Xiao Yan Cheng, a young promising scholar returns to his home town from his academy before his final imperial exams. He is a poor yet talented scholar. Their entire family supported his studies by doing farm work, spending all their savings into his studies so that he could reach great heights.
Xiao Yan Cheng's father Xiao jiang huai and his mother Xiao Ning are both honest and simple minded. Both of them get to their fields early in the morning to work on their farms and earn a living by it. Xiao jiang huai occasionally hunts in the nearby forests for supplies and to earn some more for his son's education.
His sister Xiao Shutang helps her mother in the kitchen while looking out for their house when the elders go out.
Xiao Yan Cheng is a tall and handsome man with broad shoulders and thin waist and sharp features making him the most attractive person in their village. He is eighteen years old this year and many of the village girls fancy him.
Even though he hasn't returned to his village in the past 5 years, everyone knows that he will surely grow up to become a handsome young man once he returns from the capital.
Although they are poor, they have enough and they eat and dress well. Xiao Jiang Huai believes that we should live with what we have without worrying much about the future. He believes in hard work.
Though Yan Cheng is the most eye-catching man in their entire village, everyone feels disappointed knowing that he is already betrothed in his childhood. Even their village head Li Tianci offered his daughter Li Yanning's hand in marriage but Xiao jiang huai refused them.
Li Yanning is a beauty in their village with fair and tender skin. She is quite delicate and pampered by her father. She has admired Yan Cheng from her childhood. She always took a liking to his 13 year old self and now she has become a maiden she is eagerly waiting to know how he looks when he turns into a complete man.
On this day Xiao Yan Cheng returned to his village and on his way home Li Yanning saw him on the street. She is mesmerized by his looks. She couldn't help but froze on the street as he crossed her. She immediately went to catch up with him.
"Yan cheng Brother" she called him loudly on the street and clung onto his hand.
Xia Yan cheng removed her hand gently" Yes Sister, can I help you with something?"
"Yan Cheng brother, I am Li Yanning, the daughter of the village chief. Do you remember me?" Her eyes are filled with a hope of recognition and are stuck to his face.
"Sorry Sister, It's been almost 5 years, and i didn't recognize you" He feels a bit awkward on her sudden clinginess but responds gently.
She falls for him even more after hearing his gentle tone. "No problem, I have become more beautiful than before. It's natural for you to not recognize me" She pulls her hair and plays with it in a seductive yet innocent way in front of him.
She is trying to get his attention and Xiao Yan cheng notices her act "Yanning sister, You didn't tell me why you called me?"
"Yan cheng Brother, I haven't seen you in a long time. Why don't you come to our house and have some Tea"
"It's Probably not a good idea" Yan cheng feels awkward on her sudden invitation and tries to leave but Li Yanning persists him to visit their house. Just then his friend Jiang Yang Jin arrives to get him.
"Yanning Sister, Yan Cheng is my brother in law. You should look for someone else" he then pulls away Yan cheng while teasing her sarcastically.
Li Yanning then fumes in anger "Who asked you to meddle". Before she completes her words Yang Jin pulls him away and both of them are on their way.
"Brother in law, I think you have to marry my sister faster before someone would try to make a claim on you"
"Yang jin, It's been so long since the engagement and I have always treated your sister as my own sister. I don't think it's good to use her name to save me. It will damage her reputation"
"Hey, you don't really want to marry my sister?"
"Its not that i don't want to but i have never seen her in that way and we haven't seen each other in a long time to know each other"
"Xiao Yan Cheng, if you really don't marry my sister then I will beat you to pulp. I don't think you forget how hard I punch" He teases him in an angry tone.
Jiang Yang jin is the only son of the jiang family just like the Xiao family. Both of them have been neighbours since childhood and were best friends. Though Yang Jin is not as good as Yan Cheng in studies, he is one of the next most handsome men in the village.
He is a bit taller than Yan Cheng with a more masculine look and a pale face. Unlike Yan cheng, Yang jin has many pursuers in their village. He is also 18 years old and many families fancy getting a son in law like Yang Jin who takes care of his whole family.
Although he works in the farm, he learnt how to hunt with Xiao jiang huai and always finds some meat and their family's conditions became even better. He even sells the meat and herbs in the town and earns money for his family.
"Okay okay, lets not talk about it now" they both reach the Xiao house. Xiao Shutang warmly hugs her brother and greets him.
"Yan Brother, you came home. It's been so long"
"Tang Tang, you have grown up very well" Yan cheng admires his sister as they are meeting each other after five years. Only his parents met him while he was in his academy in these past five years.
Since he reached the academy, Yan cheng is always praised by his masters and given extra books and knowledge which made him occupied all the time. So, he didn't get the time to come back to his village.
"Tang Tang, where are our parents?"
"Yan Brother, they went to work in the farm"
"Great, my parents are also on the farm. lets meet them there" Yang Jin responds to shutang.
ShuTang looks at Yang Jin and admires him. Though Yang Jin is not the most handsome person in their village, he is the most handsome man in Shutang's eyes. He is also a cheerful person who always lights up the mood and this made Shutang fall for him.
Shu Tang has liked Yang Jin for a long time. During the times when her brother is apart Yang jin never let their family feel that they don't have their son to help them.
Both the families are neighbours and he always helped their family in need and always took care of her like her brother. But in these years of admiration she never knew when she had fallen in love with him.
She has always been a silent admirer of Yang jin. Always loving him from afar not letting him see her love.
Yang jin and Yan cheng both leave to meet their parents. As they reach the farm they see that both their parents are working in the farms and as Yan cheng was about to go towards his parents.
"Yan Cheng, did you recognize my sister? She is watering the plants there, look"
Yan Cheng looked towards the direction he pointed out and caught a glimpse of a beautiful woman working in the farm and almost couldn't recognize her anymore "Zhiyi?"
"I couldn't believe she changed so much" Yan cheng is left in awe.
Zhiyi is soaked in sweat under the scorching sun, yet she looked gorgeous. The sweat on her skin shone in the sun making her face glitter which made her look more attractive.
"Is she the one who I am going to marry?"
"And I have been thinking to reject her" thoughts run in his mind.