He was an active-duty military officer who had returned half a month ago to visit family. While passing by the river, he saved Xu Zhouzhou, who had fallen into the water.
After pulling her ashore, he performed emergency rescue on the dying Xu Zhouzhou.
To the onlooking villagers, seeing him pressing on her chest and “kissing” her mouth—in such a feudal era and isolated village—was a scene so scandalous and heaven-defying, it was simply explosive.
The village gossips and aunties already found the original owner an eyesore. That waist and those hips of hers were a masterpiece in the eyes of men, but to the women, they were like “bone-scraping knives” that could slice away their husbands at any moment.
In fact, they would have preferred if she had just drowned in the river; then the village men’s hearts would finally be at peace. Who would have guessed she’d be saved by Gu Beizheng? Out of deference to Gu Beizheng’s status as an officer, they dared not say anything to his face, but the lies they fabricated behind his back were as filthy as could be.
Mindful of the rumors, Gu Beizheng had also casually explained the principles of his rescue measures to Xu Zhouzhou afterwards.
As someone from the future, how could Xu Zhouzhou not know that this was the most basic rescue technique? She couldn’t possibly latch onto a military officer just because of some gossip, could she?
After clearing the air, they hadn’t seen each other since. She never expected such a misunderstanding to occur today.
After transmigrating, Xu Zhouzhou slowly integrated the original owner’s memories and took over everything, including this job. Fortunately, for a university graduate like her, teaching elementary school was more than within her capabilities.
This Xiao Tao was nine years old and in the third grade. Rumor had it that her father passed away in an accident while working at the mines last month.
She hadn’t come to school for quite a while and had missed a lot of lessons. Two days ago, she actively asked Teacher Xu to give her make-up lessons.
So, every day after school, Xu Zhouzhou brought her back to her living quarters for tutoring, and her mother would come pick her up in the evening.
She just didn’t expect that today, it would be Gu Beizheng coming to pick her up.
A kerosene lamp was lit in the room, casting a dim light. This used to be the dormitory for the female educated youths. After the others left, the original owner had simply tidied it up, turning it into her own personal dormitory.
It was a dilapidated adobe house. After the window glass was broken, she had pasted newspaper over it.
When Xu Zhouzhou first transmigrated here, seeing this room really made her vision go black for a moment.
She didn’t know if the winter would be passable, but this summer was truly unbearable. The room was stuffy and hot, there were so many mosquitoes they practically hit you in the face, and bathing was inconvenient.
For Xu Zhouzhou, who couldn’t stand the heat, it was simply torture.
Xu Zhouzhou led Gu Beizheng inside. Gu Beizheng took the opportunity to scan the room. It was crude, but clean—clean to the point where there was nothing there.
A dark, old wardrobe, a desk by the window with some books, paper, and pens arranged on it.
Next to the desk was a single bed with a mosquito net, where a little figure was sleeping.
Xu Zhouzhou lifted the mosquito net, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently patted Xiao Tao: “Xiao Tao, wake up, your uncle is here to pick you up.”
Xiao Tao opened her eyes slightly, they flickered, and then closed heavily again.
“Xiao Tao?” Xu Zhouzhou touched Xiao Tao’s face—it was burning hot. She touched her forehead again, frowned, and turned back to say to Gu Beizheng, “Comrade Gu, something isn’t right with Xiao Tao.”
Gu Beizheng crossed over to the bedside in two steps, touched Xiao Tao’s face, and said in a deep voice, “She has a fever. I’m taking her to see the doctor.”
He bent down to pick up Xiao Tao and looked at Xu Zhouzhou, who looked worried nearby: “Teacher Xu, I came by bicycle. I might need to trouble you to help me hold Xiao Tao so we can go to the health clinic together.”
Xu Zhouzhou nodded hurriedly: “Okay, I’ll go with you.”
She looked down at the clothes she was wearing: “Um, could you please wait for me outside for a moment? I need to change my clothes.”
Gu Beizheng swept a glance over her, nodded, and said, “Okay.”
Xu Zhouzhou quickly changed her clothes, held Xiao Tao in her arms, and sat on the back seat of the bicycle. Gu Beizheng pedaled, rushing all the way to the town’s health clinic.
“It’s already over thirty-nine degrees; the fever is quite high. Let’s put her on an IV drip, otherwise, it could turn into pneumonia, which would be troublesome,” the doctor told them after the examination.
Gu Beizheng nodded, “Alright, let’s do the IV then. I’ll go pay.”
In the ward, Xu Zhouzhou sat on a stool by the bed, watching Xiao Tao get her IV. The little girl’s face was flushed red from the fever, and she was sleeping groggily.
This girl was quite smart and studied hard. What was rare and commendable was that among the few girls in the class, she looked the cleanest and tidiest. She didn’t have messy hair or dirty little hands. Although her clothes had patches, they were clean; it was obvious her mother raised her with great care.
Xu Zhouzhou had met her mother too; her name was Ding Lan. She was a very ordinary rural woman with ear-length short hair and skin tanned dark yellow by the sun. After her husband passed away, she seemed even more dispirited, as if her backbone had been pulled out.
However, in an era where daughters were considered “money-losing goods,” a woman who could support her daughter’s education like this must have a rich and bright heart.
Gu Beizheng returned to the ward after paying and saw Xu Zhouzhou sitting on the stool. She was wearing a white short-sleeved collared shirt. Her exposed slender neck and slim, rounded arms were as white as spilled milk.
Her hair was tied in a low ponytail. Under the incandescent light, her side profile showed a high nose bridge and crimson lips. Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly as she sat there silently, looking quiet and well-behaved.
“Well-behaved?” When this word popped into his mind, his heart trembled slightly. He recalled the gossip about her in the village; it didn’t match the word “well-behaved” at all.
His gaze darkened, and he walked over.
“Sorry to trouble you, Teacher Xu.”
Xu Zhouzhou looked up, her big eyes blinking. “It’s okay, Xiao Tao is my student too. Besides, I was too careless, otherwise she wouldn’t have burned up like this.”
The child was clearly fine when she was doing her homework; how did she suddenly get a fever while sleeping? Although Xu Zhouzhou knew it wasn’t her fault, she still felt very sorry.
Xu Zhouzhou lifted her face, and only then did Gu Beizheng see a patch of crimson on both sides of her jaw—likely caused by his pinch earlier.
Her skin was naturally fair, so the red marks stood out in a somewhat startling way.
Lowering his eyes to her wrists, sure enough, two red marks were also clearly visible on those slender white wrists.
Gu Beizheng frowned slightly. He had only pinched her lightly; how did it turn so red? Is all women’s skin this delicate and tender?
He didn’t know. Apart from this woman, he had never pinched another woman. The memory of that moist, smooth texture flashed through his mind, and his fingers couldn’t help but feel slightly hot.
“It’s not your fault; her health is a bit weak. It’s too late now, and it’s unsafe for you to go back alone. Wait a while for Xiao Tao’s mother to come, and then I’ll take you back. I’m sorry to trouble you to wait here for a bit.”
Gu Beizheng’s voice was deep and rich. Truth be told, this voice made Xu Zhouzhou—who had always had a weakness for nice voices—feel her brain go a bit numb.
She nodded blankly: “Oh, okay.”
The two fell silent for a moment, and the whole room became quiet.
Xu Zhouzhou brushed back the stray hairs from her forehead, not knowing what to say for a moment.
“Does someone peep often?”