Ch 36: Transmigrated to become a Koi Husband

Li Dali looked at Qin Zhao, unable to respond immediately.

With his straightforward personality, he normally wouldn’t want to get involved in such matters.

Although he and Li Hongyu were cousins, their families had separated in the previous generation, making their affairs entirely separate. Yesterday’s involvement was merely due to circumstance; otherwise, he wouldn’t have followed them to the village chief’s place.

He didn’t want to interfere, but he couldn’t stop others from coming to him.

Li Hongyu was incredibly stubborn. No matter how much his family tried to persuade or even beat him, he refused to lower his head and apologize to Qin Zhao. Left with no other options, his family turned to Li Dali, hoping he could mediate.

Their thinking was simple: since Qin Zhao’s family still rented land from Li Dali, he would have to show some respect.

Li Dali, known in the village for his good-natured temperament, felt uneasy about the matter but didn’t know how to refuse.

Moreover, if Qin Zhao did happen to “accidentally” let word of the incident slip, A Xiu’s reputation would be ruined, making it difficult for her to remain in the village.

Considering all this, Li Dali, despite his reluctance to act as a mediator, felt compelled to agree.

What he hadn’t expected was Qin Zhao’s firm stance.

Qin Zhao’s reasoning made sense. Li Hongyu had become increasingly reckless because someone was always there to clean up his messes. If this behavior went unchecked, what might start with a few damaged seedlings could escalate into theft or even worse crimes?

It was high time for a proper lesson.

As for A Xiu’s reputation, after talking with Qin Zhao, Li Dali suddenly found himself less concerned.

Qin Zhao was so upright that he wouldn’t even accept help with weeding without compensation. How could anyone doubt such a person’s integrity?

Having thought it through, Li Dali no longer felt angry. Instead, he found himself respecting Qin Zhao even more.

“Alright, I’ll go back and convey your message,” Li Dali said, pocketing the copper coins without further ceremony. “Teach that brat a good lesson; don’t go easy on him.”

Qin Zhao smiled and nodded, seeing Li Dali out of the courtyard.

When he returned, he saw Jing Li sitting in the spot Li Dali had just vacated, resting his chin on his hand and tilting his head as he watched him.

Qin Zhao asked, “What’s wrong? Do you think I handled that poorly?”

“No,” Jing Li blinked.

Qin Zhao’s approach was certainly right.

Even though they didn’t intend to press the matter too hard, it was still Li Hongyu who was at fault, and he should at least personally come to apologize. Instead, he sent a mediator, trying to smooth things over by playing on emotions. It wasn’t that simple.

Actually, while Qin Zhao was talking to Li Dali earlier, Jing Li had been a little worried.

Qin Zhao usually avoided conflict with the villagers, and since Li Dali had been such a help to them, Jing Li thought Qin Zhao might choose to let the matter slide, as he had in the past.

He hadn’t expected Qin Zhao to be so resolute this time.

After a moment of thought, Jing Li asked, “Was it because you were upset that they used Li Dali?”

Qin Zhao shook his head. “No.”

“Then why—”

Qin Zhao gently pulled Jing Li’s injured hand toward him.

The palm was still wrapped in gauze, but the edge of the bandage was slightly peeling. Qin Zhao smoothed down that small area and said calmly, “He made you fall; he has to apologize.”

Jing Li was momentarily stunned.

The small wound had long stopped hurting, and after a night’s sleep, he had even forgotten there was an injury on his hand.

But Qin Zhao had remembered.

Jing Li lowered his head, feeling a secret sense of happiness. “You’re so petty.”

Qin Zhao simply smiled without responding.

He patted Jing Li on the head and said, “Sit down and rest for a while. I’m going to make some medicine.”

“Wait a minute, I haven’t finished talking yet.” Jing Li grabbed his sleeve, cleared his throat, and said with an air of seriousness, “I was going to say, you took money without reporting to me.”

Qin Zhao: “…”

This household head role is really going to his head.

Qin Zhao didn’t argue and admitted his mistake readily, “That was my fault.”

Jing Li wasn’t about to let him off so easily. “Just admitting it verbally isn’t enough. You have to be punished.”

After all, Qin Zhao had taken advantage of him in front of others today, and the little koi, who bore grudges, was determined to get back at him.

“Alright, I accept the punishment,” Qin Zhao said, his attitude still accommodating, as he asked patiently, “What kind of punishment?”

Jing Li fell silent.

He hadn’t thought that far.

The punishment had to be something he wanted Qin Zhao to do but that Qin Zhao wouldn’t want to do. However, after thinking about it for a while, Jing Li was surprised to realize there didn’t seem to be anything that fit this criteria.

No matter what he asked for, Qin Zhao would always agree.

After pondering for a moment, Jing Li said, with a hint of righteousness, “I haven’t thought of it yet, so you’ll owe me.”

Qin Zhao: “…”

This little rascal.

Qin Zhao chuckled, shook his head, and walked out of the main room.

In the village, people usually had two meals a day, but Jing Li was always complaining about being hungry, so he had made Qin Zhao change it to three meals a day.

That morning, they had rushed to town and hadn’t eaten much, and now it was nearly noon. Qin Zhao put the medicine into the pot to simmer on low heat and then boiled water to make two bowls of noodles.

Each bowl had an egg, a few blanched vegetable leaves, some seasoning, and a spoonful of lard left over from cooking meat. As soon as the aroma wafted out, Jing Li came following the scent.

“It smells so good…”

Jing Li’s eyes lit up as he looked at the bowls Qin Zhao was holding. Just as he was about to take one, Qin Zhao sidestepped him, saying, “You’re covered in dirt. Wash your hands first.”

“I was just planting flowers,” Jing Li muttered but obediently went to wash up.

He had changed into a dark red short-sleeved outfit specifically for gardening. The cuffs were casually rolled up, and from the hem to the cuffs, from his fingers to the gauze on his hands, everything was smudged with dirt.

Jing Li went ahead and removed the bandage, placing his hands directly under the water to rinse.

The rule against getting wounds wet applied to ordinary people; as a fish, Jing Li’s wounds could even heal faster in water if the quality was good.

He quickly cleaned his hands, and by the time he returned to the main room, Qin Zhao had already brought the noodles there.

The main room’s door was open, providing a clear view of the courtyard. The small patch of land in front of the main room showed signs of being recently tilled, evidence of Jing Li’s work.

The pits in the soil were neatly arranged, dug fairly deep, and spaced evenly apart.

After observing for a moment, Qin Zhao asked, “You know how to plant flowers?”

“Of course I do. I’m great at it. Back when we—” Jing Li suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

He wanted to say that in the past, he had been the one to take care of the plants and flowers at the orphanage.

Jing Li hadn’t formally studied horticulture, but he seemed to have a natural talent for it. Whether it was an unknown type of seed or a nearly withered plant, as long as it was in his care, it would thrive and bloom beautifully, no matter where he planted it.

But he couldn’t tell Qin Zhao about this.

Feeling a bit frustrated with himself for almost saying the wrong thing again, Jing Li focused on eating his noodles, not daring to continue the conversation.

Qin Zhao glanced at him briefly, hiding the hint of a smile in his eyes.

The little guy almost let it slip again—he really couldn’t keep a secret.

Qin Zhao was now almost certain that before coming to his home, Jing Li must have lived as a human for some time. However, what he had been doing during that period, why he was unwilling to talk about it, and why he ended up here, were still mysteries.

But Qin Zhao wasn’t in a hurry.

With Jing Li’s inability to keep anything hidden, it wouldn’t be long before he spilled everything.

After lunch, they took a short nap before continuing to plant flowers in the yard.

Jing Li was surprised to discover that Qin Zhao actually didn’t know how to plant flowers.

“…No, you need to dig a bit deeper. Wait, the spacing over there is too small; the roots won’t grow well.”

Finding something he was good at but Qin Zhao wasn’t, Jing Li decided to stop working and instead focused on directing Qin Zhao as he dug the soil.

But his sense of superiority didn’t last long.

Qin Zhao’s learning ability was astonishing. Not only did he become more and more proficient, but by the end, he was digging even faster than Jing Li.

This sparked a rare competitive spirit in Jing Li, and the two of them secretly vied with each other, quickly preparing the entire garden, planting the seeds, and covering them with soil.

“…You just need to water them every two or three days, like with vegetables. Then, just wait for them to sprout. Once they’ve all sprouted, we can see if any need pruning or transplanting.”

Jing Li walked among the soil beds, watering the seeds and explaining how to care for the flowers in the future.

Not hearing a response for a while, Jing Li turned around to see Qin Zhao resting with his eyes closed on the bamboo chair.

This sickly guy had pushed himself to the limit today, working for nearly two hours—no wonder he was worn out.

Jing Li chuckled to himself, finished watering the flower beds, washed his hands, and quietly walked over to Qin Zhao.

Qin Zhao’s breathing was steady, as if he had fallen asleep. He didn’t look at all like someone who had just finished farm work—he was spotless, save for a bit of sweat glistening on his forehead.

Jing Li used his sleeve to wipe the sweat from Qin Zhao’s forehead.

Qin Zhao had re-bandaged his hand earlier to prevent the wound from getting infected by dirt. The gauze was neatly wrapped around his hand, not hindering his movement.

Qin Zhao wasn’t sleeping very peacefully; his brows were furrowed, his lips pressed into a tight line, and his face looked a bit pale.

With that frail body, he was still thinking about finding a spouse.

Finding someone to care for him would make more sense.

Jing Li thought to himself, unable to suppress a smile.

His hand, which had been wiping Qin Zhao’s forehead, slowly moved down, brushing past his high nose and finally stopping at the corner of his lips.

Qin Zhao’s lips were thin, with sharp corners that made them appear somewhat unapproachable. Jing Li had read in a book that this type of mouth shape indicated a cold personality, yet Qin Zhao was anything but cold.

He was, in fact, the most gentle person Jing Li had ever known.

Jing Li stared at those thin lips, bending slightly closer.

Whether intentional or not, Jing Li found the height of the bamboo chair to be almost annoyingly perfect; by merely bending a little, he could lean right into Qin Zhao’s face.

It was especially suitable for doing something mischievous.

That handsome face magnified before his eyes, Jing Li gazed at him, lost in thought. The sensation under his fingertip was warm and soft.

Suddenly, a light sound came from outside the courtyard.

Jing Li straightened up abruptly, stumbling back several steps and almost falling into the water.

What… what was he thinking just now?!

Jing Li barely managed to steady himself, his ears burning with embarrassment. After a moment, he realized the sound was someone knocking at the gate.

Rubbing his ears, he quickly walked over.

When he opened the gate, he found Li Hongyu standing outside.

Li Hongyu’s hand was wrapped in bandages, and his face bore a few small bruises, indicating he had been beaten up. His eyes were slightly red, and he looked rather sullen. “I’m here to see you and Qin Zhao. Is he home?”

After hesitating for a while, he added stiffly, “…to apologize.”

Jing Li began to say, “Qin Zhao is currently—”

“Let him in,” a voice interrupted.

Jing Li turned back to see that Qin Zhao had already woken up and was sitting on the bamboo chair, pressing his fingers to his temples.

For some reason, Jing Li thought that Qin Zhao seemed…

A bit unhappy.