Qi Xianglei was quite well-known in the village. The news that he had returned injured and was assigned to work in the county town quickly spread throughout the village.

Many families with unmarried daughters have set their sights on Qi Xianglei.

If she marries Qi Xianglei, not only will her household registration be transferred to the county town, but she can also go to the city to eat commercial grain.

After learning that Qi Xianglei had returned, Liu Sanya did not immediately launch an attack. Instead, she went to the black market, bought some cloth, and made several more sets of clothes.

Ever since she got in touch with the black market boss, she doesn't need tickets to buy anything anymore.

At first, she would make pastries and braised food every day and send them to the black market to sell, but now she doesn't have to go anymore.

Every two or three days, someone would come to the village to collect it, and the amount was quite large.

She could also get her mother and sisters to help her, so she earned much more money than if she had sold the goods herself.

She also gave her younger sister two cents and told her to go to the Qi family and keep an eye on things. If she saw Qi Xianglei go out alone, she was to come back and tell her.

Four days passed in this way, and Qi Xianglei went out alone to chop firewood on the mountain.

After hearing her sister's words, Liu Sanya immediately dressed up.

She even put on some lipstick that she had bought with the help of the black market boss, wore a tight shirt and pants, and went out carrying a basket.

Qi Xianglei had just finished bundling the firewood and was about to go down the mountain when he heard a shout that sounded like someone had fallen.

He was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, so he carried the firewood toward the direction from which the sound came, wondering if someone wanted to help.

I saw a girl kneeling on the ground rubbing her foot; it looked like she had twisted it.

Qi Xianglei noticed a basket next to her containing some wild vegetables and guessed that she was a girl from the village who had gone up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables.

He spoke first, asking, "Are you alright?"

Liu Sanya suppressed the smug look in her eyes, looked up at Qi Xianglei with red eyes and a pitiful expression, and said, "I twisted my ankle."

Then, with a pleading expression, she said, "Could you take me down the mountain to my home?"

Qi Xianglei rarely returned to the village and was not familiar with the girls there, so he did not know her.

Seeing the girl's fair complexion, her watery eyes looking at him, and her moist, red lips, he could tell she had dressed up carefully and had an indescribable charm.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that the girl's clothes and pants were very tight, and she didn't look like someone who could work on the mountain at all.

If she were truly a girl going up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables, she wouldn't be dressed in such an inconvenient way for work.

He immediately became wary, but didn't show it on his face. "Where do you live? Who are you?"

Liu Sanya was delighted. "My name is Liu Yuexiang, and I live in that detached house at the end of the village."

This is the name she gave herself.

Qi Xianglei had never heard of anyone in the village named Liu Yuexiang, but he knew that the house at the end of the village was where the Liu family's main house was located.

He tentatively asked, "Are you Liu Sanya?"

Liu Sanya's eyes lit up, and her face immediately flushed. "Hmm, so you still remember me!"

Had Qi Xianglei been paying attention to her before? Oh dear, she felt a little embarrassed, and her heart raced.

Qi Xianglei: "..." He didn't remember Liu Sanya at all, but she was too famous in the village.

His mother and sister, in particular, kept telling him to stay away from Liu Sanya if he ever encountered her.

It is said that Liu Sanya had her eye on him even before he returned.

He instantly understood that Liu Sanya hadn't twisted her ankle at all; she had deliberately dressed up to bump into him.

Qi Xianglei's expression turned cold. "You wait here, I'll go to your house and get someone to come up and help you."

Liu Sanya was taken aback. "No need. Just help me down the mountain."

Why is this man so clueless? Wouldn't it be better to help such a beautiful girl down the mountain?

Qi Xianglei stepped back a few paces. “Men and women should not touch each other. You and I are both unmarried. If I help you down the mountain, it will not be good for your reputation.”

Liu Sanya: "..." This man has no sense of romance.

"It's okay, we live in a rather remote area, no one will see us."

She looked at him pitifully with red eyes, "How can you bear to leave me alone on the mountain? What if I encounter wild animals?"

Qi Xianglei got goosebumps from her gaze: "..."

He resolutely refused, saying, "Where would wild animals come from halfway up this mountain? You're overthinking it."

"I'll go and call your family right now."

Without waiting for Liu Sanya to say anything more, he picked up the firewood and hurried down the mountain.

Seeing this, Liu Sanya couldn't help but punch the ground. This man was simply a blockhead.

About half an hour later, Daya and Erya went up the mountain.

They helped Sanya, who was pretending to twist her ankle, down the mountain.

Qi Xianglei didn't take it to heart, thinking that since he had rejected Liu Sanya, she probably wouldn't have any further thoughts.

Who knew that for the next two weeks, whenever he went out, he would run into Liu Sanya by chance most of the time.

She always dressed up in a flamboyant way; she was clearly not a decent girl.

He could tolerate it at first, but later when he encountered her, he would give her the cold shoulder and pretend not to see her, but he still kept running into her.

Qi Xianglei's impression of Liu Sanya also worsened.

Liu Sanya couldn't help but get anxious. She realized that Qi Xianglei was completely clueless, a typical straight man and a blockhead.

Now, every time they meet, he starts giving her the cold shoulder.

This man, who has no sense of romance, is so dull that she's almost ready to give up on him.

But when she thought about how he would achieve great things in the future, how handsome he was, and how he could be of great help to her in her business in the county, she realized that he would be a great help.

The key point is that he was Liu Qingyou's husband in her past life, and he was especially considerate, so she made up her mind to marry him no matter what.

We must not allow Liu Qingyou to marry Qi Xianglei and enjoy a life of luxury again.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!