Wang Manli ran a long distance in one breath. Only after turning past a corner did she finally stop abruptly, her chest heaving violently from anger and the run.
She had just managed to steady her breathing when Xiao Ling timidly caught up.
“Sister Manli, are you okay…”
Slap!
A loud slap landed hard across Xiao Ling’s face, cutting her off.
Wang Manli’s eyes were vicious as she pointed at Xiao Ling’s nose and cursed:
“Who asked you to meddle?! Huh? Who told you to drag me away?! Did you see Gu Ye there and want to play the good person, trying to show off?! Let me tell you—stop dreaming!”
Xiao Ling covered her face. Her eyes reddened instantly, but she didn’t dare argue back. She only lowered her head and sobbed softly.
“I didn’t, Sister Manli… I really didn’t mean that…”
“Then what did you mean?!” Wang Manli snapped, still furious.
Xiao Ling lifted her tearful eyes, her voice anxious.
“Sister Manli, I was thinking about you and Deputy Mine Chief Sun!”
“The mine chief will be transferred away soon. Right now it’s the critical moment when the two deputy chiefs are secretly competing. Gu Ye… if he really refuses to let it go and reports what happened today to the higher-ups—saying his family member was harassed and someone broke into his home—it’ll definitely drag Deputy Chief Sun’s reputation down! If that affects the competition result…”
The words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Wang Manli’s head, cooling her heated mind a little.
Of course she knew her uncle was fighting for that position. She also knew her behavior today had indeed been impulsive.
If it truly affected her uncle, he definitely wouldn’t let her off.
But admit she was wrong?
Absolutely impossible.
An unnatural expression flashed across her face before arrogance quickly covered it again. She snorted and looked Xiao Ling up and down, her tone sharp.
“Hmph, you sure act clever, don’t you? Know quite a lot, huh! Since when do you need to worry about my uncle’s matters?”
“Don’t think that just because you’ve stayed by my side for a few days you’ve become someone important! Don’t forget your place!”
She shook her wrist hard—the one that had gone numb from hitting someone—and shot Xiao Ling a warning glance.
All the anger she had suffered from Gu Ye and Lin Wan was vented onto this timid follower. Only then did she stomp her foot and walk away without looking back.
Xiao Ling remained standing where she was. The hand covering her face slowly lowered, revealing the clear imprint of five fingers on her cheek.
She stared at Wang Manli’s disappearing back at the end of the alley. A flash of suppressed resentment and humiliation flickered in her eyes before quickly fading into silence.
Gu Ye was a man of action. What he said he would do in the morning, he started preparing that very afternoon.
When he found Wang Lei, the man was squatting behind a wind-blocking dirt slope with a few coworkers, gnawing on coarse corn buns.
Seeing Gu Ye approach, Wang Lei stuffed the rest into his mouth in two bites, slapped the dust off his pants, and followed him aside.
“Brother!”
“Lei Zi, find a few reliable people.”
Gu Ye went straight to the point.
“Help me fix up my yard tomorrow. Raise the wall and build a toilet. I’ll pay for the work—see who’s free.”
As for building a place to cook, he could handle that alone. Once he brought some materials back, he could start anytime.
Wang Lei froze for a moment, then broke into a grin.
“Sure thing, Brother Ye! Leave it to me! I’ll make sure to find people who work fast and keep their mouths shut!”
Anyone who came to the mine was either short on money or bold enough to take risks. Earning some extra cash when not working underground was something everyone welcomed—after all, surface work was much safer.
After glancing around, Wang Lei rolled his eyes and leaned closer, lowering his voice.
“Brother Ye, the yard’s no problem. But what about Wang Manli… Are we just letting it go? She dared to come to your door and bully sister-in-law today. Who knows what she’ll do tomorrow.”
Gu Ye’s gaze suddenly turned cold, like shards of ice in the dead of winter.
He didn’t answer directly. Instead, he draped an arm over Wang Lei’s shoulder and bent down to whisper a few words into his ear.
As Wang Lei listened, his eyes widened at first. Then a spark of excitement and understanding flashed through them. He nodded heavily, a knowing grin spreading across his face.
“Brilliant! Brother Ye, that move is perfect! Don’t worry—I’ll handle it neatly. It won’t trace back to us at all!”
Gu Ye released him, returning to his usual indifferent expression. He only let out a vague grunt from his nose.
He knew it—his Brother Ye was definitely not the forgiving type. Forgetting grudges was impossible.
Having one worry settled, Wang Lei’s mood brightened. He couldn’t resist bumping Gu Ye with his elbow, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly.
“Not bad, Brother Ye! It hasn’t even been that long and you already know to tidy up the house properly? If you ask me, you should’ve done this earlier! I tried to persuade you before but you never listened. That place had nothing in it—you were just barely getting by.”
“Tsk, having a woman in the house really makes a difference, huh?”
The teasing was obvious. Normally, Gu Ye would have coldly told him to get lost.
But this time, an untimely image flashed through his mind—Lin Wan standing in that shabby yard, frowning as she pointed here and there.
His face remained expressionless, but his jaw tightened slightly. He raised his hand and lightly punched Wang Lei’s shoulder.
“Cut the nonsense. Go handle it.”
His tone was still stiff, but Wang Lei—who knew him well—sharply noticed that this time… Brother Ye wasn’t actually angry.
Wang Lei chuckled and didn’t dodge. Turning around, he ran off in a flash.
Gu Ye stayed where he was, his gaze sweeping across the chaotic mining site before drifting toward the small house in the distance—the one that belonged to him and was now occupied by someone else.
Then he turned and walked in the opposite direction.
No one knew what Gu Ye had done.
When he pushed open the creaking wooden door upon returning home, he saw Lin Wan squatting in a corner, gesturing toward the empty vegetable patch while muttering to herself.
Hearing the noise, she looked up, her eyes sparkling.
“Did you settle it? When can the work start?”
The glow of the setting sun slipped through the crack in the door, landing perfectly on her upturned face and outlining it with a warm golden rim.
Looking at her, a certain hard corner in Gu Ye’s heart suddenly softened.
He calmly looked away, his Adam’s apple moving slightly, and only gave a simple reply.
“Mm.”
“The people I found can come tomorrow.”
Lin Wan clapped the dust off her hands and stood up, clearly satisfied with the efficiency.
“What about the cooking place?”
“I’ll start building it now. It won’t take long.”
Only then did Lin Wan notice the materials piled near the doorway—bricks, yellow clay, an iron pot, a chimney…
Everything was prepared quite thoroughly.
She couldn’t help but sigh dramatically.
“Ah, how lucky I am to run into such a capable man like you.”
Especially when her meaningful gaze slowly traveled from Gu Ye’s sturdy thighs up to his narrow, powerful waist.
Gu Ye, who was carrying materials toward the corner, stumbled for a moment before quickly steadying himself.
He paused for two seconds. Wanting to say something, he ultimately chose silence.
Better pretend he didn’t hear.
He was afraid Lin Wan would take advantage and push her luck.
If Gu Ye had been born in the twenty-first century, he would know there was a phrase that perfectly described his subtle feeling:
—Wanting to slap someone, yet afraid they might lick your palm.