To ease her daughter’s mood, Chuntao’s mother frequently chatted with her, sharing all the big and small news from the village, mostly discussing family gossip.

Li Chuntao had grown accustomed to her mother’s approach these days. She knew her mother meant well, so she continued listening and asked, "What’s going on?"

Chuntao’s mother continued, "Daughter, do you know Deng Zhaodi from our village? She’s about your age, living at the west end of the village."

"Yes, I know her. What’s up with her?" Li Chuntao asked puzzledly. That girl usually seemed quite honest; what could happen to her?

"Well, she became quite famous in the village today. Many people are gossiping about her, saying that today she and the Zhao family’s boy came out of the woods one after the other and were spotted. Everyone’s saying something might be going on between them."

Upon hearing this, Li Chuntao was shocked. Just coming out one after the other means something’s up?

Then just a few days ago, she saw Yang Xiaocui and a man coming out one after the other from the mountain!

Could there be a problem between them too?

Thinking about this, Li Chuntao shook her head. How could that be possible?

Yang Xiaocui had found such a good match in Yang Dong; she’d be too happy about it to get involved with someone else.

She clearly saw the man, and he didn’t look that good. His dress was shabby and he wasn’t good-looking; Yang Xiaocui couldn’t possibly choose him over someone like Yang Dong with such great prospects.

Li Chuntao said, trying hard to convince herself it was a misunderstanding, "Mom, it must be a misunderstanding, right?"

"Misunderstanding? They both admitted it, couldn’t hide it anymore, now both families are discussing marriage arrangements."

Hearing this, Li Chuntao was wide-eyed, could something like this really happen?

"Dear daughter, a woman’s reputation is very important. You must pay attention in the future, never be alone with a man, make sure there are others around. Otherwise, even if there’s nothing, people might say there is something, which can’t be easily explained."

Chuntao’s mother started advising her daughter, urging her to be very careful.

But Li Chuntao wasn’t listening to her mother anymore; she kept thinking about this matter, wondering why Yang Xiaocui and that man came out one after the other from the mountain, why Yang Xiaocui seemed to pass by in a hurry without noticing her, and about the man’s sinister smile when he looked at Yang Xiaocui.

Could it be that the two really have something going on?

If this were true, wouldn’t Yang Dong be heartbroken? 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

No, she must confirm the relationship between Yang Xiaocui and that man.

Seeing her daughter speechless, Chuntao’s mother continued, "You must pay attention to what mom tells you. You can fancy whoever you like, mom will support you, but never do anything outrageous like Deng Zhaodi, understand?"

Being shaken by her mother, Li Chuntao came back to her senses and quickly responded, "I understand, mom, don’t worry, I won’t do such things."

Chuntao’s mother nodded, thinking her daughter was sensible indeed, especially since she’d already decided to give up on Yang Dong and wasn’t interested in others anytime soon. This reassured her greatly. But just as she felt assured, she heard her daughter say, "Mom, I still want to go to Yang’s village."