Chapter 3

Aria's father was still a teacher in the neighboring village.

She had given birth a day ago, but he still hadn’t come to visit, which made her think their relationship must not be good.

"Avi... Father’s little Avi..."

Aria noticed the sky turning gloomy. She thought of the firewood in the yard and quickly got up to move it into the woodshed.

Seeing how little wood was left inside the shed, she felt bitter inside.

Before she could finish feeling sad, it started raining lightly. Aria had no choice but to run back outside and continue moving the wood.

She was really pushing herself too hard. She had just given birth yesterday, and today she was already out in the rain.

But she had no other option. If they wanted to survive the winter, she had to do it.

Liam heard the sound of rain, placed Avi on the heated brick bed, and carefully felt his way outside.

"Dear, it's raining. Don’t stay out there, come back inside. I’ll handle it."

He followed the sound, reached Aria, and pulled her into the house. He gently wiped her face with his sleeve, heart aching for her.

Then, from outside came the sound of someone gathering firewood. Aria looked up and saw a young man dressed like a scholar and a boy around ten years old picking up wood quickly in the yard.

Soon, the two of them carried the wood inside. The boy rushed back out into the rain to bring in the chickens and some gifts.

The boy looked at the drenched Aria with worry. "Sister! Are you okay?"

Sister? Right. The original Aria had a 15-year-old younger brother, and her father was a teacher.

"Nick, why are you here?"

From her memory, her brother's name was Nick, and her father was Mr. Lin.

"Is that my little brother-in-law? I could tell it was him from the sound of his steps!"

Liam wiped the rain from his face and called out, "Father-in-law came too? Please sit down. I’ll make some ginger tea."

"Brother-in-law, no need, I’ll do it. You stay and talk with Father." Then he ran to the kitchen, bringing the soaked chickens with him.

After Nick left, Aria saw her father still standing silently in the main room. She had to mimic the original Aria and softly called out,

"Father."

Mr. Lin lifted his red-rimmed eyes. "Child, giving birth is such a big deal. Why didn’t you send someone to tell me? If Kana hadn’t picked up Sheron after school, I still wouldn’t have known what you went through!"

Looking at the man in his thirties in front of her, Aria couldn’t stop a tear from falling.

"Father, I only just woke up. There’s no one nearby to send a message, and Liam can’t see well. That’s why we didn’t inform you. I’m sorry for making you worry."

"Father-in-law, this is my fault. If not for my eyes..."

Mr. Lin took both of their hands and placed them together.

He choked up, "When I married Aria to you, I only asked you to treat her well. I never expected your eyesight to go so quickly in just a year... You're a good man. Move in and live with me."

"The baby just came, and Aria needs care. You need help too. How can the two of you manage on your own? I kept Aria’s room just as it was. You can move in within the next couple of days."

Liam's peach blossom-shaped eyes widened with gratitude. "Father-in-law, thank you. I’ll pack things up and bring both of them over soon."

"No need to thank me. Aria is my daughter, and you're my son-in-law. Come with them too. You said Aria gave birth to a boy?"

"Yes, Father, it's a boy."

"Great! Then the Zhou family finally has a successor. Have you picked a name?"

"He's called Avi. My wife chose it."

"Avi... Good name. I’ll give him a courtesy name. How about Bowen?"

"That’s perfect. A name from you is the best."

Liam looked truly pleased. His smile didn’t fade at all.

Just then, Avi started crying loudly in the inner room, making Aria’s heart tremble.

Since birth, the baby rarely cried. This was only the second time. The first was yesterday.

Hearing the sound, Nick rushed back into the room.

"Ari, did you have a baby boy or a girl?"

Liam smiled and said, "It's a boy! I'll go bring him out for you to see!"

He started to get up, but Mr. Lin pressed his hand down on the table.

"Nick can do it. You stay seated."

Hearing the order, Nick put down the tray with three bowls of ginger tea and walked into the inner room.

He looked at the gray swaddling cloth on the heated brick bed, wiped his hands, and gently picked up the baby. The baby's face was all wrinkled from crying.

"So ugly!"

"Ari, what's his name?"

When she heard "so ugly," Aria thought to herself, He's clearly adorable! Like a little doll!

"His name is Avi, courtesy name Bowen."

"Hey, that's a great name! Then Avi should grow up to be like his uncle and go to the capital for the imperial exam one day! Become a scholar!"

He said this while carrying the baby, who was still crying, over to Mr. Lin. Strangely enough, as soon as Mr. Lin held the baby, he stopped crying.

"Avi must be hungry. Aria, go feed him."

When Mr. Lin said that, Aria felt embarrassed. First, she had no milk. Second, it was just awkward.

Seeing his daughter’s awkward expression, Mr. Lin pulled some millet out of the gift pile.

"Nick, go cook some millet porridge. You all drink your ginger tea now so you don't catch a cold."

Aria held Liam’s hand and reached for a bowl of ginger tea.

But Liam’s first reaction was to offer it to her.

Helpless in front of her father and child, she picked up a different bowl and said, "I have one."

She raised her bowl and clinked it lightly against his.

Liam smiled again. "Drink up, my love."

Mr. Lin watched them being affectionate and didn’t say anything more.

After feeding the baby, they tidied up the room and called for an ox cart. They planned to move everything today.

It was Aria’s first time riding in an ox cart, and it felt new and exciting. She held her little dumpling-like baby in her arms.

Liam sat at the front of the cart. Her father and brother followed behind with large and small bags on their backs.

Just before sunset, they arrived at Aria’s childhood home.

It was a two-section courtyard with blue bricks and black tiles. A big ginkgo tree stood in the yard. It was autumn, around August or September, and golden ginkgo leaves had fallen all over the bricks.

As they walked further in, they saw a baby crib under the eaves, covered with a dark red cloth. A small knife and wood shavings lay underneath it.

It was clearly hand-carved by someone. Even the cloth used was new and of decent quality, but the sewing was crooked and messy. Aria instantly knew her little brother made it.

As soon as the cart stopped, Nick quickly moved the stuff inside, pulled out a handful of coins from his pocket, gave them to the ox cart driver, Brother Wang, then ran off to the kitchen to get to work.

Aria’s mother had died of tuberculosis when Aria was only four. At that time, Nick was around two, still very much in need of a mother.

Mr. Lin had raised them both by himself through thick and thin. He believed his wife died young at 21 from overwork.

So in this house, if there was any chore he could keep his daughter from doing, he would do it himself.

That’s why, when he saw her outside the Zhou home picking up firewood in the rain, his heart broke.

He had originally chosen Liam for his daughter because Liam had good looks, good character, and strong prospects. But just two years after the marriage, Liam had fallen off a cliff during a hunt and barely survived.

He made it back alive, but lost his eyesight.

The blow had been hard for Liam. Luckily, the baby growing in Aria’s belly gave him something to hope for, and he stopped sitting silently in the yard all day.

Now, Mr. Lin felt like life was starting to look up. He was even full of energy when helping his daughter pack things.

“Dad! Time to eat! Call Brother-in-law and Ari too!” Nick called from the kitchen.

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