From then on, Xiao Yu looked down on Huang Xu, and Huang Xu also despised Xiao Yu.
It's still the same now.
Huang Xu just couldn't understand. Xiao Yu didn't even like those girls, so why did he always come and snatch them away?
He stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar, his eyes red, trembling with anger: "You ask me why I turned out like this? It's all because of you! You can't find happiness yourself, so you want to tear apart others as well. Why does someone like you deserve to live? No wonder your mom's been abroad all this time and never came back. Do you know why? Because she's ashamed of you! She thinks you're a disgrace!"
The two had been gone for a while. Ye Qingli was about to go look for them when she overheard these words and froze on the spot, unsure of what to do.
She only knew they had conflicts, but she never expected it to come to this.
"You're just a stray dog."
Huang Xu sneered in his ear. With that one sentence, the last line in Xiao Yu's heart was completely shattered.
Before Huang Xu could react, a massive force struck his left cheek, and he fell to the ground clutching his face, grimacing in pain, his body curled up. Ye Qingli's heart jumped. She quickly ran over and grabbed Xiao Yu's arm.
"Stop! Stop! Xiao Yu, you..."
Xiao Yu was a sports student. Even Huang Xu, who worked out regularly, couldn't withstand him, let alone a girl like her. The difference in their strength was enormous. Ye Qingli managed to hold him back once, twice, but the third time she clearly couldn't.
Xiao Yu was no different from being crazy now.
"On the first day of school, why did I hit you? Haven't figured it out yet? If you don't fix that smart mouth of yours, sooner or later I'll kill you."
He punched him in the face repeatedly. In his ears, besides Huang Xu's "You're just a stray dog," he couldn't hear anything else.
The two other girls in the room also came out to help break up the fight. The old lady was frail and didn't dare get involved; she just slapped her thigh and said, "Oh dear, why are they fighting?"
The neighbors heard the commotion and quickly gathered. Fortunately, there were quite a few male volunteers, and once they joined in, the two were separated much easier than when the three girls had tried for so long.
Xiao Yu stepped back and leaned against the wall, his chest heaving violently. Blood surged through his body, and a fierce aura filled his being.
Ye Qingli looked at Huang Xu's injuries. His face and body were covered with wounds, visibly serious, and needed medical attention.
She took out her phone and called 120. As she put it down, she turned her head and noticed that Xiao Yu's eyes were utterly lifeless, the whites bloodshot, like a starving wolf. His brain kept telling him to tear the person in front of him apart.
His hatred for Huang Xu had reached its peak.
Fearing he might lose control again, Ye Qingli wanted to pull him inside. But as soon as she raised her hand, Xiao Yu dodged it.
He didn't look at her, didn't say a word, and strode out of the yard in full view of everyone.
Among the crowd were those close to Huang Xu. Only after Xiao Yu had walked far away did they dare to speak up for Huang Xu indignantly: "What kind of person is that? He only knows how to hit people."
"Yeah, Senior Huang Xu is always friendly and smiling to everyone. I knew Xiao Yu wasn't a good guy, but I didn't expect him to be this bad, hitting people on sight."
"Who says so? He changes girlfriends every few days. I can only say he's rotten to the core."
The situation was getting out of control. Huang Xu covered his face with one arm, swallowed hard, and winced at the stinging pain in his throat, but he still pretended to be magnanimous, saying, "Actually, it's not his fault. I unintentionally brought up something that hurt him, and that's why he lost control."
"What is this? The cause and effect don't match at all, okay? You said you brought it up unintentionally, so him hitting you is still his fault."
"Right, right. Senior Huang Xu, we're on your side. Don't be scared."
"..."
Ye Qingli stood aside as a bystander, quietly watching. Although she had only caught the tail end of their conversation, she was sure that what Huang Xu said about being "unintentional" was a lie. He had deliberately provoked Xiao Yu.
Sure enough, amidst the crowd's scolding of Xiao Yu and their sympathy for him, Huang Xu secretly curled the corner of his mouth.
And Ye Qingli happened to catch that.
So he was willing to put himself in danger, even get hurt, just to make things bad for Xiao Yu and stamp this stereotype into their minds.
Then word would spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred.
Just like when they first entered school: a friendly senior, without provoking anyone, encountered a hot-tempered madman who only knew how to hit people.
After all, that was what she had thought back then.
...
It was half an hour later when Huang Xu was taken away by the ambulance. He also took a "family member" with him. The village chief had originally only wanted to lend a hand, but with three people gone, he had to help out.
Fortunately, the houses weren't big. Tidying up the clutter and wiping down the surfaces didn't take long.
Lunch was cooked by the village chief's wife—a big pot meal with six dishes. Ye Qingli was exhausted and thought she would eat at least two bowls of rice, but after just a few bites, she couldn't eat anymore. Her chest felt tight.
"Why so little? Doesn't the food suit your taste?" The village chief's wife had initially thought she was putting down her chopsticks to get more rice, but when she came closer, she realized Ye Qingli hadn't finished her meal. She had taken so little, yet there was still some left.
Misunderstanding. Ye Qingli quickly waved her hand: "No, no, the food is delicious. I might just be too tired. When I'm tired, I'm not very hungry."
She explained. The woman had never heard such a thing, but she didn't ask further. She just smiled and said, "If you get hungry later, just tell me, and I'll heat up the food for you."
"Okay, thank you." Ye Qingli smiled back. She was too polite.
After lunch, they continued cleaning the next house, repeating the morning's steps. This time, it was obvious everyone was tired. The work dragged on until three in the afternoon before it was finished.
The sky had darkened. Lights were on in every household. Ye Qingli took off her mask and gloves, bent down, and patted the dust off her clothes.
Dust particles danced in the halo of light.
Before leaving, the old lady with the braid stopped her and forcefully shoved a wooden box into Ye Qingli's arms.
"What's this?" Ye Qingli asked. The wooden box in her hands was exquisite, with not a speck of dust in the carved grooves—it had clearly been well preserved.
The old lady opened the lid. Inside were two jade pendants. Ye Qingli guessed she had never seen anything like this before. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.