The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

After changing her clothes, Zhao Lin busied herself arranging accommodations for the two of them for the night.

Fortunately, the stone house had two rooms: a bedroom where she and Qi Yu lived, and a storage room filled with miscellaneous items.

After moving everything out of the room, the simple wooden bed in the corner came into view.

Lay out a warm, sun-dried quilt, then stuff another quilt on top, and you have a place where you can sleep peacefully.

"Brother, it's time to sleep."

Xu Xi walked to her brother's side, patted his shoulder, and said softly.

"Okay."

Xu Nian rubbed her eyes, closed her book, and followed Xu Xi to their bedroom.

Just as he was getting ready for bed, a pair of small hands grabbed the hem of his clothes.

"Hmph~ Brother's been running around outside all day, he smells terrible, you're not allowed in bed!"

Xu Xi took a basin of hot water and placed it beside the man's feet.

"Uh... what's this?" Xu Nian scratched her head, looking a little bewildered.

Xu Xi didn't speak, but gestured for him to sit down at the head of the bed. She then squatted down, rolled up her sleeves, reached out and held his ankle, gently placing it into the hot water basin.

The warmth of her fingertips flowed through the warm water, and Xu Nian subconsciously moved, hurriedly turning her head to the side, her ear tips secretly burning.

He felt a little embarrassed in front of the girl who had traveled a long way to find him.

The warm water washed away his fatigue from the day.

Xu Xi took out a rag and wiped the man's feet clean, leaving not a single water droplet between his toes.

After wiping his feet, she brought over a basin of hot water, wrung out a towel, gently removed his outer garment, and slowly wiped his body.

Xu Nian looked at her bent-over, busy figure, her eyes filled with heartache and guilt.

She could have stayed in the city, enjoying a life of luxury and convenience, but instead, she followed him to this remote mountain area, enduring the hardships of poverty.

"Xiaoxi, you should go back tomorrow."

He said softly.

"Is my brother going back?"

"I……"

Xu Nian thought for a moment.

"I plan to stay here for a while."

He originally thought that Qi Yu's teaching assignment was just teaching in a relatively poor rural primary school.

But after arriving here, I discovered that what he did was far more than what a teacher should do.

From the conversation, Xu Nian learned that Qi Yu, as the only cultured person in the entire village who had seen the world, not only taught the children to read and write, but was also the village's all-rounder.

From repairing water and electricity, building houses, to popularizing various kinds of knowledge among the villagers, to acting as a veterinarian for livestock, and even presiding over weddings.

Anything beyond the villagers' understanding required him and Zhao Lin to handle.

Qi Yu is now injured and a patient, making it difficult for him to move around.

As a friend, he couldn't stand idly by; he had to stay and help Qi Yu with his tasks, and also listen to his classes to improve his own cultural knowledge.

"If my brother isn't leaving, then I won't leave either."

Xu Xi smiled sweetly, her eyebrows curving into crescent moons, revealing pretty dimples on both sides of her cheeks.

"But you don't need to stay here and suffer with me."

Xu Nian smoothed her hair.

"Besides, you have so many things to do at your company, you can't just stay here forever."

"It's okay, I've taken care of everything."

Xu Xi shook her head, bent over, and scrubbed a towel in the basin: "It's good to stay in the mountains for a while and get some fresh air. It's better than breathing in smog and suffering from the heat in the city."

Xu Nian watched her retreating figure carrying the washbasin, her slender frame reflected in the dim light. Her eyes welled up slightly, something swirling within them, and in the end, she couldn't hold back, her eyes quietly moistening.

This girl can lie without batting an eye, making it impossible for anyone to tell the truth.

Meanwhile, in Yuncheng, on the top floor of the Sinian Group building, in the vice president's office.

"Vice President Wen, these are the documents for tomorrow's meeting. Please take a look."

"Vice President Wen, Director Li is urging you to review his documents as soon as possible; he says he needs them urgently."

"Vice President Wen, Mr. Cai from Cainiao Group has been waiting for you in the conference room for a long time."

Wen Yao stared at the mountain of documents piled on the table with bloodshot eyes, scratched her hair in frustration, and said impatiently, "I know, you can all leave now and give me some peace and quiet."

After dismissing all her secretaries and assistants, she took out a doll from her drawer, her eyes filled with resentment and grievance.

She gritted her teeth, picked up a silver needle, and pricked the doll again and again, muttering to herself.

"You wretched Xi Bao! I hope you never have a seasoning packet when you eat instant noodles! You never have toilet paper! And your cola goes flat on the first sip..."

......

The next day, as dawn broke, a clear rooster crowed, shattering the silence deep in the mountains.

As dawn broke, men, women, and children in the village gradually got up and went to the stream at the edge of the village to wash up.

There is no "blessing" of working 996 here, no endless overtime and cutthroat competition, only the peaceful life of working at sunrise and resting at sunset.

At the sound of roosters crowing, the men carried hoes to the fields, while the women prepared breakfast for the family at the stove.

The school, with its red flags fluttering, was also a scene of bustling activity.

"Yes, yes, just put it here, be careful."

Under Zhao Lin's direction, Xu Nian placed the water he had carried in a corner of the yard, put down the carrying pole, and rubbed his sore shoulders.

Zhao Lin used a ladle to scoop two ladles of water from the bucket, poured them into a small pot, and placed it on the wood-fired stove to heat it.

Although electricity is now available, the generator's power is limited and cannot support high-power appliances like kettles, so she still needs to use this most primitive method to boil water.

The water boiled quickly. Zhao Lin poured half a cup of hot water into the cup and added half a cup of cooled boiled water to adjust it to a warm temperature.

At this moment, Qi Yu was sitting in front of the workbench, head down, preparing the lesson he would teach the children today. His brows were slightly furrowed, and his expression was focused.

Zhao Lin tiptoed into the room and placed the warm water next to Qi Yu's arm.

"Thanks, Arlene." Qi Yu looked up and gave his capable wife a grateful look.

"How's your back?" Zhao Lin placed her hand on his back and gently massaged it.

"Much better."

Qi Yu smiled and straightened his back.

"The medicated plaster my wife applied to me is incredibly effective; one application is better than ten."

"Never serious."

Zhao Lin gave him a reproachful look, her cheeks flushing slightly.

In the backyard, Xu Xi was squatting in the vegetable garden, busy picking vegetables for breakfast.

She set her sights on a plump white radish, gripped its leaves tightly with her small hands, leaned back slightly, and tried her best to pull it out.

Perhaps she was too weak, or her posture was wrong, and she couldn't exert any force. No matter how hard she tried, the radish remained motionless, as if it were firmly embedded in the soil.

"I'll do it."

Zhao Lin, who came out of the house, saw him like this and reminded him.

"No, no need."

Xu Xi frowned slightly, her stubborn temper flaring up instantly.

Are you kidding me? I'm a Taekwondo master who can easily manipulate even a tall and strong man like my brother. How could I possibly be unable to handle this little radish?

She rolled up her sleeves, squatted down again, gripped the base of the radish tightly with both hands, gritted her teeth, her face flushed red, and with a sudden burst of strength—

"Thump!"

The radish was pulled out with a sound.

But she didn't control her strength well, and her body leaned back, landing hard on her bottom in the pit next to her.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Xu Nian, who was chopping wood in the front yard, heard the noise, quickly put down his machete, and hurried to the back yard.

Xu Xi was seen holding a large radish in her hands, sitting in the pit, struggling to get up.

Despite her efforts, her little bottom remained firmly stuck in the radish pit, unable to move.

Finally, she gave up struggling, pouted her little mouth in a wronged manner, and looked at the man.

"Waaaah... Brother, I'm stuck."

Looking at her pitiful yet funny appearance, and then at Zhao Lin beside her who was trying so hard not to laugh, Xu Nian finally couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.

"Hahahahahaha..."