Transmigrated as the Husband of a Vicious Villainess - Chapter 5

After having dinner at the Ji family’s home again, Ji Baiqing escorted Wen Miao back to the Youth Education Point.

Once they reached their destination, Ji Baiqing turned to head back, but Wen Miao called out to stop her.

The sky was dim now, the night exceptionally heavy. Fortunately, the moon was clear and bright, casting a hazy glow that fell upon Wen Miao’s stunning face. The moonlight made her skin appear even more porcelain-white, making her look like a bewitching spirit of the night.

Biting her lip, Wen Miao spoke with an unnatural, awkward tone: “Come inside with me for a moment.”

Ji Baiqing followed obediently. She watched as Wen Miao ignored the other youths and rummaged through her suitcase, eventually pulling out a silver flashlight and thrusting it into Ji Baiqing’s hand.

Ji Baiqing was taken aback and immediately tried to refuse. “Wen Miao, no this is too expensive.”

In this era, electronics were rare commodities. A flashlight something common in the future cost two industrial coupons and nearly four yuan right now. In the entire village, only the Village Chief’s family owned one.

Wen Miao glared at her and grumbled, “Just take it! It’s late, so go home quickly. If you don’t want it, just throw it away!”

With that, she turned her head away, refusing to look at Ji Baiqing any longer.

What a temper, Ji Baiqing thought, a smile tugging at her lips. She coaxed, “Alright, I’ll take it. Don’t be angry, Wen Miao.”

“See you tomorrow.”

She knew Wen Miao was doing this out of concern, and she wasn’t so ungrateful as to keep refusing.

When she got home, He Xiangyue looked at the shining flashlight in her hand as if it were a rare treasure. “Where did you get this?”

Ji Baiqing answered honestly, “Wen Miao gave it to me. She was worried I wouldn’t be safe walking back alone.”

“My, what a kind-hearted girl!”

Ji Baiqing nodded in total agreement, feeling as though she had finally found a kindred spirit.

As soon as He Xiangyue finished looking at it, Ji Baiqing snatched the flashlight back and tucked it away safely like a precious treasure.

Before bed, Ji Baiqing specifically asked her father, Ji Wei, to mention something to the Village Chief tomorrow about assigning Wen Miao a lighter workload. Ji Wei agreed.

Warned by the events of the first day, the youths arrived early at the warehouse the next morning.

After signing in, Ji Baiqing’s brow twitched when she heard the Village Chief assign Wen Miao to weed the fields with the other female youths.

She stole a glance at Wen Miao. The girl’s long eyelashes were lowered, and she remained silent.

Ji Baiqing let out a breath. Before Wen Miao headed to the fields, Ji Baiqing stuffed a fried egg pancake into her hand. It was made of coarse grains, but it was fried until crispy and fragrant.

Once everyone was registered, Ji Baiqing headed to the fields to check on Wen Miao.

Shen Niannian and the others were assigned to the bean patch today. The beans climbed high on bamboo frames, their green vines hanging down in a lush display. However, because of the recent rain, the weeds were also growing thick.

Several older village women were working with them. Ji Baiqing saw at a glance that Shen Niannian and Pan Hongxia were chatting with the aunties while slacking off, while Wen Miao was off to the side, all alone, focused on pulling weeds.

It was a beautiful day, and the sun had come out early. By this hour, it was already quite hot. A rosy flush soon crept onto Wen Miao’s fair cheeks, making her look quite pitiful.

Ji Baiqing felt a pang of heartache. The girl had just been sick yesterday, and now she was out here roasting under the sun.

She stepped lightly to Wen Miao’s side and squatted down. “Wen Miao, did you eat breakfast?”

The warm breath hit her earlobe. Startled by the sudden voice, Wen Miao jumped, her sensitive ear quickly turning red.

She gave Ji Baiqing a sharp look, which only made her features look more vivid. “You scared me to death!”

Ji Baiqing chuckled, finding her adorable. She used a clean hand to tuck a damp strand of hair behind Wen Miao’s ear. “I’m sorry.” She apologized with lightning speed.

Noticing Wen Miao’s pocket was bulging, she whispered, “Eat your breakfast first. I’ll do your work for a while.”

Wen Miao didn’t stand on ceremony. She pulled out the pancake and began taking small bites.

Ji Baiqing focused on the weeding for a moment, not noticing Wen Miao’s ears getting redder. Suddenly remembering something, she handed her water bottle to Wen Miao.

“I steeped some goji berries and red dates. If you’re thirsty, take a sip.”

Wen Miao took it but hesitated before asking, “Have you used this?”

Ji Baiqing nodded, seeing nothing wrong with it.

In her previous life, she had seen plenty of videos of “besties” acting very intimately. Walking arm-in-arm to the bathroom was standard, let alone sharing a drink or an ice cream. Some even kissed.

Ji Baiqing had a bit of a germaphobia streak and was used to being a loner, so she had never been that close to anyone. But now that she was in this book, the thought of doing these things with Wen Miao made her germaphobia vanish. Instead, she found herself looking forward to that kind of intimacy.

Hearing Ji Baiqing admit it so casually, Wen Miao’s cheeks grew even hotter.

Her eyelashes trembled like the wings of a butterfly about to take flight. Her shy expression carried a wordless allure. She thought Ji Baiqing was being too much—who asks someone to share a water bottle before they are even together? But if she didn’t use it, Ji Baiqing might feel lose face and feel bad.

Besides, the pancake was a bit dry, and she was indeed thirsty.

After a moment of overthinking, Wen Miao unscrewed the cap and took a small sip. The water had sugar in it; it was sweet.

Watching her take small sips, Ji Baiqing was reminded of a kitten lapping up water. Suddenly feeling thirsty herself, she leaned closer and squinted at Wen Miao.

“Wen Miao, give me a sip. I’m a bit thirsty.”

Wen Miao couldn’t believe her ears. “What did you say?”

Ji Baiqing gave her a pleading smile. “I’m thirsty~ feed me a sip, Wen Miao.”

Ji Baiqing had been the one taking care of her these past two days, and this was the first time Wen Miao had heard her use such a wheedling, coquettish tone. A bit of youthful charm broke through her usually elegant face.

Wen Miao froze for a long moment before finally, under Ji Baiqing’s urging, turning the bottle and pressing it against those pink lips to feed her.

The wordless, ambiguous atmosphere between them didn’t last long. Over there, Shen Niannian was chatting loudly with the village aunties. Realizing she hadn’t heard anything from Wen Miao’s direction, she looked up.

Seeing that Wen Miao wasn’t isolated as she had hoped, but was instead eating a delicious-looking pancake and resting while someone else did her work, Shen Niannian’s sense of balance completely shattered.

She stood up abruptly, her voice shrill: “Wen Miao! Why are you being lazy and not working?”

Her shout pierced the air. The surrounding villagers immediately looked over and began whispering and pointing at Wen Miao.

Wen Miao’s first reaction was a flash of helplessness. She locked eyes with Ji Baiqing and, realizing her instinctive reliance on the other woman, hurriedly looked away. She narrowed her eyes at Shen Niannian, her red lips parting.

“Shen Niannian, I didn’t say anything while you, Pan Hongxia, and the aunties were slacking off. I’m just taking a break for breakfast and you start barking like a dog?”

“I’ve done a little, but how much more have you done? I get work points for exactly how much I do. If the scorekeeper wants to give me fewer points, I have no objection. But if you’re working that slowly…”

Wen Miao glanced at Ji Baiqing. “Scorekeeper, what do you think? Should points be deducted?”

“And the aunties working with Shen Niannian are slow too. Should they lose points as well?”

There wasn’t much work to do lately, and everyone knew it. Who wouldn’t want to drag out a day’s work to get full points? Being called out like this made everyone look uncomfortable, and the villagers’ glares turned toward Shen Niannian.

Ji Baiqing stood up, her voice clear and cold: “Educated Youth Wen is not being lazy. I saw she hadn’t eaten breakfast, so I let her rest while I took over her work. Auntie Wang, do you have a problem with that?”

Auntie Wang, who had been chatting with Shen Niannian, immediately nodded and waved it off. “No, no! It’s fine!”

“Then everyone should get back to work,” Ji Baiqing said lightly. Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to say another word.

Auntie Wang took the chance to glare at Shen Niannian, muttering under her breath, “You and your big mouth, always looking for trouble!”

Shen Niannian kept her head down, a flash of resentment crossing her face, though it was hidden by the glaring sunlight.

After standing up for Wen Miao, Ji Baiqing squatted back down. A moment later, Wen Miao joined her. The tall bean stalks cast shadows that provided some relief from the sun.

Looking at Wen Miao’s sun-flushed face, Ji Baiqing felt bad. She murmured, “I should have brought you a hat.”

Her voice was low, and Wen Miao didn’t catch it. She tilted her head curiously. “What was that?”

Ji Baiqing shook her head and changed the subject. “Tomorrow, I’ll have the Village Chief assign you to cut hogweed with the children. It’s much easier than field work, though it’s only three work points a day.”

Field work usually paid eight points or more, which were converted to grain and money at the end of the year.

Wen Miao’s eyes lit up. “Can I?”

Her family background was prestigious; her grandmother had been a secretary for a founding hero. If she hadn’t been tricked by her scumbag father, Li Wenyu, she never would have come to the countryside to suffer. Naturally, she didn’t care about the measly work points.

Ji Baiqing felt her heart melt at those sparkling eyes. Her voice softened unconsciously. “Of course.”

If her hands weren’t covered in dirt, she would have reached out to pinch Wen Miao’s cheek again. The sensation from last time was still fresh in her mind—it was so soft.

At noon, they went to Ji Baiqing’s house for lunch as usual. Before going, Wen Miao stopped by the Youth Education Point to grab a few things.

As she was leaving, she ran into Fang Haiyang and the others, who were returning shirtless. They had been hauling manure all morning. Wen Miao smelled the stench from a distance, frowned, and pinched her nose. Her peach-blossom eyes were full of disgust.

Seeing this, Lu Yan felt embarrassed and then angry. He sneered, “Don’t think playing hard-to-get will make me like you. I don’t want to look twice at a woman who’s pretty but useless.”

Fang Haiyang and Wu Yanqing stood behind him with their arms crossed, enjoying the show.

Wen Miao’s expression darkened. With her nose still pinched, she said muffledly, “I don’t care for men who smell like filth, either. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you all fell into a manure pit!”

The three men’s faces instantly turned pale.

How did this woman know they had slipped and fallen into the manure pit today?!

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