“Alright. Ling, you better not tire yourself.” Liu Duo smiled at him and brought the kettle and plates back with her.
She heard footsteps behind her and turned back to find the two men. “Why are you two following me?”
Based on the look on their faces, she knew they were up to no good.
Ye Liu giggled. “Little Duo, your preferential treatment is making my heart sink, and it pains me so…”
“That’s right!” Ye Mo added self-righteously.
She stopped walking and turned to face the two men who could have passed as twins. They were nearly identical in appearance, as well as their ‘faults!’
“If your hearts have indeed sunken, then why are you two standing perfectly right here fooling around? Take a look at Yang and Ling, what are they doing? Go help them!” She rolled her eyes at the two.
The men she mentioned were bending over and diligently harvesting the rice.
She was about to turn away and leave when something else happened. She must have tripped over her own foot because suddenly she found herself falling over. Luckily for her, Ye Liu was quick to get hold of her waist, and that stopped her from falling into the rice field.
“Little Duo, you should be careful. If you fall, it hurts us even more.” Ye Liu frowned.
It was a false alarm, and Liu Duo breathed a sigh of relief. She had barely opened her mouth to speak when Ye Mo interjected, “You have such big eyes, how could you not watch the road!”
How careless!
He had been standing a little further behind so he couldn’t get hold of her in time, otherwise he would have saved her from the fall too.
Liu Duo pouted, wondering what this had to do with having big eyes.
She didn’t know why or how she could have tripped.
Perhaps anything could happen when people ran out of luck. Perhaps they could choke when drinking water, or just fall as they walked.
She coughed awkwardly and said, “I’m fine, you guys should go help with the harvest.”
She freed herself from Ye Liu’s arms and headed towards the slope.
Interrupted by the accident, Ye Liu and Ye Mo had stopped teasing Liu Duo with their previous joke.
Ye Yang and Ye Ling heard the disturbance and looked up to check on Liu Duo too. After concluding that she was fine, they felt relieved and went back to work.
On the other side of the village, Grandmother Liu was not in her usual high spirits. Step by step, she reached home and sat on a wooden stool, staring blankly into space.
A long while later she thought of Liu Rans words. If the guards catch you, it’ll be more than just a few years in prison.
She quickly got up and went out the door again. She looked around before deciding on a direction.
It took some more time for Grandmother Liu to find the cave Liu Qing had hidden himself in. She entered and called out to him in a low voice. “Qing Er, Qing Er… It’s your grandmother, please come out…”
When he heard her voice, Liu Qing wormed his way out of his hiding spot.
“Grandma, has Sister Duo withdrawn the charges? Can I go back now?” Liu Qing asked excitedly.
He really didn’t want to stay here any longer!
Grandmother Liu whimpered again, “Qing Er, you should surrender yourself to the government office. Let’s not commit any more crimes like this, alright?”
Hiding away was by no means a proper solution. She knew it was impossible for Liu Duo to withdraw the charges! It would be best to plead guilty and face a lighter sentence rather than getting caught and spending a longer time in jail!
Liu Qing frowned when he heard that and immediately rebutted, “No way! I’m not going to jail! I don’t want to! Didn’t you go look for her, grandma? Tell her to withdraw the charges? I didn’t even hurt Brother Ran! Not one bit! Why must she do this?”
