Once Xiaotao finished her homework, Gu Beizheng took her home.
As they were leaving, he stopped in his tracks and said to Xu Zhouzhou, “The Village Head will arrange a new place for you as soon as possible.”
“Huh? Oh!” Xu Zhouzhou was stunned for a moment. Did he bring up my situation in front of the Village Head?
Watching their retreating figures, Xu Zhouzhou knew she had gambled correctly. Gu Beizheng’s heart wasn’t as cold as his exterior suggested. at the very least, he hadn’t truly hardened his heart enough to leave her to fend for herself.
…..
Late at night, his sister and Xiaotao were both asleep. Gu Beizheng carried a bucket to the well behind the house to wash up.
A bucket of cold water was doused from his head to his toes, driving away the stifling summer heat. He wiped the water from his face and began drying his body with a towel.
His hand paused over the left side of his chest; there was still a faint, throbbing pain there. It seemed to be swollen.
He lowered his head to look. The marks left by two rows of small teeth hadn’t fully faded yet.
Remembering the pitiful way the woman had begged him at the educated youth center today, an inexplicable agitation suddenly rushed up from his chest. He frowned, scooped up another ladle of cold water, and poured it over his head.
Simply ridiculous. He wasn’t the kind of man who would go soft just because a woman cried a little. He was hard as nails—even his hair was stiff—so how could his heart go soft?
The summer night was muggy, and the frogs in the pond outside were far too clamorous. Gu Beizheng tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. It wasn’t until just before dawn that he finally felt a trace of drowsiness.
Who knew that the moment he closed his eyes, he would start dreaming? In the dream, a woman’s snow-white thighs wrapped around him, and fiery red lips roamed over his body. He pulled the woman up, meeting a pair of glistening, watery eyes. When he saw that face clearly, his body jolted violently, and he woke up with a start.
He lay there panting heavily, staring blankly at the roof. His throat was dry as he swallowed hard. He sat up, looked down at his trousers, and pinched the bridge of his nose with a look of utter defeat.
The sky was just beginning to brighten. He changed his clothes, took the bed sheet and his trousers to the well to wash them, and after hanging them out to dry, he went to the kitchen to make breakfast.
By the time Ding Lan and Xiaotao got up, breakfast was already on the table.
Xiaotao was overjoyed when she saw the fried eggs and millet porridge on the table. “I love Uncle’s fried eggs the most! They’re crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and so fragrant.”
Gu Beizheng rubbed her head. “If you like them, eat up quickly. You have to go to school after you eat.”
“Since you’ve been here these past few days, you’ve spoiled Xiaotao’s palate. She doesn’t even like my cooking anymore.” Ding Lan chided them with a smile, then turned and saw the bed sheet and clothes on the clothesline.
“Why are you washing clothes so early in the morning? Washing clothes and cooking… you didn’t get up before dawn, did you?”
Gu Beizheng sat next to Xiaotao. Hearing Ding Lan’s words, he avoided her questioning gaze and mumbled vaguely, “I’m used to getting up early in the army. Once the time comes, I can’t sleep anymore.”
Ding Lan sat down beside them and said, “Leave the clothes for me to wash. What kind of grown man washes his own clothes and sheets?”
Gu Beizheng lowered his eyes and sipped his porridge. “In the army, we all wash them ourselves.”
“You’re not in the army right now. When you’re home, you should rest properly. Don’t wash the clothes; leave them for me, do you hear?” Ding Lan placed an egg in Gu Beizheng’s bowl.
“Really don’t need you to, Sis. I can wash them myself.” Gu Beizheng tried to protest one last time.
“You child, is it possible you’ve hidden some treasure inside those clothes?” Ding Lan looked at him with a teasing smile.
“I know! Uncle has hidden gold in his clothes.”
“Pfft!” Hearing Xiaotao’s words, Gu Beizheng nearly sprayed his mouthful of porridge across the table.
“What’s wrong?” Ding Lan looked at Gu Beizheng in confusion.
“Hot. The porridge is too hot.” Gu Beizheng squeezed out a dry smile at Ding Lan. In his heart, he chanted silently: Gold, gold, she said gold(Jin).
Feeling a black line of awkwardness descend over his head, he buried his face in his bowl and focused on eating.
……
At the educated youth center, Xu Zhouzhou also woke up sporting a pair of dark circles under her eyes. She sat on the bed gloomily, her head hanging low. What kind of messy dream was that? Spring is over, so what is that damn big flower cat yowling for? It cried all night—so noisy.
Gu Beizheng’s medicine seemed very effective. After applying it for a day, aside from some bruising, it didn’t hurt much anymore. After eating a simple breakfast, Xu Zhouzhou took her books and headed to the school.
When school let out at noon, Principal Wang hurried over to tell her, “Teacher Xu, the Village Head came by today. He said we should clear out an office in the school to serve as your dormitory. I’ve already had someone clean it up; you can move in tonight.”
“Huh? Really?” Xu Zhouzhou recalled what Gu Beizheng had said yesterday; she hadn’t expected the Village Head to follow through so quickly. She had also heard today about Gu Beizheng getting the village a new transformer. It seemed his standing with the Village Head was indeed very high.
“Yes. Although the school building isn’t anything fancy, it’s still better than that Educated Youth Center of yours. It’s closer to the village, and it’s convenient for washing up.”
Principal Wang was a kind man, but also a cautious one. When he first hired Xu Zhouzhou for the school because of her high school education, it had already stirred up quite a bit of gossip.
Although he knew Xu Zhouzhou’s living situation was terrible, he believed in the philosophy that avoiding trouble was better than courting it, so it wasn’t his place to say much.
Fortunately, since the Village Head brought it up himself, he no longer had any reservations and quickly made the arrangements.
“Alright, thank you, Principal. I’ll go back and pack up; I’ll move in today.” Xu Zhouzhou was delighted. The school building had been built just a few years ago; it was all brick and tile, with new doors and windows—much safer than her mud-brick hut.
After school that afternoon, Xiaotao was originally supposed to go with her for tutoring. When she heard she was moving, she excitedly insisted on helping her pack.
“Teacher Xu, I’ll go drop off my schoolbag and come right back.”
Xu Zhouzhou watched the little girl dash off, smiled and shook her head, then went inside to start packing her belongings.
In truth, the original owner didn’t have many possessions: just a small leather suitcase containing a few clothes and some personal items. The rest was just her bedding.
After packing, Xu Zhouzhou was about to carry the suitcase out when she saw Xiaotao excitedly dragging Gu Beizheng over.
“Teacher Xu, I found you a helper. Look how strong my uncle is.” Xiaotao mischievously lifted Gu Beizheng’s tank top, and two rows of well-defined abs were exposed right there in all their glory.
Xu Zhouzhou’s eyes lit up. Remembering the dream from the night before, she looked up and locked eyes with Gu Beizheng. A trace of inexplicable awkwardness floated across both their faces, and they unnaturally averted their gazes.
But that lingering, sensual dream burrowed into Xu Zhouzhou’s mind like a worm and then burst open. She lowered her head, bit her lip, frowned, and turned away, saying in a muffled voice, “I don’t have that much stuff anyway.”
Gu Beizheng shot Xiaotao a reproaching look, then walked over and picked up her leather suitcase and bedding. “Let’s go.”
With that, he took the lead and walked out. Xu Zhouzhou stared at the man’s sturdy back, puffed out her cheeks, grabbed Xiaotao, and followed him out.
The dorm room at the school wasn’t large. There was a single bed by the window, a desk next to it, and a wooden chest resting on a stool in the corner, which could be used to store clothes and bedding.
She didn’t have much, so after a simple bit of organizing and making the bed, she was done.
Although it was simple, the room was clean and weather-tight—a hundred times better than that adobe hut at the Educated Youth Center. Xu Zhouzhou lifted her eyes to look at Gu Beizheng. If he hadn’t put in a word with the Village Head, she would still be suffering in that drafty, leaky place.
“Comrade Gu, thank you. If not for you, the Village Head wouldn’t have given me a new place to live.”
“You’re too kind, Teacher Xu. I just mentioned it in passing,” Gu Beizheng said with a flat tone.
“Teacher Xu, how do you plan to thank my uncle?” Xiaotao asked from the side, tilting her little head up.
Xu Zhouzhou: “Uh…” I was just being polite, okay, kid?
“Teacher Xu, if you’re going to thank him, you’d better do it quick. My uncle is leaving soon.” Xiaotao tugged at the hem of Xu Zhouzhou’s shirt, blinking her eyes. “You’d better hurry, Teacher Xu.”
“You’re leaving?” Xu Zhouzhou suddenly raised her head to look at Gu Beizheng.
Gu Beizheng glanced at her indifferently and said in a deep voice, “Yes, my leave is ending. I have to head back to the unit.”