I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

"We'll give it to them after we get the marriage certificate, and we'll decide how much then."

"Oh."

......

More than an hour later, the car came off the highway and entered the county town. Fortunately, there was no traffic jam.

Another twenty minutes or so later, the car entered the rural road. Except for some very remote areas, many rural areas now have roads, but maintenance and other aspects are not up to par, so the road surface is inevitably bumpy and uneven, and the car bounced a few times.

The jolting woke Bai Xiaoqi, who had slept the whole way. Perhaps because she hadn't had enough sleep, she wrinkled her little nose and started whimpering in Chen Shuo's arms.

But a few seconds later, she suddenly realized something was wrong. After hesitating for a moment, she pulled down the coat covering her face and met the gaze of Wu Yulan, who had turned to look at her.

Wu Yulan smiled, but Bai Xiaoqi felt even more shy. Her face immediately turned red, and she covered her face with her clothes to pretend to be dead. She then pinched the soft flesh on Chen Shuo's waist and twisted it.

Chen Shuo forced himself not to cry out in pain, feeling innocent. "You're the one who's making a fuss, what does it have to do with me?"

The village has developed quite well in recent years. Two- or three-story buildings can be seen everywhere, and streetlights have been installed along the roads. Many people are carrying incense, candles, and paper money and walking towards the cemetery. When familiar villagers see Chen Jianwen's car, they wave enthusiastically.

Chen Jianwen also rolled down his car window, and as he passed by, he greeted them, saying things like, "You're back, it's been a long time," and so on.

The car didn't stop in the village, but drove directly towards the mountains not far away, where the village cemeteries are located.

It's not really a mountain, more like a small hill, with rows of graves and tombstones visible from afar.

When they reached the foot of the mountain, the car came to a steady stop. Bai Xiaoqi still covered her face with her clothes and clung to Chen Shuo's arm, showing no intention of moving.

"Let's go, we're getting off the bus."

"oh...."

Bai Xiaoqi responded sullenly, took off her clothes, her face still a little red. When she met Chen Shuo's smiling expression, a hint of embarrassment and annoyance flashed in her eyes. She felt that this guy was making fun of her.

I wanted to hit him, but I couldn't, so I could only reluctantly get off the bus with him.

Chen Jianwen opened the trunk and took out his things. Bai Xiaoqi raised her eyes to secretly observe Wu Yulan's reaction. Wu Yulan seemed to sense something and turned her head to smile at her.

Bai Xiaoqi's face immediately turned red again. She wanted to pinch Chen Shuo, but Chen Shuo was helping to carry things and was a bit far away.

After all the items were taken out, Chen Jianwen and his wife walked ahead, while the two of them lagged behind. As they were walking, Chen Shuo suddenly felt a pain in his waist. "Why are you pinching me again?"

"..."

Bai Xiaoqi didn't say anything, but breathed a sigh of relief, feeling much better, as if the shyness and embarrassment had been dispelled.

Chapter 129 Hold Me Tight

Chen Shuo's family is not large; only the three of them visit the graves every year. But now there is another granddaughter-in-law.

Visiting graves is nothing more than the usual procedures: burning paper money, offering incense, kowtowing, and then chatting with the ancestors who are buried underground, talking about family matters, and recounting the family's situation over the past year.

As for whether they can hear it...

Chinese people may not believe in gods or Buddhas, but no one disbelieves in their ancestors, so they all firmly believe that they can hear them.

After finishing everything, the group went to another side to burn paper money. It was a small, solitary grave, and no one knew whose it was, but no one had ever been seen coming to pay their respects.

Since they discovered the grave, they felt sorry for it, so every year they would prepare more things, help clean the grave, and burn incense and paper money.

After coming down from the mountain, I cleaned up the old houses in the village before driving back.

When they got back, it was already past 5 p.m. Instead of staying at their parents' house for dinner, the two rode their little turtle back to their own home.

Bai Xiaoqi hugged Chen Shuo's lower back, and on the way back she thought of that small, lonely grave. It was desolate and dilapidated, without even a tombstone. Just looking at it made her feel a sense of loneliness.

Unlike Chen Shuo's grandparents' graves, which look very grand with tall, imposing tombstones and large mounds, the two of them buried together don't feel lonely. Moreover, their children and grandchildren come home every year to talk and chat with them.

But the burial mounds there are small; even one person lying there feels cramped.

Thinking of this, she hugged Chen Shuo even tighter and asked, "We'll be buried together when we die, right?"

"?"

Chen Shuo was stunned for a moment and almost lost his grip on the handlebars. The front of the bike wobbled twice. He quickly steadied the bike before saying, "No, we haven't even gotten married yet. Isn't it a bit early for you to be thinking about these things?"

Bai Xiaoqi didn't care about any of that, she just kept asking, "Will you? Will you? Will you?...?"

"Yes, yes, yes, not only should we be buried together after we die, but after cremation, the ashes should also be mixed together. What do you think?"

"Not very good."

Bai Xiaoqi subconsciously shook her head, shrinking her neck. "Cremation is too scary. Being burned to ashes must be extremely painful."

"Once you're dead, you don't know anything anymore, so you can't feel pain."

"Then I feel pain too."

She was terrified at the thought of being burned, and added, "And didn't you say that Grandpa and Grandma were buried in the ground? That means they were buried directly in the soil."

"Back then, burial was still possible, but now the country is vigorously promoting cremation. I guess by the time we get there, we won't even be able to have a traditional burial."

Thinking about these things, Chen Shuo felt a little heavy-hearted. To be burned to ashes after death was a terrible thought.

"I can take you to Cat Mountain, we'll be buried there, and then..."

At this point, Bai Xiaoqi couldn't continue. "If you die, you won't know anything anymore. It's so painful."

They walked in silence. When they got home, the first thing she did was rush into Chen Shuo's arms, pressing her face against his chest, smelling his warm scent, and listening to his pounding heartbeat.

It feels like this can help ease the discomfort in my heart.

Chen Shuo, puzzled, hugged her and gently patted her back, asking, "What's wrong?"

"I want you to hold me..."

"Wasn't I holding you?"

Hold me tighter.

Upon hearing this, Chen Shuo hugged her even tighter, and Bai Xiaoqi also hugged his waist tightly. Feeling that this was not enough, she raised her face and said, "Pick me up, I want to hang on you."

Chen Shuo didn't understand what was wrong with this little cat, but he could sense her distress. He picked her up and let her cling to him like an octopus.

Bai Xiaoqi hugged his neck tightly, wrapped her legs around his waist, and buried her face in his neck.

I wish time could stand still like this, so I could stay hanging on him like this forever, being held by him.

"hold me..."

"It's already very tight."

Tighten it more.

Chen Shuo could only hold her tightly, and then asked, "Don't you feel uncomfortable like this?"

"I don't feel uncomfortable."

Life is too short. Bai Xiaoqi just wanted to be held tightly by him like this, the tighter the better. She felt that one hug was equivalent to two, which was a great deal.

"But I feel terrible."

Chen Shuo felt like his back was about to break. This girl's legs were wrapped around him too tightly, and she was incredibly strong.

A man's pride told him he had to hold on, since it involved his lower back.

But he felt he couldn't hold on much longer.

"Could you loosen your grip a bit? You're too strong, I can't breathe properly."

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaoqi could only loosen her grip on him a little, and then pouted and said, "I feel really bad."

"What's making you feel bad?"

"The thought that we might die makes me feel sick."

"......"

These words left Chen Shuo speechless, unsure how to offer comfort. Death is inevitable for everyone; some deaths are as light as a feather, while others are as heavy as Mount Tai.

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have taken her to sweep the graves. Looking at all those graves, it's inevitable to think about death.

Especially since this girl is prone to overthinking, and they even discussed those kinds of topics on the way.

Furthermore, everyone is afraid of death, and I am afraid of it myself.

After a long pause, he finally said, "You don't have to think about these things. Life is long, and we have a lot of time ahead of us."

"It's not long at all."

"Life is short, so let's enjoy it while we can."

"Yes, live for the moment."

Bai Xiaoqi buried her face in his neck and inhaled, her soft and sweet voice sounding indistinct. Then, like a woodpecker, she kissed his neck all over.

Chen Shuo was tickled by her and wanted to tell her that this was not a pleasure, but the restless woodpecker spared his neck and then brought its soft lips to his mouth.

"Ah Gou, kiss me..." she said, closing her eyes.

Yes, that's what it means to enjoy life.

Thinking to himself, Chen Shuo kissed her lips that she offered herself. A few minutes later, Bai Xiaoqi, who had been kissing him randomly, gave in and her body quickly softened.

Finally, she was kissed so hard she could hardly breathe, her face flushed, and her bright eyes welled up with tears.

Moreover, she could sense that something was wrong with Chen Shuo, especially his body.

"Put me down, put me down."

Bai Xiaoqi sensed the killing intent, which made her small body go limp, as if she had lost all her strength, and her heartbeat became frantic and rapid.

Knowing his own situation, Chen Shuo had no choice but to let her go. As soon as Bai Xiaoqi landed on the ground, perhaps because her legs were weak, she stumbled.

He was about to reach out to help her when he saw her run away like a frightened little rabbit.

Chen Shuo watched her run into the bedroom, looked down, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress some indescribable reactions.

After a long while, Bai Xiaoqi changed into comfortable home clothes and came out of the bedroom, looking completely nonchalant.

She took eggs and tomatoes from the refrigerator and was about to go to the kitchen to cook when she turned to Chen Shuo and said in a serious tone, "People become ghosts after they die, so they do know things."

If I become a ghost, I can continue to be with this guy.

Chapter 130