Chen Jingbai returned to the educated youth station carrying a handful of medicinal herbs. He passed by the dining area on his way to the woodshed.
There weren’t many people sitting in the dining area at the moment.
Seeing the handful of herbs in Chen Jingbai’s hand, Sun Jiabao curiously asked, “Jingbai, what kind of herb is that? Did you pick it from the mountain behind the house? What did you pick it for?”
The others looked at him curiously as well.
Li Baiyun recognized it as oldenlandia. There were still tiny white flowers growing on it.
There was plenty of it on the mountain behind the house at this time of year. It could clear internal heat and relieve the effects of summer heat, and it could also help with coughing.
They had gone up the mountain to gather some before, washing it clean and boiling it to drink. It was especially refreshing in the sweltering summer and also helped prevent heatstroke.
Li Baiyun said, “Looks like oldenlandia to me. Are you going to boil it into a herbal drink? It really has been hot lately. Every day in the fields, I feel like I’m about to get heatstroke. Hats are basically useless. Didn’t Xiao He nearly faint from heatstroke this afternoon? Summer really is hard to endure.”
At the mention of He He, a trace of mockery flashed through Chen Jingbai’s eyes.
She was perfectly fine.
Why would she need the herbal drink he’d made from oldenlandia?
But he quickly concealed his expression.
“I was worried everyone else might get heatstroke too, so I thought I’d pick some from the mountain and boil it. Everyone should feel a little better after drinking some.”
Chen Jingyi looked at her younger brother.
Perhaps it was the intuition between twins, but she could sense that he wasn’t in a very good mood.
She stood up and reached for the herbs in Chen Jingbai’s hand.
“Xiaobai, give them to me. I’ll boil them. You’ve been working all day. Hurry up and take a bath. Drink some herbal tea tonight and go to bed early.”
Chen Jingbai didn’t refuse.
He wasn’t in the mood to boil anything right now anyway.
He handed the oldenlandia to Chen Jingyi.
A bloody scratch across the back of his hand entered Chen Jingyi’s sight.
Her pupils widened, and her voice immediately became anxious.
“Xiaobai, what happened to your hand? Did you scratch it while picking the oldenlandia?”
Chen Jingbai withdrew his hand, concealing the small injury.
“It’s nothing. I accidentally scratched it on some cogon grass. I’ll rinse it with water later. It’s fine. It’ll heal quickly. Sis, you don’t need to worry about me.”
Chen Jingyi’s expression turned serious.
“Xiaobai, don’t go up the mountain at night anymore. It’s dangerous when it’s dark.”
Chen Jingbai said, “All right. Sis, hurry and boil it. I’ll go take a bath first.”
Chen Jingyi nodded and said nothing more. She walked into the woodshed to prepare the herbs.
Sun Jiabao and Li Baiyun looked at the deeply affectionate siblings with some envy.
They had older brothers and sisters or younger siblings back home too, but none of them were nearly as close as Chen Jingbai and Chen Jingyi.
Seeing Chen Jingbai about to leave, Sun Jiabao asked with concern, “Jingbai, is your hand really okay?”
Chen Jingbai said, “It’s really fine. My skin’s tough.”
After saying that, he went out to bathe.
By the time he returned, everyone was seated neatly around the dining area.
In front of each person was a steaming bowl of herbal tea made from oldenlandia.
The moment He He saw Chen Jingbai walk in, her eyes lit up.
“Chen Jingbai, you’re back? Hurry and come sit down. Sister Baiyun said you picked the herbs?”
There had been a heavy rainstorm the night before last.
While the educated youths were eating, strong winds had blown rain through the open doorway of the dining area, and scattered droplets inevitably landed on He He, who had been sitting closest to the door.
Using that as an excuse, He He had switched seats with Sun Jiabao, who sat across from Chen Jingbai.
The rain had stopped these past two days, but He He hadn’t switched back.
She had simply claimed Sun Jiabao’s original seat as her own and was always the first to sit there every day without fail.
Chen Jingbai gave a flat, indifferent “Mm” and walked over to sit in his usual place.
Seeing how cold he was, He He immediately dismissed her own wishful thinking.
She had thought Chen Jingbai had seen her suffer from heatstroke that afternoon and had deliberately gone up the mountain that night to pick herbs for her.
He He bent over and leaned closer to the table, blowing on the piping-hot herbal tea to cool it faster while wondering what was wrong with Chen Jingbai again.
He didn’t look very happy.
The educated youths chatted noisily around the table.
“Good thing we have Jingbai. I was planning to go up the mountain tomorrow afternoon and pick some herbs to boil. Now I don’t have to.”
“Jingbai really is thoughtful. He even specifically chose oldenlandia because it doesn’t turn bitter when you boil it.”
…
Amid all the voices, He He heard Chen Jingyi ask Chen Jingbai, “Xiaobai, did the wound hurt when you bathed?”
Chen Jingbai said, “It didn’t hurt. Sis, stop worrying. It’ll probably heal by tomorrow.”
Chen Jingyi said, “How could it heal that quickly? Try not to get it wet. It’s not like I’ve never scratched my hand on cogon grass before. How could it not hurt? Those thin little scratches that aren’t exactly painful but still sting are the most annoying.”
He He was shocked to hear that Chen Jingbai was injured.
She raised her eyes and secretly studied the hand he’d placed on the table.
The wound was on his right hand, stretching from his middle finger toward the wrist bone beneath his little finger.
It was shallow but long, and the skin surrounding it was red.
Just looking at it made He He wince.
Then she heard Chen Jingbai obediently tell his sister, “It really doesn’t hurt. But I’ll remember not to get it wet.”
Chen Jingyi sighed again.
“You still have to transplant rice seedlings tomorrow. It’ll be even harder to deal with if you get muddy water in it.”
Chen Jingbai sounded helpless.
“Sis, I’m really not that fragile. The herbal tea should be cool enough by now. Drink it. Is there any left? Tomorrow, let everyone fill a bottle and take it along while transplanting seedlings. We don’t want anyone actually getting heatstroke.”
Chen Jingyi said, “All right.”
Once the siblings stopped talking, He He asked Chen Jingbai, “Does it hurt?”
She had figured out why Chen Jingbai was unhappy.
It had to be because he’d injured himself while gathering the herbs.
That was why he’d been wearing such a long face.
He He stared at the light-brown herbal tea in her bowl.
She had secretly added three pieces of rock sugar to hers, unlike everyone else’s flavorless tea.
Hers was definitely sweet.
No one knew she’d added the sugar.
He He had planned to enjoy this bowl of sweet herbal tea all by herself.
But seeing that Chen Jingbai had injured his hand while gathering these herbs, her conscience suddenly flared up, and she decided to exchange her herbal tea with his.
She reached out and switched her bowl with the one in front of Chen Jingbai.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
Chen Jingbai had barely finished speaking when he saw He He switch their bowls.
“What are you doing?”
Chen Jingbai’s voice was a little loud.
He He felt as though the other educated youths’ gazes were already drifting toward them.
She didn’t want to attract attention, so she said, “Mine was the first bowl served, so it’s cooler. You drink this one first.”
Chen Jingbai stared at He He, trying to determine whether she was telling the truth.
Then he pushed the bowl back toward her.
“No need. I’m not in a hurry.”
Seeing the bowl being pushed halfway back, He He moved faster than him.
She lowered her head and took a sip of his herbal tea.
It was tasteless, but not bitter. There was only a faint, fresh astringency from the herbs.
“Looks like they’re both cool enough now. We’ve already switched them, so just make do and drink it.”
Chen Jingbai hadn’t drunk from his own bowl yet.
But now that He He had taken a sip from it, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to take it back.
Sun Jiabao casually said, “It’s just a bowl of herbal tea. Do you two really need to keep pushing them back and forth? Hurry up and drink. It’s almost cool enough already.”
Chen Jingbai picked up He He’s bowl.
The porcelain was still hot, but he seemed not to notice as he brought the herbal tea to his mouth.
Before the grassy flavor reached his tongue, he tasted sweetness.
He had drunk oldenlandia tea many times before.
He knew perfectly well that tea made from oldenlandia would never naturally taste this sweet.
Chen Jingbai lowered the bowl and glanced at He He.
There was a trace of panic in her eyes.
At this point, what was there left for him not to understand?
He He had added sugar to her herbal tea.
And now, for some unknown reason, she’d given her bowl to him.
Why had she given him the one with sugar?
Did she pity him?
Did she feel sorry for him because he’d gone up the mountain to pick oldenlandia while she’d been laughing and chatting with another man, and now she was drinking the herbal tea made from the herbs he’d picked?
Was she feeling guilty?
He truly couldn’t figure out what He He was thinking.
She provoked him, then turned around and provoked Cheng Sulin too.
He He didn’t notice Chen Jingbai’s rapidly shifting expression.
“When did you go pick them?”
She had just been on the path behind the house that led up the mountain.
How had she not noticed when Chen Jingbai went up?
Chen Jingbai’s expression turned cold.
“After dinner.”
He He didn’t think much of it.
“It must’ve been really dark on the mountain.”
Chen Jingbai said, “Very dark.”
But I still saw you laughing and chatting with Cheng Sulin.
He He quickly took a sip of the oldenlandia tea.
“Then why did you decide to go at night?”
Chen Jingbai said, “Mm.”
He He looked up.
“Mm?”
Just one “mm”?
What was Chen Jingbai trying to say?
And here she’d been feeling sorry for him and had even kindly given him the herbal tea she’d sweetened with rock sugar.
Chen Jingbai answered perfunctorily again.
“Mm.”
Their question-and-answer exchange was utterly boring.
He He could tell that Chen Jingbai had completely run out of patience, so she stopped talking.
She was annoyed too.
After returning to the dormitory that night, He He thought about it and eventually dug out the red antiseptic solution and a packet of cotton swabs her maternal grandmother had packed for her.
Her grandmother had worried that He He wouldn’t know how to take care of herself after being sent to the countryside and might easily get hurt, so she’d prepared plenty of medicine for her.
Among them was red antiseptic solution for disinfecting and treating wounds.
He He picked it up and was about to leave when Zheng Xinxin asked, “Going out?”
He He turned around.
“Mm. Didn’t Chen Jingbai get hurt gathering medicinal herbs for us? I happen to have some red antiseptic solution, so I’m going to let him put some on.”
“Xiao He, thank you.”
Chen Jingyi, who was nearby, looked genuinely moved.
She hadn’t expected He He, who had always been at odds with Xiaobai, to be willing to take out her precious red antiseptic solution for him.
These days, ordinary people generally didn’t take minor injuries seriously.
The main reason was that they didn’t have spare money to make a fuss over them.
A small wound would usually heal on its own if they simply ignored it.
But Chen Jingyi’s maternal grandfather and grandmother had both been doctors.
When they were still alive, they had taught the siblings from childhood not to dismiss small wounds.
Some injuries might look insignificant but could potentially be fatal.
A scratch from cogon grass certainly wasn’t likely to kill him, but all kinds of plants grew on the mountain.
If he’d accidentally come into contact with something poisonous and the wound became infected, that would be troublesome.
He He hadn’t expected Chen Jingyi to be so grateful.
There were even tears shimmering in her eyes.
“It’s nothing. I’ll take it over to him first.”
Under the gazes of Chen Jingyi, Zheng Xinxin, and Li Baiyun, He He opened the women’s dormitory door and walked over to the men’s dormitory next door.
She knocked.
Zhao Dechuan opened the door.
“Xiao He, is something wrong?”
He He raised her hand to show him the red antiseptic solution she was holding.
“I’m looking for Chen Jingbai.”
The moment Zhao Dechuan heard that, he immediately turned around and called inside.
“Jingbai, Xiao He’s here to see you. Hurry out.”
After calling him, he turned back to He He.
“Xiao He, that’s thoughtful of you. You two take care of it. I’ll head back inside.”
He He leaned against the wall beside the door.
After taking his time to put on his clothes, Chen Jingbai finally came out.
The moment He He saw him, she forgot all about how unhappy she’d been during the herbal tea incident.
She waved the red antiseptic solution in her hand, the corners of her lips curving upward.
“I came to bring you medicine.”
Chen Jingbai froze slightly before politely refusing.
“No need to trouble yourself. It’s really fine. It’s only a small scratch.”
He He spoke firmly.
“No. Don’t you want your hand to heal faster? If you don’t want to put it on yourself, then hold out your hand. I’ll do it for you.”
She looked completely serious.
Almost instinctively, Chen Jingbai raised his hand and held it out in front of He He.