Mu Qinqin, although she really wanted to take advantage of feeding him candy to touch whether the man’s lips were also cold, there were still many people working nearby.
So she couldn’t be too bold.
As for the mung bean soup, Si Chengchen hadn’t said he would give it to her—but…
He placed the water flask aside, then took a few steps away himself.
That cautious, avoiding-suspicion behavior made Mu Qinqin a little amused.
She knew that in this era social customs were strict.
And this man was also quite rigid.
Plus, his eyes were injured, making him even more distant and unapproachable.
Thinking of this, she touched her chin.
It seemed she really needed to take out those messy herbs in her space and study their medicinal properties.
With so many eyes around, Mu Qinqin didn’t make things difficult for him. Instead, she happily opened the water flask, ready to pour a cup of mung bean soup—when she suddenly thought of something and blinked at him.
“This flask… is yours?”
“Yes.” Si Chengchen pursed his lips. Thinking she disliked it, he lowered his voice. “I washed it before coming. The lid can be used as a cup. You can—”
Before he could finish,
the figure in front of him moved.
Without any hesitation, she tilted her head and took a big gulp directly from the mouth of the flask.
After drinking, she even looked slightly unsatisfied.
For a moment, he thought he had seen it wrong.
“It’s sweet,” Mu Qinqin said with a smile, looking at him brightly. “I really like it.”
But Si Chengchen seemed to see through the blur and notice the bright smile on her faint face, his voice low:
“There’s no sugar in it.”
“Mm… then maybe it’s because you made it especially well?” Mu Qinqin blinked at him, even leaning a little closer on purpose—but only for a moment before pulling back.
A faint sweet scent lingered in front of him.
He froze slightly.
A trace of subtle melancholy surfaced.
“Oh right, you—”
“Ah! Comrade Tang, what happened to you?”
“Quick, someone come! Comrade Tang seems to have fainted!”
The chaotic voices interrupted what Mu Qinqin was about to say.
Her words snapped off abruptly.
She ground her teeth lightly.
Tang Erya was working in her field—now that she fainted, she couldn’t ignore it, so she angrily put the water flask aside and walked toward the field.
After a few steps, she turned back to look at the man standing there, his gaze seemingly still on her, looking oddly obedient, and felt even more resentful.
“The weather is too hot. You should go back,” she said, waving at him before heading off.
She had originally wanted to ask what he was having for lunch.
But after thinking about it—
If she suggested eating together at noon, he would definitely refuse.
So she might as well decide first and inform him later.
With that thought, she had already reached the field.
People around were already gathering around Tang Erya.
Tang Erya lay on the ground, the hoe thrown aside, eyes tightly closed, face twisted in pain, streaked with dirt, groaning as if she were suffering greatly.
“Did she get heatstroke?”
“Yeah, it’s so hot, it’s possible.”
“Mu Qinqin is here—looks like she made Tang Erya do her work.”
“She probably overworked and got heatstroke. They’re from the same educated youth group—how can she bully her like that?”
“Exactly, exactly.”
Mu Qinqin ignored the hostile looks and comments around her.
Si Chengchen, who followed behind her, frowned upon hearing this.
At this moment, Mu Qinqin was examining Tang Erya on the ground.
She looked carefully at where Tang Erya had fainted.
There were no stones nearby.
And some signs of cleaning.
Clearly man-made.
As for who did it?
Mu Qinqin looked at the person lying on the ground pretending to be unconscious, a cold smile curling at her lips.
Her eyes were still moving under her eyelids.
She was about to step forward—
But a wooden stick struck first.
Almost instantly,
Tang Erya jolted up screaming like a fish out of water.
She clutched her shoulder in pain, sweat pouring down, glaring at Mu Qinqin:
“Mu Qinqin, you hit me—what the—?!”
Her furious expression froze when she followed the stick upward and saw who was holding it.
She was dumbfounded.
Mu Qinqin was also surprised.
Seeing the man’s expressionless face, she slightly curled her lips.
Same old routine.
If the man wasn’t doing it on purpose, she would livestream eating Tang Erya.
When he came earlier, he hadn’t been holding a stick—now he suddenly had one?
Obviously intentional.
“Sorry, didn’t see you,” Si Chengchen said calmly, moving the thick wooden stick away with a completely composed expression.
Mu Qinqin: “……”
He’s bad. I love it.
What should she do?
She liked him even more.
Si Chengchen felt the scorching gaze beside him and the undisguised affection in it, and his hand holding the stick trembled almost imperceptibly.
Tang Erya, having just recovered from the blow, exploded in anger:
“Are you blind?!”
With such a big person there, how could he not see?
She assumed Si Chengchen was doing it on purpose.
And he really was—but—
Under her scolding, he said calmly:
“Yes, I’m blind.”
Tang Erya: “……”
The onlookers: “……”
Only then did Tang Erya notice something off about his eyes—there was no light in them. But it still felt too coincidental.
Really just happened to be blind?
She thought he was pretending.
But—
“Comrade Tang, you’re wronging him. His eyes are injured, he can’t see clearly. He probably just passed by and didn’t notice,” someone from the village said.
The crowd burst into laughter.
Tang Erya, who had been about to curse again: “……”
Only Mu Qinqin, watching the silent man, quietly approached and slipped a candy into his hand.
His hand trembled.
The stick fell.
And just happened to land on Tang Erya’s ankle.
Such a thick stick.
Right on a fragile ankle.
Tang Erya let out another piercing scream.
Mu Qinqin: “……”
So tragic.
She looked at the man again and found him stiff.
She blinked.
Did she scare him?
But…
Seeing the white rabbit milk candy tightly held in his hand, she curved her eyes again.
Si Chengchen had indeed been startled.
From the moment her presence approached, he noticed.
But he thought she just accidentally moved closer.
Who knew the next second there was something hard in his hand, along with the softness of her palm—soft like cotton in the fields.
The faint fragrance of her hand still lingered in his palm.
Thinking of this, his grip on the candy tightened.
Mu Qinqin, however, was a little puzzled.
Why was he even more stiff?
No exaggeration—he looked like a board at this moment.
Was it because there were too many people and he wasn’t used to her being close?
Thinking this, she moved back a little.
But as soon as she stepped away,
the man’s aura shifted again.
A little… downcast.
She moved closer again.
And then…
stiff again.