"Those country bumpkins are just unruly and unhygienic..."
The three security guards clearly did not believe that this slovenly-dressed, poor-looking, and cunning old man was a city dweller, much less that he claimed to be the owner of the inn.
"Damn it, Zhengyang, ignore them, let's go!" Yao Chushun grabbed Xu Zhengyang's hand and headed towards the entrance of the station.
Two more sanitation workers, both middle-aged women, came up and blocked their way. One of them held out her hand and said, "You can't leave. Pay the fine, or we'll take you to the police station."
Yao Chushun was furious and about to say something more when Xu Zhengyang took out twenty yuan and handed it over, smiling apologetically, "I'm sorry, it's our first time here, we country folk really don't know any better. Ten yuan per person, right? Here, this is twenty yuan." Actually, from Yao Chushun's words and the women's behavior, Xu Zhengyang could tell that the fine was completely unreasonable and specifically targeted country folk. However, he didn't want to cause trouble, especially since he was in the wrong first—after all, he had been smoking in such a clean public square.
The sanitation workers finally calmed down, grumbling as they issued the fines, took the money, and then warned the two to quickly throw their cigarette butts into the nearby trash can.
"Damn it..." Yao Chushun was very dissatisfied, waving his arms and shouting, "You women got off easy!"
Xu Zhengyang shook his head helplessly and walked towards the trash can.
He now felt that standing next to Yao Chushun and being stared at by people in the square was a very embarrassing thing.
"Hey Zhengyang, wait a minute." Yao Chushun seemed afraid that others would realize that he and Xu Zhengyang were not on the same side, so he hurriedly followed, no longer bothering to argue with the female sanitation workers.
Just as Xu Zhengyang threw the cigarette butt into the trash can, a refreshing feeling flashed through his mind. His right hand trembled involuntarily, and the White Jade Record suddenly appeared in his hand. In a panic, Xu Zhengyang quickly withdrew it back into his body.
This time, Yao Chushun saw it clearly and asked in surprise, "Zhengyang, what was that in your hand just now? Huh? Where did you put it? Don't try to lie to me and say you didn't have it. I saw it very clearly this time."
"Oh, it's nothing, just a piece of jade," Xu Zhengyang explained with a wry smile.
"Come, come, let this old man take a look, this is a good thing!" Yao Chushun's small triangular eyes shone brightly, his face full of surprise and expectation, as if he would search Xu Zhengyang if he didn't agree.
“No.” Xu Zhengyang frowned and said seriously.
Yao Chushun had never seen Xu Zhengyang look serious before. At this moment, being stared at by Xu Zhengyang with narrowed eyes, he felt an invisible force pressing down on his consciousness. He suddenly felt a little afraid of this young man and couldn't help but say, "Oh, okay, I won't look, hehe, I won't look."
"It's a family heirloom, not something you should show to others," Xu Zhengyang explained casually.
After saying that, Xu Zhengyang ignored Yao Chushun and turned to walk towards the station entrance. Yao Chushun hesitated for a moment, then followed, taking out his ticket from his pocket as he caught up, saying, "What carriage and seat are you in? Do you think we're next to each other? Oh, no problem, no problem, let's switch seats, then we can be next to each other... Here, take the money from the fine earlier..."
"No."
The reason Xu Zhengyang paid Yao Chushun's fine earlier was that he didn't want to cause any more trouble outside. It was obvious that Yao Chushun wouldn't pay those sanitation workers, and it would be embarrassing for him to only pay his own fine when he was with Yao Chushun.
Seeing the train ticket in Yao Chushun's hand, Xu Zhengyang finally felt relieved. It seemed that his previous suspicions about Yao Chushun were unfounded; Yao Chushun was indeed going to the capital, and their meeting was just a coincidence.
"Hey, look! What a beautiful girl!"
Just as they reached the entrance and were about to go in, Yao Chushun suddenly tugged at Xu Zhengyang and reminded him.
Xu Zhengyang frowned again, his anger rising. How could he have been so unlucky as to run into Yao Chushun today? It was utterly humiliating. There were so many people around, and all he did was see a young woman. Why was he making such a fuss? What a shameless old man! Despite his inner turmoil, Xu Zhengyang still turned his head curiously to look at the square.
In the square directly opposite the ticket hall, next to a black Audi A8, stood a girl in a snow-white long dress.
She looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old, tall and somewhat thin, with her bare arms as smooth as jade and as white as lotus root. Her slender, fair hands were clasped in front of her, and her straight, fair legs were visible under her skirt. On her blue and white casual sneakers, half of her short socks with blue lace trim were showing.
Her long, flowing hair was as black as ink and as white as clouds. Her oval face was as white as snow, her eyebrows were arched, her small nose was straight, and her slightly red lips were gently pursed. Her natural beauty showed no trace of makeup.
The only flaw was that her beautiful big eyes seemed somewhat empty and lifeless, or rather, excessively indifferent, as if she viewed the world as something unrelated to her or simply non-existent.
While it might be considered a minor flaw, one could also say that such a gaze revealed a unique kind of beauty, making her already pretty face stand out even more, setting her apart from the crowd.
Not sexy, not alluring, not glamorous...
Under the intense sunlight, she was pure and elegant, aloof and otherworldly, unlike ordinary people, but like a fairy from the moon palace.
The appearance of this young lady truly attracted everyone's attention. However, after observing her from a distance, everyone turned their heads away, whether out of shame or because they dared not and could not bear to use their mortal eyes to desecrate this beautiful girl. Yet, they couldn't help but occasionally shift their gaze back to examine her.
“Oh, whose daughter is this, so beautiful…” Yao Chushun sighed softly, “It’s just a pity she’s blind.”
"Why does she look so familiar?" Xu Zhengyang stared blankly at the girl and muttered softly.
Yao Chushun glanced at Xu Zhengyang with a hint of disdain and said sarcastically, "If I were as young as you, I would have gone over to that girl and said those words..."
Xu Zhengyang ignored him and instead frowned as he looked at the girl, somewhat lost in thought and puzzled. She did look familiar.
Volume One, Land, Chapter 018: Li Bingjie – A Person Just Like Her Name
Just then, the girl's large, indifferent eyes looked towards Xu Zhengyang, and then... they stopped on Xu Zhengyang. She tilted her jade-like neck slightly, looking at Xu Zhengyang with some surprise. Suddenly, she raised her eyebrows, and a glint of light flashed in her extremely indifferent eyes. She raised her slender, lotus-root-like arm and beckoned to Xu Zhengyang, as if she wanted to call him over.
"You're not blind!" Yao Chushun looked at Xu Zhengyang in disbelief. "You really know her?"
Did they really know each other? Xu Zhengyang was also completely confused, but the girl did wave to him. Although she had lowered her hand, her eyes were still fixed on him... Just as Xu Zhengyang was wondering, the girl took a step and walked gently towards him again.
Xu Zhengyang turned his head and looked around in a daze, making sure that the girl was either looking at someone else or greeting him.
So Xu Zhengyang turned around again and, involuntarily, stepped forward to meet him.
The young woman had already stepped onto the steps, gently wiping the fine sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Xu Zhengyang, who was standing in front of her, slightly curled the corners of his lips, and his starry eyes curved into a smile that seemed to melt away an iceberg.
This smile made the young woman's face bloom like a thousand flowers, surpassing even the most charming and beautiful women.
"You, you are..." Looking at the girl's fairy-like face and her captivating smile, Xu Zhengyang suddenly thought that this girl was a celestial being. A deity, after all, must be on the same path as him, sensing each other's presence to greet him. So Xu Zhengyang blurted out, "Which mountain are you from?"
The young woman blinked, a hint of doubt flashing in her starry eyes.
"Ah? No, it's nothing..." Xu Zhengyang snapped out of his daze and hurriedly chuckled awkwardly, "Um, you are... oh dear, I can't remember for a moment..."
"Xu Zhengyang?"
The voice was like heavenly music, which made Xu Zhengyang pause for a moment, and he nodded involuntarily, saying, "Ah, yes."
The young woman lowered her eyelids, seemingly a little sad, then raised them, her bright eyes staring at Xu Zhengyang through her long, curved eyelashes. She parted her lips slightly and said softly, "You said you were going to the county's No. 1 High School, but you didn't go."
"Ah! You are..."
Xu Zhengyang's mouth dropped open in surprise. At that moment, he finally remembered who the other person was.
But the changes are too drastic! Only a few years? Oh, it's already been five years... I was sixteen when I graduated from junior high, and now I'm twenty-one, while she's twenty, right? They say girls change a lot as they grow up, but this change is just too much...
In my mind, the past turns back in time:
We were deskmates for three years during junior high school;
In the second half of her first year of junior high, during a routine seating arrangement in the class, she, who was usually so quiet that people mistook her for being mute, actually went to the homeroom teacher and asked to be moved back to her original seat so that she could continue to sit next to Xu Zhengyang. Her reason was so simple that it made the homeroom teacher a little annoyed: "I'm not used to sitting next to someone else."
The homeroom teacher naturally refused, feeling it was utterly unreasonable. But later, for some unknown reason, the principal spoke to the homeroom teacher and moved their seats back together. Thus, in Xu Zhengyang's three years of junior high, he only missed one class not sitting next to her; and she, simply because of the seat change, skipped class for the only time in her three years of junior high…
Her name is Li Bingjie.
As his name suggests, he is as serene as ice and without any flaws.
However, Li Bingjie in junior high school was not as beautiful as she is now, but her cold and indifferent personality seemed to remain unchanged.
This is a person whose cold and indifferent nature is so maddening.
During her three years of junior high school, she was like a mute, hardly ever speaking to her classmates or teachers. Even when the teacher asked her questions in class, she would never answer or stand up, as if she couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the teacher.
However, she is indeed a very good student, and her grades in every exam are always among the best.
I sat next to Xu Zhengyang for three years of junior high, and we could count the number of times we spoke on one hand. Well, if you don't include the times we exchanged notes.
When she was about to graduate from junior high school, she asked Xu Zhengyang, "Where will you go to high school? I want to be your deskmate."
Xu Zhengyang nearly fainted. This ancient, unchanging snow lotus had actually revealed a tiny bud. Overwhelmed with excitement, Xu Zhengyang felt a pang of sadness and disappointment, knowing that after graduating from junior high, he would have to abandon his studies and return home to farm. But looking at Li Bingjie's delicate and indifferent face, and the rare glint in her starry eyes, Xu Zhengyang finally lied against his will, saying, "I'll go to the county's No. 1 High School."
Li Bingjie didn't say anything more, but Xu Zhengyang didn't know that she had already kept those words in mind.
At the class party before graduation, Li Bingjie remained as aloof and indifferent as ever, sitting next to Xu Zhengyang as if no one else was in the lively class.
That day, Zhu Wuchun, a local student at the township middle school and the school's notorious bully, arrogantly swaggered among the students, betting that he and Li Bingjie, the most aloof and unapproachable girl, would sing a song together at the graduation party. Of course, Li Bingjie ignored his invitation, as if she hadn't heard Zhu Wuchun at all, or perhaps, in her eyes, Zhu Wuchun didn't even exist.
Enraged at losing face, Zhu Wuchun cursed in front of the whole class and the teacher: "You stupid slut, you don't know what's good for you."
Li Bingjie remained calm, her indifference almost maddening.
Zhu Wuchun's anger hit a brick wall, and he stormed off, muttering curses under his breath.
Xu Zhengyang, watching from the side, couldn't help but laugh. He knew perfectly well what kind of person Li Bingjie was, yet he still invited her. Wasn't he just asking for trouble?
Unexpectedly, at the end of the party, when the students were singing together, Li Bingjie's soft, gentle voice, like heavenly music, rang in Xu Zhengyang's ears: "I really hate Zhu Wuchun."
A simple, gentle sentence, devoid of any hint of worldly warmth or coldness.
Like a fuse, it ignited a surge of youthful passion in Xu Zhengyang, a passion that could make a man's hair stand on end for the sake of a beautiful woman. It was impossible for him to have never experienced the stirrings of first love or the feeling of unrequited affection during his youth. And the person in Xu Zhengyang's heart was his deskmate of three years. Although they had only exchanged a few pitiful words and written notes that were more like short phrases than sentences, that feeling—that pure, innocent emotion that slightly transcended friendship—truly existed within Xu Zhengyang's heart.
But when faced with an iceberg, all the warm breezes of spring will be frozen in one's heart.
At this moment, the snow lotus was just beginning to bloom, how could Xu Zhengyang not feel his blood boil?
From that day on, they may never meet again in their lifetime, because no one knows where Li Bingjie is from, and she probably never cares about where others are from.
After the party ended, the students were reluctant to leave and gathered in the classroom to reminisce. Xu Zhengyang nodded to Li Bingjie, stood up, smiled, walked up to Zhu Wuchun, and whispered in his ear, "Zhu Wuchun, do you have the guts to come to the playground and have a chat with me?"
It was an obvious provocation. Zhu Wuchun raised his thick eyebrows and grinned coldly. He was a teacher at the rural middle school. Who had he ever been afraid of?
It was rare for someone to dare provoke him on the last day of graduation. Zhu Wuchun was slightly excited, nodded, then puffed out his chest, raised his head, and waved to his accomplices to walk out the door.
After they left, Xu Zhengyang patted Chen Chaojiang on the shoulder, then turned to his other village friends and winked, signaling them to go out for a bit.
Chen Chaojiang never seemed to like asking questions. Since he sensed something was wrong, he wouldn't ask anything else.
"Zhengyang, are we going to make our move?" Liu Bin asked with a grin as he walked out with his buddy.
Xu Zhengyang nodded and asked his buddies with a smile, "Are you scared?"
"Nonsense, we're about to graduate, what are we afraid of!" Cao Gangchuan's loud voice stood out.
Indeed, they were young, and their hearts were filled with fear and worry. For the past three years at Huaxiang Middle School in Huaxiang Village, they had deliberately restrained their tempers and swallowed their anger, not for any other reason than that this was Zhu Wuchun's village, and he could summon his uncles and brothers, as well as some local thugs, to help him at any time.
Now, it seems there's no need to be so reserved anymore. We can finish the fight and leave without having to come here again.
From the classroom, it's about a hundred meters to the north end of the playground.
Zhu Wuchun had already summoned a few people from other classes, about thirteen or fourteen in total. They were all carrying sticks and belts, looking at Xu Zhengyang and his group approaching from afar with a hint of mockery and disdain.
When they were still a dozen meters apart, Xu Zhengyang, who had been strolling leisurely, suddenly accelerated, pulling out his military-style belt as he ran. His eyes blazed with fury, his aura radiating rage. Behind him, Cao Gangchuan, Zhang Hao, and Zhou Qiang picked up bricks and stones from the grass along the wall by the playground and hurried after him. Chen Chaojiang and Liu Bin, having come out of their classroom, had even grabbed two bench legs piled up in the corner by the back door.
When brothers are of one mind, their strength can break even metal!
Seven people, facing an enemy that outnumbered them by a factor of two, showed no fear and their morale was unstoppable...
Zhu Wuchun and his gang of cronies, who were usually arrogant and domineering, could hardly withstand the fierce aura of Xu Zhengyang and his group, and the pent-up anger of the past three years bursting forth at this moment.
The thirteen or fourteen people collapsed instantly and fled in a sorry state.
Xu Zhengyang kept his eyes fixed on Zhu Wuchun, cornering him at the very edge of the playground, whipping him mercilessly with his belt and kicking him hard...
The principal, directors, and teachers stood helplessly and in astonishment at a distance, watching this scene unfold.
Many students in the school gathered at the edge of the playground, and surprisingly, many of them cheered.
Yes, who hasn't been bullied by Zhu Wuchun?