"Willing, of course willing!" The surprise came a bit too suddenly, and Sheng Zexi’s mouth curled into a big smile when he realized it. Afraid that Gu Jia Ning would see, he quickly suppressed the smile, got up, and paced back and forth in the room for a while before sitting down again.
"I’m so good, and I’m an officer. Anyone with eyes would know to choose me. Finally, you’ve opened your eyes this time."
Gu Jia Ning: This person is indeed good, just too blunt with words.
Sheng Zexi continued to feed her until Gu Jia Ning had eaten all the sweet wine poached eggs.
Whether it was the painkillers or the sweet wine poached eggs, Gu Jia Ning’s stomach no longer hurt and her complexion wasn’t as pale.
"I’m leaving, wait for me tomorrow." He came secretly and couldn’t stay too long.
With a rough large hand, he gently touched Gu Jia Ning’s hair as she lay down, then Sheng Zexi, as when he came, left lightly through the window.
Gu Jia Ning looked at the window that had been shut again, her gaze lingering for a long time before she withdrew it.
Sheng Zexi didn’t leave immediately. He gazed in the direction of the educated youth point, his eyes deep and heavy.
By evening, when everyone had finished work, Wen Zhqing was limping back to the educated youth point, his refined face full of gloom.
At noon, he had been beaten. A sack had suddenly fallen from above, and before he could fight back, punches and kicks rained down. By the time he struggled free of the sack, there was no one around.
Who could have beaten him?
Linking today’s incident of Gu Jia Ning jumping into the river, and the Gu Family’s temperament, Wen Zhqing focused on one person: Gu Jia Ning’s hot-tempered, short-fused, and protective Gu Family’s Old Third, Gu Yunzhou!
Touching the corner of his eye, a sharp pain shot through him, and Wen Zhqing gasped, narrowing his eyes slightly. Once he secured Gu Yunting’s job, he wouldn’t let Gu Yunzhou off!
Thinking of Gu Jia Ning jumping into the river today, and that it might be a few days before she could come to give him the job, he unwittingly found himself in a remote area alone. Suddenly, he had a bad premonition, and it turned out Wen Zhqing’s instincts were right. In an instant, another sack dropped from the sky, and he was beaten again.
After a long time, the beating stopped. There was no sound, but it seemed like the person had left.
After struggling for a long while, he finally freed himself from the sack and breathed in fresh air, feeling as if he had come back to life.
His refined face was now swollen, bruised, and looked like a pig’s head; it was impossible to recognize his usual appearance.
Wen Zhqing was sure they were jealous of his good looks; almost all the punches were aimed at his face.
After taking a moment, with his hand against a large tree, Wen Zhqing barely managed to stand. His body and face were in pain all over.
His expression was somber, his eyes fierce.
Who was it this time?
He was certain it wasn’t Gu Yunzhou. So who could it have been? A member of the Gu Family or someone at the educated youth point jealous of him?
Wen Zhqing wasn’t sure if the person was male or female; there had been no footsteps or any sound.
He’d better not find out who it was, or else...
Wen Zhqing struggled to return to the educated youth point, where everyone gasped at his miserable appearance.
When others asked, he simply said he injured himself accidentally, then casually mentioned Gu Yunzhou.
There were quite a few female educated youths who liked Wen Zhqing, and they were suddenly furious.
"It’s definitely Gu Family’s Old Third, venting his anger on you because Gu Jia Ning jumped into the river," Zhao Weihong speculated, clutching her fists and clenching her face.
"It’s clearly Gu Jia Ning who’s always pestering you, making you miserable. She even jumped into the river by herself, and the villagers still blame Wen Zhiqing for it. How could Wen Zhiqing have forced Gu Jia Ning to demand Gu Family’s eldest son’s job?"
In Zhao Weihong’s heart, Wen Zhiqing was gentle as jade, good-looking, with a mild and caring personality, and from Hucheng, with a good family background, simply the perfect choice for a husband.
Even Zhao Weihong, who was as rough as a tomboy with a coarse voice, developed feelings for him after he once gave her a white steamed bun, and from then on, she defended him in every possible way.
In both the educated youth point and Huaihua Village, countless women liked Wen Zhiqing.
But Wen Zhiqing had said: he went to the countryside to build a new rural area, not wanting to date or marry so soon.
Zhao Weihong thought that Wen Zhiqing’s good looks, gentle personality, and high ideological consciousness made her like him even more.
And among those who liked Wen Zhqing, the one she found most annoying was Gu Jia Ning.
Always taking advantage of her father’s position as village chief to frequently harass Wen Zhiqing at the educated youth point. Wen Zhiqing’s personality was just too kind, not knowing how to reject, afraid of hurting people, so Gu Jia Ning became more and more brazen.
She was just afraid that Wen Zhiqing would eventually be pressured by public opinion to be with Gu Jia Ning.
With her hair braided in two, the gentle-looking Li Juan carried a basin of water, "Wen Zhiqing, use this water to wipe your face, clean up, and apply some medicine."
Having heard Zhao Weihong’s indignation earlier, she added, "We educated youths are disadvantaged in the village; we can’t defend against the villagers. Whatever they say goes, and we can only bear the hardship."
Then she seemingly unintentionally mentioned another topic, "Oh, I heard something. A matchmaker came to Huaihua Village today, saying someone was planning to look at Gu Jia Ning, and Gu Jia Ning agreed."
Half leaning against the bed, Wen Zhqing’s eyes flickered, his brows slightly furrowed, then relaxed after a while.
It must be fake.
Wen Zhqing knew how Gu Jia Ning was wholeheartedly into him, willing to jump into the river today for him, just to get a job to please him and date him. How could she possibly agree to see someone else so soon?
The female educated youths, not daring to confront the Gu Family about Wen Zhqing being beaten, harbored secret thoughts. With Wen Zhiqing lately incapacitated, it was their chance to take care of him and leave a good impression, nurturing their relationship and feelings.
In the evening, Sheng Zexi drove from Huaihua Village back to a hotel in town.
Lying on the bed, hands behind his head, his long body nearly taking up the whole two-meter bed, with his long straight legs crossed casually, he looked lazily and leisurely. Turning his gaze to the cabinet with the early-prepared gifts, recalling the day spent with Gu Jia Ning, the corners of his lips gently curved into a smile, and his phoenix eyes sparkled brightly.
Seemingly thinking of something, Sheng Zexi’s once relaxed brows furrowed slightly again.
He could tell that Gu Jia Ning probably really liked that Wen Zhiqing before.
But now, her attitude had changed, and she was willing to try things with him.
"Wen Zhqing, pretty boy!" Sheng Zexi murmured, gnashing his teeth, as jealousy spread like thorns, piercing fiercely at his heart.
Taking a deep breath, Sheng Zexi calmed down a bit.
He knew that Gu Jia Ning wasn’t that fond of him yet, or rather, she just had a good impression of him.
But, it didn’t matter.
What he needed to do now was seize the opportunity to proceed with the prospect, have Gu Jia Ning marry him early, take her along with the army, and keep her by his side.
Once she became his, he was absolutely confident that, one day, he would root himself into Gu Jia Ning’s silly heart, growing into a towering tree, then kick that so-called Zhqing or Juqing out.
Ha, to instigate that silly girl to jump into the river in the dead of winter just for a job, could he be anything good? Beating him today was just collecting a bit of interest.
Just...
About his physical condition, discussing it tomorrow, he wondered how the little girl and the Gu Family would react, and whether they’d reject him?