Chapter 15: Moody (Part 2)

Yet, determined to maintain her “kind and gentle” persona, Du Tian held back from arguing with Dai Ning and simply looked at Zhao Yu with tear-filled eyes.

Zhao Yu said to Du Tian, “Ignore her nonsense. Saving your mom is what’s important. Let’s hurry and check on Aunt Du.”

Once they were gone, green orb anxiously reminded, “The male and female leads are alone now, Dai Ning. Aren’t you going to check on them?”

“I’m not going. Didn’t you hear? It’s dangerous,” Dai Ning replied, adding, “I’ve had terrible luck since I was little. Back in school, when my classmates bought bottles of water, every other bottle would win a prize. I bought out the entire store and didn’t win a single time.”

She went on, “Du Tian, as the female lead, must have incredible luck—she wasn’t even chased by the boar! If I go over there, the boar will probably forget her mom and come straight for me instead.”

Taking a sip of her soy milk, Dai Ning concluded, “Don’t worry. They’re too preoccupied with the situation to be thinking about romance. Frankly, it’d be nice if the boar just ran both of them down!”

The green orb felt like its worldview was crumbling by the day, especially being around Dai Ning.

Regrettably, before long, Zhao Yu returned, carrying Du Yuexiang on his back, followed by Du Tian.

Du Yuexiang’s forehead was beaded with sweat from pain. The wild boar hadn’t harmed her much, but she had rolled down the slope, breaking her leg.

Seeing the scene, Dai Ning tagged along, clearly amused by the situation.

Zhao Yu placed Du Yuexiang in a chair as she moaned in pain.

This sort of injury was beyond the village doctor’s ability to treat.

Zhao Yu guessed it was likely a bone issue. He turned to Dai Ning, “Miss, could you…”

“No way, no way. My Uncle Qian doesn’t know how to set bones,” Dai Ning replied with a stingy expression, “Didn’t Du Tian say she’s good at medicine? Let her treat her mom’s leg.”

Du Tian, who heard Dai Ning’s remark, had red-rimmed eyes, both anxious and angry.

Zhao Yu told Dai Ning, “Stop messing around.”

Dai Ning looked innocent. “I’m just saying Uncle Qian can’t do it.”

Zhao Yu knew arguing with her was useless, so he said to Du Tian, “Bone injuries need treatment at a big hospital.”

Du Tian knew this well and, eyes brimming with tears, pitifully begged, “Brother Zhao Yu, you know we have no relatives in the village. I’m not well enough to take my mom out of the mountains on my own. Could you please help us? I’ll repay you someday.”

Zhao Yu replied, “We’re all neighbors; there’s no need to talk about repaying. Wait a moment while I tell Zhao Ping some things and get a cart to take Aunt Du to the hospital.”

As he turned around, he saw Dai Ning’s sulking, puffed-up face.

She kicked him, then stormed off in a huff.

The young lady finally understood: Du Yuexiang’s accident was a twist of fate designed to create more opportunities for the main leads. One day it’s illness in one house, the next day it’s injury in another. Helping each other back and forth—never-ending!

With Zhao Ping and Zhao An’an in the mix, Zhao Yu’s family could probably go through a couple more rounds of incidents.

Enough! Whoever wants to keep watch on them can go ahead.

She went off to find Zhang Yongfeng and Chen Xiaoli to have some fun.

By the time Zhao Yu returned with the cart, he saw the young lady walking away from his house without looking back.

“Ji Dai Ning,” Zhao Yu called out, frowning.

The young lady didn’t even turn her head. White country butterflies danced in her wake, and with autumn approaching, she wore a little pearl jacket for sun protection, gradually disappearing down the main road.

Zhao Yu lowered his gaze, his long, slender fingers gripping the cart, as he went to fetch Aunt Du.

He and Du Tian walked along the mountain path, not saying much.

Despite the accident, Du Tian saw this as a blessing in disguise. Without the irritating Ji Dai Ning around, she finally had a chance to spend time with Zhao Yu.

In a soft voice, she said, “Zhao Yu-ge, I’m so grateful to you. If it weren’t for you, my mother and I wouldn’t know what to do.”

Zhao Yu, pushing Du Yuexiang along, replied calmly, “Anyone else in the village would have been willing to help.”

“Still, it’s different,” Du Tian said gently. “To me, you’re like family.”

Zhao Yu gave her a look, as if gauging her words, and replied, “You’re like a sister to me too, so there’s no need for such formality.”

Surprised, Du Tian forced a smile. “I think of you as a brother too,” she replied.

Not one to lose sight of her goals, she understood that having a connection, however small, was better than none.

The conversation fell into silence again, broken only by birds chirping in the mountains.

Casually, Du Tian remarked, “Miss Ji has been staying with you for quite a while. She’s used to a pampered life—I’m sure it’s been tough for you.”

Thinking of Ji Dai Ning’s indignant departure earlier, Zhao Yu murmured, “It’s manageable.”

With a hint of guilt, Du Tian said, “I have a feeling she was upset because you helped us.”

This comment could easily be interpreted as a slight toward Ji Dai Ning’s narrow-mindedness.

Zhao Yu’s lips quirked in a barely perceptible smile. “Don’t worry about it—she’s easy to appease.”

Du Tian froze, hardly believing what she’d just heard. Easy to appease?

A chill settled in her heart as she quickly moved on to other topics, her mind reeling.

――

Du Yuexiang needed to stay in the hospital, so Du Tian remained to care for her mother.

Zhao Yu, worried about things at home, decided to head back.

Du Tian knew she couldn’t ask him to stay longer, so she replied warmly, “Thank you, Zhao Yu-ge. Please wait a moment. I saw a stall selling pomegranates outside; they looked nice. Let me get some for An’an and Zhao Ping.”

Zhao Yu declined politely. “No need. Just take good care of Aunt Du. If you need anything, let me know, and I’ll do my best.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Biting her lip, Du Tian realized that after all these missed opportunities, her progress with Zhao Yu was painfully negligible.

A deep sense of urgency welled up within her. If she didn’t take action soon, she would lose Zhao Yu altogether.

Leaving the hospital, Zhao Yu intended to head straight back but paused to consider the pomegranates Du Tian had mentioned. He bought three large, ripe ones.

The Zhao family lived frugally, rarely buying treats from outside the mountains.

Zhao An’an and Zhao Ping were used to it. They would snack on whatever fruits were in season and available nearby.

With his brisk pace, Zhao Yu arrived back in the village just before sunset.

At the gate, he found Zhao An’an and Zhao Ping feeding the chickens.

When Zhao An’an spotted the pomegranates in her brother’s hands, her eyes lit up.

Zhao Yu patted her head, smiling. “One’s for you and your brother to share, and one’s for Mom and Dad.”

As for the third…

Zhao An’an and Zhao Ping, thrilled, didn’t ask questions, and Zhao Yu didn’t offer an explanation.

Ji Dai Ning wasn’t home; normally, she would be waiting around for Uncle Qian to bring her food.

Sucking on her fingers, Zhao An’an said, “I think Miss Ji went to the creek to have a barbecue.”

At her age, she didn’t understand what a barbecue was exactly, but everything Ji Dai Ning did seemed fun and exciting.

Zhao Yu nodded. After finishing his meal, he realized Ji Dai Ning still hadn’t returned.

Deciding to check on her, he worried that her mischievous nature might have caused trouble somewhere.

He followed the creek path, running into a few villagers wrapping up their work along the way.

Finally, by the stream, he found them.

The humor in Zhao Yu’s eyes faded, replaced with a hint of cool indifference.

――

Ji Dai Ning felt incredibly unlucky.

That afternoon, she’d spontaneously decided to have a barbecue, inviting Chen Xiao Li and Zhang Yongfeng to join her by the river.

Although Chen Xiao Li often silently cursed Ji Dai Ning, when asked, “Are you coming?”

Chen Xiao Li immediately replied, “Yes.”

This village was practically prehistoric; she was on the verge of a breakdown.

If she ever got back to her former life, she swore she’d never latch onto Ji Dai Ning again.

Knowing how much Ji Dai Ning feared bugs, Zhang Yongfeng had chosen a clear patch of ground for the barbecue.

The open area had no grass, and thus, no insects.

The cook had already prepared the ingredients, and Zhang Yongfeng began setting up the charcoal and grill.

Chen Xiao Li wore a scowl the entire time, realizing she had been brought along as a helper to skewer food for the “princess.”

Seizing an opportunity to vent her annoyance, she deliberately tipped over the oil.

Ji Dai Ning quickly stepped back, but some oil still splattered on her shoes.

Narrowing her eyes, Ji Dai Ning looked at Chen Xiao Li.

Chen Xiao Li steadied her nerves, feeling a small thrill of satisfaction. “Oh, Dai Ning, I didn’t mean it. Are you alright? Don’t be mad.”

Ji Dai Ning tilted her head. “You said it wasn’t intentional, and the oil’s not hot. Why would I be mad?”

In that instant, dozens of ways to deal with Chen Xiaoli flashed through her mind.

Seeing this, Zhang Yongfeng hurried over to help Dai Ning change her shoes.

The oil had seeped into her shoes, making Dai Ning feel extremely uncomfortable. She waved her hand. “I’ll go rinse off by the creek.”

The village creek had cool, clear water where the villagers often did their laundry.

But unexpectedly, trouble arose as soon as she started washing…

Villagers had washed clothes in that creek for years without issue, but the moment Ji Dai Ning dipped her foot in, a crab snapped at her.

Zhang Yongfeng was stunned: “…”

Even Chen Xiaoli looked shocked.

The green orb spirit finally understood what it meant to have “E-rank luck.” With luck like hers, could it be due to bad karma?

Zhang Yongfeng snapped out of it and quickly removed the crab, comforting the teary-eyed young lady.

That soft, fair foot now had a bleeding wound, and Zhang Yongfeng was panicked, his usually honest and clumsy self completely at a loss.

This was bad—Dai Ning was in pain and had started blaming everyone around her.

Zhang Yongfeng was to blame for letting her get hurt right under his nose.

Chen Xiaoli was to blame too; without her, Dai Ning wouldn’t have needed to rinse her feet.

Even Uncle Qian was at fault; he’d gone outside the village to make a call to report back to the master and hadn’t returned yet. If he had, Dai Ning wouldn’t have been running around with two young men, and he could’ve checked her injury right away.

Zhang Yongfeng picked Dai Ning up. “I’ll take you to see a doctor; it won’t hurt for much longer.”

Dai Ning tugged on his ear and scolded, “You fool.” The village doctor was so terrible even pigs wouldn’t want his care.

“Yes, yes, I’m a fool. Does it still hurt, young miss?” He ran while comforting her, hoping her mood would improve.

As they reached the middle of the creek, they encountered Zhao Yu, who had come looking for them.

Dai Ning’s mood worsened.

After all, it was Zhao Yu’s fault that she had come out to play today, thanks to him stirring up trouble with Du Tian.

If Zhao Yu hadn’t annoyed her, she wouldn’t have suddenly decided to come out for a barbecue.

Dai Ning wrapped her arms around Zhang Yongfeng’s neck, burying her face in his shoulder, ignoring Zhao Yu entirely. Zhang Yongfeng’s ears turned red; the young lady might be spoiled and stubborn, but she was soft and petite, and in any man’s arms, she’d be distracting.

Zhang Yongfeng awkwardly explained to Zhao Yu, “The young miss hurt her foot, I’m taking her to get it looked at.”

Zhao Yu glanced down, confirming the injury—Dai Ning’s delicate foot had a cut, with fresh blood staining it.

Dai Ning urged Zhang Yongfeng impatiently, “Why bother explaining to him? Let’s go back, I’m in so much pain.”

“Yes, yes.”

Zhang Yongfeng held the young miss and was about to sidestep Zhao Yu and leave.

Zhao Yu paused, then caught Zhang Yongfeng’s arm. “Let me take her. I have medicine at home for injuries.”