"So it's just hearsay. As a sent-down youth, you don't have your own judgment. You just believe a few words of rumors and conclude that he's crazy?"
“If you call it cheating when we're dating normally, then can I also assume that all the educated youth who fall for someone in the village are cheating?”
Zi Xi cast a cold, aggressive gaze at her.
Chen Qi's legs went weak, and he almost knelt on the ground.
He never expected that this usually quiet capitalist lady would be so eloquent.
"And do you think I don't know? Last week you took these guys to the city to steal and sell the educated youth's grain coupons. Do you want me to say it in front of everyone?"
Zi Xi took a step closer, her gaze deep and intense.
These words struck Chen Qi like a thunderclap, turning his face ashen. He looked around in a panic and found that the villagers who had been jeering just moments before had all avoided his gaze.
"I...I didn't..."
"Get out! Shut your mouths! If I hear you slandering Ji Yanchen and me again, I'll file a case with the police tomorrow!"
Zi Xi picked up the bucket and said loudly.
The crowd automatically parted to make way.
Even after Zi Xi walked away, she could still hear Chen Qi's furious curses behind her, but she never dared to mention the affair again.
Behind the haystack, Ji Yanchen clutched the wildflowers he had just picked tightly, tears falling in large drops onto the petals.
He never imagined that anyone would speak up for him, fight for him, or even... fight against the whole world for him.
Although Zi Xi disregarded the gossip and even used legal means to silence the rumor-mongers, the rumors still pierced Ji Yanchen's heart like poisonous thorns.
He started avoiding Zi Xi.
He no longer sneaks over the wall at night to deliver firewood, nor does he leave a bunch of wildflowers in front of her door in the early morning. Even if they meet on the road, he immediately turns around and hides deep in the fields.
Until that stormy night, Zi Xi finally couldn't take it anymore and kicked open his locked door.
"You...don't come any closer..."
Ji Yanchen huddled in the corner, his soaked cotton-padded jacket clinging to his body, looking so thin he seemed to be sinking into the wall.
Upon seeing Zi Xi enter, he shrank back like a frightened wild beast, his back slamming against the earthen wall with a thud.
"Avoiding me? Just because of those trivial remarks?"
Zi Xi approached step by step, raindrops dripping from her hair.
“They…they are right…”
“I didn’t do anything, but my father… I have dirty blood flowing in my veins… it will… it will implicate you…”
Ji Yanchen's voice trembled and became incoherent. The only oil lamp in the room flickered in the wind, illuminating his pale face and his red, swollen eyes from crying for a long time.
Zi Xi suddenly grabbed his collar, leaned down and kissed him, causing Ji Yanchen's pupils to widen abruptly.
His body stiffened instantly, and even his breathing stopped. The soft touch on his lips felt like an electric current, making his limbs go numb.
Zi Xi could feel him trembling. Hot tears mixed with rainwater slid into their intertwined lips, the salty taste sending shivers down her spine.
"If that's what you're saying, then if I ate your saliva... does that mean I'm dirty too? Should I stay away or not?"
Zi Xi stepped back slightly, smiled, and wiped his moist lips with her thumb.
Ji Yanchen's eyelashes trembled violently, his ears turned bright red, and he lowered his head in silence, as if he couldn't bear such direct intimacy.
His fingers unconsciously gripped the hem of her clothes, then released them as if burned.
"I...I...you're not dirty at all..."
He stammered, his voice hoarse.
Zi Xi didn't give him a chance to speak and kissed him again.
This time she tasted blood, and Ji Yanchen was so nervous that she bit her lip until it bled.
His awkward reaction pained Zi Xi.
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