The oxcart sped onto a dirt road before slowing down.
Li Youtian dropped Jiang Hexi off at the construction site by Sanxi Lake and continued driving the oxcart towards Professor Luo's home.
Jiang Hexi stood at the crossroads, still shaken.
Yan Jie pushed open the driver's side door, jumped out of the car first, and walked to her in a few steps.
"Xi-mei, what's wrong?"
"Wanwan, come help me up."
Jiang Hexi's gaze swept past him and landed on Yu Xiangwan behind her. She almost burst into tears:
"Quickly check the ground, has anything fallen?"
Yu Xiangwan hurriedly grabbed her hand, looked around, and said, "There's nothing on the ground. What did you drop?"
"My skeleton is scattered all over the ground."
Jiang Hexi complained pitifully, "Wanwan, I came here by oxcart. That crazy ox ran wildly all the way and shook my bones to pieces."
Yu Xiangwan was truly impressed by her. She had become such a mess, yet she still had the mood to joke around.
She touched her messy short hair, and said hesitantly:
"Your hair... it's sticking up in clumps like withered tree branches..."
Chu Yang and Shen Yingyu, who had followed, couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Looking at the smiling faces around her, Jiang Hexi said with utter misery:
"I washed my hair this morning, used hairspray to style it, and then I got on Uncle Tian's oxcart. The wind blew me all the way, and that's how my hair turned out."
She looked at the camera with tears welling up in her eyes, as if she could hear the sound of her pride shattering piece by piece.
A hooded jacket covered her head, and then a sweatshirt was draped over her shoulders. She didn't need to turn around; just by smelling the familiar, cool scent, she knew whose jacket it was.
"Have you laughed enough?"
Yan Jie's cold and hard attitude silenced the laughter around him. Through the hood of his coat, he gently smoothed her unruly hair.
"Are you still able to walk?"
Jiang Hexi felt like her whole body was falling apart and ached all over when she moved, but she still stubbornly insisted:
"I have arms and legs, why can't I—"
Before she could finish speaking, Yan Jie squatted down in front of her, his long back facing her directly: "Want to get on? I'll carry you on my back."
Those around them, those who understood, all watched the two of them silently.
"Thanks, I can walk by myself."
Jiang Hexi was about to go to the stream to check on the construction progress of "Monet's Garden" when Yan Jie grabbed her hand and said:
"Beware of snakes in the grass."
Jiang Hexi's legs trembled as she backed away, immediately panicking: "Are there really snakes here?"
Shen Yingyu nodded affirmatively, "When I was using the grader to push down the slope, I hit a snake's nest."
Jiang Hexi was so frightened that she clung to Yan Jie's back and urged him to get up, "Take me to the stream. I want to see how the flowers and plants are growing."
Yan Jie put his arm around her knees and got up, walking across the grass towards the stream.
After everyone had left, Chu Yang asked in a low voice, "Brother, I've been following you around driving the grader the whole time, but I haven't seen you level the snake pit?"
Shen Yingyu gave him a hopeless look and scoffed, "What do you know? If I say it's there, then it's there."
The two were unusually quiet on their way to the stream.
Jiang Hexi, lying high up, could see far and was constantly observing whether there were any water snakes in the grass.
Putting aside their personal relationship, Yan Jie was carrying her on his back, and she would never let him get bitten by a snake.
"Stop, stop, stop! There's a rustling sound coming from the bushes over there. Don't go over there."
"It seems like there's this rustling sound everywhere."
"I said I can't go there, and I mean I can't go there."
"I'll listen to you."
Yan Jie looked at the two paths in front of him. One was a shortcut winding through the weeds, and the other was a dirt road that detoured through the woods. Without thinking, he took the longer road.
Then they quickened their pace, leaving the cameraman far behind halfway through the journey.
"Xi Bao, Xi Bao, Xi Bao—"
"Shut up."
Seeing that he kept yelling, Jiang Hexi craned her neck to look back. Seeing that the cameraman hadn't followed, she coldly reprimanded him:
"We have nothing to do with each other anymore. Please be more respectful when you call me in the future."
"Xi Bao—"
"Try yelling again, and I'll chop you in half with one hand."
"I can't walk anymore." Yan Jie stopped and stood in the woods, slightly out of breath.
Jiang Hexi lay somewhat awkwardly on his back, unsure whether to stay on top or down. She softened her voice and said:
"Put me down, I'll walk over myself."
"Xi Bao, don't draw circles on the back of my neck. I have plenty of energy to walk forward."
Jiang Hexi recoiled as if she had been electrocuted, her face flushing red all the way to the roots of her neck.
She doesn't know what got into her head, but this kind of little action, which usually happens afterward, unconsciously drew circles on the back of his neck through his T-shirt.
When the PD caught up with her, Yan Jie continued to carry her forward.
He was breathing heavily, and asked her in a hoarse voice, "Do you still hate me?"
Jiang Hexi said coldly, "My wound is still hurting terribly, don't you think?"
"Then bite me."
In the depths of the utterly silent forest, Yan Jie spoke softly:
"You won't lose anything by biting, you won't be fooled by biting, so why not bite? After all, it won't hurt you, right?"
He had barely finished speaking when he let out a muffled groan. His entire left shoulder felt numb and swollen, followed by a sharp pain that pierced his heart, allowing him to fully and deeply feel her hatred.
Jiang Hexi granted his wish, leaving him with a row of teeth marks on his shoulder without any regret.
She loosened her T-shirt, barely concealing the teeth, and told him in her usual cold tone:
“This has caused me irreversible harm, and I will never forgive you.”
Yan Jie responded softly, "I know."
The relationship between the two gradually eased, with no more resentment or stalemate, and both became much more at ease.
Once you leave the woods, you'll reach the shore of Sanxi Lake.
As dusk approached, mist rose from the vast lake. Jiang Hexi looked up and saw a flock of egrets take flight from the island, soaring across the sky painted with the colors of the sunset.
That moment was unbelievably beautiful.
She didn't know if the PD filming her captured that scene, but it left a lasting impression on her.
Yan Jie put Jiang Hexi down by the stream.
She slowly walked upstream along the stream and found that all the weeds along the banks had been cleared away, and some plots of land had even been turned over to reveal new soil.
As she got closer, she saw Liu Yuxi talking to the older women, and suddenly she understood everything.
When she was away, Liu Yuxi took her place and supervised the progress of the construction here.
This feeling is subtle, bittersweet, and also stinging.
She would not forgive the cup of boiling water that was spilled on her, regardless of whether Liu Yuxi did it in a panic or intentionally, and she would not allow anyone to touch the projects she was in charge of without her consent.
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