Chapter 7: Tang Xue Gets Bullied
By the time Li Yi returned to Nianzishan Village, it was already past three in the afternoon.
Instead of going straight home, he drove his mule cart to the educated youth settlement in the village committee compound.
Since a large number of educated youth were returning to the cities and those with connections had already left, the once bustling compound now seemed deserted.
In his previous life, Li Yi had once accompanied his third older sister here to deliver something to Tang Xue, so he vaguely remembered that Tang Xue lived in a side room on the west side of the courtyard.
After tying the mule’s reins to a massive poplar tree that took two people to encircle, Li Yi took the twisted bread and headed toward Tang Xue’s quarters.
Just as he reached the doorway, he heard stifled sobs coming from inside, along with the soothing voice of his third older sister, Li Na.
Fearing something had happened to Tang Xue, Li Yi pushed the wooden door open with all his might!
What met his eyes was a room in utter disarray: the table had been overturned, its contents scattered across the floor. Li Yi even spotted a thermos on the ground, with shards of glass strewn everywhere—the inner liner had clearly shattered.
Tang Xue was slumped on the cold floor, sobbing uncontrollably, her shoulders trembling slightly, her expression heartbroken and despairing.
Her older sister, Li Na, was holding her close, offering constant comfort.
The sound of Li Yi pushing open the door startled the two. When they saw it was him, they both froze.
Although Li Yi didn’t know what had happened, he could tell that Tang Xue had clearly been wronged.
He immediately strode over. Under the stunned gazes of the two women, he scooped Tang Xue up from the cold floor and laid her on the wooden bed nearby.
Then, Li Yi looked at his third sister and asked, “Sis, what happened?”
Li Na was about to speak when she saw Tang Xue frantically shaking her head at her.
Li Na snapped out of it instantly. She’d really lost her mind—she knew exactly what kind of person this kid was.
If he found out what had happened, he’d cause an absolute uproar, and the resulting chaos would be impossible to contain.
With that in mind, she immediately tried to come up with an excuse to brush it off!
However, Li Yi was no ordinary person—he was a billionaire tycoon from decades in the future. How could he not see through the two women’s little schemes?
So, before Li Na could say a word, he cut in: “Sis, no matter what happened, we’ll face it together. Running away won’t do any good!”
“Besides, the village is this small—you can’t hide anything here. Even if you don’t tell me, I can find out just by asking around. Don’t even think about trying to fool me!”
Li Na opened her mouth, then finally shot Li Yi a withering glare and snapped, “It’s all because of the trouble you little bastard caused—and you still have the nerve to ask!”
Li Yi knew this must be related to what happened yesterday, so he said awkwardly, “Sis, let’s talk about the issue at hand. No need for personal attacks!”
“Hmph. You know Xu Hong, right? He’s the one who trashed this place!”
“Xu Hong? Who’s that?” Li Yi asked, furrowing his brow.
Li Na clearly hadn’t expected Li Yi to have no idea who Xu Hong was, so she quickly explained, “Xu Hong is just like Xiao Xue—they’re both educated youths from Qin Province, so they’re practically hometown friends.”
An image of a guy with a sharp nose and sunken cheeks instantly popped into Li Yi’s mind. Such a character had occasionally appeared around Tang Xue in the past, often claiming to be her fellow villager—it must be that guy.
“Why would he smash up Xiao Xue’s dorm room?”
“It’s all for that spot to return to the city!”
“A spot to return to the city?”
“Exactly! Xiao Xue has already secured a spot to return to the city, but with this incident, if she marries you, she’ll no longer meet the requirements to return, and she’ll have to give up that spot!”
Li Na continued, “Xu Hong knows about this too, so he came looking for her today, trying to get Xiao Xue to give him that spot. But Xiao Xue is torn about it right now—she hasn’t decided whether to give up her return-to-city spot, so naturally she couldn’t agree to anything!”
“I never expected that guy to lose his temper so suddenly. Not only did he say a lot of nasty things, but he also flipped the table over!”
Upon hearing this, Li Yi immediately frowned and asked again, “The spot belongs to Xiao Xue. How she chooses to handle it is her own business. Giving it to him would be a favor; not giving it to him is her right. What gives him the right to flip the table?”
Li Na glanced at Tang Xue, then at Li Yi, and said, “He… he used to be after Xiao Xue, but she turned him down! And you, you’ve spread the word about Xiao Xue’s… that whole thing all over the brigade. Maybe that bastard found out and got jealous, so he came in spewing nothing but filth!”
“What exactly did he say?”
“Well…”
Seeing that Third Sister was hesitant to speak, Li Yi pressed her immediately, “Sis, at a time like this, what’s there to be shy about?”
Just then, Tang Xue suddenly looked up and shouted in a hoarse voice, “You wanted to know what he said, didn’t you? Fine, I’ll tell you! He said I’m promiscuous and immoral, that a young woman like me crawls into other men’s beds on my own, that I’m a slut, and that I should be dragged through the streets…”
Hearing this, Li Yi flew into a rage.
He didn’t bother listening to the rest. He tossed the twisted doughnut he was holding onto Tang Xue’s bed, turned on his heel, and stormed out the door, heading straight for the dormitory of the male educated youths in the front courtyard!
Seeing this, Li Na knew things had gone terribly wrong!
Her younger brother was a hothead; once he got worked up, no one could stop him. If she didn’t hold him back today, blood would definitely be shed!
With that thought, she rushed out and called out urgently, “Xiao Yi, stop right there…”
Without turning his head, Li Yi said, “Sis, you go back and watch over Xiao Xue. I’m going to find that bastard. How dare he bully my wife? Does he really think all the men in the Li family are dead?”
“Xiao Yi, don’t be so impulsive. It’s not worth getting into a fight over this…”
“What do you mean it’s not worth it? That son of a bitch is picking on my wife. If I don’t stand up for her now, I’ll be a cuckold!”
With that, he shook off Li Na’s attempt to stop him and continued charging toward the male educated youth dormitory!
Inside the room, Tang Xue listened as Li Yi kept calling her “wife” outside the door. Her heart, which had been lifeless until then, suddenly stirred with emotion!
Li Yi might not be the perfect match, but it was clear he truly cared about her.
Moreover, after that incident, he’d decided to marry her right away—he certainly had a sense of responsibility.
If it weren’t for his family’s truly dismal circumstances and his own utterly tainted reputation, marrying him wouldn’t be entirely out of the question.
But that thought only flashed through her mind for a moment—everyone in Nianzi Mountain Brigade knew exactly what kind of person Li Yi was!
Being lazy and good-for-nothing was one thing, but he also loved to pilfer and steal—stealing a chicken today, snatching a few eggs tomorrow. If anything went missing in the village, he was the one to blame.
On top of that, he was the ringleader of the local rascals—all the fifteen- and sixteen-year-old troublemakers in the village listened to him. That bunch of half-grown boys had no sense of responsibility; last year, they even killed and roasted one of the brigade’s sheep. In the end, Li Shankui had to pay compensation to the brigade to settle the matter!
Could anyone possibly marry a man like that?
At this thought, tears welled up in Tang Xue’s eyes once again!