Disabled Childhood Sweetheart: A Humble Puppy Begs for the Young Lady's Pity

On the fourth day of his visit to the village, Zhou Jingchen, led by the village chief, walked along the hillside behind the village to see the tea trees that the villagers had cultivated for generations.

Wenxi was his assistant, so naturally she stayed by his side almost every step of the way.

The tea trees spread out along the mountainside, layer upon layer, like surging green waves winding towards the horizon.

The mountain path was littered with clods of dirt and gravel. Wenxi walked carefully, but still occasionally twisted his ankle.

Every time she staggered, Zhou Jingchen would accurately grab her wrist and steady her up.

After doing this many times, he simply let go of her hand and took hers directly.

Wenxi wanted to refuse, but seeing that only a few people from the village were present and none of her colleagues were there, she didn't say anything more.

"You're so stupid." He lowered his head, his voice very low, with a hint of a smile.

Wenxi blushed and punched him, saying, "You're the stupid one."

The village chief led the way, stroking a tender green tea leaf in his hand, and introduced in a loud voice: "Our 'Yunxiu Cuiya' tea here is absolutely amazing! The buds and leaves are so tender that you can squeeze water out of them. When brewed, it has a refreshing aroma and a sweet aftertaste. It's all grown using natural methods, without any artificial fertilizers or pesticides."

Zhou Jingchen held Wenxi's hand firmly in his palm, his fingertips touching her slightly cool skin, listening intently, occasionally asking a few key questions.

"What is the annual production capacity?"

"This tea garden covers more than 200 acres and is harvested twice a year: spring tea and autumn tea. Spring tea is precious and of the best quality, yielding more than 3,000 catties; autumn tea is slightly inferior, yielding about 2,000 catties. All told, the total annual yield is stable at 5,000 to 6,000 catties." The village chief smiled with pride.

The group chatted and laughed as they climbed from the foot of the mountain to the summit.

A simple tea pavilion stands atop the mountain, offering a panoramic view of the entire tea mountain and the villages at its foot.

The higher Wenxi climbed, the heavier his steps became.

A series of sharp pains came from her heels. She bit her lip and didn't make a sound, but simply slowed her pace even more.

Zhou Jingchen noticed something was off about her, turned to look at her, and asked, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head and forced a smile: "It's nothing."

The scenery at the top of the mountain is indeed beautiful, with tea trees covering the entire mountainside, a lush green expanse that is truly refreshing.

A gentle breeze caressed her cheeks, ruffling a few strands of hair, and for the first time, Wenxi felt a sense of mental relaxation.

She has been living a very tiring life these past few years. Forget about seeing the scenery or traveling, it's even rare for her to stop and rest.

She sat on the bench in the tea pavilion, watching Zhou Jingchen talk with the village chief and the others. He stood there, broad-shouldered and long-legged, his posture as upright as a pine tree.

Sunlight fell on his handsome, fair face. His eyebrows and eyes were gentle, and his tone was calm. He looked completely different from the man whose eyes had been burning with lust last night.

Suddenly her ears burned, and Wenxi silently looked away.

We must not fall for the charms of a handsome man.

Zhou Jingchen was talking to the village chief when his gaze inadvertently swept over and caught her looking down, secretly rubbing her ankle.

Under the sunlight, the glaring red marks on the porcelain-white skin of her heels were particularly conspicuous.

His brow furrowed instantly.

He raised his hand and said gently to the village chief, "Please wait a moment."

Everyone's eyes followed his figure—

The refined and elegant Mr. Zhou walked straight to the girl and knelt down on one knee. Without saying a word, he took her ankle, gently removed her shoe, and carefully placed her reddened foot on his knee.

He gently pulled down his cotton socks, exposing his chafed skin to the air.

The moment his fingertips touched the reddened area, Wenxi hissed in pain and instinctively tried to pull back.

This pain was nothing to her. When she used to work as a waitress, she often wore hard patent leather high heels, and it was common for her heels to bleed.

She walked so long on the mountain road today, and her shoes were brand new and hadn't been broken in yet, but she could grit her teeth and bear it even now.

"It hurts a lot, doesn't it?" Zhou Jingchen looked up, his dark eyes shimmering with tenderness, his voice filled with undisguised concern. "Your shoes are rubbing your feet, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

A single sentence, like a pebble dropped into the lake of Wenxi's heart, rippled outwards.

The long-lost feeling of being cared for and cherished brought tears to her eyes and made her nose tingle.

She pursed her lips slightly, shook her head, and said in a voice barely audible, "I'm really fine."

"You're still being stubborn even after all this wear and tear." He frowned even more and simply took off her other shoe as well. "Don't wear it, it'll only cause you more suffering."

"Oh," Wenxi responded softly.

It felt like a tiny crack had appeared in my heart, and the warm afternoon sunlight was slowly seeping into that crack.

On the way down the mountain, he squatted down right in front of her and said, "Get on."

He wanted to carry her down the mountain?

Wenxi glanced at the village chief and his group ahead, then hurriedly shook his head, "This is inappropriate."

He ignored her, wrapped his arms around her back, gently lifted her buttocks, and steadily carried her on his back.

Wenxi gazed at his dark back of the head and obediently nestled on his shoulder.

He's not the Zhou Jingchen he was as a child anymore. He can walk without crutches, and he walks very steadily. His broad shoulders and back give a sense of security.

She could smell a faint scent emanating from him: the lingering fragrance of shampoo in his hair, the fresh scent of laundry detergent on his clothes, and the clean smell of his skin. These scents blended together pleasantly, crisp and refreshing, inexplicably comforting, and she wanted to smell them a little longer, just a little more.

She nuzzled the back of his neck with her small, animal-like nose, sniffing it greedily and secretly.

Warm breath brushed against the skin of my neck, causing a slight itch.

Zhou Jingchen paused, raised his hand to support her knees, and gently lifted her up, his voice low and husky:

"Don't move, or I'll kiss you right here."

Wenxi's face turned red again.

She obediently pressed her cheek against his back and whispered, "Am I...am I heavy?"

"Not heavy," he answered readily.

It wasn't just not heavy, it was so light that it broke his heart.

He couldn't help but wonder how she had managed all these years, how she had become so thin that she didn't have an ounce of extra flesh.

"Zhou Jingchen," she suddenly said, her voice soft.

"Um?"

"How did your leg heal?"

"I had surgery, and they installed a titanium alloy frame in my bone." His voice was calmer, as if he were talking about something ordinary.

Wenxi lay on his back, silent for a long time, then softly asked, "Does it hurt?"

"The first year after surgery was the most painful." He paused, slowing his pace. "After the anesthesia wore off, the brace was embedded in the bone, and the pain kept me up all night. Then I did rehabilitation training for another year or two..."

He didn't continue, but added softly, "Those pains are nothing."

It's nothing compared to the excruciating pain in my heart when I lost her and couldn't find her.

Wenxi's long eyelashes drooped gently, concealing the moisture in her eyes, and she pursed her lips without speaking.

After a while, she brought her face close to his ear again and whispered, "Zhou Jingchen."

"Um?"

Her voice was soft and coquettish: "My feet hurt so much."

His voice was gentle: "I'll put some medicine on it for you tonight. I've already asked He Li to buy two new pairs of shoes in the county town. He'll bring them back later so you can change into them."

"Okay." She obediently responded, pressing herself even closer to his back.

Perhaps because these years have been so bitter, Wenxi really wants to hold onto this little bit of sweetness.

She secretly hoped that this month would pass more slowly, even though it was only a month...

During her university years, before she was about to confess her feelings to him, she tossed and turned in bed day and night, fantasizing about what it would be like to date Zhou Jingchen.

Let's just consider it fulfilling her dream.

......

Zhou Jingchen carried her all the way into the village.

She patted his shoulder in a flustered manner:

"Put me down, put me down quickly, don't let your colleagues see."

"I'm not afraid of them watching." He didn't stop walking, and instead asked her, "Are you afraid?"

"I'm scared." She nodded honestly.

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid they'll say I... say I seduced President Zhou and wanted to climb the social ladder." Her voice trailed off.

"Didn't you seduce him?"

"When did I seduce you?"

"You came to my room in your pajamas last night and tried to seduce me while I was drunk."

His mouth is different from when he was a child; he can turn black into white, and white into black.

"I didn't! He Li said you didn't go back and asked me to deliver the documents to you!" Wenxi slapped his chest in embarrassment and anger, "You're not allowed to mention last night again!"

"Why can't we mention it? You still..."

Wenxi suddenly covered his mouth, his voice escaping through her fingers: "You're trembling so much..."

She wrapped her legs around his strong waist, kicked twice, and her voice unconsciously rose a few decibels as she angrily said:

"Are you trying to die, Zhou Jingchen!"

The two were flirting when suddenly, a chorus of voices rang out beside them, leaving them slightly shocked:

"President Zhou!"