Chapter 3 ☆ Thank you, Brother San

Cheng Yaoyao started crying, tears falling down her cheeks: “I was really scared… Why did you leave me alone? I got lost and walked for a long, long time…”

Cheng Yaoyao had an extremely beautiful face. People were used to her arrogant and domineering appearance. But when they saw her pale face, which made her eyes and eyebrows look even more beautiful, and her crying in the rain looked so pitiful, they immediately turned against her.

The male educated youths kept coaxing her: “Yaoyao, don’t cry. What’s wrong?”

“What wronged you? Tell us now!”

Cheng Nuonuo’s fingers were pinched by Cheng Yaoyao secretly, and her face froze. She tried to pull her hand back, but it was pinched even tighter. She frowned and said in pain, “Sister Yaoyao, what are you talking about?”

Cheng Yaoyao squeezed her hand tightly and cried with even more grievance on her face: “We went up the mountain to pick bamboo shoots together. Didn’t you say there were mushrooms in the valley? I picked a circle and came back, but you had disappeared! Do you know how scary the mountains are? Wuwuwuwu…”

As soon as these words were spoken, Cheng Nuonuo’s expression changed drastically, and everyone looked at Cheng Nuonuo with strange expressions.

Cheng Nuonuo said innocently, “Sister Yaoyao, are you talking nonsense because you have a fever? We were picking bamboo shoots together, but when I turned around, you were gone.”

The two people each had their own story.

The captain frowned and said, “Little Cheng Zhiqing, didn’t you say that Cheng Zhiqing escaped? What’s going on?”

“I… really…” Cheng Nuonuo was confused. This plot did not match what she knew. How could Cheng Yaoyao be rescued from the mountains in advance and be smart enough to bite back?

Cheng Nuonuo reacted quickly, her eyes soon filled with tears. She said with grievance and forbearance, “Yes, it’s my fault. Sister Yaoyao didn’t run away; she must have accidentally lost her way. I misunderstood…”

Shen Yan looked at Cheng Nuonuo with a distressed look and said, “Nuonuo, don’t cover up for her. We often go to that valley. How could we get lost?”

You are such a scumbag! Cheng Yaoyao looked at Shen Yan. There was shock, grievance, and great disappointment in her misty peach blossom eyes, reflecting the tear mole at the corner of her eye, which dealt a heavy blow to Shen Yan’s heart.

Cheng Yaoyao was beautiful in the past, but when has there ever been such vivid scenery?

Cheng Yaoyao stopped after a glance, bit her lip, and said, “It was raining heavily, and I couldn’t tell the directions. Then… then I was chased by a wild boar. If it weren’t for the hunter brother who showed up, I would be dead today!”

When the words “Brother Hunter” came out, everyone looked at each other in surprise. Everyone knew that Cheng Yaoyao was arrogant and looked down on these country people.

The chance to be a hero and save beauty was snatched away. The sweet words “Brother Hunter” made Shen Yan feel a sour taste in his mouth, not to mention the male educated youth.

Upon hearing this, the captain turned to look at the man squatting by the bridge, dealing with the wild boar.

Most of the villagers gathered around the man. They had come to look for someone, but now that Cheng Yaoyao had returned intact, they felt that they had accomplished their mission and were ready to leave. First, the relationship between the educated youth and the villagers was not good, and Cheng Yaoyao’s escape was an internal matter of the educated youth, so it was inconvenient for them to interfere. Second, pork was too attractive. These days, everyone is starving, and they looked at the wild boar with envy that made them salivate.

Such a big wild boar must weigh about two or three hundred pounds. This guy is really skilled!

The captain called out, “Xie San, come here for a moment.”

The young hunter was dissecting the wild boar’s internal organs. He stood up when he heard the call. His tall stature was no less impressive than that of the educated youth from the north.

Team leader Lin Dafu stood with his hands behind his back and asked sternly, “Xie San, you heard what Cheng Zhiqing and Little Cheng Zhiqing said. Where did you find Cheng Zhiqing? Whose words are true?”

Cheng Yaoyao felt suffocated.

Xie San! Isn’t this the second male lead in the original book, the future boss who killed the original owner? Cheng Yaoyao looked at his sinister eyes and bloody hands in a daze and shuddered.

Cheng Nuonuo also stared at Xie San and called out softly, “Brother Xie San, thank you for saving my sister Yaoyao. Where did you find her?”

Xie San was stared at closely by everyone.

His narrow eyes swept over Cheng Yaoyao, who was standing in the middle of the crowd. Her wet clothes were still clinging to her body, revealing her curves, which could not be covered even by her coat. This attracted the hot gazes of the men around her, which was very inappropriate.

At this moment, she was staring at him with her seductive eyes, as if she were acting coquettishly.

If you were so afraid, why did you run away?

Seeing that he didn’t say anything, Cheng Yaoyao was sweating in her heart and looked at him eagerly. In the original book, Xie San was very annoying to the original owner. Would he…

The captain asked again, “Just tell the truth, it’s okay!”

Everyone’s eyes were focused on Xie San.

Xie San’s eyes were grim as he said, “In the valley of the old forest. She was frightened by a wild boar, so I brought her back.”

He was very frugal with his words, not mentioning that he had saved Cheng Yaoyao from the wild boar’s mouth, but every word he said confirmed what Cheng Yaoyao said. Cheng Yaoyao’s heart sank back to where it was.

The educated youth burst into discussion, and all of them looked at Cheng Nuonuo with strange eyes.

The educated youth with braids asked, “Cheng Nuonuo, didn’t you say that Cheng Yaoyao ran away while picking mushrooms with you?”

“I…it’s my fault. I saw Sister Yaoyao was missing, and I thought she wanted to go home like she did the last two times. It’s my fault!” Cheng Nuonuo’s tears fell like beads from a broken string, and she desperately apologized: “It’s all my fault for the misunderstanding!”

Cheng Yaoyao ignored her and turned to the educated youths, firing: “Why didn’t you come to find me? I was left alone in the mountains, and you knew there were wolves there!”

Cheng Yaoyao has been battling wits and courage with her stepsister for so many years, and she knows very well how to cry and argue to win everyone’s sympathy.

She cried a few words, then imitated the original owner’s arrogant attitude, angrily pointing at everyone: “It seems that you all thought I ran away, and no one came to look for me! I was almost eaten by a wild wolf!”

The male educated youth were so moved by her crying that they swore to the heavens that they had done nothing wrong. It wasn’t until the afternoon that they found out that Cheng Yaoyao had run away, and they immediately went out in the rain to look for her!

Cheng Yaoyao was angry and said, “We were educated youth who went to the countryside together. I was lost for so long, and you just found me now!”

A villager immediately said, “That’s right! If you had told us earlier, we wouldn’t have found him until now! What if something had gone wrong?”

The female educated youths blushed and cried out, “We didn’t know you were missing! You went out with Cheng Nuonuo this morning and never came back. We saw you didn’t come back at lunch, and we questioned Cheng Nuonuo for a long time before she said you ran away… Right, Cheng Nuonuo, didn’t you say that!”

The blame was put back on Cheng Nuonuo.

Cheng Nuonuo stood aside with a gloomy face. She couldn’t explain! Because that morning, it was Cheng Nuonuo who pointed out that there was a shortcut to escape from the back mountain, and she also personally accompanied Cheng Yaoyao up the mountain.

She could have told everyone about Cheng Yaoyao’s escape immediately after they entered the mountain. But she delayed until lunch out of selfishness – Cheng Nuonuo didn’t expect this idiot to escape at all. The villagers said there were wild beasts in the mountains. If she delayed for a long time, Cheng Yaoyao would encounter a wild boar or wolf, and she would be crippled if not killed. But she didn’t expect that she would leave a handle for herself!

Everyone looked at her with contempt and pointed at her, just like before. The good image and popularity she had worked so hard to build were easily shattered by Cheng Yaoyao!

Cheng Nuonuo looked at Shen Yan pitifully. As long as she kept Shen Yan, Cheng Yaoyao would still be defeated by her!

Shen Yan avoided Cheng Nuonuo’s gaze with a complicated expression. Cheng Yaoyao was a pretty fool who couldn’t make up such a lie. But how could Nuonuo lie?

The captain blew his beard and glared, shouting, “This is ridiculous! The villagers have been busy all day, and now they have to accompany you in the rain to look for someone! I must report this matter!”

Report it? If this matter is reported, her future will be ruined!

Cheng Nuonuo gritted her teeth. No, she would never let herself go back to being despised and looked down upon!

Cheng Nuonuo suddenly started to cry: “This is all my fault… It’s all my fault. I almost hurt Sister Yaoyao. This has nothing to do with Sister Yaoyao, or with the educated youth. If you want to punish someone, just punish me!”

Everyone looked disdainful.

Cheng Nuonuo continued, “I am not worthy of working in the cafeteria anymore. I will apply to resign from the cafeteria and work in the fields with everyone else!”

As Cheng Nuonuo finished speaking, the atmosphere became eerily quiet.

Cheng Yaoyao slowly raised her eyebrows. She noticed that as Cheng Nuonuo spoke, the captain’s originally angry expression became strange, as if… he were afraid of something.

The other villagers spoke up first: “How can that be? Young educated youth, Cheng, we have been working harder these days because of the meals you cook!”

“Yeah, you can’t give up!”

Cheng Nuonuo said firmly: “No, it was my carelessness that almost hurt Sister Yaoyao. I will go to the fields to work with everyone, and I will do the hardest and most tiring work to show my determination!”

Everyone tried to persuade her to stay again. The captain held back for a long time as if he had a toothache, then waved his hand to interrupt everyone’s shouting, saying, “That’s enough! You are wrong in this matter, and Cheng Yaoyao is also too daring. From today on, educated youth are not allowed to go into the mountains alone. They must go out in groups and report! If you do it again, you will be severely punished!”

This statement was a slap on the wrist, which acknowledged that Cheng Nuonuo was “careless” and rejected Cheng Nuonuo’s request to resign. Cheng Yaoyao almost died, but no one cared.

Not only did the team leader suddenly change his attitude, but even the villagers and educated youth who had been clamoring for justice for Cheng Yaoyao fell silent.

Shen Yan finally spoke at this time: “Nuonuo cooked a pot of ginger soup and added sugar before going out. This place is very close to the educated youth site. Can you bring a bowl of it for everyone to drink to drive away the cold?”

The captain nodded: “Okay, everyone has worked hard, so let’s have a bowl.”

Shen Yan turned to Cheng Yaoyao and said, “Yaoyao, you’ve been caught in the rain, so you should drink a bowl quickly to avoid catching a cold.”

After helping Cheng Nuonuo out of trouble, he tried to calm Cheng Yaoyao down, fearing that she would not give in. If the original owner had heard Shen Yan’s caring words, she would have been on her knees and licking his boots.

Cheng Yaoyao glanced at him with a smile but said nothing.

Shen Yan was touched by her glance. Cheng Yaoyao was still Cheng Yaoyao. She could obey him with just one word. Shen Yan immediately ordered people to bring ginger soup. His back was full of smugness.

Cheng Nuonuo still stood there timidly, but her shoulders relaxed. Some villagers were still talking and laughing with her, not mentioning what had just happened.

Cheng Yaoyao was astonished. She wanted to see how delicious the food made by Cheng Nuonuo was. Could it control the entire village?