Caught off guard, He He’s gaze collided with Chen Jingbai’s deep, ink-black eyes.
His gaze was still indifferent, but she could tell that something seemed to have changed.
When his handsome face was turned toward her, it was no longer as cold as ice. There was now a trace of warmth in it.
He He looked away and lightly bit the soft flesh inside her lower lip.
Chen Jingbai didn’t seem to dislike her quite as much anymore.
That made her a little delighted.
If Chen Jingbai could change little by little, even if it was only a tiny bit, then she believed that with her extraordinary methods, she would definitely be able to move Chen Jingbai’s heart.
And then she could become the female lead.
Thinking of this, He He couldn’t help feeling pleased again.
The little bit of worry she’d felt that morning disappeared as well.
As long as Chen Jingbai knew that she wasn’t the same as those hooligans, that was enough.
She wasn’t that bad.
She could treat him well.
He He stuffed a mouthful of sweet potato porridge mixed with luncheon meat into her mouth and chewed with relish.
Luncheon meat was really delicious.
Why had she never thought it tasted this good before?
He He finished every last bite in her bowl and placed it on the table.
Those who had finished eating earlier had already left. He He was the last one, and Li Baiyun was still waiting nearby to wash the dishes.
Seeing that He He had finished eating, Li Baiyun smiled.
“Xiao He, you’re finished? Leave your bowl there. I’ll take it and wash it. Hurry back and rest. You look like you’re exhausted after working all morning.”
He He was in a good mood, so she showed concern for Li Baiyun too.
“After you finish washing the dishes, hurry back and rest too.”
When had Li Baiyun ever received such a warm expression of concern from He He?
She looked at the exquisite, radiant He He in surprise.
He He really did seem to have changed.
Over the past two days, she hadn’t been as aggressive as before. She had even started showing concern for her companions.
That was truly rare.
Seeing Li Baiyun staring at her like that, He He became confused.
“What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”
She touched her face, thinking she might have forgotten her table manners while eating and left a grain of rice stuck there.
Li Baiyun smiled. “There’s nothing there. I just suddenly thought you were really pretty.”
He He’s thick, curled eyelashes fluttered.
“Huh? You only just realized I’m pretty? Haven’t I always been pretty?”
He He didn’t show the slightest embarrassment about praising herself. She openly knew that she was beautiful.
Li Baiyun couldn’t help laughing.
She had always known He He was pretty. In all the surrounding villages, she’d never seen another young woman as striking as He He.
She had only said that because He He asked why she was staring, and she’d needed an excuse.
Li Baiyun said, “I didn’t feel it as much before. Now I think you’re much cuter. Maybe it’s because you showed concern for me.”
He He’s mind began turning rapidly.
“So that’s how it is.”
So whether someone seemed beautiful or not could actually change depending on how they acted?
He He had never known that.
She had always thought beautiful was beautiful and ugly was ugly. It was something subjective and wouldn’t change because of anything else.
He He thought about it some more.
If she showed Chen Jingbai more concern, would he also think she had become prettier?
Come to think of it, Chen Jingbai had treated her much better at lunch today and hadn’t worn that nasty expression around her.
It seemed to be because she’d given him such a large piece of luncheon meat.
That counted as showing concern for him, right?
He He suddenly understood.
She felt as though she’d finally grasped the method for becoming Chen Jingbai’s female lead.
She cheerfully said goodbye to Li Baiyun and walked back to the women’s dormitory with smiling eyes.
She was another step closer to winning over Chen Jingbai.
She was amazing.
Carrying that good mood with her, He He was full of energy when she went to work that afternoon, following right behind Chen Jingbai and tying up bundle after bundle of rice.
Night fell.
After dinner at the educated youth station, everyone sat in the dining area chatting beneath the light of a single lamp.
He He normally didn’t like sitting around and chatting with them.
But her flashlight had broken some time ago, and with the busy farming season recently, she hadn’t had time to take it in for repairs. That meant she couldn’t return to her room alone to read her novels.
The educated youths were telling stories from their hometowns while taking turns going to bathe.
He He listened with great interest.
How had she never realized before that the stories they told were so thrilling and interesting?
Everyone listened attentively to Zheng Xinxin, who was currently telling a story.
After finishing his bath, Chen Jingbai returned to the dining area.
When he passed He He, she noticed him and couldn’t resist raising her eyes to study him.
He had just finished bathing, and there was a clean freshness about him, still carrying the dampness of water.
Parts of his hair were wet. His slightly damp black hair hung down, covering a little of his brows and softening his appearance.
He He stared blankly for a moment.
How had she never noticed before that Chen Jingbai had an indescribable air of a good husband about him?
One look at him and she could imagine that he’d be very good at cooking for his wife and taking care of her.
But almost immediately, Chen Jingbai’s cold eyes locked onto He He.
Her thoughts vanished instantly.
He He’s interlaced hands clenched tightly against her legs.
That scared her to death.
What had she just been thinking?
How could a man as cold as Chen Jingbai possibly know how to care for someone?!
By the time all the educated youths had taken turns bathing, the story was also coming to an end.
He He glanced at her watch.
It was ten o’clock at night.
They had stayed up late telling stories tonight. Once everyone realized how late it was, they returned to their rooms to rest.
They still had to wake up early tomorrow to harvest rice.
They couldn’t afford to be exhausted.
The night gradually deepened.
The entire Qianjin Brigade fell silent. Even the wolfdog kept at the brigade leader’s home had gone to sleep.
The men’s dormitory at the educated youth station had long since filled with the sound of snoring.
Chen Jingbai carefully got up, put on his clothes, quietly opened the door, and slipped outside.
Under the cover of night, Chen Jingbai walked for about half an hour before reaching an intersection. Without hesitation, he headed into the woods beside it.
Qianjin Brigade was surrounded by mountains, and where there were mountains, there were plenty of forests. No matter where someone wanted to go, they had to pass through this intersection.
Chen Jingbai’s hearing was poor, but his eyesight was excellent.
Using the moonlight, he carefully searched the ground and picked up a wooden stick that fit comfortably in his hand. Then he concealed himself behind a large tree, his eyes fixed firmly on the intersection.
The group who had called him deaf that morning went to the neighboring brigade to gamble almost every night after dinner.
They wouldn’t return until the early hours of the morning.
Chen Jingbai had discovered this once when he’d gone to the county town’s black market to trade goods and returned late.
That night, he’d been avoiding people and had nearly run into Zhou Dahe and the others.
Combined with the rumors circulating around the brigade that someone in the neighboring brigade had been bold enough to open a gambling den, Chen Jingbai guessed that they had gone there to gamble.
Later, during the daytime, he’d also overheard the group discussing how much money they’d won and lost.
Waiting for them was much easier than lying in wait for other young men from the brigade.
Chen Jingbai wasn’t a gentle person.
Nor was he nearly as calm as he had appeared after being insulted that morning.
Everyone who had insulted him in the past had been beaten by him.
If they insulted him once, he beat them once.
Even if they suspected him, it didn’t matter.
When he was young, Chen Jingbai had learned combat techniques from his second uncle, who served in the military.
Although his training had been interrupted during the years when his family was labeled as bad elements, he had continued practicing privately.
He had even repeatedly practiced and tested how to beat someone without leaving visible marks.
He only struck places like their abdomen, beneath the ribs, and thighs—areas with plenty of flesh and sensitive nerves.
It hurt, but it wouldn’t leave obvious marks.
Even if the people he’d beaten were willing to admit it, others would find it difficult to believe that they could be in so much pain without any visible injuries.
Chen Jingbai knew that unless people in the brigade were seriously ill, they wouldn’t go to the health station.
Those men were also young and strong. They wouldn’t be willing to lose face, much less spend money getting themselves examined when their bodies looked perfectly fine on the surface.
That made it convenient for Chen Jingbai to beat them with his fists however he pleased.
He controlled his strength carefully.
The pain would disappear after a day or two.
Even if someone suspected that Chen Jingbai had beaten them, by the time they realized it and tried to cause trouble for him, the pain would already be gone.
Besides, they were the ones who had insulted him first. They were in the wrong to begin with.
But for these hooligans, Chen Jingbai didn’t even need to bother using his fists.
He could simply use the wooden stick.
They went out gambling and didn’t return home until the early hours of the morning.
If they got beaten halfway home, would they dare tell anyone?
Compared with suspecting him, Zhou Dahe and the others were far more likely to suspect someone from the gambling den.
Zhou Dahe had shown up to work injured before anyway.
So Chen Jingbai confidently picked up the wooden stick.
He covered only his face.
The night was so dark that even his five fingers were nothing more than blurry shadows.
He would attack them from behind and give them no chance to turn around.
No one would notice who he was.
Even if they did, his face was covered. There were plenty of people with builds similar to his, greatly reducing the chance that they would suspect him.
Chen Jingbai gripped the wooden stick tightly and stared at the intersection.
Before long, three men appeared farther down the road with their arms around each other’s shoulders, looking extremely cheerful.
Zhou Dahe was in the middle.
The slovenly Junzi was on his left, and another young man was on his right.
All three of them had insulted him that morning.
Especially Junzi.
He had even spoken offensively about He He, judging others through his own filthy thoughts. He had also been the one who started the entire incident.
Chen Jingbai knew they wouldn’t discover him, but he still held his breath and focused.
The three walked past the large tree where he was hiding.
Chen Jingbai caught the heavy smell of alcohol.
His thin lips curled into a cold smile.
Perfect.
Once Zhou Dahe and the other two passed the tree and had their backs to him, Chen Jingbai silently moved up behind them.
He rotated his wrist and swung the wooden stick.
Starting with Junzi on the far left, he struck all three of them hard across the back.
The three were drunk and dazed. They didn’t even react when the person beside them was struck.
Only when the wooden stick landed on their own bodies did they realize someone was attacking them.
But it was already too late.
Chen Jingbai struck hard.
Even if they wanted to fight back, the pain in their backs held them back.
Zhou Dahe wasn’t quite as drunk as the others. He turned around and tried to identify their attacker by the faint moonlight.
But everything before him was blurry.
All he could make out was a slender man.
Clutching his back, Zhou Dahe roared and cursed, “Fuck! Which bastard dares sneak-attack me?!”
His answer was the wooden stick slamming into his thigh.
Pain exploded through his leg.
Zhou Dahe’s entire body trembled.
Another inch, and his family jewels would have been gone.
Chen Jingbai raised his left leg and kicked Junzi hard in the shin.
Junzi was already drunk. After the kick, he could no longer support himself and toppled forward.
He couldn’t even tell whether the person beating him was a man or a woman. All he could do was shout with a drunken slur, “Who is it?! Who the hell dares hit me?! Ow, ow, that hurts like hell! Don’t let me find out who you are! If I catch you, I’ll tear you into pieces!”
The other hooligan wasn’t doing any better.
He turned to face Chen Jingbai and tried to fight back, but Chen Jingbai nimbly dodged him.
His abdomen, thigh, and upper arm were all struck in quick succession.
Now only Zhou Dahe was still stubbornly holding on.
He suddenly lunged forward, trying to overpower Chen Jingbai.
But how could Chen Jingbai possibly give him the chance?
He dodged aside and brought the wooden stick down heavily across Zhou Dahe’s back again.
By then, Junzi had managed to climb back to his feet.
Seeing Chen Jingbai with his back turned, he threw himself forward.
Chen Jingbai reacted extremely quickly.
He turned and shifted sideways, guarding against Zhou Dahe on his left while swinging the wooden stick straight into Junzi’s abdomen on his right.
As he beat Junzi, the veins on the hand gripping the wooden stick bulged.
Remembering the last thing Junzi had said that morning, Chen Jingbai used more and more force.
The wooden stick struck Junzi’s flesh with heavy thuds that even Chen Jingbai could hear clearly.
Zhou Dahe and the other two had originally been drunk.
The pain from their injuries sobered them halfway, but it hurt too much, and the person beating them was ruthless, never giving them an opportunity to fight back.
In the end, there wasn’t a single part of them that didn’t hurt.
They couldn’t even straighten their legs.
All they could do was collapse weakly onto the dirt road, trembling and half-dead.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Gangster Brother Chen 😎 begins his heavy-stick assault 😡