Yu Huan saw that Lin Zhiyu seemed unsteady on her feet and was about to fall against Ling Yuan.
Without worrying about staying hidden, she immediately rushed over.
However, the scene she had imagined never happened because Ling Yuan stepped aside.
Lin Zhiyu fell straight to the ground, her face burning with humiliation.
When Yu Huan ran closer and saw what had happened, she suddenly couldn’t help laughing out loud.
Hearing the laughter, Lin Zhiyu looked up. The moment she saw Yu Huan, her expression darkened.
How embarrassing! Of all people, that village girl had witnessed her fall!
She glanced at Ling Yuan, who stood beside her with an indifferent expression, then at Yu Huan, who had stopped a few steps away.
This shameless woman had actually chased them all the way out here!
In an instant, Lin Zhiyu regained her usual gentle expression. In a soft voice, she said, “Educated Youth Ling, I think I’ve twisted my ankle. I can’t get up. Could you please help me?”
Ling Yuan frowned slightly. He disliked getting too close to women. Just as he was about to respond, Yu Huan interrupted him.
“Comrade Zhiyu, let me help you!”
Yu Huan hurried forward and lifted Lin Zhiyu straight off the ground.
Lin Zhiyu was still stunned by the way Yu Huan had addressed her as “Comrade Zhiyu” when Yu Huan unceremoniously grabbed her and hoisted her up like a little chicken.
That disgusting woman!
She wasn’t even close to Yu Huan. Who gave her the right to call her Zhiyu? And why was she being picked up like a chicken?
Lin Zhiyu’s face twisted. For a moment, she had no idea what expression she should wear in this situation.
Yu Huan didn’t particularly want to call her that either. But if she called her “Educated Youth Lin,” wouldn’t that be just like the way she addressed Ling Yuan?
She absolutely refused to call her that!
Now that Lin Zhiyu looked even more uncomfortable than she did, Yu Huan no longer felt uncomfortable herself.
“Thank you, Comrade Yu. I’m fine now. Could you please let go of me?”
Lin Zhiyu finally managed to restore her gentle, graceful expression. She thanked Yu Huan, though her words sounded as if she were practically grinding her teeth.
Yu Huan immediately released her. Then, with an expression of disgust, she wiped her hands on her own clothes, as though she had touched something filthy.
Seeing that gesture, Lin Zhiyu was once again furious.
Ling Yuan noticed Yu Huan’s action, and a flicker of amusement passed through his eyes.
“Comrade Yu, what brings you all the way out here? It’s already afternoon. Don’t you have work to do?”
Lin Zhiyu had deliberately phrased her question that way, hoping Ling Yuan would see through Yu Huan’s intentions. This shameless village girl had obviously come all this way just to get close to him.
“Oh, I came to see Educated Youth Ling,” Yu Huan replied bluntly.
Lin Zhiyu was momentarily speechless.
This village girl really had no sense of propriety!
Ling Yuan had originally intended to walk away and get back to work. But after hearing Yu Huan’s answer, he turned to look at her, silently asking what she wanted.
Yu Huan deliberately glanced at Lin Zhiyu, signaling for her to move away. She wanted to speak with Ling Yuan privately.
Lin Zhiyu pretended not to understand and simply stood there without moving.
Yu Huan was speechless.
“Educated Youth Ling, why don’t we talk over there, under the shade of that tree? It’s cooler there. Comrade Zhiyu still has work to do, so let’s not get in her way.”
Seeing that Lin Zhiyu refused to leave, Yu Huan said this with an understanding expression.
She had no idea how Lin Zhiyu had ended up assigned to work alongside Ling Yuan, but judging by her appearance, she certainly hadn’t done much work. How could someone who had been working all morning not even have broken a sweat?
Meanwhile, Ling Yuan, who was so particular about cleanliness, had fine beads of sweat on his forehead that he hadn’t even had time to wipe away.
Hmph! Had Lin Zhiyu come here just to take advantage of being near him?
Ling Yuan didn’t refuse. He simply followed Yu Huan toward the shade of the tree.
“Educated Youth Ling, let me wipe your sweat!”
Yu Huan raised her hand, intending to use her sleeve to wipe his forehead.
“No need. I’ll do it myself.”
Ling Yuan stepped back, avoiding her hand. Then he took a handkerchief from his trouser pocket and gently wiped away the fine sweat on his forehead.
Some people were simply born into privilege. Even after doing farm work for a while, they never looked disheveled. Even something as ordinary as wiping away sweat seemed effortlessly refined when they did it.
Yu Huan felt a little awkward. Compared with him, her gesture really had been rather rough.
Ling Yuan elegantly refolded his handkerchief, turning it over before slipping it back into his pocket. His voice was calm and detached.
“Comrade Yu, is there something you wanted to discuss with me?”
“Educated Youth Ling, why have you been avoiding me these past few days?” Yu Huan asked bluntly.
A hint of surprise flashed through Ling Yuan’s eyes. He hadn’t expected that to be what she wanted to talk about.
“Comrade Yu, we’re not particularly close. There’s no reason for me to avoid you.”
Ling Yuan’s voice was calm, and he showed no sign of guilt.
To him, Yu Huan was simply a young woman he had happened to help once. Although their previous physical contact had stirred some unfamiliar feelings in him, he had merely attributed them to the natural physical reactions that could occur when a man and a woman accidentally touched. They had nothing to do with whether he liked her.
Besides, he hadn’t actually been avoiding her. He simply didn’t want any further contact with her.
After all, he had no intention of starting a relationship. If he didn’t want to hurt a young woman’s feelings, he certainly couldn’t encourage her to keep approaching him.
Of course, he did have a little affection for Yu Huan. But he believed it was mainly because of her exceptionally beautiful appearance. People naturally felt drawn to beautiful people and things. If he fell for her simply because of her looks, wouldn’t that make him rather shallow?
Yu Huan could hardly believe what he was saying.
Hadn’t his reactions before made it seem as though he was somewhat attracted to her?
She had never been in a relationship before, so she couldn’t tell whether his words or his earlier behavior reflected his true feelings.
But when she thought about her cultivation, she couldn’t accept simply giving up like this.
Even if he didn’t like her, she couldn’t just let him walk away. She had to take advantage of the situation a little and protect her cultivation.
From now on, she would simply treat him as a tool for her cultivation. She wasn’t going to waste her time trying to make him fall for her!
Ling Yuan noticed that Yu Huan had remained silent for quite some time. He assumed his words had embarrassed her.
“Comrade Yu, if there’s nothing else, you should head home.”
With that, Ling Yuan turned, intending to return to work.
All along, Lin Zhiyu had been secretly watching them.
When she saw Yu Huan try to wipe Ling Yuan’s sweat and Ling Yuan step away, she felt delighted. It seemed that Ling Yuan wasn’t only indifferent toward her.
Then Ling Yuan said something she couldn’t hear, and Yu Huan looked as dejected as a wilted eggplant.
Lin Zhiyu was even happier.
Ling Yuan wasn’t the kind of shallow man who would be captivated by a pretty face. Yu Huan had clearly thought far too highly of herself!
With her mood lifted, Lin Zhiyu’s smile became even gentler and more graceful.
Yu Huan pushed aside her tangled thoughts. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Lin Zhiyu looking at her mockingly, and immediately felt annoyed.
Seeing that Ling Yuan had already walked several steps away, she hurried after him.
“Educated Youth Ling! Ah!”
Yu Huan let out a cry of pain.
Ling Yuan reacted instinctively, faster than his mind could process what was happening. He immediately turned around and caught Yu Huan just as she was about to fall to the ground.
The moment their bodies touched, that strange sensation washed over them again. Both of them felt a tingling numbness, followed by an irresistible urge to move closer to each other.
Ling Yuan’s brows drew together. He looked at Yu Huan with a serious expression.
Yu Huan gazed back at him with tear-filled, limpid eyes, looking as though she were on the verge of crying.
“I really didn’t do it on purpose… I… I twisted my ankle.”
The same excuse, but from a different person.
When Lin Zhiyu saw Yu Huan shamelessly trying to seduce Ling Yuan again, using the very same trick she had just used herself, she was so furious that she rushed over and tried to separate them.
The moment Yu Huan saw Lin Zhiyu approaching, she immediately tightened her arms around Ling Yuan’s neck.
“It hurts! My foot hurts so much!”
“Yu Huan, have you no shame? Seducing a man in broad daylight, right in front of everyone! Let go of him now, or I’ll call everyone over to see how you’re trying to seduce Educated Youth Ling!”
Lin Zhiyu completely lost control. She grabbed Yu Huan’s arm and tried to pull her away from Ling Yuan.
Seeing Yu Huan’s face contort in pain as Lin Zhiyu tugged at her, Ling Yuan’s brows furrowed tightly. It didn’t look as though Yu Huan were pretending.
He shot Lin Zhiyu a cold, sharp look.
“Let go.”
The icy tone of his voice startled Lin Zhiyu.
Only then did she realize that she had been so enraged by Yu Huan that she had completely lost her composure and behaved like a shrew.
What would Ling Yuan think of her now?