Chapter 15: Ye Simin Likes Xu Xingyu

“Hey, are you two so mesmerized by our Yao Yao?” Ye Simin waved her hand teasingly in front of Mu Xingjue’s eyes.

Mu Xingjue rolled his eyes at her and then handed the warmed steamed bun to Su Yao. “The bun’s not hot anymore, you can eat it now.”

“What about mine?” Ye Simin glanced at the four buns in Mu Xingjue’s hand and reached out to snatch one.

Mu Xingjue dodged her hand and said, “Go find Xu Xingyu.”

Xu Xingyu eagerly handed his bun to Ye Simin, who shook it teasingly at Mu Xingjue and snorted.

Grabbing the bun, she ran over to Su Yao’s side. “Yao Yao, let’s go. Ignore them.”

Su Yao glanced at Mu Xingjue and followed Ye Simin.

Along the way, whenever someone passed by, they would steal a glance at Su Yao—some even stared so openly they looked stunned. Mu Xingjue, trailing behind, felt uneasy. Whenever someone fixated on Su Yao, he would step in to block their view.

Ye Simin linked arms with Su Yao and whispered in her ear, “I think Mu Xingjue’s jealous. He keeps blocking those people’s gazes.”

Su Yao leaned closer and asked, “But you like him, why aren’t you upset?”

“You don’t get it. I used to think I liked him too. But after he and Xu Xingyu went to the countryside together, I realized maybe I don’t like him after all.”

“Do you mean you’re worried about someone else? Afraid they won’t be okay, won’t eat well, or that some other girl might steal him away?”

“How do you know?”

“I figured from your clothes and food that your family’s probably not ordinary. You wouldn’t have to go to the countryside if it weren’t for him, right?”

Ye Simin nodded.

“Then why don’t you tell him? You two clearly have feelings for each other.”

“He might not like me. Back then, he left for the countryside with Mu Xingjue without a word and never said a thing to me. And I used to cling to Mu Xingjue, which he knows.” Ye Simin looked a little sad.

Su Yao glanced at Xu Xingyu. He seemed cheerful—yet he kept his feelings bottled up. It was frustrating; why were both of them so tongue-tied?

“Are you really that clueless or just pretending?” Su Yao asked.

“What?”

“I’m guessing he likes you, but maybe he thinks you like Mu Xingjue, so he hides it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have warned me on the first day to stay away from Mu Xingjue.” Thinking of Xu Xingyu’s subtle warning that day made her laugh; he wasn’t afraid of misunderstandings with the one he liked?

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. But don’t rush to confess. Let’s find some fun in these dull days. Besides, you’re a girl—you should be modest. These things should be the boys’ initiative.”

“He said I could come to him if I needed anything. I’ll start going to him from now on, and you’ll see how he reacts.”

Hearing that Xu Xingyu might like her, Ye Simin blushed shyly. She wanted to tell him she liked him too but realized she had a point—such matters were better left for the boys to bring up.

Ye Simin nodded.

They chatted as they walked and soon reached the entrance of the brigade. The ox carts were nearly full, so the four didn’t stop but left the village.

Many older women sat on the carts. Li Zhaodi grabbed Wu San’s arm and asked, “Did you see that girl just now? Who is she? I’ve never seen her before.”

Wu San looked more closely and thought she recognized her. “That’s the new educated youth, Su. The one who always reaches full work points every day. Didn’t expect her to look so good in pretty clothes.”

“What? She’s the one who bought a bicycle and gets full work points every day? Didn’t think such a cheap girl would be rich and good-looking.”

Cui He sat across from Li Zhaodi and felt disgusted by her scheming face. Cui was also an educated youth sent to the countryside. Because Li Zhaodi’s eldest son, Jiang Hong, liked her, he would block her way home every day, making people think there was something between them.

Later, she was tricked by that vile Yang Hui into the back mountain. Jiang Hong was hiding nearby and suddenly grabbed her from behind, and the villagers saw it. No matter how she explained, no one believed her, and she had to marry Jiang Hong.

She would never forgive that wretched Yang Hui, who got jealous just because Cui spoke a few words to Mu. Hmph, that bitch—she’d make her pay.

Seeing Li Zhaodi’s scheming expression, Cui He worried about this new educated youth, Su. But deep down, she hoped Su would suffer like her so she could feel better about herself.

Still, her rare goodness and morality surfaced now and then. After much thought, Cui He decided to warn Su. How things would unfold afterward was up to fate. At least she had done her part.

At that moment, just outside the village entrance, Yang Hui’s voice rang out behind them. “Mu, wait for me!”

Mu Xingjue quickened his pace and walked up beside Su Yao.

Su Yao looked back at Yang Hui and whispered to Mu Xingjue, “Your love life is flourishing.”

“No, I’m ignoring them all. None of these people are good, especially Yang Hui. You should watch out for her.” Mu Xingjue quickly denied it. He definitely didn’t want such unwanted attention.

Yang Hui, frustrated that Mu Xingjue ignored her and sped up, stomped her foot angrily and hurried to catch up.

Mu Xingjue walked along the roadside, where a small ditch made walking difficult on the inside, and Su Yao and Ye Simin were on the left. He had to stay on the outer edge.

Glancing at Su Yao and Ye Simin, he nervously twirled his hair on the right side and shyly looked at Mu Xingjue. “Mu, you’re going to town too? Let’s walk together.”

Mu Xingjue didn’t even look at her and certainly wouldn’t talk to her. Instead, he urged Su Yao, “Hurry and eat. It’ll get cold soon. Give me your water bottle and bag; I’ll carry them for you.”

With free labor at hand, Su Yao didn’t hesitate and handed over her water bottle and crossbody bag. Ye Simin imitated her and gave her things to Xu Xingyu, and the two ate and chatted.

Yang Hui glared at Su Yao. Another girl trying to seduce Mu Xingjue—hmph! She could handle Cui He; she could certainly deal with Su Yao, too.

“Mu, have you eaten breakfast? I have an egg here. Want one?”

Yang Hui took the egg and walked between Su Yao and Mu Xingjue, then subtly bumped Su Yao aside to walk next to Mu Xingjue.

Mu Xingjue, faster than her, saw through Yang Hui’s intentions, stopped, and then strode over to stand between Ye Simin and Su Yao.

With an impatient look, he said to Yang Hui, “Yang, mind your manners. There’s a line between men and women. Also, I don’t like eggs.”

Don’t like eggs? If it weren’t for seeing him finish every drop of seaweed egg soup and gobble down dumplings stuffed with shepherd’s purse and egg one after another, she might have believed it.