He is Lovestruck in the Revenge

Chapter 314: 307: Extra: if route grand reunion 2 Chapter 314: 307: Extra: if route grand reunion 2 Fragrant City was not only famous for its flowers but also its fruit production. Thanks to its geographical advantages, the valencia oranges from Wind Town were quite renowned, and there was a very large valencia orange tree behind the red house halfway up the hill.

The winters here weren’t very cold, and the sunlight was warm. Taking advantage of the good weather, the old man moved a ladder outside to pick the fruit. The higher the fruit, the sweeter it was, but the higher branches were hard to reach. He was afraid of damaging the fruit by knocking them down with a bamboo stick, so he climbed as high as he could.

The old man’s last name was Wei, and he had moved to White Peach Village many years ago, where everyone called him Grandpa Wei.

“Grandpa, need some help?”

The old man looked down.

Under the tree stood a person whose clothes flapped in the wind. He was a spirited young man with his hands outstretched, as if afraid the old man on the ladder might miss his step and fall.

He had a pair of clear eyes that were clean, bright, and full of vitality, like the rising sun in early spring.

The old man was somewhat hard of hearing: “Is that you, Ah Na?”

Ah Na was a transliteration; in the local dialect, it meant sunshine.

Ah Na had a knack for picking fruit. He had learned a technique from somewhere, using rope, plastic bottles, and bamboo sticks to create a fruit-picking contraption. With this little gadget, Grandpa Wei would not have to climb the tree to pick fruit anymore.

After a delay, when Ah Na reached the village entrance at the foot of the mountain, it was already eleven o’clock—the time when the women in the village started to prepare lunch. He waited for someone in the shade of a tree, and several women picking vegetables were whispering to each other nearby. Their voices were intermittent, carried by the distance.

“He’s really handsome, but he’s growing up to look less and less like…”

“The other one is abroad… Definitely not twins…”

They were talking about him and his sister. He just listened, without joining in. He had grown accustomed to this idle gossip since childhood. Wen Yuan was good-looking and lived a reclusive life. The Wen family women had bizarre love lives, and since Fragrant City was the ancient Land of Witchcraft and Gu, all sorts of strange rumors circulated.

At the end of the village, Old Uncle Zhong’s yard dog had given birth to five puppies, the whitest of which was the fiercest. Though its teeth were not yet fully grown, it bared them whenever it saw people. Old Uncle Zhong’s little grandson was playing with the little white dog in an open space, throwing a fluffy ball that the puppy chased and bit. While biting, the dog saw Ah Na in the shade of the tree and started growling and baring its teeth at him.

The little dog’s owner watched Ah Na’s plastic bag full of valencia oranges with wide, greedy eyes.

Ah Na handed one over: “Here.”

Just as the kid reached out, his mother sharply scolded him: “Xiao Bao, come here!”

Xiao Bao reluctantly withdrew his hand.

His mother pulled him away, giving Ah Na a glance: “What are you eating from anyone?”

Ah Na put the valencia orange back in the bag.

The women dispersed, and the child was led away. The little dog continued to bark and snarl on the side.

Ah Na beckoned: “Come here.”

The little white dog barked twice, and although fierce, it seemed pretty obedient, waddling over with its rotund body.

“Wang!”

The dog’s bark sounded almost taught, not quite authentic. When touched on the head, it immediately sat down. Ah Na took out two pieces of fruit and slid them into his pocket. He tied up the remaining ones in the bag securely, pulled out the drawstring from his hoodie, tied one end to the plastic bag and the other around the dog’s neck, securing it with a slipknot. He patted the dog’s head: “Go on, then.”

The little white dog trotted off to find its young master.

The noise of rolling suitcase wheels against the ground drew Ah Na’s attention.

“Changling.”

The siblings had been adopted on the same day. Ah Na always said he had just arrived home later, and he wasn’t necessarily younger than Wen Changling.

Wen Changling glanced at the tree at the village entrance, then at Ah Na: “Did you grow taller?”

He bent down and gave her a light hug: “Welcome home, sis.”

He let go and picked up the suitcase, standing up straight beside her. Indeed, he was now much taller than her.

The siblings walked towards their home, along a mountain path that was recently muddy from rain. It made walking difficult. Ah Na, carrying the suitcase, proceeded slowly.

Wen Changling followed him: “Didn’t I tell you to wait for me at home?”

“Afraid you’d get lost.”

“I’ve walked this road hundreds of times.”

True, she’d walked it hundreds of times, but she’d also gotten lost dozens of times. Ah Na stepped over a large rock and turned back to offer his hand, pulling Wen Changling across.

From down the mountain, a child’s voice shouted: “Brother!”

“Brother!”

Ah Na and Wen Changling looked down from where they stood and could see the whole village. Old Uncle Zhong’s house was at the very end, his grandson Xiao Bao was standing on the rooftop of a single-story building.

The little white dog next to him barked joyfully: “Wangwangwang!”

Xiao Bao held a yellowish valencia orange and waved excitedly.

“Brother!”

Ah Na waved back and continued towards home, the child’s voice fading into the distance. It was almost noon, and smoke wafted from the village below, while large patches of Hooked Cymbidium grew wild in the brush of the mountain.

Ah Na handed Wen Changling a peeled valencia orange. Hers was the largest; the second-largest he had tied to the dog’s head for the child.

Grandpa Wei said his valencia oranges were guaranteed sweet.

Wen Changling placed a segment in her mouth, and with one bite, it burst with juicy sweetness: “So sweet.”

“It’s from Grandpa Wei’s behind the red house.”

Grandpa Wei was an outsider who had come to White Peach Village early on. A retired intellectual, he was not superstitious and took a liking to Ah Na. Old Uncle Zhong’s little grandson, who didn’t understand the complexities of the adult world, also liked Ah Na.

“Is everything okay at home?”

“All good.”

Wen Changling hadn’t been in contact with China for a long time because of a confidential project.

She asked, “What about Yueyue and Ming Ao?”

On the way, Ah Na told Wen Changling about something that happened during the summer break. Xie Qingze and Wen Yuan had just gotten married, and there was a lot of gossip in the village, very unpleasant and rude, often not even sparing those involved. Ah Na overheard one of these conversations once.