RYEY – Chapter 15 Please Call Me Li Huan

When Zhaodi heard her man’s words, she looked at Chen Chunhua with eyes full of pity. This beating was unavoidable. Chen Weimin hit people ruthlessly—if he didn’t beat someone until they were bedridden for days, he would never let it go.

“Mother…”

Of course, Chen Chunhua knew what kind of father she had. Weren’t her two brothers living examples? Now it was finally her turn, and she was terrified.

“Chunhua, let’s go. We’re going home.”

Everyone watched as the mother and daughter walked away. Then, they returned to their senses, climbed back onto the ox carts, but the lively mood was gone. Their conversations quickly shifted to Chen Chunhua.

By the time Han Chunmei and the others reached the county town, their legs already felt like they weren’t their own anymore. They had to find a place to sit down and rest while waiting for Cheng Qiao.

But they waited and waited—still no sign of her. Finally, they had no choice but to split up. Zhang Yuefang told Han Chunmei to keep waiting while the others went off to do their own business.

Half an hour later, Li Huan pedaled past Han Chunmei on a bicycle, not stopping for even a second. Han Chunmei froze, then quickly chased after him.

“Cheng Qiao, Cheng Qiao, where are you going?”

Cheng Qiao barely managed to turn her head. When she saw it was Han Chunmei, she forced a faint smile. But that smile only frightened Han Chunmei—Cheng Qiao’s face was covered in blood!

Even stranger was that the person pedaling the bike was none other than Erlizi. Why would Cheng Qiao be with him? Could it be that Erlizi had done something to her? Alarmed by the thought, Han Chunmei rushed to inform Zhang Yuefang and the others.

The moment Erlizi arrived at the hospital, he carried Cheng Qiao straight into the emergency room. The nurses, seeing her bloody face, immediately led them inside. The doctor’s expression darkened as he rose to his feet.

This time, Cheng Qiao had really suffered. A sharp corner of a stone had pierced a hole in her forehead. The wound needed to be cleaned thoroughly, and the process made Cheng Qiao grit her teeth and dig her fingers painfully into her thigh.

Li Huan noticed, firmly pulled her hand away, and placed it on his own arm. At first, Cheng Qiao was embarrassed, but when the cotton swab soaked in disinfectant touched her wound, the sharp pain made her fingers dig hard into Li Huan’s arm.

Li Huan’s expression didn’t change as he endured it, but in his heart, hatred toward Chen Chunhua began to grow. He had no idea about Chunhua’s infatuation with him; he only thought she was jealous of Cheng Qiao’s looks.

“She’ll need four stitches. Otherwise, the wound won’t heal properly.”

The doctor sounded regretful. Such a beautiful face—it would be ruined by stitches.

“Doctor, can’t you not stitch it?”

Cheng Qiao didn’t know exactly how bad her wound was, but she understood one thing: stitches would definitely leave a scar.

“Cheng Qiao, listen to the doctor. Just get the stitches. If it really bothers you, you can let your hair down later to cover the scar.”

Li Huan quickly spoke. He didn’t care if she ended up with a scar. What mattered was that she was safe.

“But…”

Before she could protest further, Li Huan shook his head and whispered something in her ear. Cheng Qiao nodded, guilt flooding her heart. So, Li Huan had already placed her in his heart. As long as she was by his side, what did a scar matter?

“Do you want anesthesia?”

Stitching hurt even more than cleaning a wound. The young girl’s pale face suggested she wouldn’t be able to endure it.

“No.”

Cheng Qiao refused firmly—not because of money, but because she worried anesthesia would affect her memory. In this lifetime, she still wanted to take the college entrance exam with Li Huan.

Although Li Huan wished she would take the anesthesia to spare her some pain, her decisive refusal left him with nothing else to say. He chose to respect her decision.

“Doctor, our village’s autumn harvest starts tomorrow. You know the rules—no one is allowed to take leave without a very good reason. But look at her condition…”

“And you are…?” the doctor asked.

“I’m her fiancé.”

“She definitely can’t work in the fields for at least a week. Otherwise, the wound could get infected, and the consequences would be serious. I’ll write her a week’s sick leave note.”

“Doctor, her leg is also sprained. Can she be admitted to the hospital?”

Cheng Qiao glanced at Li Huan, puzzled about what he was planning.

“There’s no need to be hospitalized for that…”

“Doctor, my fiancée is a sent-down youth. There are too many people at the educated youth spot, coming and going. I’m worried her wound will get infected. Just let her stay for two days. Once her condition stabilizes, she can return.”

“I see… But let me be clear, hospitalization isn’t cheap. It’s forty cents a day, plus medicine and other expenses. You’ll need several yuan at least.”

“I have it. Please make out the bill. I’ll go pay right away.”

The doctor nodded, wrote up the form, and watched Li Huan hurry off to pay. Smiling, he told Cheng Qiao: “Your fiancé treats you very well.”

“Thank you, doctor. I think so too.”

Her face flushed. She recalled Li Huan’s earlier words—that he cared about her, not her looks.

By the time Chen Weidang and Chen Weimin rushed over, Cheng Qiao was already dressed in a hospital gown, sitting on the bed with her head wrapped in white gauze. Chen Weimin’s heart sank.

“Comrade Cheng, how are you feeling now?”

Just as Cheng Qiao was about to speak, Li Huan stood up and pulled Chen Weimin out of the ward. Chen Weimin, startled to see Erlizi here, didn’t understand what was going on.

“Accountant Chen, Cheng Qiao plans to report this to the Public Security Bureau. The educated youth and cowherd from Xiangqian Village can all testify—your daughter, Chen Chunhua, deliberately pushed her off the ox cart out of jealousy over her looks. That’s attempted murder.”

“You little rascal, what nonsense are you spouting? And what does this have to do with you?”

“I’m her fiancé. How does it not concern me?”

“You… since when did you become Comrade Cheng’s fiancé?”

Chen Weimin’s eyes widened. It wasn’t difficult for him to deal with an educated youth—threats and inducements would be enough. But against Erlizi, he knew he had no such leverage.

“The moment Cheng Qiao nearly got trampled by the ox, I carried her in my arms in front of everyone. Tell me, in our village—or even all of Beisheng Province—if a girl is embraced by a man in public, can she not marry him? If she doesn’t, gossip alone would drown her.”

“You…”

Chen Weimin was speechless. Indeed, in their region, if a girl was carried by a man in such a way, it almost always led to marriage. Otherwise, the rumors would destroy her.

“Erlizi, stop stirring up trouble.”

Village head Chen Weidang also stepped out of the ward, looking at Li Huan sternly.

“Village head, I’m not Erlizi. I have a proper name—Li Huan. Please call me that from now on. And I’m not stirring up trouble. You can ask Cheng Qiao yourself—was it me who saved her? Was it me who carried her here to the hospital?”