I raised my nemesis into my husband

Chapter 56.1

Editor: Princess

Ning Sheng seemed to have seen something fly away.

“What was that?” He asked.

“A stumbling block.” Xu Ling replied.

Li Haoyue: “….”

This was Ning Sheng’s first time walking into the large mountain that backed against Qing’an Town, despite having lived here for so many years.

Trees blocked out the sky and sun, with only fragments of sunlight able to filter through the gaps between leaves. The air was very fresh.

“Look, wild fruits.” Xu Ling pointed to a short tree and picked off a row of bright red fruits.

“Are they edible?” Ning Sheng had never seen them before.

“Yes.” Xu Ling responded. “They are Pei Qi’s favorite.”

Then he selected a beautiful-looking wild fruit, rubbed it on his clothes, peeled it, then brought it to Ning Sheng’s lips.

“You just said Pei Qi loves these, and now you’re feeding them to me… mmph.” Ning Sheng was speaking when a fruit was stuffed into his mouth. “So sweet!”

Xu Ling glanced sideways. The berry’s translucent red juice had stained the young man’s beautifully shaped lips, creating an almost brilliant and attractive petal color, exactly like the deep red of the little pomegranate flower god’s lips from that night at the harvest festival.

He gritted his teeth, withdrew his gaze, and stuffed another fruit into Ning Sheng’s mouth.

Xu Ling stripped the entire short tree bare, then lifted his foot to kick something else away before taking Ning Sheng’s hand to find the next tree.

He didn’t walk particularly fast, but Ning Sheng had never walked such a steep mountain path before and was still exhausted, breathing heavily in small pants.

Xu Ling slowed his pace.

“Princess, I heard from Dog Xu that you want to practice push-ups?” Lu Peng walked the steep mountain path as if it were flat ground. “Let me teach you next time.”

“Dog Xu already taught me.” Ning Sheng said. “I already know how.”

“So impressive?” Lu Peng asked. “Then I’ll teach you sit-ups.”

“Can this make me taller?” Ning Sheng asked.

“You’re not really short.” Lu Peng said. “Don’t always compare yourself to us. Do you see me comparing grades with you all?”

“That’s because you’re thick-skinned.” Ning Sheng replied.

Lu Peng: “….”

Xu Ling, walking at the front, lifted his foot again and kicked something away.

“Are there many stumbling blocks?” Ning Sheng asked.

However this time, Ning Sheng saw it clearly. It was a snake.

“Ahhhhh!” He screamed.

The forest shook, and a row of birds flew away with a flutter.

Xu Ling: “…”

“It’s fine, it doesn’t bite people, it has a very gentle temperament.” To prove his point, he picked up the snake he’d just kicked, walked to Ning Sheng, held it up and shook it, then threw it far away.

“See, there’s nothing to fear…” Xu Ling began.

“Ahhhhh!” Ning Sheng screamed again.

“Stop scaring him.” Li Haoyue said. “Can’t you see he’s frightened?”

“I’m not scaring him, I’m comforting him.” Xu Ling said, kicking away a toad. “I’m giving him courage.”

The toad and snake were both angry and started fighting each other.

“Can’t you comfort people in a human way?” Li Haoyue asked.

Ning Sheng kept backing away.

“It’s okay.” Xu Ling reached out to take his hand. “I definitely won’t let them touch you.”

Ning Sheng turned his head away. “Don’t touch me anymore! Your hands just touched who knows what!”

Xu Ling was very accommodating. “Okay, okay.”

The four continued deeper into the mountains, with Xu Ling clearing the path ahead and kicking away many native residents.

“Dog Xu, can you kick mosquitoes too?” Ning Sheng asked.

Xu Ling: “….”

“I don’t have that function.” Xu Ling replied.

“Useless.” Ning Sheng said.

“Let me look for some mugwort.” Xu Ling told him. “August mugwort isn’t very effective, but it should still work for repelling mosquitoes.”

“You know so much.” Ning Sheng said.

“Indeed.” Xu Ling nodded. “If we were both thrown into the mountains, a pampered princess like you would have to kneel down and beg me to find food for you every day.”

“Put your hand down, I saw that!” Xu Ling warned.

This mountain looked unfamiliar to Ning Sheng and appeared to be a massive creature, but for Xu Ling and the others, it was familiar territory they’d run through countless times, making them walk as if on flat ground.

Xu Ling knew clearly which corners favored which plants and which corners had good paths.

Xu Ling stripped a large patch of mugwort bare, then took Ning Sheng’s hand to find a small stream.

Then he grabbed the mugwort and soaked it in the stream water. When he turned around, Lu Peng had already taken off his shoes and pants and was rolling around in the stream like a wild boar.

“Hey, wait…” Xu Ling called.

Ning Sheng stepped on some moss, his foot slipped, and he sat down in the stream.

Li Haoyue stepped back while Lu Peng, being closest to the moss, got slapped by Ning Sheng.

“Hehe, Princess’s slaps don’t hurt much.” Lu Peng laughed.

Xu Ling rushed over, gripped Ning Sheng’s waist, and lifted him out of the stream.

“What about the mugwort?” Li Haoyue asked.

Li Haoyue ran along the stream, chasing the mugwort that had been washed away.

“My pants are wet…” Ning Sheng said.

“Take them off and let them dry for a while.” Xu Ling suggested.

“Here?” Ning Sheng asked.

“Yes, here.” Xu Ling confirmed.

Xu Ling crouched down and began untying the drawstring of his white casual pants.

Ning Sheng pressed down on his pants, not letting Xu Ling remove them, his face gradually reddening.

“This Young Master… likes them wet.” Ning Sheng said.

“Wearing damp clothes is so uncomfortable.” Xu Ling reasoned.

“You bunch of… primitive people!” Ning Sheng shouted. “I’m different from you all!”

“Dog Xu.” Lu Peng called out, “I think I see wild fruits ahead. The math nerd and I will go get some. You help Princess dry his clothes first.”

Li Haoyue retrieved half the mugwort and tossed it to Xu Ling before leaving with Lu Peng, carrying their basket.

With everyone gone, Xu Ling turned to Ning Sheng. “Hurry up and take them off! There’s no one in this wilderness to see you.”

“I won’t.” Ning Sheng refused.

“You’ll be uncomfortable if you let them air-dry like this.” Xu Ling said.

“I won’t.” Ning Sheng repeated.

Xu Ling: “….”