Lin Xiaojiao was carried back to her room amidst a flurry of chaos.
Her second brother, Lin Xiangyang, glared at the man as if his eyes could shoot fire.
“She went out perfectly fine—how did she end up falling?! He must be involved!”
“I know some basic first aid. If it’s convenient, let me take a look at the injury first. If there’s a bone fracture, she needs to go to the hospital immediately.” The man remained unfazed by Lin Xiangyang’s hostile attitude.
“Please, go ahead!” The eldest brother, Lin Xianghua, held back the second brother. “Let’s see how serious the injury is first.”
“Big brother, second brother, this…”
“My surname is Gu.”
“This Comrade Gu really has nothing to do with it. I fell on my own carelessness.” Lin Xiaojiao tried to explain once again.
Meanwhile, this “Comrade Gu” had already leaned down and rolled up the right leg of her pants, expertly lifting her right foot through the fabric.
Lin Xiaojiao’s slightly swollen and reddened right ankle was now exposed to the air.
“This might hurt a little. Bear with it.” The next moment, the man’s calloused fingertips pressed against the injured area.
Lin Xiaojiao couldn’t help but cry out, “It hurts~”
Her voice was filled with grievance, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
The man paused briefly. “It’ll be over soon.”
His tone was almost soothing.
Yet his technique was even more professional, his fingers pressing precisely on the bone joints around her ankle.
Lin Xiaojiao was already crying uncontrollably, completely losing her composure.
It really… hurt so much…
Another press, this time a bit firmer.
“It hurts… don’t…”
She instinctively tried to pull her foot back, but he held it steadily in place.
“Do you even know what you’re doing?!” If not for her eldest brother holding him back, Lin Xiangyang would have chased this guy out.
The man, however, remained completely unfazed. Only after completing the final step of the examination did he gently place the girl’s foot back on the bed.
He even casually pulled down her pant leg, his movements smooth and seamless.
“No bone injury, just a muscle sprain. She needs to rest for a few days and avoid strenuous activity as much as possible.”
He explained the situation concisely.
Hearing this, the Lin brothers secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Only Lin Xiaojiao was still sniffling.
She looked utterly pitiful.
“Alright, I’m from the Gu family next door. My name is Gu Tingzheng. I just returned to the village and didn’t expect to startle the young lady.”
Only then did Gu Tingzheng stand up and formally introduce himself.
“You are… Uncle Gu?” Lin Xianghua was somewhat taken aback.
Lin Xiangyang was also stunned—the Gu family next door had returned?!
But being as slick as he was, he quickly greeted, “U-Uncle Gu! I was just too anxious earlier! Please don’t take it to heart!”
There was no trace of his earlier ferocity left.
Lin Xiaojiao was completely bewildered?!
What kind of ridiculous plot was this?!
How did it suddenly become… “Uncle”?!
She had just “fallen in love at first sight” a few minutes ago…
Her mind quickly sifted through the original host’s memories about the Gu family.
The Gu family next door—Old Master Gu—had been on equal footing with her own grandfather back in the day, both from Xinglong Village. In recent years, as the situation improved, members of the Gu family would occasionally return to visit relatives or pay respects to their ancestors.
This “Uncle Gu” didn’t leave much of an impression in the original host’s memories, but she clearly remembered that the two families were only distantly related, with no blood ties whatsoever.
That scared me to death!
“Hello, Uncle Gu~” Thanks to the original host’s advantage, her voice was sweet and charming.
This “uncle” was quite young…
He was exactly her “type.”
Gu Tingzheng’s gaze swept over the girl’s tear-stained face, and he gave a slight nod. “Mm, rest well. If you need anything, come find me next door anytime.” With that, he turned and left.
“I’ll see you out!” Lin Xiangyang, ever perceptive, quickly followed.
“Stay lying down for now. I’ll go fetch a basin of water so you can wash your face.” Lin Xianghua also turned and left the room.
Wash her face?!
Lin Xiaojiao suddenly remembered something and hurriedly reached for the small round mirror on the wooden bedside table.
Oh my god!!
What had she done?!
Was this the state she had been in when she acted all coy and clingy in front of her crush just now?
All that pitiful, delicate charm…
Lin Xiaojiao couldn’t even bear to look at herself—
Her hair was disheveled, her eyes swollen and red, strands of hair stuck to her face with dried tears, and her messy locks were speckled with patches of dust.
She had clearly forgotten she had been crying nonstop for days, and she had also forgotten about her earlier fall on the dusty dirt road…
She had no face left to show anyone!!
……
Lin Xiaojiao sighed for the Nth time as she stared at a small bottle of medicated oil on the wooden table.
The medicated oil had been brought over by her second brother, who said Gu Tingzheng had taken it from his car when seeing him off.
He told her to apply it and rub it in vigorously to help with recovery.
Lin Xiaojiao could only manage the “applying” part. “Rubbing it in”?
No way.
It hurt too much.
She was hungry.
A few biscuits weren’t enough to fill the gaps between her teeth.
But she really didn’t want to eat any more of them—they were dry, greasy, and just not tasty.
No one else was home.
Her eldest brother, a high school graduate, worked as a work-point recorder for the production team and was probably at the team office by now.
Her second brother had gone off again to tinker with his little side business.
Even though it was already early summer in 1980, the Xinglong Production Team here hadn’t yet implemented the household responsibility system.
They were still teetering on the edge of barely having enough to eat.
My milk tea! My fried chicken!
When would she ever have freedom again!
With great determination, Lin Xiaojiao got out of bed.
Hopping on one foot, she made her way outside.
Pushing open the wicker gate, she hopped to the roadside.
The eye-catching Jeep 212 was already parked neatly by the side of the road.
In the family’s private plot by the roadside, cucumbers were growing. She had noticed earlier that several were ready to be picked…
Spotting one close to the road, she steadied herself as best she could and reached out—
Just a little bit more.
Lin Xiaojiao adjusted her angle.
Tried again—
How pitiful she felt inside!
Who would have thought that she, the esteemed young lady of the Lin Group, would one day be reduced to a state where even a single cucumber felt like a luxury.
Almost there!
“What are you doing?”
A man’s deep voice came from behind her.
Ah—
Lin Xiaojiao was startled, jolting backward.
Was she about to faceplant again?!
Please, no!
Did she have to ruin her other foot too?
The expected awkward fall didn’t happen. Instead, she was steadied firmly by a large hand—
pressed against her back.
Seriously?!
It could be like this?
Shouldn’t romance novels always have the heroine “fall into the man’s warm embrace”?
She didn’t even get an arm to lean on.
Just a damn big hand, holding her up.
She steadied herself.
“Thank you, Uncle Gu.” She thanked him obediently.
“Picking cucumbers?” Gu Tingzheng didn’t withdraw the hand supporting the girl, his gaze shifting between her and the cucumber.
Lin Xiaojiao felt inexplicably embarrassed.
Why did she keep running into him in such awkward situations?
“Don’t put weight on your right foot. Keep it tucked.” He casually pulled the girl a little closer to him, giving her support.
With his other hand, he effortlessly plucked the cucumber and handed it to her.
Lin Xiaojiao grabbed it immediately.
They were too close.
She felt nervous.
So timid.
“Gurgle—” The sound from her stomach only deepened the awkwardness.
“Hungry?” The man’s lips curved slightly.
So handsome! Lin Xiaojiao snapped back to attention, nodding hastily.
“I’ll take you back first.”
This time, Gu Tingzheng didn’t carry her princess-style again. Instead, he supported the young girl as she hobbled back.
However, with Lin Xiaojiao’s injured foot, she could only walk very, very slowly.
So slowly that Gu Tingzheng almost wished he could just hoist her onto his shoulder.
Lin Xiaojiao was also on the verge of tears inside.
Wrapped in the man’s presence, her IQ had dropped to zero.
Finally managing to escort the young girl back to the main room and help her sit down,
Gu Tingzheng left without even saying goodbye.
Lin Xiaojiao: “…”
Was he annoyed with her for being a bother?