When Qin Zhijun walked over to the grain-drying ground leaning on his crutches, this was the scene that greeted him: Zhou Jing’s eyes were constantly following Gu Wan’s figure wherever she moved.
A sudden jolt went through his heart.
He was a sharp and observant person by nature, and standing from a bystander’s perspective made things even clearer to him. In Zhou Jing’s eyes as he looked at Gu Wan, there was curiosity and intrigue—distinctly the look of a man who had developed an interest in a woman.
Sensing someone watching him, Zhou Jing turned around and saw Qin Zhijun. He asked in surprise, “Big Brother Qin, why did you come out?”
Qin Zhijun smiled faintly and said, “Came to see how Xiaomei catches sparrows. The doctor also said that moving around appropriately is good for recovery.”
As he spoke, he had already walked over and stood beside Zhou Jing.
It had to be said that both Qin Zhijun and Zhou Jing were blessed with exceptional looks, and standing together, they were even more pleasing to the eye.
A short distance away, where two other households had laid out their drying mats, two young wives in their late twenties were spreading and drying their grain while casting seemingly discreet glances at Qin Zhijun and Zhou Jing.
Gu Wan, who had been briskly raking the grain a moment ago, felt a slight, flustered tightness come over her upon hearing Qin Zhijun’s voice. Holding the rake, her hands froze, unsure of how to move yet continuing to move mechanically. Fortunately, about seventy to eighty percent of the grain had already been spread out, and after a few more rakes, it was properly set.
When Qin Xiaomei finished her work, she excitedly went to find a brick-sized stone and a small stick as high as a pair of chopsticks. Just as she finished her preparations and was about to set a trap with her sieve, she realized she was being silly.
Currently, every open space in the village was covered with drying mats, and grain was everywhere. This was the time when sparrows lacked food the least. How could a sieve under a square meter in size attract any sparrows?
However, having gathered all the tools, giving up like this felt so embarrassing! So she simply chose a corner of her family’s drying mat to set up the trap anyway.
She inverted the sieve, propped up one side with the stick tied to a string, and placed a stone on top of the sieve. Holding the string, she hid at a distance, waiting only for a sparrow to enter beneath the sieve so she could swiftly yank the string and trap it.
The idea was lovely, but unfortunately, these sparrows were clever too. With vast fields of grain available to steal from, why would they squeeze into a dangerous spot?
Seeing his sister’s dispirited look, Qin Zhijun found it somewhat amusing. However, he noticed that while sparrows still landed on his family’s drying mat, the Gu family’s drying mat was completely clear—the sparrows would deliberately fly around it when passing by.
His slight confusion was resolved when Qin Xiaomei, after waiting over ten minutes without a single bird entering the trap, pulled Gu Wan over to help.
Gu Wan stood there with calm composure. Any sparrow on the Qin family’s drying mat within two or three meters of her would be knocked out cold on the spot when she threw her broom, without a single one escaping. This story is hosted at novelping dot com.
Qin Zhijun’s pupils contracted slightly. The speed at which that broom cut through the air was simply too fast; even if he were the one throwing it, he couldn’t achieve such an effect.
And for the broom to fly that fast was tied to the sheer force Gu Wan exerted—not to mention her frightening accuracy.
Zhou Jing, on the other hand, didn’t think too much of it. Seeing Gu Wan knock out several birds with a single broom throw, his hands grew itchy to try it himself. Walking over with excitement, he said, “Let me give it a try.”
Tall with long legs, he reached Gu Wan’s side in just a few steps. Meanwhile, Qin Xiaomei, who had originally claimed she would catch sparrows, had now devolved into a little assistant collecting sparrows and the broom.
Gu Wan, caught off guard and hearing his voice before she had time to dodge, felt her legs go soft.
She stood frozen in place, thinking that once a sparrow landed and Zhou Jing went over to strike it, he might move away. As long as she had a thirty-second buffer to regain a bit of strength, she would retreat immediately.
Her plan was well thought out, but she hadn’t expected Qin Zhijun to walk over as well, leaning on his crutches. The combined influence of both men on her seemed to accumulate; her legs trembled weakly, and she could barely stand straight. Looking at how many people were present on this grain-drying ground, she almost felt like crying.
In particular, among the two young wives drying grain nearby, one was the very person who had gossiped about Qin Zhijun down by Big Green Lake last time. Having finished spreading her grain, she was now standing by to watch the sparrow-striking spectacle.
Gu Wan felt as though all strength was draining from her body. She dug her fingernails deep into her palms, and the sharp pain caused that overwhelming body-melting weakness to recede slightly. Realizing she had found a way to save herself, she dug the nails of all eight fingers into her palms.
Zhou Jing stood less than a meter to her left, while Qin Zhijun stood on her right. Just then, Qin Xiaomei returned carrying the broom that Gu Wan had thrown. Zhou Jing took two steps toward Qin Xiaomei to fetch the broom, coming to a stop right in front of Gu Wan.
Digging into her palms was no longer of any use. Gu Wan’s body swayed, her brain went completely blank, and in her despair, only one thought remained: If I get held by Zhou Jing in public like this, I’ll become the talk of the village women before noon, my reputation will be completely ruined, and Qin Zhijun is right beside us—what will he think?
Little did she know, although Qin Zhijun was standing a step further away, he had been secretly watching Gu Wan all along. The moment her body swayed, he noticed something was wrong. Seeing her complexion, it looked remarkably similar to the day she suffered from low blood sugar. Standing right beside her was Zhou Jing; almost without a second thought, Qin Zhijun threw aside his crutches, reached out, and pulled Gu Wan into a supportive embrace.
From the moment Gu Wan’s body swayed to when she was gathered into Qin Zhijun’s arms took only an instant, but Qin Zhijun’s action of tossing his crutches and taking a stride to her side was quite dramatic. Everyone present turned their gaze to the two of them. A flush instantly swept across Gu Wan’s face, spreading to her earlobes and all the way down her neck. Her arms hung limply around Qin Zhijun’s neck, and in her panic, she didn’t dare look at anyone, feeling only a small sense of relief in her heart—thank goodness it was him—while also worrying whether his leg had been injured in the process.
Qin Zhijun lowered his head and asked Gu Wan softly, “Do you have any candy on you?”
His breath brushed against the side of Gu Wan’s ear, making her feel even dizzier. Where she had been forcing herself to stand with his support, she now leaned her entire weight against Qin Zhijun, gently shaking her head with her face resting against his shoulder.
Zhou Jing hadn’t even realized what was wrong with Gu Wan, nor how Qin Zhijun had reached her so quickly. Looking at Gu Wan’s flushed face as she hung limply and powerlessly against Qin Zhijun, his brow furrowed slightly.
He felt a slight discomfort in his heart that he hadn’t even noticed himself. He wanted to ask something, yet he had no standing to do so. After staring fixedly for a moment, he asked Qin Zhijun, “What’s wrong with her?” Read this novel at novelping . com for the best experience.
Qin Zhijun glanced at him, a flicker of light in his eyes, and said, “Wanwan has low blood sugar and couldn’t keep her footing just now.”
Hearing Qin Zhijun address Gu Wan so intimately, Zhou Jing thought to himself that it sounded far too close. Looking at the women watching the commotion in the distance, he said with three parts playfulness and seven parts seriousness, “Holding her like this isn’t very appropriate, is it?”
Qin Zhijun put on a doting expression and smiled, saying, “It doesn’t matter. Our two families have already finalized an engagement for Wanwan and me, and we’re just waiting to get married next year.”
He said these words deliberately for Zhou Jing to hear—this kid’s intentions toward Gu Wan were not pure.
Gu Wan, who was leaning against him, almost thought she had misheard. Qin Zhijun said he was going to marry her next year? He was willing to marry her!
She raised her eyes to look at him, seeing only the man’s resolute chin. A sweet, bubbling joy inexplicably bloomed in her heart, and without her realizing it, her eyes and brows were tinged with a smile and shy embarrassment.
Qin Xiaomei hadn’t even reacted to the situation. She had merely gone to fetch a broom and a sparrow, only for her big brother to have Xiao Wan in his arms when she turned around! And what’s more, the man who was all secretive when giving candy yesterday had just announced in public today that he was going to marry Wanwan!
What had she missed? Where did the picture go off track?
Seeing Zhou Jing freeze upon hearing his words, Qin Zhijun called out to Qin Xiaomei standing nearby, “Wanwan is dizzy from low blood sugar. Help her back and let her have some sugar water and rest for a bit. I’ll watch the drying ground here for now.”
Although he wanted to take this opportunity to nip Zhou Jing’s thoughts in the bud, Gu Wan’s reputation was even more important. Now that he had made the marriage explicit, Zhou Jing probably wouldn’t entertain any further thoughts.
“Ah, right, okay!” Qin Xiaomei agreed repeatedly. Taking Gu Wan over from her brother’s arms, she caught sight of Lin Chunxia craning her neck to look over. Her eyes turned, and she crouched down to let Gu Wan cling to her neck, gritting her teeth as she hoisted her onto her back.
Since she couldn’t even stand, they surely wouldn’t have anything left to gossip about now!
Lin Chunxia’s mouth hadn’t closed ever since Qin Zhijun suddenly threw away his crutches to catch and hold Gu Wan. She was astonished—just a few days ago, she had eaten the gossip about Qin Zhijun and the printing factory worker Zhao Juan, and now the honest, simple daughter of the Gu family was in the picture too!
Excitedly, she grabbed Zhang Guizhi, who was standing beside her, and walked over to the Qin family members, raising her voice to ask, “My, what happened to you guys?”
Qin Xiaomei replied, “Xiao Wan’s low blood sugar made her faint just now. I’m taking her back right away to mix her some sugar water.”
With that, she carried her away, leaving Lin Chunxia smacking her lips in disappointment, “Low blood sugar, huh…”