MTLNOVEL Chapter 15 - Are We Just Air?
Chapter 15 Are We Just Air?
“What’s wrong?”
Zhao Pan’er looked at Gao You in surprise as he sighed.
Gao You shook his head.
“Nothing!”
“You’ve worked hard, my wife!”
The more Zhao Pan’er looked at Gao You, the more satisfied she felt! Handsome, talented, respectful, giving her freedom, protective, and genuinely caring!
“It’s not hard at all!”
Zhao Pan’er shook her head and quickly continued helping him get ready. A stick of incense later, Gao You was once again transformed into a refined young gentleman. Zhao Pan’er admired him with satisfaction before taking his hand and leading him outside.
With Uncle Fu and Aunt Fu around, breakfast had already been prepared. After quickly finishing their meal, Gao You got up and started gathering materials to make a slingshot.
“Pan’er Jie?”
Xiao Lingdang frowned, looking at Zhao Pan’er. “What is brother-in-law doing?”
Zhao Pan’er shook her head.
She couldn’t figure out what he was thinking either. But at the moment, she was more worried about the drawing in her room. It was incredibly lifelike and beautiful.
Looking at it felt like gazing into a mirror—no, even clearer than a mirror. She truly loved it, but at the same time, she feared others would see it and accuse her of being immodest.
How could she have allowed a painter to see her legs?
“Whoosh!”
Gao You fired his first slingshot stone. The pebble struck the only ripe orange on the distant tree, knocking it to the ground.
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
Xiao Lingdang ran into the courtyard in excitement.
“Brother-in-law, can you teach me how to use it?”
Hitting the target every time felt so satisfying!
Gao You felt like he was falling in love with using the slingshot.
He handed it to Xiao Lingdang.
“Play with it yourself!”
Xiao Lingdang was speechless. She wanted him to teach her how to shoot, not just give her the slingshot!
She already knew how to make one—there was even one lying around in her room! But Gao You never seemed willing to be a teacher.
Why?
There was only one reason—it was a waste of time and effort! Maybe he was just too used to acting this way, or maybe his body genuinely disliked talking too much.
Speaking in long sentences felt exhausting to him.
“Croak…”
A frog’s call echoed in the distance. Gao You picked up his slingshot and quickly walked out. Such youthful enthusiasm.
To Zhao Pan’er, Gao You was mentally normal but emotionally stuck in adolescence. He wasn’t foolish or stupid, he simply lived in his own world.
And now—He had brought her into that world, which was why he cared for her so much!
“Pan’er Jie!”
Xiao Lingdang suddenly clapped her hands in front of Zhao Pan’er.
She snapped back to reality.
“What is it?”
“We need to head to the teahouse!”
Xiao Lingdang grinned.
“And we still have to go to the county office to pay taxes!”
“Alright!”
Zhao Pan’er nodded and followed her out. As she walked, her thoughts drifted back to the drawing in her room. Soon, they reached a crossroads.
“Woof!”
A sudden bark startled Zhao Pan’er. She lost her balance. And fell straight into the river!
“Pan’er Jie!”
Xiao Lingdang screamed and frantically looked around for her.
Moments later, Zhao Pan’er surfaced from the water.
“I’m fine!”
Xiao Lingdang let out a sigh of relief, then turned and glared viciously at the large black dog peeking out from a nearby courtyard.
“You scared Pan’er Jie!”
The black dog responded with furious barking, looking extremely fierce. By now, Zhao Pan’er had climbed out of the river. Xiao Lingdang quickly checked her over and found that, aside from a small tear in her hem, she was completely unharmed.
“I told you I’m fine!”
Zhao Pan’er felt embarrassed about being scared by a mere dog. The two of them hurried to Zhao’s Teahouse. Just as they entered, they ran into Sun Sanniang.
“What happened to you two?”
Sun Sanniang looked at them in confusion. Zhao Pan’er blushed and ran off to change clothes, while Xiao Lingdang excitedly recounted the entire story.
At that moment, Gao You walked in, holding his slingshot.
“Where’s my wife?”
Sun Sanniang smirked and teased, “Young Master Gao, do you only have eyes for Pan’er?”
“There are so many of us here—do we not exist?”
Gao You simply played dumb and said nothing. Xiao Lingdang giggled and pointed towards the temporary rest area.
“Pan’er Jie is changing clothes!”
Gao You frowned.
“Changing clothes?”
Sun Sanniang, showing no mercy to Zhao Pan’er, told him the whole story. She had been scared by a dog and had fallen into the water.
Gao You burst into laughter.
But then he remembered—how dare that dog scare his gentle, lovely wife?
It had to pay for that!
With that thought, he picked up his slingshot and headed back out.
“Where are you going?”
Xiao Lingdang asked in confusion.
Sun Sanniang chuckled.
“Wherever he’s going, it’s none of your business!”
“Go check if Pan’er is ready!”
“We need to pay the taxes!”
Xiao Lingdang pouted, then sighed.
“Fine, I’ll go find Pan’er Jie!”
…
By late morning, Gao You returned to Zhao’s Teahouse, carrying a bamboo basket on his back.
“Wife?”
He called out, but the teahouse was empty—even Sun Sanniang was gone. No one was around to help him. So, he had to do things himself. He entered the kitchen, opened the bamboo basket, and revealed several neatly prepared cuts of meat. This was his trophy for the day.
Since Song Dynasty seasonings weren’t as rich as those in modern times, he chose the simplest cooking method. Two sticks of incense later, the kitchen of Zhao’s Teahouse was filled with the aroma of freshly roasted meat.