263 Not Afraid
Zhai Jing wanted to say that he wasnât afraid.
When he was young, his family was poor. To save some rent, his mother had brought him to live in the countryside for two years.
There wasnât much in the countryside except for vegetation, insects, and snakes. Especially in March and April every year, animals that had hibernated for a few months would run out to find food and let out the wind when spring was warm. Therefore, snakes could occasionally be seen in the wild.
At that time, the firefighting wasnât as good as it was now. The villagers werenât so afraid of snakes. Some brave children would even join forces to catch snakes and sell them for money.
Zhai Jingâs family was short of money too, so he had followed them to catch the snakes a few times. Later on, he only stopped because his mother was worried that he would be bitten by a snake.
With this experience, Zhai Jing was indeed not afraid of snakes. However, he had just comforted Le Wan and said that he was afraid too. He couldnât go back on his words now and could only continue to talk nonsense.
âI was pretending.â
Seeing him admit it so bluntly, Second Brother Le shrugged his shoulders and lost interest in teasing him.
Papa Le was even more upset. It wasnât easy to get a fish to bite, and he was just complaining that he had caught a hairtail, but it wasnât even a fish, but a sea snake!
This was a huge blow to him.
Papa Le threw down the fishing rod dejectedly.
âIt seems that the sea goddess has despised me, an old man with rough skin and thick flesh, after seeing me. So sheâs deliberately mocking me.â
Mama Le didnât expect things to turn out so dramatically. She gave Le Wan a look and asked her to comfort Papa Le.
Le Wan had no choice but to bring Papa Le to the place where she had just cast the fishing line.
âI think that the position over there is wrong. Come over to my side and try. Maybe you can catch it.â
When Papa Le heard her words and looked at the fishing line that was still tied to the nail, he was a little tempted.
âShould I try again?â
âDad, I donât think youâre lucky today. Why donât you let me try?â Second Brother Le took the opportunity to say.
Papa Le was still a little hesitant at first, but after being provoked by him, his desire to win was ignited again.
âBaby said to give the position to me, not to you. What are you so excited about?â After saying that, he put his stool on the ground, took the fishing rod, and sat down.
Second Brother Le didnât care about him at all. He couldnât leave empty-handed today anyway, so he also took a small stool and sat down next to him.
Papa Le immediately shooed him away.
âWhat are you doing here? Youâre going to scare my fish away.â
Second Brother Le retorted sarcastically,
âYouâll have to find a fish to bite your hook first.â
Hence, the father and son started to bicker and bet on who could catch the first fish.
Le Wan and Mama Le exchanged helpless glances.
âForget it, just let the father and son fight,â Mama Le said.
With his son playing with him, Papa Le didnât have time to worry about his emotions. It also saved her the trouble of paying attention to his mental state and racking her brains to comfort him.
When she saw Le Wan and Zhai Jing standing next to each other, she shifted her gaze away with some jealousy.
âThatâs enough. You two donât have to stand here as if youâre being punished. Go and play whatever you want to play. The sun is too hot. Iâll go back to the cabin to drink some water and rest for a while. Iâll also go to the kitchen to see how youâre going to deal with the salmon and yellow croaker you caught and see if they can be eaten for lunch.â
When Le Wan heard the word âfoodâ, she immediately raised her hand and said,
âI want to eat three yellow croaker sashimi and dry-fried big yellow croaker.â
Mama Le noted down the menu and looked at Zhai Jing.
âZhai Jing, What would you like to eat?â
Zhai Jing had been with the Le family for almost two days and knew that they were not people who liked to be polite, so he hesitated for a while and said directly,
âI think pan-fried salmon is pretty good too.â
As expected, Mama Le didnât mind and agreed,
âI also think pan-fried salmon is delicious.â
After Mama Le went back to the cabin, Zhai Jing asked Le Wan,
âDo you still want to continue fishing?â
Le Wan quickly shook her head. She didnât expect theyâll catch a sea snake while fishing. This was too scary. What if she caught a sea snake later?
She looked at Zhai Jing.
âActually, youâre not afraid of snakes. You were just trying to coax me, right?â
Zhai Jing was a little surprised.
âHow did you find out?â
Le Wan turned away in embarrassment.
âI knew it.â
When she had snuggled into Zhai Jingâs arms, her ear had been pressed against his chest.
If Zhai Jing was afraid of snakes, his heart would have already started beating faster. It wouldnât have only started beating faster after she snuggled into his arms.