Xiao Mandong held her breath and inched forward another half step.
"Brother Xueqiang, thank you for saving me today. Don't go, can you stay with me for a little while?" Wang Yuanyuan's voice was soft and trembling.
Yang Xueqiang?
Xiao Mandong narrowed her eyes for a closer look, and sure enough, it was none other than Yang Xueqiang, the grandson of the Old Party Secretary.
She quickly grabbed Diandian by the scruff of its neck and tossed it straight into her personal space, afraid that Diandian would make a sound and interrupt what the two were getting up to.
Seeing a chance to make Dong Huimin miserable, Xiao Mandong was more than happy to give Wang Yuanyuan a little helping hand.
At that moment, Yang Xueqiang froze in place, not knowing where to rest his hands.
Through the soaked clothes, the soft, distinct press against his back was impossible to ignore.
He tried to pull away, but his body refused to listen.
His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, his throat felt like it was on fire; even after swallowing mouthful after mouthful of saliva, it still burned dry.
His heart was pounding so fast it felt like it was about to leap right out of his chest.
Wang Yuanyuan tightened her arms around him, her voice breaking with a hint of grievance.
"You saved me, you wouldn't just leave me hanging like this, would you? If you abandon me, I might as well just jump, Brother Xueqiang, I'm so cold..."
Cold? Yang Xueqiang felt like his whole body was burning up, the spot on his back where she was pressed against him was scalding hot.
Wang Yuanyuan's voice came out muffled, as if she was about to cry.
"I'm so sorry, I was being too forward today, I apologize. I'd better just die..."
As she spoke, she slowly loosened her arms that were looped around Yang Xueqiang's waist. Yang Xueqiang's heart jolted, and he pressed a hand over hers in a flash.
He pulled Wang Yuanyuan around to face him in one sharp motion, and their eyes locked.
He looked at the soaked clothes clinging to her body, outlining her soft curves, her small face pale from the cold, her lips a faint bluish-purple, trembling slightly as she bit down on them gently.
She looked so delicate, so vulnerable, yet so alluring.
Yang Xueqiang's mind buzzed, like something had just exploded inside his head, and he lost all rational thought in an instant.
One of his arms curled around the back of Wang Yuanyuan's head, and he crushed his lips to hers, their breaths tangling together...
Wang Yuanyuan went stiff for a second, then went limp, her whole body leaning against him.
Yang Xueqiang's mind was already completely blank, driven only by raw instinct.
His kiss was urgent, messy, greedy, taking everything he could get.
It was as if he was trying to release all the pent-up, restless heat that had been building inside him for days.
He'd long since grown sick of Dong Huimin, that tomboy of a woman.
He'd never even liked Dong Huimin. Who wouldn't prefer a soft, delicate woman? But his grandfather had insisted that Dong Huimin was a capable girl, that a man should marry a virtuous wife.
Why should he have to settle?
Why couldn't he marry someone he actually liked? Someone soft, someone who could cry for him, like Xiao Manxue, or like Wang Yuanyuan.
He'd even dreamed about Xiao Mandong in his sleep.
Wang Yuanyuan's hands crept up to his neck, kissing him back, twining herself around him.
Yang Xueqiang's hands began to wander too, gliding smoothly over her waist.
The second he was about to undo his belt, he snapped back to his senses and froze his movements.
He couldn't do this. He gritted his back teeth, his gaze drifting down from her face, over the pale, soft, wet curves, his mind flooded with wild, crazy images. He ached to keep going, but he couldn't.
It took every last bit of his strength to pull his wandering hand away from her soft skin.
He panted heavily, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, and spoke in a hoarse, rough voice.
"I... I'm sorry, I just... I lost control for a second there."
Wang Yuanyuan hid the glint of calculation in her eyes. "It's my fault, I'm sorry Brother Xueqiang. I like you so much, I just couldn't help myself... I..."
It was the first time Yang Xueqiang had ever heard a woman say she liked him, and he pulled her tight into his arms immediately. "Don't worry. I'll take responsibility for you."
Wang Yuanyuan leaned against his chest, her face buried in his shirt, and let out a muffled "mm-hmm".
Her eyes were cast down, her long lashes fluttering softly, like a feather brushing over the very tip of Yang Xueqiang's heart, making his chest feel light and ticklish, his heart racing even faster.
He wanted to say something, but his throat was too tight, so all he could do was hold her even closer.
Xiao Mandong stood hidden in the shadows, watching the whole scene, the corners of her mouth slowly tugging up into a smirk. Interesting, this was really interesting. No wonder she hadn't seen Wang Yuanyuan around earlier, she'd been out here scheming to trap a man.
She quietly stepped back a few paces, then turned and left.
Down by the river, the two stayed locked in each other's arms for a long time. Yang Xueqiang truly didn't want to let go of the girl in his embrace.
It wasn't until the sky turned completely dark that Yang Xueqiang walked Wang Yuanyuan back to the educated youth point.
He watched her push the door inside, then stood hidden in the shadows, not leaving.
He was tangled up in his own thoughts. He wanted to go to his grandfather and say he didn't want to marry Dong Huimin anymore, that he wanted to marry Wang Yuanyuan instead, but he didn't dare. His grandfather had such a fierce temper... He clenched his fist tight, then slowly let it go.
Wang Yuanyuan stepped inside the warm, cozy room. She had just reached the door to the north room when she heard Dong Huimin's voice coming from the inner room, low but impossible to hide the scorn and sarcasm in it.
"Ever since Sun Wenbin left, Wang Yuanyuan's been like a lost soul. I saw her hiding behind the corner yesterday retching, do you think... she might be pregnant?"
Huang Xiaoli chimed in. "That's totally possible. I remember our periods came at the same time last month, mine's already over this month, and I haven't seen her wash her menstrual rags at all."
"Don't talk nonsense like that, you'll ruin her reputation for no reason," Jing Chunxiang said, tapping Huang Xiaoli's arm.
"Who's ruining her reputation? She's always sneaking off into the woods with Sun Wenbin, who knows what they've been up to," Dong Huimin said, curling her lip. "And she was carried off by some stranger for a whole night, who knows what happened back then."
Wang Yuanyuan stood frozen by the door, her fingers slowly clenching tight.
Pregnant? Pregnant again.
She'd already gone to the hospital to get checked, and the doctor said she wasn't pregnant. But why was she still feeling nauseous, and why hadn't her period come? Could it be that it was still too early for the test to pick it up?
Everyone already suspected her now, so she definitely couldn't go back to the hospital for another check-up. If someone saw her there, even if nothing was wrong, everyone would assume the worst. But what if... what if she really was?
She took a deep breath, forcing down the rising irritation in her chest, and stepped into the room.
Dong Huimin heard the noise and immediately stopped talking. She looked up at Wang Yuanyuan and pasted a fake smile on her face.
"Hey, you're back? It's so late, where did you run off to? You're soaked all over, did you fall into the river?"
Wang Yuanyuan ignored her, walked straight over to her cabinet, pulled out a set of dry clothes, and changed into them.
Dong Huimin was left hanging, huffing a little, then turned to Huang Xiaoli. "Look at me, ever since I became the statistician I don't have to work out in the sun anymore. Don't I look so much fairer? Yang Xueqiang even said I look whiter and prettier now."
Wang Yuanyuan finished changing, dried her hair, and sat down on the kang, staring at the newspaper pasted on the wall. She touched her lips, swollen and sore from Yang Xueqiang's kisses.
Dong Huimin, you think you're so smug now? Just wait until your man is mine. I'll see how much you laugh then, she thought, lowering her eyes and twisting the corner of her clothes between her fingers. I have to move fast, can't waste a second, just to be safe.
…………
