Since she couldn't figure it out, Xu Hongdou decided not to pretend she didn't know. Perhaps she was worried Wang Yue might misunderstand, so she simply asked, "Why would he do it for me? Shouldn't he suspect the two of us?"
Seeing that Xu Hongdou still didn't seem to know Xie Zhiyao liked her, Wang Yue decided to spell it out. He looked her straight in the eye and said, word by word, "No, he's doing it for you. He saw you and wanted you."
Xu Hongdou met Wang Yue's unwavering gaze and realized he had probably confirmed it. He'd gone out of his way to tell her that Xie Zhiyao liked her, and he was probably jealous.
She instinctively wanted to distance herself from Xie Zhiyao, but then asked uncertainly, "Why? Why couldn't he be doing it for you? You two have a pretty good relationship, and you're an investor in the village. Protecting your reputation matters too."
Wang Yue gave Xu Hongdou a helpless look. He knew she understood what he meant, so he replied with a perfectly straight face, "He knows I've been busy these past two days and up in the mountains the whole time. When would I have had time to spread gossip around the village? Besides, as far as I know, Xie Zhiyao had a girlfriend back then. There's no way he'd be interested in a man."
Xu Hongdou burst out laughing at what Wang Yue said. She gave him an embarrassed, annoyed glance, then quickly changed the subject. "I heard the temple on your mountain is almost finished. Are you planning to move up there?"
Wang Yue didn't press the issue. Since Xu Hongdou had brought it up, he took the chance to invite her. "I had them build a little house outside