was stunned and immediately flipped forward. Not long after, he indeed found the other 5 strategies.

For example, Strategy 5 of capturing the heart: Playing hard to get.

For example, Strategy 4 of capturing the heart: Creating a sense of imagery.

Seeing the expressions on his face changing back and forth, more exciting than a roller coaster, Zhou Shihe couldn't help but giggle, watching him without blinking.

After a long while, he finished flipping through the book and found a total of 8 strategies, collectively called the 8 Strategies of Strategy.

Li Heng didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

Damn it, what virtue or ability do I have to make Aunt Shen Xin go to such lengths to plot against me?

Taking two deep breaths, Li Heng, who had recovered, asked: "Have you finished reading all of these?"

Their eyes met. Zhou Shihe moved her gaze away calmly, and after a while, she gave a soft "hmm."

Li Heng stared at her face, "Do you really want to laugh?"

Zhou Shihe smiled skillfully, "No."

Li Heng was speechless: "You've already laughed out loud."

Zhou Shihe pursed her lips, pursed them again, and finally smiled shallowly again. The smile was like a white orchid on a light silk fan, and even the arc of the corners of her mouth was so perfect and in place that Li Heng was speechless for a moment.

Sensing his situation, Zhou Shihe gradually restrained all her expressions, lowered her head to stare at the mandarin ducks playing in the water pattern on the quilt, and didn't make any more movements.

At this very moment, he looked at her, and she looked at the quilt—one standing high above, the other half-sitting on the head of the bed. The two of them didn't move, and time seemed to have stopped.

Just like this, an unknown amount of time passed...

At a certain moment, Li Heng moved. He put "Jane Eyre" by her hand, turned around, left the head of the bed, sat back on the sofa without a word, opened the envelope, and continued the unfinished business from before.

Zhou Shihe calmed down, picked up the book again, and read silently.

For the third letter, he opened Xiao Han's.

Honestly, this wife of his in this life was writing to him properly for the first time. The stationery wasn't thin; he pulled out two sheets of letter paper.

But the content on it was hard to describe—all sorts of things, writing wherever her thoughts went.

In Xiao Han's own words: Mr. Li, I have thousands of words for you in my diary, but when writing a letter, I become a mute.

For example, expressing longing. This little woman doesn't know whether to write "I miss you?" or use a questioning tone to write "Hey! Do you miss me?".

Sigh, anyway, writing it back and forth doesn't fit this beauty's style; it's so cheesy! Why don't you come back quickly after the Spring Festival Gala and unexpectedly give me a bite? That's it; the longing is expressed, and you can experience the spirit of it yourself.

As expected of his quirky wife, Li Heng felt inexplicably good after seeing this and couldn't help but laugh.

Zhou Shihe on the bed glanced at him, and her gaze returned to the book again.

In the letter, Xiao Han first reported that she was safe and had arrived home.

Then she said the New Year atmosphere in the small town was very strong. When she was bored, she even used a brush to write 30 pairs of couplets to test the waters at the market. Unexpectedly, the business was surprisingly good; they were sold out within half an hour. At 50 cents a pair, she earned 15 yuan.

Xiao Han was a little proud, self-deprecatingly saying she planned to earn more money during the New Year to save for her dowry. Mr. Li, you have to work hard! If you chase me, then all this money will be yours.

He knew that his wife had been able to write well since she was a child, following her father's footsteps, but doing small business was beyond his expectations. However, thinking of her playful personality, everything seemed to be within reason.

It's just that he was puzzled: are Spring Festival couplets that easy to sell?

Wouldn't the buyers be coming for her? She is a college student, the secretary's daughter, and was rumored by busybodies to be the "Small Town Elf" because of her excessive beauty. The buyers probably wanted to get a bit of good fortune.

After all, college students are rare these days; one village only produces one every few years, and some villages don't produce one for years. Each one is mythologized, and each college student is said to be someone who possesses a literary warehouse.

Of course, Shangwan Village is an exception; it has always produced college students, which is very famous in the surrounding ten miles and eight villages.

Many old people say that the reason Shangwan Village is prosperous and never declines is because the terrain at the entrance of the village gathers wind and hides treasures, which in ancient times belonged to the status of a monarch.

After talking about the fun things in town and at home, Xiao Han talked about the scarf again at the end of the letter: The gray scarf isn't outstanding. Maybe Mrs. Song will send you a white one, and Mrs. Chen will send you the black and white checkered color she likes. Then guess why I sent gray? I'll stop here; it's too hard to write. I'm indeed not good at love and romance. See you at the Spring Festival Gala!

After reading the last paragraph, Li Heng felt it was so dangerous!

This wife has wisdom hidden in her heart; she could actually predict the scarf matter. She is putting him in check. Fortunately, he drew her scarf by lot; otherwise, the matter wouldn't have been resolved.

In fact, Song Yu's white scarf wasn't hard to guess because she likes white, and her usual clothes are mostly white.

It was just Zijin's scarf; he pondered for a long time before remembering that around the second day of the New Year, Zijin had once woven one for him by hand, which was also a black and white checkered scarf.

At that time, Zijin said black and white checkered was the most beautiful.

He didn't expect Xiao Han, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, to have secretly remembered everything.

After finishing the third letter, he opened the last one, written by Mai Sui.

The envelope was a bit thin, with only one sheet of paper inside.

The content was even more pitiful—two paragraphs.

In the first paragraph, Mai Sui said she arrived home on the afternoon of the 31st, rested at Manning's house for a night, and then returned to her own home. It was all trivial matters.

The core of this paragraph was one thing: safe.

In the second paragraph, she said she had met Song Yu. The two women's feelings remained the same, telling him not to worry. Afterward, she also mentioned the details of going shopping together and visiting their teacher at the No. 1 High School together.

The two paragraphs of content came to an abrupt end.

After reading it for the first time, Li Heng paused for a while, then read it again, especially the second paragraph. Mai Sui told him not to worry, but on the contrary, such a calm tone made him start to feel anxious.

In fact, his worry was not unreasonable.

When they met in Shaoshi, Song Yu didn't mention his affairs at all and was as intimate with Mai Sui as before, but the more this was the case, the greater Mai Sui's pressure and guilt became.

Mai Sui was a person with very conservative thoughts. Her best friend was so sincere to her, so her mood was particularly complicated.

After reading the four letters one after another, Li Heng put the letters back in place, put them into the backpack he carried with him, and then...

Then he closed his eyes and meditated on the sofa.

This was a habit he had developed during his 7-year civil service career in his previous life; he liked to review things afterward.

Regarding Song Yu, he felt that this path was not wrong. Although the progress was the slowest, it was undoubtedly the most acceptable to the other party. As long as he persisted, he had confidence.

As for Zijin, he could only wrong her for the time being. After returning from the Spring Festival Gala, he had to accompany her well.

Xiao Han, this black-bellied wife, was a bit of a headache. He hadn't figured her out after spending so many years together in his previous life, and it was naturally the same in this life. Fortunately, he went to Shanghai; otherwise, it would be hard to say what the situation would be. If he wasn't careful, he would have to pull and tug for many years like in his previous life.

As for Mai Sui, Li Heng's thoughts stopped here. Everything in this life was clear, and the previous life was like a dream.

The room was quiet, and time unknowingly reached past 1:00 AM.

At a certain moment, Zhou Shihe, who was a bit tired from maintaining one posture while reading, moved her body slightly, and then glanced at him. At this moment, he was like a Buddha, sitting cross-legged on the sofa with his eyes closed, motionless.

Her gaze stayed on him for two seconds. Zhou Shihe withdrew her gaze and flipped the page to continue reading.

In the silence, Li Heng suddenly spoke: "Comrade Shihe, please remember to keep the things in the book secret for me."

Zhou Shihe didn't even raise her head and said okay.

Li Heng thought for a moment and instructed: "Don't read this book in front of Yu Laoshi."

Zhou Shihe glanced at him; he still had his eyes closed.

She said quietly: "I'll be finished reading it in a while."

Li Heng opened his eyes, "Why do I feel that you are not surprised at all about this matter?"

Zhou Shihe looked strange and raised her head: "Didn't you notice it at all?"

Li Heng asked: "Notice what?"

After staring at each other for a while, Zhou Shihe, who couldn't hold on, lowered her eyelids and stared at the book without making a sound.

Li Heng pursued: "Are you saying that you noticed long ago that Aunt Shen Xin had ideas about me?"

After speaking, he slapped his forehead with his right hand: "Slip of the tongue, it's not that Aunt Shen Xin has ideas about me; I mean, did you notice long ago that Aunt Shen Xin had set her sights on me as a son-in-law?"

Zhou Shihe smiled gently: "Would you agree?"

Li Heng smiled and shook his head, "No, I'm not worthy. Being a son-in-law of a high-ranking family is like a bird in a cage; what's the point? I'm used to being free and unfettered, and I'm annoyed by those rules."

Zhou Shihe looked at him again and gave a soft "hmm."

Li Heng sighed: "Sigh, don't gloat either. Yu Laoshi probably doesn't know the secret in the book.

If she knew, she wouldn't have given the book to me. It's really... sigh, it's really!"

At this point, he was speechless for a moment.

Zhou Shihe didn't answer.

20 minutes later, she closed the book and handed it to him.

Li Heng got up to take it and asked a sudden question: "How many strategies for capturing the heart are in the book?"

Zhou Shihe answered instinctively: "8."

Li Heng immediately pulled a long face and stared at her eyes.

Zhou Shihe lowered her head and laughed to herself.

As time passed, under his gaze, a line of blush quietly rose on her cheeks, and then the smile disappeared. Only then did she shrink down, like a loach, into the quilt, turned her head, faced inward, and turned her back to him.

Li Heng didn't tease her anymore, returned to his own bed, reached out and pulled the switch, and the room was plunged into darkness.

He said: "Please be sure to completely forget it, please!"

"Hmm, okay."

In the dark night, a mosquito-like voice came after a long time.

It was getting late, and Li Heng, who was a bit sleepy, fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed and soon entered dreamland.

Hearing the familiar breathing sound from next door, Zhou Shihe slowly turned over, subconsciously looked in the direction where he was sleeping, then slowly sat up, took off her coat and sweater lightly.

Just at this moment, the sound of faint footsteps came from outside the door.

Zhou Shihe's body stiffened, staring tightly at the doorway.

Not long after, the footsteps faded away.

She glanced at Li Heng's direction again and went to sleep.

One night passed.

When Li Heng woke up, the room was empty.

Miss Zhou on the opposite bed had already gotten up, and he didn't even notice when she walked out of the room.

Did I sleep so soundly last night? He thought in a daze.

Under normal circumstances, he was a person with very high vigilance, and any disturbance outside could wake him up.

Could it be that they were too familiar, and subconsciously he had no guard and was more relaxed?

That must be it. Having lived together for so long, seeing each other when getting up in the morning and seeing each other when sleeping at night, the relationship goes without saying.

Stretching and yawning several times, Li Heng started to get dressed and get out of bed.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Yu Laoshi and Zhou Shihe on the sofa. He took the initiative to greet them: "Good morning, Teacher, good morning, Comrade Shihe."

Yu Shuheng nodded.

Zhou Shihe smiled, then discussed the dishes for the New Year's Eve dinner with Yu Laoshi again.

After he finished washing up, Yu Shuheng pointed to the breakfast on the coffee table: "For the New Year's Eve dinner, are there any customs on your side?"

Li Heng took a cup of tofu pudding and said jokingly while sipping: "No, don't worry about me. I'm not picky. Anything that flies in the sky, crawls on the ground, or swims in the water, there's nothing I can't eat. This mouth of mine is quite versatile."

Yu Shuheng smiled elegantly and said: "For the New Year's Eve dinner, let's make 6 dishes, for everything to go smoothly. You make three Hunan dishes, and Shihe makes three Huaiyang dishes. What do you think?"

Li Heng asked: "Which three Hunan dishes do you want to eat?"

Zhou Shihe handed him the menu recorded in the notebook.

He took it and looked; there were 6 dishes in the notebook.

They were: Chopped Pepper Fish Head, Spicy Diced Chicken, Mao Xue Wang, Crab Roe Lion's Head, Braised Dried Tofu, and Wensi Tofu.

The first three were Hunan dishes, and the last three were Huaiyang dishes.

After reading, Li Heng said: "Very good, the combination is reasonable, with chicken, fish, and meat—all three are complete."

Zhou Shihe asked: "Should we make a whole fish, with head and tail, for abundance every year."

Li Heng turned to Yu Shuheng: "By logic, fish and chicken should have heads and tails. Teacher, what do you think?"

Yu Shuheng said: "I really want to eat Chopped Pepper Fish Head. How about adding a boiled fish, with head and tail?"

Zhou Shihe said: "7 dishes don't sound good. How about adding one more to make it an even number."

Li Heng asked: "Shihe, you do it? Or should I?"

Zhou Shihe smiled and said: "You do it. I'm tired of eating Huaiyang dishes; I want to eat your Jianghu dishes."

"Okay." The three discussed, and the last dish was stir-fried pork kidney.

They all loved eating pork kidney.

After setting the menu for the New Year's Eve dinner, the three of them were busy with their own things. Yu Shuheng went to make a phone call to order ingredients.

Li Heng dived into the study to study the materials and literature he brought.

Zhou Shihe was afraid of disturbing him, so she didn't enter the room but sat in the courtyard for a while. Later, the two women went out shopping together.

Around 1:00 PM, the three gathered to make final preparations for the Spring Festival Gala the day after tomorrow, rehearsing "The Original Landscape of the Hometown."

This rehearsal lasted for 4 hours, until 5:00 PM.

For the next 2 days, Li Heng didn't leave his room in the morning, reading materials and preparing for his new book, and rehearsed with them in the afternoon.

On the morning of February 14th, after brewing his emotions, Li Heng spread out his notebook, picked up his fountain pen, and wrote on it: Bai Luyuan.

After writing the three characters, he put down his pen and stopped.

After thinking it over, he didn't intend to write it exactly according to the original work, but on the basis of the original work, he would add his own things, adding the things he had seen, heard, thought, and pondered throughout his life.

At the same time, he also had to perform surgery on the background of the book. Even if he didn't change it completely, he would at least try to be as close to his own living environment as possible.

According to his conception, the original work would account for 60% of his "Bai Luyuan," and his own content would account for 40%.

Well, maybe it was personal thinking at work. Among many Mao Dun Literature Prize-winning works, in his previous life, he favored three books the most: "Ordinary World," "Bai Luyuan," and "The World."

Especially the first two, he regarded them as classics among classics.

"Ordinary World" had already come out, so he couldn't write it again.

"The World" continued into the new century, and it was too early for it to appear now. Many contents couldn't be written fully, which was inevitably a pity.

As for "Bai Luyuan," Li Heng struggled for a while and decided to write it.

He felt that without such a heavyweight literary work as a foundation, the path of a man of letters was incomplete, and walking this path after rebirth was also a flaw.

Although he had ambition and wanted to take his fame abroad and to the whole world, he still lacked an opportunity, so he would first lay a good and solid foundation domestically and then go out to roam in the future.

Old Mr. Chen, I'm sorry! I believe that with your strength, you will definitely be able to produce another masterpiece. Li Heng muttered silently in his heart. After pondering for a long time, he picked up his pen again and wrote "Chapter One."

What Bai Jiaxuan later prided himself on was that he had married seven women in his life.