"Here, I have loquats. Take some back to eat!" Fu Wenwen smiled at them and handed them two handfuls of loquats from the kitchen.
Wang Qing and Qian Xiulan looked at the loquats in their hands in surprise. "Heavens, loquats! Where did you find them?"
"In the deep mountains," Fu Wenwen explained.
"The village chief said there are wild boars in the back mountain. You must not go there alone again!" Wang Qing frowned at Fu Wenwen, her eyes filled with concern, which warmed Fu Wenwen's heart. "Thank you for your concern."
"Oh! It's so late, we have to go back and cook! Fu Zhiqing, we're leaving now! We'll come visit you again when we have time!" Qian Xiulan, savoring the loquats, suddenly smelled the aroma of cooking from next door, realizing she had to return home to cook. She quickly pulled Wang Qing and said goodbye to Fu Wenwen.
"Goodbye." Fu Wenwen smiled and waved at them.
With no one around, Fu Wenwen used her special ability to check again. Liu Zihua could not see Zhu Xi, and he was no longer in the back alley.
That evening, when Fu Wenwen was teaching the literacy class, many villagers came. Her class received unanimous praise, as the characters she taught were particularly useful to them.
After class, Fu Wenwen scouted the village and discovered that Liu Zihua had indeed reappeared in the alley behind the village chief's house.
This time, Zhu Xi, taking advantage of the fact that the village chief had already fallen asleep, secretly slipped out to meet Liu Zihua in the back alley.
After closing her door, Fu Wenwen took out the burlap sack she had prepared earlier and quietly went to the back alley.
"Brother Zihua, my father said he can agree to you being with me, but you have to propose to him first," Zhu Xi said affectionately to Liu Zihua.
Liu Zihua froze upon hearing Zhu Xi's words. "Zhu Xi, you know... my family situation is quite complicated."
"I don't mind! I want to marry you and be with you forever!" Zhu Xi threw herself into Liu Zihua's arms, her face filled with happiness. "If I can marry you, I don't need anything else."
"Brother Zihua, my father never agreed before, but now he finally has. What else are you worried about?" Zhu Xi looked at Liu Zihua, her eyes full of love and expectation.
"Zhu Xi, I can't marry you..." Liu Zihua said mournfully. "I... let's just be friends. I can't give you happiness!"
Liu Zihua hid his face in pain. Zhu Xi paused, then quickly embraced him. "Brother Zihua, why? What happened?"
"...I..." Liu Zihua covered his face in pain.
"Brother Zihua, tell me, what is it? We'll figure out a way to solve it together!" Zhu Xi looked at Liu Zihua with concern and heartache.
"My father wrote to me saying that I have to find a way to return to the city, otherwise... he doesn't want me as his son!" Liu Zihua said in agony. "My stepmother's son has already started looking for a wife... I can't let him get ahead of me, but I have no way to return to the city..."
"If I marry you, I'll lose my chance to go back!" Liu Zihua said desperately and sadly. He hugged Zhu Xi tightly and said, "I can't give you the happiness you want. Forget me!"
"Brother Zihua, what are you saying! We've already gone this far... If you don't marry me now, my father will call the police and have you arrested!" Zhu Xi cried, looking at Liu Zihua. "Please don't go back to the city, okay? Stay here with me for the rest of your life, okay? No one in the village will dare to provoke you, and you won't be worse off than in the city!"
"Why don't you understand!" Liu Zihua pushed Zhu Xi away and covered his face in pain. "Staying in the village means facing dirt forever. My ambitions, my dreams will be gone. I want to go back to the city! How can I lose? Zhu Xi, you understand me, don't you? You'll help me, right?"
"Brother Zihua, how do you want me to help you?" Zhu Xi hugged Liu Zihua, crying with heartache. "As long as you don't leave me, I'll do anything!"
"Really? Zhu Xi, I... I love you!" Liu Zihua said excitedly, hugging Zhu Xi, and they kissed passionately.
"Brother Zihua, take me!" Zhu Xi hugged Liu Zihua, her voice filled with emotion.
"Zhu Xi, this would be too much of a hardship for you. No! I can't do this!" Liu Zihua shook his head and pushed Zhu Xi away, refusing.
"Brother Zihua, I'm doing this willingly! No matter what, I am your woman for life!" Zhu Xi said resolutely, looking at Liu Zihua.
"Zhu Xi! You are so good, I... I don't deserve you! You deserve a better man!" Liu Zihua said, touched. He turned, hugged Zhu Xi, and kissed her.
"No, I will only be your woman in this life!" Zhu Xi stated firmly.
"Zhu Xi..." As Liu Zihua's hand reached for Zhu Xi, Fu Wenwen rolled her eyes and, imitating the sound of a cat about to fight, called out loudly, "Meow!!!"
Liu Zihua and Zhu Xi were startled and jumped.
"It's nothing, just a stray cat." Liu Zihua, caught up in the moment, dismissed it and pulled Zhu Xi back for another kiss.
Fu Wenwen rolled her eyes again and used her special ability to pick up a stone and tap on Zhu Di's window.
Just one wall away were Wu Fang and Zhu Di's room. Hearing the fierce meowing, Wu Fang got up.
"What cat is that? Are there any cats near our house?" Wu Fang inside the room asked curiously, about to get up and look.
"It's just a wild cat, what's there to see!" Zhu Di carelessly rolled over, grabbed Wu Fang, and held her captive in his arms. "Wife, I want to have a baby!"
"Oh my! A baby isn't something you can just get by saying it..." Wu Fang blushed shyly.
"Aren't we about to try and put the baby in your belly..." Zhu Di's lips curved into a smile. Just as he was about to act, the window was suddenly hit by a stone.
"Who is it!" Zhu Di said angrily and fiercely.
Hearing her elder brother's voice, Zhu Xi, terrified, quickly pushed Liu Zihua away. Liu Zihua, his mood interrupted and feeling a sense of unfulfilled desire, was about to continue when Zhu Di suddenly opened the window.
Liu Zihua, startled, quickly ducked. Zhu Xi froze in place.
Fortunately, Zhu Di didn't look too closely, just glanced and closed the window. "Is it that girl Zhu Xi messing around again! I'm going to teach her a lesson."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Xi quickly abandoned Liu Zihua and secretly slipped home.
Liu Zihua watched Zhu Xi leave, grumbled in frustration, and prepared to leave in disappointment.
As soon as he walked out of the alley and onto the small road, a dark figure suddenly leaped down from a tree. Liu Zihua felt a burlap sack being thrown over his head, and his vision went black.
The next second, a fierce attack rained down on him from all directions. "Who! Ugh!!"
Liu Zihua let out a brief cry before being struck on the neck, preventing him from making any further sound.
The attack came down like a storm. Liu Zihua felt intense pain but could not cry out, struggling desperately to escape the assault...