An Jing immediately burst into laughter, "No wonder you dared to take me to the middle of the water."
After a pause, An Jing laughed again, "Husband, my swimming skills are also quite good. I can hold my breath for a long time in the water. If we really fall in, and you can’t swim us back, I should also be able to swim us back."
Xiao Changyi remained silent, continuing to push the bamboo raft towards the middle of the river.
An Jing also stopped talking and instead admired the increasingly beautiful scenery.
The trees around were lush and verdant, reflected in the water, making the water a deep green color; The river’s surface shimmered, creating a radiant effect. A bamboo raft slowly moved towards the center of the river, carrying two people, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, who together formed another breathtaking scene.
Because neither An Jing nor Xiao Changyi spoke, aside from the chirping of birds, the sound of the water, and the noise of the bamboo pole moving the raft, no other sounds could be heard. It was truly very natural.
It was refreshing and uplifting.
An Jing stood for a while before deciding to simply lie down on the bamboo raft, completely relaxed. She was really enjoying the situation and the feeling.
But because the sunlight was somewhat harsh, An Jing opened an oil-paper umbrella and placed it beside her head.
With the shade of the oil-paper umbrella, she finally wasn’t bothered by the harsh light stopping her from opening her eyes fully.
With her hands under her head, An Jing felt the bamboo raft moving slowly beneath her, saw the scenery on both sides slowly recede, and she could still see her husband, who was using a bamboo pole to push the raft forward. An Jing truly felt at peace.
It was a wonderful feeling.
There was no worldliness, no conflict, only tranquility and beauty.
Once Xiao Changyi pushed the raft to the middle of the river, he stopped and, retracting the bamboo pole, sat down beside An Jing.
He didn’t speak either, just quietly sat next to An Jing. While An Jing watched the scenery, he watched her.
An Jing, catching her husband looking at her out of the corner of her eye, found it amusing. Soon after, rather than looking at the scenery, she smiled back at her husband.
After silently staring into her husband’s eyes for a long while, she finally asked with a low laugh, "Why don’t you lie down too?"
Since the bamboo raft was somewhat narrow, and could not accommodate both lying flat, they could only lie on their sides, facing each other.
She looked at him, and he looked at her.
At that moment, her eyes held only him, and his eyes held only her.
Originally, the oil-paper umbrella shaded only An Jing. When Xiao Changyi lay down, the umbrella covered both of them. Angled over their heads, it blocked the blinding light for both.
The oil-paper umbrella was white, painted with a branch of red plum blossoms, particularly elegant and beautiful.
The scene was as if from a painting: a bamboo raft, a couple upon it, the man in Black Attire, the woman in white; a tasteful oil-paper umbrella overhead, all around tranquility, the water gleaming. Were they figures in a painting, or Heavenly Immortals? Exquisitely beautiful beyond comparison.
Because of the oil-paper umbrella, no one knew exactly what the two under it were doing, but if the umbrella were removed, one would find that from merely staring at each other, their faces had drawn closer, kissing each other lightly, their lips trembling slightly.
Even though they had been married for quite some time, their hearts were still fervently throbbing for each other.
"Husband," after staring into each other’s eyes for quite a while, An Jing finally spoke again, her voice soft, barely audible, but enough for Xiao Changyi to hear. "Do you know what ’envying only the mandarin ducks and not the immortals’ means?"
"I do," Xiao Changyi nodded gently, "Just like us."