Zhou Ling was getting impatient, but those two sentences were the most serious he could say, so he could only let Wang Cuicui circle around him.
"Brother Zhou, wait for me!" Wang Cuicui called out from behind.
Zhou Ling'an acted as if he hadn't heard anything and strode upstairs.
But before he could shake off Wang Cuicui, he ran into Song Erya, who was causing him even more trouble.
The previous incident left a considerable shadow in Zhou Ling'an's heart. He was a scholar who studied the way of the gentleman, and his classmates in the academy were all respectful and polite. Although he had grown up in the village since childhood, he had never seen a girl like Song Er Ya before, who was really hard to handle.
Zhou Ling'an felt that today was definitely a day of bad luck, and he shouldn't have come out at all.
Seeing that Zhou Ling'an had stopped, Wang Cuicui turned around and saw the person she least wanted to see.
Upon seeing Song Ning, Wang Cuicui's face changed faster than turning the pages of a book; her expression visibly darkened, and she gritted her teeth in hatred.
Song Ning originally didn't want to pay attention to the two of them, but when she saw Wang Cuicui's murderous look, she suddenly changed her mind.
She chuckled softly: "What a coincidence."
This smile stung Wang Cuicui even more, because she noticed that Song Erya seemed to have changed a lot in the few days she hadn't seen her; she had become fairer and prettier.
Wang Cuicui always liked to compete with Song Erya. The two of them were the closest to Zhou Ling'an among all the girls in the village. Whoever won would have a chance to marry Pei An.
But little did they know that Zhou Ling'an looked down on everyone.
"You two are in high spirits, sticking together even when picking wild vegetables in the mountains. I really admire you." Fang Li clicked her tongue twice and glanced between the two of them.
"Miss Song, you've misunderstood. We just happened to run into each other..." Zhou Ling'an stopped abruptly, realizing something was wrong, and quickly fell silent.
This sounds more like an attempt to excuse oneself, only making things worse.
Seeing that Pei An hadn't finished speaking, Wang Cuicui assumed that Zhou Ling'an thought the same way, and she was overjoyed, even looking at Fang Li with a smug look in her eyes.
After fighting with Song Erya for so long, Wang Cuicui can finally hold her head high today.
“Song Erya, Brother Zhou will never like you.”
Fang Li smiled and said, "Of course, you two are the perfect match."
Zhou Ling'an's face darkened. There were still quite a few people nearby, who kept glancing at them.
He immediately said, "Miss Song, you've really misunderstood. Miss Wang and I really only met on the way, it's not what you think."
"Oh, so it wasn't planned?"
That expression, that tone—it all said one thing: Really? I don't believe it.
Wang Cuicui's emotions were in turmoil. She glared at Fang Li but didn't dare to speak too loudly. She had to maintain her image in front of Pei An.
"Er Ya, what brings you up the mountain today? Did you hear that Brother Zhou was going up the mountain and deliberately follow him?"
Wang Cuicui is quite an interesting person. In front of Zhou Ling'an, she is like a little bird clinging to him, gentle and considerate, even her voice becomes soft and gentle.
But Song Ning clearly saw her sitting at the door picking her toes, and after picking her toes, she would also pick her nose.
It's a real shame that only she saw that scene.
Song Ning ignored her and turned to walk up the mountain; her fruit trees were still waiting for her.
Seeing Song Ning leave, Zhou Ling'an felt relieved and walked to the side.
Now every household in the village is struggling. Although he is now a scholar and his family is doing better than before, some people have suggested that they move to the town. However, his father is the village head and has to be responsible for Nanshan Village. Moreover, although he is a scholar, he does not have the ability to move his whole family to the town.
Although scholars receive a monthly stipend, times have changed, and those stipends are now sporadic, so they are probably not reliable anymore.
He had planned to take advantage of his day off to come up the mountain and take a look, but he never expected to run into such trouble.
He had only taken two steps forward when Wang Cuicui caught up from behind, looking at him with a fawning expression: "Brother Zhou, I found some wild fruits for you."
Zhou Ling'an didn't take it, and said indifferently, "Keep it for yourself. Things aren't easy for anyone these days."
"It's okay, I'm willing to help you find it, I'll give you all of mine." Wang Cuicui stepped forward, almost touching him.
Zhou Ling'an frowned and took a step back, quickly moving to the other side, which was exactly where Song Ning had gone.
Wang Cuicui gritted her teeth, "Song Erya!"
Song Ning is now focused on finding saplings, as the future availability of fresh fruit depends on them.
She also has two rabbits in her space, which eat grass all day long. To give her little bit of grass a break, she has to pull some wild grass back with her.
As luck would have it, there happened to be a medicinal herb growing among the weeds.
Many villagers go up the mountain and recognize some of the wild medicinal herbs that grow there. Just as Song Ning was about to pull one up, a hand reached out from the side and grasped the herb at the same time.
Wang Cuicui stared at Song Ning, a slight smile playing on her lips, but she wouldn't let go.
The two often fought over things. In terms of wickedness, Wang Cuicui was no match for Song Erya, but in terms of strength, Erya could not beat Wang Cuicui.
Song Ning was too lazy to argue with Wang Cuicui and didn't want her to cause her any trouble.
It wasn't because she was scared, but because Wang Cuicui hadn't bathed or washed her hair in who knows how long, and the smell was really irritating to the eyes.
“I saw it first.” Wang Cuicui’s provocative tone made Song Ning even more unbearable.
What I'm saying is, even if there's a water shortage at home, you still have to brush your teeth, right?
That one sentence almost sent her away.
"What? Now you're starting to steal it by force? Zhou Ling'an is here, don't you care about your ladylike image anymore?"
"Song Erya, don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You've been cooped up for the past two days without seeing Brother Zhou, haven't you? You couldn't wait to come after me. Let me tell you, Brother Zhou is mine!" Wang Cuicui said fiercely.
"Then guess whether Zhou Ling'an likes you? Last time, I managed to touch his hand, but you haven't even touched the hem of his clothes yet, have you? Tsk tsk, Wang Cuicui, are you even capable?"
Wang Cuicui couldn't stand these kinds of words. Song Ning only said a few words, and she was so angry that her eyes turned red.
Just as Wang Cuicui was getting angry, Song Ning casually pulled up the medicinal herb.
Then Song Ning suddenly stood up and was about to leave.
Seeing that she had been tricked, Wang Cuicui immediately got up and tried to grab Song Ning's arm. Wang Cuicui was tall and had long arms, so she almost got caught.
Seeing Song Ning go over, she ran over and tripped Song Ning with her foot. Song Ning didn't have time to dodge and was about to fall down while holding onto Wang Cuicui. Fortunately, there was a tree nearby, and Song Ning quickly grabbed it, thus preventing her from falling.
However, Wang Cuicui was not so lucky. As soon as Song Ning stood up, she heard a "thump" behind her, and the people around her gasped.
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