Chapter 36: Good Sister

A glimpse of pale, delicate skin showed at the neckline of the peach-pink sweater before him. Her jet-black hair was swept up high into a ponytail, and the fine down at the nape of her neck tempted one’s fingers to reach out and touch. Chen Yu could not resist the impulse, but he didn’t dare let his hand stray to touch Li Jixiang’s neck. Instead, while everyone’s attention was fixed on the camera lens up ahead, he slipped his arm around the back of Li Jixiang’s waist.

Even through the sweater, he could feel the girl’s slender, supple waistline, and excitement surged in him. Before the flush of that thrill could bloom on his cheeks, a sudden, piercing pain shot up from below.

“Say cheese, everyone!”

At the very instant the camera flashed, Chen Yu’s face, contorted in agony, was immortalized on film. Reflexively, both his hands flew protectively to his lower half. When he looked up, the crowd was already dispersing. The school’s administrative director approached to invite him off the stage; with an awkward, forced smile, Chen Yu hurried away from the platform, his gait stiff and unnatural.

Judging by the direction of the attack, there could be no doubt—it was Li Jixiang standing in front of him!

They hadn’t seen each other in years. Not only had this girl grown more beautiful, her character had changed as well. In the past, he could tease and torment her however he pleased and she would never resist. She knew all too well: if she dared protest, he’d threaten to have her family’s little shop shut down, cutting off their only source of income…

Chen Yu didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he headed to the principal’s office. The principal of Xingqiu Town Primary School had once served in the countryside alongside Chen Yu’s father; the two were old comrades-in-arms, so the principal greeted him warmly. Upon learning that Chen Yu had been assigned to the town’s agricultural technology station, the principal showered him with praise for his youthful achievements.

Xingqiu Town oversaw eleven villages, and the agricultural technology station provided all manner of technical support to the farmers. Being a technician there was both an honor and a promising career path. According to his family’s arrangements, Chen Yu’s future in officialdom seemed bright.

But Chen Yu hadn’t yet reported to the agri-tech station, and he wasn’t interested in the job he knew he wouldn’t hold for long. What truly occupied his mind now was Li Jixiang—or more precisely, the gnawing, infuriating itch she’d provoked in him.

For her to lay hands on him in public—intolerable!

The sound of the teacher dismissing class was especially sweet to the ears.

Li Jixiang packed her bag, pushed back her chair, and stood up. Ma Hongmei grabbed her sleeve, once again confirming whether the stationery set Chen Yu had given away really was hers now, her attitude suggesting she was afraid Li Jixiang might want it back.

“If you don’t want it, just throw it away.”

“You want me to throw away something so nice? Are you out of your mind? Brother Chen Yu is so handsome—he’s better looking than a movie star.”

Watching Ma Hongmei’s lovestruck expression, Li Jixiang could only sigh and shake her head. How could young girls know how to tell good men from bad? The likes of Chen Yu, with his smooth words tricking naïve country girls—what hint of real refinement or scholarly grace did he truly possess?

“If only he were my brother!”

Clutching the stationery set, Ma Hongmei went on mooning.

“Pfft—hopeless!” Li Jixiang thought. She could only shake her head at her deskmate, who fancied herself grown up after her first period, and who now acted as if she knew all about the world. Slinging her schoolbag over her shoulder, Li Jixiang quickly left the classroom.

She’d already been held up once, and Ma Hongmei had delayed her further. Now the stream of students trickling out after school was thin, and only a few bicycles were left in the shed.

She headed straight towards her new red-and-black bicycle, unlocked it, and swung herself onto the seat. But though she pedaled, the wheels spun uselessly in place.

The rear tire was flat.

She’d pumped it up herself that morning—how could it be out of air? She crouched to inspect it, when a man’s voice sounded behind her.

“Your tire’s flat, little sister?”

Chen Yu tilted his head and leaned closer, his gaze lingering on the pale neck above the pink sweater. In all of Xingqiu Town, he mused, there couldn’t be another neck so fair and delicate. If only she’d reveal her collarbones and the lines of her shoulders, it would be perfect.

Li Jixiang didn’t turn around, continuing to check the tire. She found the valve core had been pulled out—she didn’t need to guess who had done it.

Rising slowly, she met Chen Yu’s lecherous gaze head-on. Her clear eyes suddenly flashed with icy coldness.

The aura of the Li family’s eldest daughter was extraordinary; her deadly glare was a legendary skill. It might not kill a man outright, but it could make his heart tremble and his knees go weak.

Chen Yu straightened up, feeling as if his body was acting on its own, instinctively pulling itself upright and even forcing him to take two steps back. It was as if her gaze gripped him so tightly that he couldn’t look away, yet dared not meet her eyes directly.

“Hand it over.”

“W-what?”

Bathed in her frosty glare, Chen Yu broke out in a cold sweat, his teeth almost chattering as he spoke.

She had no patience for the likes of this pampered son of privilege.

That morning, as they lined up for a group photo on the assembly stage, her neck had been assailed by warm breath, then her waist suddenly grabbed by a large hand. With nearly a thousand teachers and students watching, Li Jixiang had wanted to slap him on the spot. She gathered her strength, but just as her hand was about to fly, she changed her mind.

Chen Yu was the mayor’s son, and embarrassing him publicly would be satisfying—if he didn’t bite back. Without evidence, he could easily turn things around. Besides, in the eyes of the townsfolk, a hand on the waist was hardly anything. Some men and women joked and jostled, even grabbing at chests or bottoms, and all was taken as harmless fun.

But she wasn’t about to swallow that humiliation alone. Swiftly, she hooked her hand in a move called “Scooping the Moon from the Sea,” striking him where it hurt. When she heard his muffled, pained cry behind her, Li Jixiang wiped her fingers on her trouser seam, feeling a bit disgusted. She cursed the wretched system that had dumped her in such a backward, uncivilized place, where everything seemed designed to make life difficult.

Li Jixiang said nothing, her gaze shifting to the flat rear tire.

Chen Yu was loath to surrender the valve core so easily. He’d sat through two tedious lessons in the principal’s office, then staked out a spot near Li Jixiang’s classroom, waiting for her to appear. But before he could enact his planned revenge, he found himself subdued by her glare.

No, he couldn’t just give in. He had to avenge the assault on his dignity!

His hand clenched tightly around the valve core in his right pocket, Chen Yu summoned his courage and stepped toward Li Jixiang. After only two steps, though, his legs felt as heavy as lead.

Damn it, what was happening? How could he, of all people, be cowed by a little girl? He wasn’t some clueless country bumpkin—he’d gone to university in the provincial capital. He’d been chasing girls since his first year; he’d never failed once.

The prettiest girls in class and in the department had all wanted to be with him. If he’d so much as beckoned, the campus beauty would have been his as well. He just thought the agricultural university’s beauty had poor taste and wasn’t as good-looking as the girls from the art school next door. He’d rather climb walls and sneak out to court prettier, more tasteful girls.

“Little sister, do you really not remember me? I used to hold you when you were little. I even chewed up sugar beans and fed them to you…”