Chen Jingbai had poor hearing, and all his attention was focused on cutting the rice, so he hadn’t noticed anyone approaching at all.
It wasn’t until He He’s soft hand touched his arm that he suddenly realized someone was beside him.
And it was a woman.
He didn’t know which girl was bold enough to do this and instinctively wanted to shake her off. But before he could shake away the hand gripping his forearm, he heard He He’s shy voice, accompanied by the faint breeze of her breath, drifting into his ear in soft waves.
Her breath made his ear itch, but he clearly realized that it was He He, deliberately leaning close to his ear to speak again.
When he registered what she had said, Chen Jingbai’s pupils suddenly widened. He hurriedly straightened up and stepped to the left, shaking off He He’s hand.
Reason quickly brought him back to his senses.
The distance between them just now had been far too dangerous. If someone saw them, no amount of explaining would clear things up.
Chen Jingbai’s long lashes fluttered. His previously relaxed expression had now become somewhat serious as he said to He He, “Comrade He He, I think you’ve misunderstood. I’m not angry, and you don’t need to take what happened just now so seriously. No matter who it was, if they saw you in danger, they would have spoken up.”
“Life is important. It’s enough that you understand the danger now. You’ve been here for two years, and there are many dangerous places around here. A lot of farming tools don’t have eyes, so just be more careful yourself.”
He didn’t want any of the educated youths to get into an accident here.
Chen Jingbai’s grandparents had passed away when he was young, so he valued life greatly.
Because his grandparents had studied abroad and returned to China, they were subjected to denunciation during that movement and sent away to the harsh, remote northwest.
Even though they had begun participating in railway construction during the War of Resistance and held important positions in the Ministry of Railways after the war ended, their lives had been forever frozen at that time simply because of the fabricated accusation that they had colluded with foreigners.
Chen Jingbai had been twelve that year.
It had been a very clear morning. His grandparents had left for work, but even by nightfall, they hadn’t returned. His parents came home very late, their faces carrying a worry he had never seen before. It was almost as though they were shrouded in dark clouds.
They told him that his grandparents had been sent somewhere very, very far away. Perhaps they would never see them again in this lifetime, or perhaps they would return very soon.
At the time, they hadn’t known what had happened, but they had vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
Sure enough, during those days, everyone on the streets feared for themselves, and students wearing red armbands could be seen patrolling everywhere.
From that day onward, it was as though their home had been covered by a dark curtain. From time to time, intimidating people wearing red armbands would come and turn their house upside down.
His grandparents had lived with their family, so those people were searching for evidence that his grandparents had been in contact with foreigners, or for other railway-related documents.
Even though Father Chen and Mother Chen both held respectable jobs in the municipal government, they didn’t dare stop those people wearing red armbands. If they tried, they would be accused of being his grandparents’ accomplices.
But despite their cooperation, three years after his grandparents were sent to the northwest, both of his parents were persuaded to resign.
The old mayor was a good man. Afraid that Father Chen and Mother Chen wouldn’t be able to survive after both losing their jobs, he arranged sanitation jobs for them through the neighborhood office.
Those days of constantly being on guard continued until Chen Jingbai and Chen Jingyi were sent down to the countryside at eighteen.
Even though his grandparents had died after spending only five years in the northwest, and Father Chen and Mother Chen had long since become sanitation workers, those people with red armbands continued searching their home.
Even Second Uncle Chen’s family was implicated because of his grandparents and lived the same difficult life as them. The child his second aunt later conceived was also lost during this period.
That was why Chen Jingbai cherished life so much.
He He nodded very seriously. “I know! I’ll protect myself.”
Chen Jingbai said, “If there’s nothing else, go back and keep working. Don’t forget what you said yourself at noon today.”
Chen Jingbai moved a little farther away from He He, bent down, and continued cutting rice.
Seeing him move away, He He went closer again and leaned toward his ear. “Aiya, don’t leave so quickly. I have something good for you.”
Once again feeling just how clingy He He could be, Chen Jingbai turned sideways to face her. Looking clearly at her rosy lips, he made out what she was saying.
“No need. Keep the good thing for yourself. If you have anything else to say, say it all at once. Don’t speak right next to my ear anymore. Next time you want to talk to me, you can tug on me first. Don’t come so close. It won’t be good for your reputation.”
“Aiya, I’m not even afraid, so what are you afraid of?”
Afraid Chen Jingbai would refuse, He He directly stuffed the candy into the pocket at the bottom of his shirt. “It’s candy. It’s really delicious.”
He He had lowered her head, so Chen Jingbai couldn’t see her lips and naturally couldn’t hear what she had said. All he could see was the crown of her head and the fingers she kept tightly clenched until her hand reached into his pocket, only then releasing them.
He He’s hand was very fair. Clearly, they all worked together and spent the same amount of time beneath the sun, yet she seemed incapable of tanning. Instead, she only grew fairer and fairer.
Her pale hand came close to his dusty gray clothes, yet rather than being dulled by them, it appeared even brighter.
Chen Jingbai’s hand trembled slightly, and he instinctively moved away.
“Don’t put things in my pocket.”
The candy in He He’s hand had already fallen into Chen Jingbai’s pocket before he moved, so it didn’t fall to the ground when he stepped away.
Seeing him move away, He He raised her head, her bright face showing some annoyance. “Why did you suddenly move away? The candy almost fell onto the ground.”
He He only reached his neck. Whenever Chen Jingbai spoke to her, he would instinctively lower his head, his gaze fixed on He He’s moving lips. Inevitably, he would also catch sight of the small, white bunny teeth she occasionally revealed while speaking.
He took the candy from his pocket.
It was a White Rabbit milk candy, with a rabbit printed on the wrapper.
He wanted to return the candy to He He.
But He He simply turned around and left without caring, as though she already knew he wouldn’t want it. She even turned back and waved at him, then placed a finger against her lips in a shushing gesture.
Chen Jingbai understood what she meant.
The small candy rested in his broad palm.
But he couldn’t understand why He He had given him candy or why she had suddenly started treating him so well. He had already grown accustomed to He He’s confrontational gaze.
Now that she was acting like this, he felt even more at a loss. He was also more afraid that He He had simply found a new way to toy with him.
Chen Jingbai put the candy back into his pocket.
He would return it to her after they went back tonight.
Before he could resume working, Sun Jiabao walked over mysteriously.
“Jingbai, since when did you and He He get along so well? Didn’t she only ever order you around before? She was always giving you that sour face too. Her attitude today is way too good. She’s even greeting you with a smile. I almost thought she’d become a different person.”
Sun Jiabao slung an arm around Chen Jingbai’s shoulder.
“And at noon today, I was nervous for you. I thought she was unhappy and was going to take it out on you again.”
It wasn’t as though that had never happened before. He He loved finding fault with Chen Jingbai’s cooking, saying that his food tasted so terrible that even pigs wouldn’t eat it. Then she would slam down her bowl and chopsticks and go make herself a separate meal.
She certainly had backbone. It was just that once she had the upper hand, that mouth of hers never spared anyone.
Chen Jingbai couldn’t figure out what He He was trying to do either. He shook his head and didn’t speak badly of her.
“Maybe she suddenly came to her senses and became kind.”
Hearing Chen Jingbai describe He He as kind made Sun Jiabao burst out laughing. The word “kind” had absolutely nothing to do with He He.
Sun Jiabao did his utmost to make Chen Jingbai see reason.
“Jingbai, don’t let that obedient-looking face of hers fool you. He He treats you nicely for one day, and you’ve already changed your opinion of her?”