Zhou Zhijun swept his gaze around and said nonchalantly, "The sun is scorching right now. Everyone in the village is resting at home. Who would come out here?"
"Hurry up!" he coaxed softly. "Be a good girl, listen to me!"
Chuntao couldn't win against him, so she squatted down, opened her mouth, and took the piece of watermelon.
Zhou Zhijun patted the grass next to him. "Sit down!"
Chuntao was afraid that a passerby might see them and stubbornly refused.
Zhou Zhijun simply set his watermelon on the ground and, without a word of argument, pulled her down to sit beside him.
After being fed more than half of the watermelon by him, Chuntao was too full to eat any more. "I'm full, I really can't eat another bite!"
Zhou Zhijun didn't force her, but he wouldn't let her get up either.
"Let me up!"
"Isn't it comfortable sitting here?" A wicked smile tugged at the corner of Zhou Zhijun's mouth.
He finished the rest of the watermelon in a few bites and tossed the rind far away into the ditch by the road.
Then, he reached out and pulled her into his arms...
"It's broad daylight, you're acting crazy again!" Chuntao tried to dodge, but Zhou Zhijun only hugged her tighter.
"Tao..." Zhou Zhijun suddenly scooped her up in his arms and placed her on the flatbed cart.
"This weather is hot enough to melt someone. Come on, let's go down to the river to take a bath and cool off!"
How could Chuntao not know what was on his mind? She struggled to get up, but Zhou Zhijun pressed down on her shoulders.
"Be a good girl! Don't move!"
Pulling the flatbed cart, he slowly made his way down a gentle slope by the side of the road.
At the bottom of the slope was a small river, about twenty to thirty feet wide. The water was crystal clear, and the riverbed was covered entirely with fine, soft sand, without a trace of mud.
The riverbank was overgrown with dense bushes, providing perfect, impenetrable cover.
Zhou Zhijun parked the cart in a hidden patch of tall grass, bent down to pick Chuntao up, and leaped into the river.
"Tao, it's hot, let's take a bath..."
Held securely in Zhou Zhijun's arms, Chuntao felt the fine sand beneath her feet. Flustered, she gripped his arms tightly with both hands, even curling her toes.
"Brother Zhijun, it's cold..."
"Cold is exactly what feels good."
Zhou Zhijun's voice was incredibly husky. He freed one hand to brush away the stray hairs clinging to her forehead.
"Look at you, your face is all red from the sun."
...
The bushes on the bank rustled, as if someone were peeking, or as if the wind were cheering them on.
He set Chuntao down to sit in the shallow water and reached out to strip off her wet clothes.
Chuntao was so embarrassed she wished the earth would swallow her whole. "What are you doing?"
"Washing the clothes and drying them in the sun, you'll be able to wear them in a bit!"
He scrubbed both of their clothes clean in the water and draped them over the grass on the bank to dry.
After basking in the sun for a while, the clothes on the riverbank were already dry.
Carrying a completely limp Chuntao in his arms, Zhou Zhijun stepped on the fine sand of the riverbed and slowly made his way ashore.
He chose a flat patch of grass free of pebbles, first laying out his own shirt smoothly before carefully setting Chuntao down on it.
Zhou Zhijun patiently helped her get dressed, then picked up his own pants and pulled them on.
Once he was dressed, Zhou Zhijun carried Chuntao back to sit on the flatbed cart and prepared to pull her back home.
"I'll walk by myself!" Chuntao felt guilty; the fields were full of people working, and she didn't dare ride in the cart.
"Am I not strong enough? Aren't your legs weak?" Zhou Zhijun wore a roguish smile, starting to say shameless things again.
Although Chuntao said she wanted to walk, she really had no strength left. She could only sit on the cart with drooping eyelids, not daring to look around.
Zhou Zhijun originally planned to pull her all the way home, but Chuntao absolutely refused.
As they approached the boundary of Wangjia Village, she struggled down and slowly shuffled home while leaning on the cart.
It was not yet dark when they got home. Chuntao carried the dried sweet potatoes they had bartered for into the house, then took the cloth bag containing their money into the inner room where the new bed was, planning to hide the money from selling watermelons.
Suddenly, she heard a noise coming from under the bed. Thinking a chicken had squeezed its way in, she bent down to look and was so frightened her soul nearly left her body.
"Ah—"
