Otherworldly Space: A Tale of Love and Growth

“Did you know there was a trap here all along and tricked me into jumping in?” Song Ci accused.

Lin Xiaohe clammed up.

“Did you or not?” Seeing Lin Xiaohe’s silence, Song Ci pressed on, not willing to let the matter rest.

“It was clearly just bad luck on your part that you fell in. What does that have to do with me? You can’t accuse me just because I won’t pull you out,” Lin Xiaohe said, his voice lacking confidence as he kept his head down. He vaguely remembered that during the drought a few years ago, to prevent wild animals from coming down to the village, the village head had asked Zheng Fang to set traps at the foot of the mountain. The outer traps had been dismantled, but he didn’t know the exact locations of the inner ones. He hadn’t expected Song Ergou to be so unlucky.

The rabbit hadn’t fallen in; he had.

Isn’t that just his bad luck?

And he had merely known about it without warning Song Ergou. It was just a case of failing to report what he knew. There was no deception involved; it was just a little joke.

“Humph, you always bully me. This must be the punishment the heavens have given you for your actions,” Lin Xiaohe’s voice trailed off.

“Didn’t we already put that matter behind us?” Hearing Lin Xiaohe mention him bullying him, Song Ci thought Lin Xiaohe was still upset about the trouble the original body had caused on his first day here.

Was he really that bothered by it? Was this emotional knot really so hard to untie?

Song Ci propped himself up against the wall of the pit, stepped on the small footholds on the trap’s wall, and leaned his upper body out of the trap. He grabbed Lin Xiaohe’s leg, who was standing by the edge of the trap and too guilty to look at him.

“Ah, what are you doing?” Lin Xiaohe screamed in fright. Then, in a whirl of dizziness, he fell into the pit where Song Ci was. By some strange coincidence, he landed right in someone’s arms.

“Of course, we share both good fortune and adversity,” Song Ci smiled at Lin Xiaohe.

Lin Xiaohe shuddered.

A pit that was spacious enough for one person became quite cramped with two.

Lin Xiaohe struggled to get out of Song Ci’s embrace, only to be held tighter. In his panic, Song Ci’s face accidentally took another punch from Lin Xiaohe.

Song Ci had almost grown accustomed to it, and it didn’t hurt at all, really!

“Don’t move.”

Song Ci pinned the person in his arms, rested his head on Lin Xiaohe’s shoulder, and began to narrate in a calm tone.

“Once upon a time, there was a little rascal. His family was very well-off. As a child, he was a clever, quick-witted, and exceptionally intelligent boy who learned everything very quickly. When he was seven, his five-year-old younger sister passed away. His parents, now with only him as their precious child, spoiled him even more. He could ask for the stars and not be given the moon; if he wanted meat, there would never be pickles on the table.”

“Then, the little fellow got to know some bad people and started to cause trouble with them, turning into a little rascal. Although he hadn’t done anything seriously wrong, his behavior was quite annoying. His parents, uncles, aunts, and cousins all worried about him. Even after his father passed away, the little rascal didn’t change his ways. But in his heart, he had always liked someone.”

“That person was the most beautiful young man in their village. However, the young man’s father had fallen ill from the corvée labor in the past and only had him as his child. To continue the family line, they had to find a son-in-law by marriage for the young man. The little rascal knew that no matter how much he liked the most beautiful young man in the village, he could never marry him. He was extremely upset about it.”

“The little rascal hung out with a group of big rascals. Among them was a man named Zhang Da, whose mother had died early, and his father had remarried. It’s said that with a stepmother comes a stepfather. Zhang Da was like an invisible person at home. After his stepmother gave birth to a son, he became even more redundant in the family, often going hungry. At a young age, he started to mix with the group of big rascals.”

“One day, when they were out drinking, Zhang Da said he wanted to be the son-in-law by marriage for the most beautiful young man in the village. The little rascal became anxious. He still had his own mother at home and didn’t even have the资格 to be a son-in-law. Although the little rascal was a bit naive, he still cared about his mother and thought about supporting her in her old age. Then he heard the group of rascals mock Zhang Da, saying that the young man wouldn’t want him, and even if he were a son-in-law, he definitely wouldn’t accept someone who was a thief. Then someone said, ‘Once the rice is cooked, won’t the young man be devoted to you?'”

“Later, the little rascal had an idea. He took the beautiful young man to the bushes in the wilderness and wanted to take advantage of him. But when he saw the young man crying so pitifully, he couldn’t bear to do it. He decided to change his approach and pursue the most beautiful young man in the village. Then, the little rascal changed. He stopped hanging out with the rascals because the young man’s parents wouldn’t let their son marry a rascal.”

“Later, he followed his own mother to work in the fields every day and figured out how to set traps to make money. He would send the food he made by hand to the young man every day, make the young man happy, and give him the game he caught. Anything the young man wanted, the little rascal wished he could give it all to him. He now felt that the young man liked him a bit, but he was still afraid that the young man would mind the naughty things he had done before and wouldn’t forgive him.”

“The little rascal wanted to ask the young man if he could be with him if he changed in the future.”

Song Ci embellished many details of the story, especially the image of Song Ergou. The Song Ergou who only wanted to take advantage never really thought about what would happen to Lin Xiaohe after he got him. Of course, Song Ci also selectively ignored the foolish things he did on the first day he came here, such as wanting to have a private relationship with Lin Xiaohe and promising to find him a wife when he got tired of him. Those nonsensical words.

Lin Xiaohe listened attentively from the moment Song Ci started telling the story.

He knew that the little rascal in the story was Song Ergou, the most beautiful young man in the village was him, and Zhang Da was the eldest son of Zhang Lao San, Zhang Tian, whose background was as Song Ergou described. However, after he became a rascal, he started to gang up with his group of rascal friends to torment his own father and stepmother, as well as the brother born to his stepmother, causing great unrest in his father’s family. Naturally, his family would not dare to accept such a person. If they accidentally offended him, they didn’t know what he might do to their father and mother.

“When my father and mother grow old and can’t work anymore, will you really take care of them and adopt a child for the Lin family?”

“Since I have promised you, I will definitely keep my word. I will support your father and mother with you and also adopt a son for your family. If you don’t believe me, I can swear. If I, Song Ci, tell a lie to Lin Xiaohe today, may I be childless and meet a bad end.”

Hearing Song Ci make such a severe oath, Lin Xiaohe became anxious. In ancient times, people took oaths very seriously. Lin Xiaohe now completely believed that Song Ci liked him. However, making such a severe oath, what if it really came true?

“Why are you doing this? Why make such a severe oath out of the blue? Are you trying to make me feel guilty, to make me feel heartbroken for you?” As Lin Xiaohe spoke, tears began to flow.

Where has he ever seen someone bully him like this, as if not agreeing with him would be a heinous crime.

Upon hearing Lin Xiaohe’s words, Song Ci’s heart melted. He quickly embraced Lin Xiaohe’s shoulders and comforted him, “Don’t worry, don’t worry. As long as I keep my promise, nothing bad will happen.”

Lin Xiaohe initially agreed to interact with Song Ergou partly because he felt he had a hold over him and had no choice but to comply. On the other hand, he had genuinely wanted to take a gamble, hoping for a real relationship.

If one could truly marry someone who loved and cared for them, who would willingly become a son-in-law by marriage?

However, reality is often cold and cruel.

“Will your mother agree?” Lin Xiaohe asked, his voice choked with emotion.

Song Ci paused for a moment, then assured him, “I will persuade my mother.”