Chapter 387: Chapter 387: Addicted
New resentment on top of old grudges caused the little volcano in Dabao’s heart to finally erupt.
He clenched his fists, lunged forward, and started pummeling Guan Shan before mustering all his strength to shove him.
Guan Shan stood firm and unmoving. It was Dabao who ended up falling and landing right on his bottom.
Dabao’s face flushed with anger. He called over Dahuang and pointed at Guan Shan.
Dahuang trotted over at the call, looking back and forth between the two a few times. In the end, he chose to nudge Dabao with his head, as if trying to get him back on his feet to continue the fight.
’This stupid dog.’
Looking up at Guan Shan, who was staring down at him imperiously, Dabao felt his eyes begin to redden as well.
"Go away! This isn’t your home!"
Guan Shan said unhurriedly, "If I leave, your sister will have to leave with me."
"She would never go with you!"
"She will, because she’s my wife." Guan Shan arched an eyebrow and squatted down to look at him. "Do you know what a wife is? It means we’ll always be together, even a hundred years from now when we’re buried in the ground... But you, you’ll grow up, and you’ll leave her."
Dabao’s little fists were clenched tight as iron. He tilted his head back and glared defiantly at him. "I won’t."
A flicker of mockery flashed through Guan Shan’s eyes.
"Your sister spoils you too much, but you’ll understand sooner or later that many things in life are beyond our control. If all you can do is throw useless tantrums, not only will you be unable to protect her, you won’t even have the right to stay by her side."
After Guan Shan left, Dabao threw himself onto the bed and savagely punched the quilt a few times before lying there, motionless.
Ji Huan had taken her medicine and was feeling drowsy and muddled.
When she saw Guan Shan return, she roused herself and asked, "Dabao didn’t give you a hard time, did he?"
Guan Shan shook his head, walked to the edge of the bed, and sat down, placing his hand on her forehead.
Ji Huan froze. Her first instinct was to pull away, but perhaps her muddled head craved the soothing coolness, because she ultimately didn’t move.
After a moment, Guan Shan drew his hand back and tucked the blankets in around Ji Huan.
Ji Huan thought he would leave then, but to her surprise, he didn’t.
He remained seated on the edge of the bed. After a long silence, he suddenly asked her a question.
"What are your plans for Dabao’s future?"
"Dabao’s future..."
Ji Huan thought about it seriously.
She didn’t want Dabao to grow up into a pampered man-child—lazy, out of touch with the world, and ignorant of hardship. But she also didn’t want to force him into the rat race, scrambling to climb the same peak everyone else was fighting for.
"I don’t have any specific plans. I just hope he can be well-read and well-traveled, have a heart that yearns for good and doesn’t fear evil, eyes that can distinguish right from wrong, and an open, all-embracing mind.
"On top of that, I want him to have a healthy body, the skills to survive, practical wisdom, and a fortunate life...
"As for whether he takes the imperial examinations, goes into business, or becomes an official—that’s all up to him. Even if he just wants to be a small landlord or a simple farmer? That would be fine too."
’She knew these ideas weren’t very realistic.’
’Just that one thing—"a fortunate life"—was easier said than done.’
’You needed both money and power for that.’
’That’s why she had to work even harder before Dabao grew up. That way, he would have the freedom to make his own choices, instead of having every decision dictated by the need to make a living.’
Guan Shan looked down at her. "Your plan is to become strong enough to provide him with security. But have you ever considered what might happen if one day he were to leave you forever? If he found himself alone in a dangerous place, how would he protect himself?"
Before she started raising Dabao, Ji Huan had imagined that if she ever had a child of her own, she would train him like a Spartan Warrior, holding him to the strictest standards in every respect.
But once she was actually raising a child, her thinking had changed without her even realizing it. Just as Guan Shan said, she wished she could be stronger, and then stronger still, so she could shield him from every potential risk and threat, while he could simply grow up without a care in the world.
’As for leaving forever... how could that happen? Even if Dabao goes off to make his own way in the world when he’s older, no matter how far he travels, he would still stay in touch with his family through letters, right?’
’Ji Huan instinctively refused to accept such a scenario.’
’And yet, her rational mind had already started uncontrollably drifting in that direction...’
Guan Shan didn’t elaborate, only saying, "You don’t have to shield him from everything. Taking a few falls and learning about the wickedness in people’s hearts early on can only do him good, not harm."
’It wasn’t as if Ji Huan didn’t understand this principle.’
’She just felt Dabao had missed out on so much in his early years that she wanted to do everything in her power to make it up to him.’
’But in the process, she had nearly become the doting mother who spoils her son. Thankfully, Guan Shan had snapped her out of it.’
’It seemed she needed to find a proper master for Dabao—one who could be strict with him.’
She shot a glance at Guan Shan, her eyes brightening.
"When the weather clears up, how about having Dabao run with you in the back hills every day? And those boxing forms you practice before dawn—could you teach those to Dabao, too?"
Guan Shan: "..."
Under Ji Huan’s eager, intense gaze, he gave a very reluctant grunt of assent.
Guan Shan stayed in the east room all day.
He copied texts while Ji Huan chatted, and they would occasionally discuss how to raise Dabao.
Ji Huan didn’t even know when she had fallen asleep. When she woke up, it was already dark outside.
A lamp was lit in the room. The instant she stirred, Guan Shan put down his brush, stood up, and walked over to her.
His large, calloused hand once again rested on her forehead. Ji Huan stared blankly at the roof beams for a long moment before shaking her head. ’I must be delirious from the fever,’ she thought.
’You’re most emotionally vulnerable when you’re sick. I absolutely can’t let my thoughts run wild.’
The rain continued for two days before it finally stopped.
For those two days, Ji Huan enjoyed the full VIP patient treatment; Guan Shan wouldn’t even let her touch cold water.
Curled up in a warm nest of blankets on a cold winter day, sleeping when she felt tired and chatting about anything and everything with the person beside her when she woke up—it was all quite enjoyable.
But as enjoyable as it was, lying in bed for two straight days was starting to make her antsy.
On the third day, after the rain had stopped, Ji Huan suggested they go check on things at West River Gully.
Even though they had built a shelter and she’d heard the vegetables were covered with several layers of straw mats, she couldn’t be completely at ease. She was worried the bottom layers would get waterlogged and start to rot.
Guan Shan bundled her up warmly and went with her.
There was nothing wrong with living in the countryside, save for one thing: when it rained, the dirt roads became a muddy mess, making it difficult to walk.
The courtyard and the area by the front door were paved with bricks, so their shoes wouldn’t get dirty there. But once they stepped outside, it was a completely different story.
Ji Huan had specifically put on her oilskin boots, which were designed for rain and snow. They were an ancient version of rain boots, with wooden soles studded with nails for traction and uppers coated in tung oil. Walking in them wasn’t a problem, but the hem of her skirt was inevitably splattered with mud.
After Ji Huan complained a little, Guan Shan moved to pick her up.
Ji Huan jumped in alarm, pushing his hands away. She gritted her teeth and glared at him. "We’re outside!"
Guan Shan’s gaze flickered to the skirt hem she was holding up. "Aren’t you afraid of getting it dirty?"
Ji Huan said irritably, "It’s already dirty. I’ll just wash it when we get back."
Guan Shan didn’t insist. Ji Huan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, ’This guy is getting addicted to carrying me.’
When they reached West River Gully, the work site was only about ten more meters away, but the two of them stopped in their tracks.
In front of them was a giant puddle, with no way to get around it on either side.
Guan Shan looked at her. She looked at Guan Shan.
Finally, Ji Huan nodded.
Guan Shan wrapped an arm around her waist, half-lifting her as they crossed.
He was tall, and he crossed the puddle in a single long stride. But the path beyond was all thick mud, so Guan Shan ended up carrying Ji Huan all the way to their destination.
Ji Huan had thought no one would be around, but when she turned around, she came face to face with several dumbstruck onlookers.
Widow Xie, Ji Xuelan, Ji Liansong, and a few of the hired hands...
She stiffly turned her head, shooting a questioning glare at Guan Shan.
’Guan Shan had been facing this way the entire time, which meant he had clearly seen the others but hadn’t told her, nor had he put her down sooner...’
Guan Shan glanced at her nonchalantly. "Is something wrong?"
Ji Huan could only brace herself and feign ignorance, plastering a fake smile on her face as she waved at the onlookers. "Hello, everyone..."