3 Chapter 3 How can you, a young lady, stare straight at a man!_1

"I'll pull you up." Xiao Changyi finally spoke, his voice low and steady, devoid of any emotional fluctuations, yet extremely pleasing to the ear.

An Jingxin's heart stirred slightly, somewhat surprised that a farmer's voice could be so pleasant.

Immediately, fearing he might change his mind, An Jing quickly grabbed the rope and tied it around her waist.

After tying a knot in the hemp rope and making sure it wouldn't come loose halfway, she looked up and said, "Okay, pull me up."

The height was a little over two meters, and since An Jing was quite light, Xiao Changyi didn't have to use much strength to pull her up quickly.

As soon as her right foot touched the ground again, An Jing gasped in pain, "Hiss—"

"Are you hurt?" Xiao Changyi asked.

"It's nothing, it'll be fine in a few days." An Jing smiled and leaned against the tree next to her, relieving her right foot from bearing her body's weight to lessen the pain.

"Thank you, you're straightforward. Not like that Niu Er, dithering forever without rescuing people."

An Jing thanked him heartily while looking down at her foot to make sure the pain had really subsided. Only then did she look up, and abruptly, she got a clear view of Xiao Changyi's face, causing her eyes to light up instantly.

With eyebrows sharp as a sword and eyes twinkling like stars, a straight nose and thin lips, his facial features were sharply defined, all complemented by his cleanly tied hair, revealing a handsomely chiseled face.

Finding her gaze wandering down, An Jing noticed the man's attire, a short tunic outlining his broad shoulders and narrow waist, his figure tall and slender, with the perfect inverted-triangle golden ratio, neither a tael too fat nor a tael too thin—simply perfect.

Involuntarily, An Jing's eyes brightened another degree.

Faced with An Jing's blatant scrutiny, bereft of any shy reluctance a maiden might have, Xiao Changyi didn't look away, but his expression remained impassive.

An Jingxin thought to herself: This man seems a bit aloof.

All of a sudden, An Jing's hand twitched with the urge to touch and pinch Xiao Changyi's handsome face to see if he would show a different expression.

An Jing was always one for action, but before she could actually reach out to touch Xiao Changyi's face, Niu Er suddenly blocked her view, scolding her with fury: "You girl, staring so brazenly at a man—have you no shame at all!"

Niu Er was quite ordinary in looks, with a broad and burly frame that seemed a bit intimidating. An Jing felt it was a pity this bulky figure was obstructing her view, preventing her from continuing to admire Xiao Changyi's handsome face.

Slowly and deliberately, she responded: "I knew women are thought to be gossipy, but I didn't expect a man to be just as chatty."

"You—!" Niu Er's eyes bulged with anger.

After realizing his glaring was ineffective against An Jing, who remained carefree and smiling, he immediately turned to Xiao Changyi and said, "Changyi, now that we've rescued her, let's hurry on."

Xiao Changyi remained silent.

Niu Er, anxious, spoke without thinking, "What, you really want her to cling to you? She's barren; what use is there in marrying her!"

It was people like him, carelessly mentioning Lin Anjing's infertility right to her face, which made it hard for Lin Anjing to hold her head high.

But she was not Lin Anjing, to be bullied by them like this!

The look in An Jing's eyes turned sharp, and she smiled brightly again, "Why do you care so much about him—could it be that you fancy him?"

"He and I are both men; how could I fancy him!" Niu Er nearly popped his eyeballs out in disgust.

"Oh~" An Jing drew out the sound, imbued with profound implication. Tilting her head, her gaze returned to Xiao Changyi's face, and she smirked mischievously, "Hey, he doesn't fancy you."

There was a double meaning to her words.

Xiao Changyi's gaze flickered.