Chapter 10

The lotus flower found it rather uninteresting, thinking to itself how much thinner Changsheng's skin was than that of a young maiden, and wondering how long this awkwardness would continue.

Lotus looked strange and somewhat worried, tugging at his arm and asking, "What’s wrong?"

At noon, Hehua went to the mountain to deliver lunch as usual. Passing by the well where several women were gathered, she saw them chatting animatedly, each speaking as if they had witnessed the events firsthand. They described last night's incident in vivid detail, as if Mrs. Chen and the lame Feng were still in bed together when everyone burst into the room. Hehua couldn't help but sneer coldly to herself and walked past the group nonchalantly, completely unnoticed as they were engrossed in their conversation.

Changsheng did not respond, still standing there with his head lowered, his hands tightly clenched into fists. He Lianhua thought he must be embarrassed, and it was not appropriate to say more, so she placed the pants on the kang head and went to the kitchen to boil water. When she returned with the warm water, she saw that Changsheng had already gotten into bed, completely wrapped in the quilt, covering himself tightly. The clean pair of pants remained neatly placed on the kang head, but there was no sign of the dirty pants. When she returned with the warm water, she saw that Changsheng had already gotten into bed, completely wrapped in the quilt, covering himself tightly. The clean pair of pants remained neatly placed on the kang head, but there was no sign of the dirty pants

Fourth Grandma furrowed her brows: "What is going on? He has been running to the toilet all morning?"

Changsheng lay motionless under the blanket, appearing as if he were asleep. Hehua softened her tone even further, gently coaxing as if speaking to a child: "It’s uncomfortable to sleep in pants; take them off and you’ll sleep more comfortably."

Upon entering the room, He Hua did not dare to light the lamp and simply said to Chang Sheng, "It's all right now, hurry and go to sleep." After saying this, she began to undress on her own. By the time she had taken off her outer garments, she noticed that Chang Sheng was still standing in the middle of the room, not moving an inch.

Ah... um..." The lotus flower responded vaguely, knowing that this matter could probably not be hidden from Fourth Aunt, and could only be concealed for as long as possible.

After breakfast, Fourth Aunt and Changsheng left one after another. Hehua finished tidying up and went back to the room to look for Changsheng's dirty pants. She searched everywhere she could think of but could not find them. She searched all morning and finally discovered the dirty pants in the toilet, soaked in filth and in a terrible state.

Still receiving no response, Hehua anxiously hurried to turn on the lights in the room. Changsheng stood straight in front of her, his head lowered, motionless and silent. Just as Hehua was about to ask in a panic, her gaze inadvertently shifted and she noticed the situation: Changsheng's crotch was wet, connected to his pant leg.

Changsheng hurriedly ran into the forest again, and Hehua quietly followed behind. She hid behind a large rock, watching from a distance, and saw Changsheng run to the base of a big tree, standing with his back to her. It seemed he was about to burst as he unbuttoned his pants to relieve himself, but after standing there for quite a while, there was no movement.

Over there, the lotus flowers stretch their necks to look around, while here, Changsheng is staring blankly at his own belongings with his head lowered, seemingly reluctant as he clenches and shakes them, yet still finds nothing. He purses his lips and waits for a while longer, ultimately taking his time to pull up his pants.

As usual, Hehua spent the afternoon with Changsheng on the mountain. Changsheng, just like in the morning, occasionally put down his things and dashed into the nearby dense forest to relieve himself. After several times, Hehua couldn't help but worry, thinking that he hadn't had a sip of water from morning until now, so where could all that urine come from

Fourth grandmother was unaware of the reason behind it and did not investigate further. She merely remarked, "In the future, do not let him drink so much water at night; it is not good for his health. As the weather is getting colder, it is easy to catch a chill when getting up at night to relieve oneself"

The lotus flower stepped forward and said: "I noticed that we still have a little bit of white flour at home. How about we have a nice meal tonight and eat steamed buns made from white flour?"

The next morning, Hehua searched the house thoroughly but still could not find any trace of the pants. She casually asked, "Where did you take off the pants?"

Regardless of what Hehua said, Changsheng remained silent. Hehua thought that he must be feeling quite embarrassed at this moment, and it seemed he was too shy to speak with her. If she were to say anything more, it might provoke him into a fit of anger out of shame. Therefore, she did not dare to persuade him further, and simply turned off the lamp and climbed onto the kang to lie down. However, she could not allow him to sleep in his wet pants. After lying quietly for a while, and estimating that Changsheng was indeed asleep, she quietly sat up and cautiously lifted his quilt, intending to help him take off his pants while he was asleep. Just as she lifted one edge of the quilt, Changsheng curled up like a startled piglet, trying to hide away. He tugged at the quilt with all his might, wrapping himself up like a large silkworm cocoon, pressing tightly against the wall. But she could not let him sleep in his wet pants like this. After lying quietly for a while, and estimating that Changsheng was indeed asleep, she quietly sat up and cautiously lifted his quilt, intending to help him take off his pants while he was asleep. Just as she lifted one edge of the quilt, Changsheng curled up like a startled piglet, trying to hide away. He tugged at the quilt with all his might, wrapping himself up like a large silkworm cocoon, pressing tightly against the wall.

Lotus quickly turned around and left, returning to the open space to pretend to work. When she saw Changsheng coming out of the woods, she looked up and smiled at him, making small talk by asking, "What do you want to eat tonight?"

The lotus did not dare to move again, but she had only lifted a small corner and saw that Changsheng was bare-legged and not wearing any pants. She thought that perhaps she had overlooked it, but then again, even if Changsheng was foolish and shy, he could not possibly sleep in wet pants

"What are you doing? Sleeping," He Hua asked in doubt

Changsheng did not respond, and the lotus flower remarked: "Take off your pants, and I will wash them for you..."

Lotus let out a sigh of relief, glancing at Changsheng instinctively. She had forgotten to remind him to keep the secret yesterday, and she feared that he might suddenly expose her now in his dazed state. Just as her gaze landed on him, she saw Changsheng suddenly put down his bowl and chopsticks, stand up, and rush out of the room, hurrying straight into the toilet

Changsheng remained silent, squatting on the ground with a small four-toothed hoe, digging up weeds

Uh... it was probably because I drank too much water last night..." He Hua replied casually, but could not help feeling worried. She thought that Changsheng must have been holding it in for a long time and had no choice but to wet his pants. After all, wetting one's pants is not a big deal, as long as it doesn't lead to any problems. With this thought, she couldn't help but feel guilty, knowing that if she hadn't instructed Changsheng not to move, he wouldn't have ended up like this.

Changsheng remained silent as before

"Hmm, understood," the lotus flower replied absentmindedly while gazing at the toilet.

The lotus flower, no matter how frugal it is in living, cannot reach into the latrine to fish out the trousers. Even if it had the courage to do so, it would be unable to bear washing them clean for Changsheng to continue wearing. It can probably understand Changsheng's feelings, but unfortunately, a good pair of trousers has been ruined; that was the only pair he had without patches. It thought that when the New Year market comes, it would use the little bit of pocket money it had saved to buy some new fabric for Changsheng, to make him a new pair of trousers, after all, he had done all this to help her.

An awkward silence ensued, and Hehua took a moment to react, fearing that Changsheng might feel uncomfortable. She quickly put on a casual demeanor and said, "It's nothing... nothing at all..." While speaking, she took a pair of pants from the cabinet and handed them to him, saying, "You should change into a clean pair first, and I will get you some water to wash up..."

"Stop standing there foolishly, hurry up!" He Hua pulled Chang Sheng's arm and ran, secretly relieved that no one had noticed them. Chang Sheng said nothing, like a wooden puppet, being dragged home by He Hua.

The lotus flower gazed at Changsheng, thinking that he must be embarrassed and hiding it away. With a helpless pout, she thought to herself that those pants were stained with urine, and the foul smell would surely make them easy to find

She waited at the door with Changsheng for a while, and seeing that there was indeed nothing unusual, she mustered her courage to pull Changsheng into the courtyard, quietly secured the courtyard door, and led Changsheng back to their room.

The lotus flower gently pushed open the courtyard door, peeking inside to check for any movement. Seeing that the lights in Fourth Aunt's room were still off, she let out a slight sigh of relief, yet her heart remained uneasy. In the dead of night, with dogs barking and gongs sounding, Fourth Aunt must have heard the commotion, but she was not one to seek out excitement and would likely not get up to investigate. Moreover, she would not suspect that this disturbance had anything to do with her and Changsheng.

During breakfast, Fourth Aunt casually mentioned the barking of dogs and the sound of gongs from the night before, only asking if Hehua had heard them.

Fourth Grandma said: "Did you hear that? Why is there no commotion in your house?"

He Lian had gone to the restroom many times this morning, and she saw him going in and out repeatedly, each time staying for quite a while. She even suspected that he might actually have an upset stomach, but she did not dare to ask, fearing it would embarrass him. However, judging by his complexion, he did not seem to be suffering from diarrhea.

Changsheng ignored the lotus flowers, yet stood up and walked away, moving to a farther place to squat and work.

Changsheng stood there with his head down, as if his soul had been captured and he could not hear. The room was dark, and the two had just engaged in a back-to-back act. Hehua could not help but feel a bit guilty and said, "Don't scare me, what's wrong? Speak up!"

The lotus only pretends to be idle: "In the middle of the night, sleeping soundly, I am too lazy to move... I hear that noise; it could be that some family is being robbed while their water is running. Even if I go like this, I wouldn't be able to help much..."

Grandma Si nodded slightly, saying no more, seemingly convinced by Hehua's words

The lotus placed the basin of water on the table, leaned close to the edge of the kang, and whispered: "Changsheng, I have brought warm water for you to wash up..."

Changsheng was seriously folding the quilt, completely ignoring her