Chapter 52: Eating Melons in Progress (Watching the Drama Unfold)
Ning Xiyue looked toward the reservoir and saw Wu Xiuli, who had been dragged out, covered in so much mud she could barely move her legs. She kept crying that they were numb, so after a quick discussion, the others simply decided to carry her out horizontally.
“What a pitiful sight — she went in vertically and is coming out horizontally. If it weren’t for the rise and fall of her chest, I’d have thought she was dead already. I really don’t get why she’s so obsessed with Li Jiandang. He’s not even that good-looking,” Li Xiuxiu whispered in Ning Xiyue’s ear, gossiping.
“Maybe it’s become a habit — or an obsession. You know the saying: ‘What you can’t get is always the best.’ She probably can’t accept that the person she’s known since childhood doesn’t like her back.”
Just the thought of such a love-brain was terrifying — like someone mentally ill, hurting both herself and others. Even when she knows there’s no outcome, she still irrationally throws herself at it. Who knows what she’s even getting out of it.
“Look! Wu Xiuli’s going after Ning Xiaoxiao — oh my god, this is getting good!”
Ning Xiyue smiled at Li Xiuxiu, who sounded like a live commentator, and focused her gaze on the scene below.
Just as Wu Xiuli — who had been limp and lifeless while being carried — passed by Ning Xiaoxiao, she suddenly reached out and grabbed Ning Xiaoxiao’s hair. Ning Xiaoxiao, who had been sitting and crying with her head down, was yanked upright by the force.
Because Wu Xiuli was being carried forward and attacked so suddenly, the people holding her didn’t react in time, dragging Ning Xiaoxiao several steps forward by her hair.
“Ah—!”
Ning Xiaoxiao screamed in pain, clutching at her scalp. What had started as fake crying turned into real sobbing, tears streaming down her face.
Just watching it made Ning Xiyue’s scalp ache. She was genuinely afraid that Ning Xiaoxiao’s hair — along with part of her scalp — might get ripped off, leaving her a bloody bald patch.
The people carrying Wu Xiuli quickly stepped back a few steps to get closer to Ning Xiaoxiao, hoping to reduce the pain.
But as for helping Ning Xiaoxiao by prying Wu Xiuli’s hand off? Impossible. Wu Xiuli might be in the wrong, but she was still their own — they wouldn’t side with outsiders.
Wu Zhigang rushed forward, slapping Wu Xiuli’s hand. “Let go! If you don’t let go, I’ll hit you! Let her go!”
“What are you doing? You think I don’t exist? How dare you hit my daughter — I’ll kill you!”
Li Cuihua, seeing that Wu Zhigang had slapped her daughter’s hand red, flew into a rage. She lunged at him, biting his hand, scratching and punching. Wu Zhigang, a grown man, was completely overwhelmed.
Poor Ning Xiaoxiao suffered several accidental blows in the chaos. Ning Xiyue even noticed that many of Li Cuihua’s hits landed on her instead.
“Everyone stop! Are you trying to rebel? Don’t make me say it twice. Anyone who keeps fighting — get out of the team!”
The voice of Captain Zhang Dawei boomed across the reservoir, filled with authority and fury.
The crowd immediately parted, revealing the captain. His face was so dark and cold it was terrifying.
His single shout silenced everyone. Li Cuihua and Wu Zhigang stopped fighting and stood obediently to the side. Even Wu Xiuli, who still had her grip on Ning Xiaoxiao’s hair, was so frightened by the captain that she immediately let go.
Ning Xiyue even forgot to crack her melon seeds. So this is what it means to be a captain — not just anyone can do it. A voice like that isn’t something ordinary people are born with. Better than a loudspeaker.
No wonder Aunt Yangliu and the captain were a couple — they were equally terrifying when angry, their voices just as loud and piercing.
Beside him, Aunt Qiuju had already climbed down from the tree at some point and now stood behind the captain, with Secretary Wang beside her.
The entire leadership team of the brigade was now present.
Aunt Qiuju had clearly kept her word — she had brought them to a spot not far from the big pagoda tree, where she could clearly see everything that had happened from her perch.
“Everyone involved in today’s incident, step forward and explain yourselves. What on earth happened here? Are you all that free? If you’ve got so much free time to fight, then tomorrow you can all do heavy labor.”
The captain’s eyes swept across the crowd and landed on the only one still calmly seated — Chen Yechu. Then his gaze shifted to the rest, lingering especially on Li Cuihua and her daughter.
“Comrade Chen, you speak first. No one else is allowed to interrupt. I’ll call your name when it’s your turn.”
Every pair of eyes around turned to Chen Yechu.
Chen Yechu snapped out of her daze like someone waking from a dream. She stood up and spoke, her voice steady and measured.
“Captain, I actually don’t know what happened. I spent the entire day working honestly. When I finished this afternoon and was walking by the reservoir, that female comrade suddenly rushed out from somewhere and slapped me across the face for no reason. I was completely stunned. Look, my face is still red.”
She tilted her chin upward, revealing the red mark on the lower left side of her face for everyone to see.
There was mud on Chen Yechu’s clothes, but none on her face or neck. Her skin was naturally fair, which made the red mark look even more pronounced — it was even slightly swollen.
“Hiss—”
The people around couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath and whisper.
“Wu Xiuli really used some force — Chen Yechu’s face is swollen. She must’ve hit her hard.”
Wu Xiuli tried to speak in her own defense, but one cold glare from the captain shut her up immediately.
“Comrade Chen, continue.”
“I don’t even know this comrade. I thought she was crazy. When she tried to hit me a second time, I fought back. We both lost our balance and rolled down the embankment toward the reservoir.”
Chen Yechu glanced at Ning Xiaoxiao, who was still crouched on the ground crying. “Luckily, Ning Xiaoxiao was sitting below and stopped us, or we would have rolled straight into the water.”
“But then, I don’t know why, that female comrade started crying, screaming, and hitting people again. She not only hit me but also threw herself at Ning Xiaoxiao and started beating her. And I could feel that she had deep resentment toward Ning Xiaoxiao — she was sitting on top of her and hitting her, and I couldn’t even pull her off.”
“And while she was hitting her, she was yelling that Ning Xiaoxiao stole her man. She said all of us educated youths are no good — that I wanted to steal her man too. Heaven and earth as my witness, I don’t even know who her man is.”
Chen Yechu then turned to the captain with a serious and sincere expression.
“Captain, I know you’re a good leader and you’ve always taken care of us. But I want to ask: do the commune members here not welcome us educated youths?”
She paused, then glanced coldly at Wu Xiuli, who was still baring her teeth like a mad dog.
“If we’re truly not welcome, you can report it to the educated youth office and have us transferred to another brigade. We came here to support rural construction, to contribute to the country’s development — not to suffer baseless accusations and beatings. If you find us troublesome, we can also report this to the office ourselves.”
The captain’s face grew even colder as he listened to her words, his eyes toward Wu Xiuli now filled with ice.
