Chapter 69 – Smiling
Seeing him take several steps back and his mortified look, Li Man thought Li Mo was just regarding her as an outsider. Alright, since she had already made the resolution that she would be a member of this family, then she would start doing her best right now.
“It’s just a piece of clothing. Just leave it here. I’ll wash it with the other clothes later.” As she said this, Li Man had already snatched the basin from him without giving him time to explain himself and put it down in a corner. Then, she scooped out some clean water from a water bowl and took it with her to wash up as she went outside.
Li Mo was frozen in place. He looked through the doorway. Li Man was currently leaning over and washing her face. Her slender, snow-white neck was slightly bent into a graceful curve. She splashed some water onto her face, rubbed her damp face with her hands, and dried off with a towel. Very quickly, she was done washing her face.
After pouring out the water she had use to wash her face with, Li Man turned around and discovered that Li Mo had been staring at her this entire time. Blood surged to her face in embarrassment. She squeezed out a smile as she asked, “Is there something on my face?”
How could that be? Her dainty face was usually fair and clear. Since she had just washed her face, it looked even softer and suppler than usual. It was as sparkling and translucent as early morning dew.
There was nothing that could be more clean and pure than her.
As he remembered the dream from last night, he felt an uncomfortable heat, and his gaze became deeper.
She felt flustered by his gaze. Li Man didn’t dare to continue meeting his eyes. She hastily put down the bowl and ran back into the western hut. Wait, no. She had to make breakfast today. And so, she mustered up her courage and returned to the kitchen.
Li Mo was still standing in the same place. Seeing her coming back and the blush that hadn’t faded yet from her cheeks, the corners of his lips curved up.
Why was he still standing here? Li Man inwardly rolled her eyes at him. She pretended to be unperturbed as she went about her work. She cleaned a bowl of uncooked rice and decided to make congee.
Without thinking, Li Mo crouched down by the stove and helped her with cooking by starting a fire.
Li Man felt as if there was something off about this. She was busy cooking on the stove, and he was tending to the fire below. Why did this feel like a scene of martial harmony?
Li Man struggled with this feeling for a bit before finally asking Li Mo, “If you have other work that you need to do, you can go do it. I can handle cooking by myself.”
“I’m not busy.” Li Mo slightly smiled at her. He tossed another piece of firewood into the fire. There was a crackling sound as the wood burned. His smile looked warm and dazzling as it was illuminated from the light of the cooking fire.
He was smiling? Li Man’s heart thumped as if she had just seen a ghost. Since she had transmigrated here, this was the first time that she saw him smile. And his smile looked so gentle too…
She hurriedly turned her head away to stop looking at him. Her mind became a bit muddled again.
As it turned out, it wasn’t the younger brothers that were flirting with their future sister-in-law.
It was the oldest brother that was trying to seduce his younger sister-in-law?
Oh, no, no, no… Li Man hurriedly shook her head to dispel her absurd idea. Based on the past several days of interaction, she could see that LI Mo was a honest person with a steady disposition. He definitely wasn’t a man that would try to seduce his younger brother’s wife.
He… He was just being nice and helping her. That’s all.
He was only smiling at her because he thought of her as a member of his family.
Still, wasn’t that smile a bit…
“Be careful, if you keep shaking your head like that, it’ll fall off.” Suddenly, a voice interrupted her thoughts. Before Li Man could recognize who was speaking, a pair of rough hands held her head still.
When her eyes had settled, she saw that it was Li Yan.
There was a teasing look in his eyes as he asked, “What’s wrong? Is your neck feeling itchy? Want me to scratch it for you?”
