So An Jing moved her bamboo chair a bit closer to Xiao Changyi.
Then, An Jing just watched Xiao Changyi weaving leaves with curiosity.
Although she still didn’t know what Xiao Changyi was making, his hands were truly skilled, and he wove with great proficiency, showing no signs of unfamiliarity. Under the gaze of An Jing’s curious and excited eyes, Xiao Changyi quickly finished weaving a lifelike dragonfly.
"Here," Changyi said as soon as he finished the dragonfly, handing it to An Jing.
"This is so realistic!" An Jing examined the woven dragonfly closely. "I’ve only ever seen people weave grasshoppers out of grass, never dragonflies. And I must say, it really does look real."
"Would you like a grasshopper? I can weave those too," he offered.
"Yes, yes, yes!" An Jing nodded immediately. "I’ve seen them before, but I can’t weave them myself. Go on, weave one for me to see. I’ve seen people do it before but never paid much attention. Today, I really want to take a close look at how it’s done."
"Actually, it’s quite simple. Mainly, you just get better at it with practice. It was a bit difficult to start with," Xiao Changyi said as he leaned down to weave the grass, speaking to his wife An Jing with exceptional patience.
When it came to his wife An Jing, he truly had an abundance of patience.
It felt like his patience was inexhaustible.
Of course, that was only for An Jing.
With others, he didn’t have the same patience.
He had never been a particularly patient person.
Seeing how proficiently Xiao Changyi wove the grasshopper, An Jing was thoroughly impressed. "Husband, how can your hands be so skillful? Who taught you all this? You can’t tell me you learned just by watching someone else do it once."
Xiao Changyi fell silent for a moment: "...Actually, I did learn it by watching someone else just once."
"Your talent..." An Jing fell silent as well, then she raised a big smile, "really makes people envious!"
"Are you envious?" he asked.
"What do I have to be envious about? You’re my husband; you belong to me. Your talent is my talent," An Jing said with a cheeky grin.
To her surprise, Xiao Changyi actually nodded, agreeing earnestly, "Mhm."
"Haha, husband, you..." An Jing laughed so hard she could hardly breathe. It was always ; her husband really adored her as if possessed. And she had fallen for her husband just as deeply, as if bewitched.
As she finally managed to stop laughing, An Jing asked curiously, "By the way, husband, you must’ve woven quite often before to be this proficient?" Even if he learned it by watching once, to reach such a level of proficiency, she thought, he must have practiced a lot before.
"Hmm," he paused, then Xiao Changyi continued, "When I was alone and had nothing to do, I would weave for fun."
His words sounded calm enough.
But they clearly revealed his loneliness.
An Jing immediately said, "From now on, you won’t be alone! You have me! I’ll always be by your side! No, I’ve been by your side for a long time already! We’ve been married for quite a while! You’re not alone anymore!"
Xiao Changyi looked up at her, a smile playing on his lips, and responded with a soft ’Mhm,’ before looking down again, continuing to weave the piece of grass in his hands, turning it into a vivid grasshopper as quickly as possible.
Once he finished the grasshopper and saw it met his standard of normal quality, Xiao Changyi passed it to An Jing: "Here, the grasshopper."
An Jing quickly took it, laughing, "This grasshopper looks even more real!"
"Do you like it?" Xiao Changyi asked, watching her. Seeing her happy made him feel very happy inside, even if he wasn’t outwardly smiling.