This was the first time He He had ever found words so difficult to say, and the first time she had waited so nervously for someone to give her the answer she hoped to hear. In the past, she had never cared whether other people hated or liked her.
But right now, although she still found Chen Jingbai really annoying, for the sake of living a good life in the future, she had to care about what Chen Jingbai thought of her.
Feeling that it wasn’t enough, He He added, “I thought about it. I’ll just do my own work this afternoon. I won’t trouble you.”
He He’s lips puffed out, her cheeks flushed from the rise and fall of her emotions.
The sun would be so strong that afternoon. If she had to do the work herself, who knew how exhausted she would be?
Hearing He He’s words, Chen Jingbai finally deigned to look at her. He frowned at He He, who had lowered her head and refused to look at him, her face slightly red. She had lingered here for so long without leaving, and now she had suddenly changed her mind. He had no idea what she was up to this time.
Still, it was the first time Chen Jingbai had ever seen He He with this expression, and a strange feeling arose in his heart.
Chen Jingbai blinked his indifferent, dark eyes. The words that had been about to leave his mouth took a turn.
“I don’t hate you.”
Chen Jingbai didn’t know why He He had suddenly asked him that. Was she suddenly worried that after insulting him, there would be no one to do her work for her that afternoon? Was she retreating in order to advance, testing him first before achieving her goal of slacking off?
But that didn’t seem right either. Why would He He panic over such a small matter? In the past, whenever he was too busy and couldn’t do her work for her, she hadn’t acted like this. She would immediately threaten him—
“If you don’t help me, I’ll report you and your sister for speculation and profiteering.”
He could still remember the smug expression she’d worn back then, with her lips practically curling up to the sky.
Did he hate her?
To be honest, he did, but not that much. At most, it was like how he’d felt before anything happened to his family, when Pengzai, the chubby five-year-old from his second uncle’s family, had sneaked into his room and smashed the little pavilion he’d spent several days putting together.
He He was like a little animal whose fur could bristle at any moment. As long as her fur was smoothed down, everything was easy to deal with.
That was why, whenever He He asked him to help her with something in the past, he would try his best to agree. Otherwise, the way He He refused to give up until she got what she wanted would become very annoying.
Actually, helping He He with things also meant he could get food from her. For him and his sister, who could barely eat their fill, He He could actually be considered their benefactor.
But every time He He called him deaf or threatened him with the matter of speculation and profiteering, Chen Jingbai also wanted to tear her mouth apart.
He didn’t like people calling him deaf.
He could hear. They just needed to speak very loudly for him to hear them.
Chen Jingbai watched as He He immediately brightened at his words.
Joy filled He He’s voice. “Really?”
Chen Jingbai hadn’t expected her emotions to come and go so freely. He raised his brows in mild surprise. “Right, I don’t hate you. I’ll help you with your work this afternoon.”
He He thought Chen Jingbai was only willing to help her even after getting angry because of the cake she had promised him for tonight. After hesitating for a while, she said, “Chen Jingbai, I’ll still give you the lotus flower cake tonight. I’ll go do the work myself this afternoon.”
Since He He had already said so, Chen Jingbai replied, “All right.”
Chen Jingbai didn’t know why she had suddenly become so kind, but he didn’t want to argue about it, nor did he have time to guess what He He was thinking.
He He could do whatever she wanted. As for that cake tonight, he wouldn’t think about it either.
After taking the first step toward improving their relationship, He He left the smoke-filled woodshed with light little steps.
After Chen Jingbai finished making lunch, he carried the food to the separate dining area outside the woodshed.
The other educated youths weren’t there yet. He He was the only one at the table, resting her chin in her hand as her eyes darted around. When she saw Chen Jingbai approaching, a smile appeared, revealing the shallow dimples in her cheeks.
“Chen Jingbai, you’re finally done! I’m starving to death.”
After saying that, He He even put on a show of neatly arranging the stir-fried vegetables and sweet potato porridge that Chen Jingbai had casually placed on the wooden table.
Chen Jingbai’s half-bent body stiffened slightly. Everything about He He was strange today. The last time she had treated him this pleasantly was when she’d first arrived.
Chen Jingbai straightened and threw out, “I’ll go call them to eat,” before hurriedly leaving.
Before long, all the educated youths Chen Jingbai had gone to call arrived.
There were currently eight educated youths assigned to Qianjin Brigade, four men and four women, with an even number of male and female educated youths.
Once everyone sat down, the previously empty table was instantly surrounded.
At the rectangular dining table, He He sat at the very end. To her right was Zheng Xinxin, the person she had the best relationship with at the educated youth station. Across from her sat Cheng Sulin, the nephew she was unwilling to acknowledge.
Chen Jingbai sat at the diagonal corner farthest from her, with Chen Jingyi to his right.
She had never thought anything was wrong with this before, but now He He could only hate how far away she was from Chen Jingbai and Chen Jingyi. It made it difficult to build a relationship with them.
He He spooned a mouthful of slightly sweet sweet potato porridge into her mouth, wondering how she could sit closer to Chen Jingbai and Chen Jingyi during meals from now on.
At some point, everyone’s seats had silently become fixed. If she suddenly changed seats, the others would definitely suspect something. How could she quietly switch to a seat closest to the siblings without anyone noticing anything?
He He was someone whose emotions showed easily on her face. Sitting across from her, Cheng Sulin saw her preoccupied expression and assumed she wasn’t feeling well. He immediately asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
His voice wasn’t loud, but the dining table wasn’t large either, so everyone present could clearly hear Cheng Sulin’s question. They had all seen how close Cheng Sulin and He He usually were, so everyone knew he was asking He He.
Everyone pricked up their ears, curious about what was wrong with this young miss. Could it be that Chen Jingbai’s cooking tasted so bad that it had upset He He?
He He usually ordered Chen Jingbai around arrogantly. The other educated youths sympathized with Chen Jingbai and were also afraid that he had somehow made the young miss unhappy again.
He He froze for a few seconds before looking up at Cheng Sulin. Remembering what the book had said, she glanced at Chen Jingyi.
Coincidentally, she saw Chen Jingyi’s hand holding her chopsticks pause.
Her gaze shifted toward Chen Jingbai. He leisurely picked up a stalk of green vegetable, completely unconcerned about what was happening.
He He instantly felt that her food no longer tasted good. Her round eyes glared at Cheng Sulin.
Ask, ask, ask. Why did he have to care so much about her? He was the reason she had become the vicious supporting female character who interfered in Chen Jingyi’s relationship in the novel.
Meanwhile, as the male lead, Cheng Sulin could court disaster however he wanted and still end up happily together with Chen Jingyi. She was the pitiful one who died at such a young age.
He He snapped, “What’s wrong with me? I’m poor, that’s what. If you have money, you can give me some to spend.”
What use was this nephew Cheng Sulin other than making her seem senior in generation? According to her grandmother, when this brat was little, back when he was still wearing split-crotch pants, he liked snatching her things and even loved scratching and hitting her.
And now look at him. He was using his little aunt as a tool for his romance. He had a mouth, yet he didn’t even know how to privately explain their relationship to Chen Jingyi, causing her to suffer so miserably and fail to get into university. Didn’t he know he was supposed to respect his elders? No wonder she and Cheng Sulin had never gotten along since childhood.
Had Cheng Sulin even listened to his grandfather and taken good care of his little aunt after they went to the countryside?
Cheng Sulin obviously hadn’t expected He He to suddenly ask him for money. He didn’t react for a moment. “Huh? You’ve run out of money already? It’s only the beginning of the month.”
His grandfather and father sent him money once every two months. Among it were two ten-yuan notes meant for He He in addition to his own living expenses. They were worried that He He spent money too freely, so they had given the money to him instead. They had even told him not to tell He He, so that whenever He He ran out of money and asked him for some, he could immediately give it to her.
But last month, Chen Jingyi had urgently needed money, so he had temporarily used some of it and scraped together fifty yuan for her. Now, he only had five yuan left for emergencies and couldn’t possibly give He He twenty yuan.
These past two months had been the busy farming season, and He He hadn’t asked him for money. He had been so busy that he’d also forgotten that if He He didn’t ask him for the money each month, he was supposed to give it to her at the end of the month.
When someone in Chen Jingyi’s family fell ill and she asked to borrow money from him, the situation had been urgent. Cheng Sulin had counted the money and forgotten that twenty yuan belonged to He He. With a generous wave of his hand, he’d lent all of it out.
He had originally planned to wait until his family sent money at the end of this month, then tighten his belt and give the money back to He He. He hadn’t expected He He to ask him for money now.
Besides, He He’s family sent her money at the beginning of every month. It had only been a few days, and she was already out of money?
Even stuffing herself with food wouldn’t burn through money that quickly. Besides, during the busy farming season, he hadn’t seen He He make many trips to the county town.
He He was still angry. She had only said it casually in the first place, but now Cheng Sulin kept questioning her. If this continued, Chen Jingyi might misunderstand again.
So He He snapped fiercely, “If you’re not giving me any, then don’t ask. Eat your food and stop meddling in my business.”
Seeing that He He was angry, Cheng Sulin didn’t dare provoke her anymore. Everyone knew his little aunt had a bad temper. If she became furious and wrote a letter—or simply sent a telegram—to tell the Cheng family, he would really be finished.
Cheng Sulin sighed. He didn’t understand how such a cute little aunt, with a face like a doll, could have such an explosive temper.
Still, the family spoiled this little aunt a lot. After all, starting from his grandfather’s generation, Great-Aunt and Little Aunt were the only two girls in the family. Compared to the bunch of rough-skinned, thick-fleshed men in the family, of course they had to spoil such a cute girl.
Great-Aunt had died when Little Aunt was still so young, and she had an adopted elder sister and stepmother around her who were like wolves and tigers. If the Cheng family didn’t protect and spoil her, who knew what a young girl like Little Aunt would have grown into?
With the mess that was the He family, it was already pretty good that Little Aunt had grown up like this. So what if she had a slightly explosive temper? Looking at her face, it was completely tolerable.
He just couldn’t tell anyone here that He He, who was the same age as him, was his little aunt. With outsiders around, he truly couldn’t bring himself to call He He “Little Aunt.” Fortunately, He He felt the same way.
The other educated youths knew He He was definitely not poor. She had plenty of money. She was the richest among all the educated youths, and she had never lacked food, drinks, or things to play with.
Seeing He He explode at Cheng Sulin like a firecracker, everyone secretly covered their mouths and laughed.
He’d walked right into the line of fire, hadn’t he?
It didn’t matter if the easygoing Cheng Sulin got scolded. He was tough enough to take it. As long as it wasn’t Chen Jingbai, that was fine. Chen Jingbai already had it miserable enough with his poor hearing. If He He bullied him on top of that, he would truly be suffering on top of suffering.
Just now, they had genuinely been afraid that He He was going to scold Chen Jingbai, because those two didn’t get along either. Though strictly speaking, it was He He who unilaterally disliked Chen Jingbai.
It wasn’t easy for educated youths from different places to gather here. In an unfamiliar place where they knew no one, having another friend was always better than making enemies, so the educated youths got along fairly well.
The siblings Chen Jingyi and Chen Jingbai had been sent down to the countryside four years ago. Neither of them talked much, but they were good people. Whenever someone needed help, they were usually willing to lend a hand.
Starting last year, Chen Jingyi had led them in pickling the unwanted sour plums from the mountain into spicy pickled plums, then taking them to sell at the commune market.
The spicy pickled plums sold very well, giving them some extra income. Their meals improved a little, and they no longer had to go more than half a month without even a hint of meat or oil, eating until their faces practically turned the color of vegetables.
He He had no idea what everyone was thinking. After finishing her porridge, she ran back to the women’s dormitory for her afternoon nap.
He He climbed onto the communal sleeping platform and lay down, staring up at the roof beams with her eyes open.
Everything in the room was old and worn. The walls were dilapidated, and many places had been covered with layer after layer of newspaper to hide the damage underneath. Only the windowpanes were relatively new, having been replaced after a typhoon shattered them last year.
There were no cobwebs on the crisscrossing roof beams because they cleaned frequently. This was one thing He He was fairly satisfied with. At least she didn’t have to worry about a spider dropping onto her while she slept.
The sleeping spot beside He He sank down. Zheng Xinxin leaned her head close to He He’s pillow and softly asked, “What’s wrong with you today? Are you unhappy?”
Zheng Xinxin was the girl with the best temper and gentlest personality in the entire educated youth station. Only someone like her could get along so well with He He and patiently talk things through with her.
Since they were best friends, He He treated her quite well. But because she couldn’t let anyone else know about what she’d seen in the woodshed, He He concealed the truth and said, “I just miss home a little.”
She really did miss home.
She missed her maternal grandparents’ home. She didn’t want to stay in this place where there was nothing and they ate sweet potato porridge every day.
She also wanted to go back and see how He Shuying had become her substitute, tirelessly staying by Ye Minglang’s side and trying to please him.
He Shuying’s biological father wasn’t her father, and He Shuying’s biological mother wasn’t her mother either.