OFTLHFRO C34

Seeing Huo Yan’s gaze fixed on him, Luo Mingchen muttered, “The last person who said he liked me… was fed to zombies. Man-eating monsters, you know.”

“Oh.”

Just as Luo Mingchen expected Huo Yan to ask why, the man instead asked, “Did he ever kiss you?”

“…What?”

Luo Mingchen struggled to keep up with his train of thought. “I said, the man died. I threw him into the zombies myself. Got it?”

“I understand.”

Huo Yan pressed calmly, “So… did you kiss or not?”

For a moment Luo Mingchen was speechless. Irritated, he snapped, “So what if we did?”

If he said no, he’d probably just get laughed at.

“Where did he kiss you?”

“Just…” Luo Mingchen hesitated, embarrassed. “All the places people are supposed to.”

Huo Yan’s eyes dropped briefly to Luo Mingchen’s light-pink lips. “And compared to him, am I better?”

Hearing that, Luo Mingchen froze. Then he couldn’t stop laughing. “That? You call that kissing?”

At most, it was like children playing house.

“What else would it be?”

“You should stick…” Luo Mingchen almost blurted stick out your tongue and hastily coughed instead. “Ah, never mind. Let’s just call it kissing.”

But Huo Yan didn’t let go. “Stick what?”

After a pause, he even guessed, “Tongue?”

“Uh…”

Trying for composure, Luo Mingchen patted his shoulder. “I think we should just sleep now.”

He divided the blanket with him. Though summer was hot, one’s stomach should still stay covered.

Apparently realizing something, Huo Yan blew out the lamp, lay down beside him, pulled him into his arms, rubbed his cheek close, and murmured, “I’ll try.”

Stiff in his embrace, Luo Mingchen sputtered, “Try what?”

The answer was Huo Yan’s nervous, slightly clumsy kiss.

The fragrance of soap and the subtle warmth distinctive to Huo Yan enveloped him. Luo Mingchen’s heart thundered. He felt the soft tongue clumsily licking his lips—like opening a door to a new world—while the hand at his waist caressed gently…

Suddenly it struck him, and Luo Mingchen shoved him away forcefully. Frustrated, he exclaimed, “I told you to go to sleep, not to sleep with me!”

For a moment, Huo Yan’s lips pressed tightly. Then he asked softly, “You don’t like it?”

The tone carried a faint wound. Luo Mingchen scratched his head awkwardly. “…Not exactly.”

At that, Huo Yan gathered him close again, nuzzling his hair as he muttered, “I think I understand now.”

“What?”

Now Luo Mingchen was even more afraid of what strange conclusion he might jump to next.

“Give me one more kiss.”

“….” Luo Mingchen stared.

But that face—so much his type—troubled him. Remembering how he’d been deceived before, he decided to see just how long this act would last. With feigned ease, he agreed, “Alright.”

This kiss began cautiously, but quickly became much firmer, more domineering.

Perhaps unwilling to be pushed away again, Huo Yan held him so tightly his long limbs entirely pinned him down.

To his shock, Luo Mingchen realized he liked it—liked being kissed like this. Flustered, he tried to respond, but accidentally bit Huo Yan’s tongue.

Winching, Huo Yan loosened briefly, then tilted up Luo Mingchen’s jaw. Seeing those misty eyes staring at him in confusion, he grinned faintly.

As expected… very beautiful.

But still a novice was a novice. Seeing that Huo Yan was about to get serious, Luo Mingchen hurriedly yielded, “I lied! Actually… I don’t know how.”

So Huo Yan stopped… but only after giving him two more fierce kisses before letting go.

He’d definitely need to find a book or two to study this later.

The next morning, the three children clearly sensed something unusual between their two fathers, though they couldn’t say what.

Unable to contain himself, Huo Xiang blurted, “Little Daddy, did you and Daddy argue last night?”

At once, Luo Mingchen glanced at Huo Yan, then quickly looked away. “No. Don’t imagine things.”

“Really?” Huo Xiang frowned. “Because last night, when I got up, I thought I heard Little Daddy crying. Daddy… did you hit him?”

Both: “…”

Sensing something wrong in the air, Huo Yuhui quickly shoved a bun into his brother’s mouth. “Little Daddy said no, so no. You were dreaming—you never got up.”

Chewing, Huo Xiang mumbled, “Really?”

“Really. You slept soundly.”

Receiving confirmation, Huo Xiang grinned. “What a strange dream.”

Face flushing, Luo Mingchen muttered, “Dreams are always strange.”

Before heading to town, Luo Mingchen and Huo Yan picked some ripe vegetables from their fields.

At Kangde Tavern, after delivering the tofu, Luo Mingchen presented the large basket of vegetables.

“Innkeeper, do you also buy vegetables?”

He had half a mind to refuse, but one look at those crisp greens made his eyes light up. “These are from your own fields?”

“Correct.”

“How much do you have?”

“One mu of Chinese cabbage, half a mu of chili peppers, and half a mu of white radish.”*

In a world without pesticides, and yet still growing so healthily with no bug-holes—that proved these mutated breeds had reached peak quality.

“That’s not too much.”

The innkeeper thought, then said, “Alright—why not deliver them together with the tofu? These cabbages look nice—smooth and watery, no blemishes. Cabbage usually fetches one and a half copper coins a jin. I’ll give you two.”

“Shopkeeper,” Luo Mingchen said with a smile, “we sell tofu here because we trust your integrity. But these vegetables are more than just bug-free. Taste them first.”

He plucked a cabbage leaf and peeled a radish slice. “You can eat these raw.”

Of course, he knew raw radish often carried bitterness. But the slice he received crunched refreshingly, fragrant without bitterness, even boasting a faint sweetness.

The cabbage, too—tender even on the outer leaves, nothing coarse.

Before he realized it, the innkeeper had finished the samples. Seeing their expectant faces, he asked, “Then what price do you want?”

“Two and a half for cabbage, two for radish, three for chili.”

Chuckling, the innkeeper said, “So—each one coin higher than market?”

Blinking innocently, Luo Mingchen replied, “Surely you can sell them higher too. In Taohua Town, there’s no lack of wealthy households. With a bit of promotion, they’ll eagerly buy—and even see it as a status symbol.”

So long as the price wasn’t outrageous, the affluent wouldn’t mind paying more to show off.

“Very well. We’ll go with your price.”

He summoned workers to weigh the produce. Curious, he asked, “These plants grow so well—why not plant more?”

“I was only experimenting this season. Next year maybe I’ll expand.”

In truth, Luo Mingchen hated the physical toil. Turning fields was exhausting. In his space, he could at least replenish energy with ease, but outside it drained him.

If they had enough money, buying up ten mu of land and hiring workers would be ideal.

But here, without powerful backers, wealth easily attracted exploitation. Better to sell the seeds themselves.

Footnotes:

• Mu (畝) – A traditional Chinese unit of land, about one-sixth of an acre (~667 square meters). 
• Jin (斤) – A traditional Chinese unit of weight, about 500 grams (a little over 1 lb).