Chapter 41: Rescuing Someone from the Water

Xu Mo walked ahead quickly, while Xia Tiantian persistently followed right behind him.

The educated youths and commune members working in the fields all saw this scene.

“Hey, isn’t that woman Xia Tiantian? Why is Xu Mo entangled with her again?”

“Who is Xia Tiantian?”

“You don’t know Xia Tiantian? She’s a young lady from the county town. Her parents both work in government offices, and I heard that her family is quite well-off.

Just some time ago, when Xu Mo went to the county, Xia Tiantian was harassed by some hooligans. Xu Mo happened to see it and rescued her. Originally, it was just an act of righteousness, but who knew that Xia Tiantian would take a liking to Xu Mo at first sight? She even said that since Xu Mo saved her, she had to marry him, or else her reputation would be ruined, and she wouldn’t be able to get married.

No one knows how the two discussed it, but in the end, Xu Mo agreed to marry Xia Tiantian.

Who would have thought that on the day of the engagement, Xia Tiantian’s family came to Xu Mo’s house, saw how poor it was, and turned around to leave. After that, the matter was left unresolved.”

“So it was the woman who backed out of the engagement?”

“Exactly! Xia Tiantian’s family only has this one precious daughter. Of course, they wouldn’t want her to marry a country bumpkin from the countryside!”

“Then why has Xia Tiantian come looking for Xu Mo again?”

“If you’re so curious, why don’t you go see for yourself?”

“I don’t have time to bother with other people’s business.”

These whispers reached the ears of Xu Mo’s two sisters-in-law.

The two of them were working together and happened to look up at the same time, just in time to see Xia Tiantian chasing after Xu Mo.

“That little vixen dares to come and humiliate my brother-in-law again.” Li Ermei spat on the ground and cursed.

Zhou Ying’s eyes, however, lit up. “Maybe she’s here to get back together with him.”

Li Ermei scoffed: “She still has the nerve to reconcile with him? Where does she get the face? Besides, our brother-in-law is about to marry Shen Jiaojiao. He definitely won’t pay attention to that little vixen.”

Zhou Ying said: “I actually think it would be better if he married Xia Tiantian. At least she doesn’t have a bad reputation like Shen Jiaojiao.”

But in reality, that wasn’t her true thought. She simply felt that if her brother-in-law married Xia Tiantian, Xia Tiantian definitely wouldn’t stay in the countryside.

There was a good chance that if the two of them ended up together, they would move back to the county town.  

By then, their brother-in-law’s room would be vacant again, wouldn’t it?  

That was just one of the benefits.  

If he married Xia Tiantian, there would be plenty of advantages.  

It was said that Xia Tiantian’s parents worked in government offices. When the time came, they could easily arrange a job for their son-in-law, which would surely pay far more than farming in the fields.  

So, marrying Xia Tiantian would be much better than marrying Shen Jiaojiao.  

Li Ermei rolled her eyes at Zhou Ying.  

“You really don’t learn your lesson, do you? Have you already forgotten how Xia Tiantian humiliated our family back then? If we let her marry into our home after all that, what would people think of us?”  

Feeling uneasy, Li Ermei picked up a sickle and walked toward the ridge.  

“I need to keep an eye on this. What if Xia Tiantian tries to blackmail our brother-in-law?”  

Zhou Ying thought Li Ermei was meddling too much.  

She couldn’t focus on her work anymore either, so she chased after Li Ermei.  

Xu Mo walked quickly, wanting nothing more than to avoid any entanglement with Xia Tiantian.  

But Xia Tiantian was relentless. She had to catch up to Xu Mo.  

“Xu Mo, wait for me! Don’t walk so fast, my feet hurt!”  

She had purposely worn a pair of leather shoes to meet Xu Mo today.  

But new shoes always had a way of biting. With every step, a sharp, searing pain shot through her heels.  

By now, the skin on her heels was probably torn.  

Yet, Xu Mo acted as if he hadn’t heard a word she said and didn’t even turn his head.  

Xia Tiantian suddenly grew furious.  

She had never suffered such humiliation before.  

There had never been a man she wanted but couldn’t get.  

Her gaze landed on the nearby pond.  

As her anger flared, all reason vanished.  

“Xu Mo, if you don’t stop and wait for me, I’ll jump in right now!”  

The moment the words left her mouth, Xu Mo only walked even faster.

In a fit of rage, Xia Tiantian leaped into the pond.  

“Ah… help… help!”  

She flailed desperately in the water, her body sinking and resurfacing repeatedly.  

Just as she thought she was truly going to drown, she heard the sound of someone splashing into the water beside her.  

The next moment, she felt a strong grip on the back of her collar, dragging her upward.  

As her consciousness began to fade, a wave of relief washed over her.  

Xu Mo wasn’t that heartless after all. He still came to save her.  

That meant he still cared for her.  

In her dazed state, she felt herself being placed on the ground. Someone was pressing on her chest and then… kissing her lips.  

But why did it smell… like feces?  

A disgusting stench, like someone who hadn’t brushed their teeth in ages, filled her nose.  

Xu Mo always looked like a clean person. He wouldn’t be this unhygienic, would he?  

“Ah! Mangy Dog, what are you doing kissing Xia Tiantian?!”  

Li Ermei had just arrived and was met with this shocking scene.  

Xia Tiantian lay on the ground, while a forty-year-old village man, known as Mangy Dog, was on top of her, kissing her.  

Li Ermei nearly vomited on the spot.  

Everyone knew that Mangy Dog was infamous in the village for being lazy, greedy, and unclean.  

He was poor and filthy.  

Because of this, he had remained unmarried even at his age. No woman dared to marry him.  

Hearing Li Ermei’s horrified cry, Xia Tiantian jolted awake in fear.  

Her eyes flew open, only to be met with an enlarged face hovering right above hers.  

Thick lips, yellowed teeth, a face covered in pockmarks.  

His hair was patchy, with bald spots all over.

It was absolutely disgusting.  

“Ugh—”  

Xia Tiantian vomited on the spot.  

The moment she realized that it wasn’t Xu Mo who had saved her, but this filthy old man—and that he had even kissed her—she wanted to die.  

She used all her strength to push Mangy Dog away. She clawed at him, bit him, but to a grown man like him, it was nothing more than a mild itch.  

Not only did Mangy Dog refuse to budge, but he pressed down on her even harder.  

“I saved you, shouldn’t you repay me with your body?”  

He grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth, and spoke directly into her face, his foul breath washing over her.  

Xia Tiantian gagged again, her stomach churning violently.  

Her entire body trembled in fear, leaving her too weak to fight back.  

“Get lost! If you dare touch me, my parents won’t let you off!”  

In her desperation, she scratched Mangy Dog’s face, leaving several bright red marks.  

Mangy Dog’s anger flared instantly.  

He had no sense of pity.  

Lifting his hand, he slapped Xia Tiantian across the face.  

“Pa! Pa! Pa!”  

He struck her several times before finally stopping.  

Xia Tiantian’s face swelled up like a pig’s head.  

“Wuwuwu… let me go! I want my father!”  

Never in her life had she suffered such humiliation. She immediately burst into tears.  

Mangy Dog had no patience for her crying.  

He grabbed her and started dragging her toward his house.  

“I saved you, so you have to marry me.”  

Xia Tiantian refused, squatting on the ground, unwilling to move.  

“Xu Mo, hurry and save me! I already belong to you, you can’t let me be defiled! Xu Mo—!”  

She kept shouting Xu Mo’s name as if they shared some deep bond.