Everyone looked at one another, unable to understand why the usually good-tempered Chen Jingbai was unhappy too.
Hadn’t he gone out with his sister? Why had he come back right after He He, while Chen Jingyi was nowhere to be seen?
Had he argued with Chen Jingyi?
But that didn’t seem possible either. In all this time, they had never seen Chen Jingbai and Chen Jingyi argue or even get angry with each other. Chen Jingbai protected his sister so much. How could he possibly have fought with Chen Jingyi?
And so, everyone turned to look at He He, who had come in just before him.
Had He He made him angry?
Everyone present, including Zheng Xinxin, turned their attention to He He.
Zheng Xinxin even gently nudged He He’s arm and leaned closer to whisper, “What’s wrong with Chen Jingbai?”
He He was still angry.
“Who knows what’s wrong with him.”
He He’s voice was a little loud. Not only did Zheng Xinxin hear her, but everyone sitting there clearly heard what she’d said.
The other educated youths glanced at Chen Jingbai, the person in question, then awkwardly pretended to be busy.
The muscles in Chen Jingbai’s arms hanging at his sides tensed.
Sun Jiabao took the initiative to defuse the situation. “It’s getting late. I’m going to wash up and sleep. We still have to get up early for work tomorrow.”
Once Sun Jiabao spoke, the other educated youths also began saying one after another that they were going to rest.
When Sun Jiabao left, he dragged Chen Jingbai away with him.
In an instant, only He He and Zheng Xinxin remained in the dining area.
Once everyone else was gone, Zheng Xinxin asked He He, “What’s wrong with you? Did you and Chen Jingbai have an argument?”
He He said, “We didn’t argue. I just can’t stand him. I simply hate him.”
She hated him to death.
Always wearing that cold expression like some pampered young master.
Zheng Xinxin didn’t know what to say.
That was simply He He’s temper. If she didn’t like someone, it would immediately show on her face, and she’d say it outright.
All Zheng Xinxin could say was that Chen Jingbai was unlucky enough to have offended He He again.
“Let’s wash up and go to bed early too. I’m getting sleepy.”
After He He agreed, Zheng Xinxin extinguished the kerosene lamp in the dining area, and the two left together.
By the time Cheng Sulin and Chen Jingyi finished talking and returned, kerosene lamps were already lit in both the men’s and women’s dormitories.
Having successfully confessed his feelings, Cheng Sulin looked puzzled.
“Why did everyone go back to their rooms so early tonight?”
Chen Jingyi shook her head. “I don’t know. Let’s go back too.”
Chen Jingyi still hadn’t completely recovered from what had just happened.
Somehow, in a daze and on impulse, she had agreed to Cheng Sulin’s confession.
Even now, she still felt a little lightheaded.
Cheng Sulin looked at Chen Jingyi’s profile, his heart pounding wildly.
“Good night. Get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Chen Jingyi said, “See you tomorrow.”
Chen Jingyi opened the door to the women’s dormitory with a smile on her face.
Zheng Xinxin noticed that Chen Jingyi’s smile tonight seemed unusually happy and asked, “Jingyi, why are you so happy tonight?”
Chen Jingyi touched the corner of her mouth, smoothing away her smile.
“Am I?”
Zheng Xinxin said, “You are.”
He He also looked toward Chen Jingyi.
Chen Jingyi really was happy right now. She usually never smiled this happily. Just like Chen Jingbai, she was normally someone who rarely smiled.
It looked like Cheng Sulin and Chen Jingyi had gotten together.
He He breathed a sigh of relief.
The male and female leads really hadn’t had an easy time with their relationship.
Still, she was amazing. It had only taken her one day to bring about a match.
Now Chen Jingyi wouldn’t misunderstand anything about her.
He He felt pleased with herself.
But the moment she thought of Chen Jingbai, she couldn’t feel happy anymore.
Chen Jingbai’s heart was much harder to warm than Chen Jingyi’s.
She would persist for three days at most.
If she still couldn’t warm Chen Jingbai’s heart after three days, then she wouldn’t bother becoming some female lead anymore. Rather than wasting her time on this, she might as well build a good relationship with Chen Jingyi.
As the female lead, Chen Jingyi’s grades were also unbelievably good.
When it came time for them to study for the gaokao, He He could just latch onto Chen Jingyi as her powerful backer instead.
After Li Baiyun finished washing up, the women took turns doing the same. Once everyone was done, Chen Jingyi, who was the last to get into bed, extinguished the kerosene lamp.
Chen Jingyi was very tight-lipped.
She didn’t tell anyone that she and Cheng Sulin were together. She simply brushed off the earlier questions with vague answers.
Before being sent to the countryside, she had never imagined that she would find a partner here.
Chen Jingyi had thought her entire life would simply pass like this.
But then Cheng Sulin appeared, carrying a heart full of warmth as he crashed into her cold world.
Chen Jingyi was grateful that Cheng Sulin and He He were very, very close relatives.
Her feelings weren’t one-sided.
Cheng Sulin liked her too.
Just a few days ago, she had still thought He He and Cheng Sulin would end up together.
Yet today, Cheng Sulin had confessed to her.
She longed for Cheng Sulin’s kindness toward her.
So when she heard Cheng Sulin say that He He was his little aunt, Chen Jingyi admitted that she had breathed an enormous sigh of relief.
The envy in her heart that had nowhere to go finally drifted away.
Chen Jingyi knew she wasn’t a perfect person.
When she believed that the person she liked didn’t like her in return but instead liked someone else who was more outstanding, she would feel envious. She would feel jealous and wonder why that kindness couldn’t belong to her alone.
Ever since misfortune befell her family, Chen Jingyi had rarely received kindness from outsiders.
Especially not the kind of wholehearted kindness Cheng Sulin gave her.
Lying in bed, Chen Jingyi remembered Cheng Sulin’s sincere gaze and couldn’t fall asleep for a long time.
Early the next morning, just as dawn began to break, the brigade’s work bell rang on time.
He He dragged herself awake with sleepy eyes and stuffed a biscuit into her mouth. She took one bite and chewed for a long time before finally swallowing.
Breakfast that morning was steamed sweet potato, one for each person.
He He was tired of eating it, so she tossed her sweet potato to Cheng Sulin, whose appetite was like an ox’s. She took out a packet of biscuits instead and tucked it into her pocket to eat.
There were only five biscuits in a packet, each about the size of her palm.
He He stuffed two into her mouth and washed them down with plain boiled water. Just like that, she was full.
The educated youths were all sitting in their seats eating sweet potatoes. He He alone was eating fragrant biscuits.
Everyone decided that what the eye didn’t see, the heart wouldn’t crave. They simply didn’t look in He He’s direction and pretended they didn’t know she was eating biscuits.
Sun Jiabao was close to Chen Jingbai and sat across from him.
He could see the faint shadows beneath Chen Jingbai’s eyes. When he looked beside Chen Jingbai, he noticed that Chen Jingyi had dark circles under her eyes too.
Chewing on his sweet potato, Sun Jiabao wondered what the siblings had been doing last night. How did both of them end up with dark circles?
Sun Jiabao asked, “Jingbai, did you not sleep well last night? Why do you have dark circles under your eyes?”
Chen Jingbai’s expression was extremely淡.
“Mm. I didn’t sleep well.”
Seeing that Chen Jingbai didn’t want to say more, Sun Jiabao didn’t press him.
Since neither Chen Jingbai nor Chen Jingyi had slept well, he guessed it probably had something to do with their family.
There wasn’t much he could do to help anyway, so asking wouldn’t make any difference.
Chen Jingbai really hadn’t slept well the previous night.
He couldn’t fall asleep.
He He’s series of actions yesterday had left his mind too unsettled for him to sleep.
No matter how much he thought about it, he still couldn’t understand how He He could behave so frivolously.
He thought about it for a long time without reaching any conclusion. Instead, his thoughts only grew more tangled.
Only later did he remember that he and He He merely had a transactional relationship.
There was no need to think so much.
Her frivolous behavior was part of her character. He only needed to conduct himself properly and treat whatever He He wanted from him as a transaction.
Chen Jingbai swallowed the last bite of sweet potato.
His heart was calm now, without any of the agitation he’d felt before falling asleep last night.
Once everyone finished their sweet potatoes, they quickly tidied up and headed out.
By the time the large group harvesting rice reached the fields, the eastern sky was turning pale, with faint streaks of rosy light spread across it.
Today, He He and Chen Jingbai were still partners.
He He placed her water bottle on the ground and leisurely walked toward the rice field assigned to her and Chen Jingbai.
By the time she entered the field, the diligent Chen Jingbai had already harvested a large section.
He He loosened up her body, squatted down, and began gathering the rice Chen Jingbai had cut, stacking the stalks neatly together.
The heads and ends of the rice stalks had to be aligned properly. If the pile was messy, the work-point recorder would deduct points.
Squatting on the ground, He He carefully aligned the stalks while secretly glancing at Chen Jingbai ahead of her, who somehow even looked elegant while cutting rice.
She pondered how she could break the ice with him.
The field assigned to He He and Chen Jingbai today was near several young men from the brigade.
They didn’t look particularly hardworking. Instead, they were chattering noisily and bragging to one another.
They hadn’t even been working for long, yet they’d already spent plenty of time bragging.
He He recognized them.
They were notorious loafers in the brigade.
With her back to them, He He continued gathering rice. She had no intention of provoking them and bringing trouble upon herself.
These people never did anything good and caused plenty of trouble. Everyone in the brigade disliked them.
Unfortunately, even if you didn’t provoke hooligans, hooligans loved taking the initiative to provoke you.
One of them walked over. His hair looked as though chickens had pecked at it, and a piece of straw hung from his mouth. Looking every bit like a hooligan, he deliberately raised his voice.
“Well, well, isn’t this our brigade’s famous deaf educated youth? How’d you end up harvesting rice near us without even saying hello? Are we still good brothers or not?”
One of his companions made exaggerated faces. “Junzi, you need to speak louder. Better yet, shout. Didn’t you already say he’s deaf? With that mosquito-like voice of yours, how’s he supposed to hear you?”
A slightly older man beside Junzi, who also looked somewhat steadier than the others, said, “This deaf guy sure can work. He’s already cut so much rice in such a short time. Once you’re finished, why don’t you help your good older brothers over here too?”
“Exactly, exactly. Deaf guy, you can gather our rice for us later.”
After saying that, the group burst into laughter.
He He clenched her fists, her fair, pink-tinged face filled with anger.
Before Chen Jingbai could come over, He He, who was closest to them, stepped forward and shouted at the group.
“Don’t you find the way you talk disgusting? Who gave you the right to call him deaf? What the hell are you people, anyway? And you want him to help with your work?”
“He can only do work for me! Did you ask for my permission before getting any ideas about him?”
He He’s critical gaze swept over them from head to toe.
They were ugly as hell.
What kind of trash dared jump out in front of her?
Junzi, who stood directly in front of He He, was immediately furious at being pointed at and scolded by a young woman.
“You damn woman! Who asked you to speak? What, are you in such a hurry to stand up for your old lover?”
He had just raised his hand, intending to slap her, when the companion beside him pulled him away.
Zhou Dahe leaned close to Junzi’s ear and said, “Don’t mess with this female educated youth. Her family has connections. None of the people who messed with her before ended up well. Don’t you remember?”
Zhou Dahe remembered it clearly.
It was this female educated youth. Her name seemed to be He He.
Her temper was absolutely terrible, though she really was pretty and delicate-looking.
When she’d first been sent to the countryside, Wang San had taken a liking to her.
Wang San had been stupid too. In broad daylight, he’d actually dared to recklessly harass her.
But how could this female educated youth possibly be easy to bully?
Originally, the brigade could have simply educated Wang San and let the matter end there. After all, he hadn’t actually managed to do anything to her.
Who would have expected He He to bring public security officers over from the commune and insist on accusing Wang San of hooliganism?
Originally, there hadn’t been any evidence.
But He He stubbornly refused to let the matter go. No one knew what method she’d used, but in the end, the public security officers arrested Wang San for hooliganism.
Even now, Wang San was still undergoing labor education at the quarry.
Junzi was forgetful and had long since forgotten about it.
But Zhou Dahe had watched from nearby when the public security officers arrested Wang San. Even after two years, his impression of He He remained vivid.
How could he possibly dare provoke this female educated youth?
She was terrifyingly fierce.
Zhou Dahe put on an insincere smile and said to He He, “Sorry. We said the wrong thing. You’re a magnanimous person, so don’t stoop to our level. We’re used to talking nonsense. We weren’t targeting you two.”
He He kept a stern face.
“You also need to apologize to Chen Jingbai.”
Zhou Dahe led the others who had insulted Chen Jingbai earlier and insincerely said to him, “Sorry. We shouldn’t have insulted you.”
The moment the hooligans finished speaking, they noticed several educated youths nearby had seen the commotion and were heading over.
They immediately scattered and returned to their original places.
Chen Jingbai lowered his eyes.
“Thank you for speaking up for me.”
He He said, “We all live under the same roof. It’s only right.”
Several educated youths came over and asked what had happened.
After He He explained the whole story, they angrily said they should go find the brigade leader and demand justice.
Normally, they rarely interacted with these hooligans from the brigade and hardly ever saw them. But now that those people had spoken disrespectfully to Chen Jingbai, it was as good as slapping their entire educated youth station in the face.
They might be easy to bully, but that didn’t mean they had no temper.
The moment they finished speaking, Sun Jiabao took the lead and angrily started toward the brigade leader.
Chen Jingbai stopped them.
“It’s useless. Even if you go to the brigade leader, those people will only get lectured. Afterward, they’ll go right back to their old ways.”
“He He already stood up for me just now. It doesn’t matter if they say a few things about me. I’ll just avoid them from now on.”
“You should all go back and keep working. Don’t delay the rice harvest.”
Chen Jingyi looked at her younger brother like this and felt terribly distressed.
“Xiaobai, are you really okay?”
Chen Jingbai shook his head.
Chen Jingyi’s heart clenched painfully.
Xiaobai hadn’t been like this before.
In the past, he had been free-spirited and uninhibited. If someone bullied him, he would hit them back just as fiercely.
But ever since misfortune befell their family, everyone had become cautious and restrained.
Xiaobai had also become quiet and withdrawn, often choosing to endure grievances himself.
Seeing that everyone was still worried about him, Chen Jingbai could only reassure them repeatedly.
“I’m not that fragile. Don’t worry.”
Only then did the other educated youths, including Chen Jingyi, allow themselves to be persuaded back to their places.
After everyone left, Chen Jingbai also returned to his spot.
He picked up his sickle and grasped a handful of rice stalks.
With one swift movement, he sliced the stalks cleanly from their roots.
He raised his head and looked toward the group of hooligans.
His gaze swept lightly over them.
As he lowered his head again, a sinister glint flashed through his eyes.