Chapter 46: Such Beautiful Legs

Jiang Shi didn’t know how things had developed to this point.

He had originally planned to come and work. But in the end, though he had made it to the edge of the field, he was pushed down to sit on the grassy ridge under a tree.

There was very little wind today. The fir tree overhead swayed slightly. Jiang Shi took off his jacket and rolled up his pants, which were long enough to cover his shoes, revealing a pair of snow-white, straight legs.

Cheng Ye came out carrying a sack of corn, his gaze falling on Jiang Shi’s legs.

Jiang Shi didn’t notice him. He pulled an apple he had brought from home out of his pocket. It was a large apple. He wiped it on his clothes and took a bite.

Suddenly, there was a loud rustling sound from behind. He turned to see that the sack on Cheng Ye’s shoulder hadn’t been tied tightly, and several ears of corn had fallen out.

Cheng Ye was about to put down the sack when Jiang Shi quickly said, “I’ll get them.”

Without waiting for a response, he placed the apple on the grass beside him and stood up to walk over.

Cheng Ye watched as those legs were once again covered by fabric, his eyes darkening slightly.

Jiang Shi squatted on the ground, holding several ears of corn in his arms. He looked up at the unmoving Cheng Ye with a puzzled expression. “I can pick them up. What are you just standing there for? Aren’t you tired?”

Cheng Ye tightened his grip on the sack on his shoulder. “It’s fine.”

Jiang Shi carefully stood up with the corn. “Let’s go, let’s go…”

Cheng Ye followed behind him.

Jiang Shi tossed the corn onto the pile by the roadside where the sacks were, then glanced into the cornfield behind him. “How much is left? Should I go in and help break some off?”

“No need.” Cheng Ye’s clothes were soaked with sweat, but his voice wasn’t breathless. “Almost done.”

He then looked up at the sky. Unknowingly, it was almost noon.

“Are you hungry?” he asked Jiang Shi.

Jiang Shi shook his head.

“Then let’s finish up before we go back. The field is too far away, it’ll save us a trip this afternoon.”

Jiang Xue also came out. She wasn’t as strong as Cheng Ye and only carried a small basket of corn. “It’s already noon, let’s go back and eat first. We still have to carry it all home after we’re done picking.”

Cheng Ye said, “I borrowed a tricycle. I have to return it this afternoon, so let’s get it all done in one go.”

Hearing there was a vehicle, Jiang Xue was delighted. Ignoring the heat, she dived back into the cornfield.

Cheng Ye wiped the sweat from his face and looked at Jiang Shi. “I’m thirsty.”

Jiang Shi froze for two seconds before he understood. “Then I’ll get you some water.”

Cheng Ye said, “Water is too bland, it has no taste.”

“…”

Considering how hard he had worked today, Jiang Shi tolerated it. “I also brought apples. Should I give you one?”

“It’s too big, I can’t finish it.”

“I’ll get a smaller one.”

“The small ones are also big…” Cheng Ye said casually. “I can’t finish that much. Jiang Shi, let me have a bite of the apple you were eating.”

Jiang Shi suspected he was doing this on purpose. “But I’ve already bitten it.”

Cheng Ye gave a faint “Mm,” and said, “I don’t mind.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

You don’t mind?

The young man pressed his lips together. Cheng Ye opportunely pulled at his shirt, revealing the red marks on his skin from the friction of the seventy- or eighty-jin sack.

He didn’t say anything, just quietly looked at Jiang Shi.

Jiang Shi couldn’t stand being looked at like that. He ran over and picked up the big apple he had taken two bites of and left on the grass.

He deliberately turned the unbitten side towards Cheng Ye. “Here, you can eat.”

Cheng Ye lowered his eyes. Under Jiang Shi’s urging gaze, he reached out and grabbed his wrist.

The heat made Jiang Shi flinch reflexively. The next second, his hand was pulled and turned around.

The bitten part of the apple was now facing Cheng Ye. He lowered his head and took a bite right where the gap was, swallowing it in two or three chews.

“Mm, it really quenches the thirst.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

After eating, Cheng Ye’s expression was as normal as ever. “I’m going back to work.”

The sun was getting hotter, and he was afraid Jiang Shi couldn’t take it. He had to hurry and finish picking the corn.

Cheng Ye bent over and entered the dense cornfield. There were only two sections left to pick. He was at one end, and Jiang Xue was at the other.

He had almost reached his destination when he heard a soft rustling sound behind him.

The sun had baked the corn leaves until they were brittle, snapping with just a touch. Cheng Ye turned his head. Jiang Shi was standing not far from him, reaching out two long, slender fingers to slowly break off the corn leaves blocking his path.

Cheng Ye’s brow furrowed. “Why did you come in here?”

Jiang Shi had put his jacket back on and pulled the hood over his head, revealing only half of his face.

“To help.”

He walked a little closer to Cheng Ye. “Didn’t you say there was only a little left? Many hands make light work. Let’s finish up quickly so we can go home and eat.”

Cheng Ye didn’t approve. Just as he was about to tell Jiang Shi to go back, he saw him look up with pleading eyes. “Cheng Ye, I’m hungry.”

Cheng Ye: “…”

Not even a wisp of wind could penetrate the dense cornfield. The sun beat down from above, making it stuffy and hot inside.

Jiang Shi reached out, grabbed an ear of corn, and pulled down hard, yanking off a large clump of husk and leaves.

Cheng Ye took the clump from him. Holding the stalk with one hand and the ear of corn with the other, there was a sharp crack, and the corn, with only a few leaves attached, came off.

He raised his arm and tossed the corn into a nearby sack. “That’s not how you do it.”

After saying this, he stood behind Jiang Shi, his tall frame enveloping him. He lowered his head, his warm breath falling on the back of Jiang Shi’s ear.

“Hold here with one hand, and grip the ear with the other. Feel for the joint inside, and then use force.”

Crack—

Another ear of corn with just a few leaves attached broke off.

Cheng Ye lowered his head. “Did you see how?”

Jiang Shi didn’t speak. The tips of his ears were a little red.

Cheng Ye chuckled, pressing closer. His bronze arms naturally wrapped around the waist in front of him. “Little Young Master, what were you just thinking about to get so distracted?”

He was covered in sweat and mud, and the smell was certainly not pleasant. The sun was high in the sky, and the dense cornstalks hid their close figures.

Jiang Shi looked down and saw the hands clasped around his waist, palms pressed against his stomach, their temperature even higher than the sun’s rays on his skin.

Behind him was Cheng Ye’s chest. He was wearing very little, and Jiang Shi could feel the elasticity of his muscles and the rise and fall of his breathing.

Jiang Shi reached back and gave a push. “I wasn’t thinking about anything. Can you move away? It’s hot.”

Instead of moving away, Cheng Ye pressed even closer. His gaze traveled down from Jiang Shi’s shoulder, seeing his straight legs standing in the field.

“Jiang Shi,” he said, “have you ever kissed in a cornfield?”

Jiang Shi was completely stunned. “Wh-what…”

Before he could react, Cheng Ye reached out and pinched his chin, making him turn his head up. Then, he leaned down.

The smell of sweat on him was too strong. He was drenched, his clothes and pants covered in mud. He pressed his grimy body against Jiang Shi, trying to pass on the messy mix of smells through their saliva.

Jiang Shi didn’t know when he had been turned around. In front of him was Cheng Ye’s chest, and behind him were cornstalks taller than himself.

The slightest movement from either of them caused the stalks to rustle loudly.

Jiang Shi had learned last time that Cheng Ye was a fierce kisser. It was as if his obedient demeanor was all a facade; only when he kissed did his true nature emerge.

He was like a dog that hadn’t eaten meat in eight hundred years, plundering and invading with all his might, as if wanting to swallow the very root of Jiang Shi’s tongue.

Saliva that couldn’t be swallowed in time trickled out, only to be licked away by Cheng Ye.

Jiang Shi reached out to pat his shoulder but was caught, Cheng Ye’s muddy fingers squeezing one by one between his own.

Cheng Ye hooked his tongue, kissing him until he couldn’t even hold his own saliva before reluctantly letting go. He kissed the upturned curve of his lips and finally pecked at the mole on the tip of his nose a few times.

Jiang Shi leaned against his chest, taking a long time to recover. When he looked up, a large ear of corn was dangling before his eyes.

“…”

From the side came the rustling sound of Jiang Xue picking corn.

Absurd. This was utterly absurd.

Cheng Ye was still leaning by his ear, asking, “Was it exciting?”

Jiang Shi’s lips were numb from the kiss. He couldn’t help but hit him. “Cheng Ye!”

Cheng Ye lowered his eyes, a look of sated satisfaction in them. All his aggressive energy was withdrawn, like a large dog that had retracted its claws.

“What’s wrong?”

You have the nerve to ask what’s wrong?

From the other side, Jiang Xue shouted, “Cheng Ye, I’m done over here! How much do you have left?”

Cheng Ye licked his lips in front of Jiang Shi, released his hands, and took two steps back. “Almost done.”

Jiang Xue’s hatted figure hurried over from the other side. “I’ll come help.”

As she got closer, she noticed Jiang Shi. “We can handle it, why did you come in too?” She paused for two seconds. “Why is your face so red?”

Jiang Shi pursed his lips and pulled the hat on his head as low as it would go. “The sun.”

…

With three people, the work went much faster. Jiang Shi lazily picked a few ears of corn before Cheng Ye and Jiang Xue finished the rest.

By the time they had carried all the picked and sacked corn from the field to the tricycle, it was almost two in the afternoon.

Jiang Shi held the back basket he had brought down in the morning, sweat on his face. He walked while pulling at his collar for air.

The tricycle was parked under a bamboo grove by the road. Cheng Ye swung his long legs over it and said to Jiang Shi behind the vehicle, “Get on, I’ll give you a ride back.”

Jiang Shi looked at the cargo bed filled with corn, then at Cheng Ye sitting in the front. “Where do I sit?”

Cheng Ye patted the vehicle’s railing behind him. “Sit inside.”

Jiang Xue, who was beside them, said, “You and Cheng Ye take the tricycle back first. I’m going to the field below to pick some vegetables.”

Jiang Shi looked at the vehicle full of corn. “How am I supposed to sit in this?”

Jiang Xue tossed the basket in her hand onto the vehicle. “Just climb on and sit. It’s only a few minutes. If you don’t ride, you’ll have to walk for over twenty minutes.”

Jiang Shi was about to collapse from the heat and definitely didn’t want to walk.

He hesitated for a long time before finally climbing on. He went behind Cheng Ye and grabbed the railing. “Do you have a license?”

Cheng Ye said, “No.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

He fell silent. Cheng Ye glanced back.

The young man had taken off his hat. His hair was damp with sweat and stuck to his forehead. The sweat on his face had dried, but his skin was red from the sun, and there was a gray smudge on his cheek, probably left by accident when he kissed him.

He looked incredibly pitiful.

“Hold on tight, we’re going home. Your life is much more important than mine. I wouldn’t joke about your safety.”

Jiang Shi had never ridden a tricycle before. This was his first time feeling the wind blow directly into his face.

Behind him was the heavy weight of their harvest. His body was exhausted, but his spirit felt full.

When they got home, Cheng Ye still had to unload the corn from the vehicle to dry. He was as strong as an ox, hoisting the sacks with ease.

Jiang Shi still remembered what happened in the cornfield and had no intention of helping him. He went straight to take a shower.

When he came out of the shower, Cheng Ye was also finished.

The yard was a field of golden yellow. Cheng Ye stood under the pear tree, lifting his tank top to wipe the sweat from his face. He looked up, and Jiang Shi, smelling fragrant, came out of the house.

The young man had changed out of his long clothes. Perhaps scared by the earlier heat, he was now wearing shorts that ended just above his knees.

Having just showered, his skin was so white it seemed to glow. The pair of legs that Cheng Ye had only briefly glimpsed in the cornfield appeared before him again.

Straight and well-proportioned.

Cheng Ye’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

Such beautiful legs. Perfect for being held and kissed, or for being placed on his body…

…to wrap around him.