Didn’t Come This Month
Leaving aside how the married couple were being affectionate with each other, the next day, as they prepared for the Lantern Festival, something felt off on the female lead Qin Yueyue’s side—her period had not come this month.
As a woman, no matter how naive, she could roughly guess what had happened, and she immediately became flustered.
It was true that she genuinely liked Lin Donghe and had not been able to resist becoming intimate with him. But she was about to go to university—if she were pregnant, everything would be ruined.
Yet she did not dare tell Lin Donghe, because he would immediately push for marriage.
If they got married, would he still let her go to university?
Even if he agreed, his family certainly would not.
Qin Yueyue was someone with strong opinions. She decided that before confirming anything, she would go to the hospital for a check-up. It was said that big hospitals could detect pregnancy early through blood tests. If she really was pregnant, she would have to find a way to get rid of it immediately.
But since it was the fifteenth, all the offices were closed. She would have to wait until tomorrow.
Coincidentally, because it was the Lantern Festival, Lin Donghe came to bring her some fried yuanxiao. Of course, to give her some, he had to bring portions for all the educated youths. So each person only got a few, but even that was already quite generous.
But when Qin Yueyue saw him, she felt uncomfortable. That night, he had come to her room to confess, used every excuse to stay, and eventually things had happened. Now she was caught in a dilemma, yet he still acted as if nothing had happened, while she might be pregnant and did not even have anything good to eat.
The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. She did not eat and said, “I don’t have much appetite. You all eat.” Then she turned and walked out.
Lin Donghe frowned and immediately followed her. “Yueyue, what’s wrong? Your complexion looks so bad. Are you sick?”
“I’m fine. You should go back. It’s the Lantern Festival. Your family is waiting for you at home,” Qin Yueyue forced a smile.
“Yueyue, you said you don’t have an appetite. Could it be… you’re pregnant?” After checking that no one was around, Lin Donghe asked cautiously. In truth, he felt a bit happy—if Yueyue were carrying his child, maybe she could marry him.
“No, no, what nonsense are you talking about?” Qin Yueyue had not expected him to be so perceptive. She quickly waved her hands in denial.
“This is important. If you really are, you must tell me. Then we can figure it out together, understand?” Lin Donghe said immediately.
“Mm.” Qin Yueyue had not expected him to be so responsible. Her mood improved instantly.
“This is for you. Eat it outside before going back.” Lin Donghe took out two eggs from his pocket and gave them to her. Then, afraid of being seen if he stayed too long, he left.
Qin Yueyue really had no appetite, but she knew she lacked nutrition, so she ate the two eggs anyway. As she ate, she cried—crying for her unlucky life. She was already in this state, yet her family still demanded money from her. Otherwise, they would marry her off to someone else. Why were they so heartless?
This Lantern Festival, everyone else seemed to be having a good time, but her mood was terrible.
As for whether others were truly happy or not, at least Su Su was living quite contentedly. After coming to this era, her conditions had been very poor. There were no computers or televisions, which had been extremely frustrating. But over time, things gradually got better. Especially now, with Lin Chuan by her side, she felt like a young girl newly in love—her heart racing all the time, sometimes even wanting to strangle this straight-laced man in front of her. But overall, every day felt meaningful.
With so many boys in the Lin family, she could spend an entire day playing with them setting off firecrackers, then run back inside shivering from the cold.
Lin Chuan grabbed her hands and tucked them inside his clothes, saying, “Don’t run around like that with them. You can’t handle the cold.”
“We’re all human. Why are they not afraid of the cold at all?”
“They’re used to it.”
His wife was delicate—she could not be compared to those three rough boys.
The three boys saw their sister-in-law run inside and lost interest. They all rushed in, planning to play cards with their big brother, only to see their sister-in-law’s hands tucked inside their brother’s clothes…
The scene felt a bit strange. They did not quite understand it, but it felt awkward.
Lin Hai took the lead in running off. “I’ll go help make dinner.”
“We’ll go too.”
And just like that, they left Su Su behind, her hands stuck inside Lin Chuan’s clothes, unable to pull them out. Blushing furiously, she pinched him through his undershirt and said coquettishly, “Why are you so bad?”
“What’s bad about it?” Lin Chuan genuinely felt he was just keeping his wife from getting cold. Besides, putting hands inside clothes for warmth was not anything special—how was that bad? He even wanted to do worse things, but it was broad daylight, so he did not quite dare.
Before long, the sky outside darkened, and households began lighting lamps—small piles of kerosene set outside to illuminate the surroundings. If there was no wind, the flames could burn until midnight.
Lin Chuan understood all this, while Su Su could only watch from the side. In the city, festivals were nothing like this. People would just go out, stroll around, and look at lanterns.
After lighting the lamps, Lin Chuan lit candles inside the house. Normally, they were very frugal, but on the fifteenth of the first month, the candles had to burn all night.
Every household did this. No matter how frugal they were, they would still make sure their home was well lit.
The village, usually pitch dark at night, suddenly became bright.
Lin Chuan insisted on taking Su Su out. She followed him, and the two of them carried a handmade lotus-shaped kerosene lamp up the hill, then stood at a high point and looked down.
The entire small mountain village looked like countless glowing lights. Under the scattered lamps, its outline became visible. The lights shimmered, forming what looked like a winding dragon of fire.
“Wow, it’s so beautiful.” It was even more beautiful than modern lights. Su Su was completely mesmerised.
Suddenly, she was pulled into someone’s arms, her chin lifted.
“Mm, very beautiful.” Under the glow of the lights, Su Su looked so beautiful it made one want to bully her mercilessly. Lin Chuan hugged her, bent down, and kissed her deeply.
Both of them were inexperienced and did not understand much about such things. But once it lasted a little longer, they quickly found themselves drawn into it. Lin Chuan was exactly like that—before, he had only brushed lightly against her lips, but now he realised he had only ever tasted the surface.
Now he had discovered something far more intoxicating.
When she tried to pull away, he instinctively pinned her against a tree, one hand around her waist, the other holding the back of her head, continuing the kiss.
Su Su had never been overwhelmed like this before. In her daze, the small lamp in her hand fell to the ground. Fortunately, it was made of wood, so it did not go out. It continued to shine stubbornly, illuminating a small circle around the two people lost in their kiss.
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