Chapter 719: I Want to Be With You
He rushed forward, yanked the door open, and pulled the panicked girl—who was still frantically swatting at the flames—out of the room.
“Get out! What are you doing trying to put out a fire at a time like this? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
The fire had already consumed half the wooden table, and thick, rolling black smoke filled the room, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
“Get out quickly!” he urged, reaching for her again.
“Wait, Brother Zhiqiu!” The girl broke free from his grip, turned back, and grabbed a small wooden box that was sitting near the table. She quickly patted out the sparks that had clung to its surface with her bare hands.
That reckless action immediately made Liu Zhiqiu’s face darken with anger.
In a few swift moves, he tossed the burning table out of the room, opened the closed window, and let the smoke escape.
Then, he turned back, walked up to her, and stared coldly at her. “Do you even realize what you were doing? What could possibly be so important that you’d risk your life for it?”
Patting out flames with her bare hands—what was she thinking?!
Without even looking, he knew her palms were definitely covered in blisters by now.
Seeing the sudden anger on his face, Liu Muqiu bit her lip hard, lowered her gaze, and continued clutching the wooden box tightly in her arms, unwilling to let go.
“Tonight, sleep in another room. The fire isn’t too serious, and no one got hurt, so there’s no need to wake Grandpa and Grandma. I’ll come back tomorrow during the day to clean up the rest,” he instructed coldly before turning and walking away.
The wooden table he had thrown into the courtyard was still burning. After being hurled with such force, it had collapsed, scattering its broken pieces across the stone-paved ground, where they posed no further danger.
Once the fire reduced it all to ash, it would naturally burn out.
Even his retreating figure radiated anger.
Standing at the doorway, Liu Muqiu hugged the box to her chest, her eyes slowly turning red with hurt and grievance.
“Brother Zhiqiu…”
“I’m going to Xue Qinglian’s room to find some ointment,” he said, still furious, but he took the time to explain.
That small gesture of care made tears well up in Liu Muqiu’s eyes. Unable to control her emotions, she chased after him.
“Brother Zhiqiu, this… this is the money I earned,” she hurriedly stepped in front of him, anxiously opening the wooden box and taking out several folded silver banknotes.
Smiling at him, she held them up and said, “Look, five thousand taels. I embroidered a birthday celebration painting and asked Xianrou to sell it for me. This is the money I got in exchange. Although it’s not much yet, if you give me a few more years, I can definitely save up fifty thousand taels! I can help you repay your debt!”
He had once said that his wife should be able to work the land, and, ideally, earn money to help shoulder his debts.
She could do it all!
“So… for the sake of these five thousand taels, you were willing to risk getting burned?” But the man didn’t react with joy as she had hoped. Instead, his voice grew even colder.
The coldness left Liu Muqiu at a loss, and she stared at him, dumbfounded.
“Liu Muqiu, did I ever ask you to earn money? Did I ever ask you to help me pay off my debt? Who do you think you are to me?” His string of scornful questions, dripping with disdain, sent a chill through her entire body. “I can handle my own affairs—I don’t need your help! What are you doing all this for? What do you really want?”
“…I want to be with you.” Her lips trembled as she looked at him, struggling to maintain the smile on her face.
But the hand holding the silver banknotes slowly dropped, powerless.
He stared at her for a long moment, then turned around without a word and walked away with large, determined strides.
At that moment, Liu Muqiu felt as if all the strength in her body had been drained, leaving her hollow and unable to stand firm.
Her vision grew blurry, as though thick fog gradually shrouded her eyes.
She bit down hard on her lips, stubbornly refusing to let the tears fall.
She couldn’t cry—crying would mean her heart was broken.
Pulling her gaze back from the direction he had left, she slowly turned around. But just as she did, she suddenly whirled back again.
Through her blurred vision, that disappearing figure had reappeared.
He was getting closer and closer.
“Brother Zhiqiu…” she called to him again, her voice trembling.
She didn’t dare blink.
The next moment, she was enveloped in a warm embrace.
“We’re already together, silly.”
Stunned, she listened to the words drifting softly into her ears. The next moment, Liu Muqiu rested her head against the man’s chest, and the tears she had been holding back quietly slid down her cheeks.
But her lips curved into a joyful smile.
“This is… what you said yourself. You can’t ever take it back.”
“Yes, I said it myself.” Liu Zhiqiu closed his eyes and let out a light sigh.
Honestly, he had never met anyone as foolish as her.
Only she would take the words he used to brush off others seriously.
“Right, let’s take care of your hand first,” he said abruptly, paying no attention to her lingering joy. He pushed her away lightly, tossed the wooden box in her hands to the side, and examined her injured palms in the remaining light from the burnt wooden table.
Just as he had expected, they were covered in blisters.
“You tell me, how dumb can you be? Slapping at flames with your bare hand—do you think you’ve mastered some iron-body technique, immune to fire and water?!” he scolded her while opening a medicine bottle, applying ointment to her palm as he gently blew on it.
“Does it hurt?”
“No,” she shook her head and smiled foolishly.
“As if. It’s definitely painful. Luckily, that guy Xue Qinglian has all sorts of medicine in his room, clearly labeled. Otherwise, if we had waited until tomorrow, you’d have scars all over your hand.”
“I’m not afraid.”
Shut up, I’m the heartbroken one!
“How did the fire start?”
“……” Liu Muqiu finally felt guilty, her eyes darting around, not wanting to answer. The man shot her a glance. “I was embroidering and accidentally fell asleep, knocked over the oil lamp.”
Liu Zhiqiu felt his anger rising. If it weren’t for the poor, pitiful look on her face, he really… Well, forget it. “Don’t embroider anymore. Embroidering hurts your eyes.”
“I—”
“I don’t need you to make money. I told you before, those debts will be paid off slowly. Honestly, it doesn’t matter if they get paid or not. Have you seen Grandma or me chasing after the debt? It’s just that I’m a person who values principles and has a sense of responsibility, so I’m paying in installments. Do you need to worry about it?”
“……”
Not hearing a response, Liu Zhiqiu looked up and saw the woman with a flushed face, looking like she wanted to laugh but couldn’t. He squinted his eyes. “What, am I wrong?”
“You’re right!”
Principles, responsibility!
After finishing applying the medicine, he tugged at his sleeve and wiped the dirt off her delicate face. “It’s late, go to bed now. I’ll clean the room tomorrow.”
Staring at him, Liu Muqiu bit her lip, gathered courage and said. “I’m not tired!”
“Weren’t you just so tired you fell asleep, nearly causing a fire?” The man turned to pick up the wooden box from the floor, so the woman didn’t see the smile that briefly flashed in his eyes.
“I’m not tired now!”
“Even if you’re not tired, you still have to sleep, or you won’t have any energy tomorrow.”
Liu Muqiu lowered her gaze, feeling a little disappointed. She had just officially confirmed her identity, so how could she possibly sleep at a time like this?
Whether it’s called forgetting the modesty of a young lady or something else, she didn’t care. She just didn’t want to leave him now.
Turning around, Liu Zhiqiu saw the woman’s head drooping. He couldn’t help but smile. He reached out and pulled her toward the roof. Before she could scream, the two were already standing firmly on the rooftop. “We’ll sleep here tonight.”
“…” Under the vast sky, seeing the man lie down and pat his arm for her to join.
Liu Muqiu’s face turned bright red.
The rooftop was filled with tender affection, the atmosphere was perfect.
At the entrance of the inner courtyard, several heads quietly retreated.
Grandma Liu, along with Chen Xiulan and Du Juan, walked behind the old men, silently smiling.
TL’s Corner:
Gossiping is the Liu’s family trait .·°՞(˃ ᗜ ˂)՞°·.
Peek-Aboo 
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