Hmm, absolutely impossible!
The system clearly said it was a cute big sister!
Su Zhiyun nodded to herself secretly.
If it weren’t for that fellow villager Jiu Baiyun stopping me, I might have already met A Ran!
Even if A Ran isn’t my ideal type, no matter what, she’s way better than that guy Jiu Baiyun!
Thinking this, Su Zhiyun immediately turned her head away, putting some distance between herself and Jiu Baiyun.
She continued sweeping while stealing glances at A Ran from time to time.
A Ran quickly finished the meat skewers from the oilpaper packet, a tiny bit of grease still clinging to the corner of her mouth.
She carefully folded the oilpaper, a look of satisfaction and a hint of bashful pink on her cheeks, then walked briskly over to Jiu Baiyun, who was sweeping the open ground in front of the ancestral hall.
“Brother Jiu,” A Ran reached out, trying to take the broom from Jiu Baiyun’s hand, “let me do it.”
Before Jiu Baiyun could respond, Su Zhiyun—who was holding another broom but whose eyes kept drifting towards A Ran—dashed over from the side.
With a deft sidestep, she blocked the way and smoothly “snatched” the broom from Jiu Baiyun’s grasp, now holding one in each hand to prevent him from handing it to A Ran.
Then, with a brilliant smile, she said to A Ran, “Oh, Sister A Ran, you’re too polite! Such a small task, just leave it to the two of us!”
“You just finished breakfast, take a rest and let your food settle! Besides, Brother Jiu is strong, let him do more of the work!”
Jiu Baiyun looked at his now empty hands, then glanced at Su Zhiyun, who had suddenly become exceptionally diligent, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily.
This girl, her attempt to curry favor is way too obvious, isn’t it?
And why drag me into it while you’re at it? What’s this about me being strong and shouldering more work?
Jiu Baiyun was speechless internally, shrugging his shoulders without saying a word.
A Ran was a bit flustered by Su Zhiyun’s enthusiasm.
Looking into the other girl’s eyes fixed on her, the words of refusal stuck in her throat, feeling too awkward to say.
“But…”
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached, followed by another voice.
“Miss A Ran.”
The three of them looked towards the source.
A man dressed in rough, short work clothes was standing at the fence gate.
He looked to be in his early twenties, with dark skin, a sturdy build, and a small sack slung over his shoulder that looked like grain.
A simple, honest smile spread across the man’s dark face as he unloaded the bulging burlap sack from his shoulder, placing it by the fence.
“My dad sent me to bring some newly milled millet, to add to the offerings for the Fox Immortal.”
He wiped sweat from his brow, his gaze sweeping over the courtyard, lingering for an extra moment on Su Zhiyun’s unfamiliar face.
A Ran immediately stepped forward, taking over the conversation.
“Brother Shi, thank you for your trouble. I’ll go get the receipt book right away.”
“No rush, no rush.”
The man addressed as Brother Shi waved his hand, but his eyes remained glued to Su Zhiyun.
“This young lady looks unfamiliar. Are you from the Li Family Village at the foot of the mountain?”
Su Zhiyun, whose mind was entirely preoccupied with figuring out how to get closer to A Ran, had zero interest in this suddenly appearing dark-skinned man.
After all, she didn’t like men!
She pretended not to hear Brother Shi’s question, turning her head to the side and continuing to pretend to stare intently at the ground, her broom swishing across it rapidly, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
However, Brother Shi seemed either not to notice her coldness or perhaps thought the young lady was just shy.
Instead, he took a step forward, his gaze becoming even more direct as it swept over Su Zhiyun.
“Young lady? I’m asking you a question. Also, are you betrothed?”
That unblinking stare felt like a coarse hand brushing over her skin, instantly giving Su Zhiyun a strong, visceral sense of disgust.
Goosebumps rose on her arms.
She jerked her head up, her eyebrows tightly knit together, her eyes filled with undisguised loathing and ice.
“None of your damn business!”
Su Zhiyun’s tone was frigid.
“What does it matter to you whether I’m betrothed or not? And where are you looking!”
Her blunt reaction instantly froze the atmosphere.
The simple smile on Brother Shi’s face stiffened.
Clearly, he hadn’t expected such a beautiful-looking girl to speak so sharply.
He was momentarily stunned.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out for a long moment, unsure if he was embarrassed or angry.
Jiu Baiyun watched from the side without showing any particular reaction, just mentally adding a couple of ‘serves him right’ comments.
That lecherous expression is enough to turn anyone’s stomach.
Right at that moment, A Ran finished her task and came out.
Seeing Su Zhiyun’s look of disgust and Brother Shi’s somewhat aggrieved expression, A Ran was momentarily at a loss.
Seeing this, Jiu Baiyun couldn’t help but sigh.
“My apologies. She’s blunt and speaks her mind. Please don’t take it to heart.”
“Also, while she is not betrothed, she has no desire to marry.”
Hearing Jiu Baiyun say this, Brother Shi’s expression improved slightly.
He nodded at Jiu Baiyun.
Perhaps due to Su Zhiyun’s words, although his eyes still drifted unconsciously towards Su Zhiyun, the initial fervor was clearly gone.
Seeing this, A Ran quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
She hated awkward situations like this the most.
Immediately, she stepped forward, trying to steer the conversation back on track.
“Brother Shi, I’ll take care of the millet and register it in a moment. You… is there anything else?”
Brother Shi, having been given an out by Jiu Baiyun and seeing A Ran actively offering a way down, looked slightly less embarrassed.
He rubbed his rough, large hands together, replying in a muffled voice.
“Oh, oh, nothing else. It’s just… since I’m already here, thought I’d offer some incense to the Fox Immortal before leaving.”
As he spoke, his gaze finally shifted away from Su Zhiyun towards the simple clay statue of the Fox Immortal inside the ancestral hall, his eyes taking on a trace of reverence.
He no longer paid attention to Su Zhiyun’s undisguised look of disdain.
He walked straight past Jiu Baiyun and Su Zhiyun, heading for the ancestral hall entrance.
Passing by A Ran, he gave a simple, honest smile, as if the little incident had never happened.
Su Zhiyun directed a huge, unapologetic eye-roll at Brother Shi’s retreating back, muttering under her breath.
“Tch, what a guy!”
She immediately moved a few steps away, continuing to sweep the ground with her head down, though her movements were clearly tinged with irritation.
The sound of the broom scraping against the ground grew noticeably louder.
He took three lit incense sticks from A Ran’s hands, clumsily bowed three times towards the simple clay Fox Immortal statue.
“Fox Immortal, please bless…”
He mumbled in a low, indistinct voice, slowly inserting the incense into the censer.
Jiu Baiyun, meanwhile, leaned casually against a wooden post by the fence, arms crossed, looking somewhat nonchalant.
Brother Shi muttered a few more indistinct words of “blessings” to the clay statue before finally turning around.
His gaze instinctively drifted towards Su Zhiyun’s direction again.
Brother Shi opened his mouth as if to say something more, but in the end, he just awkwardly rubbed his rough hands together again.
Then he turned to A Ran, forcing a somewhat unnatural, simple smile onto his face.
“Miss A Ran, then… then I’ll be off now. The millet is left here.”
He pointed at the bulging burlap sack by the fence, saying in his muffled voice.
“Mhm, thank you for your trouble, Brother Shi.”
A Ran quickly nodded, a gentle smile on her face.
“Should do it, should do it.”
Brother Shi kept agreeing, then walked towards the outside of the ancestral hall fence.
He took one last look at Su Zhiyun before finally leaving.
Only when the figure was completely out of sight did Su Zhiyun let out a “hmph!” and stop her overly vigorous sweeping.
She threw another massive eye-roll in the direction Brother Shi had disappeared.
“Finally gone!”
I don’t like men to begin with.
I don’t even like Jiu Baiyun, who’s good-looking and even a fellow villager, let alone someone like him.
That constant staring is seriously annoying.