As if to ease the atmosphere, Jun Haoyue took the initiative to bring up the topic: "Xingchen, do you have any wishes?"
"Wish...I want to go home."
The atmosphere fell silent again. Jun Haoyue frowned in annoyance, but Xu Xingchen continued speaking with a nostalgic tone.
"I used to only care about studying. My academic journey was smooth sailing, but I had few friends. Furthermore, I skipped a grade, so my classmates were much older than me. So, my only friends were books. And it was thanks to them that I got admitted to the Agricultural Research Institute of the National Academy of Sciences with first place in the entrance exam." She paused.
Jun Haoyue listened quietly without asking her about terms like skipping grades and research institute.
"Although I'm busy with experiments and research every day at the Agricultural Research Institute, I'm still very happy. I like it very much. Besides books, I have a variety of plants to keep me company."
"My days in the lab are the most peaceful and enjoyable. Although I often cause a lot of trouble and make my cold boss furious, I just like seeing him angry but unable to do anything about it."
As if thinking of happy memories, Xu Xingchen had a hint of smile in his words when he talked about these things.
"Iceberg... Leader, what kind of person is he?"
This made Xu Xingchen a little distressed. She let out a long "hmm" and was about to answer when she heard a faint cry.
"Help..."
Xu Xingchen quickly patted Jun Haoyue's shoulder, "Jun Haoyue, did you hear that? Someone is shouting for help."
Jun Haoyue let out a light sigh and walked towards the source of the sound accurately. When he reached a cliff, the sound had disappeared. Xu Xingchen scanned the area with a flashlight.
"Mrs. Zhou? —Is that you?"
No one responded.
Jun Haoyue frowned, he was sure it was coming from this direction...
Xu Xingchen came across a cave while sweeping around, and she immediately pointed at the cave: "There!" She struggled to get off his back, and Jun Haoyue had to support her by holding one of her arms.
Xu Xingchen limped to the front of the cave and shone the flashlight inside. Zhou Xiaoniang was curled up into a ball, shivering with her back to the cave entrance.
She was about to shout with surprise, but Jun Haoyue stopped her in time and pointed at the flashlight in her hand. Xu Xingchen suddenly had an idea and reacted immediately.
Zhou Xiaoniang was probably frightened by the light of the flashlight and didn't dare to make a sound.
She turned off the power and called softly, "Mrs. Zhou? I'm Xu Xingchen."
The person who was shivering in the cave stopped shivering, slowly turned around, and saw that it was indeed Xu Xingchen. She was about to call her name, but then she remembered that Aunt Wang said that she and Shuanzi had an ambiguous relationship, so her face turned cold and she swallowed the words in her mouth.
Seeing that she didn't respond, Xu Xingchen thought she was just scared and held out his hand nonchalantly, "We came to look for you. It's still snowing heavily outside. Can we talk about it when we get home?"
Zhou Xiaoniang's shoulders moved. Yes, let's talk about it when we get back. No matter what, you can't make things difficult for me, right?
The three of them stood at the entrance of the cave. Xu Xingchen put away the flashlight. Seeing that it was dark blue outside, he was worried about how to get back. After thinking about it, he decided to find the way back when the snow was lighter.
Jun Haoyue used a flint to ignite the dead branches and leaves in the cave. With the light source, the three looked at each other, except Zhou Xiaoniang who didn't even look at Xu Xingchen.
Xu Xingchen sighed, and she had to explain everything clearly. She took the initiative to explain the entire conversation she had had with Shuanzi that day. While she was explaining, Jun Haoyue stood up and walked towards the cave entrance to keep watch.
After listening to this, Zhou Xiaoniang was still somewhat moved.
Xu Xingchen struck while the iron was hot and expressed her attitude towards the couple. Putting aside the relationship with her husband whose life and death were unknown, she truly regarded them as friends.
After she finished speaking, Xu Xingchen stopped talking. What can she say? Her heart is with someone else, and what they think is their business. Believe it or not...she has no choice.
The burning dead wood crackled, and an apology as thin as a mosquito's buzz echoed in the empty cave.
"sorry..."
Xu Xingchen exhaled the foul air in his chest, slightly curved his eyebrows, "It's okay, as long as the misunderstanding is resolved."
"kindness..."
The snow outside gradually became lighter. Jun Haoyue, who was keeping watch at the cave entrance, saw several flickering flames in the distance. His eyes flashed and he turned back into the cave.
"Someone from the village is here to look for me."
"Really? That's great." Xu Xingchen was a little excited and wanted to stand up, but he forgot about the injury on his foot and immediately cried out.
Jun Haoyue quickly grabbed her shoulders to prevent her from falling and getting injured again.
Zhou Xiaoniang looked at the two of them with a bit of confusion on her face.
As the fire got closer, the shouting became clearer.
"Mrs. Zhou...Mrs. Xu..."
Xu Xingchen was supported by Jun Haoyue to the cave entrance. She waved her arms and replied, "Here—we are here."
"Did you hear that sound?"
"It's Xu Xiaoniang's voice."
"They are over here, come quickly."
The villagers quickly found the cave with torches and were relieved to see that the three people were safe. When Shuanzi saw Zhou Xiaoniang, tears welled up in the eyes of the seven-foot tall man.
Men don't shed tears easily. This behavior caused more or less low-pitched ridicule from the villagers. Shuanzi's heart was now filled with only Zhou Xiaoniang, and he didn't care what the villagers said about him.
Anyway, everyone thinks he is stupid. What do they know? His wife is the one he will spend his whole life with.
Zhou Xiaoniang was also shocked by Shuanzi. She was moved and at a loss. Shuanzi's eyes were red with worry about her. She actually suspected that Shuanzi and Xu Xingchen had an affair. She shouldn't have done that!
Thinking of this, Zhou Xiaoniang burst into tears. Shuanzi thought she was scared, so he hugged her and patted her to comfort her.
"Oh my, it was Widow Xu who found Miss Zhou first..."
The sarcastic tone made Xu Xingchen frown unhappily: "Aunt Wang, what do you mean?"
Aunt Wang walked out of the crowd with her bloated body, her hands on her waist, looking like a teapot.
"Nothing, I just wondered how it was that you found Zhou Xiaoniang when so many of us came looking for her."
"Shuanzi came to my house and said that Zhou Xiaoniang was missing, so I immediately came out to look for her." Xu Xingchen explained.
Aunt Wang's voice suddenly rose: "Listen everyone, listen everyone, the first person Shuanzi went to find was Widow Xu. There are so many people in the village, why did Shuanzi go to you, Widow Xu first! I think all this is a trap set by the two of you, and the target is still Xiaoniang Zhou!"
Xu Xingchen's forehead was throbbing. Aunt Wang was causing trouble again.
Before she could refute, this time Zhou Xiaoniang took the initiative to speak up for her and said, "Aunt Wang, don't talk nonsense. I ran out on my own and got lost in the heavy snow. It has nothing to do with Sister Xu."
Aunt Wang spat, looking very disappointed in her son: "Look at you, you don't know how to judge people. Widow Xu sold you out, and you're still counting money for her!"
"You...!" Zhou Xiaoniang was furious. She hugged her Shuanzi and said angrily with a rare sullen face: "Aunt Wang, why do you have to make things difficult for Sister Xu?"
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