Seeing her nervous look, Zhou Zhijun quickly said, "What are you afraid of? I'm not going to eat you!"
The sky was already getting dark. Only then did Chuntao realize that Zhou Xiaowei was no longer in the fields; it was just the two of them now.
"Why aren't you going home?" Her small face flushed red as she bent down, picked up her basket, and turned to leave.
Zhou Zhijun's voice softened a bit. "Wasn't I waiting for you? I couldn't be at ease if you didn't go back."
Chuntao trudged forward unevenly with her basket, and Zhou Zhijun followed closely behind her.
"They're showing a movie in the village tonight. Are you going to watch it?"
Chuntao knew he was up to no good, so she didn't answer.
Who knew that in the very next second, Zhou Zhijun would wrap his arms around her from behind.
"Zhou Zhijun, you scoundrel, let go!"
Chuntao was truly angry this time and cursed at him directly.
Instead of getting angry, Zhou Zhijun gave a light chuckle and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Let go!" Chuntao struggled, unwilling to tangle with him.
Zhou Zhijun flipped his grip and pressed her down to sit on the ground. He crouched down, his two large hands grasping her small ones.
"Tao, it's been so long, haven't you missed me?"
"What's there to miss? I don't miss you, I just want to live a normal life!"
Chuntao turned her face away. Her mouth said she didn't miss him, and in her heart, she told herself she shouldn't either.
"I missed you. I missed you so much I can't eat or sleep. I'm going crazy missing you!"
He pressed her hands against his rock-hard chest. "My heart is about to jump out, I missed you so much!"
The sky was getting darker and darker. Chuntao struggled to stand up. "Let go, it's already dark!"
Zhou Zhijun said, "Don't be afraid. Come to my house tonight!"
"You're crazy, let go!" Chuntao tried to break free, but it was completely useless.
"Tao, I'm really going crazy. Can't you just take pity on me? I sleep in the north room by myself, no one will bother us! Please?"
"No!"
Zhou Zhijun let go of her hands, but hugged her tightly instead, squeezing Chuntao so hard she could barely breathe.
"Tao, I'm just crazy about you, why don't you understand?"
The night turned completely dark, like a giant net covering everything on the ground.
"...If we don't go back now, Xiaohong will come..."
She pushed him, and Zhou Zhijun took the opportunity to grab her wrists again.
"Sister-in-law... Sister-in-law..." Suddenly, Wang Xiaohong's shouts rang out from the field ridge, and the beam of a flashlight swept over.
Zhou Zhijun lowered his voice and said, "Don't go to the movie with Xiaohong! Come to my place tonight!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he grabbed his hoe and bolted toward the riverbank like a rabbit.
"Sister-in-law..." Wang Xiaohong's footsteps grew closer, making thudding sounds against the dirt ridge.
Chuntao tugged at her clothes and hastily tucked the messy stray hairs on her forehead behind her ears.
Taking a deep breath, she picked up her basket and walked up. "Xiaohong, I'm here!"
"Sister-in-law, it's pitch black out. Hurry home and have some soup, then we can go watch the movie!"
Wang Xiaohong reached out and pulled one of Chuntao's arms, stumbling along the uneven field ridge.
Suddenly, her footsteps paused, and she shined the flashlight toward Zhou Zhijun's family plot.
"Just now I went to Granny's house to borrow a flashlight. Granny said Uncle Zhijun hasn't come home yet and asked me to call out for him too. How come I don't see him?"
"He... I saw him heading toward the riverbank!" Chuntao pointed south, her footsteps feeling light and unsteady.
When the two of them passed by the gate of Zhou Zhijun's house with the flashlight, he was squatting at the entrance, holding a large porcelain bowl and drinking soup.
"Uncle Zhijun, Granny just asked me to call you, and here you are!" Wang Xiaohong shouted, blinking her eyes.
Zhou Zhijun gave a soft "Mm!" in response.
Chuntao didn't dare to look at Zhou Zhijun. Without stopping her steps, she quickly walked into her own courtyard.
Wang Xiaohong went in to return the flashlight to Aunt Zhou. When she came back out to the gate, Zhou Zhijun asked in a low voice, "What movie are they showing tonight?"
"Hongxia said one is Fong Sai-yuk! The other is a comedy!" Wang Xiaohong looked excited. "Uncle Zhijun, hurry up and finish your soup so you can head over, otherwise all the good spots will be gone!"
Before Wang Xiaohong even finished her own soup, Zhou Hongxia came over carrying a stool to look for her, and Zhou Xiaowei came along too.
Chuntao had things on her mind. She stirred her chopsticks back and forth in her bowl but had no appetite at all.
"Sister-in-law, drink faster! I'll go feed the pigs first!" Wang Xiaohong said as she lifted the slop bucket.
"You guys go ahead first, I'll feed the pigs!" Chuntao quickly said. Thinking of Zhou Zhijun's hungry look, she felt incredibly conflicted.
Should she listen to him? Or should she go watch the movie with Wang Xiaohong and the others?
"Sister-in-law Chuntao, we'll wait for you. There's no rush!" Zhou Xiaowei stood at the kitchen door, looking at Chuntao as he spoke.
"You brat, always hanging around a bunch of girls all day!"
Zhou Zhijun walked over with his long legs, his voice so deep it could smash a hole in the ground.
"Second Uncle, there are a lot of people watching the movie, it's too chaotic. I'm just acting as a bodyguard for Hongxia and the others!"
Hearing Zhou Zhijun's voice, Zhou Xiaowei quickly turned around and forced a smile.
Zhou Zhijun stood at the kitchen door, blocking the hazy moonlight from outside, his urgent eyes glued to Chuntao's face.
Chuntao's heart was panicked and in turmoil. Keeping her eyes fixed on the porridge in her bowl, she picked up a piece of dried sweet potato with her chopsticks and slowly brought it to her mouth.
Zhou Zhijun turned his head and saw Wang Xiaohong carrying the slop bucket to the pigpen. He took a few steps over and said in a low voice, "Xiaohong, you guys go ahead first, I'll feed them!"
Without leaving room for argument, he snatched the slop bucket from her hands. "Go on, or you'll be late!"
"We're waiting for my sister-in-law!"
"Don't wait for her. Your Granny and I will go with her later!"
Wang Xiaohong was already anxious to leave in her heart, so hearing Zhou Zhijun say this put her at ease.
Before leaving, she carried the thermos and the chamber pot into Wang Jieshi's room. "Brother, we're going to watch the movie! Take it easy when you get up!"
The reason Zhou Xiaowei was tagging along with Zhou Hongxia and Wang Xiaohong was that he wanted Chuntao to go to the movie too. But with Zhou Zhijun there, he didn't dare to urge her anymore, so the group left first.
The moment they left, Zhou Zhijun closed the kitchen door behind them.
His large, rough hands cupped Chuntao's burning hot face. "Tao! Come to my house in a bit... It's better than watching a movie..."
