My Little Poplar - Chap 7
Edited by Isalee
Learning about housekeeping was very boring. It was all about learning how items should be placed, where should they be stored, when was their break time, and what sort of regulations they had to follow usually. Bai Xinyu was both sleepy and hungry, and whenever he yawned, he dared not make a sound. He kept sneaking looks at that crude wall clock, yearning for breakfast to come quick.
After lecturing for slightly more than an hour, Chen Jing looked at the time. “It’s now 7.30am, I’ll bring you all to breakfast now. When we come back, I’ll teach you how to fold your blankets. Let’s go.”
When Bai Xinyu heard that it was time to eat, he was overjoyed to the point of tears, and he was the first to rush out of the dormitory.
Chen Jing shouted, “Come back!”
Bai Xinyu froze, and returned.
“Fall in! At ease, attention.” Chen Jing pointed at Bai Xinyu warningly, then led the twenty-odd people out of the dormitory neatly.
Arriving at the canteen, the other new recruits too came one after another. There were more than two hundred people in this camp, and the canteen was extremely huge. From far away, Bai Xinyu could already smell the various delicious aromas wafting out from the canteen.
Only after entering the canteen were they dismissed. The recruits formed a queue for their food. Buns were on the menu today, and each had a big bowl of polenta porridge, three small side dishes, and they could take as many buns as they liked. Bai Xinyu was so hungry that his face had turned blue. In one shot, he grabbed four buns, then grabbed an empty seat with his head bowed. Holding up the bowl, he gulped some porridge down, but the porridge was steaming hot, and just as it slid into his mouth, he spat it out, sticking out his tongue and huffing to cool his mouth down.
A hand grabbed his chin the next moment, and a jeering voice was heard. “Have you not eaten for 800 years? Why are you in such a hurry?”
Bai Xinyu caught Yu Fengcheng’s wrist. He wanted to curse at him, but his tongue was burnt and numb, and he was unable to speak.
Yu Fengcheng sat down across Bai Xinyu, and spoke with an earnest face, “I’m only showing concern for my comrade, why are you glaring at me? Let me take a look, it seems like it’s blistering?”
With his tongue hanging out, Bai Xinyu replied, “Let go.”
Yu Fengcheng leant closer to him a little more, and whispered quietly, “Do you need me to blow on it for you?”
Bai Xinyu’s face flushed red, pushing his hand away with great force. He hurriedly looked around them. The spot he had chosen was not crowded, and fortunately they had not been overheard… He gnashed his teeth, “Are you done?”
Yu Fengcheng shrugged. “Our conscription will be at least two years. Today’s only the second day, what do you think?”
Bai Xinyu raged. “Let me tell you, I will not go into the same company as you.”
Yu Fengcheng was amused. “That’s right. With your ability, you’re most likely headed for the cookhouse.”
Bai Xinyu was stunned, a little panicked. “T-that’s impossible.”
This jinx could not be telling the truth. How could he end up in the cookhouse? It was impossible — this bastard was scaring him again.
Yu Fengcheng picked up a piece of carrot, tossing it into his mouth. He laughed, “There’s nothing wrong with the cookhouse either. You won’t have to go hungry in the future again.”
Bai Xinyu was glaring at him so hard that his eyes were about to cramp. He grabbed a bun, chomping into it savagely. The skin of the bun was thin, and bursting with its filling. In it was pork, cabbage and the thick type of vermicelli found in the northeast. With a little addition of aged vinegar, a bite was oily and fresh tasting, extremely delicious. Bai Xinyu forced himself to forget that Jinx Yu was sitting in front of him, and buried himself in his food instead.
Carrying their trays over, Qian Liang and Feng Dongyuan sat down next to them. When biting into his bun, Bai Xinyu glanced at Qian Liang and was immediately shocked silent. The number of buns on Qian Liang’s tray was basically like a hill.
Bai Xinyu asked, “Qian Liang, why did you take so many?”
Qian Liang answered as though it was obvious, “To eat them?” He picked up a bun, and the bun the size of an adult’s palm was finished in three bites. While chewing, he continued, “I have a big appetite.”
Qian Liang had the thin, slender sort of body, but with his actions, he proved how big his appetite was. With a bun in each hand, he soon demolished the mountain.
Feng Dongyuan pushed his porridge in front of him. “Qian Liang, eat a little slower, don’t choke.”
The table next to them were all Uyghur recruits, and what they ate was Muslim food. They were all entranced by the amount Qian Liang could eat.
With such a person around, the people around them also enjoyed their food more. Bai Xinyu dug in.
Halfway through their meal, Xu Chuang entered suddenly. He slapped the door, “A moment, everyone.”
The eyes of over two hundred people in the canteen all turned towards him.
Xu Chuang spoke, “I was delayed due to a little matter. When we eat here, there’s a tradition we follow, and let me share it with everyone.”
He coughed, “Recite with me, hoeing grain in the blaze of noon–1”
The crowd was silent for two seconds, then the canteen resounded with unsynchronised voices.
Xu Chuang clapped his hands together. “Stop! Recite it loudly, and together! 1, 2, 3, hoeing–”
With food in their stomachs, the recruits were now filled with abundant energy. Loudly, they shouted, “Grain in the blaze of noon. Sweat drops fall — grain to earth. Who knows food on the plate. How toilful each granule is!”
“Good! Next time, we will all recite this once before we eat. This poem is to remind us to not waste food, not to waste the fruits of the labour of our brothers in the cookhouse! Take the amount you can eat, and if I discover anyone wasting food, they’ll be punished! Alright, eat!”
Bai Xinyu had basically swallowed three buns in a go, and that feeling of desperate hunger was finally gone. His eating speed slowed down, and just as he planned on having some porridge to steady himself, he suddenly felt two legs intertwining with his calves. He looked up, only to see Jinx Yu taking a huge bite of his bun, his cheeks bulging as he chewed. Jinx Yu was watching him as though nothing was happening, but in his eyes gleamed with a teasing light.
Bai Xinyu wanted to pull his legs back, but they were even more tightly trapped by Yu Fengcheng, and he could not move. As for the recruits around them, the ones eating ate, the ones chatting chatted, and none noticed the movements under the table. However, Bai Xinyu’s face burned with self-consciousness. This Yu Fengcheng must have been sent by the gods to antagonise him!
Bai Xinyu puffed up and glared. Finally, unable to endure it any longer, he pulled back, wanting to stand up. In the end, when he was getting up, Yu Fengcheng suddenly released his hold, and caused him to lose his balance. Bai Xinyu’s knees hit his tray, and when falling backwards along with his stool, the half-emptied bowl of porridge and the side dishes all spilled onto him.
Crash! Everyone in the canteen turned in his direction. Bai Xinyu sat on the ground, stunned. He looked at the dripping porridge and sauces on his body, not knowing what he should do next.
Looking at Bai Xinyu’s miserable state, a sense of pleasure welled up within Yu Fengcheng. He lowered his head, holding his laughter back, but his shoulders could not stop shaking.
Qian Liang and Feng Dongyuan immediately came to help him up. “Ah, what happened to you? You still fell down while even sitting on a stool.”
Bai Xinyu pointed at Yu Fengcheng, his finger trembling. “You… you…” His eyes turned bloodshot from his anger.
Yu Fengcheng looked at him innocently. “What did I do?”
Feng Dongyuan glanced at Yu Fengcheng, slight reproach in his eyes. Although he did not see anything, but Bai Xinyu’s fall definitely had something to do with Yu Fengcheng. Feng Dongyuan helped Bai Xinyu up. “You should go back to the dorm and change your clothes.”
Yu Fengcheng raised his chin. Looking at Feng Dongyuan’s hand on Bai Xinyu’s arm and waist, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Other than Qian Liang and Feng Dongyuan, the others did not have much of a reaction, but there were some who could not stop laughing at him. Bai Xinyu was truly not very well-liked, and had irritated many during the train journey. On the first day of training, he was even late. Although these new recruits were not wicked, they still somewhat looked down on the insensible Bai Xinyu.
Furious tears welled up in Bai Xinyu’s eyes. Ever since he was a child, he had never endured such mockery before. Even if someone had done so, he still had his cousin act on his behalf. After joining the army, this was the first time he felt so helpless. He did not have his parents with him, nor his cousin, and none of his disreputable friends to support him. Faced with the scarily fierce instructors, his ruthless squad leader, as well as this jinx who found amusement in making a fool out of him, Bai Xinyu felt isolated, and cut off from help. He knew that many of the new recruits did not like him, and he was like a fish out of water here. He did not belong here, and this place did not welcome him as well.
Coming to this place was a complete mistake; he really wanted to go home.
Chen Jing walked over and looked at Bai Xinyu. “Are you done eating?”
Bai Xinyu nodded.
“The two of you return to the dorm with him to change his clothes.”
Bai Xinyu shook his head, pushing Feng Dongyuan and Qian Liang away. He said quietly, “I’ll go back by myself.”
With his head bowed, he quickly left the canteen, running back towards his dorm.
Along the way, he felt the area around his stomach to be wet and warm, and his clothes were still dripping wet. While walking, he wiped at his tears, feeling the grievances in his heart crashing over him.
Back in the dorm, he grabbed a set of clothes and went to the shared bathroom. First removing his dirty clothes, Bai Xinyu wiped his stomach and thighs with a wet towel. While he was still wiping, the door to the bathroom was pushed open.
Bai Xinyu turned back. Yu Fengcheng was standing there with his hands in his pocket. Leaning against the door, he was watching him, unblinking.
Bai Xinyu immediately hugged his chest. The only item of clothing left on him was a pitiful pair of underwear. However, what could this hide? Under that scornful gaze, Bai Xinyu’s blood froze. His voice trembled, “W-what do you want to do?”
With the addition of his new grudges to his old enmity, Bai Xinyu was extremely now incensed whenever he saw Yu Fengcheng.
Yu Fengcheng laughed. “I’m here to see if you need any help?”
While speaking, his eyes slid audaciously down Bai Xinyu’s body. Those red eyes, that slender neck, then that slightly pale body that showed his lack of exercise. Next was that grey pair of briefs that would fall with a tug, and finally his long, shapely legs. Yu Fengcheng clicked his tongue. “Your figure’s still ok, the only issue is that somewhat pudgy stomach. You need to train it.”
With Yu Fengcheng’s gaze, goosebumps rose on Bai Xinyu’s skin. He grabbed his clean clothes, hugging them. “Let me tell you, if you want to be a hooligan, I’ll…”
“What will you do?” Yu Fengcheng’s thin lips quirked up in a faint smile. He stepped into the bathroom, deftly closing the door behind him.
Bai Xinyu shouted, “Don’t come over! Fuck, if you dare come, I’ll just give up all my dignity, and yell ‘rape’ and ‘molest’!”
“Oh. Yell then, I’m listening.”
Bai Xinyu’s entire body shuddered. Towards Jinx Yu, he felt both fear and hatred. The knowledge that he was unable to fight back was truly horrendous.
In one stride, Yu Fengcheng stopped right in front of Bai Xinyu. Just as Bai Xinyu opened his mouth, about to shout, Yu Fengcheng placed a hand over his mouth. At the same time, his other hand clenched Bai Xinyu’s waist, trapping him between his own body and the sink, causing Bai Xinyu to be unable to move.
Bai Xinyu’s eyes widened in anger. Swinging a fist, he wanted to hit Yu Fengcheng. Yu Fengcheng grabbed his wrist, holding it down onto the sink, and laughed faintly. “You can yell now.”
Bai Xinyu took in a deep breath, but still was unable to make himself shout. He had never minded that others knew about his licentious lifestyle. For a man, that was the symbol of wealth and charm. However, when the other party was another man, that nature was now completely fucking different!
Harshly, Bai Xinyu spoke, “You backside playing pervert, I’m going to end you.”
Yu Fengcheng nodded. “But it hasn’t ended yet. Look at you, you said you would yell, but you didn’t. You’re making me extremely curious now — what would you sound like yelling in bed?”
Red suffused Bai Xinyu’s cheeks. “Go to hell.”
“I really want to listen to what you’ll sound like.” Yu Fengcheng sighed lightly. His hand followed the curve of Bai Xinyu’s body, finally sliding to where his underwear was. A long and slender finger teasingly reached inside, lightly prodding his tender buttocks.
Bai Xinyu’s body quaked. In all his years, he had flirted with various types of beauties, and had been seduced before as well. However, there had never been once, just like now, when his body trembled violently, his heart pounding madly. He wanted to curse and swear, but his experience of fearing the strong since he was a child told him that if he continued his arrogant manner, only more trouble would fall upon him. For the sake of his “chastity”, Bai Xinyu braced himself. “Dage, p-please don’t joke, alright? Where and when have I actually provoked you, attracting your attention? Please let me off.”
Yu Fengcheng licked his lips, his eyes full of ridicule. Laughing wickedly, he spoke, “It might be your ass that attracted me.”
With a pull, Bai Xinyu’s underwear was yanked off.
Author’s Note: Is this the first time I’m writing a couple with no moral integrity?
