Chapter 22: Yaoyao, I like you, I like you so very much.

The crowd looked at Mu Xingjue and Su Yao, who were holding hands without any intention of hiding their relationship from the others.

"You... how could you? Didn't you get drugged..." Yang Hui clutched her mouth, realizing what she had just blurted out.

Jiang Guo, having dressed himself, no longer had any intention of marrying Su Yao after the beating she gave him. After all, he couldn't win in a fight against her; if he really brought her home, it wasn't certain who would be the one doing the beating. Seeing Yang Hui standing nearby, disheveled and wailing, he took advantage of the situation and slept with her. Since she was the one who had instigated him to provoke Su, and now that he hadn't managed to marry Su and had been beaten up for his trouble, it was only natural to seek compensation from Yang. He had originally taken a liking to her anyway, and since he had already slept with her, marrying her wouldn't be a bad idea—as long as there was a woman to keep his bed warm.

Wu Hongtao spoke up, "The two of you, explain what is going on."

Yang Hui naturally did not want to marry Jiang Guo. "Team Leader, it was Jiang Guo! He is shameless; he forced himself on me! I want to call the police!"

Hearing that Yang Hui wanted to call the police, Wu Hongtao frowned. While he didn't care much for the honor of being an "Advanced Production Brigade," if the police were actually involved, the brigade's reputation would certainly suffer. Moreover, the educated youth office would surely demand an explanation. After all, these youths had come to support the nation's construction, and if one were ruined by a local, his position as team leader might not be secure.

Before Wu Hongtao could respond, Jiang Guo’s dismissive voice came through: "Go ahead and call the police. Try it. Do you want me to tell everyone what you did?"

"I..." Yang Hui’s eyes flickered. She looked at Mu Xingjue, who was holding Su Yao’s hand, her eyes filled with hatred. Why? She had clearly put the drug in his canteen. Why was he fine, while she was the one who fell victim to it? She had clearly been waiting for him by the haystacks at the irrigation canal. Why had she ended up here with Jiang Guo? Could it be that he had brought her here himself? Mu Xingjue, what a cruel heart he had—even if he didn't like her, he shouldn't have sabotaged her like this.

Seeing that Yang Hui remained silent, Jiang Guo pulled her into his arms. "Team Leader, and everyone else, Yang and I are in a relationship. We’ve dated in the back hills before; those who go there often must have seen us. Today was just a moment of passion. We’ll invite everyone for a drink in a couple of days."

"You..." Yang Hui cursed Jiang Guo's shamelessness inwardly, but dared not contradict him. After all, the drug she had used on Mu had come from him; if the police were involved, she wouldn't come out unscathed either.

"Son, are you mistaken about who your partner is? Isn't your partner Su..."

"Mother, I’m not mistaken. It’s Yang. You know I like her, so stop talking nonsense." Jiang Guo interrupted Li Zhaodi, terrified that Su Yao might beat him again.

After saying this, Jiang Guo dragged Li Zhaodi home, fearing his mother might say something else that would provoke Su Yao into beating her, too. Jiang Guo might be a rogue, but he was still quite protective of his mother.

With the drama between Yang Hui and Jiang Guo over, everyone turned their attention to Mu Xingjue and Su Yao.

Wu Hongtao asked, "When did you two start seeing each other? There hasn't been a whisper of this."

"Exactly! If we hadn't bumped into you today, we wouldn't have known until the wedding."

Su Yao was completely bewildered. When did she become Mu Xingjue's partner? How come she didn't know?

"Su and I only just confirmed our relationship recently. We will invite everyone for a drink when we marry. It’s getting late, everyone should head back," Mu Xingjue said.

Having worked all day, everyone was indeed tired, and some hadn't even had dinner, so they slowly dispersed.

Once everyone had left, Mu Xingjue leaned weakly against Su Yao. "Hey, what’s wrong with you?"

"Yang Hui drugged my canteen while I wasn't looking. After one sip, I felt something was off, so I swapped the bottles back when she wasn't looking. She was the only one who went there this afternoon," Mu Xingjue said as he leaned into Su Yao, rubbing his head against her shoulder and neck.

Su Yao held him, trying to push him away but unable to. "We're outside. Get a grip."

"Su, Su Yao, Yaoyao, I want to kiss you." With that, he cupped her face and kissed her.

Su Yao held him to keep him from falling, forced to endure his chaotic, messy kisses. She felt completely overwhelmed. When he finally had enough, she gasped, "We're outside. Let's go back first."

Returning home, they found the kitchen lights out, and the lights in Ye Simin and Xu Xingyu's rooms were also extinguished. What was going on with those two? Su Yao took Mu Xingjue to his door, pushed it, and found it locked from the inside. She then checked Xu Xingyu's door, which was also locked. The other side of the kitchen was Ye Simin’s room. Ye Simin liked Xu Xingyu, so she couldn't just send him there. Resigned, she brought him into her own room.

Forget it. Everyone already knew they were a couple; she might as well be thick-skinned about it.

As soon as Su Yao brought him inside and locked the door, she was enveloped by his hot body and pulled into a kiss. From forced acceptance, she slowly began to respond. Receiving her response, Mu Xingjue seemed like a fuse had been lit; he swept Su Yao up and carried her to the bed.

They kissed fervently, eventually baring themselves to one another. "Yaoyao, I like you. I like you so, so much."

It was the first time for both of them. Combined with the effects of the drug and his youthful vigor, they didn't finish until the middle of the night. By then, Su Yao was exhausted and had passed out, while Mu Xingjue was unusually clear-headed. After cleaning her up, he watched her for a long while before pulling her into his arms and falling asleep.

The next morning, the first thing Su Yao saw when she opened her eyes was his handsome face. She truly hadn't expected their relationship to develop this fast. *Sigh, when a man is this handsome, sometimes you really can't help yourself.*

As she moved to get up, she realized they were both completely naked. Her face flushed red, especially when she saw the hickeys covering her body. Thinking of the previous night, her body felt feverish.

As soon as Su Yao moved, Mu Xingjue woke up. Seeing her try to get up, he pulled her back into his arms, his hands wandering restlessly. "Let's sleep a little longer. No rush."

"I have to get up and make breakfast," she said, swatting his hand away.

"They left a long time ago."

Su Yao checked her watch; it was already past eight. "Are we not going to work today?"

"No. We don't have enough work points for the year-end grain distribution anyway, so we'll just pay for it. Besides, one day won't matter." He flipped over and began moving again.

It wasn't until after three in the afternoon that Su Yao finally woke up. Looking at the man grinning at her, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. A man who had just had his first taste of such things was truly terrifying.

After getting up, Su Yao pulled the weeds in the courtyard. She had meant to plant vegetables but never got around to it; it wasn't too late to start now. Mu Xingjue went back to his room to write a letter home, then borrowed Su Yao’s bicycle to go to the post office. Since they were together now, he couldn't let her feel neglected.