Chapter 3: Hunting

Qin Xian ignored them and turned around, heading straight back to the infirmary.

Li Yingtang followed close behind, bolted the door, and peeked through the crack to look outside.

On the ground, Cheng Fang had already been lifted onto a flatbed cart by Cheng San. "Auntie, let's go. Today, Dr. Qin's wife came over and we..."

Cheng Fang sat up abruptly, eyes wide. "What did you say? Dr. Qin has a wife?"

"Oh, Fang'er, you're awake. Yes. Before we found you, some old woman was shouting about catching an adulterer, leading the whole village to run over and kick down the door, ruining the man's business. At first, your aunt thought he was holding you." Cheng San’s voice grew quieter as she spoke. "Dr. Qin’s face has been dark ever since. You didn't see the look in his eyes; he looked like he wanted to strangle someone."

Hu Ping felt exceptionally guilty, but she was desperate to know why things hadn't gone according to plan. She asked, "Fang'er, didn't you go to Dr. Qin to have him look at your waist? How did you end up lying in a ditch?"

Cheng Fang twisted her already plain features in recollection. "I... I remember meeting Dr. Qin, and I was with him the whole time."

Everyone laughed upon hearing this.

Cheng San curled her lip and said sourly, "I think you've gone delusional. Look at yourself—do you really think a college student would be with you?"

Cheng Fang bristled. "What's wrong with me?! Stay away from me..."

As the commotion continued outside, Qin Xian stepped out to shoo them away. Cheng Fang still wanted to ask about his wife, but she shut her mouth, intimidated by his oppressive gaze.

The health station finally returned to silence.

Qin Xian sat at his desk, idly flipping through a book. When he looked up during a break, Li Yingtang’s exquisite and gorgeous face entered his field of vision. He was startled, his face slowly turning red. "What are you looking at?"

"Looking at you," Li Yingtang said, filled with admiration.

He was so impressive.

He had seen through that person's disguise at a glance.

Come to think of it, this mother and daughter seemed to have been targeting him.

The former had called out "Fang'er" before she had even seen her; the latter had been acting all coy and strange when she woke up and saw him.

He must have been aware of it, which was why he cleared the area when saving her—to prevent that woman from spouting nonsense and ruining his reputation.

After a long silence, Qin Xian managed to squeeze out, "It would be better for a young lady to be more reserved."

Li Yingtang: "." That was considered unreserved? Fine. He was the master of this house; he was right.

She withdrew her gaze and began looking around, touching things here and there.

The shelves holding medicine were filled with large bottles.

The items in the cardboard boxes weren't pills, but individual ampoules of injectable liquid—completely different from the medicine packaging she was familiar with.

"Don't touch things," Qin Xian commanded coldly.

Li Yingtang: ".Oh." The atmosphere turned stiff. To ease the awkwardness, she took the initiative to offer to shovel snow: "Lend me your gloves."

"Get them yourself."

Li Yingtang nimbly returned to the room to put on the gloves. After shoveling a bit of snow, she caught a glimpse of Auntie Liu on the main road, carrying a basket of vegetables.

"It's so cold out, and you're still out picking vegetables?"

Auntie Liu chuckled and shifted the basket to her other side, using her body to block it. "Yes. Has the little Qin family eaten yet?"

Li Yingtang didn't miss Auntie Liu's subtle movement. "Not yet. I forgot to tell you, my name is Li Yingtang. Want to come inside and sit for a bit?"

"No, no, little Qin's wife. 'Yingtang' is a good name, sounds sweet just hearing it. I'll be going now. There are over a dozen people at home waiting to eat." Auntie Liu hurried away.

Li Yingtang felt annoyed that as a wife, she didn't even deserve a name.

*Sigh*, "Little Qin's family" it is, then?

Waiting until Auntie Liu’s figure disappeared from view, she tossed the broom aside and followed the woman's footprints.

Deliberately blocking the vegetables from view—the source definitely wasn't legitimate.

Either they were wild vegetables, and she was afraid she’d find out and go pick them too.

After walking two *li*, she found some wild vegetables half-buried in the snow in a spot with messy footprints at the foot of the mountain.

It was shepherd's purse.

Scattered and sparse, not much left.

However, her goal wasn't to dig for wild vegetables, but to find the game that ate them.

After scouting the area, she finally discovered a trail of maple-leaf-shaped footprints near some withered grass.

She remembered that primary school textbook, *The Little Artist in the Snow*.

A duck draws maple leaves.

Ducks love water and are omnivorous; there must be a water source nearby, and it would contain fish or shrimp.

She ventured deeper. After walking about seven or eight hundred meters, the view suddenly opened up, and a large pond came into sight, its surface already frozen over.

If she set a trap nearby, she might have some luck.

She memorized the terrain, returned to their living quarters to get a shovel, and prepared to dig a pit for a trap.

Qin Xian was still in the infirmary reading. She called his name sweetly: "A-Xian~ Does the house have any animal traps?"

He didn't even look up. "Look in the utility room yourself. Don't ask me about every little thing."

Li Yingtang seriously doubted her own charm—and this wasn't her being narcissistic or bragging.

Since she was young, she had been popular with male classmates; when she was in high school, her desk drawer was always full of flowers and chocolates they had given her.

Some had even fought over her; the male competition was fierce.

This time, she had delivered herself to his doorstep, only to be treated with disdain.

She specifically looked in the mirror. With her thick cotton-padded jacket, scarf wrapped around her head, she looked incredibly rustic.

She couldn't blame him for not wanting to bother with her; she didn't like this disheveled version of herself either.

*Sigh!*

Fine, she'd find it herself!

Li Yingtang found a mousetrap and tested it; it could catch things.

Taking her tools, she returned to the riverside, dug a trap with great effort, covered it with wild vegetables, and didn't rush back.

Instead, she walked around a bit.

She unexpectedly discovered a persimmon tree, its snow-covered branches laden with fruit—it was quite beautiful.

But now wasn't the time to admire the scenery.

She used the shovel to knock down the persimmon closest to her, took off her scarf to wrap it up, and returned home. Like offering a treasure, she placed it in front of Qin Xian: "A treat for you."

Qin Xian’s eyes flickered. "Who gave you this?"

Li Yingtang rolled her eyes. "Who could give it to me? I went into the mountains and picked it myself. My shoes and socks got soaked, so I wore yours back."

"Do as you please."

Li Yingtang changed back into his shoes and socks, placing the wet ones by the stove to dry.

When she stood up, she met Qin Xian's gaze. He froze for a moment, then slowly lowered his head.

Li Yingtang smiled and thanked him: "Thanks for lending me your shoes. They're so warm, though it's a pity they're too big. It would be even better if I had a pair that fit."

Qin Xian lowered his eyes and said nothing.

Li Yingtang waited for a long time, but he didn't pick up the conversation. Asking him to buy them directly wouldn't be appropriate, so she changed the subject. "A-Xian, when are we eating?"

"Aren't you the one cooking?"

Li Yingtang: "." Had he been fasting before she arrived? "I came here to be your wife, not your servant. Let's get that straight. From now on, as long as you're not busy, we'll split the housework. You cook, I wash the dishes; you wash the clothes, I fetch the water. Division of labor, each doing their part. Hurry up and get to it; if you starve me to death, you won't have a wife anymore."

Qin Xian: "."

"Dr. Qin? Is Dr. Qin in?..."

In the kitchen, Qin Xian was rolling out noodles while Li Yingtang prepared the side dishes. Hearing the commotion, she poked her head out. It was Cheng Fang, who had made a fool of herself and hit a wall earlier today. Why was she back? "I'm Dr. Qin's wife. Is there something you need?"

Cheng Fang saw who it was, and her heart tightened. "Where... where is Dr. Qin? My neck hurts and I have a headache; I might have a fever. I'd like to ask him to take a look."

Li Yingtang looked her up and down. Her complexion was indeed poor—likely from freezing in the ditch. Her reason overcame her possessiveness: "A-Xian, take a look at her."

Qin Xian said in a deep voice, "Do your own work and don't worry about her."

He had asked her to prepare cabbage, but she had washed it over and over, and when she cut it, she even arranged it on the plate—dawdling and being pointlessly delicate.

He really didn't know where this woman had popped out from.

Her skin was incredibly thick, calling herself his wife and all... yet, for some reason, he loved hearing it.