Does He Have Feelings for Sena?

Sena puffed out her chest, which was not exactly ample, trying her best to look more confident.

"How about it?"

Sena lifted her chin, her freckle-covered face looking particularly vivid under the sunlight.

"This... this prince I brought back, he's good-looking, right?"

As soon as these words were out, the surroundings fell silent for a few seconds.

Several girls turned their heads, looking at Sena's smug expression with complex emotions in their eyes.

There was envy, jealousy, and even a tiny bit of sour-sweet well-wishing.

"Not bad, Sena, you really hit the jackpot this time." The chubby girl with the red hair tie said sourly, "A man this handsome, and you actually managed to pick him up and bring him home. You really have the luck of a dog."

"Exactly, exactly." The tall, thin girl chimed in, "Why didn't I run into such a good thing at the village entrance? The last time I picked up a man at the village entrance, he turned out to be a refugee lunatic who nearly bit me to death."

Everyone burst into laughter.

But laughter aside, that look of envy could not be hidden.

In this isolated countryside, it was hard enough to find a man with all his limbs intact who was diligent and willing to work, let alone someone like Su Li, who could not only work but also looked like a celestial being straight out of a painting.

It was as if a pie had fallen from the sky and landed right in Sena's bowl.

"Th-that's right."

Sena felt a bit carried away by the praise, feeling as if she were walking on clouds.

"He... he treats me quite well."

Sena's mind filled with the image of Su Li saying "thank you" to her every time they ate, and the way he would help her carry heavy objects no matter how tired he was.

Although he didn't say much, that gentleness was something she had never seen in any other man.

"Hey, Sena."

The chubby girl with the red hair tie suddenly leaned in, lowered her voice, and asked with a gossipy look on her face.

"You two... has that thing happened yet?"

"Huh?" Sena was stunned for a moment, not reacting, "What thing?"

"Don't play dumb!" The chubby girl winked and bumped Sena's shoulder, "You know, that thing! You've been living in the same yard for so long, and Old Buck is never home... haven't you taken him down yet?"

The words were too explicit.

The girls around them covered their mouths and giggled, their eyes sparkling.

Sena's face turned as red as a monkey's butt in an instant.

The heat surged up her neck, making her scalp tingle.

"What... what nonsense are you talking about!"

Sena stammered in rebuttal, waving her hands frantically as if to shoo away something dirty.

"We... we are perfectly innocent!"

"He sleeps in the stable! I sleep in the house! We haven't even held hands!"

As soon as these words left her mouth, a chorus of boos erupted around her.

"Tch—"

"Is that for real?"

"Sena, you're too useless, aren't you? With such a big piece of fat right by your mouth, you won't even eat it?"

"Exactly, if it were me, I would have snuck into the stable in the middle of the night and had my way with him!"

Faced with the teasing and the frustration of her friends, Sena lowered her head.

The pride she felt just moments ago was like a balloon pricked by a needle, instantly deflating.

She drew circles on the ground with the toe of her shoe, a sense of bitterness welling up in her heart.

She wanted to.

She dreamed of it every night.

But... she didn't dare.

She knew what she looked like.

That face full of freckles, that rough skin.

Standing next to Su Li, she felt like a blade of foxtail grass growing beside a peony.

Although Su Li was polite and kind to her, that kindness had a distance to it.

It was the kindness of gratitude.

It was simply not the kind of kindness a man shows a woman.

Su Li had never looked at her with the eyes of a man looking at a woman. His gaze was always clear and indifferent, as if he were looking at a tree, a stone, or a little dog wagging its tail at him.

"Not yet..."

Sena's voice trailed off, laced with an inexpressible sense of grievance and inferiority.

"I... I haven't brought it up with him yet."

"I'm also afraid..."

Afraid of what?

Afraid that if she poked that thin veil between them, even the current stable life would be gone.

Afraid of seeing even the slightest hint of disgust in Su Li's eyes.

Even a tiny bit would be enough to shatter her humble heart into pieces.

"Afraid he'd look down on me."

This last half-sentence was mumbled by Sena, audible only to herself.

In the courtyard.

Su Li had long heard the commotion outside the fence.

Though these girls thought they were speaking in hushed tones, to Su Li, an old hand, it was no different from broadcasting with a megaphone.

He didn't turn around, nor did he get dressed.

Instead, he swung the large hammer in his hand with even more vigor.

With every exertion, he deliberately tensed the muscles in his back, making the lines appear even more perfect.

Heh.

This damned vanity.

Su Li chuckled self-mockingly in his heart.

In his past life, he lived like a dog, and no one spared him a second glance.

In this life, relying on this face and this well-built physique, he actually enjoyed the treatment of being watched, discussed, and even fought over by a group of girls.

This feeling... was indeed quite good.

But also quite sad.

He heard Sena's words.

He heard the pride in that silly girl's tone, and the last trace of undisguised disappointment.

Su Li's movements paused.

This silly girl.

Did he have feelings for Sena?

It felt too early.

He was a scoundrel, a scumbag who would do anything to survive.

But he didn't want to ruin a silly girl who adored him with all her heart.

This was probably the last shred of conscience left in Su Li's life.

"Hoo--"

Su Li let out a long breath and heavily slammed the hammer onto the anvil.

Clang!

The loud noise startled the chattering girls outside.

"Ah! Did he hear us?"

"Let's go, let's go! It'll be so embarrassing if he finds out!"

A rustling sound of footsteps followed, and the girls scattered like startled sparrows.

The courtyard returned to silence.

Only the crackling of the burning fire remained.

Su Li picked up the towel hanging around his neck and wiped the sweat from his face haphazardly.

He looked up at the sky.

The sun had already begun to set, painting the clouds at the horizon a fiery red, as if stained with blood.

Old Buck would be back soon too.