Faced with such overwhelming beauty, it was simply impossible to resist.

There were three young female comrades sitting on the oxcart, chatting and laughing cheerfully.

At some point in their conversation, the petite girl among them stood up with a flushed face and protested, "Hmph! Little Bean, I am not talking to you anymore! You actually teamed up with Sister Damei to tease me!"

Just as her voice trailed off, the tall woman on the oxcart stood up, put her hands on her hips, and laughed, "Ha! Who told you to make fun of me first!"

Little Bean?

Zhou Qinglang's gaze paused, fixing on the person who had just spoken.

The girl's appearance was hardly something that could be described as beautiful. Her face was square with a wide chin. Though her eyes were quite large, her skin was dark with coarse pores, giving her an overall rugged look.

Following Zhou Qinglang's line of sight, Xiao Kaile's mouth twitched. "Boss... Is that female comrade really Lin Xiaodou?"

"Mm." Zhou Qinglang's voice was gentle. "It should be her. I've heard someone call her that before."

"Pfft!" Xiao Kaile almost spat out a mouthful of water.

Goodness gracious, talk about a surprise!

Although he had mentally prepared himself, expecting that the girl Lin Xiaodou might not be exceptionally pretty, he never imagined she would be *this* unattractive.

Standing next to the boss with such looks—it was simply a disaster!

Xiao Kaile couldn't help but sneak a sidelong glance at Zhou Qinglang.

This guy was putting up a remarkably calm front. If it were him, he probably would have wanted to run for the hills on the spot.

While he was let his mind wander, Zhou Qinglang suddenly stood up and walked toward the oxcart.

Xiao Kaile hurriedly followed. "Hey, hey, Boss, where are you going?"

Zhou Qinglang's expression remained calm and unruffled. "I'm going to go say hello to her."

Xiao Kaile slapped a hand to his forehead, desperately wanting to pull him back, but managed to restrain himself.

Fine. Even if the boss didn't harbor any romantic intentions toward her, being friends seemed harmless enough.

By this time, the people on the oxcart had all gotten down.

Zhu Damei walked in front, with Batu trailing closely beside her, wearing a flattering smile. Lin Xiaodou and Liu Yan'er followed right behind them.

As they were walking forward, two tall and handsome figures suddenly stepped out from the side.

The leading man had a face as flawless as jade, with sword-like brows and starry eyes. His smiling eyes shone like stars, making anyone who looked at him instantly captivated.

He spoke softly to Zhu Damei, "Long time no see."

His voice was like a gentle spring breeze, soft and comforting.

Zhu Damei's cheeks instantly grew burning hot.

Goodness, why was this handsome guy's voice so mesmerizing! It was killer!

Batu's expression turned somewhat aggrieved. Despite all the diligence and flattery he had shown her over the past few days, he had never seen her make a face like that.

Heartbroken. O(╥﹏╥)O~

"Oh gosh, Sister Damei, when did you meet such a handsome male comrade?!"

Liu Yan'er ran over from behind with an excited look, her eyes shining with gossip.

Previously, Zhou Qinglang had operated entirely within the mountain forests and cellars, never interacting with the villagers. Even later, when he went to Lin Xiaodou's place for meals, he always had the little golden monkey carry the food basket back and forth. Therefore, it was completely normal that Liu Yan'er didn't recognize him.

Zhu Damei looked utterly bewildered, her voice booming, "...I don't know him."

She genuinely didn't know him, nor did she have any idea where this man had popped up from.

Hearing her speak, Zhou Qinglang froze.

His memory had always been excellent, and his senses were sharp. He remembered clearly... Lin Xiaodou's voice was nothing like this.

At that moment, a cool, crisp voice suddenly rang out from behind:

"Comrade Zhou Qinglang, I didn't expect that upon meeting again, you would actually recognize the wrong person."

Zhou Qinglang's gaze paused.

He whipped around and found himself face-to-face with an overwhelmingly beautiful visage.

The girl's skin was as white and flawless as snow, her face flushed like peach blossoms, and her brows delicate like painted ink. Her eyes rippled with light, and every movement exuded an infinite, captivating charm.

For a moment, Zhou Qinglang was stunned into silence.

He had never imagined that she would look like this. She was so breathtakingly beautiful that he couldn't tear his eyes away.

Compared to Zhou Qinglang's astonishment, Xiao Kaile beside him was even more shocked.

Oh mother of god, who could have foreseen this twist? It truly felt like ascending from hell to heaven in a single second.

"Boss, say something! Don't just stand there like a fool!" Xiao Kaile urged anxiously.

It was hard enough for the boss to finally take an interest in a girl, and this girl was such a perfect match for him; he had to seize the moment! Otherwise, if such a gorgeous female comrade slipped away, the boss wouldn't even have a place to cry.

Zhou Qinglang knew what his buddy was like. This fellow had no filter, acted on impulse, and spoke whatever crossed his mind. However, this time, he didn't feel annoyed by his outburst.

Zhou Qinglang said, "Let's go sit over there and chat. I happen to be roasting some meat, you can have some."

Lin Xiaodou glanced at Liu Yan'er and Zhu Damei.

Both girls nodded eagerly, clearly quite interested.

Lin Xiaodou went over to inform Old Man Wang, and the group walked over to a corner to sit down.

After settling in, Lin Xiaodou and Zhou Qinglang introduced their respective friends to one another.

"Ohh~~" Liu Yan'er wrapped her arm around Lin Xiaodou's, wearing a knowing, mischievous smile. "So this is the friend who kept sending you dried beef all this time~ Little Bean, you hid this deep, hehehe~~"

Lin Xiaodou gave her a light slap on the arm. "Stop smiling like that, you look terrifying."

"Ow!" Liu Yan'er clutched her head, pouting aggrievedly. You smelly bean ┭┮﹏┭┮.

Xiao Kaile couldn't help casting another look her way. The little girl looked quite cute when she was mad.

Zhu Damei sat at the very edge, her face full of lingering resentment and unhappiness. She had been a step too slow just now, resulting in the spots next to Little Bean being stolen by others. Her chance to sit next to the fragrant Little Bean was gone.

Furious (╬◣д◢)!

Batu chimed in, "Comrade Zhu Damei, don't be upset. I'll grill some meat for you; I'm really good at it."

Zhu Damei shot him an unamused look. "It's not like I don't have hands, I'll do it myself."

For some reason, she simply disliked people underestimating her, especially men. Anything she was capable of doing herself, she refused to let anyone else interfere with—she had to finish it on her own.

Batu chuckled softly. He just adored this fiery streak in Zhu Damei; it had so much character.

Sitting in the middle surrounded by the others, Lin Xiaodou was chatting idly with Zhou Qinglang.

With a charming smile, Lin Xiaodou asked, "Did you ever imagine I would look like this?"

Zhou Qinglang looked at her, a warm smile curving the corners of his lips. "No."

In his mind, he had always assumed she was ordinary-looking; he never expected such a massive plot twist.

Zhou Qinglang had no idea how captivating he looked when he gazed at someone with such gentleness.

Lin Xiaodou hurriedly averted her eyes.

Back when this guy had been blind and lacked focus in his eyes, he was already strikingly handsome. Now that his sight was restored, those eyes were like affectionate pools of water, reflecting her entirely within them.

Even someone as immune to eye candy as Lin Xiaodou couldn't help her heart fluttering wildly under a gaze like that.

Cough cough, she couldn't help it—facing such raw, handsome temptation was simply impossible to resist.