The little guy didn’t notice that several people on the riverbank were watching him tie himself so diligently.
No wonder he was filthy, with dirt all over his body, and there was a small mound of soil on the ground by the boat. Obviously, this was the mound the little guy made himself, otherwise, with his tiny arms and legs, he would not be able to crawl onto the boat.
It was thanks to Yan Fei’s strength and habit of pulling the boat up into the bank each time they arrived that the little guy could get onto it. Otherwise, it would be a big problem for him.
But now, with several people watching him, they couldn’t find it in their hearts to scold him, let alone interrupt him.
After a while, the little guy had finally tied himself up. He took hold of the rope but didn’t know how to tie a knot. While he was busy twisting this way and that, he suddenly looked up and saw several people on the shore. He burst into tears, crying out, "I don’t want to go home, I don’t want to go home..."
His heartbreaking cries, tangled ropes, dirty body, and the tears leaving trails on his face moved Yanfei’s mom deeply.
Eventually, they managed to untie him. Seeing his dejected look, the girl couldn’t help but propose, "How about this? Your brother and sister can row you back by boat. What do you think?"
The crying little guy paused a moment, then whimpered, "Can mom and dad come along by boat too?"
This moved Yanfei’s mom again, she quickly replied, "The boat is big! We can all get on..."
After changing his clothes and washing him up, they finally got on the boat.
When they reached the mouth of the Sancha River, the little guy had forgotten his earlier grievances, and excitedly pointed out various landmarks to his parents: "There’s a big bridge up that river, and if you keep rowing in that direction, you can see a huge tree, and a bamboo forest..."
With his rich experience on the boat, the little guy acted as a guide for his parents, showing off his newly acquired knowledge along the way.
After enjoying himself the whole way, he finally got tired and sat next to his mom, soon falling asleep in her arms as the little boat rocked gently.
When they reached the provincial city, the little guy, in a daze, didn’t cry or fuss, and obediently said goodbye to his brother and sister-in-law. He let his dad carry him away.
Suddenly, there was silence. The two remaining looked at each other. Before the girl could speak, Yan Fei suddenly laughed, "Now we’re alone, I can’t wait to deal with you later..."
The girl quickly yelled towards the shore, " Aunt Lin, Aunt Lin..."
Yan Fei immediately put his hands up in alarm. When Yanfei’s mom looked back and asked what was wrong, the girl giggled and said, "Nothing, just take your time!"
Seeing Yan Fei’s face, Yanfei’s mom knew that the young couple was just playing around. She waved her hand and called out, "You two take it slow..."
The girl turned around and laughed triumphantly at Yan Fei, directing him, "Let’s get rowing..."
However, this triumph didn’t last long. Not far out of the city, Yan Fei proudly started a tune, "Promise me, my dear... wait until the sun goes down... "
After a couple of lines, he fixed his gaze on the girl, "It’s your turn to sing, or else I won’t row... "
"In your dreams... " The girl scorned him. "If you won’t row, I will!"
"Come on, come on..." Yan Fei changed his tactic from threat to gentle pleading.
Eventually, the girl couldn’t resist his pleas and began humming quietly.
The two of them were playful all the way, and didn’t reach home until almost dark.
Just as they were dragging the boat ashore, Yan Fei caught up with the girl in two steps, and scooped her up in his arms. The girl was startled and began to twist, "What are you doing?"
Yan Fei looked at her with a triumphant smile, "What are you asking? Did you forget about the song you just sang..."
"You don’t... mmm... "
Half an hour later, the girl angrily commanded, "Hurry up and cook, I’m starving to death. Tomorrow your training course begins, so you need to go to bed early today..."
A very pleased Yan Fei replied, "It’ll be ready soon!"
After eating, Yan Fei transformed into a small black bird once the girl had fallen asleep. He patrolled the sky, then flew northward without being noticed.
That night, uproar was stirred in the boys’ dormitory at the Provincial University Law School. A student was called out and was slapped several times, and even kicked.
He wasn’t seriously injured, but the commotion was quite significant, and almost all students living in the dormitory had been disturbed.
A few braver boys were about to step in, but seeing the crowd growing, the masked assaulter tipped the contents of a plastic bag onto the student’s head, saying, "You’re quite resourceful, even coordinating with off-campus students, huh? This time I’m just pouring some soil over you, next time I’ll bury you alive..."
As soon as off-campus students were mentioned, everyone in the hallway understood. Those who were about to step in halted in their tracks, and those who were going to call the teachers came back.
Everyone understood this guy’s situation. The notice boards around the campus and next to each classroom had a written notification about the penalties imposed on him.
This was embarrassing. Being a university student and not studying diligently would be excusable, but acting as a lackey for off-campus thugs and bullying his own schoolgirls was not taken lightly.
No student with a sense of justice would sympathize with him - indeed, the majority of students held high moral standards.
Anyway, they didn’t see him getting hurt badly, he was just being taught a lesson. Everyone in the university would understand that. This student has done a disgusting thing, so it’s only natural for someone to come and teach him a lesson.
If things like that happened to their own family members, they’d certainly want to teach him a lesson too!
The bottom line is in two words: Serves him right!
So the matter didn’t escalate, those beaten had no face to tell anyone, and the others did not want to stir more trouble, so the incident was only discussed among the students. Though some teachers heard about it, everybody wanted to forget it. Since the victim didn’t speak, they all pretended to not know about it!
After a round trip, the small black bird returned, sneaked into the girl’s room, carefully climbed onto the bed, thought about the girl blushing and singing that evening on the boat. Feeling satisfied, he couldn’t help but laugh softly, sneakily kissed the girl’s face, and then fell soundly asleep...