Rebirth of a Village Girl

Wang Xiuhong swallowed nervously, took a step back, and stammered, “Wha-what do you mean?”

Wang Xiuhong hadn’t anticipated that Ni Yang would see through her so easily, or that Ni Yang would proactively confront her. In theory, Ni Yang, being an outsider, should have been acting more low-key. But was she?

Rather than acting submissively, Ni Yang was assertive and intimidating. No one could humiliate her even in the slightest.

Wang Xiuhong looked at Ni Yang, immediately meeting a pair of sharp eyes with a clear division between black and white. The depth of her eyes shimmered with the reflection of light.

This gaze was unlike any of her peers, or even adults, that Wang Xiuhong had encountered before.

It was pure, transparent, confident, and calm…

In short, it wasn’t the look one would expect in a teenage girl.

Wang Xiuhong took another silent step back and nervously said, “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Ni Yang slightly curled her lips, “It’s okay if you don’t understand, I can explain it again.” She then leaned in close to Wang Xiuhong’s ear and said in a cool tone, “I don’t like causing trouble, but I’m not afraid of it either. We can walk our own paths without interfering with each other. That would be fine for both of us. But if you’re looking for a fight, then the consequences…”

At this point, Ni Yang squinted slightly and a beautiful curve formed at the corner of her mouth as she said lightly, “You’ll have to weigh that for yourself.”

The voice was very serene, but it held a dangerous aura that sent chills down one’s spine.

The two were quite close to each other, Wang Xiuhong could even smell the faint fragrance emitting from Ni Yang’s body.

It was not quite bamboo or orchid, but somewhat like the scent of plum blossoms – fresh, natural, and very pleasant.

Wang Xiuhong had heard that there was a two-hundred-yuan bottle of high-end imported perfume sold at the department store in the city. Surely, the fragrance on Ni Yang must be from such a perfume.

Thinking about how Ni Yang could afford a two-hundred-yuan bottle of perfume added to Wang Xiuhong’s envy and resentment.

Although they were of the same age, Ni Yang was able to use a two-hundred-yuan bottle of perfume, while she, Wang Xiuhong, had to haggle with her parents for several months just to get some pocket money, even if it were just a couple of cents.

Wang Xiuhong bit her lip, the glimmer in her eyes filled with discontent. She said, “I don’t understand what you’re talking about”, then lowered her head and scurried away.

Ni Yang watched her receding figure, a slight smile playing at the corner of her lips.

She had overestimated Wang Xiuhong’s will to fight…

It was past two in the afternoon, the sun was still scorching. Ni Yang, carrying two buckets of fish, soon developed a thin layer of sweat on her forehead.

“Sister Ni Yang, let me help you.” A dark-skinned, shirtless boy came running from the distance.

“Goudan, why are you here? Don’t you have school today?” Ni Yang said with a grin.

Goudan was hopping around, “Sister Ni Yang, you’re so silly, today is Sunday!” He then took one of the buckets from Ni Yang.

Though Goudan was young and not very tall, he was very strong. He handled the bucket of fish as if it were weightless, “Sister Ni Yang, give me the other one, too.”

This was Goudan’s second encounter with Ni Yang, but because of their previous interaction, he had grown fond of this beautiful older sister.

Ni Yang was not only beautiful but also very kind.

Unlike Sister Xiuhong who, thinking herself so pretty, looked down on everyone, and loved bossing the children in the village around!

Ni Yang smiled gently, declining Goudan’s offer, “Thanks Goudan, but I can carry this myself. You’re still young, you shouldn’t strain yourself or you might stop growing.”

“It’s okay, Sister Ni Yang.” Goudan didn’t seem to mind at all, “I regularly carry water buckets at home that are twice as heavy as this!”

Ni Yang laughed, “Wow! Goudan, you’re so strong!”

Goudan lifted his cute little head, boasting proudly, “Of course, apart from my brother, I’m the strongest at home.”

Ni Yang giggled, “By the way, Goudan, how old are you?”

“I’m ten this year, but how about you, Sister Ni Yang?” Goudan looked up at Ni Yang.

“I’m seventeen,” Ni Yang replied.

Goudan continued, “So you are the same age as my brother. He’s also seventeen this year. My brother is going to take his college entrance exams next year. Sister Ni Yang, are you going to take yours?”

Ni Yang answered with a smile, “Of course, I am.”

Chatting with Goudan along the way, they soon reached home.

Goudan put the plastic bucket on the ground. “Sister Ni Yang, I’m going home now. Remember to come play when you’re free,” he said.

Ni Yang nodded slightly, “Sure.” Then, as if she just remembered something, she grabbed Goudan’s hand, “Wait for me a moment, Goudan.”

And with that, she quickly rushed back into the house.

Goudan obediently stood there, curiously looking at everything around him.

Soon, Ni Yang returned, out of breath. She handed a bag of candy to Goudan. “Goudan, this is for you to eat,” she said.

“Thank you, Sister Ni Yang, but I can’t accept it,” Goudan declined.

Although Goudan is young, he understood the principle of not accepting something for nothing. If he just accepted Sister Ni Yang’s candy like this, she might think that he approached her with a motive.

Ni Yang laughed and said, “Just take it. It’s only a bag of candy, not some valuable item. Besides, we are friends, right? If you don’t take it, it means that you do not want to be friends with me.”

Goudan quickly said, “I want to be friends with Sister Ni Yang!”

“Then take it,” Ni Yang reaffirmed, shoving the candy back into Goudan’s hand.

“Thank you, Sister Ni Yang,” Goudan continued, “Sister Ni Yang, can I share some of this with my other friends?” Candies were quite a rarity in those days; children usually couldn’t eat candies unless it was during the New Year.

Ni Yang nodded with a smile, “Of course, you can. The candy is now yours. You can share it with whoever you want.”

Goudan thanked her again, “Thanks, Sister Ni Yang! I’ll be going now.”

“Off you go,” Ni Yang nodded slightly.

“Goodbye, Sister Ni Yang,” Goudan waved at Ni Yang and ran off.

Goudan arrived at the usual spot where his friends were playing and gave each of them a piece of candy.

One of his friends curiously asked, “Wow, Goudan, did your family strike it rich?”

Smugly, Goudan replied, “This is given to me by Sister Ni Yang, and she told me to share it with all of you. Do you guys know who Sister Ni Yang is? She’s the best looking lady in our village. I’m now good friends with Sister Ni Yang!”

Goudan is a good boy. He knew that some adults had misunderstandings about Sister Ni Yang and had even defamed her. So he wanted to build up her image in front of his friends.

After all, Sister Ni Yang is genuinely good. He didn’t want those adults to keep misunderstanding her.

At his words, all his friends looked at Goudan with envy.

“I know that Sister Ni Yang, she’s even prettier than Sister Xiuhong!”

“Wow, Sister Ni Yang is so nice…”

“I like Sister Ni Yang.”

“I like her too…”

Thanks to Goudan’s endorsement, the term “Sister Ni Yang” started to spread among the children.

Sister Ni Yang also became the most popular person among the children.

Everyone knew that the new Sister Ni Yang is gentle and kind. Not only is she beautiful, but also she’s much softer than Sister Xiuhong, by at least than ten times..