After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Zheng Hao turned and left. Watching his aggressive departure, Gu Lin was helpless. He knew that the deep-seated hatred between Zheng Hao and the original owner could not be resolved with just a few words.

Perhaps one day the hatred will be worn away by time, but certainly not now.

"you......"

Gu Lin was somewhat surprised and at a loss. Looking at Zheng Hao who had returned, even though he saw that Zheng Hao was carrying porridge and knew that he had come back to eat, Gu Lin was still filled with joy.

Zheng Hao said, "I don't care what you do in the future. This is my home. Keep your thoughts to yourself. I won't be fooled by you like my father was."

Zheng Hao was unruly by nature. Although he didn't know what trick Gu Lin was up to by taking the initiative to befriend him, he was never afraid. Every time the two of them clashed, Gu Lin never got the better of him.

Gu Lin didn't care about the other person's attitude at all. No matter how much Zheng Hao disliked him, at least he was willing to sit at the same table and talk with him now. He selectively ignored the second half of the sentence and said, "Of course, this will always be your home."

Zheng Hao paused in his porridge-drinking motion.

In the past, when he said such things, Gu Lin would not have been so nice. She would angrily call him a bastard and say that this was not his home, and that his father would have new children in the future, and that they would be a family.

Zheng Hao looked up at Gu Lin, whose expression was just as sincere as before.

He looked away and continued drinking the porridge in his bowl.

Gu Lin watched as the other person drank a bowl of porridge, and then went to get more twice more. When the other person was drinking the third bowl, Gu Lin couldn't help but scold the original owner for being so heartless as to let the child go hungry like this.

After Zheng Hao finished the last mouthful of porridge and put down his bowl, Gu Lin took the opportunity to say, "We're running out of food at home. I'm going to the county town today. Would you like to come with me?"

Since Gu Lin had decided to start a business, he naturally couldn't stay in Xiahe Village forever. He needed to go to the county town to investigate before he could plan what he should do next.

He could have gone alone, but he asked Zheng Hao to come along not because he didn't know the route to the county town, but because he wanted Zheng Hao to feel reassured that he had no ulterior motives.

That was his opinion, but Zheng Hao didn't see it that way.

Upon hearing that Gu Lin was going to the county town, Zheng Hao immediately thought of Liu Sanlai from yesterday. He had discovered Gu Lin's relationship with Liu Sanlai when his father was seriously ill, but fearing it would worsen his father's condition, he hadn't exposed them. Zheng Hao had assumed that after his father's death, Gu Lin would immediately elope with Liu Sanlai, and he was prepared to let him go if he left alone. However, if Gu Lin dared to plunder the Zheng family's possessions and elope with her lover, he would kill the adulterous couple.

To avoid arousing suspicion when he killed Gu Lin and Liu Sanlai, Zheng Hao deliberately created a space for the two to meet in secret. He then timed it perfectly to bring the villagers back to catch them in the act. Once Gu Lin and Liu Sanlai were caught having an affair, he could kill them later to stage a crime of passion, and then no one would continue to investigate.

But to his surprise, Gu Lin's performance yesterday was completely unexpected.

Upon hearing that the other party was going to the county town, Zheng Hao sneered.

They finally couldn't hold back and gave themselves away.

No wonder she kicked Liu Sanlai away without hesitation yesterday; it turns out she had a new lover in the county town.

Thinking of Gu Lin's touching words just now, Zheng Hao's expression turned fierce. The other party had changed so much in the past two days, probably to lower his guard. Knowing that he hated him the most and never wanted to go out with him, he still said such things, probably because he had calculated that he wouldn't go, making it easier for him to elope with his lover.

Zheng Hao was not about to let the other party have their way, so he said, "Mm."

His eyes were fixed on Gu Lin, hoping he could hide their affair well. Now that his father was gone, he wouldn't let him get away with it.

Gu Lin was surprised again by Zheng Hao's agreeableness and tentatively asked, "Shall we leave now?"

"Ah."

Saying it's about walking, of course it's impossible to actually walk to the county town on foot. Xiahe Village is dozens of miles away from the county town, and if you really walked there, both your legs would be ruined.

Gu Lin and Zheng Hao arrived at the village entrance, where an oxcart was parked, and a middle-aged man was standing next to it fanning the ox.

Gu Lin stepped forward: "Uncle Zhang, when will the oxcart depart for the county town? Xiao Hao and I want to go too."

Uncle Zhang is the village chief's younger brother. The two brothers did not separate their household. They bought this cow together. Apart from using the cow for work during the busy farming season, the two brothers were reluctant to let the cow work hard, for fear that the cow would break down.

But every day, Uncle Zhang would use an ox-drawn cart to transport the villagers of Xiahe Village to and from the county town.

Uncle Zhang was somewhat surprised to see that the person who came was Gu Lin. At first, upon hearing the clear, upturned greeting, he thought it was some unfamiliar young man. But he didn't expect it to be Gu Lin. In the past, although the other man would greet him, his chin was always held high, and his eyes were filled with contempt and disdain. Now, the other man's chin was still held high, but at a normal angle, and his back was straight. His eyes were clean and clear as he looked at Uncle Zhang, showing a newfound cheerfulness and kindness.

Noticing the other person's clean and white clothes, Uncle Zhang sighed. Sure enough, even the most arrogant and haughty young man needs a man to support him, otherwise he will lose all his courage once he loses his backbone.

Uncle Zhang said, "Wait a little longer, we'll leave once everyone has arrived."

Gu Lin was unaware that the other person had come up with so many ideas in such a short time, and even felt sorry for him, so he asked, "How much would it cost for the two of us to travel back and forth?"

Uncle Zhang waved his hand and said, "Children don't take up any space, so why should we pay? Two coins are enough."

Gu Lin couldn't possibly take it seriously. Just as he was about to speak, several women and young men walked over together, and Gu Lin couldn't say anything more.

When the leader saw Gu Lin appear here, he looked surprised and said, "Isn't this Brother Lin? Hunter Zheng just left not long ago, and you've already gone to the county town again?"

Gu Lin was speechless. It seemed that the original owner's behavior was well-known.

However, Gu Lin didn't like the guy opposite him either. If the other person was just joking, Gu Lin could let it go, but the other person's words and expressions were full of schadenfreude and malice.

Gu Lin was not one to be easily bullied. His eyes reddened instantly, and then he lowered his head slightly. Although he did not cry, his thin body conveyed his helplessness.

"With my husband gone, I have no time to go to the county town to play like before. It's just that we don't have enough rice at home. Before, when my husband was alive, he would buy the grain. Now that he's gone, I can only take the children to buy it."

As he spoke, the newly widowed man seemed to choke up, his slender white hand gently stroking his chest as if trying to ease the pain of losing his husband.

The young man who had started the argument was gently patted by the woman beside him: "Stop talking, Brother Wang, why bring up someone's sad story for no reason?"

The other men and women quickly stepped forward to gently comfort the heartbroken men.

Upon seeing this, Wang Ge'er's long, dark face twisted slightly. He and Gu Lin had been enemies for many years, and even if the other party was in a miserable state, he still felt that the other party was just pretending to be pitiful.

Seeing the accusatory looks on the faces of the people around him, Wang Ge'er knew that if he continued, things would get out of hand, so he could only hold his breath and shut up.

When the woman was speaking, Uncle Zhang didn't want to interrupt, but he was displeased with what had just happened, and said with a dark face, "Get in the car."

The men and women sat around Gu Lin and Zheng Hao, keeping Gu Lin company. Although they hadn't made things difficult for Gu Lin earlier, they felt guilty for not stopping Wang Ge'er from making him feel bad.

Listening to the chattering around him, Gu Lin didn't want to appear too talkative, so he only responded occasionally. But he still managed to gather a lot of information from their conversation.

Upon arriving at the county town gate, Uncle Zhang did not go in. Instead, he turned to Gu Lin and the others and said, "Go back at noon. Those who miss the time can walk back to the village themselves."

Everyone got off the bus without objection, greeted each other, and walked into the county town either in groups or alone.

Gu Lin also got out of the carriage with Zheng Hao, but before entering the city, Gu Lin didn't expect that they would need to pay the city gate tax. He silently took out two copper coins from his purse and handed them to the guards before finally walking in with Zheng Hao.

Upon entering the county town, Gu Lin discovered that the scene before him was vastly different from what he had imagined.

He had thought that the county town and the village were worlds apart, at least the ground was clean and tidy. But the ground of the street in front of him was no different from the yellow mud in Xiahe Village. The only difference between the county town and Xiahe Village was that the yellow mud in the county town was more compact and less likely to cause dust to fly when people walked on it.

Although Gu Lin was somewhat disappointed with the ancient county town, he quickly cheered up. He looked at the county town in front of him; although it was not as prosperous as he had imagined, it was very lively, with people thronging the streets and alleys.

He turned to Zheng Hao beside him and said, "Let's go for a walk."

Meeting Zheng Hao's suddenly sharp gaze, Gu Lin immediately added, "We'll go shopping after we're done shopping."

Zheng Hao didn't say anything and followed him.

Gu Lin breathed a sigh of relief; such a young child was not easily fooled.

As Gu Lin entered the crowd, he found it incredibly crowded. He reached out to Zheng Hao, who instinctively slapped his hand away without hesitation, causing Gu Lin to hiss in pain.

He rubbed his reddened hand and said helplessly to Zheng Hao, who was wary of him, "I didn't mean to do anything to you. There are too many people here, and if we don't hold hands, we'll be pushed apart by the crowd."

Zheng Hao's face showed annoyance, clearly indicating he didn't want any physical contact with Gu Lin. But letting Gu Lin in alone was out of the question; he would never give Gu Lin the opportunity to escape with her lover.

Zheng Hao, suppressing his impatience, raised his hand and said, "Let's go."