Chapter 10
Everyone looked at each other, puzzled as to why Chen Jingbai, who was usually good-tempered, was unhappy. Wasn't he supposed to have gone out with his sister? Why were they returning one after the other, and Chen Jingyi was nowhere to be seen?
Did he quarrel with Chen Jingyi? But that doesn't make sense. In all this time, I've never seen Chen Jingbai and Chen Jingyi quarrel or even have a fight. Chen Jingbai is so protective of his sister, how could he quarrel with Chen Jingyi?
So everyone looked at He He, who had just come in. Had He He made people angry?
Everyone in the room, including Zheng Xinxin, turned their attention to He He. Zheng Xinxin gently nudged He He's arm and whispered in her ear, "What's wrong with Chen Jingbai?"
He He was still angry. "Who knows what's wrong with him?"
He He's voice was quite loud, and not only Zheng Xinxin heard it, but everyone present could clearly hear what He He said. The other educated youth glanced at Chen Jingbai, the person in charge, and awkwardly pretended to be very busy.
Chen Jingbai's arms, hanging at his sides, were taut.
Sun Jiabao stepped in to defuse the situation, saying, "It's getting late, I'll wash up and go to bed first. I have to get up early for work tomorrow."
As soon as Sun Jiabao spoke, the other educated youths also said they were going to rest. When Sun Jiabao left, he also pulled Chen Jingbai away, and for a moment only He He and Zheng Xinxin were left in the canteen.
Seeing that everyone else had left, Zheng Xinxin asked He He, "What's wrong? Did you and Chen Jingbai have a fight?"
He He: "We didn't argue. I just can't stand him and I simply hate him."
I hate it, he always has that cold face like a rich kid.
Zheng Xinxin didn't know what to say. He He's temper is like that; if she doesn't like something, she'll say it directly. It can only be said that Chen Jingbai was unlucky to have offended He He again.
"Let's go wash up and go to bed early, we're a little sleepy." After He He agreed, Zheng Xinxin turned off the kerosene lamp in the dining hall, and the two of them walked out of the dining hall together.
When Cheng Surin returned after chatting with Chen Jingyi, she saw that kerosene lamps were lit in both the male and female dormitories. Cheng Surin, who had successfully confessed her feelings, was a little puzzled, "Why are they going back to the dormitory so early tonight?"
Chen Jingyi shook her head, "I don't know, let's go back then."
Chen Jingyi was still somewhat dazed. She seemed to have impulsively agreed to Cheng Surin's confession in a moment of confusion, and was still a little dizzy.
Cheng Surin looked at Chen Jingyi's profile, her heart pounding. "Good night, get some rest, see you tomorrow."
Chen Jingyi: "See you tomorrow."
Chen Jingyi opened the door to the girls' dormitory with a smile on her face.
Zheng Xinxin noticed that Chen Jingyi's smile was somewhat unusual tonight and asked, "Jingyi, why are you so happy tonight?"
Chen Jingyi touched the corner of her mouth, her smile fading. "Really?"
Zheng Xinxin: Yes.
He He also looked at Chen Jingyi. Chen Jingyi was indeed happy at this moment. She had never laughed so happily before. Like Chen Jingbai, she was a serious person.
It seems that Cheng Surin and Chen Jingyi have gotten together. He He breathed a sigh of relief. The relationship between the male and female leads is really not easy. But she is really amazing. She brought about a marriage in just one day.
This way, Chen Jingyi wouldn't misunderstand her. He He was happy for herself, but when she thought of Chen Jingbai, she couldn't be happy anymore. Chen Jingbai's heart was much harder to warm than Chen Jingyi's.
She could only hold out for three days at most. If she couldn't warm up Chen Jingbai's heart in three days, she would give up on being the leading lady. She would rather spend the time building a good relationship with Chen Jingyi.
As the female lead, Chen Jingyi's grades are also excellent. When it's time for them to review for the college entrance exam, He He can just cling to Chen Jingyi's coattails.
After Li Baiyun finished washing up, the girls took turns washing up one by one. After everyone had finished washing up, Chen Jingyi, who was the last to go to bed, turned off the kerosene lamp.
Chen Jingyi kept her mouth shut. She didn't tell everyone that she was with Cheng Surin, and just brushed it off.
Before she went to the countryside, she never thought she would find a partner here. Chen Jingyi thought her life would just pass by like this, but then Cheng Surin appeared, bursting into her cold world with a heart full of enthusiasm.
Chen Jingyi was relieved that Cheng Surin and He He were very close relatives, and that her feelings for him were not unrequited. Cheng Surin also liked her. Just a few days ago, she thought that He He and Cheng Surin would get together, but today Cheng Surin confessed to her.
She was envious of Cheng Surin's kindness to her, so when she heard Cheng Surin say that He He was his aunt, Chen Jingyi admitted that she breathed a huge sigh of relief, and her restless envy vanished.
Chen Jingyi knows she is not a perfect person. When she thinks that the person she likes doesn't like her, but someone else who is more outstanding, she feels envious and jealous that the goodness isn't just for her.
Since her family suffered misfortune, Chen Jingyi has rarely received kindness from outsiders, especially unconditional kindness from someone like Cheng Surin.
Chen Jingyi lay in bed, recalling Cheng Sulin's sincere gaze, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
At dawn, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, the work bell for the production team rang precisely on time.
He He, still sleepy-eyed, stuffed the biscuit into her mouth, took a bite, chewed for a long time, and then swallowed it.
This morning we had steamed sweet potatoes, one for each person. He He complained that she was tired of it, so she tossed the sweet potato to Cheng Sulin, who had an appetite like a bull, and took out a bag of biscuits for herself, stuffing them in her pocket to eat.
There were five biscuits in the bag, each about the size of a palm. He He stuffed two into her mouth, mixed them with plain water, and was full in no time.
The educated youth were all sitting in their seats, eating sweet potatoes, while He He was the only one eating fragrant biscuits. Everyone pretended not to see her and avoided looking at her.
Sun Jiabao and Chen Jingbai were close. He sat opposite Chen Jingbai and could see the faint dark circles under Chen Jingbai's eyes. Looking next to Chen Jingbai, he also saw that Chen Jingyi had dark circles under her eyes. Sun Jiabao chewed on a sweet potato and wondered what the two siblings had been doing last night, since they both had dark circles under their eyes.
Sun Jiabao asked, "Jing Bai, did you not sleep well last night? Why do you have dark circles under your eyes?"
Chen Jingbai's expression was extremely calm as he repeated Sun Jiabao's words, "Yeah, I didn't sleep well."
Seeing that Chen Jingbai was unwilling to say more, Sun Jiabao didn't press him further. Since neither Chen Jingbai nor Chen Jingyi had slept well, it was probably something that happened at home. He was too incapable to help, so asking wouldn't be of any use.
Chen Jingbai did not sleep well last night and could not fall asleep. He was disturbed by He He's series of actions yesterday and could not concentrate on sleeping.
He thought and thought but still couldn't understand why He He could act so frivolously. He pondered for a long time without finding a solution, and the more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Later, he realized that his relationship with He He was nothing more than a transaction, and he didn't need to think so much. Her frivolity was her nature, and he just needed to do his best and treat what He He wanted as a business deal.
Chen Jingbai swallowed the last bit of sweet potato. He was calm and no longer had the anxiety he felt before falling asleep last night.
After everyone finished eating the sweet potatoes, they quickly packed up and went out.
When the large group of rice harvesters arrived at the paddy fields, the sky was turning a pale white, with a faint glow spreading across it.
Today, He He and Chen Jingbai are still paired up.
He He put the water bottle on the ground and slowly walked to the rice paddy that had been allocated to her and Chen Jingbai.
When they arrived at the field, the diligent Chen Jingbai had already finished harvesting a large area. He He stretched her body, squatted down, and began to gather the rice that Chen Jingbai had harvested, piling it neatly together.
The rice stalks must be arranged neatly at both ends; if they are messy, the scorekeeper will deduct points.
He He squatted on the ground, aligning the ends of the rice stalks, and secretly peeked at Chen Jingbai, who was cutting rice so elegantly, thinking about how to break the ice with him.
The plot of land that He He and Chen Jingbai were assigned today was next to several groups of men who seemed lazy and were chattering away.
They've only been working on it for a short time, and they've already set off several large cannons.
He He recognized them; they were the notorious slackers in the brigade.
He He turned her back to them as she picked up rice, not wanting to provoke them and get herself into trouble. This group of people did nothing but commit a lot of bad deeds, and everyone in the village disliked them.
You just don't provoke them, but those thugs love to provoke you.
A hoodlum with hair like a chicken's and a straw in his mouth, looking like a scoundrel, walked over and deliberately raised his voice, "Hey, isn't this the famous deaf educated youth in our brigade? How come you were assigned to pull rice near us without even saying hello? Are you still a good brother?"
His companion winked and said, "Junzi, you need to speak louder, preferably shout. Didn't I already say I'm deaf? How can anyone hear you with your mosquito-like voice?"
A slightly older and more composed man next to Junzai said, "This deaf man is quite capable. He's harvested so much rice in such a short time. After he's done, he should help us out too."
"That's right, that's right. Deaf man, could you help us harvest the rice later?"
After he finished speaking, the group burst into laughter.
He He clenched her fists, her pale face contorted with anger. Before Chen Jingbai could even approach, she stepped forward and shouted at the group, "Aren't you disgusting with your words? How dare you call someone deaf? Who do you think you are, expecting him to work for you? He can only work for me! Did you even ask for my opinion before you started having these ideas?"
He He's critical gaze swept over the group of people. They were all incredibly ugly, and what kind of trash dared to jump in front of her?
Junzi, standing in front of He He, was being scolded by a young girl. He immediately glared at her angrily, "You damned woman, do you even have the right to speak? Why are you in such a hurry to stand up for your old lover?"
Just as he was about to raise his hand to slap someone, his companion pulled him away. Zhou Dahe even leaned close to Junzi's ear and said, "Don't mess with this female educated youth. Her family has connections. Those who messed with her before didn't have a good ending. Don't you remember?"
Zhou Dahe remembered it clearly. It was this female educated youth, I think her name was He He. She had a terrible temper, but she was indeed very pretty. She had just arrived in the countryside when Wang San took a liking to her. Wang San was also stupid. He dared to harass her in broad daylight. But this female educated youth was not someone to be trifled with. Originally, the brigade could have just given her a lesson, and they hadn't actually succeeded in hitting her. Who knew that she would bring the police from the commune and say that she would sue Wang San for hooliganism.
Originally there was no evidence, but He He stubbornly refused to admit it. I don't know what method she used to get the police to take Wang San away on charges of hooliganism. Now Wang San is still undergoing labor education at the quarry.
Junzi had a terrible memory and didn't remember. Zhou Dahe had been watching the police arrest people closely, and even after two years, he still remembered He He vividly. He wouldn't dare to mess with this fierce female educated youth in front of him.
Zhou Dahe said to He He in a perfunctory manner, "I'm sorry, we misspoke. Please forgive us. We just talk nonsense all the time, it wasn't directed at you."
He He said sternly, "You also need to apologize to Chen Jingbai."
Zhou Dahe, leading the group who had just insulted Chen Jingbai, said to Chen Jingbai with a half-hearted expression, "I'm sorry, we shouldn't have insulted you."
As soon as the thugs finished speaking, they saw that a few educated youths nearby had noticed the commotion and were about to come over, so they immediately dispersed and returned to their original positions.
Chen Jingbai lowered his eyes. "Thank you for speaking up for me."
He He: "We all live under the same roof, it's only right."
Several educated youths came over and asked what had happened. After He He explained the whole story to them, they angrily said they wanted to find the brigade leader to seek justice. They rarely associated with these hooligans in the brigade and rarely saw them. Now that these people were speaking rudely to Chen Jingbai, it was as if they had brought a slap to their educated youth settlement.
They were easy to bully, but they weren't without temper. As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Jiabao took the lead and rushed to find the brigade leader.
Chen Jingbai stopped them, saying, "It's no use. Even if you go to the brigade leader, those people will only get a lecture and won't change their ways. He He has already stood up for me. It's okay if I get a few words out of them. I'll just avoid them from now on. You guys go back to work and don't delay the rice harvest."
Chen Jingyi felt very sorry for her younger brother, "Xiao Bai, are you really okay?"
Chen Jingbai shook his head.
Chen Jingyi's heart was clenched. Xiao Bai wasn't like this before. He used to be carefree and unrestrained, and he would beat up anyone who bullied him. But since the incident at home, the whole family has become cautious and timid, and Xiao Bai has become taciturn and often suffers in silence.
Seeing that everyone was still worried about him, Chen Jingbai could only repeatedly reassure them, "I'm not that fragile, don't worry."
Several educated youths, including Chen Jingyi, were persuaded to return to their original positions.
After everyone went back, Chen Jingbai also returned to his position, picked up a sickle, grabbed the rice stalks, and with a swift stroke, separated the rice from the roots.
He looked up at the group of thugs, glanced at them briefly, and then lowered his head, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes.
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