Pop-ups; Injury

Bai Yao felt as if he had lost his mind. His brain was starting to slip out of his control.

The moment he touched the soft skin of a steamed bun, the scene of Kong Wu disinfecting his finger sprang into his mind like an automatic pop-up.

He thought of it when he washed his hands, when he ate, and when he heard Kong Wu's voice.

Seeing Kong Wu was another story altogether. The "pop-ups" in his head came even faster, until his brain's CPU couldn't keep up and overheated on the spot.

He figured he must be sick. Kong Wu had infected him with some terrible virus.

Now he could hardly look Kong Wu in the eye.

Kong Wu might have been acting as if nothing had happened, but Bai Yao couldn't do the same.

As he ate, his brain was processing so many distracting thoughts that he didn't catch what Kong Wu said.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else. What did you just say?" Bai Yao asked, not daring to look Kong Wu in the eye.

He clearly wasn't the one who had done that, and he clearly wasn't the one who should have been embarrassed. But he had too many distracting thoughts.

Had his heart fluttered?

No, it hadn't. Bai Yao was quite sure of that. It was simply his first time experiencing such intimate contact, and neither his body nor his mind could accept it so quickly.

"Hu Yang got hurt. When I was carrying firewood back just now, I saw Dongfang Dazhuang carrying him home on his back. He'd sprained his ankle," Kong Wu repeated, sighing inwardly over his goal, for which "the burden was heavy and the road long."

He was far too innocent. Kong Wu really... liked him far too much.

That was right. Kong Wu had done it on purpose, but he hadn't expected it to have this result.

So he had no choice but to change the subject, lest Bai Yao grow even more embarrassed.

The subject did stop the pop-ups in Bai Yao's brain for the time being. He hurriedly asked, "What happened? Is he badly hurt?"

"Probably not. He just sprained his ankle. I don't know exactly what happened; I only ran into them on my way down the mountain," Kong Wu said.

Bai Yao: ...

Well, that was hard to say.

An ordinary sprained ankle really wouldn't be too serious. But Hu Yang was the protagonist. If he got hurt, it was bound to be the kind of injury that would leave his ankle swollen like a giant steamed bun the next day.

For a moment, Bai Yao wanted to go see the spectacle for himself.

"I'm going to check on Hu Yang," Bai Yao said.

"Okay, I'll come with you." Kong Wu popped the little bit of bun left in his hand into his mouth.

Bai Yao: ...

Well, there went the "pop-ups" in his head again.

But never mind. It was fine to go together. Kong Wu had seen what happened too, after all; it would be rather heartless not to go.

"Let's take two buns. We should bring something when we visit someone who's hurt, shouldn't we?" Bai Yao said, getting up to fetch a basket.

The basket wasn't big. It served the same purpose as a plastic bag in later generations, specifically for carrying small items and food.

Soon, Bai Yao brought over the basket Kong Wu had bought a couple of days earlier.

But seeing the conflicted look on Kong Wu's face, he knew the man was feeling protective of his food.

Maybe because Bai Yao had spoken up, Kong Wu was feeling rather torn now.

"One chive and egg bun, and one green bean and pork rib bun."

As Bai Yao spoke, he put them straight into the basket, then covered them with a piece of steamer cloth, blocking Kong Wu's reluctant gaze as well.

"All right, let's go. There are still plenty of buns at home, enough for you to eat."

"Oh, got it. Let me carry it for you," Kong Wu said, following him.

Bai Yao said, "No need. You must be tired from going up the mountain to chop firewood. These two buns aren't heavy; I can carry them myself."

That was what he said, but his real reason for refusing was that he feared Kong Wu wouldn't be able to resist eating them.

Although he knew Kong Wu wouldn't do anything so embarrassing, the way he guarded his food still made Bai Yao doubt him a little.

Kong Wu didn't know what Bai Yao was thinking and simply assumed he was concerned about him. Kong Wu was so happy he could barely keep the corners of his mouth down.

Bai Yao lived not far from Hu Yang and the others' "rear quarters," so he arrived in just a few minutes.

It seemed he might have come at just the right time. A great drama was unfolding here.

In no hurry to enter, Bai Yao pulled Kong Wu aside to listen and find out what was going on.

"Comrade Dazhuang, we educated youths are here. We'll be sure to take good care of Educated Youth Hu. Your home is a little far from here, so it wouldn't be convenient for you to look after him."

"It's inconvenient for me, but convenient for you two? You're both female educated youths. Even if you don't care about your reputations, Educated Youth Hu still cares about his."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, Educated Youth Hu wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"It really is your fault, Educated Youth Tang, and now you even want to compound one mistake with another. A female educated youth volunteering to come take care of him—is she afraid there won't be any rumors?"

"Boo-hoo~ I really do know I was wrong."

Hearing the crying, Bai Yao noticed that Dongfang Dazhuang had stopped retorting, and knew Dazhuang had been wrapped around her finger.

Bai Yao also recognized the two educated youths' voices.

One was Feng Ling, who had set her sights on Hu Yang's money from the start; the other was Tang Yuanyuan, who had a sweet smile and an innocent appearance.

Honestly, he held the female educated youth Feng Ling in rather high regard. Money had been her target from beginning to end, after all, so she seized every opportunity to make it. In a later generation, she would definitely have made a name for herself on a rich list.

As for Educated Youth Tang Yuanyuan, she was unexpectedly "tea."

Then, hearing someone accuse Dongfang Dazhuang of scaring Tang Yuanyuan into tears, Bai Yao rolled his eyes and shouted bluntly:

"Make way, all of you. What the hell is the point of making so much noise? Come up with a solution instead. What, is the person in charge of the educated youth settlement not here?"

By the time Bai Yao finished speaking, he had reached Dongfang Dazhuang's side.

Looking around, he found that a person in charge of the educated youth settlement really was there, but it was the female leader, Sun Chunmei.

She hadn't said a word, though, letting things unfold as if she were mute.

Bai Yao glanced at Dongfang Dazhuang and asked, "Where are Gu Yang and Jiang Rou?"

"Probably not home. Their doors are locked," Dongfang Dazhuang replied.

Bai Yao nodded in understanding.

No wonder. If Jiang Rou had been home, how could these people have made such a racket? Even if Gu Yang had been home, a single offer from him to take care of Hu Yang would have solved the problem.

Just then, Tang Yuanyuan's crying grew a little louder, seemingly without her meaning to, and she sobbed, "Educated Youth Hu was hurt because of me. I'll take responsibility, I..."

Before she could finish, Bai Yao rolled his eyes and interrupted, "Fine. Since you've said so, pay up. You've said several times that you'd take responsibility. Surely you don't intend to pay nothing and expect your apology alone to cure Hu Yang?"

That one sentence shocked Tang Yuanyuan into forgetting to cry.

But she only paused for a couple of seconds before crying even louder. Through her sobs, she said:

"I... I don't have any money, I... waah~"

She had only said one sentence, and then her crying grew louder again, making Bai Yao's ears itch.

Bai Yao dug a little finger into his ear and said with a look of disgust, "Stop crying. You're crying away everyone's good fortune."

"People say being able to eat is a blessing. You're so fat I thought you must be blessed, but I don't see any of that good fortune. You're covered in nothing but ill fortune."

The two sentences were like icy spears that pierced Tang Yuanyuan to the heart.

But anger followed immediately afterward.

Bai Yao could see the resentful look in her eyes, but he paid it no mind and continued, "You say you'll take responsibility, but when you're told to pay, you have no money, and then you cry. What? You don't know you can use work points to make up for it when you have no money? Or can you not bear to part with them, and you never actually wanted to take responsibility?"

"No, I didn't think of that."

"Good. Now you know, and you've been given a chance to take responsibility. Use your work points to make up for it. Leader Sun, the matter's settled. Aren't you going to step forward and take charge?" Without giving her a chance to speak, Bai Yao dragged the leader into it.

As for offending people by doing so, Bai Yao didn't care.

The emotions he had accumulated because of the "pop-ups" in his head were still bottled up, so he took this chance to vent.

Hearing that, Sun Chunmei had no choice but to step forward, unless she no longer wanted to be the person in charge.

And just as Bai Yao had said, there was already a solution. All she had to do was step forward and wrap things up, which suited her quite well.

"Dazhuang, go find the village chief. Kong Wu, go find Educated Youth Dong. Tell them what happened, then have them come over as witnesses."

Bai Yao looked at the other educated youths, grinned, and said, "The rest of you can go home for now. If Hu Yang really wants someone to take care of him, I'll pass the word to Educated Youth Dong and ask her to find someone. Oh, if any of you don't want to leave and would like to help, you can start by turning the soil in the vegetable garden in Hu Yang and the others' courtyard."

With that, Bai Yao went inside.

The moment he went in, the others in the courtyard dispersed. If they didn't leave, surely they couldn't really stay and turn and loosen the soil for free.

As soon as Bai Yao entered, he saw Hu Yang, his eyes brimming with tears from the pain and his little face deathly pale.

Bai Yao: ...

Sure enough, just as he had thought, when the protagonist got hurt, it was serious.

"When the village chief gets here, I'll have Dazhuang take you to the hospital on my bicycle."

"No need. Dazhuang took me to the village doctor for treatment. I just need to rest for a few days."

Bai Yao: ...

He'd already been treated, so why did he still look so badly hurt?

"Boo-hoo, I miss home." Hu Yang cried like a little puppy.

But Bai Yao understood why now. It seemed the young master had never suffered a setback like this before.

He took two steps forward, picked up a piece of clothing from the kang without knowing whose it was, and handed it to Hu Yang. "Wipe your tears first. I brought you buns: chive and egg, and green bean and pork rib. If you want to cry, wait until you've finished eating. You'll have a full stomach and the strength to cry a little longer then."

Comfort someone?

Not a chance. Bai Yao wasn't the considerate big-brother type.

Hu Yang was left speechless by Bai Yao's words.

Once his sorrow had been interrupted, it wasn't so easy to pick it back up again.

Especially when Bai Yao took the buns out of the basket and handed them over at that moment.

The buns had only recently come out of the steamer and were still giving off hot steam.

As the steam rose, the aroma of the buns was like a hook, catching the craving worms in Hu Yang's belly at once.

"Thank you."

After thanking him, Hu Yang started eating.

One bite told him it was the green bean and pork rib bun.

"Delicious! It's my first time eating a bun with this kind of filling. So green beans can be used as bun filling too."

With that, he took another big bite.

Fortunately, for the sake of taste and easy eating, Bai Yao had left only the cartilage on the ribs and removed the other bones that were too hard to chew from the start.

Soon, one bun was in his belly, and healed by the delicious food, Hu Yang wasn't so sad anymore.

Just then, Dongfang Dazhuang and Kong Wu arrived with the people they had gone to find.