I raised my nemesis into my husband

Chapter 52.1

Editor: Princess

“We can’t… we can’t eat it?” Lu Peng was stunned.

“That’s the harvest festival pomegranate!” Xu Ling said angrily.

Lu Peng: “What are you being so fierce for? As if you didn’t eat any. You ate the most.”

Li Haoyue: “Anyway, I only ate nineteen.”

“…You guys!” Ning Sheng raised his hand to knock each of them once.

Aunt Xu had specifically said to protect the pomegranate well.

“I quit.” Ning Sheng said.

“Who picked it up first?” Xu Ling asked.

Li Haoyue: “It seems like it was you.”

Xu Ling’s stepfather was overjoyed: “Heh… hehe, you’re all done for.”

“Dad, why are you just standing there? Dad, are you thirsty?” Xu Ling filially put his arm around his stepfather’s shoulder, while his free hand grabbed a handful of pomegranate seeds and forcefully stuffed them into his dad’s mouth. “Dad, is this pomegranate as sweet as my filial piety?”

Xu Ling’s stepfather: “…”

Ning Sheng: “Stop eating it!!”

Xu Ling: “Dad, how could you also eat the flower god’s pomegranate? Mom said not to eat it!”

Xu Ling’s stepfather: “…”

**

A broken-down car stopped at Qing’an Town’s fruit market, and four people jumped out. It was one adult and three children.

“Buying pomegranates?” The fruit shop owner was overjoyed. “How many pounds?”

Xu Ling’s stepfather: “Just one.”

Lu Peng pulled out a recent photo with Ning Sheng, enlarged it, and found the pomegranate on the table.

This was a certain pomegranate’s final image in the human world.

Xu Ling: “We want a pomegranate exactly like the one in this photo.”

The shop owner: “…?”

“The pomegranate in your photo is so big.” The owner said. “I feel like only the harvest festival’s best pomegranate could be this size.”

The shop owner: “This couldn’t be…”

The four people in front of the fruit shop vanished.

Several people wandered around the fruit market for a while.

“I don’t think it’ll be too obvious. When we go back, we’ll just pick one randomly.” Xu Ling’s stepfather said. “What’s more you’ll be rowing a small boat to the market later, and everyone will be on the banks of Qing’an River watching the little flower god. Who’s going to stare at the pomegranate?”

Xu Ling, who was carrying a box of pomegranates nodded: “Makes sense.”

Then several people stuffed the pomegranates they were carrying into the trunk.

“Ning Ning.” Xu Ling pushed the car door, then froze.

The wait had been somewhat long, so Ning Sheng had fallen asleep lying on his side in the back seat.

The pomegranate flower ornament was crimson red, gorgeous yet not vulgar. Golden tassels nestled among the young man’s black hair, with a few disobedient strands falling by his cheek, making his skin appear snow-white and flawless.

His eyes were closed, his long eyelashes trembling lightly with his breathing rhythm like soft butterfly wings, and his full lips were tinged with pale red.

Xu Ling’s motion of pushing the door stopped for half a second, his heartbeat seeming to skip half a beat too. He hesitated, afraid of disturbing a beautiful dream that belonged to no one knew whom.

Then Lu Peng, eager to get in the car, bumped him inside.

Xu Ling: “…Damn”

Ning Sheng was suddenly awakened: “Why are you lying on the ground?”

The metallic ankle chains jingled as his toes kicked at Xu Ling’s waist.

Ning Sheng: “You scared me so much I kicked you.”

Xu Ling: “…”

Xu Ling: “Twice.”

Ning Sheng sat up straight, shifting to one side to make room for Xu Ling to sit. The drowsiness that hadn’t completely faded made him forget about the dress’s ridiculous problem.

The light, thin red silk gauze fell open with his kicking motion, vaguely revealing a section of long, fair leg.

Xu Ling sat down properly, then reached out to adjust his dress.

Ning Sheng was startled, belatedly remembering the troublesome issue with this dress.

He looked down, pursing his lips as he pressed the dress down, his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment and annoyance.

“Your hand is so hot, move it!” Ning Sheng said.

It burned him uncomfortably.

Xu Ling withdrew his hand.

Ning Sheng kicked against the steering wheel.

This was, seriously … too embarrassing. He shouldn’t have agreed to Xu Ling’s request.

“Don’t run or jump, keep your movements small, and you’ll be fine.” Li Haoyue said as he squeezed into the car. “This outfit is actually okay, there’s quite a bit of fabric.”

Ning Sheng: “Mm…”

So today he couldn’t kick Xu Ling anymore.

“It’s all your fault.” Ning Sheng said.

Xu Ling: “It’s my fault, it’s my fault.”

Consider it me spoiling you, Ning Sheng thought to himself.

There was no helping it. He’d watched him grow up, so occasionally he had to fulfill requests.

Besides, the town also wanted him to help.

“This won’t happen again.” Ning Sheng said.

The car stopped at Xu Ling’s car wash.

**

Five people frantically picked through pomegranates in the courtyard.

“Is this one about right?” Ning Sheng held one up against the setting sun.

“No good.” Li Haoyue said. “The best pomegranate has better skin than this one.”

“What about this one?” Ning Sheng picked another.

“No good.” Li Haoyue responded. “The best pomegranate has a more standard face shape than this one.”

“Then what should we do?” Ning Sheng wanted to slam the table.

But Xu Ling pulled his hand back.

So he grabbed Lu Peng’s hand and slammed it hard on the table.

Lu Peng: “Holy shit.”

“Once you’ve seen such an amazing pomegranate in your youth.” Xu Ling held his head in his hands, “all the later ones seem inadequate.”

“Why don’t we just use that best pomegranate again.” Li Haoyue suggested. “We only ate half of it anyway. Ning Ning can face the remaining half outward.”

Ning Sheng: “…”

Ning Sheng: “I quit. Whoever wants to be this flower god can be it.”

“Don’t! How about we just use any random one.” Xu Ling said.

“You didn’t eat the skin of that best pomegranate, did you?” Xu Ling’s stepfather asked.

Xu Ling: “We may dress primitively, but we don’t eat primitively.”

“Go collect the peels and glue and patch them back together.” Xu Ling’s stepfather instructed. “If that doesn’t work, then sew it up.”

Xu Ling: “Good idea. We ate quite civilly, so the peels are all in whole pieces.”

*

Ning Sheng sat in the chair, supporting his cheek with one hand, and as the evening breeze blew, all the chains on his clothes jingled.

Several people surrounded the table trying to restore the pomegranate to its original appearance.

“I often feel it’s embarrassing to be with you guys.” Ning Sheng said.

“I feel the same.” Xu Ling said while patching the pomegranate.

Li Haoyue: “Tsk, using others’ power to bully.”

Lu Peng: “Step on the silly one! That’s my foot!”