Chapter 4

• When he raised his head to look up, their gazes met, and at the same time, a shiver ran through their entire bodies. There was a strong sensation like an electric shock; the two of them had fallen in love at first sight. The girl’s pure and clear gaze had Yang Yu completely taken. That yearning and innocent gaze of hers was identical to the gaze that he had when his first love bloomed.
• But that was five, six years ago. Ever since his first love, Yang Yu had never experienced that electrifying feeling again.
• The two of them froze for a full several minutes, neither of them wanting to break their own gaze away first. Nothing could possibly overcome the beauty of such a moment.
• The girl’s face had already long since reddened to a burning crimson, her cheeks entirely flaming red. Is this how it felt to have a connection with another? The girl shyly ducked her head, not daring to look back up to see Yang Yu’s face.
• It was then that Yang Yu finally gathered his wits back. Just what kind of place on earth is Dame Bather Village? Why does it have so many beautiful ladies? He assessed the girl. She was about sixteen or so, with skin as cool as jade and as pale and delicate as snow. The feeling of youth, associated with young girls, emanated from her. She was shorter than him by a head, but she was still at least 165 cm or so.
• The clothes that the girl had been carrying were scattered all over the ground from when Yang Yu bumped into her. She only remembered about them after her bout of shyness dissolved away, immediately crouching down to gather the clothes.
• Yang Yu frantically apologized to her, and crouched down as well to help her pick up the clothes. The girl kept her head lowered, still not daring to look at him. However, there was a slight smile on her face. Yang Yu himself smiled as well.
• Right then, a middle-aged woman walked out from the house. She was in her early forties, but she was graceful, and had an especially mature air around her. Upon seeing the clothes littering the ground, she asked, “What is going on?”
• Yang Yu looked up in her direction, only to find this village lady familiar. Was this not his own aunt? He was suddenly shocked. This aunt was barely any different from how she looked ten years ago. His aunt had married young, and at the age of 19, she already had his elder cousin. Now that she was 41, there was not a single hint of the yellowed haggardness that was typical of a woman in her forties. On the contrary, her face was beautiful like a flower. With her fine and delicate features, she looked more like a young lady in her twenties.
• “Auntie Si?”
• That call of ‘auntie’ had both mother and daughter frozen on the spot. His aunt eyed him for a few moments, furrowing her brows. Eventually, the dots finally connected themselves suddenly. “Yu?”
• His aunt hurried over to examine Yang Yu from top to toe. She seemed to be excited as she touched his pectorals and face, before she finally spoke, “You were still a little chubby boy the last time I saw you. You’re so tall and handsome now.”
• “You’re looking younger and younger too,” Yang Yu complimented her. He was speaking the truth.
• “You’re really quite the sweet talker.” Si Xiaoyun chuckled before turning her head to look at the girl. The girl was rooted to the spot as she discreetly looked at Yang Yu, lost in her admiration. “What are you standing around for, Yunxi? Hurry up and greet your elder cousin!”
• “Elder cousin?” Yunxi was taken aback. She had not imagined that the dashing young man before her was her own elder cousin.
• “Cousin?” Yang Yu had not anticipated that the little creature before him who had him so enamored was his own younger cousin.
• Yunxi pressed her lips together into a small smile. With her head lowered, she ran to the riverside with the clothes in her arms. However, there was unbridled happiness within her.
• “Hurry and get into the house to wash up. We’re eating dinner soon.” Yang Yu’s aunt grabbed his hand and began to take him into the house. As she did so, she regaled him ceaselessly of past happenings. Yang Yu could only nod along; even he could not remember those past incidents anymore.
• Yang Yu’s aunt’s house was a large one. Villages were not lacking when it came to land, so the houses here were massive. His aunt’s house was built nearly 20 years ago. It was rather old, its cement walls riddled with pits and dents, and patches where those pockmarks had been filled.
• There were a few rooms on each floor. The first floor contained a kitchen, a dining table, a storeroom for miscellaneous items, and the bedroom that his aunt and her husband shared.
• The second floor had a storage room where they kept their food supplies and three bedrooms for each of the three sisters. There was even a loft on the third floor. The ceiling of the loft was rather low, and it had a window. Right now, it was vacated. Outside, there was a ladder which connected to the roof outside and a small balcony which was normally used only when they needed to dry out some food.
• In front of the house was a small yard, where two pomelo trees were planted. To the left was a water pump and a washroom. Since the toilet was quite a distance away, it was rather inconvenient whenever the sisters got up in the middle of the night to use it. To the right was an orchard which was filled with vegetables. There was a small pond in the backyard, where the family reared fish.
• “Are Uncle and the others not here?” So far, Yang Yu had only seen his aunt and his youngest cousin. Since he did not know where the others were, he decided to bring it up.
• “Your uncle went up to the mountains to work. He should be back soon. Your older cousin is shut up in her room. You can go see her once you’ve taken a bath. As for your other younger cousin, she went over to the neighboring village for an errand, so she might not make it back tonight. And you’ve seen your youngest cousin already.” As Yang Yu’s aunt spoke, she dragged Yang Yu towards the left past the back door.
• “You take your bath here!” Yang Yu’s aunt pointed at the empty space on the left. There was running water here, along with a cement board used for washing clothes.
• “Here? Isn’t this out in the open?” He had some misgivings about this. He may be a grown man, but did this place not have a washroom?
• “What are you afraid of? You’re an adult man. That’s how all of us here bathe. Get your clothes off. I’ll help you wash.”
• Help me? Yang Yu did not hear anything else. All he heard was those two words. How could he let his aunt help him bathe? Besides, he was already 21 years old. If this were to get out, he would never be able to live it down.
• “Auntie, isn’t this inappropriate?” Yang Yu was somewhat uneasy about this. He was already a grown man so how could he let his aunt bathe him?
• “Oh look, you’re already shy. Didn’t you use to bathe together with me when you were a kid? Have I not seen and touched any part of you?” His aunt joked.
• “It wasn’t a big deal as a kid, but I’m an adult now.” Yang Yu rubbed the back of his head and gave a small smile, but it was not because he was being bashful.
• Even so, Yang Yu’s aunt did not heed his words. In her eyes, Yang Yu was still her child. Whether he had already grown up or not, it made no difference. She reached out her hands to help Yang Yu take his clothes off, and his strong, sturdy body was exposed with nary a spot uncovered. Yang Yu was 182 cm tall, and he was even a sports student in high school, which led to him developing a muscular and sturdy body.
• These beautiful muscles made Yang Yu’s aunt feel a little panicked. She had never set eyes on such a gorgeous male body before. The village women were very conservative, so Yang Yu’s aunt had never looked at another man’s body before in her life.
• Auntie Si did not give this more thought. After all, she was rather a 41 year-old woman, how could she think of her elder sister’s son like that? Would that not be going against societal morals?
• Yang Yu mulled it over. Since it was his aunt, and he did use to bathe with her when he was a child, he slowly began to warm up to the idea. With that, he pulled his pants down. Perhaps he had pulled them down a little too forcefully, because when he yanked his pants down, his underwear was pulled down along with his pants. He had only wanted to take off his trousers, but since he had gone into the pool earlier, his underwear had stuck to his pants as well.
• Abruptly, that thing on the lower half of his body stood to attention.
• All of this could be clearly seen by his aunt, who was standing before him. She had never seen another man’s privates in her life other than her husband’s. She had always thought all men’s members looked the same, but it was only when she saw Yang Yu’s one that she realized that her husband’s member was practically a worm.
• Realizing that he had made a faux pas, Yang Yu hurried to cover it and glanced at his aunt. All he saw was his aunt’s reddened face. At some point or other, her chest had begun to heave. When she saw Yang Yu looking her way, she felt unbelievably embarrassed.
• “You rascal, how dare you bully your aunt like that? Go bathe yourself.” With that, she tossed the shirt in her hand and left. Yang Yu froze, thinking that he was done for. Oh man, how could I pull my underwear down too? My aunt must definitely have gotten the wrong idea now.
• Yang Yu’s aunt’s heart was pounding furiously. Even she did not know the reason why. Ever since she married and bore three children, she had not thought much about things. All she thought of was raising her three children. However, it was the cold hard truth that 40 year-old women were ferocious in their wants, and her husband, who was nearing 50, was long past his prime and had become a shriveled husk of a man.
• Once Yang Yu was done with his bath, his aunt’s husband had already returned from the mountains. To him, his uncle looked obviously far older than his aunt, perhaps due to the stresses of life. His youngest cousin had already returned from finishing her washing duties. When she saw Yang Yu putting his clothes on that strong, healthy body of his, she sneaked a look, and with that, she scampered off with a bounce in her steps to hang her washing to dry.
• “Yu, go upstairs and call your cousin for dinner. This girl, she really is becoming more useless as she becomes older.”
• Yang Yu had played with his elder cousin when they were children. She was called Yuanxi, and she was older than him by a year. Back then, they were as thick as thieves, but in a blink of an eye, ten years had passed. His cousin had probably grown up to be a graceful woman now.
• Yang Yu went up to the second floor and knocked on her door. Just as he was about to open his mouth, a yell rang out from the room.
• “I will not, absolutely will not, definitely absolutely will not marry that idiot.”
• Yang Yu was confused at those words. Marriage? Idiot? “Yuanxi, it’s me, your cousin Yang Yu.”
• “Yang Yu? My cousin?” The person inside the room repeated his name. He heard the sound of footsteps coming, and then the door opened, his gorgeous cousin entering his sight. Yang Yu’s older cousin was tall and slim. She was definitely 170 cm tall, and looked significantly more mature than her youngest sister. So it was true that all girls became stunning once they had grown into women. Ten years ago, his cousin had herded calves in this village, but now, not only was she an elegant, graceful woman, her body was like that of a model’s. Who knew just how many men had salivated over her?
• All three sisters’ beauty came from their mother. When Yang Yu’s aunt was younger, she was by far the most well-known beauty for miles around. But, somehow or other, she ended up marrying a tramp of man.
• That was how these three sisters became famed beauties in their village. Scores of men had tried to court them. Take his elder cousin for example: the old matchmakers probably were close to ruining the doorsill to the house because of her.
• “It really is you, Yu, hehe.” When she saw Yang Yu, Yuanxi’s sour expression immediately transformed into one of delight. She immediately leaped at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. There was a difference of 8 cm in height between them, and since the two of them were tall and slender, they did look quite like a couple.
• His cousin hugged him tightly, perhaps because they had not seen each other in ages. Those two full mounds of hers pressed tightly against Yang Yu’s chest, making him unable to catch his breath. Judging from how they felt, he figured that they were not exactly small.
• Even if she was not a D cup, she was probably at least a C. Besides, it seemed like she was not wearing a bra. Yang Yu was at a loss with this. Naturally, his body reacted to being hugged and pressed on like this.
• Yuanxi had certainly not seen that cousin of hers in years. They were very close as kids, and back then, during summer break, Yang Yu would stay with her family for two months. The two of them would romp around the village, catching crabs, playing hide and seek, swimming, and so on. How happy those halcyon days were! But, in a blink of an eye, her cousin was already an adult.
• Moreover, Yuanxi had been rather frustrated lately because no one understood her. They did not understand why she was against her own marriage.
• So when she saw her cousin from those bygone days, it was like she had gained an ally in battle. She was naturally well and utterly overjoyed, so she went to hug him without a concern, not anticipating that particular body part of her cousin’s to react and poke against her belly. How could she not notice that?
• She immediately shoved Yang Yu away and shot a dirty glare at him.
• “What were you saying earlier about marriage?” Yang Yu rushed to change the topic. Would that not make Yang Yu a person with no shame, to behave so unmannerly and uncouthly towards his cousin?
• “Don’t talk about it. My dad wants me to marry that idiot from the village over. I compltely refuse! He’s ugly and stupid.” Yang Yu’s cousin pouted, anger roiling in her belly as she sat on her bed with a ‘thump’.
• “People can marry whoever they want now. If you don’t like him, no one will force you to. I support you.” Yang Yu had gone through higher education after all, and they live in a modern society now; there were no places where you could not freely marry. Yang Yu, of course, was a person who valued freedom highly.
• Hearing her cousin speak like that, Yuanxi became even bolder. Her interest towards him piqued even more. And besides, the cousin in front of her was no longer the little chubby boy from her childhood, but a handsome man.
• “You’re the one who said it, so you gotta help me settle this. I’ll leave you to it.” His cousin chuckled. Her mood was greatly improved just with those few exchanges with him.
• “That’ll depend on what you can give me.” Yang Yu deliberately teased her.
• “Alright, I’ll give you anything when the time comes!” Seeing this as a joke, Yuanxi played along with her cousin.
• “Haha, you sure you’ll give me anything?” Yang Yu purposely put on an evil smile and wiggled his brows, looking like a person with less than savory intentions. Anyone could see that there was another meaning hidden within his words, a more basal meaning.
• “Just what is in that gutter that you call a mind? Okay, that’s enough. Let’s go down to eat.” With that, she took Yang Yu’s hand and began to drag him down the stairs. Yang Yu was obviously over the moon with this.
• Yang Yu’s uncle was already sitting at the dinner table with an grave look on his face, as if someone owed him a humongous debt. When he saw Yuanxi descend, he immediately opened his mouth to scold her, “Even if you refuse to marry, you’re still going to marry anyway. What’s wrong with that idiot? His old man is a rich man in the next village. If you married him, you’d be able to eat and drink all you want. What’s bad about that?”
• “He’s stupid, I don’t like him! I won’t marry him!” Yuanxi sat on her stool with a ‘thump’. Having suffered such humiliation, her anger was already showing on her face.
• “We’ve already accepted the bride price. The money’s already been used to buy fish fry for the pond. His father is coming next month!” Yang Yu’s uncle slammed a hand onto the table, spittle flying from his mouth.
• Initially, Yang Yu thought of intervening, but when he saw the ferocious look on his uncle’s face, he shoved all the words he wanted to say back down. His cousin shot a glare at him.
• “If you want me to marry him so badly, then go marry him yourself.” Yuanxi rebutted her father and without even touching her food, she got up and simply went straight back upstairs.
• “You’re not worth keeping around now that you’re older! You think you’re being rebellious?” Yang Yu’s uncle was so apoplectic with rage that he was panting, his entire face an angry red.
• Their meal was eaten in utmost silence. The youngest sister kept her head low, not daring to say a word. All she did was eat her food. She was not sure whether she would share her sister’s fate once she was older. Yang Yu’s aunt told her husband off before she went upstairs to call for her daughter, but she shut herself in her bedroom, completely unwilling to come down for dinner.
• Seems like every family had their own skeletons in their closet. This saying was indeed true.
• “Your nephew has seen how much of a temper you have already,” said Yang Yu’s aunt with a laugh as she looked at Yang Yu. Just as Yang Yu was about to say that it was alright due to them being family, his uncle suddenly asked, “Where are you going to stay? Did the school make arrangements?”
• “Of course he’s going to stay with us. How is that rundown school suitable to live in? Besides, what about meals? Look at what you’re saying!” Yang Yu’s aunt immediately shot back at him.
• “One more useless mouth to feed!” Yang Yu’s uncle was not the slightest bit welcoming towards him. On the contrary, he treated Yang Yu with such coldness, it put Yang Yu right on an awkward spot. It seemed like he would not be able to stay at his aunt’s place for long, and he would not be able to ask for a transfer any time soon. It looked like if he wanted to be able to make it here in the long run, he would have to depend on himself.
• “How could you say that？He's my sister’s son!” Yang Yu’s aunt scolded her husband, and then she turned around to smile at Yang Yu. “Don’t take his words to heart, he’s always like that.”