The two empty thatched cottages north of the village were now crowded with many people.
Everyone was busily working inside and out, helping Yun Jiu, the most unpopular person in Yunjia Village, tidy up the house. Yun Jiu was clearly startled when he saw so many people. It was the first time he had ever been helped by so many villagers all at once—he was a bit unaccustomed to it.
Moreover, among those helping him, many were the ge’er of the village. Seeing those delicate ge’er, pulling weeds in the courtyard and moving stones, Yun Jiu felt very embarrassed.
In Yun Jiu’s view, such adorable ge’er should be pampered by others.
Yun Mengyang looked at the hole in the roof and couldn’t help saying, “How can anyone live in a house like this?”
Lin Ye also took a glance, then took the initiative to climb up the roof to repair it. As soon as Lin Ye climbed up, several ge’er stood below watching worriedly, chirping for him to be careful and not fall. Lin Ye originally wouldn’t have had any problems, but instead got a little annoyed by the fuss those ge’er were making. Carelessly, he stepped into empty air. With Lin Ye’s reflexes, grabbing the ladder again would’ve been easy—but in the midst of the ge’er’s panicked screams, Lin Ye suddenly failed.
Just as Lin Ye was about to fall, a figure rushed forward and caught him.
And the person who rushed over and caught Lin Ye was none other than Yun Jiu, who had just recently recovered a little.
Everyone stared blankly at this scene, momentarily at a loss for words.
Lin Ye himself was also very embarrassed. He lightly coughed, jumped out of Yun Jiu’s arms, and then turned to see Yun Jiu’s face a little pale. Having seen Lin Ye miss his footing, Yun Jiu didn’t even know how he had managed it himself.
Usually appearing like a simpleton, he had suddenly burst out with terrifying speed to catch Lin Ye before anyone else could even react.
And Lin Ye was a man 1.88 meters tall—although not very fat, his size was nothing to scoff at.
A suffocating silence fell around them. Yun Jiu uncomfortably held his stomach—he had pulled his wound when catching Lin Ye just now.
Seeing his face, Lin Ye immediately realized something and had no time to be embarrassed anymore. He quickly helped Yun Jiu to the side to rest.
“Next time something like this happens, you can’t be so reckless. You still have injuries on your body.”
“But at that moment, I just wanted to save you,” Yun Jiu said, feeling a bit wronged.
Lin Ye looked at Yun Jiu, who was lifting his head to look at him with that wronged expression—he looked more and more like a big puppy.
And Yun Jiu was indeed worried about him. It was precisely because he was worried that he could suddenly erupt with such speed and catch him in that moment. Lin Ye’s heart couldn’t help but feel warm. He reached out and rubbed Yun Jiu’s head. Yun Jiu’s hair was very dry and yellowish—probably due to long-term malnutrition. Thinking of Yun Jiu’s terrible family, it was good that he had moved out now. But judging by how thick-skinned that family was, they probably wouldn’t let Yun Jiu off easily.
Lin Ye softened his tone and said, “But still, thank you.”
Upon hearing Lin Ye’s words, Yun Jiu immediately brightened up, and even the pain in his body seemed to lessen.
He smiled a bit shyly, “Mm, it’s— it’s nothing.”
Chen Yinling glanced in the direction of Lin Ye and Yun Jiu and couldn’t help but let out a cold snort. “Yun Jiu is really shameless, just knows how to use Lin Ye’s sympathy, pretending to be stupid and playing cute here.”
His voice wasn’t low—many people heard it.
Yun Xiaohua gave him a look and had just opened his mouth to say something, but Yun Mengyang called him away.
The other ge’er immediately gathered around Chen Yinling, a few of them started whispering. Although they all lowered their voices, judging by how they kept pointing at Yun Jiu from time to time, it was obvious that their discussion had something to do with him.
Chen Yinling heard a certain part and suddenly couldn’t help but cry out in surprise, which immediately drew quite a bit of attention. He had already disliked Yun Jiu, and now after hearing the rumors, he hated him even more. “I knew it, why else would he come back—truly shameless!”
If it weren’t for Lin Ye today, none of them ge’er would be willing to get close to Yun Jiu.
Sanzi was dragging a broken wooden chest and just happened to be blocked at the door by a group of ge’er. He was an honest, inarticulate person and could only stand dumbly behind them, not knowing what to do.
“I actually think maybe it wasn’t Yun Yushan who slandered him. Just look at the way he stares at Lin Ye—he’s practically drooling. It’s so disgraceful.” A ge’er squinted at Yun Jiu, eyes full of disdain.
Although Chen Yinling hated Yun Jiu, he always trusted Lin Ye’s words. When he heard this ge’er questioning what Lin Ye had said, he couldn’t help but laugh and say, “Yo, Zhang Xiaoqing, we all know you like Yun Yushan. Too bad he’s got his nose in the air and doesn’t even look at you. No matter how you try to speak up for him, it’s no use. That Liu Laizi himself admitted he took money from Yun Dali’s family to help slander Yun Jiu for having an affair with him.”
Zhang Xiaoqing froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Chen Yinling to see through his thoughts so quickly. His face instantly turned red as he retorted, “I— I didn’t.”
The other ge’er, upon hearing he was siding with that scheming Yun Yushan, all started ganging up on Zhang Xiaoqing.
Meanwhile, behind them, Sanzi was still anxiously standing there, not daring to step forward and get caught in the crossfire.
Lin Ye helplessly walked over and said, “Don’t block the way here.”
The few ge’er turned their heads and saw Lin Ye’s tall figure, and immediately scattered with blushing faces.
Sanzi looked at Lin Ye with admiration—this man not only looked good, he was also really capable. Even these scary ge’er of the village listened to him.
When Lin Ye tried to climb back onto the roof again, he was strongly stopped by the ge’er, so in the end the task of roof repair was handed over to Yun Mengyang.
As Yun Mengyang repaired the roof, he cursed Lin Ye like crazy in his heart. Why was Lin Ye allowed not to go up, but he, Yun Mengyang, had to? Were those ge’er blind? What was so good about a guy like Lin Ye—who only had looks but no real ability? It was them, the kind of men who could work, could endure hardship, and could heat up the bed, that were truly manly!
In Yun Mengyang and some other men’s hearts, someone like Lin Ye—who would faint just from chopping some firewood—was simply an embarrassment to all men. But even so, the ge’er seemed like they were possessed, clinging to Lin Ye like crazy. The worst part was that Lin Ye didn’t even like to bother with them, but they were still happy to stick around.
They kept busy until the afternoon, and the once dilapidated house finally began to look like a proper home.
After all that work, Yun Jiu wanted to go back and get his things—some of his clothes and old quilts were still at Yun Dali’s house.
Lin Ye was worried that Yun Jiu would be troubled by Yun Dali’s family if he went alone, so he followed along. Since Lin Ye was going, the ge’ers followed too. In their hearts, Lin Ye might get bullied by Yun Dali’s family, so they had to come along and back him up.
When Yun Jiu knocked on the door of Yun Dali’s house, it took a long time before someone came to open it. The one who opened it was Yun Xiaoxiang, whose expression didn’t look too good.
As soon as Yun Xiaoxiang saw Yun Jiu, he couldn’t help but mock him.
“Yo, didn’t they say you were about to die? Don’t you look just fine now? People in the village love to exaggerate—saying you were on the verge of death. It would’ve been better if you really had died.”
Hearing this, Yun Xiaohua couldn’t take it anymore and rushed forward.
“Yun Xiaoxiang, what nonsense are you talking about? Didn’t you see what kind of state Yun Jiu was in back then? Or are you blind? The old doctor clearly said he wasn’t going to make it. If not for Uncle Lin and Lin Ye taking good care of him, Yun Jiu might really be gone by now. No matter what, Yun Jiu is still your older brother!”
Yun Xiaoxiang had only seen Yun Jiu and Lin Ye standing tall at the door, blocking the people behind them.
Now that Yun Xiaohua suddenly spoke up, he realized there were quite a few others standing behind them.
Yun Xiaoxiang knew that what he just said wasn’t good in front of so many people, and now didn’t dare to say anything more, afraid that saying more would get him into trouble.
Lin Ye saw Yun Jiu looking a bit dazed and knew he must be feeling uncomfortable. Sometimes people just can’t be compared—especially in a situation like this, where one’s own family doesn’t care whether you live or die, yet an outsider shows more concern.
It really was heartbreaking.
Lin Ye patted Yun Jiu and said to Yun Xiaoxiang, “We’re here to help Yun Jiu collect his things.”
Yun Xiaoxiang frowned, “Take what? He doesn’t have anything.”
As he spoke, he tried to close the door, but Lin Ye blocked it with one hand.
Usually looking gentle, Lin Ye suddenly turning serious had quite an imposing air.
“Of course we’re here to get his things. You’re not really going to just throw him out with nothing, are you?”
Yun Xiaoxiang couldn’t help but raise his voice, “He was married off—our family doesn’t owe him anything.”
Just as Lin Ye was about to lift his foot to kick the door, a voice came from inside—it was Yun Xu-shi.
“What’s all the noise about?”
Yun Xu-shi walked to the door and, upon seeing Lin Ye, immediately ground his teeth in hatred. If it weren’t for the fact that there were so many people around, he probably wouldn’t be able to resist biting Lin Ye a couple of times. As soon as they saw the look in Yun Xu-shi’s eyes, several ge’er quickly pulled Lin Ye behind them and stood protectively in front of him, each one like a mother hen guarding her chick.
Lin Ye felt both amused and helpless, but now wasn’t the time for him to hide behind the ge’er. He smiled at them, then stepped forward again. The few ge’er were instantly overjoyed, each one bouncing in place with excitement.
Facing Yun Xu-shi’s venomous glare, Lin Ye didn’t back down at all. He calmly said, “We’re here to take Yun Jiu’s things.”
Yun Xu-shi gave Lin Ye a sideways glance. “Take things? Fine. We don’t care about his stuff anyway. Take it and get lost.”
Though Yun Xu-shi said “fine” with his mouth, he remained standing firmly in the doorway, not moving an inch.
Hello everyone!!! I hope you all are doing well. I couldn’t update regularly as my exams are just around the corner. I hope you all understand and wait for a month. Thanks for your patience!! Love you all!! See ya!!
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152