Chapter 6

Hao Cheng returned in the pouring rain. Despite wearing a straw raincoat and a hat, she was completely soaked. She leaned the umbrella against the wall, lowered her head to roll up her dripping pants, and vigorously wrung out her clothes.

As soon as she entered the warm and dry house, she intended to change her clothes.

As she took off her shirt, she heard footsteps approaching from behind. She became alert and turned around when the sound got closer. This startled the other person, causing them to drop the stick they were holding with a clatter.

“What are you up to?!” Both of them exclaimed simultaneously. Hao Cheng held her dry clothes against her chest defensively, while the other person hastily picked up the rolling pin from the ground. Clearly, it was just a rabbit, pretending to remain calm while firmly holding onto the stick. “Let me tell you, if you dare to do anything, don’t blame me for being rude!”

Hao Cheng quickly explained, “You’ve misunderstood. I’m the owner of this house. I’m the one who saved you and brought you back. I’m taking off my clothes to change into dry ones to avoid getting sick.”

There was a folding screen behind the wardrobe. When she came in, she casually glanced around but didn’t see anyone. She thought the man was still unconscious, so she couldn’t have imagined that he had woken up and seen her taking off her clothes, mistaking her for someone with ulterior motives.

She considered herself a good person and believed the other person to be one too. Law-abiding and knowledgeable, she was reasonable. Although she wasn’t to the point of sacrificing herself to save others, her character was undoubtedly good.

Did her face scream ‘Do I look like I’m desperate for a man’? When she played dumb, she looked at the scholar, who was still quite handsome and upright. Even if she was starving, she wouldn’t go crazy to this extent.

In her rush to explain, the clothes she was holding up to shield herself fell to the ground, causing the other person to scream and turn away, still clutching the rolling pin, afraid that Hao Cheng might suddenly pounce on him with a lewd smile.

Feeling helpless, Hao Cheng quickly picked up her clothes. “Please, sir, turn around and go behind the screen. It’s better there.”

Having someone else in the room made her very uncomfortable, but she had already taken off half of her clothes, and she couldn’t just walk out naked.

The man didn’t move at all, and she didn’t know what he was thinking. Perhaps he was worried that she might do something improper. After all, in this world, it’s the men who suffer, not the women.

Hao Cheng sighed and suppressed her discomfort, swiftly changing her clothes. Then she coughed lightly twice. “Sir, you can turn around now.”

He glanced over and confirmed that she was indeed dressed neatly before turning around. However, he still didn’t let go of the stick in his hand. Hao Cheng first apologized to him, “I thought you were still unconscious, and your clothes were wet from the rain, with the screen blocking the view. I didn’t expect you to wake up, so I offended you. It was my lack of consideration, please forgive me.”

The scholar’s appearance was still very innocent. The original scholar’s personality made her seem aloof and distant to others. Hao Cheng habitually smiled with a hint of elegance, which, coupled with her clear and bright eyes, added a touch of gentlemanly demeanor.

In short, she didn’t look like a bad person. Her sincere attitude made it difficult for people to associate her with terms like pervert or rogue.

The latter also put down the stick in his hand and apologized sincerely, “No, no, no, I was too abrupt towards my benefactor.”

Seeing the rolling pin drop to the ground, Hao Cheng also breathed a sigh of relief and waved her hand to indicate that she didn’t mind. “It’s okay. It’s better to be more cautious outside. It’s better to be a bit guarded than to treat everyone as good people.”

Thinking from another perspective, if she hadn’t crossed over and woke up injured only to see a man undressing, she would definitely have regarded him as a rogue. Moreover, this was ancient times, where reputation and innocence were even more important.

Yet this rabbit-like man kept apologizing as if he had committed some unforgivable crime. Hao Cheng felt somewhat annoyed by his repeated apologies, but secretly relieved. It seemed that he was indeed from a respectable family with good upbringing. Once the rain stopped, she would send him on his way.

“The doctor said your injuries aren’t too severe, but you need to take extra care of the wound on your waist in the future. I told others that you’re my distant relative from afar, without tarnishing your reputation. Where do you live? Do you have relatives nearby? When the weather clears tomorrow, I can give you a ride.”

She hadn’t thought of repaying him when she saved him, and her demands weren’t high. As long as he left soon without causing her more trouble, that would be enough.

Thinking about it, she didn’t really understand the ways of those who strictly followed the rules. So, she added, “Of course, if you think there’s anything wrong with me, feel free to point it out. I won’t force you to do anything according to my thoughts.”

The rabbit-like man remained silent, and Hao Cheng didn’t know what he was thinking. The room fell into a brief silence, and the awkward atmosphere was suddenly broken by a rumbling sound.

Hao Cheng instinctively looked over, and the fair-faced man’s pale face turned a faint pink, indicating embarrassment. Right, he had been lying under that cliff for who knows how long, losing so much blood, he must be starving by now.

And she was exhausted, so she was hungry too. Hao Cheng clapped her hands together and said, “Rest here for a while. I’ll go make some food.”

There was no reason for a benefactor to cook for himself, so Jiang Mengzhen quickly stepped forward to help. But making two bowls of noodles wasn’t much help. However, Hao Cheng couldn’t refuse him, so she peeled the garlic, washed the ginger, and was then chased out to let the young man cook.

After Hao Cheng left, Jiang Mengzhen’s smile disappeared. He wasn’t really scared or apologetic to the scholar, he just didn’t want to let the benefactor serve him, which didn’t fit the image he portrayed.

Most importantly, Jiang Mengzhen was highly vigilant against anyone. Everyone around him prioritized their own interests. To him, the idea of simple and warm-hearted villagers was simply absurd.

Without any ulterior motives, why would this person help him so much? Hao Cheng thought she was just doing what anyone else would, but to Jiang Mengzhen, this stranger’s enthusiasm was abnormal.

Jiang Mengzhen threw a handful of noodles into the pot, a cold smile forming on his lips where no one could see.

He had heard too many stories about encountering warm-hearted old hunters in the deep mountains, only for the young man to wake up and find himself taken advantage of by the old hunter or his unsuccessful daughter. He insisted on cooking himself, fearing that this woman would secretly poison him.

After all, he had changed all his clothes, and the only thing he had dropped was the jade pendant. All the self-defense powders he had were used against those who tried to kill him. He had no weapons, his injuries weren’t fully healed, and he wasn’t strong enough. He might not be able to handle this young woman.

After waiting outside for a while, feeling hungry, Hao Cheng was about to go into the small kitchen to see what the man was doing when he came out with a steaming bowl of noodles. There was a hint of shyness on his face.

The man smiled and said, “Sorry for the wait, benefactor.”

Hao Cheng looked at the noodles with garlic and ginger, her expression changing from sunny to cloudy. She clearly remembered asking him to cook noodles, so why did he serve noodle dumpling soup instead!

Perhaps he was better at making noodle soup. Although this bowl of noodles, no, noodle soup didn’t look very appetizing.

She didn’t say anything and just thanked him before picking up her chopsticks to take a bite. But after just one bite, tears filled her eyes. This was the worst noodle soup she had ever eaten in her life! No doubt about it!