She hurriedly bowed and sincerely thanked him. “Thank you, Team Leader! Sorry for causing you trouble!”
The team leader was a little embarrassed by her solemn manner. He waved his hand, the smile on his face growing even wider.
His impression of this newly arrived female educated youth was practically as good as it could get.
She was neither arrogant nor impatient, worked steadily and diligently, and was polite. Compared with some of the smooth-talking male educated youths on the team, she was simply worlds apart!
“Go on. It’s still the same plot of land as yesterday. Just husk one more row than you did yesterday.”
“Okay!”
Lin Peiru answered crisply.
What was one extra row?
She now had her “Love Brand” work gloves to protect her hands. She felt like she could husk an entire mountain of corn!
However, just as she headed toward the cornfield at the west end of the village full of ambition, she ran into several male educated youths.
One of them was Yang Mingfeng.
Lin Peiru’s footsteps paused. Then, a smile brighter than the sun bloomed across her face.
She took the initiative to approach them, her voice as sweet as honey.
“Good morning, everyone! What a coincidence. Are you all heading to work too?”
The male educated youths were caught off guard by her sudden enthusiasm. Yang Mingfeng’s heart gave a jolt, and his instinct was to retreat.
For some reason, he always felt that there was something strange about this female educated youth.
She clearly had an innocent, harmless baby face, and her smile was lively and adorable. Yet those clear, sparkling eyes seemed capable of seeing through everything.
At that moment, those very eyes were smiling at him.
But Yang Mingfeng felt as though he were being stared at by a demon. His scalp prickled with unease.
Sure enough.
Lin Peiru’s next words were directed straight at him.
“Educated Youth Yang,” she said, tilting her head with an utterly innocent expression, “did you think carefully about it after you went back yesterday?”
“At the threshing ground that day, what exactly did you say to Comrade Yunshen that was so shockingly honest that it made him so angry he hit someone?”
The moment she said this, the surroundings fell completely silent.
The educated youths worked themselves to exhaustion every day. Aside from work points and food, they hardly had room in their minds for anything else, so who would have remembered such an old matter?
But now that Lin Peiru had brought it up, everyone’s memories came rushing back.
Their gazes, filled with curiosity and scrutiny, all fell on Yang Mingfeng’s face, which had instantly stiffened.
The atmosphere seemed to freeze in that moment.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Yang Mingfeng like searchlights.
There was curiosity, examination, and even a hint of anticipation at seeing some drama unfold.
Yang Mingfeng’s face went from white to green, then from green to red, changing more spectacularly than a performer onstage.
He could feel cold sweat soaking his back. Lin Peiru’s seemingly innocent question was like a sharp blade, ruthlessly stripping away layer after layer of his hypocritical mask.
He opened his mouth, but his throat felt as though it had been stuffed with cotton. Not a single word would come out.
He could only force himself to squeeze out a smile that looked worse than crying.
“Educated Youth Lin, you… you’re joking.”
“That was almost two years ago. How could I possibly remember the details so clearly?”
As he spoke, he guiltily avoided Lin Peiru’s gaze.
Lin Peiru did not get angry. Instead, she gave a soft “tsk.”
The sound was not loud, but it was like a little whip lashing against Yang Mingfeng’s already taut nerves.
Her clear eyes carried an indescribable meaning as she slowly looked him up and down.
There was thirty percent mockery, thirty percent understanding, and forty percent pity—as though she had seen through everything.
It was as if she were saying: I saw through your little tricks long ago.
Yang Mingfeng felt his scalp go numb under her gaze. He almost wanted to run away on the spot.
Then he heard Lin Peiru speak with a light, slightly regretful tone.
“Oh, I see.”
“That’s such a shame.”
“But it’s all right. Educated Youth Yang, take your time thinking about it. There’s no need to rush.”
She winked at him, her smile becoming even brighter.
“I believe there will always be a day when you remember.”
Her words were light and airy, yet they struck Yang Mingfeng’s heart like a massive boulder.
His face instantly turned green again.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his fingernails nearly dug into his flesh, yet he could not utter a single word in rebuttal.
Seeing him completely at a loss, Lin Peiru withdrew her gaze in satisfaction.
That was exactly the effect she wanted.
She waved at the other dumbfounded educated youths, her smile still sweet.
“I’m going to work now. Everyone, work hard too!”
With that, she turned around and walked toward the cornfield with light, brisk steps, even humming an unknown tune.
Her carefree back seemed to suggest that the tense confrontation that had just taken place had nothing to do with her whatsoever.
In truth, she did not really care about finding out exactly what Yang Mingfeng had said back then.
Seeing how stubbornly he refused to admit anything was enough to prove that whatever he had said was definitely not anything good.
Her public question today was simply meant to serve as a warning to everyone.
Especially these simple-minded educated youths. She did not want them to be used as someone else’s weapon while foolishly helping that person count their money.
People still needed to have their own thoughts and judgment.
And Lin Peiru’s words had indeed been like a stone thrown into the lake of the other educated youths’ minds, creating countless ripples.
They looked at one another, their expressions complicated.
Before this, they had indeed only heard Yang Mingfeng’s side of the story.
After all, Zhou Bin had only seen Huo Yunshen hitting someone from a distance at the time. No one actually knew what had happened.
Coincidentally, around that period, a villager from the family where an educated youth was staying had stolen and eaten the youth’s food ration. The incident had caused a huge commotion and led to endless arguments.
Because of that incident, most of the educated youths had developed some resentment and prejudice toward the local villagers.
So when Yang Mingfeng tearfully complained that Huo Yunshen had bullied him, everyone had immediately formed an opinion based on what they heard. Without investigating the truth, they simply assumed that Huo Yunshen was another unreasonable local bully who enjoyed picking on outsiders.
But now that Lin Peiru had pointed it out, they suddenly felt that perhaps… things were not that simple.
There seemed to be far too many details that deserved closer examination.
When they looked at Yang Mingfeng’s face, which had gone from green to white and back again, obvious suspicion had already appeared in their eyes.
It really seemed that… everything had been nothing more than Yang Mingfeng’s side of the story.
Lin Peiru’s figure gradually disappeared into the distance. The light tune she hummed seemed like feathers, repeatedly brushing against Yang Mingfeng’s pride.
He stared fiercely at her retreating figure, his gaze so sinister it seemed capable of dripping venom.
An uncontrollable mixture of anger and humiliation raged inside his chest, burning his organs with pain.
Why?
Why did a newcomer like her dare to humiliate him in front of everyone?
Wasn’t it simply because she was somewhat pretty and knew how to curry favor with the Huo family?
He abruptly turned around and looked at the several educated youths who had not yet dispersed. The muscles on his face twitched slightly with rage.
“Look at her! Just look at her!” His voice was shrill and sharp, filled with venomous resentment as though he had completely given up on maintaining appearances. “What is this little Educated Youth Lin trying to pull? Huh?”
“Why is she defending that Huo Yunshen so much? Just because she’s been staying at his house for two days?”
The educated youths were startled by his sudden outburst. They exchanged glances, and no one responded.
Seeing that no one was agreeing with him, the anger in Yang Mingfeng’s heart burned even hotter.
He deliberately curled his lips and spoke in an extremely frivolous and contemptuous tone.
“Could it be… because she thinks that Huo Yunshen is good-looking, so she’s throwing herself at him and rushing to speak up for him?”
The atmosphere instantly grew colder.
Although the words were phrased vaguely, who could fail to understand the filthy implication behind them?
He was essentially saying that Lin Peiru was a frivolous woman who had taken a liking to Huo Yunshen because of his looks, and that was why she defended him without caring about right or wrong.
In these conservative times, such words were undoubtedly an attempt to smear a female comrade’s reputation with filth. It was vicious beyond measure.