Chapter 11

“If you also look down on me, then give up early……”

Ge Yuan wanted to say this, yet he simply could not open his mouth.

It was not that he did not know how to say it—he simply did not want to say it, was unwilling. He was extremely selfish. Clearly knowing he was not good enough, he still despicably did not want to push away the person in front of him.

Ge Yuan lowered his head in silence.

Ye Wanqing looked up into his eyes and discovered that this tall, big, stubble-faced man had his lips tightly pressed together. His figure was as hard as a mountain, yet a deeply hidden vulnerability showed through his gaze. She felt even more heartbroken.

Truthfully, in her previous life she had seen too many of Ge Yuan’s calm or cold and hard appearances. The only thing she had never seen was this side of him.

Meeting again in this life, it was as if she was getting to know him all over again. Only then did she learn that he could feel embarrassed, that he could also be at a loss, that he was already very capable and had many connections at this time, that he could be awkwardly stubborn like a little boy, that he had vulnerability and self-abasement……

Her fixed impressions of him were broken one after another, making her heart feel an indescribable mix of sour-sweet softness.

Before her rebirth she had been carefully protected by this man for many years, yet they never had the chance to open their hearts to each other. Only before she died did she understand his full heart of passionate love, yet there was simply no time left to give him anything in return.

She regretted it deeply.

After death, floating in a vast white light, for as long as she floated she regretted.

Recalling the man’s heart-rending cries of pain, remembering the temperature of his scalding hot tears falling on her face, she thought that if life could start over she would definitely cherish him well, love him, and let everything yield for him.

If he stopped and refused to move forward, she did not mind taking those ninety-nine steps first.

How…… could she care about these things?

“You’re so good. Having you is enough.” Ye Wanqing stepped forward and hugged her tall man. Her eyes were gentle, her voice clear and sweet yet very firm. “You’re very good. Little sister is also very good. I…… mm, you know—I just like the two of you.”

“Oh……” Ge Yuan’s breath caught. He nodded calmly. “Mm, I know.”

His body was stiff as a rock.

Ye Wanqing hugged him for a while. When she neither waited for him to reach out and hug her back nor heard a single word of confession, she could not help quietly rolling her eyes and silently cursing “blockhead” in her heart.

Holding him forever was not a solution either.

Ye Wanqing let go, lifted her feet, and walked forward. The person behind her quickly followed.

Time tonight seemed to pass especially quickly. In the blink of an eye the gate of the bus station was right before their eyes.

Ye Wanqing waved at the big block of wood beside her. “I’m going back. Be careful on your way home too.”

“Mm.” Ge Yuan answered once more.

It was also at this moment that Ye Wanqing suddenly realized she had been so absorbed in memories and spacing out that she had not noticed the two of them had not spoken another word after that one hug…… This man could not say a single sweet word. It was truly infuriating.

Ye Wanqing turned and walked into the bus station.

Ge Yuan hurriedly shone the flashlight toward her feet, lighting the path she would take from a distance.

Only after she turned into the gate of the bus station dormitory area and her figure could no longer be seen did Ge Yuan reluctantly withdraw the flashlight, extinguish it, and stuff it into his pants pocket.

Then the joy he had long suppressed could no longer be controlled and surged out like a river flowing backward.

Happy!

Excited!

He felt that if he jumped up he might be able to pull a star down from the sky!

It was that floating, ethereal feeling!

The night was like the best protective color. Relying on the fact that no one could see him, he could not help humming a little tune and shaking his legs.

He did not know those feminine things like dancing, yet the excitement in his blood urgently needed release. He simply performed a set of military boxing on the spot, full of vigor and imposing might.

After sweating all over, the joy filling his heart not only failed to settle but became even more excited. He finally jumped up hard and swung a punch into the air, shouting “Yeah!” with full force.

Once the first shout came out, the second and third followed smoothly.

“Yeah!”

Happy!

“Yeah yeah yeah!”

So happy!

However, the consequences of disturbing the residents were also quite terrifying. Just as Ge Yuan shouted the third time, one window, two windows, three windows opened one after another. Quite a few sharp-voiced older sisters and aunties stuck their heads out to scold him.

There were even those who poured foot-washing water downward.

“Which lunatic is making a racket at this hour?”

“Crying more miserably than a wild cat in heat—want to die?!”

“Wasn’t he beaten or something?”

“What a sin.”

“……”

Ge Yuan: “……”

Quickly, his heated brain cooled down and he recovered a calm and composed expression. Yes, his brain had gone muddled. How could he…… not control himself and jump up right here? It shouldn’t be like this!

Fortunately no one had seen him. If he withdrew now there was still time……

Yet just as Ge Yuan prepared to hide his achievements and fame and turn around discreetly, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a familiar, slender figure standing two meters away. His entire person once again stiffened into a rock.

This…… this……

The moment he reacted, he was so frightened he took a large step backward.

Ye Wanqing held back her laughter and walked forward. “Oh…… I just wanted to tell you again that I’ll come to your place around three or four tomorrow to boil the sour plum drink. Remember to open the door for me and also help me boil some water. Prepare the ingredients for whatever breakfast you want to eat—I’ll cook for you both.”

“Okay, okay……”

“Then…… continue your performance? I won’t disturb you anymore.”

“I…… I……”

“By the way, your boxing is pretty good—very imposing. Your emotions are abundant and your expressions are also in place. You must keep it up, okay? Fighting!” Ye Wanqing hummed a little tune as she turned, which was exactly the same tune Ge Yuan had been humming just now.

“……”

I’m not, I didn’t, I……

Ge Yuan stood frozen in place, watching Ye Wanqing walk away with his own eyes. Those light, quick footsteps seemed to step on his heart one after another. He clutched his head in regret, wanting to cry but having no tears.

He truly wished he could give the him who had been randomly showing off just now a few punches to control the water that had entered his brain.

When Ge Yuan returned home and just opened the courtyard gate, Ge Yue who was sitting on a small stool at the doorway leapt up and charged in front of him like a little cannonball.

“Is Beautiful Sister-in-law home yet?”

“What Beautiful Sister-in-law?” Ge Yuan’s old face flushed red. He nodded. “……Mm.”

Ge Yue circled around her older brother twice, then calmly patted his hand, as if encouraging him or praising him for having made something of himself. Being so mixed-up yet still able to trick such a good and beautiful sister-in-law back home.

Ge Yuan: “……”

Remembering he still had one big matter unfinished, he pulled Ge Yue over and frowned as he asked, “By the way, which family’s little brats bullied you today? And did anyone curse Beautiful…… cough, Sister Ye?”

“Yes!” Ge Yue held a grudge. “Fatty Wang kicked me twice, Blackie Chen smashed me five times with a brick, and also Lai Gouzi……”

Ge Yue counted them off one by one on her fingers and finally said, “Later Beautiful Sister-in-law grabbed Fatty Wang to vent my anger and spanked Fatty Wang’s bottom twice. Then his mom came out and started cursing!”

At this point Ge Yue vividly imitated the words Fatty Wang’s mother had used to curse Ye Wanqing: “……I see you look refined and pretty—how can you do things only beasts would do?”

Ge Yuan’s eyes sparked with fire from anger.

He picked up an iron rod from under the courtyard wall and called out to Ge Yue, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to settle accounts!”

“Okay!” Ge Yue spun two circles on the spot and also found her own weapon—a small wooden stool.

Originally she had wanted to use her clothes to carry a few stones to smash people with. That way it would be convenient both for aiming and for flexible dodging. But she had just been washed fragrant and clean today and could not bear to get herself dirty again.

She was so beautiful now!

The Ge siblings set out aggressively, banging on one door after another.

In the night there was chaos and turmoil.

Family after family was disturbed. The impatient curses of adults rang out, the “pa pa pa” sounds of spanking children’s bottoms rang out, and the children’s sharp, piercing cries rose one after another without end.

Perhaps because the noise was too great, when Ge Yuan reached the last family—Fatty Wang’s house—the Wang family refused to open the door no matter what, determined to play dead.

For those willing to open the door, Ge Yuan properly “reasoned” with them. Besides making them apologize to Ge Yue, watching the parents spank their own little troublemakers, and the standard local-tyrant demand for compensation money, he did not lay hands on anyone else.

He was a man of principle.

As for those unwilling to open the door……

Ge Yuan looked at the tightly closed courtyard gate of the Wang family. The corner of his lips curved coldly to one side as he lifted his foot and kicked hard against the solid gate.

Not wanting to involve Ye Wanqing’s reputation, he could not openly vent anger for her, but he definitely had to teach this family a lesson!

One kick, two kicks…… His explosive power was still strong. The Wang family’s courtyard gate let out “creak creak” sounds of being unable to bear the load, like an old man on the verge of death hanging on by a single breath—just a few more kicks and it would be finished.

With no other choice, seeing that this demon king Ge Yuan was determined to settle accounts, the Wang family could only open the courtyard gate with uneasy hearts.

They could not just watch the courtyard gate get kicked to pieces, right?

Repairing it would cost money!

“Ge Yuan, you you you…… you’re truly a rare guest. Old Wang, brew…… brew some ginger-salt tea……”

The Fatty Wang’s mother who had been aggressive during the day was now like a quail. She was very angry, yet did not dare to show that anger in front of Ge Yuan and still had to put on a smiling face.

“I won’t drink tea. Let your Fatty Wang come out! According to my rules, however many times your Fatty Wang hit my little sister, you give him that many lessons to remember. If you won’t do it, then I can only do it myself.”

“I…… I’ll do it.” Fatty Wang’s mother dragged the Fatty Wang who was crying more miserably than a slaughtered pig from behind her mother-in-law and slapped him on the bottom, making him “waa” howl out loud.

“Not enough.” Ge Yuan said lightly.

Fatty Wang’s mother’s mouth twitched with heartache. She used great force and hit several more times before Ge Yuan finally nodded.

“Apologize.”

Since the person had already been hit, apologizing was naturally no problem.

“Compensation.”

The Wang family swallowed the blood that was about to be spat out and took out one yuan, two yuan…… until they reached ten yuan before they finally waited for Ge Yuan to give a nod. They could not help wiping away a handful of bitter tears.

Ten yuan ah—at this time working for a month only earned twenty or thirty!

Unfortunately, this was still not the end.

Ge Yuan put one hand in his pocket and pointed his chin at Fatty Wang’s mother, threatening in a cold voice, “Keep your son under control! And next time if I learn that you said those unclean words about my friend again, I won’t be as easy to talk to as today!”

Fatty Wang’s mother should have nodded immediately, yet she recalled the clear and pretty girl from daytime. Her brain short-circuited and she could not hold back from asking, “That who…… is she your girlfriend?”

Otherwise, why be so tense about her?