The Taming of the Ruffian Hero

Early the next day, the only telephone in the dormitory which was connected to the outside rang. Zhao Yuan was afraid that it would awake Lin Wenxi, so he answered it himself.

“Wenxi, I will come over and pick you up at noon. Have you packed up your things?” A deep voice of a man and it sounded a little familiar to Zhao Yuan.

The person who called was Hong Xuan of course.

Zhao Yuan hung up the telephone in a hurry because any answer he gave now would be wrong.

The phone rang again, and Lin Wenxi got up with his sleepy eyes.

“Why did you hang up just now? Have you packed up all your things?” Hong Xuan asked.

“Just now…” Lin Wenxi looked at Zhao Yuan and answered, “I couldn’t hear you just now. I guess the signal is not good.” Zhao Yuan gave him a thumbs up.

“Well, I will set off at once and will arrive around 11 o’clock.” Hong Xuan said.

Lin Wenxi vaguely responded with a few words.

“Who is he? Your father, or the Hong Xuan who went to collect your things at your dormitory?” Zhao Yuan asked.

“Uncle Hong Xuan.” Lin Wenxi said, “He will be here at eleven to take me home.”

Zhao Yuan sunk his face to say, “What are you going to do after you get home?”

Lin Wenxi did not speak for a long time.

Zhao Yuan shook Lin Wenxi anxiously. “Tell me, where are you going?”

“I don’t know; my dad plans to send me to study in other provinces.” Lin Wenxi mumbled somewhat hesitatingly.

“Have you packed up your things?!” Zhao Yuan said solemnly.

“I packed up last night. You go first. I will just wait for him here…” Lin Wenxi said.

“Carry all your things and let’s go!” Zhao Yuan nearly commanded him in a decisive tongue.

“Go? Where are you taking me?” Lin Wenxi asked.

“Cut the crap!” Zhao Yuan said and he picked up several packages Lin Wenxi packed up. Then he strode out, but he didn’t go to the front door. Lin Wenxi followed him and whispered, “The front door is over there…”

“I don’t want to bully an old man!” Zhao Yuan said. He took Lin Wenxi and ran to the back of the one-story shacks behind the teaching area of the school where there was a hollow zone. Only a row of stone walls was built there according to the landscape. Behind the stone wall was a dense forest.

Zhao Yuan first tossed up the packages one by one. Then he turned to lean on the stone wall and climbed up the wall in a few quick moves. He bent down and reached out his hands. “Give me your hands!”

Lin Wenxi had some hesitation. He asked, “Zhao Yuan, where are you taking me?”

“I don’t know!” Zhao Yuan said.

Lin Wenxi couldn’t help but snort with laughter. “Do you look like the kind of person who will do things without a plan?”

“Hurry up!” Zhao Yuan interrupted him. Zhao Yuan knew that it would be very difficult for them to meet again if Lin Wenxi was gone. He didn’t have any plan and he had never thought about the thing that he took Lin Wenxi away. Subconsciously, he just felt that he didn’t want Lin Wenxi to leave.

Lin Wenxi bit his teeth slightly, and jumped up high to take Zhao Yuan’s hands. Soon their figures disappeared deep into the dense forest with the already dirty packages on their backs.

Zhao Yuan brought Lin Wenxi to his aunt’s house. Zhao Yuan’s cousin already rushed out and greeted, “Teacher Lin”. Then he held Lin Wenxi’s hands tightly.

“Zhao Yuan, I have already packed your clothes. You can go back to your father’s at noon, he…” Zhao Yuan’s aunt saw Lin Wenxi while she was making the arrangements. She was more frightened than pleasantly surprised. Wild with excitement, she grabbed onto Lin Wenxi’s hands and inquired after his well-being solicitously. She was deeply grateful for Lin Wenxi’s kindness. Then she woke up her husband who came home at midnight and was asleep now. She totally forgot to think about why Zhao Yuan brought Teacher Lin there.

Zhao Yuan’s aunt finally figured out that Lin Wenxi and Zhao Yuan were classmates. She was very happy when she was told that Lin Wenxi was going to stay here for a short time.

Farmers cherish suitable farming time a lot because they have to stop if there are rain and wind. So sometimes they will be very busy. In a little while, Cao Damiao, Zhao Yuan’s uncle and Liu Lanhua, Zhao Yuan’s aunt were going to cultivate their land. For fear of disturbing Lin Wenxi’s rest, they asked the neighbor to look after their child.

“Land Cultivation” was to pull weeds and rocks from the farmland which had been idle for a period of time. And they would use a hoe to turn the ground inside out and pressed it. Every few days, they would water the soil and distribute the first manure. By the time the field was enough moisture, they could grow the second season peanut and the sweet potatoes. Lin Wenxi clamored to go to the field with them but he was pulled back by Zhao Yuan who allured him with a look of exultation. “I have something better for you. Don’t bother them.” Lin Wenxi asked the reason. He learned that he could go to the nearby hills to pick up wild vegetables and cook the food he picked by himself. Lin Wenxi became very pleased.

In the hot summer, even the sun at 8 o’clock in the morning could make the land who just went through a night gradually become hot. Lin Wenxi had not gone far before he was full of sweat. Zhao Yuan glanced at him and let Lin Wenxi wait for him a little. He turned back. When he came back, he held a large bamboo hat in his hand, and he clapped the hat right on Lin Wenxi’s head. It was neither too big nor too little, and it matched exactly. Lin Wenxi found a little pond, and he probed to look into it. He was very with his appearance. He raised his head and shouted loudly with a happy smile, “The emperor’s new clothes.” But Zhao Yuan called him a marmot. They chased each other and rushed into the forest.

In the few hours of the afternoon, Zhao Yuan kept rolling and crawling. From time to time, he dragged Li Wenxi up to the top of a hill and then held Li Wenxi’s hands to lead him down. They played and laughed, really enjoyed. They roared here and there as well as jumped up and down in the forest. The whole forest was filled with their unbridled cries and laughter. On the way to do the farm work, several peasant women chatted with a smile, “Whose children are they? They can actually have so much fun in the forest.”

In a short time, they screamed down the trail with their trophies. Sometimes, they jumped on a raised rock. Sometimes, they directly jumped down into a no small deep hole. Lin Wenxi felt that some kind of power hidden in his body was activated. He was not afraid of the sun however big it was and he could conquer slopes with ease no matter how steep they were.

They were near to the foot of the mountain and there was happened to be a relatively high vegetable field. Zhao Yuan was agile, so he jumped up wildly with his wild vegetables and he even made a shooting movement in the air. Then he landed smoothly and nicely. At the moment of landing, he instantly got a bad feeling in his heart. As he had expected, behind him, Lin Wenxi followed the path he ran. Regardless of the consequence, he also flew down. In mid-air, before he could finish his movements of “the Goddess Chang’s fly to the moon”, his head fell down and his body turned over in the air. Then he hit the ground on his face.

The outstretched hands of Zhao Yuan were petrified in the air. Zhao Yuan didn’t know whether to cry or to laugh, he then ran to help him up. Lin Wenxi was still smirking. When the blood on his forehead ran down his cheeks, he finally panicked and wiped it hard.

Zhao Yuan carefully checked the wound. Though fortunately, the wound was not big, he hated himself for forgetting everything in his joy. He thought that just now he jumped directly because he had the full assurance to be safe. But how far Lin Wenxi trusted him that he actually jumped after him despite everything. Zhao Yuan felt sad and guilty so he stopped talking. He accurately found some purslane on the trail that faced the sun. He chewed it and applied it to Lin Wenxi’s wound. After that, he covered the wound with sweet leaves. Zhao Yuan then rolled the thatch around Lin Wenxi’s forehead and made a solid knot.

Lin Wenxi squatted on the ground. Smelling the distinct sour smell of sweat of a man on Zhao Yuan, looking at his wrinkled brows, and watching him seriously wipe the wound, he applied for the medicine and made the knot. Lin Wenxi nearly forgot the pain for a while. He also felt that the situation seemed to have been reappeared in a certain month of a year. At least, he seemed to be very familiar with the purslane. He didn’t know how many times it was. During the time with Zhao Yuan, illusions of dreaming back appeared several times. Could it be…

At this moment, he felt that the shadow of Zhao Yuan protected him from the burning sunshine, and Zhao Yuan’s figure looked as warm as the sunshine. Even it was in the summer now, he felt like as if he was in a warm bed in winter and he was reluctant to leave. Just like this, he stared at Zhao Yuan’s straight nose and sword-like brows, thoughts thronged his mind. Zhao Yuan saw Lin Wenxi become an “Expecting Husband Rock” once again. He couldn’t help but push him and reproached him in a low voice, “You jumped down so casually. If anything happens, aren’t you afraid of the result?”

Lin Wenxi came to himself but he didn’t mind it at all. He smiled, “But you are here!”

Zhao Yuan grabbed a little mud and pasted it on Lin Wenxi’s nose bridge. He said, “I can do this too.” However, Lin Wenxi was just smirking.

“What is the next step?” Lin Wenxi asked, “You can’t hide me here forever, can you?”

“Or, let’s go together.” Zhao Yuan said.

“Where are we going?” Lin Wenxi asked with a smile, waiting for Zhao Yuan’s answer.

“I don’t know. But, Wenxi, are you willing to?” Zhao Yuan asked.

“I am willing to.” Lin Wenxi suddenly looked up and promised firmly and convincingly. Zhao Yuan only felt that his heart jumped up.