Chapter 61 : Playing with Li Dazhuang

When Nangong Ruochen came to his senses, he was already wiping Yun Siying’s hair. A hint of unease crept into his heart. But when he saw that the person sitting there neither rejected nor avoided him, a surge of joy welled up inside. His hands moved more gently, and his eyes were filled with a tenderness that words couldn’t describe.

Chen Banghua, who hadn’t gone in to shower yet, asked, “Can I pretend I didn’t see this?” No, did Nangong even realize what he was doing? If someone else saw such an intimate gesture, Siying’s reputation would be ruined.

Should he remind her? But when he saw the tenderness in Nangong’s eyes, he felt like he had uncovered a major secret.

After the two men had cleaned themselves up, Yun Siying said to them, “Pack up. I’ll take you to the hospital for treatment.”

“Okay. Nangong, remember to go to the threshing ground to get the meat, cook it, and wait for us to come back,” Chen Banghua said with a smile, ignoring the deadly glare Nangong gave him.

“Siying, I’ll take them to the hospital. You’ve had a long day, go back to your room and rest,” Nangong Ruochen said, finally understanding his own feelings.

“I’m not tired!”

—

“Comrade Yun , my mother asked me to tell you not to cook tonight come have dinner at our house,” Jiang Aimin and Li Dazhuang cheerfully called out as they arrived at the Youth Courtyard.

“Alright, I’ll take these two to the hospital first,” Yun Siying replied with a smile, then turned to Nangong Ruochen. “You’ll be eating dinner on your own tonight. The three of us already have food.”

“We’ll go too. They got hurt saving us,” Jiang Aimin quickly added, thinking to himself how lucky it was that he’d prepared in advance.

“Okay, I’ll go get our share of meat. Drive safe,” Nangong Ruochen replied, thinking of the information he had uncovered that day. He wanted to talk to the captain, since the captain knew who he really was, so he didn’t go with the others.

At the brigade office, Yun Siying took the keys from the brigade leader and got into the driver’s seat. With a serious expression, she said, “All passengers, please board. This is my first time driving, so I might make some big movements. Hold on tight. If you fall out, I’m not responsible.”

“Yun Siying, are you joking? My life is precious, I’m the only male in my family!” Li Dazhuang, who had just grabbed onto the side of the tractor, froze in fear at her words and didn’t dare get in.

“Do I look like I’m joking?” Yun Siying asked seriously. But inside, she was laughing like crazy, he didn’t look nearly as tough or shameless now as he had when he tried to take her seat.

“Then I’m not going,” Li Dazhuang said, remembering the pain from being thrown off a bus once. He backed away.

Seeing that the other three had already gotten on, Yun Siying said, “Alright, let’s go.”

With a loud “tutututu,” the tractor rumbled to life and began to move smoothly. Realizing he had been tricked, Li Dazhuang ran after them. “Yun Siying, wait for me! I’ve changed my mind!”

As they passed the threshing ground, everyone witnessed the same amusing scene: a beautiful female educated youth was driving a tractor, a burly man was chasing about 200 meters behind, and three other men were sitting in the back, laughing and shouting, “Dazhuang, run faster! You’re almost there!”

The village children saw the whole thing and joined in the chase, running after the tractor too.

“What are Yun Siying and the others up to?”

“Let’s go to the county hospital. I heard the two male educated youths were injured by wild boars.”

“So that’s why we had to make a hospital trip. If it weren’t for those three educated youths, we wouldn’t be eating meat today.”

When they reached the village entrance, Yun Siying stopped the vehicle and smiled. “Comrade Dazhuang, hurry up and get in.”

Li Dazhuang climbed into the vehicle, panting heavily, and looked at Yun Siying with a resentful expression. “Yun Siying, are you holding a grudge and getting revenge? I was wrong about what happened on the train, okay? You already threw me off once, can we just call it even?”

“Hahaha! Alright, alright, let’s call it even. I won’t mess with you anymore,” Yun Siying laughed so happily that her crisp laughter echoed in the air, causing a nearby villager, Pingping, to turn and look back.

“You two met on the train? Tell us what happened!” Han Yuecheng was visibly excited, resting one hand on Li Dazhuang’s shoulder.

Although Li Dazhuang felt a bit embarrassed, he answered honestly for the sake of his savior’s curiosity. He recounted everything that had happened, including his tough journey after being thrown off the train, in such a vivid and animated way that Yun Siying thought he had real potential as a storyteller.

“Hahaha…” Han Yuecheng burst out laughing and gave Li Dazhuang a sympathetic look. He hadn’t expected Yun Siying to be so fierce.

Jiang Aimin handled the prescriptions and payments for Han Yuecheng and Chen Banghua. Just as they were getting ready to return to the team, they unexpectedly ran into Shen Subai and Shu Ruxue at the hospital entrance.

“Why are you two here?”

“Shen Baiji, what else do you think people do at hospitals, go on dates? Idiot,” Han Yuecheng shot back, clearly not in the mood to be polite.

“Han Yuecheng, can’t you speak like a decent person? We grew up in the same compound, do you really have to treat me like this?” Shen Subai was frustrated. He just didn’t understand why everyone treated Yun Siying so well. What was so great about her?

“Alright, time to head back to the brigade,” Yun Siying cut in, her eyes drifting to Shu Ruxue’s arm, now in a cast, and her missing front teeth, still not replaced. Maybe she couldn’t afford it?

“Brother Aimin, Brother Dazhuang, did you come by car?” Shu Ruxue asked, knowing she wouldn’t get anything nice out of Han Yuecheng.

“Yeah, we came by tractor,” Li Dazhuang answered honestly without thinking much of it.

“Great! We’re heading back to the brigade too, let’s ride back with you!” Shu Ruxue said happily.

But when she got on the tractor and saw Yun Siying in the driver’s seat, her mood immediately soured. “Yun Siying, what are you doing? This is a tractor, do you even know how to drive? Don’t go wrecking brigade property!”

“It’s none of your business. If you don’t want to ride, get off,” Yun Siying said coldly, looking at her like she was an idiot.

Shu Ruxue was successfully silenced this time. Watching Yun Siying skillfully drive the tractor on the road, she felt a wave of jealousy. Shen Subai stood by, quietly watching, his emotions complicated. So this was who she really was so capable, so independent. What a pity she wasn’t the Shu family’s biological daughter.

After returning to the brigade, the three of them went to Jiang Aimin’s house as promised. They hadn’t brought anything with them, after all it was a gesture of thanks, and accepting it would help everyone feel at ease.

“Siying, Comrade Han, Comrade Chen, please come in and have a seat. The food will be ready soon,” Aunt Hongying came out to the yard to greet them.

“Sorry to trouble you and your family today, Aunt Hongying,” they said as they followed her into the main hall, only to see someone they hadn’t expected to be there.