After a moment of silence, Shen Xiaoxiao said softly again, "I understand, but no matter what, I still want to sincerely apologize to you, because this is also something I cannot change."
At this moment, Dai Xingyun breathed a slight sigh of relief, and then tentatively asked, "So from now on, can we get along normally like friends?"
His tone was somewhat cautious, as if he were afraid of receiving a negative answer.
Without almost any hesitation, Shen Xiaoxiao immediately nodded and replied, "Okay!"
In fact, she had always been quite fond of Dai Xingyun's handsome face, and being able to maintain a good relationship with him was something she couldn't ask for.
"I'm leaving now! You should go back and get some rest too, you must be exhausted from the long journey."
A blush crept onto Shen Xiaoxiao's cheeks. She turned her head away uncomfortably, made up an excuse, and hurriedly turned to leave.
She ran away as fast as the wind, like a startled rabbit, and disappeared into the distance.
He ran until he was panting heavily, and only when he was sure that he could no longer see Dai Xingyun when he turned around did he stop. He put his hands on his knees, gasped for breath, and his chest heaved violently.
"Oh dear, Shen Xiao, you're becoming more and more pathetic. It's just a man you met, why are you so flustered and blushing?"
"And my heartbeat, it's like a drum, pounding nonstop! Ugh, it's all that guy's fault, he must have disturbed my mind, otherwise how could I be like this? I'm not usually like this..."
Shen Xiaoxiao muttered to herself as she slowly walked up the mountain. However, she was absent-minded the whole way, her eyes wandering, and she didn't pay any attention to whether there were any medicinal herbs she could pick.
She drifted through the afternoon in a daze, and only when the sun began to set did Shen Xiaoxiao snap out of her reverie.
She looked down at the bamboo basket on her back, where a few pitiful medicinal herbs lay sparsely scattered.
"Oh dear! I forgot to dig up some herbs. What am I going to say when I get back?" Shen Xiaoxiao muttered to herself.
"Little sister, today's harvest doesn't look very good. How come there's only so few medicinal herbs?"
Shen Xiaochuan saw his younger sister coming down the mountain from afar and hurriedly went to greet her. He took the bamboo basket from Shen Xiaoxiao's back and asked with a suspicious look on his face.
"Uh... well, I didn't go far today, I just wandered around this area a bit, so I didn't find many medicinal herbs to collect."
Shen Xiaoxiao's eyes flickered, and she dared not look her brother in the eye. Her voice was also much lower than usual, making her seem a little guilty.
"It's alright, we're not in a hurry anyway. I'll go up the mountain with you tomorrow and look for it more carefully."
As Shen Xiaochuan spoke, he deftly slung the basket over his shoulder and strode forward.
As soon as I got home, a gentle voice came from inside: "Honey, you're back! Go wash your hands first, dinner's all ready, we'll be eating soon!"
It turned out that Ma Aning was standing at the door, greeting Shen Xiaochuan and Shen Xiaoxiao with a big smile.
"Okay, Mom, I'm coming!" Upon hearing her mother's call, Shen Xiaoxiao responded and quickly walked towards her room with light steps.
However, before she could even step into the room, her brother Shen Xiaochuan's boisterous voice rang out again: "Little sister, why are you running straight into the room? The bathroom is over there, go wash your hands, it's time to eat!"
Shen Xiaoxiao turned around and glared at her brother, then replied coquettishly, "I know, brother! I have something to do, why are you asking so many questions?"
After saying that, she rushed into the room without looking back and closed the door behind her.
After entering the room, Shen Xiaoxiao closed the door and leaned gently against the wall. She closed her eyes slightly, took a deep breath, and tried to calm her still pounding heart.
"Ugh! This is so annoying! What's going on here? Humph! Although Dai Xingyun is indeed exceptionally handsome and captivating, he won't let me give in so easily!"
"Before I truly fall in love with him, there's no way you'd let me be with him!" Shen Xiaoxiao muttered angrily, emphasizing her words as if they were meant for a specific person.
Meanwhile, far away, King Yama was watching Shen Xiaoxiao's every move through the screen in front of him.
When he heard Shen Xiaoxiao's words, he couldn't help but laugh: "Haha, I didn't do anything. If you want to talk about all this, it's clearly you who fell in love with her at first sight and had lustful thoughts."
However, Shen Xiaoxiao has never been the type of person who gets bothered by troubles for long.
Before long, she quickly adjusted her mood and returned to her usual lively, cheerful, and playful self in front of her family.
She happily left the room to enjoy the delicious food with her family.
Dai Xingyun and his group weren't so lucky. In the afternoon, they lined up at the brigade headquarters to collect their share of rations.
They went back to make the beds and clean the room, working all afternoon until the sun was setting before they finished cleaning.
Li Wen and Sun Lijuan returned and began preparing dinner.
When they returned to the educated youth compound, they saw the eight newly arrived educated youths coming out of their rooms one after another, all looking exhausted. Only Xiahou Jie and Dai Xingyun looked a little better.
The two of them were quick and efficient, and had finished getting ready long ago. They took a nap and slept all afternoon to get plenty of rest.
Li Wen put down the vegetables he was washing and asked everyone with a smile, "Everyone, are you planning to eat with us, or would you like to cook for yourselves?"
Sun Lijuan, standing to the side, stared intently at Dai Xingyun and continued, "If you choose to eat with us, then you'll have to hand over your food rations to us for unified management."
"But if you want to cook on your own, you'll have to put in some effort to build your own stove and buy a pot."
A brief silence fell over the courtyard.
No one was willing to be the first to speak up. Just then, Xiahou Jie glanced around and, seeing everyone silent, had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward, saying, "Well... how about we try eating together for a few days first?"
Hearing this, Sun Lijuan nodded in agreement, but immediately added, "Also, if you decide to dine with us, the cooking will be done in shifts, and each of you will have your turn."
After saying that, she turned around and went back to her work.
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