Pastoral Daily Life
chapter-37

“What’s wrong?” When Yan Yue drove back and noticed Dahei’s abnormality, he got out of the car and looked in the direction Dahei was looking, but saw nothing.

Lu Lingxi looked worried, “A car just passed by, and Dahei is like this.” He stroked Dahei’s head, trying to calm him down. The car was driving fast; Lu Lingxi only recognised it as a black Audi, but didn’t see anything else.

Yan Yue frowned imperceptibly, faintly thinking of something. It had been a while since Dahei was hit, so it was unlikely Dahei would be able to recognise the person who hit him. But the dog’s sense of smell was very keen, and Dahei was exceptionally smart, so it might be the culprit.

Yan Yue’s gaze fell on Dahei; despite Lu Lingxi’s reassurance, Dahei still looked very angry. His eyes were fierce as he glared ahead and there was a low growl deep in his throat. All the time until now, Dahei behaved so harmlessly by Lu Lingxi’s side that Yan Yue had almost forgotten that he was a stray dog before. A dog that needed to fight, fight for food and fight viciously to survive.

Yan Yue followed Lu Lingxi’s example and squatted down, meeting Dahei’s eyes seriously, “The car that just passed was the one that hit you?”

If someone had mentioned to Yan Yue in the past that he would be talking to a dog as seriously as if it were a human, he would have thought the other party was crazy. But the reality was that he was trying hard to figure out what was going on in Dahei’s mind at the moment. He wasn’t actually very sure that Dahei could understand such complicated words. Although Dahei was usually very smart and Lu Lingxi would often talk to him, Yan Yue always felt that Dahei’s reaction was a conditioned reflex, not necessarily that he really understood the young man’s words. But to Yan Yue’s surprise, after he finished speaking, Dahei, who was very angry, quieted down somewhat and gave him a low bark.

Yan Yue concealed his surprise and looked at Dahei steadily, saying in a deep voice, word by word, “Remember his smell, next time you find him, I will take you to revenge.” His strength was evident in these words, even though he was talking to a dog.

Dahei looked at Yan Yue with some hesitation for a moment; his arched body slowly calmed down, the hostility in his eyes dispersed, and instead of a low roar, he whimpered, aggrieved. Yan Yue looked at him and hooked up the corners of his mouth, stretched out his hand and stroked Dahei’s head vigorously. Dahei didn’t dodge like before and looked at Yan Yue with a little more trust in his eyes.

Lu Lingxi let out a sigh of relief, a little surprised but more shocked. Yan Yue’s aura just now was so strong that even he was somewhat subdued. Dahei, who was calmer now, rubbed against Lu Lingxi’s hand as affectionately as usual. Perhaps realizing that he had scared Lu Lingxi earlier, Dahei licked Lu Lingxi’s fingers a little flatteringly, as if the dog that had just bristled was not him.

As Yan Yue watched Dahei’s action, the upturned corners of his mouth turned down. There was some uncontrollable jealousy in his heart. Really, a stupid dog. On the way back, Lu Lingxi didn’t sit in the passenger seat but in the back seat hugging Dahei all the time. Yan Yue glared at Dahei silently. Of course, Dahei couldn’t understand what Yan Yue wanted to express through his eyes. Out of some closeness, Dahei squinted his eyes and wagged his tail at Yan Yue.

Yan Yue: “……”

The weather in summer changed at the drop of a hat, and they were still halfway from home when a thunder suddenly sounded on the horizon. Accompanied by a flash of lightning across the sky, heavy rain poured down. The sky was getting darker and darker, and the visibility was so low that Yan Yue turned on his headlights and slowed down.

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The road was soon devoid of pedestrians, and there was just a row of headlights in front of them. Through the car window, the sky outside was as dark as at night. Another bolt of lightning struck down and Dahei squeezed towards Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi noticed his movement and scratched his chin soothingly.

“Don’t be afraid.” Most animals were afraid of thunder and lightning; it seemed to be a natural instinct.

While waiting for the green light, Yan Yue glanced back. Lu Lingxi curved his eyes, holding Dahei’s front paw and waving it at him. A smile lit up Yan Yue’s eyes and the corners of his lips curved up in a faint arc. There was lightning and thunder outside, but inside the car seemed to be isolated from all storms, a world of its own, cosy and reassuring.

Originally, it only took ten minutes to get home, but today it took more than half an hour. Yan Yue stopped Lu Lingxi from getting out of the car when he parked downstairs. “Wait for me, I’ll pick you up.” He remembered that there seemed to be an umbrella in the trunk, and without waiting for the boy to refuse, Yan Yue had already pushed the door and got out of the car.

The rain outside was quite heavy, hitting his face almost painfully. The violent wind rolled up the fallen leaves and gravel on the ground, whistling and rushing them at Yan Yue. Yan Yue raised his arm to cover his face and went around to the back of the car. Lu Lingxi looked at him through the car window. Something seemed to be slowly growing in his heart. Before he regained his senses, Yan Yue was already holding the umbrella and pulling open the back door of the car.

“Dahei, come down first.”

As soon as he said that, Dahei slipped out of the car, rushed into the building lightly, shook off the water on his body and squatted there waiting for Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi followed Dahei and was sent home with Yan Yue’s umbrella shielding him securely.

“Xiao Xi, I’ll go first.” Yan Yue didn’t enter. He was all wet and it was not very convenient.

“Big Brother Yan, you should wait for the rain to get lighter before you go.” Lu Lingxi glanced at the sky with black clouds outside anxiously. It was too dangerous to go out in this weather. Besides, Yan Yue was drenched all over and needed to wipe the water off at any rate.

The young man’s expression was serious and his eyes were so full of concern that it was hard for Yan Yue to refuse his invitation; or more precisely, he was unwilling to refuse. He folded the umbrella in his hand and followed Lu Lingxi through the door. Lu Lingxi quickly found a towel for him and went to Wang Shuxiu’s room to look for the clothes that Lu Yishui had left here. His own clothes were too small for Yan Yue to wear.

After some tossing and turning, Yan Yue looked helplessly at the big floral pants laid out in front of him. Lu Lingxi was still a little embarrassed but this was already the most suitable variant he could find. “Big Brother Yan, take a shower and change first, I’ll go to the backyard and take a look.” Lu Lingxi was still thinking about the tree he had planted at noon, as well as his yard full of tomatoes.

In the backyard, the sapling that had just been planted at noon was already blown to a 45-degree angle by the wind and might break at any time. As for the tomatoes that had heavily decorated the branches before, they were beaten down by rain and scattered all over the yard. The tomatoes were fine, they could be washed and eaten. But if the willow sapling were broken, saving it would be in vain. Lu Lingxi was quite worried and thought of finding something to support it, so he was about to go out with his umbrella. As soon as he opened the door, he was pulled by Yan Yue.

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“Xiao Xi, what are you doing?”

In the time it took him to say this, the rain had already got inside and Lu Lingxi’s t-shirt was immediately wet.

“That tree.” Lu Lingxi was a little worried.

Yan Yue looked at his wet t-shirt and his eyes darkened. He protected the boy from the rain all the way not to let him go out and work in the rain. With a slight use of force, Yan Yue quietly took the young man into his arms and pushed him back inside. “Tell me what you want to do, I’ll do it.”

“Big Brother Yan…” Lu Lingxi wanted to refuse, but Yan Yue had already taken the umbrella and walked out.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and Yan Yue squinted at the sapling in front of him that somewhat resembled a mop. It was so thin that it was hardly possible to support it with anything. Yan Yue was thinking about what to do when Lu Lingxi disobediently squeezed up to his side with his umbrella, holding a loop of rope in his hand. A gust of wind blew, and the umbrella in Lu Lingxi’s hand was instantly turned inside out. The pouring rain fell, and Yan Yue was a little anxious, reaching out to pull Lu Lingxi into his arms, the umbrella above his head moving to shield the boy’s head. Despite Yan Yue’s quick movements, Lu Lingxi was still drenched all over. The young man was slightly chilled and clung to Yan Yue unsuspectingly. Yan Yue couldn’t even get angry but said solemnly with a straight face, “Didn’t I tell you to stay inside?”

Lu Lingxi was inexplicably a little guilty and whispered, “Two people will be faster.”

He held out the rope and gestured to Yan Yue, who guessed what he meant, shook the rope and wrapped it around the sapling several times, tying two ends to the fence. This way, there was no need to worry about the sapling being blown away by the wind. After fixing the sapling, Yan Yue didn’t let Lu Lingxi take care of the tomatoes on the ground and escorted him back to the house with his arms around him.

“Go and take a shower.” Yan Yue felt that Lu Lingxi’s body was really thin and was afraid that he would catch a cold from the rain.

Lu Lingxi nodded obediently without arguing.

Outside, the rain was getting heavier and heavier, as if a hole had been poked in the sky and it was never going to stop. Yan Yue stood on the balcony looking out, his mind filled with the scene of the young man in his arms just now. It was the first time they had really been so close, and it felt as good as he had imagined. He had some uncontrollable impulses; his whole body was burning like it was on fire. The cool drops of rain on his body awakened Yan Yue’s senses and pushed down the thoughts in his mind.

“Big Brother Yan? What are you looking at?”

Lu Lingxi was quick in the shower and came out in no time. When he saw Yan Yue standing on the balcony, he walked over curiously.

Yan Yue didn’t know if it was his illusion, but he felt that there was a fresh scent of grass and leaves on the boy’s body. He looked at the teenager with obscure eyes, suppressing the heat in his gaze, and said calmly, “Looking when the rain outside will stop. I’m afraid it won’t stop tonight.”

Lu Lingxi glanced outside and casually said, “It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t stop, you can stay here at night, Big Brother Yan.”

He said it casually, but a stormy wave surged in Yan Yue’s heart; he tried desperately to suppress it not to allow himself to lose control.

Lu Lingxi’s attention was on the outside; he looked at the tomatoes on the ground with some regret. Basically, this crop had been knocked down, and after this rain, it would be a few days before the next crop grew. The only fortunate thing was that the tomatoes on the ground could be washed and eaten, but there were too many tomatoes on the ground, so he guessed the few of them wouldn’t be able to finish eating them. Should they be all boiled into tomato sauce?

While Lu Lingxi was so distracted, his mind full of tomato sauce, Yan Yue was quietly watching him and couldn’t help but curl the corners of his lips.

The mental scan spread out unconsciously, enveloping the entire yard. Lu Lingxi originally wanted to see if the tomato plants were okay, but when the white panel floated up, it was not the tomatoes that were displayed, but the entire yard.

The planting land has been polluted, consume a power of nature to purify it?