Chapter 15: Coming to School to Nap with Xie Zhi

When Xie Zhi saw Jiaojiao, he lazily took off his glasses and rested his arm on the desk. “Jiaojiao, what brings you here?”

“Don’t even mention it, it’s so embarrassing! I went to find Hongyan to pick mushrooms in the back mountain, and I saw… I saw them…” Xu Jiaojiao was dying of embarrassment, puffing her cheeks angrily. She stood in front of Xie Zhi and lightly punched him.

Xie Zhi, looking at his adorable little wife, felt an itch in his heart. Seeing her lips moving up and down, he suddenly felt extremely thirsty.

The man wrapped his arm around her waist, gently pulling her onto his lap. He placed her arms around his shoulders, breathing in Jiaojiao’s unique fragrance.

Xu Jiaojiao’s face instantly turned red, but she didn’t say anything, obediently sitting on her husband’s lap.

Xie Zhi opened the drawer, peeled a piece of candy, and popped it into Jiaojiao’s mouth. Watching her wide, blinking eyes, he couldn’t help but lean in and kiss her trembling eyelashes.

Then, he lazily asked, “Do you want to take a nap? It might be pretty hot right now.”

Xu Jiaojiao shook her head and honestly replied, “I just ran over here and got sweaty, so I don’t want to nap. Plus, no one is going mushroom picking with me.”

Xie Zhi’s eyes squinted with laughter, his black pupils sparkling. “Why not ask Yang Mei? I remember you gave her some candy.”

“But I don’t know where she lives.”

Xie Zhi raised his wrist and looked at his watch with a smile. “How about I take you to find her? We’ll have time before class at two.”

“What about your nap?”

“I walk fast. Half an hour for a nap is plenty,” Xie Zhi said earnestly.

Xu Jiaojiao blinked, warmth flooding her heart. Other than her parents, she felt she would never find someone as good as him.

She pulled out a bottle of orange soda from her basket. “My mom mixed this for me, have a sip.”

She twisted the cap open. It had been chilled in the well, so the bottle was still cool to the touch.

Xie Zhi leaned closer, their noses nearly touching. His dark eyes fixed tightly on her as he took a sip from the bottle she held, making a deliberate “tsk” sound afterward.

“It’s sweet, just like you.”

Her face flushed a deep red as she hurriedly screwed the cap back on, nearly stumbling in her attempt to run away. She had just taken a step when—

“Jiaojiao, aren’t you going to hold my hand?”

Xu Jiaojiao turned around and saw Xie Zhi holding his hand out to her. His clear and fresh aura melted her heart. The two intertwined their fingers and walked out together.

Yang Mei’s house wasn’t far from the school and was close to the back mountain. After class, Xie Zhi could come to pick Jiaojiao up.

When they arrived, Xu Jiaojiao was a little at a loss. Most of the houses in the area were brick, at the very least with tile roofs.

But Yang Mei’s house was covered with straw and plastic sheets. It must be sweltering in summer and freezing in winter.

They stepped inside, and her family was sitting under a tree, finishing up their meal.

To be honest, Xu Jiaojiao hadn’t felt much since being transported into this world. After all, her family spoiled her, her brother and Xie Zhi constantly gave her snacks and candy, and she even had orange soda.

She knew that most people didn’t have it as good as her, but she never expected things to be this bad.

In front of the five people was only one plate of food, filled with chopped chili paste, and a basket of cornmeal mixed with wheat flour made into hard, coarse buns. They ate with visible discomfort.

Xu Jiaojiao felt extremely uneasy and regretted dressing like this. She quietly called out, “Yang Mei.”

When Yang Mei heard her voice and turned around, she saw Xu Jiaojiao and Xie Zhi standing by the water basin, their hands tightly clasped together.

Yang Mei forced a smile, her expression unnatural, and asked awkwardly, “Jiaojiao, what brings you here?”

She immediately stood up, trying to block the sight of the food on the table. She knew that Jiaojiao wouldn’t look down on her, but she couldn’t help feeling self-conscious. She couldn’t stop herself from glancing at the green ribbon tied to Jiaojiao’s side braid.

Sensing her unease, Xu Jiaojiao shifted her focus back to Yang Mei and softly asked, “Yang Mei, I wanted to ask if you’d go mushroom picking in the back mountain.”

“Oh! Isn’t this Teacher Xie and Jiaojiao?” Yang Mei’s mother came out carrying water, smiling warmly when she saw the two.

But her expression darkened when she looked at Yang Mei. “You little brat! How could you not invite Teacher Xie and Jiaojiao to sit down? Don’t you have any manners?”

“Go fetch some water!”

“No, no, it’s fine! I was just asking if Yang Mei wanted to go mushroom picking. If not, we’ll head out,” Xu Jiaojiao awkwardly replied.

Her gaze dropped, and she moved behind Xie Zhi, frightened by the man’s stare at the table.

Yang Mei’s mother noticed her eldest son’s lecherous gaze on Xu Jiaojiao and her eyes flashed with calculation. She immediately stepped forward to pull him back, but froze at the sight of Xie Zhi’s sharp eyes.

His cold gaze swept over everyone in the yard, landing on Yang Mei’s brother. His long, narrow black eyes narrowed, and a bloodthirsty aura seemed to emanate from him.

Yang Tianci immediately lowered his head, not daring to look at Xu Jiaojiao.

After a long time, Xie Zhi smirked, “Jiaojiao, I’ll come with you when you visit Yang Mei from now on.”

Without waiting for Yang Mei’s response, they quickly left, ignoring the commotion in the yard behind them.

Yang Mei’s mother was fuming, her face dark with rage. The flattery from earlier was gone, and she grabbed a broom from the yard and struck Yang Mei hard on the back, the thin fabric of her worn-out clothes instantly soaking with blood.

Her lips twisted into a sneer as she hissed, “You wretched girl! Why didn’t you keep Xu Jiaojiao here? Wouldn’t it be perfect for your brother to have some fun with her, huh? Do you want the Yang family to die off?”

She struck her again and again with the broom.

Yang Mei couldn’t take it anymore and broke down in tears, but she didn’t dare move away. Her whole life had trained her to fear this small but vicious woman.

“Mom… Mom, Jiaojiao is married now. She’s married to Xie Zhi.”

“So what? Xu Jiaojiao can still have fun with your brother. If she gets pregnant, wouldn’t she be tied to us? Look at what the village chief’s family has! And then look at us. Your brother’s so outstanding. Once he sleeps with her, she’ll be loyal to him forever, and then everything the Xu family owns will be ours.”

At the table, both Yang Mei’s father and Yang Tianci were nodding in agreement, eating even more enthusiastically. To them, Yang Mei’s mother was absolutely right.

Especially Yang Tianci, with his greasy, bloated face, who looked like he’d drained the family dry. Yet his parents were more than willing to give him everything they had.

Seeing Yang Mei’s silence, her mother started to weep pitifully. “Little Mei, I don’t want to push you, but if we can bring Xu Jiaojiao into the family, you’ll have support when you marry.”

“Look at Sheng Jie and how much he’s gotten from Xu Jiaojiao’s family. His is a widow’s household!”

Yang Mei was on the verge of despair. She shut her eyes tightly, tears streaming down her face as she looked at her brother, who was wiping his nose on the table, suppressing the urge to vomit.

“Mom, just look at my brother. How can he compare to Teacher Xie?”

Before she could finish her sentence, a chipped enamel bowl was smashed against her frail back. In an instant, she felt like she was about to pass out, a metallic taste rising in her throat.

Her ears were filled with the sound of cursing and her mother’s sobs over the broken bowl.

“You wretched girl! How dare you talk back! I’ll beat you to death!”