The fatty hadn't anticipated that the show would start so quickly. In the few hours Ye Tiancheng was unconscious in the office, Liu Lanying suddenly understood. She had always felt that Ye Tiancheng appreciated her greatly, that he was her discoverer, sometimes like a brother, sometimes like a guide, someone very important to Liu Lanying. Now, seeing Ye Tiancheng facing a life-threatening danger, Liu Lanying suddenly realized that her feelings for him had unknowingly blossomed into love.
That sense of dependence had become particularly severe. Liu Lanying even felt that spending her life with Ye Tiancheng was the best option. The simplest way to spend one's life with a man was to marry him. Everything else seemed so false, so impractical. Marriage was the only best way.
"How long have I slept?"
After waiting for several hours, Ye Tiancheng finally woke up in the evening. Although he was awake, he appeared very tired. His state was obviously not right, making people feel very worried.
"You've slept for several hours. Don't worry, those pigs are no longer rampaging, and everything has returned to normal. We've taken stock, and the losses are about fifteen percent, which is still within our control. We'll be fine for now. Brother Ye, why don't you rest a bit longer?"
"It's nothing. I'll go and check on those pigs again. I was the one who insisted you start raising pigs, so I also have a responsibility. I can't just turn a blind eye. Don't worry, I will definitely help you resolve this. The first thing you must do as village head is this. You cannot fail, or people will talk you to death."
This was Ye Tiancheng's thinking, which was why he wanted to protect Liu Lanying so desperately. Otherwise, those who were restless would start saying that Liu Lanying was too young, that a university student couldn't possibly be a village head, and she would lose her job.
Bad people were truly everywhere. If one wanted to protect oneself, one had to be strong enough. Even the slightest mistake would lead to failure in the end.
"Brother Ye, please don't go. I beg you. Your physical condition doesn't allow it right now. I think you should focus on recovering your health first. Nothing else is important. I don't want to see you get hurt."
Liu Lanying could no longer care about anything else. As long as Ye Tiancheng was safe, that was all that mattered. Now that Ye Tiancheng was facing such great danger, how could Liu Lanying bear to see him take risks for her? Such behavior was utterly inappropriate.
"It's fine. I just need to rest for a bit. You know me, I'm sometimes strong and sometimes not. This is all normal. Don't worry, I will become very strong in the future. I won't be as afraid as before because you are all by my side. So I want to become better, to become even stronger."
Ye Tiancheng supported himself to stand up, but after only a few steps, he swayed and couldn't stand steadily. He barely managed to lean against the wall to steady himself. He felt another wave of dizziness and almost fell directly to the ground. He was extremely weak.
"Alright, Brother Ye, I beg you, please don't get hurt for me anymore. I really can't bear to see you like this."
Perhaps, collapse could happen in an instant. Seeing Ye Tiancheng force himself to stand for her, tears finally flowed uncontrollably. At the same time, Liu Lanying hugged Ye Tiancheng from behind.
"Brother Ye, I want to be your girlfriend. I want to take care of you, not just now, but for my entire life. Can I?"
Finally, she had spoken her heart. Liu Lanying had always been timid. She never thought that one day she would run to confess to someone. It was truly bold.
"What did you say?"
"Brother Ye, I really like you. I know I'm not good enough for you. You are so capable and learned, while I am nothing. I feel so inferior in front of you. But can you consider it? I truly want to be with you. I truly want to be your girlfriend. I can tidy up your house and cook for you, no matter what. I just have a simple wish: to be with you."
Liu Lanying was a little agitated. After all, confessing to a man was an extremely thrilling thing. It might succeed, or it might not succeed at all. The more she thought about it, the more afraid Liu Lanying became.
"You must be mistaken. I don't have that kind of feeling for you. I hope you don't misunderstand. There are other possibilities between us. There's no need to make everyone so miserable."
Ye Tiancheng was also quite surprised. To be honest, he hadn't known Liu Lanying for very long, nor had he felt much affection or other feelings from her. Suddenly, she confessed to him. Anyone would find it quite startling.
"What's wrong? Do you have someone else in your heart, Brother Ye? Is it that Hou Mingzhu or Miss Su? Or Brother Ye, do you think there's anything I need to change? I will definitely improve myself. I believe I am a good wife, and I have absolute purity. I will never do anything to betray you, not in the past, and not in the future."
It was unimaginable that Liu Lanying, such a proud person, would become so humble in front of Ye Tiancheng. Ye Tiancheng even felt quite embarrassed to reject her.
"Do you think I'm very humble? It's because I like you, Brother Ye. I've never liked anyone like this before. I've always believed that if something is worth pursuing, I should go for it immediately. I certainly don't want to leave any regrets."
Liu Lanying's words were very sincere, but Ye Tiancheng couldn't empathize. Perhaps in this life, although there were many unpleasant things, in terms of relationships, Ye Tiancheng had never experienced unrequited love. The people he liked before also had feelings for Ye Tiancheng and would never reject him outright, leaving him in an awkward position, with his sincere heart nowhere to be released.
"Liu Lanying, please don't be like this. You're putting too much pressure on me. I simply want to be good partners with you. There was someone before who, after developing feelings, I couldn't continue to cooperate with. I don't want our relationship to become this awkward. So I hope your words will vanish with the wind. I haven't taken them to heart, and you shouldn't either."
Ye Tiancheng was eager to distance himself from her. Currently, the only people he could rely on were Xiao Pang and Liu Lanying. If this relationship also changed in quality, how desperate would Ye Tiancheng be? He wouldn't know how to interact with Liu Lanying in the future.
The last person who gave Ye Tiancheng such an awkward feeling was Fang Ruyun, and now there was Liu Lanying. Ye Tiancheng truly didn't know what charm he possessed that made these women fall madly in love with him upon meeting him.
"How about this, calm down. I've already made my stance clear. I hope you don't overthink it. I just want to cooperate with you well. I don't want you to be so tired in the future."
Ye Tiancheng spoke very clearly, intending to prevent Liu Lanying from overthinking. This girl wasn't very old, and her romantic life was likely a blank slate, which might lead to some misunderstandings. These were not important; Ye Tiancheng could understand and didn't consider it a big deal. As long as it was clarified, it would be fine.
"Alright, I know feelings can't be forced. If Brother Ye doesn't like me, then I guess everything I do will be wrong. I don't want to get myself into trouble anymore. Let's leave it at that. Everything will end, including this one-sided unrequited love."
Ye Tiancheng's indifferent attitude deeply hurt Liu Lanying. If love wasn't mutual, it was utterly useless. Therefore, it was best for them to like each other. Girls in relationships needed to know what it meant to be cherished, not just to give endlessly and end up with nothing but sadness and heartache.
"Anyway, don't be sad. I don't know how to comfort people. I believe everything will pass. You don't need to like a scumbag like me. I'm really not sensitive to women's feelings."
Ye Tiancheng almost fled in disarray. He had even forgotten to check on those poor mad pigs. He ran back home as if escaping, completely forgetting how weak he was, in a state of shock and self-forgetfulness, feeling completely dazed.
"Brother Ye, what's wrong? Did you do something wrong? Why do you look so disheveled? You must have done something wrong, otherwise, you wouldn't be like this."
Xiao Pang knew Ye Tiancheng too well. Seeing Ye Tiancheng's abnormal behavior, he instantly understood what was happening. He also thought that Ye Tiancheng must have encountered something, otherwise, he wouldn't be so flustered and obviously problematic.
"Do you know? That newly appointed female university student village official, she's quite pretty and has a good figure. How could she like me? I really want to know what my advantages are. Is it just because my face is a little better looking? I find it very strange. Have those women been possessed? Or are Nuwa Stone, the Great Green Snake, or Little Stone helping me from behind, giving me such good luck with women?"
Ye Tiancheng truly had no confidence in himself. No matter what, he couldn't explain why women seemed to be so fond of him. However, Ye Tiancheng didn't have such significant advantages in terms of wealth or appearance. This was a very terrifying point.
"Brother Ye, actually, I've analyzed it too. I'm very envious of you. Your appearance is actually quite attractive to women, without any aggression. And another thing, I think the most important point is, Brother Ye, you are very down-to-earth. You give women the feeling that you will live a good life, which is why those women are flocking to you."
Hearing Xiao Pang say this, Ye Tiancheng finally understood. No wonder he was always involved in scandals; it was because his rustic charm was at play.
"Actually, you don't need to be so indirect. Just say it directly. Do you also think I'm quite rustic!"
Xiao Pang quickly waved his hands. "How could I? Brother Ye, I respect you very much. Of course, I don't think you're rustic. I think you look very elegant and stylish. In short, you're incredibly good, not rustic at all."
Being called like a farmer, being told his demeanor was not good, Ye Tiancheng had heard it so often his ears had calloused. Now that Xiao Pang was going against the tide of those people, Ye Tiancheng could only interpret it as the minority obeying the majority. The others' opinions were more reasonable.
"Alright, whatever. There are too many troubles now. I'm really tired of all this romantic nonsense. I believe Liu Lanying, being such a smart person, will also understand. There's no need to make everyone unhappy. This is purely asking for trouble."