Su Hua didn't respond to that, but just raised her small face and smiled at him, "I'm a bit busy right now, so I'm afraid I don't have time to entertain Young Master Xiao. If Young Master Xiao needs anything, you can go to my mother."
After saying that, he picked up the small wooden stool that had fallen to the ground, casually wiped the mud off the stool surface with his sleeve, and then sat down with a thud, continuing to bury himself in the twigs he hadn't finished cutting.
Xiao Jinhan could only see the top of the girl's jet-black hair.
He squatted down to her eye level and raised his hand to try to take the machete from her hand, saying, "This kind of work with a knife should be done by men."
Su Hua shifted her body to avoid it, saying, "No need, it's nothing, how could I trouble Young Master Xiao?"
Xiao Jinhan's large hand was empty again. His gaze fell on the girl's face as she turned to the side. Her face was still porcelain white and bright, and there was even a smile on her lips, but her whole body exuded a sense of aloofness that kept people at a distance.
It was as if all the closeness and familiarity of the past few days had vanished in an instant, and she was back to the way she was when they first met in the dilapidated temple, when nothing seemed to matter to her.
For a moment, the only sounds in the middle of the vegetable garden could be the wind blowing from Fuhu Mountain and the hissing sound of pruning branches.
Xiao Jinhan pursed his lips for a long while, his voice hoarse, "You're angry with me? Aren't you?"
Su Hua paused in her hand holding the wood-chopping knife, then shook her head. "No."
Xiao Jinhan gently pulled Su Hua's hand, a hint of apology appearing in his deep eyes. "What happened last night was my fault. I failed to catch you in time. I apologize. You can punish me however you like."
The man had large hands, and his long, well-defined fingers looked even more slender in the sunlight, completely enveloping the girl's small, pink fist.
Su Hua tried to pull her hand away, but the man's fingers were as if welded to her with iron; her usual strength was completely useless.
Instead, the area from the knuckles to the inside of the fist gradually became hot, and a thin layer of sweat began to form.
He couldn't help but feel a little helpless: "I'm not angry."
She wasn't really angry; it's just that she seemed a little confused about her own feelings and didn't know how to face him.
Moreover, she didn't want to mention what happened last night at all; just thinking about it made her want to bury her head in her neck and become a quail.
I've lost all face in both my lives; I can't face anyone anymore.
Especially when I see him.
Xiao Jinhan shook his head, his gaze fixed on her eyes, his voice even lower, "You can punish me however you want, as long as you're happy. Also, Yu Feng and Yu Yu, they grew up with me on the battlefield since they were little, and they have no sense of propriety when they speak. When I get back, I'll make them run laps around Fuhu Mountain. They're not allowed to come back until they've run two hundred laps."
"What?" Su Hua was surprised to hear this and wondered why the blame had shifted so quickly.
Looking up, she saw that there was no hint of a joke in the man's deep eyes. She was exhausted from running six laps around the village every day. She didn't know how big Fuhu Mountain was, but it was definitely bigger than Shanghe Village.
Even if they were incredibly skilled, these two hundred laps would probably leave them half-dead. Thinking of this, Su Hua pursed her lips and said, "It has nothing to do with them, don't punish them."
Xiao Jinhan's eyes deepened, and she gently shook her large, clenched fist. "So, your unhappiness is related to me, isn't it?"
Although it was a question, the tone was one of absolute certainty.
"If there's anything I did wrong, just tell me, and I'll change it."
Don't be angry with me.
And please don't ignore me, okay?
Looking at the man's aggrieved expression, Su Hua felt a pang of sympathy. After thinking for a moment, she said calmly, "In the Great Yu Kingdom, it is common for men to have three wives and four concubines, especially in wealthy families, where it is a customary rule. But for me, it can only be one person for life."
A heart can only allow one person, and can only accept one person.
Since Young Master Xiao already has someone he loves, he shouldn't disturb the hearts of others.
She wasn't quite sure of her feelings, but she knew that her heart would race whenever she saw him, she couldn't help but feel happy whenever she thought of him, and she would feel inexplicably down whenever she heard that someone else was thinking about him, even if it was impossible—the butcher's daughter. And that portrait of the plump beauty made her feel suffocated time and time again.
She didn't like this feeling of being out of control.
Su Hua, who was looking down, didn't see that the man, upon hearing her words, froze on the spot.
After a long while, her aggrieved look seemed to have been blown away by the wind, and her naturally sculpted features were all smiles. Her delicate jawline was raised high, and her deep, pool-like eyes were filled with tenderness and affection.
Until a few shadows were cast on his cheeks.
She slightly raised her almond-shaped eyes and saw the man's handsome face approaching, less than half a fist's distance away. Their breaths mingled hotly, and her heartbeat quickened involuntarily.
Bang bang bang...
The heartbeat was rapid and incredibly clear.
Her fist, encased in the man's hand, rested against his left chest. A warm sensation filled her ear, followed by the man's hoarse whisper, almost touching her ear: "Here, there has never been anyone else, only you."
"Wh-what?" Su Hua felt her ear tips burning hot.
My heart skipped a beat.
She even forgot to blink.
Xiao Jinhan looked at Su Hua quietly, pressing her small fists against her chest. "Here, there has never been anyone else, only you."
Whether in the past, present, or future.
There will always be only one you.
Can you hear my heart's desire?
The man's low voice, each word earnest and devout, accompanied by the rapid, rhythmic heartbeats emanating from her palms, sounded like sudden drumbeats striking Su Hua's heart, each beat breaking a crack in her cold, hardened heart.
The mountain breeze stirs the sunlight.
After an unknown amount of time, Su Hua finally found her voice and awkwardly turned her face away. "If that's the case, you can fool young girls, but don't try to fool me. You've drawn countless portraits of the fat beauty, and you keep saying it's only me. Only a fool would believe that."
"A plump beauty?" Xiao Jinhan looked at the girl's flushed cheeks, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
Then, he chuckled softly.
"Ha! Hahahaha..."
The laughter grew louder and louder.
Su Bai, who was busy making fish balls in the kitchen, was taken aback. She stood on tiptoe and looked into the vegetable garden. "Hua'er, is that Jin Han boy here...?"
"No! No! He didn't come." Upon hearing this, Su Hua glared at the man with a mournful expression, and instinctively pulled her clenched hand back.
She felt embarrassed, as if she had been caught doing something wrong by her mother. Fortunately, although the apple tree was not big, the vegetable garden behind it was already lush and green. Apart from the Qian family, the Su family members were all busy in the kitchen. From the kitchen, they should not be able to see the two of them.
Little did she know how alluring her shy yet reproachful expression, coupled with her blood-red blush, was to men.
Xiao Jinhan's breathing became heavy, and after a long while, he managed to restrain himself from looking away, his gaze vaguely falling on the top of the girl's head.
Her voice carried a hint of teasing, "In my eighteen years, I've only ever known one plump beauty. And haven't you noticed that the plump beauty I first met in the study is much thinner than the plump beauty I met last night?"
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