Jun Haoyue stumbled two steps and stood still, looking back at Xu Xingchen in surprise. Xu Xingchen tilted his head and smiled, "Right, cousin, you have to deal with the problems you caused yourself."
Jun Haoyue looked helpless, and the doting hidden in his eyes disappeared when he turned his head to look at everyone, so quickly that Xu Xingchen didn't even notice.
He raised his jade-like face slightly towards the crowd, with a sense of arrogance, which made Zhang Xiaochun's eyes flash and almost fascinated her to death. Zhang Tiansheng's eyes were almost as high as his cheekbones. He pinched her arm and she restrained herself a little.
"Miss Zhang said we asked you to come here yesterday?"
"Yeah, wasn't it Sister Xu who enthusiastically invited me to eat rabbit meat with her?"
Jun Haoyue snorted softly, "But we were cooking in the backyard, and the neighbors were watching. Did anyone hear my cousin yelling?"
The two families next door to Xu Xingchen were also leaning over the wall to eat melons. When these words came out, they really recalled yesterday. After a while, a voice replied, "It seems that Widow Xu and her family didn't say anything yesterday."
Then someone echoed: "I remember that too. I was picking corn in the yard at the time. I didn't hear any sound, but I did hear someone knocking on the door."
"Did we call Miss Zhang here?" Jun Haoyue asked Zhang Xiaochun this time.
Zhang Xiaochun's face flushed, but because of her high altitude red cheeks, it was hard to tell that she was blushing out of shame.
She continued unwillingly, "Maybe I remembered it wrongly, but it's true that we ate at the same table. You deliberately sat very close to Widow Xu, almost touching her."
Jun Haoyue didn't get angry even though she said this bluntly. He would settle every detail with her. "Oh, that's because Miss Zhang... almost pushed me off the stool. I had no choice but to share a stool with my cousin."
Someone in the crowd let out a "puff" sound, and Zhang Xiaochun's face almost turned the color of liver. Although she called herself the village beauty, she was a bit stout, with a wide waist and thick hips, and big hands and feet. However, in the countryside, this kind of body was good for giving birth to sons. This feudal idea made her think that she was the most beautiful in the village.
What woman likes to be called fat? Even a village girl wouldn't be so likely. She's grown so much, yet no one has ever called her fat so bluntly.
Zhang Xiaochun's eyes were red. What could be more hurtful than being humiliated by your loved one?
Jun Haoyue played the role of 'iron straight man' to the extreme. "Also, that bonfire that Miss Zhang kicked over was something I put a lot of effort into building. I haven't even asked you yet, why did you run to my backyard after dinner instead of going home? If my cousin hadn't saved you and even lent you her clothes, you'd probably have been burned to ashes by now."
Then he changed the subject, "By the way, where are my cousin's clothes? When will you be back? My cousin only has two cotton-padded coats, and she is still cold." As he said this, he turned around and glanced at Xu Xingchen, giving her a look at an angle that no one could see.
Xu Xingchen shook his shoulders cooperatively and replied, "Yes, Sister Chun, remember to return my cotton coat to me."
Zhang Xiaochun's mother, Zhang, could no longer sit still. She rushed forward, shaking her arm and asking, "Chun, what does he mean by that? Were the clothes you were wearing yesterday Widow Xu's? Why were you kicking someone else's fire? Why were you running into someone else's yard? Tell me!"
Zhang Xiaochun hesitated for a long time and couldn't give a reason. He didn't react at all. Jun Haoyue used the same method to retaliate against her, and didn't say that she kicked the fire because she fell.
The multiple psychological blows inflicted by Jun Haoyue caused her to break down psychologically and burst into tears. She sobbed and shrugged her shoulders as she answered, "Mother, mother, I didn't do anything, wuwuwu, it was Widow Xu who saved me..."
"Alas--"
Although Zhang Xiaochun's admission was inconsistent, the villagers who watched the show still heard the twists and turns in it. It seemed that Zhang Xiaochun was ungrateful and turned around to falsely accuse Widow Xu and her brother of having an unclear relationship.
Aunt Wang saw this and felt bad. She pulled Zhang over and said, "Hey, sister-in-law! The problem now isn't Xiaochun. It's the unclear relationship between Widow Xu and her brother. Don't be so confused."
You know what, Aunt Wang was quite cunning and immediately discovered that Jun Haoyue was changing his target.
Zhang was dragged by Aunt Wang to talk, and the way the villagers looked at Zhang Xiaochun made her embarrassed again. Zhang Xiaochun was so ashamed that she had no place to hide. She saw Zhang Tiansheng crying behind her back.
Xu Xingchen raised his eyebrows when he saw this. "Since Sister Chun is leaning on Zhang Tiansheng like this, can I also say that Sister Chun...they are having an affair?"
She heard Aunt Wang call Zhang Xiaochun's mother her sister-in-law, and they looked like a family. No wonder, they are from the same family.
Aunt Wang almost jumped up when she heard this. Zhang Tiansheng hadn't found a wife yet, so he couldn't let his reputation be ruined. "Widow Xu, you can't spit out ivory. They are relatives! They are cousins!"
"My cousin and I are cousins, so why is it said that our relationship is unclear just because my cousin is close to me?"
When the onlookers heard Xu Xingchen's words, they all looked at Zhang Xiaochun and Zhang Tiansheng. Zhang Xiaochun was crying miserably and didn't care about what was happening around him. Aunt Wang's face turned green and she stepped forward to pull Zhang Xiaochun away.
"Get away!" Zhang Tiansheng also shook his shoulders to push away the person who was crying on his back as if to avoid suspicion.
"Hiss, it's okay for cousins to lean on each other, right?"
"I think the Zhang family is looking for trouble. I guess she won't be able to get married."
"Anyway, I didn't see anything wrong with Widow Xu's family. Their signs were always on when they came and went."
The villagers' discussions have gradually shifted towards Xu Xingchen, and the Zhang family has also been criticized. Aunt Wang is old and is not afraid of boiling water. No matter how unpleasant the words are, she can always talk back.
The villagers' attention was now focused on blaming the Zhang family. Seeing this, Xu Xingchen nodded towards Jun Haoyue, and their approval was evident in their glances.
This well-mannered scholar changed the village rumors with just a few words and cleared away all the dirty water. It was simply amazing. It gave Xu Xingchen, a socially anxious person whose mind was only focused on scientific research, a new understanding of him.
Jun Haoyue humbly accepted her praise and raised his lips slightly.
But Zhang Tiansheng, who grew up in a feudal rural area and was full of male chauvinism, could not stand being criticized like this. Zhang Xiaochun's sobbing voice echoed in his ears. The more he looked at Zhang Xiaochun, the more cowardly he felt. Women are women. They are more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything.
In anger, he turned his eyes and happened to see Xu Xingchen and Jun Haoyue looking at each other. Regardless of whether there was any ambiguity between the two, the smile in Xu Xingchen's eyes alone made him unable to control the resentment in his heart.
Zhang Tiansheng couldn't hold back his anger, and when no one was paying attention, he punched Xu Xingchen.
Xu Xingchen heard the villagers' exclamations and turned her head to see Zhang Tiansheng rushing towards her with a ferocious face. However, they were too close and Zhang Tiansheng's fist was already in front of her in a breath.
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