Trial Of The Senses

She looked at the man and said, "I am not in the mood to smile."

"Hold the horse's neck and kiss it."

Ashley ran her fingers through her hair and held the horse's neck with her hands. The black horse was obedient.Although he didn't turn around to be intimate with her, he didn't resist either.She looked at the black horse’s big mouth chewing grass, and made up her mind to approach the horse's mouth, but she dared not to kiss him.

“No, I can’t kiss him.” She looked at the horse and smiled.

Jasper had captured the moment when she looked at the horse with bright eyes, and behind her was a gorgeous sunflower. The sun was shining brightly, without any haze.

“Let’s call it a day now. Have a rest first. You leg will be painful if you ride too long.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll take Nelson to visit my grandfather in the afternoon. Do you want to go with me?”

“Is it convenient for you?”She wanted to leave this place which was full of rumors.

“Yes, it is. The elders usually enjoy crowds. There are a lot of mountains in the countryside. On the mountains, there are flowers, grass and fruit trees. I can take you hang around when we go there.

“Okay.” She smiled.

Seeing her smile, Jasper smiled and said, “let’s go to have lunch.”

After lunch, she went to Jasper’s study to sit for a while. At three o’clock in the afternoon, Nelson came home after school.

Bradley had prepared some food for them to eat on the road, and some of Jasper and Nelson’s clothes. Ashley also packed up some clothes with her. After checking that the car was ok. Jasper drove the car and the woman and the child on the back seat, towards the countryside.

After driving on the expressway for about two hours and a half, they arrived at the mountainous area slowly. As they went deeper, the green fields slowly appeared in their sight. At the send of the fields were curvacious peaks, where the green ridge was spreading. At the top of the mountain, some clouds were rising and swaying into the sky.

“Auntie, look. There is a cabin there.”

Ashley looked in the direction he pointed. In the green field, beside a few lush trees, there was a triangular cottage. A cottage, with purplish red roof and brick red walls, was extremely eye-catching in the green field .

“Look, there are cottages every where.”

It seemed that they had already entered the residential area.

“It looks like it rained just now. Said Ashley, holding Nelson in her arms while talking with Jasper in a desultory kind of way.

“Yes, it usually rains in mountainous areas.”

“Open a bottle of water for me.”

Ashley screwed off the bottle and handed it to Jasper who was driving.

“Are we almost there?”

“Just a moment.”

“Let me help you driving for a while. You show me the way.”

So Jasper parked the car by the roadside. They changed their seats and continued on their way.

She didn’t know when they became so familiar with each other. Ashley felt a kind of weird. Just a few months ago, she and the other colleague of their marketing department had been gossiping about this well-know CEO of Shengshi Group.

After driving for more than a hour, the sky was gradually getting dark.

an ancient shelf one surrounded by a light pink curtain. The lighting lamps in the room were also wooden carved and hollow lanterns. The walls were hung with ink paintings, which were very antique.

“Grandpa was used to the decoration when he was a child, so he finished the building according to his own idea. The furniture in the house was antiques that he had kept fo many years. The bed might be a little hoarse because it’s too old. You make do with it.”

“Is it an antique bed?”

“Yes, it is said that it belonged to a princess in Ming Dynasty.”

Hearing his words, Ashley was surprised. Bruce was so generous. He even made use of such precious antique and didn’t fear of bad use.

Jasper came out with a coil of mosquito-repellent incense. He put it by the bed and lighted it with a lighter. “There are many mosquitoes here. Are you allergic to the smell?”

“No, I’m not. I’m not that vulnerable.”

After the the mosquito-repellent incense was lighted, the orange red spark produced curling cyan smoke and winded around the bed tent.

Jasper put the lighter on the table and said, “ you tidy up your belongs. I’ll heat up the food. After you finish, come to the hall for dinner.”

The rain had eased off. When Ashley went out, it was still drizzling outside.

She washed her hands under the flowing water int the yard and went into the hall. After Jasper gave her a towel, she dried her hands and then sat down quietly to have meal. The rained stopped, and crickets and bugs in the yard began to chirp.

The quiet courtyard made the people inside it also calmed down. “Has grandpa Bruce been living here alone after his retirements?”

“Well, kind of. When grandma was still alive, they were quite healthy and lived here together.

Eight years ago, my grandmother passed away, so my parents worried about my grandpa and wanted to take him back to the city, but he didn’t agree.”

“Is it because he has many memories here?”

“Yes, grandpa is determined not to go back any more. My parents had no choice but to arrange someone to take care of him. And we will come to see him when we have time.”