Chapter 20

Xiaomai Shop owner Zhang Xuele was already keeping an eye on Zhou Ning.

When he saw Zhang Dong chatting with Zhou Ning, his face immediately changed!

He had been eyeing Zhou Ning for a long time. When Zhou Ning came in to buy something earlier, Zhang Xuele had even offered to let her have it for free, but she had refused with a wave of her hand, not even bothering to say a word.

But in the blink of an eye, Zhou Ning went to talk to Zhang Dong, and it seemed they were even whispering to each other!

"Damn it, last time it was Yang Cui, and now it's Zhou Ning. You really have a lot of luck with women, don't you?" Zhang Xuele cursed, his face turning ashen as he walked out of the shop.

He pointed at Zhang Dong from a distance and shouted, "Zhang Dong, you dare to chat up Zhou Ning? You're just a toad lusting after a swan! Do you even have the guts to pursue Zhou Ning? You should take a look at yourself in the mirror!"

Zhang Xuele's voice quickly drew the curious gazes of many villagers.

When they saw Zhang Dong and Zhou Ning standing together and heard Zhang Xuele's words, they immediately assumed that Zhang Dong had initiated the chat, and Zhou Ning had ignored him, so Zhang Xuele had stepped in to protect her.

Thinking this, many people looked at Zhang Dong with disdain.

No wonder he had to slink back to his hometown after graduating from university. It seems he only learned how to chat up women in college and didn't learn any real skills!

As for Zhang Xuele's comment about a toad lusting after a swan, no one objected.

After all, Zhou Ning had always given them the impression that she was doing well in the county town.

Compared to Zhou Ning, Zhang Dong, a poor guy, was indeed like a toad lusting after a swan.

Zhang Xuele's insults and the villagers' pointing and whispering made Zhou Ning's face change.

Before Zhang Dong could speak, Zhou Ning, full of anger, glared at Zhang Xuele with a cold face.

"Zhang Xuele, shut up! Who told you that Zhang Dong was the one who initiated the chat? I saw Zhang Dong passing by and I was the one who approached him!"

Hearing this, Zhang Xuele was immediately stunned. This was not what he had expected. Was this still the proud Zhou Ning?

At this moment, Zhou Ning continued in a cold voice, "I also want to make one thing clear: Zhang Dong never intended to pursue me, and he is not a toad! On the contrary, I am not worthy of him! Do you understand?"

She said the last sentence to the onlookers.

This statement left everyone speechless.

Many people thought they must have heard wrong.

Who was Zhou Ning?

She was the well-known proud girl in the village!

Although she wasn't the prettiest, her fashionable appearance gave her a strong sense of superiority over the plain-looking girls in the village, so people instinctively placed her on a pedestal.

But now, Zhou Ning was saying that she was not worthy of Zhang Dong!

A proud girl admitting she was not worthy of a jobless, poor guy?

This kind of scene could only happen in a melodramatic TV show, right?

But it was happening right in front of them!

Zhou Ning ignored the stunned villagers and turned to Zhang Dong, speaking softly.

"I'm sorry, Zhang Dong. It's all my fault that you've been ridiculed."

Zhang Dong smiled brightly. "It's nothing, I'm used to it! I'll be going now, bye!"

With that, Zhang Dong rode his tricycle away, leaving behind a group of stunned villagers.

Meanwhile, this incident quickly spread throughout Dongshan Village.

The proud Zhou Ning had personally admitted that she was not worthy of Zhang Dong!

This explosive news soon became the topic of conversation among the villagers.

Zhang Dong didn't take such gossip seriously. After lunch, he worked in the vegetable field as usual for the whole afternoon.

When he returned home in the evening, he saw his sister Zhang Zhaodi with red eyes, as if she had just been crying.

Zhang Dong's face changed immediately, and he asked with concern, "Sis, did you cry? What happened?"

Zhang Zhaodi shook her head, seemingly not wanting to mention it.

But under Zhang Dong's urgent questioning, she finally told him what had happened.

It turned out that while Zhang Dong was working in the vegetable field, Zhou Zheng had come to their house.

When he opened the door, Zhou Zheng loudly scolded Zhang Zhaodi for not keeping her brother in line, accusing Zhang Dong of bothering his niece Zhou Ning.

He also claimed that Zhang Dong's pursuit of Zhou Ning was like a toad lusting after a swan and warned Zhang Zhaodi to keep Zhang Dong in check, threatening that if he found Zhang Dong bothering Zhou Ning again, he would not let their family off easily!

Zhang Zhaodi knew about this incident. Although Zhang Dong hadn't revealed Zhou Ning's job, he had told her what had happened at the shop.

Feeling wronged, Zhang Zhaodi had burst into tears on the spot, crying for a while until her eyes were red.

Upon learning the whole story, Zhang Dong immediately flew into a rage and was about to go find Zhou Zheng to settle the score.

He hadn't taken Zhou Zheng's insults or warnings seriously before.

It was okay to bully him, but bullying his sister Zhang Zhaodi was a different matter!

Seeing Zhang Dong charging out like an angry bull, Zhang Zhaodi quickly hugged him.

"Winter, don't go. Zhou Zheng is an elder, and it's nothing to be scolded by him. But if you go and cause trouble with Zhou Zheng, things will get out of hand, and our family won't have a peaceful life afterward!"

Zhou Zheng was a small supervisor at a nearby factory, and his family was one of the best-off in the village, which was why he could raise a highly educated village beauty like Zhou Ning.

Moreover, the Zhou family was large and influential. If they really had a conflict with Zhou Zheng, Zhang Dong and his sister's situation in the village would be very difficult.

Zhang Zhaodi's words brought Zhang Dong back to his senses, and he said coldly.

"Sis, don't worry, I won't go after him. But this is the last time! If he dares to say anything to hurt you again, I won't let him off!"

Hearing this, Zhang Zhaodi finally breathed a sigh of relief. But at that moment, she suddenly realized that their position was a bit awkward.

She had instinctively blocked Zhang Dong's way and hugged him to stop him from going out.

Now, the two of them were pressed together, with her brother tall and strong, and herself petite and delicate, looking like a couple!

Zhang Zhaodi's face turned red, and she quickly let go of Zhang Dong.

"I'll go cook dinner. You go back to the room and watch TV!"

With that, Zhang Zhaodi ran into the kitchen.

Zhang Dong was still angry and didn't notice his sister's unusual behavior. He just glared in the direction of Zhou Zheng's house.

At dinnertime, Zhang Dong was still fuming. The sky seemed to sense his mood and suddenly turned overcast.

The neighbors were all saying that the weather looked like it was going to bring a heavy rain.

Sure enough, just after dinner, it started pouring heavily.

By around ten o'clock at night, the rain was still pouring, and it seemed to be getting heavier.

Before going to bed, Zhang Dong lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, his anger still simmering.

Suddenly, he felt the house trembling slightly, and a terrifying thought flashed through his mind.

"Damn! The rain is too heavy, the house is going to collapse!" Zhang Dong jumped out of bed.

Their house was an old-style mud house that had been around for many years, and the inside was already rotten.

With the heavy rain, the house was about to give way!

Zhang Dong rushed out of the house, shouting as he ran into his sister's room.

Zhang Zhaodi had just fallen asleep. Hearing Zhang Dong's shouts, she opened her eyes and, before she could react, felt the house trembling.