Xu Shengnan felt a chill run down her spine from Xu Zifan's gaze. She didn't know why, but she instinctively looked away, not daring to meet his eyes.
After Xu Zifan left, she was filled with remorse. Why should she, a worldly woman who had spent years navigating the capital, be afraid of a wretched old man from the countryside? How ridiculous!
Xu Dajun wanted to scold Xu Shengnan a few more times, but Xu Shengnan was already disgusted by the two fools who were blindly filial, cowardly, and incompetent and only knew how to throw tantrums at their daughter. She was impatient to get along with them anymore, so she snorted coldly, covered her face, and strode away, slamming the door shut to show her displeasure.
Anyway, they've already separated and are no longer involved with the extended family. They're both simple-minded and honest, and won't do anything to burden her. She just needs to get married, live her own good life, and send them money every month once she earns enough. When she gets old, she can hire a caregiver; that would be doing them a favor.
Xu Shengnan locked the door. Liu Xia knocked for a long time before leaving. Xu Shengnan rolled her eyes, lay on the bed, and silently waited for the spiritual spring water to condense in her space, while also planning how to bump into Song Xin. Nothing else mattered; Song Xin was the most important thing.
Meanwhile, the people working in the fields started gossiping again, and the rumors spread that Xu Shengnan was a wicked and gossipy woman who insisted on blaming her grandfather when it was clearly her own fault, and that she was being pretentious and cunning.
The Song family naturally heard about it too, and were extremely relieved that the Xu family had suddenly split up, as their two families hadn't even had a chance to meet and hadn't even let the news out. However, no matter how much they distrusted the matchmaker, weren't all the praise Xu Shengnan had given them—wasn't that a lie?
The matchmaker was actually a recognized matchmaker from two or three villages. In the new society, she couldn't be called a matchmaker, so everyone called her Sister Mei.
Mei Jie had no idea Xu Shengnan was like this. Now that the Song family resented her, she had no way to explain herself. She inquired with many people, and they all said that Xu Shengnan was just a little spoiled, but otherwise had no major flaws. Wasn't she a perfectly good young lady? Which girl doesn't gradually change after getting married? Once she has a family, she can't be lazy anymore. Otherwise, would she expect others to serve her husband?
But to her utter surprise, within just a few days, Xu Shengnan's name had spread throughout the two villages. She felt ashamed when she thought of the boasts she had made to the Song family. Xu Shengnan was practically her dark history!
Sister Mei has always loved gossiping and visiting neighbors. She knows almost everyone in the nearby villages; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to be a matchmaker. She hates Xu Shengnan and whenever she mentions her in her interactions with others, she does so with disdain, exaggerating Xu Shengnan's actions. This makes Xu Shengnan's reputation even worse.
After Xu Shengnan drank the spiritual spring water for three days and fully recovered, she found that her reputation was ruined, and she was almost driven mad with anger!
She overheard three women under a tree talking about her malicious intentions, so she rushed over to confront them, demanding evidence. She said that without evidence, it was slander and could land her in jail. Why would the three women be afraid of her? They told her to go ahead and call the police; it was common knowledge in two or three villages. Who was slandering her?
Xu Shengnan was so angry that her face turned ashen, but she didn't care about arguing with them anymore. She hurriedly ran to the fifth production team next door. She hadn't met Song Xin yet. What if Song Xin heard these words and disliked her?
She hated these ignorant people. They believed everything they heard. That was the most annoying thing about the village. No one could keep anything to themselves. If something got out, it would be exaggerated a hundred times. She regretted it so much. After being reborn, she should have done nothing and settled down with Song Xin first!
She ran to the fifth production team before realizing that her sudden arrival was inappropriate. What reason could she give to find Song Xin? She couldn't very well go to the fields or to the Song family's house to look for him; they didn't know him. But she was also unwilling to go back just like that. The longer she waited, the more things might go wrong. She was afraid now and didn't want to waste even a day.
After thinking it over, Xu Shengnan avoided people and hid near where Song Xin was working. When she saw Song Xin finish work and prepare to go home, she rubbed her eyes hard, making them red and shedding a lot of tears. Then she walked out with her head down, stumbling and bumping into Song Xin!
"Ah! My foot!" Xu Shengnan exclaimed in a pleasant voice, falling to the ground and clutching her ankle.
"I'm sorry, how are you?" Song Xin hurriedly squatted down and asked.
Xu Shengnan frowned slightly, looked up at him with teary eyes, and said, "My foot... I think I twisted it, it hurts so much, what should I do?"
Song Xin was stunned when he saw her beautiful face. It wasn't that there weren't girls in the village who were well-fed; their families didn't want them to do housework, so they were raised to be fair-skinned and dressed neatly and cleanly. But Xu Shengnan was ten times more beautiful than the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
Her flawless, fair skin, rosy lips, and big, teary eyes were so beautiful that anyone who saw her would think she was stunning. The young men who came over after hearing the commotion stared at her intently!
Seeing that the girl was crying from the pain, Song Xin felt bad. Although the girl herself hadn't seen the collision, he was perfectly fine, yet she was injured, and he felt embarrassed to say that.
Song Xin asked somewhat awkwardly, "You're not from our brigade, are you? Are you visiting relatives from the county town? Who is your relative? I'll ask him to take you to the clinic."
Xu Shengnan lowered her head in disappointment, as if she had suffered endless grievances. "I didn't watch the road and I don't know how I got here... My home is in the fourth production team. Can you take me back? I don't want to go to the clinic. It's a waste of money. I'll just go back and rest by myself."
Song Xin stood up and said, "I'll have my sister-in-law come and take a look. You wait here."
Xu Shengnan gritted her teeth and immediately grabbed him in a panic, "You, I don't know anyone here, I'm a little scared, I, I want to go home, can you take me back? Or you can find me a tree branch, I can go back by myself."
Song Xin noticed that she was very shy around strangers and thought she might be a little timid.
He wondered what grievances she had suffered that led her to run away alone, and then twist her ankle; she must be terrified right now. Since she was injured because of him, he thought for a moment, then handed the farm tools to a neighbor to take back, along with a message, while he supported Xu Shengnan's arm to escort her home.
While physical contact between men and women should be avoided, if one is injured and the other simply offers a helping hand, albeit politely, arm-to-arm, it's not a big deal. Some mischievous guys might just jokingly remark on Song Xin's good fortune—"Such a beautiful girl! So beautiful!"
Everyone chatted as they went about their workdays. Hearing the news, Song's mother frowned repeatedly, while Song Xin silently helped Xu Shengnan walk towards the fourth production team. When they reached a secluded spot, Xu Shengnan cried out in pain, twisted her ankle, and fell into Song Xin's arms!
She seemed terrified and clung tightly to Song Xin to balance herself, so their bodies were pressed close together. Song Xin's face immediately turned red, and he hurriedly helped Xu Shengnan up.
Xu Shengnan glanced at him, both embarrassed and anxious, then turned her back as if to avoid him, and said quickly, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I, I... I'm sorry..."
Song Xin scratched his head, remaining silent, and couldn't help but glance at Xu Shengnan several times. Such a beautiful girl, yet seemingly timid, introverted, and delicate—the kind of girl many men would find attractive. However, he felt his heart wasn't racing, and he didn't feel anything for Xu Shengnan. He just felt a little lost; why was it so difficult to send someone away? He should probably ask his sister-in-law to help.
He glanced at Xu Shengnan's feet and made a quick decision, "You sit here and rest for a bit, I'll go call someone for you."
"No need, I..."
"Yes, which family do you live in?"
"Really, it's not necessary. My family, they..."
Seeing that she seemed to have been wronged and had something difficult to say, Song Xin thought for a moment and simply said, "Wait a moment, I'll be right back."
"Hey? Where are you going?"
Song Xin ran off in a flash, and Xu Shengnan couldn't stop her even when she called out. She frowned and stamped her foot. But then, remembering how Song Xin had blushed earlier, she smiled smugly. After drinking so much of the Heavenly Spirit Spring water, she swore she was more beautiful than any woman Song Xin had ever seen.
Which man doesn't love a pretty girl? She satisfies men's chauvinistic psychology by relying on them, and she even flirts with men through intimate contact. It's impossible for Song Xin not to like her. Maybe he's looking for something to take care of her right now.
Song Xin ran to the fourth production team to ask for directions to Wang Baoguo's house. He told Wang Baoguo that a woman from their team had twisted her ankle in the fifth production team and was currently outside the village. He asked Wang Baoguo to help arrange things, and said that if she needed medical expenses, they could discuss it with him.
Upon hearing this, Wang Baoguo immediately sent his wife and two daughters-in-law with their bicycles to pick up the person. He told them to take a look and, if serious, send the injured person directly to the clinic. Wang Baoguo secretly wondered who it was. Why would someone be injured in another village? And why would a man bring them here? The man's attitude didn't seem like that of someone he was dating. If he were really interested, he wouldn't have missed such a good opportunity to come for help.
Xu Shengnan waited expectantly, but after a long wait, she was met only by the brigade leader's wife; Song Xin was nowhere to be seen. The three men were also surprised to see her. The brigade leader's wife helped her onto her bicycle and asked, "What were you doing at the Fifth Team? Weren't you bitten by a snake and supposed to rest? Are you alright?"
Xu Shengnan shook her head weakly, "No, but lying in bed all the time isn't good, so I came out for a walk to get some exercise. Who knew I heard someone talking about me... I was in a bad mood, so I ran out without watching where I was going..."
Although she acted quite convincingly, she drank spiritual spring water every day to nourish herself, and her complexion was rosy; she didn't look like someone who hadn't recovered from poisoning at all. The three looked at her suspiciously, glancing at her every now and then along the way, making Xu Shengnan almost unable to keep up the act.
She asked, seemingly casually, "Has the kind person who brought me home left? I wanted to thank her."
The brigade leader's wife said strangely, "He's at my house. Didn't he say he accidentally bumped into you? If you were seriously injured, he would have to pay for your medical expenses. Why are you thanking him?"
"He didn't do it on purpose. I'm fine, I just need to rest at home. We're all from the same village, there's no need to make a fuss over it. He even brought me back, so of course I have to thank him."
These words made all three of them uncomfortable. She didn't care, but didn't that mean their desire for medical expenses was petty?
Besides, she thanked Song Xin just because Song Xin gave her a ride for part of the way? Now, the three of them ran over and pushed her bicycle to take her back. Why isn't she thanking them?
The brigade leader's youngest daughter-in-law was the same age as Xu Shengnan. Quick-witted, she thought about Song Xin's tall and handsome appearance and began to understand. Looking at Xu Shengnan's rosy face again, she felt something was wrong. If someone twisted their ankle and couldn't walk, they should be in excruciating pain, not sweating profusely. How could they be in such good spirits?!
Her eyes darted around, and suddenly she pointed to the side and shouted, "Ah! There's a snake!!"