“You stay here. I’ll go over there.”
Thinking about it, Jiang You glanced at the female protagonist beside her, then at Xie Jin’an behind her. She said something to the female protagonist before getting up, dusting off her hands, and moving to another spot.
Xie Jin’an had barely stopped behind her and started working when she walked away.
In his eyes, it looked as though she was avoiding him like the plague, as if she couldn’t get away from him quickly enough.
Did she really dislike him that much?
“Comrade Xie, how are we supposed to do this?”
The male educated youth beside him looked at the large plot of land and didn’t know where to begin, so he turned to Xie Jin’an.
“Follow along and learn.”
After answering briefly, Xie Jin’an darkened his expression and silently buried himself in his work.
The two male educated youths exchanged glances. They could only watch what he was doing and imitate him.
Perhaps because he was in a bad mood, Xie Jin’an worked unusually hard that day. It was as if his strength would never run out.
Jiang You glanced back during a brief break. Seeing this, she swallowed her breath and resigned herself to working faster.
She was worked to the bone that day. She was practically exhausted to death.
When they went home, she didn’t even greet Xie Jin’an. She simply turned around and left.
She was afraid that if she didn’t hurry, she would collapse from exhaustion right there.
Although weeding wasn’t particularly strenuous work, constantly bending over and squatting for long periods was still tiring, especially under the scorching summer sun.
After going home and taking a bath, Jiang You immediately collapsed onto her bed and decided to do absolutely nothing.
“My life is so hard…”
My system, when are you coming back?
She called out to the system in her heart countless times, but it simply refused to appear.
She really didn’t want to move. She even ate dinner in her own room.
So when Xie Jin’an brought his younger brother over to find Jiang Heng, she once again “happened to be unavailable.”
Looking at the tightly closed door, Xie Jin’an lowered his eyes, and his heart sank a little further.
The next day, Jiang You had gotten smarter.
She found a place to work by herself first thing in the morning.
She handed the two female educated youths over to an experienced village auntie and avoided Xie Jin’an as much as possible.
What a joke.
With her tiny frame, how could she possibly work alongside someone as physically strong as Xie Jin’an?
Besides, who said she had to be the one to act as the third wheel?
Anyone could do it.
Why did it have to be her?
Just as she was thinking this, Jiang You suddenly saw the female protagonist stumble as she passed a pile of grass.
Someone had left a small hoe in front of her, standing with the blade facing upward.
If she fell onto that, it would be disastrous.
“Ah!”
A cry of surprise came from a distance. Seeing that the beautiful female protagonist was about to fall, even Jiang You was frightened enough to stand up.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, an unexpected figure happened to pass by and grabbed the female protagonist, pulling her back.
“Thank you.”
Looking at the hoe on the ground, Bai Yaor immediately thanked him, still shaken.
“It’s nothing.”
Ling Xun answered before turning around and walking away, his expression extremely cold, as though someone owed him several million yuan.
“Tsk.”
Seeing this, Jiang You looked around and discovered that Xie Jin’an was not far from the “scene of the accident.”
At that moment, he was simply working with his head lowered, his expression completely blank, seemingly unaware of everything that had just happened.
“Your wife almost fell to her death, and you’re still busy working.”
After muttering this under her breath, Jiang You stopped paying attention to anything else and focused on her own work.
For the next several days, Jiang You continued behaving the same way.
When it came to Xie Jin’an, she avoided him whenever she could.
She was simply the kind of person who was suited to slacking off at work. Any kind of hardworking, capable, exemplary commune member had absolutely nothing to do with her.
And Jiang You’s obvious avoidance naturally did not escape Xie Jin’an’s notice.
Moreover, the distance she kept from him became increasingly obvious.
In the past, she would at least greet him and call him “Big Brother Xie.”
Now, she seemed to deliberately keep her distance, as if she didn’t want to have too much contact with him. After work, she even avoided seeing him altogether.
The Jiang and Xie families had known each other for a long time, and their relationship had always been close.
Previously, although Jiang You and Xie Jin’an had always been mindful of the difference between men and women and maintained a polite distance, they had still been somewhat closer than ordinary neighbors.
But now, her attitude toward him had become as distant as if they were strangers—polite yet aloof.
Even the Jiang family noticed that something was wrong.
“Youyou, did Jin’an do something to upset you?”
During their evening conversation after dinner, Jiang Heng was the first to lose patience and ask.
His expression made it seem as though if Jiang You said yes, he would immediately go find Xie Jin’an and demand an explanation.
Even though Xie Jin’an was his brother, that didn’t matter. He was still more biased toward his own little sister.
Jiang You looked completely confused and honestly shook her head.
“No.”
Hearing this, even her mother became puzzled.
“Then, Youyou, why does it seem like you haven’t been very fond of Jin’an lately?”
Jiang Heng was even more direct.
Jiang You looked horrified.
“I haven’t!”
She didn’t like the male protagonist?
How many lives did she have?
She simply didn’t want to work alongside Xie Jin’an, and she also felt that now that the female protagonist had come down to the countryside and the plot had officially begun, it would be better to keep her distance.
Besides, hadn’t she always treated Xie Jin’an like this?
All along, they had merely nodded and exchanged greetings whenever they met. They had never even had a proper private conversation.
After Jiang You answered, the house suddenly became strangely quiet.
Both Jiang You’s parents had somewhat peculiar expressions, and they were looking toward the entrance.
Seeing their strange expressions, Jiang Heng turned his head as well.
Then he froze.
Jiang You followed their gaze, and the moment she turned around, she felt so awkward that she wanted to dig a hole through the floor with her toes.
Sure enough, you really shouldn’t gossip about someone behind their back.
Speak of the devil, and he appears.
At that moment, Xie Jin’an was standing at the entrance, holding a bag in his hand. His gaze was fixed on her in the courtyard, and there was a complicated look in his eyes.
“Xiaoxie, what brings you here?”
It was already past seven in the evening. People in the village went to bed early. After washing up at this hour, they would usually be getting ready to rest.
The Jiang family had simply gathered together after dinner to chat for a while. No one had expected Xie Jin’an to come over at this time.
Getting caught talking about someone behind their back by the very person they were talking about—there was hardly anything more embarrassing.
After a moment of silence, Jiang You’s father was the first to recover and asked a question.
Jiang You nervously picked at her fingers and lowered her head, pretending to be extremely busy.
She actually wanted to hide in her room, but she was afraid that doing so would confirm what she had just said and make Xie Jin’an think she really disliked him.
Besides, the gaze coming from behind her inexplicably made her feel a little timid.
It was too awkward, and she didn’t dare move.
“I thought Xiaoning’s food should be running low, so I came over to bring him some more.”
Seeing the situation, Xie Jin’an pretended that he hadn’t heard anything at all. He smiled and lifted the bag in his hand as he explained.
Hearing this, Jiang You’s mother quickly stood up.
“There’s still plenty left. You didn’t need to bring more so soon. Xiaoning doesn’t eat much anyway.”
“Just keep it for now. It’s fine.”
Xie Jin’an remained as gentle and easygoing as ever.
As he spoke, he looked at the few people sitting around the table. Then he raised another item in his hand.
“Uncle Jiang, I managed to get some good liquor. Want to have a taste together?”
Jiang You’s father immediately responded.
“Huh? Ah! Sure, sure. Come sit down. Youyou, go get some peanuts.”
“Okay.”
Jiang You answered so quickly that it was obvious she was thrilled to have an excuse to escape.
Just as she turned around, she noticed Xie Jin’an looking at her.
Her footsteps stopped for a moment, and she awkwardly tugged at the corners of her lips.
Xie Jin’an froze for a second before smiling back at her.
There seemed to be some emotions in his eyes that she couldn’t understand.
But she hurried away as if trying to escape, completely missing the scene behind her.