Chapter 7: The Delicate Flavor

  Boom boom boom boom.

  A loud clap of thunder rolled across the sky, and after a burst of lightning and thunder, large raindrops began to fall.

  Wang Haodong woke up with a start from his sleep, listening to the sound of raindrops hitting the windowsill. He raised his wrist to look at his watch and saw that it was 4 o'clock in the morning. Why was it raining at this time?

  "Today I, Wang, want to go to the market...” muttered Wang Haodong. After arriving at Liujiayuan, his mobile phone card ran out of money. He had originally planned to buy a new mobile phone card at the market today, but if it rained, the mountain road would be even more difficult to walk, and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to go.

  "I hope it stops raining by dawn." Wang Haodong closed his eyes again.

  When day broke, Wang Haodong got up. It was still raining outside, but it had let up a lot and was now just pattering down gently.

  "Good morning, Wang Dage." Zhang Qian walked out of the kitchen, smiling and greeting Wang Haodong.

  "Are you going to class today?"

  "Come on, it's raining but we still have to go to class. There's only a month left before the college entrance exam, how can I not attend? I've got to go." Zhang Qian said, taking out her raincoat and pushing out her bicycle before leaving.

  Zhang Shufang walked out of the bedroom and saw Wang Haodong, saying: "The meal is in the kitchen, go eat by yourself."

  "Oh, thank you." Wang Haodong said politely.

  Zhang Shufang smoothed her hair at the temples and said, "Don't be polite, go eat quickly, it'll get cold soon."

  Wang Haodong hummed in response, and after Zhang Shufang entered the house, he washed up a bit and went to the kitchen to take a look. Breakfast was noodles, and he stir-fried a plate of shredded potatoes. Anyway, her dishes tasted good, so he was happy to eat whatever, and he sat down to devour it in big mouthfuls.

  After dinner, Wang Haodong took a small umbrella and told Zhang Shufang about what happened at the gathering.

  "It's raining, the road is hard to walk on, let's wait for a sunny day instead."

  Wang Haodong was suffocating at home, his phone had no card and couldn't access the internet. He said: "Don't worry, I'll be back soon, can I borrow your bike?"

  "Alright, you ride your bike and go, the road is slippery, be careful."

  Having obtained her permission, Wang Haodong pushed his bicycle out of the door.

  One hand holding the bicycle, one hand holding an umbrella, Wang Hao Dong rode through the rain curtain, taking big breaths of fresh air, feeling a kind of excitement. However, the village road was not good, and as soon as he left the village, his feet got wet from the rainwater, and some mud splashed onto his pant legs.

  Today is the market day in Linyuan Town. If it's a sunny day, people from all directions and villages will go to the market to buy and sell things. However, today is a rainy day, so there are very few pedestrians on the road.

  Wang Haodong left the village, crossed the bridge and rode eastward. The dirt road was originally bumpy, and after the rain, it became even more difficult to ride on. The car shook violently, his buttocks were numb, but from here to the town, there were over ten miles, riding a bike was still faster than walking, so he endured it.

  The road surface was wet and slippery, so Wang Haodong didn't dare ride too fast to prevent slipping and falling.

  After riding for six or seven miles, Wang Haodong suddenly saw a woman in front of him, holding an umbrella and walking shallowly in the rain.

  Wang Haodong saw that the man was wearing a floral thin coat, light blue jeans, and his figure seemed familiar. As he got closer, he took a closer look and found it was actually Xiao Yufen.

  A pink umbrella sheltered Xiao Yufen's body, raindrops pattering on the umbrella's surface, making a rhythmic sound. Her shoes were covered in wet mud, her pant legs rolled up high, revealing her slender white calves and ankles. Her full figure walked step by step in the rain, just her back view evoking endless reveries.

  Wang Haodong was moved by her soft and beautiful figure, hastily stopped the car, took out his mobile phone, opened the camera app, click, click, click, and took three shots in a row.

  The phone had a flashlight, the sound of "click click", which caught Xiao Yufen's attention. She stopped in her tracks, turned around and saw Wang Haodong with a look of astonishment on her face.

  "Is that you?" Xiao Yufen was taken aback, and then remembered Wang Haodong. This morning she had run into Zhang Shufang, who had also asked her a few questions, and learned that he was renting a room in her house. "What are you doing?"

  Wang Haodong smiled and quickly pushed the cart over to her side, placing his phone in front of her and saying, "Take a look, it's really beautiful."

  Xiao Yufen saw her own back in the phone and couldn't help but stare for a moment, before muttering: "You, why did you take my picture? I look ugly, not photogenic."

  Wang Haodong shook his head and lavished praise, "No, Yufen sister, you are extremely beautiful, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

  This guy's face is very thick, he called me sister after just a few words.

  "Nonsense." The atmosphere was somewhat softened, and Xiao Yufen smiled and said, "I'm almost thirty years old, a village woman, where is the beauty?"

  "No, Yufen sister, your temperament is very good, elegant and refined, with a hint of fragility, just like the water lily, as if you can't bear the cool breeze."

  Wang Haodong was actually telling the truth, and his intention was also to flatter her. She smiled slightly and said: "On a rainy day, where are you going?"

  "I'm going out to buy something." Wang Haodong called out a few sentences, and Yu Fen didn't object or show displeasure, so she just went along with it. "Yu Fen sister, where are you going?"

  "I'm also going out, there's no more oil at home, no more rice, have to go buy some." Xiao Yufen smoothed her hair on the sides of her forehead, revealing a pale and smooth forehead, "But didn't expect it to rain today, ah, so annoying."

  "Why don't you ride a bike?"

  "I'm afraid of falling, the road is too slippery."

  "Alright, I'll give you a ride then, at least it's faster." Wang Haodong patted his chest and said: "I'm a very stable rider, I guarantee I won't crash with you on board."

  "By the way, I still only know your surname is Wang, what's your first name?"

  "Wang Haodong." Wang Haodong smiled and finished, his eyes swept over her full body, remembering the scene of her taking a bath yesterday, he couldn't help but feel his blood boiling, this woman had a natural charm that made him have thoughts just by looking at her.

  Like most men, Wang Haodong also likes beautiful women and naturally wants to get close to them when he has the chance.

  The feeling of suppressing his heart, Wang Hao Dong patted the car seat and said, "Let's go, I'll take you there."

  "This..." Xiao Yufen hesitated for a moment, but didn't immediately respond. After all, the two had just met, and in her opinion, sitting in the back seat of his car was a bit too intimate.

  "The rain is getting heavier, you're walking too slowly, by the time we get to the market it'll be almost noon, and we won't be able to buy fresh things. Let's go." Wang Haodong urged in a low voice, he really wanted to go with her, even if she didn't want to, he wouldn't ride his bike either, they could just walk together.

  "You ride a bike, I've already walked more than half of the way, just keep walking and you'll be there." Xiao Yufen flatly refused Wang Haodong's kindness.

  Wang Haodong listened and felt very disappointed. He said: "Then I'll push the cart, accompany you on the way, at least there's someone to talk to."

  "I won't keep you, you'd better ride your bike over."

  Wang Haodong sighed and said: "You see, you can't do this, you can't do that, what exactly do you mean?"

  Xiao Yufen said: "You go your way, I'll walk slowly by myself."

  "But the rain is getting heavier and heavier."

  Wang Haodong shook his head and, without saying another word, pulled Xiao Yufen's hand, saying: "Sister Yufen, I heard there's a heavy rain today. If you keep going at this slow pace, you might not make it back this afternoon."

  Xiao Yufen's face turned red, she shook her arm, wanting to shake off Wang Haodong's hand, but Wang Haodong tightly grasped her small hand, and she couldn't shake it off.

  Suddenly, he sensed that her body had softened a bit, as if her legs had gone weak and she was almost about to fall to the ground.

  Rumble.

  Crunch crunch.

  In the midst of thunder and lightning, Wang Haodong saw Xiao Yufen's face turn bright red, as if she had applied rouge.

  Wang Haodong knew that this move was a bit abrupt for her, and he also knew the principle of knowing when to stop. He gently released her soft little hand and said: "I'm taking you to town, why are you treating me like a wolf? Can I eat you?"

  Wang Haodong looked at her face and said: "The rain is going to pour down heavily, you make the decision."

  Xiao Yufen remained silent for a long time, looking at his serious face, and finally nodded in agreement: "Okay."

  Wang Haodong was delighted in his heart and quickly wiped off the water droplets on the back seat of the bicycle with his hand, saying: "You get on first."

  Xiao Yufen asked weakly: "How's your technique?"

  "No problem, I'm very skilled at riding a bike."

  Xiao Yufen relaxed a bit, took out a white handkerchief, wiped the car seat with it, slightly bent down, and then straightened up to jump onto the vehicle.