Yang Mingfeng was slapped in the face with that label of “traitor,” the accusation loud and forceful, carrying an air of bullying dominance.
He thought this would shut Lin Peiru up, make her feel ashamed, and push her back into the “one of us” camp.
However, Lin Peiru only looked at him quietly.
Her clear eyes showed no panic at all. Instead, they looked like black obsidian washed clean by water—clearer, sharper, reflecting his anger and embarrassment.
“What do you mean I’m speaking up for outsiders?” she said.
Her voice was cool and calm, like a stream flowing through a mountain valley—neither fast nor loud, yet it washed away Yang Mingfeng’s aggressive accusation completely.
Her gaze slowly moved from Yang Mingfeng’s flushed face across every educated youth present, before returning to him.
“Strictly speaking, you’re also an outsider to me.”
“We only met today for the first time.”
“I only just learned your name.”
Her words were not loud, but each one felt like a precise slap to the face, draining the color from Yang Mingfeng’s expression as it shifted repeatedly.
The atmosphere in the courtyard grew even more suffocating than before.
After a pause, Lin Peiru added with genuine confusion in her tone:
“So when I try to understand what happened and ask for the truth of the situation, what exactly is the problem?”
She tilted her head slightly, her eyes both innocent and sharp.
“On the contrary—why are you avoiding answering?”
Yang Mingfeng froze completely, like a clay statue locked in place, his expression awkward and ugly.
Shame and anger churned inside him until he nearly exploded.
He straightened his neck, swallowed hard several times, and finally squeezed out:
“Didn’t I already explain it clearly?!”
“Really?” Lin Peiru blinked. “Where exactly did you explain clearly?”
She casually counted on her fingers:
“You said Huo Yunshen is unfriendly to educated youths.”
“You said he hit you.”
“So I just asked what you said that made him hit you—isn’t that a very normal question?”
Each sentence was like a fine needle, piercing directly into his guilty spots.
He was left speechless, his face turning the color of liver, eyes darting everywhere, unable to meet hers.
“I… I already forgot what I said…” he muttered vaguely, voice as small as a mosquito.
“Oh—” Lin Peiru nodded as if enlightened.
“So your memory is really quite bad.”
It sounded like a simple statement, but to Yang Mingfeng, it was pure sarcasm. Every word stung, making him want to dig a hole and hide.
Just then, another male educated youth stepped forward.
He was the male team leader, Zhou Bin, tall and sturdy, looking more composed.
“I remember!” he said, scratching his head. “Mingfeng told me about it.”
All eyes turned toward him.
He tried to ease the situation and said casually, “He said he just made a joke with him.”
“He complimented him on being good-looking. Who knew that guy would explode like a firecracker and get angry.”
“What time was that?” Lin Peiru immediately pressed.
“Don’t miss any detail.”
Zhou Bin replied without thinking, “Two years ago.”
“Two years ago?” Lin Peiru quickly calculated in her mind.
Huo Yunshen was not even nineteen now—two years ago, he would have been under seventeen.
Her expression subtly changed.
“So he was still a minor then?”
Her voice was soft, but it made everyone pause.
“For most of us already adult educated youths, that would still be the age of a child.”
Her gaze shifted back to Yang Mingfeng, curious and probing.
“I’m also quite curious—what kind of ‘compliment’ could make a teenage boy so angry that he would throw a punch?”
A faint, half-smiling expression appeared on her lips.
“After all, even if a boy dislikes being called good-looking, it doesn’t usually make him so angry that he hits someone, does it?”
Yang Mingfeng felt suffocated by her words, unable to breathe properly.
How was he supposed to respond?
Admit that his earlier explanation was fake, and that he actually said something else?
His eyes rolled, and he forced the issue back, speaking shamelessly:
“How would I know why he hit me? Go ask him yourself!”
“Ask him why a minor would hit someone just because of a ‘compliment’!”
He emphasized “minor” and “compliment,” trying to shift all blame onto Huo Yunshen’s supposed temper.
“Alright.”
Unexpectedly, Lin Peiru nodded decisively and turned as if she was about to leave.
“I’ll go ask him right now.”
That movement made Yang Mingfeng’s heart drop instantly.
Damn it—
Only then did he remember: this sharp-tongued new educated youth lived in Huo Yunshen’s house!
If she went back and told him everything, that madman might come back swinging a hoe and split him in half!
His face turned pale in an instant, his mind in chaos, desperately thinking how to stop her.
“You—”
Just as he opened his mouth, a deep voice came from inside the house, interrupting him.
“Comrade Lin, you’re here?”
The village head, Li Dashan, walked out.
His dark, weathered face carried the honesty of a farmer. Seeing the tense atmosphere, he paused but did not ask.
His eyes fell on Lin Peiru.
“Today is your first day. Go with Comrade Wang and start work—let her show you how things are done in the fields.”
He pointed toward Wang Wenqing.
The same Lin Peiru who had just been like a thorny little hedgehog stabbing Yang Mingfeng into embarrassment instantly changed her demeanor.
She turned and gave Li Dashan a bright, sweet smile.
“Okay! I understand, Uncle Village Head!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll work hard and not hold anyone back!”
Her voice was bright and cheerful, like a child excited for a field trip.
Li Dashan’s mouth twitched slightly.
Looking at her overly fair and delicate face, and her overly optimistic expression, he silently sighed.
This young educated girl was far too optimistic.
She clearly had no idea what kind of hardship was waiting for her ahead.
Life in the fields was nothing like what city girls imagined.