Fan Xian chuckled, not bothering to refute, and instead tickled his fiancée's palm with his fingertips. Though a virgin in both lives, he was, after all, a new generation inspired by Kato Taka, so these little tricks were more than Lin Wan'er could handle. The young woman felt a rush of panic, becoming a little unsteady. Fan Xian brazenly leaned closer, "How about leaning on me?"

"Big brother really has a way," Fan Sizhe said from the carriage, refusing to get down, complaining about the mosquitoes in the grass. He watched the couple by the lake in the distance and marveled, "Meeting his future sister-in-law for the first time, and they're already sitting together. If they stay there for a few more hours, wouldn't they be consummating the marriage ahead of schedule?"

Fan Ruoruo giggled. Although she knew her brother occasionally visited her sister-in-law's boudoir at night, she didn't know how often Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er met. Seeing this scene, she was equally surprised and impressed.

"Hurry down and help unload the things," Ruoruo patted Fan Sizhe's head, smiling. "It wouldn't be right to let the guards do it."

Fan Sizhe glared, "What are the servants for?"

Fan Ruoruo smiled gently, "They're just maids; you're much stronger."

For some reason, Fan Sizhe, the spoiled young master, was inexplicably afraid of Fan Ruoruo's serene smile. He obediently climbed down from the carriage and began helping the delicate maids unload the items. It wasn't that Fan Ruoruo was being lazy; Fan Xian had brought a lot of things for the outing today, and it took several maids plus Fan Sizhe quite a while to get everything down.

Fan Sizhe wiped the sweat from his forehead and shouted towards the lake, "Big brother! Everything's unloaded! What exactly are these things?"

Sitting by the lake, Fan Xian heard the shout and remembered. He slapped his forehead, apologetically said something to Wan'er, got up, brushed the grass from his backside, walked to the carriage, and began instructing everyone on how to arrange things.

After settling down in Kyoto, Grandma had sent all the belongings he had left in Danzhou, so they were all put to use today. There were three handmade tents, one barbecue grill, several large-mesh iron nets, a bag of pepper and cumin, some salt, several bamboo sticks, a number of eggs, a few river fish, and a large pile of radishes and tofu, a bag of fine charcoal - in short, a complete barbecue setup.

A maid pointed to a pile of tattered cloth and asked curiously, "What's this?"

Fan Xian kindly explained, "Tents."

The maid was eager to learn, "Are they for military use?"

Fan Xian smiled slightly, "You can also watch the stars by the lake at night." Seeing the approachable smile on Fan Gongzi's refined face and the warmth in his bright eyes, the maid stopped asking questions and shyly went elsewhere.

After the charcoal fire was lit, someone naturally took over. Fan Xian moved a rock and sat by the iron net, carefully applying sauce and seasonings. Bamboo skewers pierced through the fish, and a faint fragrance spread with the heat. He sniffed, glanced at Wan'er sitting alone by the lake in the distance, smiled slightly, and didn't add too much strong seasoning. After grilling three skewers of fish, he gave one to his younger brother and sister each, then walked towards the lake and sat beside Lin Wan'er.

"Here." Fan Xian smiled gently.

Lin Wan'er looked at him suspiciously, wondering if his cooking skills were any good. She took it and cautiously put it to her lips, took a bite, and slowly chewed. Her eyes gradually lit up, and she smiled at Fan Xian, but without praising him at all, she began to devour it. But the grilled fish was too hot, and while she couldn't bear to take the fish away from her lips, she kept sticking out her tongue, fanning her mouth with her free hand, panting.

Very cute, really cute, lovable.

Looking at her chubby lips, Fan Xian couldn't help but think of the chicken leg from their first encounter at the Qing Temple. He teased, "Chen'er, I've been giving you chicken legs to eat these past few days, why are you still so greedy?"

Lin Wan'er puffed out her cheeks and said resentfully, "If I had known you could grill things so deliciously, I wouldn't have eaten those cold chicken legs."

Fan Xian laughed heartily, almost falling backward. His fiancée's personality was truly interesting. Sometimes she was extremely shy, not daring to look at him, and other times she would display some charming little temper tantrums. Her sickly body still liked to play the little tiger. It was just one word: Q, two words: cute, three words: *kawaii*.

Lin Wan'er looked back and saw that the barbecue stand was much more lively than the lakeside. Fan Sizhe had already devoured the grilled fish in his hand and was directing the maids to grill some corn on the cob. Only Ruoruo ate gracefully, walking along the woods while eating, not knowing if she was admiring the scenery or thinking about something.

Her gaze fell on the pile of things unloaded from the carriage. Lin Wan'er increasingly felt that her fiancé was a bit strange. She asked curiously, "In previous outings, we mostly ate at the villa. I've never seen the girls so happy... Also, the things you brought today seem a bit odd."

Fan Xian explained with a smile, "Although they are maids, they are your personal maids who will live with you. They are used to fine clothes and lavish meals. How many of them have actually cooked for themselves? This barbecue might not taste that good, but it's great to do it yourself. The feeling is different, and the taste buds react differently."

"Taste buds?" Lin Wan'er looked confused, gazing at Fan Xian with wide eyes.

"Some small organs on the human tongue that can sense taste." Fan Xian knew this was difficult to explain clearly, as the naked eye wasn't as good as a microscope. He casually explained, "The root of the tongue senses bitterness, the front of the tongue senses sweetness, that's why."

Lin Wan'er giggled, "No wonder you're Mr. Fei's student; you're so clear about these things."

Hearing her mention Fei Jie, Fan Xian felt a surge of resentment. After all, they had been master and disciple, and had a good relationship. He had been in Kyoto for several months, and even Chen Pingping had returned, so why wouldn't Fei Jie come back? It was a bit much. Putting those thoughts aside, looking at Wan'er's envious gaze, Fan Xian made a small stove for two, took some ingredients, and they grilled and ate together. Of course, most of the time Fan Xian was grilling, and Lin Wan'er was eating.

Surrounded by fragrance, the engaged couple launched a gentle assault on the ingredients over the warm charcoal fire.

……

……

"Hmm, these seasonings seem quite rare." Lin Wan'er stuck out her tender tongue and gently licked a sesame seed from the corner of her lips, sighing with immense satisfaction, "It's really fragrant."

"You're kidding, *sesame open door* is easy to find, but this cumin is hard to get." Fan Xian thought to himself, if he didn't have good relationships with the managers of the Qing Yu Nian Store, it wouldn't have been easy to gather these things brought to the summer resort today. But he replied, "If you like it, I'll make it for you every day after we get married."

Lin Wan'er's expression changed quickly—not in a fickle way, but upon hearing the words "get married," she habitually lowered her head shyly. But today's setting wasn't quite suitable; her lips were still greasy, and there was a smudge of ash on her nose, making her look like a little boy sneaking food in his own kitchen.

Fan Xian laughed at her face. Yi Chen wasn't a particularly beautiful girl, but for some reason, he always felt that every feature on her face was impeccable, and every expression was undeniably cute. Seeing him laughing at her, Lin Wan'er pretended to be annoyed and made a motion to pounce. Fan Xian quickly opened his arms, ready to sacrifice himself to the tiger.

Anyway, the lakeside was far away, and a large clump of aquatic wood blocked the maids' view. Fan Xian thought he could finally embrace the fragrant jade in his arms in broad daylight, but Wan'er looked embarrassed and forcibly stopped herself from falling into Fan Xian's arms.

Fan Xian shook his head helplessly, wet a handkerchief by the lake, and then sat back down next to Lin Wan'er, staring at her face, gently wiping away the ash on her nose and chin with great care.

They were very close, feeling the young man's gentle and focused gaze, Lin Wan'er was extremely nervous, her hands tightly clutching the hem of her *ruqun* skirt. Fan Xian also noticed her nervousness, momentarily at a loss. His hand holding the wet handkerchief paused next to her pink cheek, their eyes met, and even their breathing seemed to intertwine, rising and falling together, beginning to mix frequencies, gradually accelerating.

Action speaks louder than words. Without saying a word, Fan Xian lowered his head and kissed her...on the forehead.

Lin Wan'er was startled, then shy, and then slightly disappointed. But before her disappointment could be concealed, Fan Xian's lips had already blocked her mouth, which was about to feign a scolding. It was wet, soft, fragrant, and sweet.

"Ouch!" Fan Xian realized that his lower lip had been bitten hard by the young girl, and he quickly straightened up, letting his lips escape the crime scene.

Looking closely, he found that Wan'er's eyes were full of smiles, but this smile contained a few rays of spring, just like the lake water around them. The water surface was like a mirror, but still slightly undulating, gently flowing, captivating. Most endearing, was the young woman's white, shell-like upper teeth when she smiled but didn't quite smile...still adorably biting her fleshy lower lip.

Fan Xian's heart fluttered. He mustered his remaining courage, pulled his future wife into his arms, no longer letting her escape. He lightly poked her soft cheeks and whispered, "Little tiger, be careful I eat you."

Lin Wan'er's body stiffened nervously in his arms, but her spring-lake-like eyes remained alluring. She bit her lower lip and looked at Fan Xian, saying, "Wan'er's body isn't very well, would Langjun be willing to?"