Xia Xiaolan decided to explain.

Zhou Cheng had already said he had no fiancée or past love, so shouldn’t Xia Xiaolan explain her situation?

“I had nothing to do with Zhang Er’lai. He harassed me before but was chased away by Wang Jianhua, who was a sent-down youth in Dahe Village. Then I started interacting with Wang Jianhua, and gradually we developed feelings for each other. But before we officially started dating, he became my cousin’s husband… You know what happened after that – family insults and pressure, baseless rumors spreading through the village, so I cut ties with the Xia family.”

Xia Xiaolan didn’t want to talk about this!

She admitted having past romantic experiences, but those were from her previous life.

In this life, she woke up with memories of interactions with Wang Jianhua, which made her uncomfortable. Fortunately, they hadn’t done anything improper, otherwise Xia Xiaolan would have had to hypnotize herself into believing she’d been bitten by a dog.

But in others’ eyes, these were things she had done. How could she tell others about switching souls in the same body?

Zhou Cheng wasn’t mentally prepared for Xia Xiaolan to suddenly bring up past events.

Hearing that Xia Xiaolan once had “feelings” for Wang Jianhua, Zhou Cheng’s heart felt like it had been hammered. Zhou Cheng wasn’t a god, he was just an ordinary person. Before he thought it didn’t matter if Xia Xiaolan had been with others, even if she had been married with children, that didn’t stop him from liking her – but as his feelings grew deeper, love’s exclusivity and possessiveness emerged. Hearing Xia Xiaolan talk about another man made him jealous.

What kind of feelings?

Had they held hands?

Had he held her waist?

With a brewing storm in his eyes, Zhou Cheng asked hoarsely:

“Then, do you still have feelings for him now?”

Xia Xiaolan gave him a strange look. “No, now I just hope he and Xia Ziyu have bad luck. Breaking up isn’t rare in dating, but Wang Jianhua broke up so dishonorably. Now I can’t hate him enough.”

Wang Jianhua didn’t even match her aesthetic tastes!

If she had woken up already married to Wang Jianhua, she might have reluctantly accepted it – marriage was a responsibility, she couldn’t just randomly dump the original body’s husband, right? But if they weren’t married, Xia Xiaolan would likely have chosen to break up quite happily.

Dating was free – when two people haven’t entered marriage, there’s no need to maintain a contractual spirit. Divorce needed both parties’ agreement, but breaking up only needed one party to feel it wasn’t suitable. Xia Xiaolan was certain she didn’t like men like Wang Jianhua – regardless of when she never fancied men who lived off women.

Across two lives, only Zhou Cheng had made her heart flutter like a young girl’s.

She looked at him with watery eyes, thinking he was so strange – wasn’t her liking for Zhou Cheng obvious enough?

If she didn’t like him, she wouldn’t have broken her principle of not dating right now.

If she didn’t like him, why would she send things to Zhou Cheng?

If she didn’t like him, why would she send sheep to Zhou Cheng’s workplace – it’s not like she had money to waste!

Xia Xiaolan didn’t continue explaining with oaths and vows. Under her gaze, Zhou Cheng’s irritation disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Heh, if not for that blind fool Wang Jianhua, he wouldn’t have had the chance to be with his wife.

How could Wang Jianhua compete with him? A small-minded person who changed with the wind, surely seeing Xiaolan’s cousin get into university made him switch to dating Xia Ziyu. Picking up sesame seeds but dropping watermelons – thinking of Wang Jianhua’s future regret gave Zhou Cheng a sense of satisfaction.

Small towns didn’t have many choices – Wang Jianhua must have persistently pursued his wife, but after meeting him, his wife’s poor eyesight was cured without medicine!

Zhou Cheng held Xia Xiaolan’s waist:

“Anyway, you’re mine now, and you’ll be mine in the future.”

Xia Xiaolan thought he was even more foolish than the two dogs in the yard, so foolish that she couldn’t help but comfort and agree:

“Yes, yes, yes, I’m yours.”

Ah, before dating she just thought he was thick-skinned, but after dating she discovered Zhou Cheng was clingy. How did this clingy person become a cadre? Surely he wasn’t promoted for being cute? Xia Xiaolan knew Zhou Cheng showed a different face to others, and she was quite happy – he only acted clingy when they were intimate.

Xia Xiaolan felt Zhou Cheng holding her tighter.

There was no one at home now, Li Dongliang and Ge Jian weren’t around either, though the two big dogs were watching. Then, Grandmother Yu hadn’t returned from street sweeping, and Liu Fen was watching the shop, so Zhou Cheng became a bit unrestrained. Embracing in the courtyard in broad daylight wasn’t much, and she had noticed Zhou Cheng’s unhappiness earlier, so she was just comforting him… but how did the atmosphere start to change while comforting him?

A hug was fine, but Zhou Cheng was using too much force.

For a young man in his prime, not reacting while holding the girl he liked would mean Zhou Cheng should secretly see a male doctor.

The trouble was, that Xiaolan was also a young person in their prime… she had noticed Zhou Cheng’s unusual state, but Xia Xiaolan had more theory than experience – she didn’t know what to do in this situation!

If this were 2017, with them being boyfriend and girlfriend, something happening would be completely natural.

But this was 1984!

Zhou Cheng had urged marriage last time, and they hadn’t resolved this difference. If she couldn’t control herself and did something beastly with Zhou Cheng, how could she still shamelessly say she wanted to take things slow with him?

“Zhou Cheng, I- we…”

“Don’t speak, I know, I just want to hold you.”

Xia Xiaolan didn’t dare move. Zhou Cheng’s voice was hoarse – he was also struggling against impure thoughts. When Xia Xiaolan spoke in that voice, it almost made him lose control. Could he blame Xia Xiaolan? That coquettish voice was heaven-sent – Zhou Cheng usually loved it to death, but now he couldn’t blame that voice for destroying his willpower.

Zhou Cheng held Xia Xiaolan for a full ten minutes or so before his rapid breathing gradually steadied.

Both were unusually awkward.

Even thick-skinned Zhou Cheng felt awkward – he was afraid of frightening Xia Xiaolan. Xia Xiaolan wondered if she should pretend to be frightened. Even as a theoretical veteran, her ears were burning – surely Zhou Cheng’s hormones were to blame. Fortunately, Liu Fen returned at this moment, so Xia Xiaolan didn’t have to struggle with the dilemma.

“Xiaolan, how did things go?”

Liu Fen had been doing business anxiously. She had wanted to go, but Xia Xiaolan said if she went, they would think it was marriage negotiations, so she had Liu Fen stay behind.

Zhou Cheng felt a bit guilty facing his future mother-in-law – he had just been hugging and holding her daughter, and he had to maintain a proper attitude in front of elders. No one taught Zhou Cheng these things, but if he wanted to marry Xia Xiaolan, he had to figure them out himself.

Xia Xiaolan also felt guilty – it was just a two-minute difference before her mother returned. If she had seen it, Liu Fen’s old-fashioned thinking would have been scared to death.

“Everything’s resolved. I just cleared things up in front of the Fan family, and Fan Zhenchuan seems to have committed some error and was taken away. I don’t think he has time to think about getting married anymore!”