Chapter 18: Tempted by Her (Part 1)

Zhao An’an looked up at Zhao Yu with a big smile. “Big brother.”

“Mm.”

Dai Ning didn’t feel embarrassed at all about being overheard. Zhao Yu passed by her with a calm expression, heading inside to shower.

After washing up and changing, he came back out only to find that the young lady was still in his home.

Wiping his damp black hair with a cloth, he asked, “Not leaving again?”

Dai Ning bounced up to him with a grin. “I’ve decided to keep staying here! Aren’t you happy?”

Zhao Yu looked at her briefly, then sat down at the table nearby, making it clear: What do you think?

Testing the waters, Dai Ning asked, “They’re saying you saved Du Tian, so now you have to marry her. Are you actually going to marry her?”

Zhao Yu poured himself a cup of water, his tone calm and steady. “I’m of marriageable age, and if she’s willing and doesn’t mind our family’s poverty, why not?”

Dai Ning slapped her hand on his cup. “No way!”

Zhao Yu looked up and asked, “Why?”

“Because I say so! That’s why!”

“Miss Ji,” he said slowly, “you’re not anyone to me. Mr. Qian has already acknowledged that my family has repaid its debt. You have no right to interfere in my life.”

With her head tilted, she replied, “I am someone to you!”

Zhao Yu looked at her, indicating he wanted her to continue.

Without thinking, Dai Ning blurted, “I am your father.”

A flicker of something darkened Zhao Yu’s eyes, and he let out a cold laugh, pulling his cup back. Ignoring her entirely, he went out to chop wood.

The green orb covered his face in exasperation. Dai Ning, you’re impossible.

Dai Ning sprawled out on her big bed. “Nothing’s as comfy as a bed.”

The green orb sighed. “You’re driving me crazy. He’s hinting that if you were his girlfriend or wife, he wouldn’t marry Du Tian.”

Dai Ning lay there, completely relaxed. “He thinks what? As if he could ever be good enough for me!”

Even the green orb couldn’t help but laugh coldly. “If you were willing to cling to Boss Zhao’s thighs in your previous life and call him dad, maybe you wouldn’t have to die.”

Dai Ning looked puzzled. “Why are you sounding like Zhao Yu, all sarcastic and spiteful? You weird spirit glob things sure know a lot.”

Fuming, the green orb stayed silent.

Uncle Qian tried his best to persuade her to go home, but Dai Ning just rolled over lazily. “What’s the rush? Let’s wait a bit.”

What she was waiting for happened the very next day.

Xinghua Village was small, and when Dai Ning first arrived, she was the village gossip for a good two weeks. Now, word was spreading that people might soon be attending Zhao Yu and Du Tian’s wedding.

Hearing the gossip, Liu Shuan snuck over to ask Zhao Yu, “Big brother Yu, everyone’s saying you’re marrying Du Tian. Is it true?”

With a swing of his axe, Zhao Yu replied, “It’s not true.”

Liu Shuan persisted, “But Old Uncle Wan said the girl was all over you yesterday. Are you really going to just walk away?”

Growing slightly annoyed, Zhao Yu said, “It’s just rumors. Du Tian fell in the river, and I went in to save her. Her clothes were all perfectly in place. Stop listening to nonsense.”

Liu Shuan awkwardly backed off.

Zhao Yu continued chopping wood, each strike crisp and sharp. Liu Shuan’s face flushed as he leaned in a bit, whispering, “Big brother Yu, no offense, but if you like Du Tian, why not propose? I think she’s a good girl—wouldn’t be a loss. And getting a wife, well…there are certain perks.”

Liu Shuan’s voice lowered even more. “I’m just saying, when you turn off the lights at night, you’re in heaven….”

Without a word, Zhao Yu picked up a piece of firewood and knocked it against Liu Shuan’s arm.

“Are you asking for trouble?”

Liu Shuan bolted from Zhao’s yard.

Dai Ning, swinging on a swing nearby, saw him leaving like his tail was on fire. “What’s up with him?”

Zhao Yu didn’t respond, but instead warned her, “Watch your step on the firewood.”

Even though he didn’t say anything, Dai Ning could guess. It was probably about Zhao Yu saving someone.

Sure enough, by the afternoon, the village head himself came to Zhao’s house.

Village head Li Aiguo first went in to check on Zhao’s parents and then came out to talk to Zhao Yu. Dai Ning, growing clever, didn’t leave either, listening in by the door.

“Gouwa—no, Zhao Yu,” the village head corrected himself, chuckling. “What a memory I have, still calling you by a childhood nickname. So, tell me, what do you think of that girl Du Tian? I’ve known your family for years, and if you’re interested, Uncle Li here can talk to her family for you, so that people’s talk doesn’t harm either of your reputations.”

Zhao Yu shook his head. “Thank you, Uncle Li, but I just see Du Tian as a little sister. If anyone in the village had fallen in, I’d have saved them just the same.”

The village head wanted to say more, but Zhao Yu added calmly, “If every rescuer in the village has to be a subject of rumors, I worry that next time someone needs help, no one will dare to jump in.”

The village head thought about it and agreed. That kind of thinking wouldn’t be good. He nodded firmly. “I’ll talk to the ones gossiping so that neither you nor Du Tian’s reputation suffers.”

“That would be ideal,” Zhao Yu said, standing to escort him out.

“No need, no need.”

Watching Zhao Yu handle the situation on his own, Dai Ning smirked, realizing his talk about marrying Du Tian was just a bluff. She wondered if Du Tian would be furious after scheming so hard only for this outcome.

In good spirits, Dai Ning was even friendly to Zhao Yu.

At dinner, she even generously had Uncle Qian bring a feast to the Zhao household. Plates of delicacies filled their little wooden table to the brim, mesmerizing Zhao An’an and Zhao Ping.

When Zhao Yu finished stacking firewood, he came over and took in the scene. “What are you doing now?”

“Since you did well today, I’m treating you to dinner!”

“Don’t need it. Take your food back.” Zhao Yu patted Zhao An’an on the head. “Wait a bit; big brother will cook.”

Disappointed but obedient, Zhao An’an nodded.

Dai Ning trailed after Zhao Yu. “You really won’t eat it?”

“No.” Zhao Yu lit a corn husk to start the fire.

It was Dai Ning’s first time seeing his kitchen.

Life was simple in the countryside, and Zhao Yu’s tiny, dim cooking area, with little oil or salt, looked like the last place for delicious food.

――

With the young lady watching from the side, Zhao Yu didn’t seem fazed at all. As the green orb had mentioned, he was a calm person.

Watching him, Dai Ning suddenly understood why others weren’t the main character, but Zhao Yu was.

Since he didn’t want to eat, Dai Ning didn’t push. Zhao Yu sat on a small stool, tending the fire and cooking rice, so she just sprawled across his lap. The firelight flickered, casting a warm glow over her porcelain-like face.

Dai Ning looked up, smiling, and asked, “Zhao Yu, why did you reject the village chief’s proposal?”

Zhao Yu lowered his gaze, seeing the mischievousness written all over her delicate face. He knew exactly what she wanted to hear.

Dai Ning wanted him to say he liked her.

But he understood that the young lady had no real feelings. Even if he said it, she’d probably think of it as nothing more than an entertaining game.

So Zhao Yu reached out and pushed her aside. “Don’t lean so close, or you’ll burn your hair.”

Not wanting to risk becoming a “bald girl,” she quickly got off his lap and went to chat with Zhao An’an and the others.

The dancing flames lit up Zhao Yu’s dark eyes.

After a long silence, he let out a low sigh.

――

Meanwhile, Du Tian was waiting at home, hoping Zhao Yu would come and propose.

She had thought it through carefully before attempting her scheme. Zhao Yu’s family was destitute, with his relatives suffering from chronic illness. Though he himself was a good man, few girls in the village would willingly marry him.

As for Ji Dai Ning, a character mentioned in the book, she was ultimately just a disposable figure.

In a few years, Dai Ning’s grandfather would take note of Zhao Yu’s talent and ask him to marry into the family to care for his beloved granddaughter. Zhao Yu would agree, but it wouldn’t be long before the Ji family went bankrupt, and the Zhao family would acquire them.

There was absolutely no chance of any real feelings between Zhao Yu and Dai Ning.

Du Tian boldly speculated that Zhao Yu treated Dai Ning well now because he was thinking ahead, using her as a stepping stone.

But she and Zhao Yu had no emotional connection, and in the future, once he became successful, she would likely be nothing more than a memory of the neighboring village girl.

So Du Tian decided to take a gamble.

Zhao Yu was young and capable; marrying him wouldn’t be a loss.

However, after waiting endlessly, no marriage proposal from Zhao’s family came. Instead, the village rumors about them gradually died down.

Unable to bear it any longer, Du Tian discreetly went to gather information.

A girl from the village smiled and told her, “Don’t worry, no one’s spreading gossip about you and Zhao Yu anymore. Helping fellow villagers is a good deed, and if people still gossiped about it, who would be willing to save others in the future? So, Du Tian, you can relax now.”

Du Tian was inwardly furious, yet she had to maintain a smile.

What a waste of suffering!