Chapter 25

Ge Yuan had never been an obedient person.

Only in front of Ye Wanqing was he willing to restrain his claws and fangs and disguise himself as gentle and harmless.

In reality, the experiences of his childhood had carved wildness into every inch of flesh and blood in his body. He was like a hunting leopard in the jungle. Even without hunting conditions, he would create the conditions to bite through the prey’s throat!

Although Ye Wanqing had not handed the portraits to him, his memory was excellent. Relying on a pair of sharp eyes, he had already deeply carved the portraits of those three people into his mind.

Wait until tomorrow to find people?

No—he could not wait!

Moreover, reporting the case to the public security bureau easily alerted the enemy. According to the public security bureau’s style of handling cases, what if those few human scums heard the wind and ran? Catching people then would be much more troublesome than now!

Ge Yuan decided that tonight he would tidy those three human scums up once. First beat them to satisfaction, then throw the few human scums at the public security bureau and personally watch the public security bureau lock these few human scums up!

However Ye Wanqing changed her mind again.

She looked at the sky color and asked Wei Jun a bit embarrassedly, “Going first thing tomorrow morning to report the news to your family—is that okay? Your family…… will they be very worried?”

Wei Jun shyly shook his head. “No…… it’s fine. Actually my injuries aren’t serious. I can also return tonight.”

Return tonight?

Ye Wanqing glared at him once and pointed at his injured lower leg. “Your leg was injured by those few bastards. Your ankle is still a bit swollen. If we hadn’t returned to check your injuries you would still have kept silent the whole time. There are no more buses now. Relying on these two legs of yours—you plan to walk dozens of li home?”

Wei Jun scratched his head and smiled.

His features were delicate. When he smiled it carried a fresh youthful air with a bit of honest simplicity that easily made people feel goodwill.

Although Ye Wanqing was fierce toward him, he just felt it was very familiar. In the past if he was mischievous, Eldest Sister also lectured him like this and would even take a bamboo strip to whip him. By age Ye Wanqing should be his Second Sister, yet the family had instructed that he could not call her that.

At most he could call her Cousin Sister.

After smiling Wei Jun nodded. “Then okay. I’ll impose here for one night. The family won’t worry too much. Previously when I couldn’t make it back there were also situations of overnighting outside.”

Ye Wanqing actually still had a fairly clear understanding of the Wei family’s situation, otherwise she would not have asked this way.

Yet hearing Wei Jun personally say so made her even more at ease. “Then okay.”

She then said to Ge Yuan, “Brother Yuan, tonight you’d better not go. It’s already eight o’clock. I’m not at ease with you walking night roads. Tomorrow go tell the Wei family.”

Wei Jun originally wanted to say that if Ge Yuan went to the Wei family tomorrow he could actually also follow Ge Yuan back together. This way he would not need to stay here anymore and could return home to recover from his injuries.

Yet looking at Ye Wanqing’s gentle side profile he swallowed the words that were almost at his mouth.

These years Liu Lixiu at home would occasionally speak of this Second Sister. He was truly a bit curious what kind of person this Second Sister really was—whether she was worth Liu Lixiu always thinking of her, whether she was worth the Wei family keeping her in their hearts and worrying.

In front of Ye Wanqing Ge Yuan was simply a large cat and rarely refuted her opinions.

With the matter settled he had no reason to go out and was also not anxious. “Then okay. I’ll set out first thing early tomorrow morning. I’m going to instruct Houzi and them on a few matters now. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Ye Wanqing did not think much and smiled as she nodded. “Okay. You go.”

—

To avoid suspicion Ye Wanqing arranged Wei Jun at the Ge family’s small courtyard and had him sleep in Ge Yue’s room. As for Ge Yue, she took her over to her place to sleep. These two days she would sleep in one bed with her.

This arrangement made Ge Yue extremely happy. From her small water bucket she dug out a favorite glass marble and gave it to Wei Jun. She smiled revealing a mouthful of little rice-grain teeth and said to him in a soft baby voice, “If you’re scared sleeping alone you can hold it. It will protect you.”

“Thank you.” Wei Jun received it very carefully and could not help teasing her. “You gave the glass marble to me—who will protect you? Sister Qing?”

“No!” Ge Yue widened a pair of black-grape eyes and very seriously declared, “How could I let Beautiful Sister-in-law protect me? Of course I protect Beautiful Sister-in-law! She’s beautiful! I’m so fierce!”

Wei Jun laughed helplessly. “You look very capable!”

That was right!

Praised, Ge Yue became happy and proudly raised her little chin. After doing this action she felt a bit shy. She charged headfirst into Ye Wanqing’s embrace, hugged her arm and twisted a bit, then happily smiled open.

Regarding Wei Jun’s sudden appearance Ye Wanqing was a bit surprised yet very happy.

In her previous life it was also the Wei family who first contacted her.

After she became a substitute teacher, at the beginning her wages were not particularly high. When she was twenty-seven or twenty-eight she developed gallstones and was in pain day and night, suffering insomnia whole night after whole night.

She went to the hospital to see a doctor. The doctor said either take medicine to break the gallstones so they would naturally metabolize and be expelled from the body, or she could only be hospitalized for surgery.

At first she decided to take medicine because taking medicine only cost a few hundred yuan—much cheaper compared to surgery.

Yet after asking some patients she learned that medicine did not necessarily thoroughly expel the gallstones from the body and might even cause the broken gallstones to wander into various organs of the body. The side effects of the medicine were large and patients suffered even more. Afterward if one wanted complete recovery one still could only undergo surgery, and it would be even more troublesome because more internal organs were involved.

So she decided on surgery. Yet one surgery cost three thousand yuan and the savings in her hands were not enough.

She borrowed money from Liu Lizhen. At that time the Ye family had earned quite a bit of money because they contracted the bus station stalls. They were not extremely wealthy, yet the family should have quite a few deposits. She thought the family taking out these three thousand yuan should be very easy.

Unexpectedly Liu Lizhen refused her request to borrow money in one breath and instead cried poverty to her, saying they did business from early to late, saw every kind of face, and actually the money they earned was all hard-earned money.

Whether they earned money or not—did Ye Wanqing who went to help every winter and summer vacation not know?

That was the first time her heart grew cold toward the Ye family.

Without money yet the surgery could not be avoided, so Ye Wanqing could only thick-skinnedly borrow money from friends and colleagues around her. Yet most of the friends she knew were teachers and most had already formed families. The money they could lend was not particularly much. Putting it together was still not enough.

At the critical moment it was Wei Huainong who walked dozens of li and delivered two thousand yuan to her…… Because he was worried about her body he even could not wait until daybreak and hard walked dozens of li of night road, afraid of delaying her going to the provincial city hospital!

After successfully completing the surgery Ye Wanqing lay on the hospital bed and could not help silently shedding tears.

Both aggrieved and emotional.

The grievance was because of the disappointment toward the Ye family.

The emotion was because of the charcoal in the snow from the Wei family.

She had also been curious about the Wei family and had even taken a bus to the countryside to look at the Wei family from afar…… Yet she had never expected that the Wei family was also silently caring about her. At the time she most needed help it was they who pulled her once.

From then on she and the Wei family naturally began to interact.

Knowing that her illness money was borrowed from the Wei family, Liu Lizhen specially found her and scolded her once, saying she did not know to find natal family when she had difficulties and went to find relatives—were relatives more reliable than natal family? Conduct like hers that did not distinguish between close and distant, if outsiders knew, where should the Ye family put their face?

She did not argue with Liu Lizhen about anything, yet in her heart she found it laughable.

Truly every word was spoken by Liu Lizhen. The person unwilling to lend money was Liu Lizhen. The person saying she should not borrow money from the Wei family was also Liu Lizhen. For the sake of the Ye family’s face should she simply be pained to death by the gallstones?

Afterward even if Liu Lizhen was unhappy because she maintained contact with the Wei family and made big scenes with her saying she had no conscience, she never cut off contact with the Wei family.

Later when she bought a small house, during renovation because the budget was inaccurate she was short a bit of money. Thinking of the words Liu Lizhen had said before she again went to the Ye family to borrow money and as expected was refused once more.

That time Wei Jun actively called her. “Sister, don’t worry about the money matter. I have some here!”

Wei Hong also called her. “Isn’t it just money! You renovate with peace of mind. Use the best materials for everything. If you want wooden flooring then use wooden flooring. Nowadays people pay attention to environmental protection—you know? Tomorrow I’ll go transfer money to you. Giving ten thousand first—okay? If not enough I still have a fixed deposit that matures in half a month. Give it to you, give it to you—all give it to you.”

Even Eldest Sister whose family situation was the worst also gave her one thousand yuan and had her husband who could do carpentry come do woodworking for her, stubbornly refusing labor fees.

Interactions between people were all heart for heart.

Having received the Wei family’s goodness Ye Wanqing also placed the Wei family in her heart and treated them well with care.

The Wei family’s conditions indeed were not as good as the Ye family’s. Yet from the Wei family people she sincerely felt what kinship was. That simple, calculation-free free interaction was what she very much liked.

After she got together with Ge Yuan the Wei family not only did not seek benefits from her but instead began keeping distance, afraid of adding trouble for her and making Ge Yuan have opinions about her.

In comparison the Ye family tried every means to repair the relationship with her. Their affectionate and warm appearance was completely different from before and they even proposed requests such as buying a car and buying a house.

What made her most headache was that Liu Lizhen simply could not stand her being close to the Wei family and successively caused quite a few incidents……

After rebirth Ye Wanqing had thought of waiting until her side’s career was on the right track and she had a certain ability, and after clarifying the relationship with the Ye family, before contacting the Wei family. Yet she had never expected the Wei family was already paying attention to her at this time.

Thinking of this a thread of warm current flowed through Ye Wanqing’s heart and the corners of her lips rose in a gentle smile.

She looked toward Wei Jun beside her. “When did you start following me?”

Wei Jun: “Just a while ago. My mom came to the county town to buy things at the market and unintentionally discovered you had fallen out with the family. She…… she was quite worried about you, so afterward every time she came to the county town she would come take a look at you. Either she came or I came.”

Ye Wanqing understood. So it was like this.

It seemed the people tracking her for a period of time previously not only included the ruffians with malicious intent but possibly also the Wei family people.

She had said that sometimes that kind of examination behind her back made her very uncomfortable, yet sometimes she could not feel the slightest malice—only that the gazing lasted a bit longer. She had been especially puzzled.

In this life her falling out with the Ye family seemed to have indirectly influenced many matters.

For example the Wei family appeared in her life earlier. This also explained that the Wei family had always been paying attention to her, which was why they so quickly discovered she and the Ye family were getting along very unpleasantly.

“What are you doing now? Still studying?” Ye Wanqing asked.

“Not studying anymore.” Wei Jun blushed and shook his head. “My brain is stupid. Grades aren’t good. Studying doesn’t have much to study for. Coming out early to work is also pretty good.”

Grades not good?

Ye Wanqing looked at the uncomfortable expression on Wei Jun’s face and subconsciously felt he was not telling the truth. Wei Jun’s mind was very active. His future children—her nephews and nieces—were also clever and outstanding with excellent grades. How could the father possibly have a stupid brain?

“Is it that the family conditions aren’t good and can’t support you studying?” Ye Wanqing asked very directly.

If it was like this she could support. She could not let Wei Jun drop out.

She remembered Wei Jun had once said words regretting not studying properly. Because he had no diploma he could not compete with a university student in the factory and missed a rare promotion opportunity.

“No…… no……” Sweat broke out on Wei Jun’s forehead. He continuously waved his hands and stammered, “The family is pretty good. Clothes are warm, food is enough—everything is good. Everything is very good.”

Thinking of the instructions from the old mother at home before setting out, Wei Jun was truly afraid Ye Wanqing would ask further.

If she asked further it would be exposed.

The Wei family’s current situation was truly not good. Living in the countryside guarding a few mu of fields, scraping by for food and clothing was no problem, yet saying other conditions were good was truly against his heart.

At the least Ye Wanqing had hit the mark—the family indeed could not support two high school students. So he deliberately scored poorly and said he did not want to study anymore precisely because he did not want to increase the family’s burden and left the studying opportunity for his little sister.

Yet the Wei family did not want Ye Wanqing to know these things.

They knew Ye Wanqing currently had money in her hands, so they even more wanted to avoid suspicion and did not want Ye Wanqing to feel the reason the Wei family crowded over was because they took a fancy to the money in her hands.

Sensing Wei Jun’s tension Ye Wanqing did not ask further.

She patted his shoulder and said mildly, “Treat this place as your own home. Don’t be restrained. Properly rest. Recover from the foot injury before returning.”

There would still be many opportunities to interact in the future. Some matters she did not need to ask one by one—using her own eyes to look was enough.

“Okay.” Wei Jun nodded with a shy smile.

—

In the deep quiet of the night.

Ge Yuan lightly and carefully got out of bed. Afraid the sound of opening the courtyard gate would startle the sleeping people, he directly took a running start, both hands braced on the courtyard wall, and agilely and neatly flipped over the wall and out.

Arriving at Houzi’s doorway he placed his thumb and index finger in his mouth and blew a whistle.

The door immediately opened. Houzi, Flower Shirt and several other people were all crowded at the courtyard doorway. Every person held an iron rod in their hands.

“Brother Yuan, we’re ready!”

“Go!” Ge Yuan waved a hand, his gaze deep and heavy. “Daring to bully this old man’s woman—beat them to death!”