The young man leaned against a camphor tree, one foot propped up casually.
His thick hair was slightly messy, the strands on his forehead nearly reaching his brows. Perhaps he had run his fingers through it earlier, giving his hairstyle a layered look.
Paired with his rough, wheat-colored yet sharply defined face, it created an oddly harmonious kind of rugged handsomeness.
As the weather grew colder, he still wore only a white shirt, black trousers, and a pair of worn straw sandals. A stripped stalk of rice straw dangled from his mouth.
Looking at him like this, Shu Ning’s first impression was that he resembled an unruly youth straight out of a comic.
Her originally anxious heart relaxed the moment she saw him. A smile spread across her lips, and her eyes filled with warmth.
Beside him sat a wooden bucket.
Without a doubt, it was filled with loaches.
Seeing her approach, Gu Zhao spat out the straw in his mouth and said calmly, “Let’s go.”
Shu Ning happily followed.
He had been waiting for her!
He didn’t even complain about her being late.
“You’ve been waiting a long time, haven’t you?” Shu Ning caught up to him and asked, a little embarrassed.
“No.”
He had no intention of admitting that he had been waiting since before dawn!
“I overslept today. If this happens again, you can come to the dorm and call me,” Shu Ning said, still feeling a bit apologetic.
“I’ve got nothing better to do anyway. It’s fine.” Gu Zhao replied indifferently, his expression unchanged, his pace fast.
Shu Ning was confident she wasn’t short—among girls, she even had long legs.
But in front of Gu Zhao, who was nearly 1.8 meters tall, her long legs were useless.
Even jogging, she couldn’t keep up.
After chasing for a while, Shu Ning was so exasperated she laughed.
What kind of person was this guy?
Didn’t he consider whether she could keep up?
Fine—she stopped walking.
Shu Ning took off her small shoulder bag and fanned herself repeatedly.
So hot.
On a frosty morning, she was already drenched in sweat.
That just showed how fast Gu Zhao had been walking.
Since she couldn’t catch up anyway, she might as well rest.
Let him go!
After walking for a while, Gu Zhao felt something was off—there was no sound behind him.
Turning around, he saw Shu Ning far behind, sitting on a rock, panting and fanning herself.
“….” Gu Zhao stared at her for a moment, deep in thought. Was he really walking that fast?
He usually walked like this.
After thinking for a bit, it suddenly hit him.
Today he wasn’t sneaking off to the black market—there was no need to rush like that.
Shu Ning was a delicate city girl. For distances like this, she usually took the commune’s horse cart. She rarely walked.
Realizing his oversight, Gu Zhao picked up the bucket of loaches and walked back slowly.
Shu Ning, sitting on the rock, ignored him completely.
She turned her head away, fanning herself with her army-green bag. Her dark hair fluttered, her cheeks flushed. Under the sunlight, her side profile showed a small, delicate nose slightly upturned, and her pink lips curved downward in displeasure.
Though she said nothing, he could already tell she was a bit angry.
“Um… are you tired?”
Gu Zhao looked at the slightly upset girl, licking his lips as he asked in a low voice.
Hmph!
Shu Ning ignored him.
She didn’t turn her head, continuing to look away.
“If you’re tired, don’t sit on the ground—it’s cold. And don’t fan yourself too much—you might get sick,” Gu Zhao added.
That at least sounded reasonable.
The corners of Shu Ning’s lips finally lifted slightly, though when she turned back, her face immediately tightened again, pouting. “Oh, so you know it’s cold sitting on a rock? And that sweating and fanning can make me sick?”
“….” Gu Zhao.
“You know all that, so why were you walking so fast?”
“….” Gu Zhao.
“You didn’t think to wait for me? Or ask if I could keep up? Why aren’t you considerate at all toward girls?” Shu Ning demanded fiercely.
“I…” Gu Zhao looked innocent, frowning slightly at her expression.
Years ago, he had interacted with a city girl like this.
She had been delicate, unreasonable, domineering, and relentless.
She had exhausted him.
After that, he wanted to run whenever he saw girls.
Shu Ning’s current attitude… had a bit of resemblance to hers.
“Alright, alright, I’m not mad anymore.” In the blink of an eye, the previously angry girl suddenly broke into a smile, as if still a bit pouty. “I just wanted to tell you—when walking with a girl, you can slow down a bit.”
“You slow down, I speed up. Then we can walk together, right?”
“If you always walk that fast, how am I supposed to catch up to you? If I can’t catch you, I’ll be mad at myself!”
“….” For a moment, Gu Zhao almost laughed.
How could this girl say so openly that she was chasing after him?
Didn’t she realize how suggestive that sounded?
But hearing her say this, he suddenly felt she was completely different from that girl he had known before.
That one had been delicate, temperamental, always acting superior—only scolding and making things difficult for him.
Shu Ning was a little willful, a little stubborn, but she told him why she was upset and what she wanted him to do.
Being with her felt easy.
Even after being scolded, he felt strangely refreshed.
“Actually, I’m kind of happy you walk this fast,” Shu Ning suddenly said, as if comforting herself. “It means you’ve never dated before! I’m the first—one and only, right?”
A man who had never been in a relationship wouldn’t know how to be considerate.
With his parents gone for years, no one had taught him how to interact with girls.
If he didn’t know, she could teach him.
“….” Gu Zhao suddenly found her a bit adorable.
“So this problem—I discovered it, I pointed it out, and I told you how to fix it. So! From now on, only when you walk with me are you allowed to go this slow and match my pace. With other girls, walk as fast as you want. Got it?”
Her tone turned extremely domineering at the end.
“….” This time, Gu Zhao couldn’t suppress his smile at all. After a long pause, he slowly said, “Alright.”
Shu Ning’s smile instantly bloomed, bright as spring flowers.
Though he might be a bit slow, he was teachable.
“Then can we set off now?” Gu Zhao asked softly.
Shu Ning’s smile remained. “Of course. We can go faster now. After we visit my aunt’s house, I actually want you to accompany me to another place.”
“….” Gu Zhao.
She wanted to spend the whole day with him?