Cheng Nonuo cleaned the bamboo pillow almost reverently, smoothed out the thorns, and took it back to the house.

Cheng Yaoyao's face had been washed clean. A 5-6 cm wound was found diagonally across her right cheek, against her skin that looked like peeled lychees, glaring. The bamboo thorn was rough, and it had cut through her skin when she lay down, and it was just a little bit away from piercing her eye.

Unfortunately, just a little bit off.

In secret, he uttered two sighs of regret.

She was still beautiful. The scar was just a tiny flaw in her beauty, but because of that tiny flaw, her original unattainability disappeared a little, and she became more charming.

I don't know what other people think, but Cheng Yaoyao feels like the sky is falling. She can't stand even a pimple on her face, let alone a scar like this.

Cheng Yaoyao was shaking all over and her lips were pale. It was of no use for Han Yin to hold her hand.

There was no medicine at the educated youth camp, the only thing they had was a bottle of red medicine that could cure any wound, and the educated youth would apply it whenever they bumped, bruised, or had their skin broken. Cheng Yaoyao was adamant that he would not apply it, because the red medicine would pass through so many people's hands every day, and he didn't know if it would stain the wound.

The male educated youth went to knock on the door late at night and invited the only barefoot doctor in the village, Lao Lintou. Lao Lintou rushed in breathlessly carrying his bag of herbs, and was almost angry to death.

"I thought it was carved into something! It's just a small cut, why would you ask me to do that?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yan said, "So it doesn't leave scars?"

Old Lin took a closer look at Cheng Yaoyao. Under the lamp, Cheng Yaoyao was crying like a begonia in the rain, with a dazzling glow. Unfortunately, the scar on her face was particularly glaring. He said, "It's impossible not to leave a scar. Her skin is so white, it will at least leave some."

Cheng Yaoyao burst into tears. The male educated youth surrounded Lao Lin and said anxiously, "That won't work! Please give me some medicine as soon as possible!"

Old Lintou's words scared Cheng Yaoyao so much that he cried. He felt embarrassed, so he quickly prescribed some herbal medicine for disinfection and skin regeneration for Cheng Yaoyao and went back.

Old Lin was a barefoot country doctor. The herbs he left behind were all sunburned and turned black. They didn't look very clean, so no one else dared to give them to Cheng Yaoyao.

Shen Yan said: "Let's go, I'll go to the captain's house and ride my bike to take Yaoyao into the city to see a doctor."

Zhang Xiaofeng advised: "It's too dangerous for you to ride your bike into the city at this time. You should wait until tomorrow morning."

Everyone comforted Cheng Yaoyao for a while, and then went back to their rooms to sleep. Shen Yan whispered to Cheng Nuonuo, "Come out with me."

Cheng Nonuo looked at him with some joy: "Ayan, what's wrong?"

"Did you do this?" Shen Yan asked as soon as he opened his mouth.

Cheng Nuonuo opened her innocent eyes and asked: "What did I do?"

Shen Yan angrily said: "Still playing dumb! Did you do that to Yaoyao's face?!"

"Ayan, how could you think it was me?" Cheng Nonuo was shocked, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Even if I gave you the extra nests in the cafeteria out of selfish motives, it doesn't mean that I'm really that bad, bad enough to harm my own sister!"

"How dare you bring this up!" Shen Yan's face flushed when he thought of the two steamed buns. He really didn't need that bite of food. He thought Cheng Nonuo gave him extra steamed buns with her own money. He never thought Cheng Nonuo would be so greedy that she would embezzle the food from the cafeteria for him! The two extra steamed buns he ate every day were taking up the food of a little girl!

Cheng Nonuo cried bitterly and said, "Even if you think I did it, I've been with you all day. Where can I find the time to harm Sister Yaoyao?"

"..." Shen Yan coughed. Today, Cheng Nonuo had been pestering him with sweet words, and he couldn't help but follow her out for some fun. Judging from the time, it was indeed impossible for Cheng Nonuo to do anything.

Cheng Nonuo, who usually has fair and moist skin, was crying like a pear blossom in the rain, which was the look Shen Yan could not resist the most. Shen Yan's tone softened: "I'm sorry, I misunderstood you."

Cheng Nonuo took the opportunity to lean into his arms: "As long as Ayan, you don't stay away from me anymore, I'm willing to endure any grievances."

That night, Cheng Yaoyao tossed and turned on the kang all night and couldn't fall asleep. She felt excruciating pain all over her body, and her chest felt like it was burning. Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng took turns to look after her, feeding her a lot of water and wiping her body with a wet towel, but Cheng Yaoyao's body was still as hot as charcoal.

The edge of the bowl touched her lips, and the warm liquid poured into her mouth. Cheng Yaoyao couldn't wait to swallow it down in big gulps, but suddenly she felt nauseous. The water was so sweet and bitter that it made her already anxious throat even more painful: "Ahem..."

Cheng Yaoyao's voice was weak, and Han Yin hurriedly said, "Yaoyao, this is the brown sugar water that Cheng Nonuo made especially for you. Drink more!"

Cheng Yaoyao opened her mouth and wanted to say she didn't want to drink it, but more sugar water poured into her throat, making her cough. The sugar water made her already parched throat even more uncomfortable, but she couldn't make any sound and fell asleep in a daze.

The next day, Cheng Yaoyao was sent to the county hospital. Cheng Yaoyao was in better spirits now, and her body was no longer permed. Her long hair was tied behind her head, revealing a bright red scar on the right side of her face.

The scar is so hideous only because it happened on Cheng Yaoyao's face. If it happened on someone else's face, such a small wound would not be considered an injury at all, let alone enough to warrant running to the county hospital for a check-up.

The middle-aged female doctor wearing a white mask said sternly: "Such a small wound can be treated with iodine disinfection! So many people are queuing up to see a doctor, it's really a nuisance!"

Han Yin almost quarreled with him, Zhang Xiaofeng quickly pulled her aside and said to the doctor, "But her temperature was very high last night, like she had a fever."

The female doctor handed Cheng Yaoyao a thermometer and took a look: "The temperature is 38 degrees, just a slight fever."

"What's going on? It was obviously very hot last night." Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng asked Cheng Yaoyao.

Cheng Yaoyao herself didn't know. She felt really bad last night, and her body felt as if it was burning.

The female doctor finally disinfected Cheng Yaoyao's wound and prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug. In those days, medicines were in short supply, and this anti-inflammatory drug was bought with two kilograms of grain coupons.

There was really no need for Cheng Yaoyao's injury to be hospitalized, so the group of people returned to the village without stopping. Cheng Yaoyao was already feeling unwell, and he vomited on the way back to the village under the scorching sun. Then he lay down in a daze in the dormitory.

These were the busy farming seasons, and the educated youth all had to go to work. Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng took turns coming back every day to bring meals to Cheng Yaoyao.

Cheng Yaoyao was fine at first, but later the wound became red and swollen, and gradually showed signs of festering.

This was a serious matter. Lin Dafu and the village party secretary had come to see Cheng Yaoyao. Wang Cuiping, the party secretary's wife, remembered the benefits of the milk powder and made a special amaranth soup for Cheng Yaoyao, saying it could reduce swelling and dissolve blood stasis.

After looking at Cheng Yaoyao's face, he came out and shook his head at the Party Secretary and Lin Dafu: "Such a beautiful face is ruined!"

The secretary said: "If she is fine, we should thank God and the earth! Why bother about her shame?"

Wang Cuiping shook her head. They were not women, so how could they know how important a woman's face was to her, let alone such a beautiful woman.

The news of Cheng Yaoyao's disfigurement spread throughout the village.

At that time, Xie San was on his way to work.

Since that day when he was picking mushrooms, Xie San has not seen Cheng Yaoyao again. The next day when he went to work, he waited at the intersection for a long time, but Cheng Yaoyao didn't come. He thought Cheng Yaoyao was just angry, so he went to work by himself.

Later I heard from Lin Dafu that Cheng Yaoyao was not feeling well and needed to rest for two days.

Until today, when he was at work, he heard two gossipy women in the village saying, "I told you, a face like a fairy is not what our Tianshui Village should have."

"I heard from the secretary's family that there is a long scar on his face. It has become festering and half of his face is swollen. It will rot in such hot weather, right?"

"My father-in-law broke his leg while going up the mountain to collect firewood on such a hot day. He died of pus from the pus. Tsk tsk."

…

Xie San's ears suddenly buzzed, and a face as white as jade appeared in front of him, with snow-white skin, red lips, peach blossom eyes, and a teardrop mole under the eye, which added a touch of charm.

How would such a delicate person feel if she got hurt? Just thinking about it made his heart ache.

It was clearly time to go to work, but Xie San suddenly returned home, went into the inner room and started rummaging through the drawers and cabinets, making a lot of clanging noises. It was unknown what he was looking for.

Xie San has always been calm and composed. No matter how angry he gets outside, he will never show it in front of his family. Such abnormal behavior scared his younger sister Xie Fei.

Xie Fei is only fourteen years old this year, and still looks like a little girl: "Brother, what are you looking for?"

Xie San said nothing, dragged out a drawer containing medicinal herbs, and dumped them all over the floor.

Xie Fei turned around and ran to the kitchen, shouting, "Grandma, please go check on my brother quickly, I don't know what happened to him!"

Grandma Xie dropped the spatula and walked into the house. Seeing that Xie San had already made a mess, she said, "Zhao'er, why did you come back suddenly? Zhao'er, you... cough cough cough..."

Grandma Xie was so anxious that she started to cough. Xie San suddenly stopped what he was doing and gasped for air: "I'm looking for something."

Xie Fei patted Grandma Xie's chest and waited for her cough to subside before slowly saying, "If you need something, just tell Grandma. You look so anxious that your veins are popping out. What is it?"

"Rhino horn." Xie San said.

Grandma Xie's face changed drastically.

Xie Fei looked back and forth between her grandmother and her brother, and asked curiously, "What is a rhino horn?"

"Xiao Fei, go to the kitchen and watch the fire." Grandma Xie said in a deep voice.

Xie Fei's deer-like eyes sparkled with curiosity, but she still went obediently.

Grandma Xie closed the door and looked at Xie San and asked, "What do you want the rhino horn for?"

Xie San said, "Treat the wound."

Grandma Xie asked again: "Whose injury are you treating?"

Xie San lowered his eyes, pursed his lips stubbornly, and put on the stubborn look that Grandma Xie was most familiar with, the one that didn't want to say anything and no one could pry his mouth open.

Grandma Xie was so angry that she picked up the feather duster beside her.

Xie San didn't even frown, and said, "Grandma, be careful, you hurt your hand."

Grandma Xie was so angry that she was shaking. Facing her distressed grandson, she couldn't continue to hit him: "That rhino horn is so valuable. I smashed and burned all the calligraphy and antiques left by your grandfather, but I couldn't bear to throw this away! You were scratched on the shoulder by a wolf when you went into the mountains that year, and you survived by relying on this. You gave it to someone else. What if you get hurt again when you go into the mountains in the future?"

Xie San didn't even blink: "Then I admit it!"

"You...you stubborn guy!" Grandma Xie hit Xie San's shoulder heavily with the feather duster in her hand.

Xie Fei lay at the kitchen door, listening anxiously. This was the first time she had seen her brother make her grandmother angry, and the first time she had seen her grandmother get so angry. She didn't know whether she should try to persuade her.

Just then, Grandma Xie came in. Xie quickly ran to the stove and pretended to light a fire.

Grandma Xie picked up the spatula and said, "Go to my room and bring the black thing in the sewing box to your brother."

"Oh." Xie Fei didn't ask what it was and ran to get it.

Grandma Xie stared at the steam coming out of the pot, and suddenly lifted her apron to wipe her eyes. God, please let my beloved grandson have this dream for a little longer.

But the dream will eventually end, what will Zhao Ge'er do then?

Xie Fei found a small black object and handed it to her brother: "Brother, this is what grandma asked me to give you. Is this what you are looking for?"

A small piece of something as long as a knuckle, black as ink, and warm to the touch. Xie San took it and held it tightly. Rhino horn has the miraculous effect of eliminating swelling, detoxifying, removing dead tissue and promoting flesh growth.

When my grandfather bought it back from Southeast Asia, a small piece was worth a thousand gold coins.

When she was in Chao's house, her grandmother gave away many of her belongings and took the risk to keep this horn. The horn looked ordinary and no one knew its value, so she kept it.

When Xie San was fifteen years old, he went hunting in the mountains and encountered wild wolves. He was thin and weak at the time, and the wild wolves attacked him as prey, and his shoulder was torn to pieces. The wild wolf's claws were poisonous, and the wound was so bad that the barefoot doctor and the old man in the village shook their heads and said that he was useless. Grandma ground a piece of rhino horn and sprinkled it on his wound. Soon the wound healed, and he was actually dragged back from the gates of hell.

Xie San knew how much his grandmother valued the rhino horn, but he... Xie San stroked the small piece of rhino horn, found the medicine pot, and crushed it without hesitation.

Xie Fei stood by and helped her brother diligently. She was gentle and relied on her brother wholeheartedly, not asking him what he was doing, because he knew that what he did could not be wrong.

Xie San ground the rhino horn into powder, added other herbs to it, and mashed it into a paste, which he put into a small bottle. He looked at his sister and asked, "Want to go out?"

"Really? Can I go out?" Xie Fei pointed at herself, overjoyed.

In the afternoon, the sun was so hot that it could burn people's scalps, and the village was so quiet that it seemed empty. Except for those who went to work, everyone else hid in the house to cool off or take a nap. Even the most noisy children did not dare to run around outside.

The sun was so bright that it stung people's eyes, the heat was rolling, the cicadas were chirping, and the leaves of the old locust tree at the village entrance were curled up by the sun. Xie Fei followed her brother, but her steps were brisk, and she felt so close and happy about everything.

She seldom went out, and her grandmother and brother were worried about her being alone outside. Her brother saw that she was lonely, so he would take her out for a walk whenever he was free. But her brother worked too hard, and Xie Fei was very sensible and didn't want to add to his burden. Therefore, she had never left the village until she was fourteen years old, and she didn't know most of the people in the village.

Xie Fei followed her brother to the west end of the village and came to the dormitory for educated youth. The dormitory was converted from an old factory building. The rectangular building looked a bit run-down and was unusually quiet at this time.

The girls' dormitory had no door, only a curtain. The wind blew through, and the scene inside could be vaguely seen. There was a person lying on the kang, with black hair falling on the pillow like silk.

Xie Fei glanced at her brother. Xie San handed her the ointment and signaled her, "I'm at the door, don't worry."

Xie Fei nodded, carefully opened the curtain and entered the room.

At this time, Cheng Yaoyao was having a nightmare.

She returned to the day in the back mountain. It was raining heavily, and the mountain road was difficult to walk on. Cheng Yaoyao was soaked through, and her limbs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead. Every step she took required all her strength. Her throat felt like it was on fire, dry and thirsty.

Her cheek suddenly stung, and she instinctively waved it away: "It hurts!"

Someone shouted in my ear, panicking, "Brother, her hands are so hot. She won't let me apply medicine!"

Xie Sangu had no choice but to lift the curtain and walk into the room.

Cheng Yaoyao was lying on the bed in her nightgown. She kicked the quilt away, revealing her snow-white, round shoulders and skin.

Xie San suddenly turned his eyes away, and Xie Fei hurriedly helped Cheng Yaoyao to cover the quilt tightly. However, Cheng Yaoyao was very dishonest, twisting and turning on the kang, whimpering as if he was about to cry: "It's hot..."

"Her hands and head are really hot." Xie Fei said fearfully.

Xie San then came over, and when his eyes fell on Cheng Yaoyao's face, a complex emotion of shock and turmoil appeared in his eyes. In just a few days, Cheng Yaoyao's bright and beautiful face was like a flower that had lost its moisture, with dry lips and pale cheeks, but they were as red as roses, extremely gorgeous, like the incomprehensible beauty of a flower in full bloom.

Her brows were tightly furrowed, as if she had endured endless grievances. She murmured incoherently in her dreams, and her hair stuck to her cheeks wetly, with no idea whether it was tears or sweat.

Xie San was used to her spoiled and unruly appearance. At this moment, Cheng Yaoyao was like a kitten that had fallen into the water. Her beautiful fur was soaked, and she looked both wicked and pitiful.

Xie Fei tried to apply medicine to her, but she felt pain even in her dream and resisted violently by waving her hands away: "It hurts..."

The bottle almost fell to the ground, but was caught by Xie San. Rhino horn is priceless and once broken it will be gone forever.

Xie Fei was at a loss and said, "Brother, what should I do?"

Xie San grabbed Cheng Yaoyao's wrist, pressed it down, and said coldly: "Apply medicine to her."

"...Okay." Xie Fei always obeyed her brother unconditionally and applied medicine to Cheng Yaoyao with a clean feather.

Cheng Yaoyao was in so much pain that she struggled like a fish out of water. Xie San grabbed her hands and pressed her down with overwhelming force, and in the process, he covered her quilt tightly below her neck.

Cheng Yaoyao shed many tears, while Xie San was sweating all over. The two intertwined their fingers, and the sweat rubbed against their palms, making them sticky. There was no more intimate posture than this.

Cheng Yaoyao felt very hot, as if she had fallen into a pot of boiling water, unable to escape and unable to breathe. A big hand held her tightly, as if there was a surge of power and fresh air passing through.

Cheng Yaoyao struggled to speak: "Water...water..."

His throat was dry as if he had swallowed a handful of sand. Cheng Yaoyao had never been so eager for water, even just a drop...

A lotus leaf suddenly appeared in the air. The little lotus had just revealed its pointed tip, and it was green and lovely. The little lotus leaf trembled, and slowly spread out its leaves like a long drought meeting a downpour.

The small lotus leaf stretched out and turned into a disc as big as a copper coin. A drop of dew slowly condensed in the center of the lotus leaf.

Water...water...Cheng Yaoyao longed for it and instinctively held that big hand tightly.

The little lotus leaf trembled happily, and the dewdrop gradually condensed and formed, rolling down the leaf slowly and slowly...

The tip of the tongue touches a drop of water. It tastes sweet, and with it comes a surge of abundant spiritual energy, like an endless stream of sweet spring water pouring into the scorched earth, soothing the burning thirst and clearing away the aches and pains in the limbs.

Cheng Yaoyao let out a long sigh, and suddenly started coughing.

The spicy and sweet taste in his mouth made Cheng Yaoyao frown, and he spit out subconsciously: "Cough cough cough..."

"Wake up, wake up!" a tender voice sounded.

Cheng Yaoyao forced himself to open his tear-swollen eyes and looked into a pair of deer-like eyes.

The thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl looked at her happily, but then became shy: "You...you woke up?"

"Who are you?" Cheng Yaoyao asked. His originally dry and sore throat actually felt much better, but he still felt weak and a little hoarse, which made him blush and his heart beat fast.

"I'm Xie Fei." Xie Fei was not good at interacting with others, so she looked to the side for help, "Brother..."

Cheng Yaoyao turned her eyes to the side. She lay on the kang and couldn't see behind her. She tried to get up, but a voice rang out: "Don't get up. You're not well yet."

...and no clothes on.