Chapter 5 Naming and shaming the suspected pervert...
It was exactly eight o'clock when we returned to Zhujia Village. The village entrance was brightly lit. The crew members were gathered in groups of two or three. There was obvious anxiety on everyone's face. Many villagers came over with torches to join in the fun. Several people who looked like village leaders were talking to Yang Ji.
A sharp-eyed person saw them first, his eyes lit up, and he pointed at them and shouted. Everyone turned around, and countless eyes were instantly focused on the two of them like searchlights.
Xu Sirui felt a little uncomfortable. Although he had caused trouble many times in previous schools, this was the first time in his life that he had to mobilize such a large force. He couldn't help feeling a little guilty about causing trouble.
As expected, Yang Ji was the first to push through the crowd and rushed over, pointing his finger at his forehead, his face flushed with anger. He kept saying "you" for a long time before finally saying, "...you are really great!"
Although he felt guilty, Xu Sirui would never accept a scolding. He curled his lips and snorted, "Thank you."
"I'm not praising you!" Yang Ji was so angry that he almost vomited blood. His index finger was shaking as he pointed at him. "I'm telling you, Xu Sirui, don't think you can do whatever you want just because your family has a few bucks. Go back and look through the contract and read the terms. If you go missing again, no matter how rich your father is, you'll have to pay me back everything!"
An ordinary person would be somewhat frightened by being threatened by a middle-aged man two years older than them, but Xu Sirui was completely unmoved. He responded coldly and calmly, "Okay, then go call the police. Let's see if they arrest me first, or you, a brainless show that infringes on other people's personal freedom. Who the hell are you trying to show off to?"
These words stunned the staff who followed. They looked at each other with ugly expressions.
Just as a verbal battle was about to break out, a weak voice suddenly interrupted, as if unable to read the atmosphere, and said bluntly: "Who of you can lend a hand?"
Everyone lowered their eyes and noticed Zhu Yingning's presence.
Her presence was always low when she was silent. Only after she spoke did everyone notice that she was carrying Xu Sirui on her back, sweating profusely and her legs trembling.
The scene looked like a landlord exploiting child laborers. Everyone had horrified expressions. One villager couldn't bear to watch and spoke up for justice: "Hey! What's wrong with you, brother? You're a grown man, and you actually want Ningning to carry you on your back!"
Xu Sirui was completely unaware of the problem. He rolled his eyes and said confidently, "I sprained my ankle. What's wrong with asking him to carry me?"
"You...you can't do this even if you sprained your ankle!" The villagers pointed and said.
Zhu Yingning had no choice but to take the initiative to help: "He can't walk, so I carried him. Who of you can lend a hand and help him up?"
The villagers didn't like Xu Sirui very much, but they still stepped forward to help her out of her kindness. Zhu Yingning finally felt relieved, rubbed her aching shoulders and neck, and slowly walked back home after them.
Liu Guifang had already prepared a table of food in the room. Seeing Xu Sirui return safely, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: "I'm glad you're back, I'm glad you're back! Auntie thought you..." Perhaps she felt that the following words were unlucky, so she quickly made two "poohs", raised her hand and patted her mouth, and said with a smile, "Let's not talk about this anymore. You must be starving now. Come in! I specially inquired about the flavors of your Beijing people today and made you some noodles with soybean paste. Come and try Auntie's cooking."
Having not eaten for a whole day and night, Xu Sirui was indeed starving. Moreover, today's noodles were neatly placed in the bowl, so he didn't have to eat with his hands. So he sat down and tasted a few mouthfuls with chopsticks.
...To be honest, it doesn't taste very good.
But even though his stomach was rumbling with hunger, he still ate everything.
While he was eating, Liu Guifang was busy searching for the medicine box, preparing to treat his wounds. Xu Sirui dodged for a moment, swallowed his food, and then frowned and said, "Wait until I finish my shower."
"Oh, you want to take a shower, right? Your family sent your clothes over, and I'll prepare them for you right away."
Liu Guifang pounded her knees and struggled to stand up. Zhu Yingning watched from the side, feeling a mixture of sadness and grief. She swallowed the noodles in a few mouthfuls and said, "Mom, don't bother. I'll do it."
"Then go boil a bucket of water and remember to rinse the bucket clean." Liu Guifang instructed in detail.
"Know."
The bathing area was outside the house, a semi-open-air space only two square meters in size, fenced off on all sides by iron sheets. A drainage hole had been dug in the ground, and a pipe had been installed to connect it to the mountain stream. She took out the bath tub, cleaned it, poured hot water into it, and then, after a moment's thought, added half a bucket of cold water.
While she was busy, Xu Sirui came over, tucked in his pajamas and leaning on a cane. The cane was what Grandma Zhu Yingning had used when she was still healthy. Seeing Xu Sirui using it very skillfully, and how he looked so mature despite his young age, she couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" He glared.
Zhu Yingning stopped smiling and said, "No."
He jumped over and looked at the iron shower shed with a look of disgust and numbness on his face. "Can you guys be more primitive? Why don't you even have a shower head? And this, why don't you seal the roof? Are you waiting for someone to creep up on it and peek? What a fetish."
She was very unhappy with his nagging and muttered softly: "Use it if you want."
"What did you say?"
"No."
Xu Sirui glanced down at her condescendingly for a moment, then changed the subject: "Where do I put my clothes?"
Zhu Yingning pointed to the hook on the iron shed.
"Where's the shampoo and body wash?"
She then pointed to a small bench in the corner with a few bottles of toiletries on it.
Xu Sirui picked it up and took a look. The more he looked, the more his brows furrowed, so much so that they could pinch a fly to death. "What the hell is this? Li Tu? Shu Fu Zhu? Damn, Lux and Safeguard didn't sue them. This piracy is too outrageous. Don't you guys read things carefully before buying them? Will I really get skin diseases if I use this?"
Zhu Yingning shrugged, still with an expression of "use it or not".
He put down the bottle in his hand and searched among the toiletries. "Where's the conditioner?"
"What is conditioner?"
“…”
Xu Sirui held his forehead, feeling extremely tired, more tired than ever before. "Alright, alright, go out now."
**
After taking a shower and returning to the house, Liu Guifang had already prepared gauze and a can of pitch-black, sticky stuff. Xu Sirui took a peek and got goosebumps all over his body. "What is this?"
"Herbal medicine," Liu Guifang happily tried to sell him. "This is the one we all use in our village. Even though it's homemade, it's incredibly effective. It's even better than safflower oil for treating injuries."
"So disgusting, like shit." Xu Sirui didn't give him any face at all, "Give me some Yunnan Baiyao, I can spray it myself."
Liu Guifang was stunned and hesitated for a few seconds before asking shyly, "What is Yunnan Baiyao?"
“…”
In the end, he still reluctantly went to the grass to collect the herbs.
People in the village go to bed early, and since there is not much nightlife, everyone generally goes to bed around 9 o'clock. After applying the medicine, Xu Sirui had to face another serious problem - where to sleep tonight?
He absolutely didn't want to experience that again. His back and waist ached, as if he'd been beaten. But if he didn't sleep on the desk, his only option was the kang (kang). He couldn't stand a man and a woman sharing the same kang, nor could he stand sleeping with a drooling old man.
The photographer who stayed in the house tried to persuade him for a long time, saying, "It's like this in the village. You'll understand once you sleep on it. Given the limited conditions, who cares if you're male or female? We're all just living in this same pit. The only thought when you lie down is to get sleepy, nothing else. Besides, what can you do about it? There's only one kang in the whole room. If you don't sleep on it, you'll have to sleep on the floor."
Xu Sirui spent a long time mentally convincing himself. He pointed at Zhu Yingning and said, "Okay, but I want him to sleep next to me."
Since everyone has to sleep together, it is better to sleep next to a boy of the same age than to sleep next to a woman, so as to avoid gossip after the show is broadcast and tarnish his innocence.
"ah?"
Everyone in the room was stunned when they heard this.
Although it was an established fact that men and women shared the same kang, the fact that he specifically asked Zhu Yingning, a girl of the same age, to sleep next to him was bizarre no matter how you looked at it. But if you really wanted to put a finger on what was wrong, no one could put their finger on it, and they could only look at each other and exchange glances.
Liu Guifang tried to negotiate with him: "How about...how about letting my mother-in-law sleep next to you? My mother-in-law sleeps very well. Ningning...she is a woman after all..."
"No, no!" Xu Sirui interrupted her firmly, "Don't even think about it. I only accept him sleeping next to me!"
"this……"
Everyone had complicated expressions. Even Zhu Yingning couldn't help but look at Xu Sirui with strange eyes. Her impression of him had changed from a prince with syndrome to a prince with syndrome who was suspected of being a pervert.
Only the person involved was completely unaware. He put down his crutches, climbed onto the kang, found a seat in the corner, and impatiently barked orders at Zhu Yingning, "What are you daydreaming about over there? Come here quickly!"
“…”
Although everyone's inner feelings were equally subtle, they couldn't just continue to stare blankly at each other all night. After a period of inexplicable silence, Zhu Yingning crawled towards Xu Sirui. The photographer also turned off the camera and went back outside to lie in his sleeping bag.
Turn off the lights.
The world fell silent.
**
Xu Sirui was a terrible sleeper. After being woken for the third time in the middle of the night by his arm smearing her face, Zhu Yingning suddenly realized that she might have misunderstood him. He wasn't a pervert or a pervert; he clearly just disliked her and wanted to torture her.
Because she had grown up accustomed to sleeping in a huddled bed, Zhu Yingning had a perfect sleeping posture. She would wake up in the same position she laid down the next day, never tossing or hitting anyone. But Xu Sirui was different. He looked like someone used to sleeping in a large bed, and he hadn't learned to sleep in a restrained manner. All night, he either rested his arm on her face or tossed and turned constantly, making as much noise as a mouse stealing oil.
At four o'clock in the morning, Zhu Yingning was so annoyed by him that he could no longer sleep. He had to get up early and sat on the kang in a daze for a while. He was secretly glad that he didn't let his grandmother sleep next to him, otherwise it would be simply abuse of the elderly.
It was pitch black outside, so she slipped on her shoes and walked out in the dark, intending to go to the kitchen to prepare livestock feed. But after a few steps, she saw Yang Ji and others already outside preparing to film.
"Hello, Uncle Yang." She greeted politely.
"Good morning." Yang Ji responded with a smile when he saw her.
"Why did you get up so early today?" she asked curiously.
At the mention of this, Yang Ji's expression changed, he gritted his teeth, and said viciously, "Of course it's for the filming. That brat... is so unruly, I'll give him a hard time."
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