Lu Ping’an listened for a while longer, but whether everyone had left or for some other reason, no further sounds reached his ears.  

“What are you hiding here and looking at?”  

Just as Lu Ping’an brushed the grass off his pants and was about to step out from behind the tree, a soft voice sounded behind him. In the dead silence of the night, it was utterly terrifying.  

Shen Xiaoyue had deliberately lowered her voice to avoid startling Lu Ping’an, but instead, she ended up scaring him.  

Before he turned around to see Shen Xiaoyue’s bright, lovely face, his mind flashed through a dozen ghost stories his mother had made up to scare him into staying away from the back mountain.  

Seeing him slowly turn around with hesitation and fear, only to relax after recognizing her, Shen Xiaoyue was inwardly delighted. She rose onto her tiptoes and leaned her face closer—so close that Lu Ping’an, flustered, could only lower his gaze to the delicate tip of her nose.  

“Lu—Ping—an—you’re sneaking around here eavesdropping, huh?”  

It took Lu Ping’an a moment to realize that hiding here did make it seem like he’d been deliberately listening in.  

“Nothing. Can’t I enjoy the moonlight?”  

Lu Ping’an pursed his lips.  

“Oh~ What a coincidence, I’m here to enjoy the moonlight too.”  

Lu Ping’an snorted coldly, then suddenly remembered something and grew a little irritated. With pointed meaning, he said, “Then go find the person who was just enjoying the moonlight with you.”  

Did she really think he’d fall for her sweet talk? That educated youth she was so familiar with had just left—now she was here trying to fool him too.  

The two were so close that her long, fluttering lashes made his heart feel as if it were being lightly brushed by a feather—soft, barely there, yet unbearably ticklish.  

His throat bobbed as he swallowed, but he refused to take a step back. What a joke—why should he retreat? Was he afraid of her?  

“Lu Ping’an, are you jealous?”  

Shen Xiaoyue’s eyes sparkled as she stared at him unblinkingly, her gaze brimming with amusement.  

“No, I don’t like that stuff. And besides, I don’t even like you.”  

Lu Ping’an denied it outright, turning his head away first. His eyelids drooped as he stared at the grass and flowers—anything but her—though the faint redness of his ears betrayed his unsettled emotions.  

Shen Xiaoyue wasn’t bothered. In her past life, it had been the same: Lu Ping’an and his family had been vehemently opposed to relationships with educated youths, all because of their neighbors.  

After all, no one could stand watching the flower they’d painstakingly nurtured for over a decade be trampled by someone else.  

That’s right—in Shen Xiaoyue’s eyes, Lu Ping’an was the delicate flower his family had raised, and she was the villain who’d plucked him.  

Now, the villainous Shen Xiaoyue wasn’t angry at all. Instead, she softened her voice further and explained gently,  

“Brother Xie Ning and I just lived close to each other. Our parents are familiar, so they asked us to look out for one another after coming to the countryside. There’s nothing between us.”  

“Oh, childhood sweethearts.”  

The moment the sarcastic words left his mouth, Lu Ping’an regretted it. He wished he could slap his own stupid mouth—as if he cared so much.  

Pretending nonchalance, he added, “What’s it to me?”  

Shen Xiaoyue curved her lips. “It’s nothing to you, but I wanted to explain it to you anyway.”  

Lu Ping’an’s lips twitched upward before he forcibly flattened them again. He had no idea where she’d learned such smooth-talking tricks, but they made his face burn with embarrassment.  

*Ahem.* “Let’s go, I’ll walk you back.”  

If he stayed here with Shen Xiaoyue any longer, Lu Ping’an felt like her gaze alone could swallow him whole.

The terrain of the back mountain was complex, and wild boars and other animals often roamed there. Even at the foot of the mountain, there was still a risk of danger.  

Lu Ping’an wasn’t the type to leave a girl alone in such a place.  

The two walked back to the educated youth point in single file. The tables outside had already been cleared, and everyone had gone back to wash up. The entrance was pitch black, with only a faint yellow glow spilling from inside.  

Shen Xiaoyue stopped. “Wait for me here. I’ll be right out.”  

Lu Ping’an didn’t know what she was planning. He was about to ask when she hurriedly turned away, leaving him no choice but to stand there and wait.  

The female educated youths had only noticed Shen Xiaoyue and Xie Ning’s absence near the end of the gathering. Now that she was back, they couldn’t resist teasing her. “Shen Zhiqing, did you go on a little date with Xie Zhiqing?”  

Hu Qingqing shot the speaker a glare. Reputation was everything these days—if word got out, it would be disastrous. Besides, she knew Shen Xiaoyue well and could tell she had no such feelings for Xie Ning.  

“Li Zhiqing, don’t talk nonsense. It’s not good if others hear you.”  

The one who had spoken, Li Zhiqing, felt a little sour. So others could do it, but she couldn’t even mention it? Besides, she was just making an offhand joke.  

Hu Qingqing was usually mild-tempered and rarely lost her cool. Seeing that everyone else agreed with her, Li Zhiqing finally muttered awkwardly, “I just noticed they both left…”  

It wouldn’t be right to stay silent after someone had spoken up for her—that would only make them feel unappreciated.  

Shen Xiaoyue first smiled at Hu Qingqing, then asked with genuine curiosity, “Li Zhiqing, I saw you holding hands with Shao Zhiqing earlier today.”  

Li Zhiqing’s face flushed red and then paled. She immediately retorted, “That was just an accident when we were grabbing cards!”  

Holding hands? It was just an accidental touch! If others heard this, they’d start pairing her with Shao Zhiqing!  

They weren’t even dating—what if people accused them of being indecent?  

“Li Zhiqing, don’t take it to heart. I was just joking too.”  

Li Zhiqing fell silent. Only when the knife cuts your own flesh do you feel the pain.  

Shen Xiaoyue had made her point and didn’t want to keep Lu Ping’an waiting. She began rummaging through her little treasure trove, catching a glimpse of Shen Xing secretly watching from the corner of her eye. Without hesitation, she shook the lock in her hand and snapped it shut on the cabinet.  

Shen Xing stomped her foot in frustration.  

Lu Ping’an idly kicked a pebble on the ground, wondering why he was obediently standing there waiting for her. His fair arms had already been bitten by mosquitoes twice.  

“Lu Ping’an, take this.”  

Before he could react, a heavy bag was thrust into his hands. At the top was a gleaming yellow can of peach preserves.  

Snapping back to his senses, he immediately tried to return it.  

“I don’t want it. Keep it for yourself.”  

He really didn’t understand where Shen Xiaoyue had picked up this habit of giving things to men. Luckily, he wasn’t greedy—if it were someone else, they’d take advantage of her generosity and leave nothing behind.  

“I don’t like these cold foods.”  

This wasn’t a lie. These luxuries, so highly prized now, would later become commonplace. She’d tasted all kinds of delicacies—compared to those, she’d much rather have some hearty meat.  

Besides, during the months she and Lu Ping’an had been together in Dahe Village, he had gone out of his way to bring her these very things. She was honestly sick of them.  

In his nearly twenty years of life, Lu Ping’an had never met someone like her—so blunt with words yet so bold in actions, brushing off his refusals as if she hadn’t heard them. Now she kept trying to feed him.  

Such fervent affection was something he’d never encountered before.