The location of Osmanthus Village is within several large mountains, and because of the traffic congestion, the village remains in poverty.
In the sweltering summer season, by not even seven in the evening, it's already pitch-black inside the mountains. A dark figure appears at the entrance to Osmanthus Village.
"Osmanthus Village, I've finally returned!" Looking at the dimly lit village, Xia Liu smiled with delight. Having left home for five years, he had finally returned today.
Moving with a familiarity that didn't disturb any of the villagers, he walked back to his family's front door with somewhat heavy steps.
Standing at the doorway, Xia Liu tightened his grip on his backpack, puzzled. The courtyard was supposed to be empty apart from himself; why was there light shining from inside the house?
"Damn it, I've only been away for five years, and someone has trespassed into my home. I have to see who is this bold!"
Filled with anger, Xia Liu kicked the courtyard door open and charged in.
However, once he had steadied himself, the scene before his eyes left him frozen in place.
Because in the corner not five meters away, a curvaceous figure was in the midst of washing off the foam on her body with a wooden scoop.
Zhang Xiaoxue, seeing Xia Liu suddenly barge in, was also stunned. After a moment of shock, her mouth opened wide as she attempted to scream for help.
But Xia Liu couldn't possibly give her that chance. If any villagers came in and saw him in this situation, his reputation would be lost to the Yellow River. Therefore, in the blink of an eye, he covered Zhang Xiaoxue's mouth.
"Shush! If you dare make a sound, I'll block your mouth, of course with this." Saying so, Xia Liu pointed to his own mouth, a move that never failed to intimidate women.
Zhang Xiaoxue's watery eyes immediately turned red, but she nodded nonetheless.
"Ah! Help—mmph..."
Xia Liu, seeing that the girl had sense, who knew that as soon as he released his hand, Zhang Xiaoxue would start shouting. He had to cover her mouth once more.
"You disobedient woman, still want to shout, do you? If you scream again, I might just beast out!" Xia Liu threatened fiercely, then pulled a small cloth from the pole to wrap Zhang Xiaoxue up.
Although he was quite taken with that Zhang Xiaoxue, he had his principles. He could still control himself in such situations.
Zhang Xiaoxue hadn't expected this thief to be so considerate. Although she had been seen completely, she didn't feel shy, but was more fearful instead.
After seeing that Zhang Xiaoxue had calmed down a bit, Xia Liu let her go. The following question nearly made him want to strip her bare: "Who are you, and why are you in my house?"
"Your house? I've only been gone five years and you dare to seize my home. If you don't give me a reason, you're dead tonight."
"What! You, you are... Xia Liu?" Zhang Xiaoxue suddenly came to her senses. Having lived here for two years, she subconsciously thought of it as her own. Realizing the original owner was back, she was surprised.
"That's right, let's move inside to talk."
Once back inside, Xia Liu sized up Zhang Xiaoxue; her blushing face, not to mention everything else he had seen.
All things considered, this woman was definitely beautiful. Among the women he had encountered, she would at least rank in the top ten.
Zhang Xiaoxue was also sizing up Xia Liu on the side. After more than five years, Xia Liu stood at an impressive height of one hundred and eighty centimeters, with distinct facial features and a lean body. Apart from his somewhat worn clothing, he seemed to pass for a handsome man.
"Speak, why are you in my house?"
As for the woman who had invaded his home, Xia Liu wasn't in a romantic mood, he just wanted an explanation.
If things got extreme, he wouldn't mind going to extremes as well. Most importantly, he seemed to have never seen this woman before and didn't know where she came from.
"Brother Xia Liu, don't you remember me? Back when we were in school, we were only two grades apart."
"You're Zhang Xiaoxue?" Xia Liu suddenly realized. They say a girl changes drastically as she grows, but this was an exaggerated transformation.
This girl could be a goddess even in the city, yet here she was in the deep mountains, astonishingly beautiful.
Zhang Xiaoxue nodded, and then fell silent. With the homeowner back, what more could she say?
"If I remember correctly, your dad was the village head, and he was in construction in the town. Your family even built a brick house; how come you ended up living in this stone house?"
"I..." When Xia Liu asked this, Zhang Xiaoxue lowered her head, her emotions fluctuating, and she even started to choke up.
"What happened?" Xia Liu sensed something was wrong and hurriedly asked.
"It's like this. Three years ago, because of the issues with Shanyan Village, my dad passed away, and then my uncle seized our house. I had nowhere to go, so I came here..." Zhang Xiaoxue hesitated for a moment before she told Xia Liu everything in detail.
Bang!
The fist tightened and slammed down on the wooden table. After hearing Zhang Xiaoxue's story, Xia Liu grew angry, "Bastard, how dare Li Hao do that! And Zhang Tie, to think he's that kind of person!"
Zhang Tie was the uncle who had seized Zhang Xiaoxue's house.
As for the death of Zhang Xiaoxue's father, Xia Liu was also somewhat moved.
Osmanthus Village and Shanyan Village had enmity from the past, and Xia Liu hadn't expected that three years ago, the son of the Shanyan Village head, Li Hao, had wanted to marry Zhang Xiaoxue.
Because Osmanthus Village was deep in the mountains, one had to pass through Shanyan Village to get to the town.
After being rejected, Li Hao actually restricted all the villagers of Osmanthus Village from going to town. Zhang Xiaoxue's father, the village head, went to argue and came back alive, only to be literally fumed to death...
After Zhang Xiaoxue's father passed away, she was in her first year of university, just nineteen years old. She was ultimately forced to come back, as her mother had gone out to work long ago and had never returned.
From then on, Zhang Xiaoxue took up the family's mantle to fulfill her father's last wish.
She gave up her studies, determined to lead Osmanthus Village on the road to wealth.
Then to harshly strike back at Shanyan Village and clear her father's name, even to say take revenge.
But in the first year, her house was seized by her uncle, leaving her homeless and eventually moving into Xia Liu's house.
Because of the incident that happened at Xia Liu's house five years ago, it had become known as the cursed place of the village.
So her enthusiasm and fighting spirit were slowly forgotten by the villagers, leaving only cold sarcasm and ridicule.
"Xiaoxue, don't worry, brother is back now. Your issues are my issues, just like when we were studying, with me around, no one can bully you!"
After calming his emotions and noticing Zhang Xiaoxue was somewhat absent-minded, recalling such events.
Xia Liu didn't want to see her like this and immediately made promises.
"Brother Xia Liu, don't be impulsive. Let the house issue be; I just want to fulfill my father's last wish and lead Osmanthus Village towards well-being."
Zhang Xiaoxue knew Xia Liu was an impulsive person. When she was in first grade, she got bullied by a school thug.
When Xia Liu found out, he took on ten of the bully's friends alone, and the outcome was naturally coming home to apply medicine.
"Of course I won't be impulsive, rest assured, no matter what, I will complete it with you."
Xia Liu smiled faintly, his affirmative words enigmatic.
"Right, Xiaoxue, don't just bathe outside anywhere. Isn't there a place for bathing? You're at a disadvantage like this."
Remembering what he had just seen, Xia Liu swallowed and said.
"I know, but there are no lights there, and I'm scared..."
Xia Liu brought up the matter again, and Zhang Xiaoxue felt even more embarrassed and bashful.
"Err, I'll wait outside for you, go take your shower."
Saying that, Xia Liu went out first, filled a bucket with water to the brim, carried it to an outdoor bathing room in the courtyard...