Chapter 44: She Left

How could he possibly let Shen Jiaojiao suffer any grievances?

It was only at this moment that Xu Mo realized he had actually started thinking about spending his entire life with Shen Jiaojiao.

He had even decided where they would be buried after death.

Pressing his lips together, he lifted his gaze and glanced at Liu Xiaolan.

At this moment, Liu Xiaolan had shifted the conversation to Shen Jiaojiao’s family.

She was saying that marriage should involve notifying Jiaojiao’s family.

Even though the two families were quite far apart, proper etiquette had to be followed and all that.

Of course, Xu Mo knew that Shen Jiaojiao’s family had to be informed.

But… now was not the time to talk about this!

Dear heavens! If she kept going, it would be midnight soon.

Xu Mo couldn’t listen to anything else right now.

His mind was entirely occupied with Shen Jiaojiao.

He worried about whether she would be in danger if she went to the small forest alone.

He worried whether she would be angry if he arrived late.

Xu Mo was anxious beyond measure.

He spoke up again, trying to remind her: “Mother, whatever you have to say, let’s talk about it tomorrow! You worked all day today, you must be exhausted. Go get some rest!”

Liu Xiaolan was in high spirits today and hadn’t even noticed how late it had gotten.

She glanced at the moon outside. “It is quite late.”

But then, as she came back to her senses, she looked at Xu Mo suspiciously.

“Old Third, why do you keep trying to send me away tonight?”

Xu Mo: “…” He couldn’t be blamed for this!

Everything just happened to pile up all at once.

Compared to his mother’s need for a heart-to-heart conversation, he felt that meeting Shen Jiaojiao was far more important at this moment.

After all, Shen Jiaojiao was just a young girl, and it was extremely dangerous for her to be out alone in the middle of the night.

He couldn’t stop worrying.

“I’m not trying to send you away.”

Xu Mo spoke dryly.  

But his indifferent expression already said everything, didn’t it?  

Liu Xiaolan cast a frustrated glance at her son.  

Silently, she let out a long, weary sigh in her heart.  

Sure enough, a son with a wife would forget his mother!  

Sigh!  

Feeling unwelcome, Liu Xiaolan got off the heated brick bed, slipped on her slippers, and returned to her own room.  

Xu Mo wanted to explain, but when the words reached his lips, he didn’t know how to say them.  

Forget it.  

His mother would have to get used to it sooner or later.  

Xu Mo kept an eye on Liu Xiaolan’s bedroom.  

Only after he no longer heard any movement from inside and the soft sound of snoring reached his ears did he quietly get out of bed, tiptoe to the door, and slip out of the courtyard.  

Tonight, the moonlight was bright.  

The dirt road was bathed in a silver glow.  

In the fields, the croaking of frogs and the chirping of insects intertwined in an endless symphony.  

Xu Mo ran toward the small forest as fast as he could.  

But when he arrived, he realized—  

There was no sign of Shen Jiaojiao.  

It was probably around eleven at night now.  

If Shen Jiaojiao had come, she would have waited for a long time and surely left by now.  

A sense of unease crept into Xu Mo’s heart.  

Would Shen Jiaojiao be angry?  

Would she ignore him from now on?  

These thoughts weighed on him, making him pace back and forth in place.  

After a while, when he finally snapped out of his thoughts, he found himself standing beneath the ancient locust tree at the village entrance.  

From here, he could see Shen Jiaojiao’s bedroom.  

The house was completely dark—it seemed she had already gone to bed.  

After all, it was so late.  

Xu Mo stood beneath the locust tree for a moment, an impulsive urge stirring in his heart.

Xu Mo wanted to climb through the window and explain everything to Shen Jiaojiao.  

But it was really late. What if he knocked on her window and accidentally scared her?  

Forget it. He should just go back.  

He could find a chance to explain tomorrow.  

With a gloomy expression, Xu Mo returned home.  

The Next Day  

When Liu Xiaolan saw Xu Mo coming out of his bedroom, she was startled.  

“Old Third, did you go steal a cow last night? Why are your eyes all bruised?”  

Xu Mo walked over to the well, drew a bucket of water, and saw the dark circles under his eyes reflected in the surface.  

He felt a little frustrated.  

He hadn’t slept at all last night.  

“Maybe I didn’t sleep well.” he answered vaguely.  

Then, cupping some water in his hands, he washed his face.  

After washing up and brushing his teeth, the family had breakfast and then went out to work as usual.  

Xu Mo worked in the wheat field for a while, but when everyone was busy, he quietly slipped away to the educated youth dormitory.  

By now, the dormitory was empty.  

Xu Mo walked to Shen Jiaojiao’s door, intending to knock.  

But then he saw a lock hanging on the door.  

Shen Jiaojiao had gone out?  

But she wasn’t scheduled to work today.  

Where could she have gone?  

Xu Mo felt a bit uneasy.  

But at this moment, there was no one he could ask.  

As he stepped out of the dormitory, he ran into a man returning from outside.  

Xu Mo hesitated for a moment, then asked: “Do you know where Shen Jiaojiao went?”  

Chen Guangkun glanced at Xu Mo, a complicated emotion flashing through his eyes.

But he quickly concealed his emotions.  

Chen Guangkun responded indifferently: “She went to the county town early this morning on the ox cart.”  

After saying that, he sidestepped Xu Mo and returned to the educated youth dormitory.  

The village’s ox cart traveled to the county town at regular intervals.  

Some people needed to go to the county to buy supplies, so they would wait for this day to hitch a ride on the cart.  

This saved them a lot of time and spared them from exhaustion.  

Upon learning that Shen Jiaojiao had gone to the county town, Xu Mo finally let out a small sigh of relief.  

He had thought she was angry with him and was deliberately avoiding him.  

With that worry eased, Xu Mo returned to the wheat field to continue harvesting.  

Meanwhile, Chen Guangkun entered the educated youth dormitory and walked to the door of the girls’ dormitory.  

“Comrade Ye.” he called softly.  

After a moment, Ye Huan emerged from the dormitory.  

“You didn’t go to work today either?” she asked, looking at Chen Guangkun suspiciously.  

“I did.” Chen Guangkun replied: “but I heard you weren’t feeling well today, so I came to check on you.”  

Ye Huan felt a little embarrassed. “My hand still hurts a lot, so I took another day off.”  

She sighed. “That means I’ll lose another day’s work points.”  

Chen Guangkun quickly said: “If your hand hurts, you should rest a few more days. I’ll carry the manure buckets for you in the meantime.”  

“How could I trouble you like that?” Ye Huan exclaimed. “Carrying manure is exhausting, and it’s so dirty and smelly.”

Ye Huan said that on purpose, but deep down, she was actually looking forward to it.  

If someone could help her earn work points, that would be amazing!  

Chen Guangkun might not be skilled at pleasing girls.  

His face was always stiff, with a cold and hard expression.  

But he could prove himself through actions.  

If he wasn’t good with words, he would just do more.  

“It’s fine. I’m not afraid of dirt or exhaustion. Just rest well. I’ll go carry the manure for you.”  

After saying that, Chen Guangkun ran off.  

Ye Huan stared at his back for a long while.  

She could now confirm one thing—  

This man liked her.  

But…  

Chen Guangkun wasn’t good-looking!  

Not even as good-looking as that country bumpkin, Xu Mo.  

That was truly depressing.  

Ye Huan didn’t dwell on these thoughts for now.  

After all, someone was helping her with work, and she couldn’t ask for more.  

And she didn’t feel any pressure about it.  

After all, there were plenty of men willing to do work for Huang Honghong.  

Yet none of them ever asked her to marry them!  

So really, if she didn’t take advantage of this, she’d be a fool.