Chapter 8: Mischievous Witch

In front of his little sister, Zhao Yu kept his composure and gently reassured Zhao An’an, “Big brother would never abandon you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t listen to what the Miss says. Do you trust me?”

Zhao An’an nodded.

“Good, let’s go back.”

At the table, Du Tian was managing to stay calm. Ning couldn’t help but admire her patience—if it had been her, she’d have flipped the table by now after being interrupted so many times.

When Zhao Yu and Zhao An’an returned, Du Tian asked, “Is An’an alright?”

Zhao Yu replied, “She’s fine.”

Zhao An’an was feeling guilty and avoided looking at the Miss.

Du Tian was not one to give up easily. The fact that she had drawn the interest of several male protagonists in a male-centered novel spoke to her admirable qualities—such as persistence.

“Zhao Yu, could you teach me English?” This time, she was direct and clear with her request, learning not to divide her words.

Under the table, Dai Ning’s hand reached out again to poke Zhao An’an.

But this time, she was caught by a larger hand.

Dai Ning blinked and looked up at Zhao Yu.

The young man had captured her hand, expression unchanging. When Dai Ning tried to pull away, Zhao Yu tightened his grip, preventing her from messing with his little sister again. As she glared at him in disbelief, Zhao Yu looked away and addressed Du Tian, “If you’d like to learn English, I have some books you can take home. If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me.”

He believed it was beneficial for neighbours to be ambitious, given how closed-off the village could be.

Du Tian, unaware of the tension under the table, was pleased with this outcome. She smiled sweetly and thanked him, “Thank you, Zhao Yu.”

“It’s nothing.”

Dai Ning, annoyed by his response, grabbed her chopsticks and began loading his bowl with chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, and ginger slices.

By the end of the meal, Zhao Yu and Ning were both in a foul mood.

After Du Tian and her mother left, Dai Ning, who had been holding back her irritation throughout dinner, exploded. In a huff, she leapt toward Zhao Yu angrily.

Zhao Yu wiped his mouth, released her hand, and as she moved to hit him, he simply picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

Zhao An’an was stunned, and Zhao Ping gaped.

Ning struggled, “Zhao Yu, are you crazy?”

He sneered, “You think I have an endless supply of patience?”

Dai Ning kicked at him. “Put me down, or I’ll have Uncle Qian beat you!”

Zhao Yu looked back at his younger brother, instructing him, “Wash the dishes. I’ll be back soon.”

With that, he held down the restless Dai Ning and headed out.

Over the past few days, Zhao Yu had observed that Dai Ning’s bodyguards were stationed nearby. He had amazing insight and knew where they were. With Dai Ning on his shoulder, he confidently walked toward the mountain, knowing the guards wouldn’t follow.

His voice was icy, “Ji Dai Ning, so you think it’s fine to threaten to spank my little sister, right?”

Dai Ning immediately denied it, “What? Me? I didn’t say anything like that.”

In her mind, the green orb, couldn’t bear to watch her behaviour. He had seen people acting like a spoiled child, but he had never seen someone like Dai Ning, who was clearly unlucky but still acting like a spoiled child.

Zhao Yu, after all, wasn’t an easy target. He had taken on responsibility for his entire family at a young age. If he were as soft as he appeared, his family wouldn’t have made it this far. He was determined to teach Dai Ning a lesson to keep her from bullying his siblings whenever he wasn’t around.

Zhao An’an had never lied before, but in just a few days with the Miss Ji, she had started to misbehave.

The unruly girl on his shoulder was infuriating.

He was so angry he wanted to spank her, but the sight of her soft curves stopped him. She wore a rose-red dress that fell to her knees, her slender legs kicking as she shouted, “If you dare hit me, your whole family will pay the price!”

Her shouting was so loud it was surprising she wasn’t afraid he might actually bury her on the spot.

Zhao Yu’s gaze lingered on her lower half for a moment before he looked away.

It wasn’t her threats that restrained him; it was the fact that her body was too mature for him to discipline her as he would to his sister. This was his first time realising just how difficult it could be to deal with her.

The troublemaker on his shoulder, oblivious, seemed to think her threats had worked. “Are you scared now? Let me down. Zhao Yu, I’m getting dizzy.”

Zhao Yu’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Stay away from An’an in the future.”

“Fine, fine, now let me down. I’m going to be sick.”

Her quick agreement made Zhao Yu even more suspicious. Just to be sure, he added, “And stay away from Zhao Ping and my parents too.”

“Yes, yes. You’re so naggy.” Her stomach hurt from pressing against his rock-hard shoulder.

Zhao Yu said, “Ji Dai Ning, remember what you promised. If you don’t, I won’t hesitate to put my life on the line to take you down.”

With a severe expression, he set her down.

Dai Ning, dizzy and leaning against his chest, sneered, “I couldn’t care less about your worthless life.”

Disoriented, she touched his chest. Zhao Yu immediately pushed her hand aside and propped her up against a tree.

His face was stone-cold. Though he had resolved to teach Dai Ning a lesson, it seemed that no amount of intimidation would get through to her; she was a porcupine bristling with spines from every angle.

In the end, he had to let her off with a mere warning.

Just as he released her, she started making demands. “Zhao Yu! How dare you treat me this way! Apologise and promise it won’t happen again, or I’ll have Zhang Yongfeng tear your house down.”

The green orb spirit didn’t allow her to harm people of destiny, but property damage was fair game.

Zhao Yu took a deep breath, his expression impassive. “I’m sorry. There won’t be a next time.”

Dai Ning, clutching her stomach, pouted up at him.

Seeing her pale face, Zhao Yu frowned, “What’s wrong with you?”

Dai Ning replied, “My stomach hurts, all because of you.”

He observed her silently, realising she had even less endurance than his sister.

Dai Ning, reading his expression, saw that his anger had softened and seized the opportunity. “You have to carry me back as an apology.”

Zhao Yu said, “Your legs are fine.”

“But my stomach hurts!”

Zhao Yu felt as if his heart was suddenly poked, bringing a feeling he couldn’t quite describe—a strange discomfort in his chest.

He crouched down. “Get on.”

This was the first time Zhao Yu felt truly powerless. How could such a person exist? Just a moment ago, he wanted to strangle her, and the next, he found himself giving in, unable to resist.

Dai Ning lay on his back, poking at his cheek with her finger.

“You liar! You said you don’t like Du Tian, but you’re still teaching her English.”

Zhao Yu didn’t even want to argue with her.

Arguing would only lead to frustration on his part, and if he managed to win, Dai Ning would just get mad at him. Either way, it wouldn’t end well.

“You’re not denying it. So, you do like her now?”

“Hurry up and answer me.”

Dai Ning was perched on his back, but Zhao Yu stayed silent, like a stubborn old tortoise unmoved by her pestering. Unable to get a response, Dai Ning angrily tugged on his hair. “You bully.”

He couldn’t help but laugh.

He didn’t know why he was laughing, but he muttered quietly, “Ji Dai Ning.”

“Hmm?”

“Who raised you to be like this?”

She had a bad temper, was spoiled, never let anything slide, and could lead even a child astray.

Who in the world would ever dare to marry you?

——

The weather was perfect for drying grain.

In Xinghua Village, there was a grain-drying field with ideal conditions. With just three days in the sun, the grain would be dry. Someone needed to guard it, not only to keep birds from pecking at it but also to be ready to cover it quickly if it rained.

Proper drying was essential. If it rained, the grain would sprout, and all their efforts would be wasted.

They needed someone to watch it even at night. Although the villagers trusted each other, there were always a few lazy ones who didn’t farm but would sneak in and steal a bag.

In Zhao Yu’s household, he was the only adult male, so he naturally took on the task of guarding the drying field.

Since the field required constant attention, Zhao Ping would bring Zhao Yu his meals. Zhao Yu set up a small tent there and slept on-site.

Without internet, Dai Ning grew bored. She played Snake until her little snake filled the entire screen. Disgusted by her own efforts, she switched to Star Crush.

With ice in her room, Dai Ning was unwilling to go outside.

It was so hot that she’d start sweating the minute she stepped out. The young lady lazed around, and Uncle Qian was relieved. With her staying indoors, she was at least safe, so he didn’t encourage her to go out.

The first day passed uneventfully, but by the second day, Dai Ning sensed something was amiss.

The previous evening, she’d seen Du Tian go out around dusk and not return until later.

She asked Zhao Ping curiously, “What’s Du Tian up to? Does her family have grain to dry, too?”

Zhao Ping, mindful of his brother’s warning to avoid the young lady, felt troubled being questioned. Ignoring her didn’t seem right.

“Sister Tian’s family doesn’t have any grain.”

“So, what is she doing?”

Zhao Ping shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Fearing she’d start pestering Zhao An’an, he added, “My little sister doesn’t know either.”

Dai Ning stuffed her phone into her pocket and confidently marched outside.

They might not know, but she had a good guess! Du Tian was being sneaky, meeting up with Zhao Yu at the grain-drying field at night!

Luckily, she’d figured it out right away, stopping Du Tian from sneaking in another two days of closeness!

A man and a woman alone at night with all that dry grain—it was practically begging for romance! Even if Du Tian were a pig, Zhao Yu would be vulnerable in that setting. And Du Tian wasn’t a pig. As the leading female character, she didn’t have Dai Ning’s overwhelming beauty, but, honestly, she was fairly attractive.

When it came to sniffing out gossip and crashing someone’s private time, even the green orb would give her a thumbs up.

Dai Ning’s hunch was mostly correct. Du Tian was quite adept at seizing opportunities, and if one didn’t present itself, she’d create it.

Since her family had no fields and no grain to dry, she came up with an idea: at night, she offered to help old Uncle Liu from the village watch his drying grain.

Uncle Liu was elderly, so her favour came across as considerate and kind-hearted.

Du Tian was clever. She brought the English books Zhao Yu had lent her, making it easy to strike up a conversation with him.

The drying fields of the Liu family and Zhao Yu’s family were close to each other.

Since Zhao Yu had little else to do, he was happy to help a smart and hardworking girl from the neighbourhood, and he gladly answered her questions.

Back when Zhao An’an was young, Uncle Liu had been a kind neighbour, often giving the little girl some food. Now, with Du Tian helping to guard the field, Zhao Yu’s impression of her was even better.

Their first night of studying together was quite productive.

Zhao Yu was impressed by Du Tian’s intelligence. In this small village with only one primary and middle school, the teachers were barely qualified. Zhao Yu had always been a quick learner and bought textbooks on his own to study when he was old enough to leave the mountains.

However, when he taught Du Tian, he noticed she picked things up with ease and even understood beyond the basics.

Of course, what he didn’t know was that Du Tian had already studied these things, so naturally, his explanations weren’t challenging for her.

The two study prodigies ended up discussing academics late into the night.

Du Tian had planned well. The first night served as an icebreaker, getting rid of any awkwardness. On the second night, she could take things further.

She even had her talking points planned: she’d ask Zhao Yu about his future goals. With his parents’ health issues, he would surely want to provide for their medical care. With her gentle guidance, she could win over his trust and get closer to him.

She was both sweet-looking and talented. By offering a few suggestions, she might just speed up Zhao Yu’s path to success.

Everything was falling into place until the sky turned vibrant at dusk, and there, in a flower-embroidered mermaid dress, walked Dai Ning toward them.

The young lady wore a white sunhat, and with the warm glow of the setting sun on her skin, she looked like a beauty from a classic landscape painting.

The field was filled with men and middle-aged women, from sixty-year-old elders to fourteen-year-old teenagers, with a few forty-something women in between—all staring at her in awe.

Their gazes followed her as she lifted her dress and gracefully stepped forward, eyes inevitably drawn to her smooth, ivory calves.

She almost stepped on the grain a few times, weaving around the field before reaching Zhao Yu and Du Tian.

Seated on the ground, Zhao Yu watched her draw attention from everyone on her way over, feeling a slight headache.

“What now?”

He wasn’t aware that his voice naturally lowered several tones when he asked this.

Beside him, Du Tian put down her book, already in a habit of associating Dai Ning’s presence with trouble.

Though she was just a supporting character, how was it that this one supporting character could be so annoying!