Transmigrated Leftover Woman in Rural Style

Chapter 150 The Moonlight is Too Beautiful

The bright moon hung in the sky, and the early autumn night breeze, carrying the fragrance of flowers, brushed past Li Xiaonuan's nose. It was the scent of an old osmanthus tree, mellow and pleasant.

Under the tree stood two people facing each other.

One of the people with her head bowed low was Li Xiaonuan.

One person was staring intently at the lowered head; it was Zhou Liufei.

"Am I not good enough, or am I not good enough for you?" Zhou Liufeng asked again. This time, his voice was no longer clear and crisp; it sounded somewhat hoarse.

Li Xiaonuan took a deep breath, the fragrance of osmanthus intoxicating her and making her feel happy. Looking up, she met Zhou Liufeng's eyes, which were hidden in the shadows, and replied, "Brother Liufeng, you are very good, really. I am not good enough for you, and besides, I am a little afraid of you."

"Afraid of me? Afraid of what? Are you afraid I'll hit you, or afraid I'll eat you up?" Zhou Liufeng's voice was deep and seductive at this moment, and Li Xiaonuan's heart seemed to skip a beat.

“No, Brother Liu Fei wouldn’t do those things. It’s just that, Brother Liu Fei, you…” Li Xiaonuan stretched out her right index finger and pointed to Zhou Liu Fei’s chest, “You’re sick here.”

The slender fingers were about to touch Zhou Liufeng's heart. Zhou Liufeng froze at first, then staggered back in fear. He took four or five steps back before he came to his senses. His expression, which had been one of fear and malice, was instantly torn apart by guilt.

Zhou Liufeng loosened his clenched fists, coughed awkwardly twice, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, little Nuan. I just... I wasn't ready. Don't worry, if you touch me again, I won't dodge, really."

Li Xiaonuan's eyes flickered slightly, and she said with some disappointment, "Brother Liu Fei, this won't do. If you really get married in the future, will you have to constantly remind yourself not to make a move on her?"

Zhou Liufeng lowered his head in regret, opening his mouth several times as if to speak, but in the end only let out a sigh.

Li Xiaonuan was even more disappointed and said, "Brother Liu Fei, I don't know what you've been through, but at least you need to distinguish between bad people and good people. No, I should say you need to distinguish between those who are good to you and those who scheme to hurt you. That way, you might be able to heal your heartache."

Zhou Liufeng closed his eyes, concealing his grief and regret. His voice trembled as he said, "Little Nuan, I don't have any heartache, not at all. I'm sorry, Little Nuan, just pretend I never said anything."

Li Xiaonuan concealed her disappointment and took a few steps forward, stopping just a step away from Zhou Liufeng. She stretched out her hands, reaching towards Zhou Liufeng's shoulders. Just as Li Xiaonuan's hands were about half a finger's width away from Zhou Liufeng, he involuntarily took two steps back.

Without pausing, Li Xiaonuan pressed forward.

Zhou Liufeng took several deep breaths, clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly. He was already pressed against the osmanthus tree, with no way to retreat.

"Little Nuan, please don't come any closer, I beg you." Zhou Liufeng's voice was filled with suppressed anger and rage. Unlike his previous deep and mellow tone, his voice was high-pitched and sharp at this moment.

Li Xiaonuan placed her hands on Zhou Liufei's sides and said to him frankly, "Brother Liufei, look, I just wanted to pat your shoulder, and you acted like a different person. You said you don't have any heart problems, so why don't you want me to touch you?"

Zhou Liufeng glanced at Li Xiaonuan's hands out of the corner of his eye. He swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "Xiaonuan, why did you do this? I admit I lost control a bit. But men and women shouldn't touch each other, and there's nothing wrong with what I did."

Li Xiaonuan sighed, withdrew her hands, and said, "Brother Liu Fei, that's why I'm afraid of you. You see, you clearly have such a heavy burden on your heart, but you never tell anyone. You're always on guard and defensive, and you harbor murderous intent towards any woman who gets close to you. Tell me, how can someone like you get married? And after you get married, how will you accept the woman you'll be marrying? Do you really marry her just to live with her?"

Zhou Liufeng leaned against the osmanthus tree, gradually relaxing his tense nerves. He took a deep breath, inhaling the rich fragrance of osmanthus, and suddenly felt a strange sensation in this moment. Under the shade of the tree, Li Xiaonuan's slender and frail figure was faintly visible.

A night breeze swept by, lifting a strand of long hair from Li Xiaonuan's temple and placing it near her lips. Zhou Liufeng looked at Li Xiaonuan's delicate face and, as if possessed, reached out and removed the strand of hair from her.

Li Xiaonuan stood there, neither avoiding Zhou Liufeng's hand nor making a sound to stop him. After Zhou Liufeng removed the strand of hair, Li Xiaonuan quickly reached out and grabbed his hands.

Zhou Liufeng instinctively wanted to shake off Li Xiaonuan's hand. But he kept telling himself not to hurt Li Xiaonuan and not to make any move. However, the moment Li Xiaonuan grabbed his hand, he was already on the verge of collapse.

Li Xiaonuan had no intention of letting Zhou Liufei off so easily. After grabbing Zhou Liufei's hand, she immediately moved closer, almost leaning against his chest.

Seeing the face suddenly loom larger, Zhou Liufeng could no longer control himself. He suddenly cursed, "Damn woman, can't wait to die, huh? Fine, then I'll grant your wish now." With that, Zhou Liufeng forcefully pulled his hand away and grabbed Li Xiaonuan's slender neck.

In that instant, Li Xiaonuan clearly felt Zhou Liufeng's anger and resentment. The force in his hand was astonishing. His face was contorted with rage, making him look somewhat frightening.

Li Xiaonuan neither struggled nor cried for help; she simply looked at Zhou Liufeng. Quietly, calmly, and with an inquiring gaze.

Zhou Liufeng also looked into Li Xiaonuan's eyes. But his gaze was crazed and sinister. At this moment, he had lost his mind and could no longer see anything about Li Xiaonuan.

"Sister, Brother Liu Fei, are you there?" Xiao Yang's voice rang out from outside the courtyard.

The cry, like the tolling of a bell from Wutong Temple, jolted Zhou Liufeng from his frenzied state. In alarm, he released Li Xiaonuan's neck, watching helplessly and with remorse as she fell to the ground.

Under the moonlight, Li Xiaonuan lay limply, coughing and greedily gasping for air. For a moment, she thought she was sure she was going to die.

"Sister, sister? Brother Liu Fei? Are you inside?" Xiao Yang didn't dare to shout too loudly, afraid that those busybodies would hear and gossip.

By this time, Li Xiaonuan had calmed down a bit. She took a couple of deep breaths, suppressing the discomfort in her neck, and replied in a normal tone, "Xiaoyang, I'm here. Your brother Liu Fei is drunk and is causing a ruckus in the yard. I can't stop him by myself, so please come in and help him."

After saying that, Li Xiaonuan quickly stood up from the ground. Zhou Liufeng angrily punched the old osmanthus tree, his lips clenched tightly. Seeing this, Li Xiaonuan quickly stepped forward, trying to stop his self-harming behavior.

Xiao Yang witnessed this scene as he entered the room. Therefore, he firmly believed Li Xiaonuan's claim that Zhou Liufeng was drunk.

“Brother Liu Fei, you’re drunk. Let me help you back to your room to rest. Look, this is a tree, it’s the osmanthus tree your family planted. Stop hitting him, or your hand will be ruined.” Xiao Yang coaxed Zhou Liu Fei like a child, grabbing his surprisingly strong fists while trying to persuade him.

But Zhou Liufeng was skilled in martial arts, and Xiao Yang, an ordinary farm boy, was no match for him.

Li Xiaonuan watched anxiously from the side. Just as Xiaoyang was about to stand in front of the tree to block the punch, Li Xiaonuan shouted, "Brother Liu Fei, haven't you made enough of a scene? I just wanted you to go back to your room to sleep because you were a little drunk, what kind of temper do you have? If you keep making a scene like this, I will never talk to you again."

Perhaps it was Li Xiaonuan's slightly hoarse voice that brought Zhou Liufeng to his senses. Or perhaps it was because Zhou Liufeng had come to his senses. He actually stopped and let Xiao Yang help him walk into the room.

As she passed by Li Xiaonuan, Li Xiaonuan said, "Brother Liu Fei, please don't blame yourself when you wake up. If you have to blame someone, blame the beautiful moonlight. So, you got angry with Xiaonuan because you were looking at this beautiful scenery. Xiaonuan doesn't blame you, really."

Zhou Liufeng paused, but didn't actually stop. He was speechless at that moment, because he couldn't bring himself to tell the truth. And he didn't know how to face Li Xiaonuan.

After Zhou Liufeng was helped into the room, Li Xiaonuan could no longer hold back and squatted down on the ground, touching her neck and breathing rapidly. She had forced herself to speak while enduring the pain in her throat. Now, her entire throat burned with pain.