CHAPTER 71: CHAPTER 71: RUMORS WITH THE BIG SHOT (BONUS CHAPTER)

The color drained from Jiang Xingye’s face in an instant, and he turned his head to look at Xu Qinghuan in shock.

Xu Qinghuan was also a bit taken aback. However, she didn’t feel the mortifying shame typical of women of this era in such situations; instead, she found it somewhat novel.

Who would’ve thought she’d have a day when she’d be caught in a rumor with a big shot!

In modern workplaces, whenever a female employee gains favor, she’s invariably speculated to be involved with someone high up.

But this was the 1970s, after all.

Before the two could react, Zhou Guiying rushed out from the cornfield, hurling a large clod of soil at Qiu Linghua and then pouncing on her to start a scuffle.

"I’ll teach you to have a filthy mouth, framing Xiaowu, you piece of garbage with diarrhea of the mouth. Why don’t you just drown in a manure pit and be done with it?"

Xu Qinghuan watched and couldn’t help laughing, almost wanting to clap her hands in delight. Behind her was a sea of corn, her rosy little face resembling a piece of jade set against it, eyes brimming with laughter, showing no trace of anger at the rumors.

Jiang Xingye’s heart was pounding uncontrollably, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she didn’t mind their names being linked together.

Did that mean she didn’t reject him in her heart?

How he longed to know the answer!

But if it were up to him to ask, he absolutely wouldn’t dare. He feared a negative response, feared seeing that look of disdain in her eyes, thinking he lacked self-awareness.

"What did I say wrong? You ask, you ask, you ask your wild boy at home, how many times has he helped this female educated youth!" Qiu Linghua and Zhou Guiying were entangled in a fight, but Qiu was at a disadvantage.

Her hair was pulled into a mess, and her clothes had half a sleeve torn off.

The team leader arrived promptly and had people pull the two apart.

Zhou Guiying was always one to care about her reputation, but Jiang Xingye was her Achilles’ heel. Anything concerning this nephew caused her to lose her composure.

Now she was enraged, spitting at Qiu Linghua’s face, "Stop dragging my Xiaowu into your mess. In all these years, how many people in this production team have you badmouthed?"

Xu Qinghuan chimed in, "Exactly, exactly, Auntie. This auntie said earlier that if I couldn’t do my work, she’d have her son come and do it for me. I thought, is it possible for pie to fall from the sky? I refused, so now she’s holding a grudge and trying to harm me with fabricated tales!"

So there was something like this going on!

People from nearby fields started looking at Qiu Linghua, seeing it as ironic. Everyone knew what kind of person Qiu Linghua’s son was: an outright toad, wanting in looks and ability, peeping on wives bathing, fooling around with widows, with not a shred of a good reputation.

And yet he dared to covet the female educated youth!

Especially one like Educated Youth Xu!

This person truly had some nerve!

At this moment, everyone believed Xu Qinghuan’s words: it was a case of someone failing to win the favor of an educated youth and thus tarnishing her reputation. Truly despicable!

But Zhou Guiying didn’t think so. She found it strange when Jiang Xingye came to work today; instead of opening wasteland, he came to do weeding, which was quite unusual.

There’s a saying, when something unusual happens, there’s bound to be something fishy.

She seemed to be weeding but was in fact keeping an eye on Jiang Xingye all along, seeing how he constantly took care of the female educated youth made her heart grow cold.

That kind of person wouldn’t even allow a mosquito within three feet, yet here he was paying such close attention to a female educated youth, a fairy-like girl no less; what more reason needed to be found?

"So that’s what it is!" Zhou Guiying sneered coldly, pointing at the other’s nose,

"Qiu Linghua, I don’t care if you toads want to eat swan meat, but don’t drag my Xiaowu into it. If I hear any nonsense from your mouth again, I’ll tear that mouth of yours!"

"Who’s being a toad trying to eat swan meat? What kind of swan is she, anyway? Look at how she works; if she were brought home, you’d starve for sure. Humph, I don’t care at all!"

Qiu Linghua didn’t dare to confront Zhou Guiying after all. With several scratches on her face and her words of threat cut short by the team’s intervention, she scurried off, barely touching the ground.

The onlookers chuckled. The team leader called out that anyone not working would have their work points docked, and no one dared go against their work points, so they all returned to their tasks.

Naturally, there was chatter. No one had previously noticed Jiang Xingye had come to weed; someone of his strong physique was always at the forefront of pioneering work.

To see him weeding today was truly unexpected!

Someone whispered, "Hey, do you suppose Jiang Xiaowu really has something going on?" They gestured toward Xu Qinghuan, afraid others wouldn’t understand.

Whatever others were gossiping about, Xu Qinghuan neither heard nor cared.

She continued weeding, slowly and methodically, until a corn leaf left a cut on her fair little face. Initially, it just tickled; when she scratched it, she found blood, which quite startled Xu Qinghuan.

"Oh, my face!" Xu Qinghuan covered her face, looked to Jiang Xingye for help.

Jiang Xingye almost instinctively dropped his hoe and rushed over, his dark eyes filled with concern, yet he dared not speak.

Xu Qinghuan quickly let go of her hand, leaning her face closer to him, "Is my face hurt?"

Seeing a thin scratch across her creamy skin, Jiang Xingye immediately felt a pang of heartache, his expression shifting. He lifted his hand, wanting to touch it, yet didn’t dare to.

"It’s hurt!" His voice was low and hoarse.

Xu Qinghuan stomped anxiously; she cherished this face of hers, "What do I do, what do I do?"

"I’ll go buy medicine for you!" Jiang Xingye, also not thinking straight, turned to leave.

Such a perfect face, even though the cut was shallow and wouldn’t scar, he couldn’t bear to see it hurt.

Xu Qinghuan hurriedly stopped him, handing him ointment, "I have some."

Jiang Xingye took the ointment and said, "Wait here!"

He then swiftly ran off.

When he returned, his hands were cleansed and dripping, hesitant to dry them on himself.

Xu Qinghuan handed him a handkerchief, "You can use this first."

Jiang Xingye took the snowy white handkerchief, and as he wiped his hands, Xu Qinghuan stared at them, noting their wide palms indicative of sincerity, while the long, distinct fingers suggested a keen mind.

Under her gaze, Jiang Xingye’s ears turned bright red. After wiping, he hurriedly tucked the handkerchief into his pocket, too nervous to speak fully, "Shall I... apply the ointment for you?"

"Mm!"

Xu Qinghuan waited for quite a while, and now she eagerly tilted her little face upwards, positioning it under the sun. Light stimulated her eyes to squint gently, and her long, curled lashes fluttered like butterflies resting lightly on her snow-white cheeks.

Her face was rosy and white, beautiful like a peony blooming in April, strikingly captivating.

Her lips pouted slightly, the lip bead like a tiny hook, causing him to involuntarily swallow and his breathing to grow heavy.

Desire surged like a wild beast, running rampant in his heart at this moment.

He longed for her so profoundly!

But not even a hint of this dark, shameful thought could be known to her.

He despised himself for feeling this way.

Jiang Xingye’s fingers trembled as he dabbed some ointment, and as he touched her cheek, it felt like a fire ignited at his fingertips, spreading straight to his heart.

Their faces were so very close.

When Xu Qinghuan heard him say, "All done," she opened her eyes, just in time to see Jiang Xingye’s face magnified before her, caught off guard by her sudden gaze, pausing momentarily.

In that brief moment, Xu Qinghuan couldn’t help but mentally outline his face, with its precisely aligned facial features and sharp angles, no wonder people found him formidable.

In truth, his features were refine, with sword-like brows reaching his temples, peach blossom eyes with distinct contours, and a barely noticeable crease on the eyelid. The eye tail had a narrow, slanted cut, giving him a slightly roguish wild charm.

With a high nose bridge akin to a steep peak, thin lips held lightly at the corners, not yet relaxed, possessing a vermillion hue.

When Xu Qinghuan’s gaze landed on them, she felt an inexplicable hunger rise within her.