After waiting a few days, Li Mu returned and happened to see Yu Wuqing in front of his office. This girl was quite persistent; she wouldn't give up until she got her hands on him.
"Teacher Li, you're back? Where have you been these past few days? I..."
Li Mu raised his hand, interrupting Yu Wuqing.
"I had to go out for a bit. You go back to the classroom, I have something else to do."
His impatient expression, in Yu Wuqing's eyes, meant she was about to be abandoned. This girl, however, was incredibly stubborn; once she made up her mind about something, nothing could sway her.
"Don't you want me anymore? We've been together for so long."
Seeing that Wuqing was about to escalate the situation, Li Mu lowered his voice and said, "Let's talk in my office."
With that, Li Mu took out his key, opened the door, and pushed it open to go inside.
A package fell from above, splashing all over Li Mu's face. Yes, it was Xiang Wan who placed it. Dealing with a hypocritical beast like him, teaching him a lesson wasn't wrong, was it? Besides, it indirectly helped Yu Wuqing, so Xiang Wan felt no guilt whatsoever.
After the two went inside, a group of children, led by Xiang Wan, went to ask Li Mu about their studies. As you can imagine, two pale bodies were found intertwined, which terrified the group, who screamed and scattered in all directions.
Teacher Liu followed the sound in, her expression changed, and she immediately closed the door and sent away everyone who hadn't left.
There were no skilled doctors in this area, so Xiang Wan wasn't worried about the powder being discovered. News of Li Mu's actions towards the child spread throughout the village in less than a day.
Yu Qian had his own agenda in secretly arranging for Yu Wuqing and Li Mu to be together, hoping to live a good life after his daughter married Li Mu. However, once this matter was made public, even if Yu Qian had the thick skin, he couldn't stop people from gossiping. If he didn't take a stand, he probably wouldn't be able to hold his head up in the village.
That afternoon, Yu Qian found Little Fatty's father and discussed having Li Mu marry his daughter. There used to be a custom of raising child brides, so arranging it for them now wasn't out of the question.
Little Fatty's father, Village Chief Yu, had managed Yu Family Village for many years. Although he had some selfish motives, he was generally decent. Since Yu Qian had come to him for help, it wouldn't be right not to deal with it. So, together with several elderly villagers, he went to Li Mu to resolve Yu Wuqing's matter.
"Little Li, your Uncle Yu is quite a figure in the village. Well, since you've had an affair with his daughter, it's only natural for you to be together. As the village chief, I'll take charge and choose an auspicious day to welcome Wuqing into our family. You'll then be the true son-in-law of Yu Family Village. Please take good care of the village in the future; the villagers will remember your kindness."
Village Chief Yu tried a combination of politeness and force. He knew Li Mu was from the city and wouldn't be content to spend his whole life in such a poor place. However, given the incident with Wuqing, Li Mu was in the wrong, and even if he didn't want to, he had no choice—that was the rule of Yu Family Village!
The only reason I'm being so amiable is because Li Mu sponsored the child's education; otherwise, hmph!
Several elderly people sat imposingly to one side, exchanging glances and putting on airs. They had finally found an opportunity to make this man, who had become the talk of the village, make a mistake. They wanted to let Li Mu know that villagers also have their own rules.
Li Mu's expression was somewhat unpleasant, and he said firmly, "It was the shameless girl from your village who seduced me. I have a fiancée in the city. If you want money, I can give it to you, and we can call it even. Otherwise, my family will not agree to me marrying a country girl, especially since she is not yet an adult."
"Since you knew Wuqing was underage, how could you still do that? Is this how your Li family raised you?"
An old man slammed his fist on the table and glared, his beard standing on end.
"That's normal. There are countless girls like that in the city. You just need to give them some money and that's it. Me, marry her? A country girl? Does she even deserve it?"
These words provoked public outrage, but Li Mu remained oblivious to it.
In Li Mu's eyes, there was nothing in the world that money couldn't solve. Back when he was in school, plenty of people would pay him to go, and he still had to be selective about who he liked. Later, he felt that was pointless and decided to go to the countryside to teach, hoping to try something different. He never expected that this trial would lead to an arranged marriage for him! How could he accept this? These bumpkins, relying on being locals, were bullying him, an outsider. Even if he was alone, he had to teach them a lesson they wouldn't be trifled with.
"Good, good, good!" the old man said three times in a row, then stood up and stormed out. Village Chief Yu and the remaining old men exchanged glances and followed suit. Before leaving, Village Chief Yu glanced back at Li Mu, snorted, and walked out of the room without looking back.
That night, Li Mu was surrounded by a group of villagers, and several strong farmers tied him up with hemp rope.
"What are you doing? Kidnapping is illegal, and my family will not let you get away with this."
Li Mu shouted loudly, but no one listened to him.
"He was just locked up in a dark room like that?" Xiang Wan lay on the bed, listening to the system's vivid description, her smile widening.
"Of course. That house is a cowshed. They just brought the cows out and locked him in. I heard that to prevent him from escaping, people take turns guarding him."
"Serves him right!" Xiang Wan yawned, then, remembering something, asked, "What about Yu Wuqing?"
"That girl is very beautiful. Her father bought her several new outfits, saying they're for her wedding. I reckon things should be settled in the next couple of days."
Sure enough, within two days, Li Mu couldn't stand it anymore and took the initiative to propose marriage to Yu Wuqing. The villagers celebrated with great fanfare.
A few months after the marriage, Li Mu behaved as usual and did not do anything special, which gradually made Yu Qian and others lower their guard.
Others were reassured about him, but Xiang Wan was still keeping an eye on him. Listening to the system's daily reports on Li Mu's situation, she knew he was trying to escape. He was wandering around the village, secretly storing rations, probably planning to flee under cover of darkness.
"Xiao Qi, do you think I should add something extra to it?"
Xiang Wan's eyes darted around, and she began to make plans in her mind.
"It was agreed beforehand that this was your idea, not something the system instigated. If anything goes wrong, the system cannot be held responsible."
"Look at you, so pathetic!"
Xiang Wan rolled her eyes and fell asleep.
The next day, before dawn, Xiang Wan sprinkled some insect repellent powder in front of Li Mu's door to attract mosquitoes. Judging from his posture, escaping by car was probably impossible; he would have to walk. His physical condition was not as good as a farmer's, so he was probably planning to hide in the mountains for a couple of days and wait for things to calm down before slowly making his way to the city.
The idea is good, but whether they can escape is another matter.
Why am I suddenly looking forward to seeing Li Mu's expression when he gets caught? Xiang Wan would never admit that she was actually very excited.
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