"I’ll listen to you, Ying. You decide when." Zhou Zheng stared intently at Chen Ying’s profile, speaking tenderly, "I’ll wait for you tonight." In the pitch-black darkness, if Chen Ying listened to his reasoning, it would be ideal. If not, he’d just force things to happen—cooking the raw rice into cooked rice, and then she’d obediently stay with him.
"What if I come over tonight and find you doing God-knows-what with Tian Tian again?" Chen Ying snapped irritably before storming off, her lips curving into a sly smile where Zhou Zheng couldn’t see.
At eight in the evening, the dark village was silent, with only the soft, silvery glow of moonlight bathing the earth.
Zhou Zheng moved eagerly, navigating between the interplay of shadow and light. Chen Ying was waiting for him, waiting for him. He had to seize this chance.
The silhouette of an old, crumbling house came into view. The river whispered softly, its banks adorned with gently swaying reeds. Beside the ruined house stood several trees, an unruly cluster. Banana trees, guava trees, and among them, longan trees intertwined with a grand banyan tree.
In the wavering interplay of light and dark, Zhou Zheng saw a figure in the distance. The silhouette’s height was similar to Chen Ying’s. Chen Ying had always been tall.
"Ying, I’m here," Zhou Zheng called out tentatively.
He inched toward the figure, his heart itching with anticipation. Images of Chen Ying’s touch flashed through his mind—silky smooth, soft as if water might seep from it. Her face might have had a slight yellow tint, but her skin beneath was irresistibly tender.
The deputy village chief stood frozen in place. Even Zhao Chun, behind him, was dumbfounded. In the pitch darkness, what on earth was happening???
Zhao Chun thought the voice sounded oddly familiar.
The deputy village chief, however, furrowed his brows slightly without revealing much. Teacher Zhou? Wasn’t it said that Ying and Teacher Zhou had broken up? Then why was Teacher Zhou calling Ying’s name? Were they meeting here? And in this desolate location... for what? Yet just earlier, Ying had clearly been at home mending clothes.
With this thought, the deputy village chief suddenly remembered how the village chief had mentioned that Zhou Zheng’s conduct was questionable. Initially, he had thought—well, even if Zhou’s conduct had been problematic, as long as one recognized their mistakes and corrected them, it wasn’t a big deal. Zhou Zheng had left a pretty good impression on him that day. With his teaching skills, staying in their small village was truly a waste of talent. But now, whatever minor goodwill he had for Zhou evaporated. Sneaking out in the dead of night, calling Ying’s name—if this wasn’t moral misconduct, what was?
"Ying, I’m over here." Even though the figure didn’t respond, Zhou Zheng was certain—this was Chen Ying. She’d told him she was willing to hear him out.
"Ying, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have let myself be tempted by Tian Tian. Can you forgive me? Let’s start over. I wasn’t with you because of your uncle-in-law, but if we want to live in the city, we can’t do it without his help. Would you say a few good words for me in front of your uncle-in-law? Please, my dear Ying..."
The deputy village chief shook his head lightly, his expression somber. Preposterous. Simply outrageous. Pure filth spilling from his mouth!
The village chief was right—Teacher Zhou was utterly unworthy of Ying. Plus, he was furious. The impression Zhou gave off was as though he was trying to climb up the social ladder through familial connections. Even familial ties don’t mean anything if you lack genuine ability. And besides, what he despised most was the idea of someone achieving success and dragging all their hangers-on up with them. Over the years, wasn’t it precisely this kind of thinking—common among people like Zhou Zheng—that had corrupted the morals of those at the grassroots level?
What made it worse was that Zhou Zheng was a teacher! How could a teacher spew such shameless drivel?
Zhao Chun had long failed to maintain his aloof expression, his face reddened from trying to stifle laughter. Who would’ve thought he’d stumble upon such an absurd drama?
Seeing "Chen Ying" still shaking her head and remaining silent, Zhou Zheng grew anxious. "Ying, you still won’t forgive me? What will it take for you to forgive me?"
The deputy village chief shook his head again, his face betraying unmistakable disappointment. He was just about to leave with Zhao Chun when Zhou Zheng’s voice came again, mingled with a hint of laughter: "Ying, if that’s the case, then I can’t be blamed. Tonight, you’ll agree whether you want to or not! As long as you become mine, getting married is just a matter of time! Once we’re married, the deputy village chief will be my uncle-in-law too... Ying, my dear Ying, here I come."
Scoundrel. This was downright thuggish behavior!
The deputy village chief seethed, striding forward, fully intending to give Zhou Zheng a stern reprimand! But after taking just two steps, darkness bloomed before his eyes. A shadow flickered, and the next thing he knew, he was enveloped in an embrace!
No... something wasn’t right. Why was the body so firm? Why couldn’t he feel any softness, only an unyielding flatness?
Zhou Zheng froze in shock, slowly lifting his head. Under the faint moonlight, his eyes widened. Widened... widened further...
"Deputy village chief!" Suddenly, someone stepped out of the darkness. That person pushed him away and swung a cane sharply, landing a few blows on him.
"Teacher Zhou, what the hell are you doing with the deputy village chief at this hour? A teacher is supposed to act upright and honorable, but I never imagined you’d stoop this low!" Zhao Chun immediately shielded the deputy village chief behind him. Earlier, he had been too caught up in the hilarity of it all to foresee things escalating this far. Now, it was too late to get the deputy village chief out of Zhou’s clutches unscathed. That damn Zhou Zheng—how audacious could he be!
Zhou Zheng stood motionless, his entire body stiff, his complexion even paler than the moonlight.
What? WHAT?! Did he... did he call out "Deputy village chief"?
Why the hell was the deputy village chief here?!
He couldn’t even remember how to react. Instinct alone drove him to raise a hand to block the incoming blows from the cane.
The deputy village chief’s face was ashen, standing rigidly without moving a muscle. For all his self-discipline and composure, he couldn’t lower himself to the point of physically beating Zhou Zheng to a pulp.
"Zhou Zheng!" Chen Ying arrived late, her expression shocked as she took in the scene before her—the deputy village chief, Zhao Chun, and Zhou Zheng. "Uncle, Zhao Chun, why are you here? What’s going on? Uncle, what happened to you?" Why did he look so furious? She had only wanted her uncle to see Zhou Zheng’s true colors, but his expression now... it was as if he had suffered something utterly humiliating! Damn that Zhou Zheng!
"Chen Ying, is this the man you used to date? Thank heavens you’re not with him anymore. You don’t know—he mistook the deputy village chief for you and tried to do something unspeakable," Zhao Chun said bluntly.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the cane in his hand was snatched away. Chen Ying, as though possessed, swung it madly at Zhou Zheng. "Zhou Zheng, you wanted to explain yourself—is this your explanation? You scoundrel, shameless bastard! You’re worse than Chen Biao!"
"Enough," the deputy village chief commanded coolly. "Stop this nonsense and go home."
Chen Ying returned the cane to Zhao Chun before helping the deputy village chief away, she and Zhao Chun flanking him on either side for support.
It was over. Everything was over. Zhou Zheng’s heart sank like a stone into ice-cold water. He glared at Chen Ying and company disappearing into the distance, just in time to see her turn back and flash a triumphant smile.
"Chen Ying, you bitch!" Zhou Zheng struggled to his feet, roaring, "If you didn’t want to date me, you could’ve just said so! There was no need to frame me on purpose!" Bitch, bitch, bitch—he had always looked down on her yellowed complexion and her being a rural peasant, yet now he had been utterly outsmarted by her!