Leaving Xiawa Village, it wasn’t dark yet. Xiaoxiao and Yang Ming were walking on the path home.
Xiaoxiao wanted to hold hands with her husband on the way back, so she reached out her hand, but just as she touched her cheap husband’s hand, he quickly withdrew it and looked around nervously, then said, "It’s not dark yet. Let’s wait until we get home to hold hands."
"..." Was he being shy? Afraid of being seen by others? But who was there on this road?
She knew that it wasn’t appropriate to openly hold hands during the day here. She hadn’t held hands when they came, and now she only wanted to hold hands because she saw no one around, plus it was about to get dark.
She circled her hand around the area, pouting as she pointed and said, "Husband, do you see anyone on the road?"
"Not now, but what if someone comes later?"
Yang Ming also wanted to hold his wife’s hand all the time, but his thinking didn’t allow him to do so. He felt that being seen holding hands was a very shameful thing.
"..." She suddenly envied modern couples who could openly walk down the street holding hands.
Now it seemed so hard even to hold hands a little.
Fine, don’t hold hands then, she thought, resigning herself to the customs of this odd place. As she walked ahead, she muttered, "Hmph, fine, don’t hold hands then, but don’t expect any kisses tonight."
Xiaoxiao had meant that comment for herself, and although she whispered it very softly, the road was so quiet and Yang Ming’s hearing was so good that it still made it to his ears.
Yang Ming’s face immediately changed upon hearing her words. No kisses? That simply wouldn’t do. It had been difficult enough to get to the point where they could kiss, and now that was all they were allowed to do.
So he quickly walked up to his wife’s side, took her hand without a second thought about shame, and decided he would accept being seen. The right to kiss was absolutely not up for negotiation.
He lifted their interlocked fingers for her to see, and then said, "Wife, we’re holding hands now. We have to kiss tonight."
"..." Was her cheap husband equipped with supersonic hearing? He’d heard her quiet little comment?
A smile spread across Xiaoxiao’s lips. He was afraid, wasn’t he? Yet he had abandoned all semblance of shame just for a kiss?
Hand in hand, the two of them moved forward, starting to chat idly.
"Husband, today Uncle Five and his wife were too enthusiastic."
They had been obviously thrilled at their arrival; it wasn’t like hosting relatives could explain such excitement.
Holding his wife’s hand, Yang Ming replied to her comment, "Yeah, maybe they were just excited because it’s been a long time since they’ve seen family."
"..." She wouldn’t get that excited about seeing any relative after a long time. Was she some kind of cold-blooded creature?
"Husband, we don’t live that far away from each other, so how come you haven’t seen each other in so long? And he didn’t even come to see Grandma during the New Year."
Having seen Uncle Five’s place, which wasn’t bad at all, she was baffled.
"It’s because Grandpa and Grandma didn’t allow Uncle Five to marry into his wife’s family, so they forbade him from returning to Yang Family Village. Plus, there’s an old saying that the greatest filial piety is to have offspring, and since Uncle Five and his wife have been unable to have children, they feel ashamed to come back."
"..." So that was the story. She was speechless with the legendary grandpa; not allowing them back in the village meant cutting off relations with that side of the family, no wonder Uncle Five and his wife were so moved to see her and Yang Ming.
Now she understood. If she were in their shoes, she, too, would be incredibly excited.