She froze completely.
What was going on?
For a moment, she even wondered if she had misheard.
It took several seconds before Lin Peiru finally found her voice again—but the anger that had been suppressed instantly flared up.
She almost laughed in rage.
Fine, Huo Yunshen—you liar!
In her previous life, lying on a hospital bed, holding her hand and tearfully telling her it was love at first sight, that he had decided on her from the very first moment he saw her.
And now what? She took the initiative to come to him in this life, and he actually said no?!
Lin Peiru was so angry her chest rose and fell sharply. She stepped forward and lifted her face, locking eyes directly with those icy, abyss-like ones.
“Why not?” Her voice carried a grievance and questioning tone she herself didn’t even notice.
Huo Yunshen frowned slightly, clearly finding her attitude extremely irritating.
He looked her up and down, the disdain in his eyes completely undisguised.
“My house is small, there’s no space,” his voice was as hard as the stones in the courtyard. “And we’re poor. We can’t afford to host a delicate city young lady like you.”
Hearing this, Lin Peiru actually stopped being angry.
“I don’t need you to host me!” she said immediately, her tone anxious and earnest. “I can pay you! Rent, food expenses, anything!”
She thought her proposal was full of sincerity.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Huo Yunshen’s expression not only didn’t soften—it darkened instantly.
As if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, a mocking curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“You have money?” he sneered. “Then go find a cleaner, bigger house. Go find someone willing to treat you like a goddess.”
“Our Huo family doesn’t need your money!”
Without giving her any chance to react, he stepped forward.
His tall figure moved out of the courtyard, grabbed her arm, and roughly shoved her back.
Lin Peiru staggered and almost fell.
By the time she steadied herself, there was a loud “bang!”
The old wooden door slammed shut in front of her, shaking dust from the frame as it fell.
Huo Yunshen went back inside.
In the dim room, a pale, weak woman was lying on the kang bed. Hearing the noise outside, she asked worriedly,
“Yunshen… what happened outside?”
It was his mother, Mu Xinyao.
Her voice was so soft it felt like it could be blown away by a breeze.
The coldness on Huo Yunshen’s face faded slightly, replaced by a deliberately calm expression.
“Nothing, Mom,” he said as he sat by the bed, lowering his voice. “Just a new sent-down youth asking for directions.”
Upon hearing it was a sent-down youth, Mu Xinyao frowned, worry filling her eyes.
“More of those city kids coming again…” She held her son’s hand and gently patted it. “Yunshen, you mustn’t get into conflicts with them again.”
Huo Yunshen lowered his eyes, hiding the turbulent hostility beneath them.
“As long as they don’t provoke me, I won’t provoke them,” he said calmly.
Looking at her son like this, Mu Xinyao had countless words stuck in her throat. In the end, they turned into a heavy sigh.
……
Outside the courtyard.
Lin Peiru was trembling with anger, her pretty face flushed red.
“He! How could he do that!” she pointed at the closed gate in disbelief. “He just pushed me out like that?!”
Li Dashan stood nearby, equally awkward, rubbing his hands, not knowing how to comfort her.
“Oh dear, Comrade Lin, don’t be angry, don’t be angry.”
He sighed helplessly. “Huo Yunshen… that boy just has this rotten temper!”
“He’s stubborn and hard-headed, doesn’t get along with the villagers much. Don’t take it personally.”
Li Dashan looked at her sincerely and tried to persuade her.
“How about this, I’ll take you to another household! I guarantee I’ll find you a clean and decent place to stay!”
“I won’t!” Lin Peiru blurted out without thinking.
She stiffened her neck, eyes red. “I’m staying at his house!”
Li Dashan: “……”
He looked at her stubborn expression and felt a vein in his temple jumping uncontrollably.
He muttered under his breath, “Why are you so stubborn too?”
Lin Peiru’s emotions were tangled into a mess—anger, grievance, and a faint, indescribable confusion.
She didn’t understand.
Why was Huo Yunshen in this life so resistant to her?
Was there… some other reason?
She calmed slightly and turned to Li Dashan, eyes filled with inquiry.
“Village Head, tell me the truth. Why does he refuse so firmly?”
Seeing that she was finally willing to listen, Li Dashan let out a long sigh of relief.
He pointed at the Huo family courtyard, then at Lin Peiru, and lowered his voice earnestly.
“My silly girl!”
“Think about it—he’s a young unmarried man, and you’re a young city girl.”
“If he lets you stay in his house alone, what would people say? His reputation would be ruined!”
“This isn’t just about him—it’s also for your reputation and safety!”
Lin Peiru froze completely.
Reputation? Safety?
In her previous life, she had been his wife for twenty years. In this life, she came for him. And he was talking about reputation?
She looked at the tightly shut courtyard door, and the stubbornness in her heart not only didn’t fade—it burned even stronger.
She took a deep breath.
“I’m not afraid. What is he afraid of?”
Li Dashan almost choked on his breath.
He had lived half his life and never seen such a stubborn girl.
What kind of place was the Huo family? What kind of person was Huo Yunshen? Even in the village, people avoided him.
Yet this city girl just crashed straight into him.
And even if she got bruised and bleeding, she still wouldn’t turn back.
Li Dashan looked at her eyes—red with determination, yet burning with an astonishing brightness—and suddenly found himself unable to say another word of persuasion.
He finally understood.
This girl and Huo Yunshen… were the same kind of people.
Both were stubborn stones from a latrine—hard and smelly.
Seeing that he wasn’t speaking, Lin Peiru thought he was still troubled. She took a deep breath and softened her tone slightly, though her stubbornness remained unchanged.
“Uncle Li, I know I’m making things difficult for you.”
“How about this—I’ll leave my luggage at your house for now, if you don’t mind taking care of it.”
“As for Huo Yunshen…”
A sly glint flashed in her eyes.
“I’ll figure out how to convince him myself.”
Li Dashan: “……”
He really wanted to say, girl, just give up!
If you can persuade Huo Yunshen, pigs will climb trees!