Su Xiaofeng did not refuse Su Zhiyuan and promised to accompany him on a trip to Doctor Ye’s home.
In the past two days, because of the rumors that Doctor Ye’s family had snakes, the number of people seeking medical attention from Liuye had noticeably decreased. Some people would rather go to the town for medical treatment than step into Liuye’s home for fear of suddenly encountering a snake, which wouldn’t be a trivial matter.
Approaching Shanghe Village, Su Zhiyuan stared at the medicinal herb field a few hundred meters away and couldn’t bring himself to move an inch, "Xiaofeng, please go call Doctor Ye for me, I’m scared."
Xiaofeng gave him a look, "Aren’t you usually very bold? A few snakes scare you that much?"
"Sister Xiaofeng, you don’t understand; though I seem brave, I’m actually very timid," said Su Zhiyuan, his eyes flickering as he looked toward Doctor Ye not far away. "Besides, my sister was just frightened by a snake, and I am scared too."
He had never been afraid of snakes as a child, but to complete the task his sister had entrusted to him, he had to pretend to be weak.
Although he disagreed with his sister’s method, seeing her in her current sympathetic situation, if he didn’t support her, she would surely be very sad.
"Fine, you wait here for a while, I’ll go and call him." It seemed that Acheng here had definitely been demonized by the villagers to scare the young man .
Acheng had just finished watering the medicinal herbs. Looking up and seeing Su Xiaofeng approaching from the main road, he squinted his eyes and started to pack up his tools.
Returning home yesterday, the atmosphere between them was very tense, and they hadn’t spoken a word. He had thought that Su Xiaofeng wouldn’t seek him out anytime soon, but to his surprise, she had come to find him first thing in the morning, which caught him off guard.
"Acheng," said Su Xiaofeng, as if she had forgotten about yesterday’s incident, "Xiaotao’s brother is looking for you. Do you have time right now?"
Su Xiaofeng stood on the ridge of the field, at least ten meters away from Acheng.
Glancing at the distance between them, Acheng moved to shore and said, "Hmm."
Seeing that Su Xiaofeng wasn’t following, Acheng looked back at her, "What are you doing standing there?"
"It’s okay; I’m just looking at the medicinal herbs in your field. You go ahead." Xiaofeng thought to herself that she wanted to keep her distance from him, in case he had another episode—she really wouldn’t be able to cope with that.
Acheng pointed toward the ground near her, "See the black iron cage beneath your feet? Inside it lives what you all are scared of."
Indeed, he kept snakes, yet no one had discovered them so far.
Su Xiaofeng instinctively looked down and indeed saw a black iron cage nestled among the lush green herbs. She gently brushed aside the grass above it and, upon clearly seeing the contents of the cage, yelped and jumped back.
Heavens, it was a real snake.
What sort of people were this grandfather and grandson, actually keeping snakes?
Frightened, Su Xiaofeng stumbled backward.
Acheng, seeing her lose her balance, quickly stepped forward and caught her steadily, his lips curving slightly, "I thought you wouldn’t be afraid."
Su Xiaofeng pushed him away and ran forward swiftly.
She had no idea that she and Acheng had just made close contact again.
Watching her retreat, Acheng’s eyebrows lifted, his mood quite good.
From several hundred meters away, Su Zhiyuan didn’t hear the conversation between Acheng and Su Xiaofeng; all he saw was Su Xiaofeng seeming to have seen something frightening, about to fall backward, with Doctor Ye stepping forward to play the hero.
Su Xiaofeng’s reaction further confirmed her sister’s words—the crafty Su Xiaofeng would use any opportunity to try to catch Doctor Ye’s attention.
Su Xiaofeng ran all the way to the main road, panting slightly, "Zhiyuan, he’s coming. Whatever you need, talk to him. I was scared to death."
Since childhood, her greatest fear was snakes.
That snake just now must have been as thick as a soup bowl, all sleek and black.
She can’t think about it, mustn’t think about it; just thinking about it made her scalp tingle.
"Sister Xiaofeng, what happened? Did you see a snake too?" It must have been a snake to have scared her .
Su Xiaofeng nodded, "Such a big one."
Su Zhiyuan’s face changed, was there really one?
Acheng went straight to his house and returned with a packet of powdered medicine, "If you apply this powder to your sister’s wounds, it will alleviate the pain."
"Thank you, Doctor Ye." Su Zhiyuan, looking at Doctor Ye, felt his scalp tingle, associating a doctor with a snake; just the thought was frightening.
Thinking of her recent fall into Acheng’s arms, Su Xiaofeng hurriedly glanced at Acheng. She had gone to great lengths to maintain her distance from him, who knew a snake would ruin her plans.
Acheng’s gaze fixed on her, his handsome brow and eyes clear and bright.
This was not a problem—
It was good that he wasn’t having an episode; she better run before he did.
"Zhiyuan, my stomach might have been upset from something I ate last night; I’m going to head back to the village first. If you have any questions, ask Doctor Ye yourself. I’m leaving."
"Sister Xiaofeng, wait for me, I’m going back too." Su Zhiyuan thanked Doctor Ye and followed along.
Watching Su Xiaofeng flee, Acheng stood pensive, his dark eyes contemplative—was she really that afraid of him, just because of the snake?
Turning toward his house, recalling how he had just held Su Xiaofeng, his vision darkened, and he stumbled forward.
Liuye, who was coming out of the kitchen, saw something was wrong and deftly stepped forward to catch him.
"Acheng," Liuye observed him with furrowed brows, as the number of the boy’s episodes seemed to have increased recently.
Acheng felt only a momentary dizziness. Hearing his grandfather calling his name, he quickly steadied himself after a few seconds, "I’m fine."
Liuye looked at him as if he were seeing a monster.
"What’s with that look?" Receiving his grandfather’s gaze, Acheng headed straight into the house, "I’m not having an episode; why do you seem so disappointed?"
Yes, he had just held Su Xiaofeng firmly, and nothing had happened.
Could it be that his body truly didn’t reject her? Or—perhaps he should try again next time.