Chapter 73: Chapter 73 Carrying Water
Soon, Xuexue arrived at the riverbank, fetched two buckets of water, and although it did not seem like much, it was quite heavy, mainly because the wooden buckets themselves were heavy; with water added, they became even heavier. Xuexue carried them on her shoulders, feeling as if all her strength was concentrated there. She mustered her energy and only with great difficulty did she manage to reach halfway.
Just when she thought of stopping for a rest.
Suddenly, a figure dashed out from the small woods beside her, blocking her path, “Little sister Xuexue, why is such a young lady engaging in such heavy labor?”
Xuexue carefully observed and realized it was Scholar Mo Shaoxing.
Feeling grateful to the village head who had helped the Mo family greatly the previous night, she replied warmly and pleasantly, “You know our family’s situation. Chuner is seriously ill, and mom has just been divorced by dad. She cries every day. Who else is there to handle these chores if not me?”
“Let me help you with such heavy tasks from now on.”
Mo Shaoxing was very attentive, and while speaking, he even stepped forward, wanting to take the burden off Xuexue’s shoulders.
“Ah! There’s no need, men and women should not have such close contact.” Xuexue shifted her shoulder to avoid him, dispelling her initial thought of taking a rest.
“I haven’t done anything wrong; I just saw that you and your mother were alone and wanted to help,” Mo Shaoxing’s expression shrank a little when Xuexue said this. Being the only scholar in the village, he took his reputation quite seriously.
At that moment, a slim figure emerged from the woods, cooing, “Brother Xing, the darling doesn’t appreciate it; why bother setting your warm face against her cold butt?”
Without turning her head, simply by hearing the voice, Xuexue knew it was Xiuzhi.
In her past life, Xiuzhi had always been entangled with Mo Shaoxing. Now, the two of them popped out of the woods one after the other. Clearly, their relationship was not ordinary.
Wanting no part in their affairs, Xuexue remained silent, bent over to lift the buckets, and walked away.
“Hey! Little sister Xuexue, don’t go! Let me help you carry them,” Mo Shaoxing tried to catch up.
Xiuzhi was extremely resentful. Every time she saw Xuexue, this little cheap person, Brother Xing seemed to lose his soul. No, Brother Xing could only belong to her alone.
“Brother Xing, since she is ignoring you, why bother making a fool of yourself?” Xiuzhi quickly stepped forward and grabbed Mo Shaoxing’s arm tightly, preventing him from chasing after Xuexue.
Xuexue’s figure, carrying a load of water, swayed and disappeared around the corner.
“Xiuzhi, have you noticed? Xuexue has changed quite a bit lately.” Mo Shaoxing was somewhat disheartened. Xuexue used to chat and laugh with him, but recently, she has been unusually cold and keeps emphasizing maintaining a distance from him.
“That little cheap person has indeed changed a lot, Brother Xing. You won’t believe it, but she beat me up this morning!” As Xiuzhi spoke, she reached out to pull at Mo Shaoxing.
Looking around anxiously, Mo Shaoxing said urgently, “In broad daylight, if someone sees us, we will both be ruined.”
“There’s no one around; I checked,” Xiuzhi’s eyes twinkled with a smile.
“Still, we should be careful. As the saying goes, ‘caution keeps a ship sailing for ten thousand years.'” As a scholar, he couldn’t afford to ruin his future over a village girl, Mo Shaoxing was very clear about that.
“Then let’s go into the woods. There we won’t have to worry about being seen.”
Hearing this, Mo Shaoxing couldn’t help but feel tempted. Although Xiuzhi was average in looks and couldn’t compare to Xuexue, she was willing to throw herself into his arms. Unlike Xuexue, who would bear her claws before he even touched her.