Cui Ying had feelings for Ye Cheng in her heart. Even if Hu Jin took a fancy to her, she would not be willing. So Hu Jin's rejection was very good, at least not putting her in an awkward position in front of her mother.
Li Mingwei saw that Hu Jin's attitude was quite firm, and figured that Ye Hui probably had no chance either. She originally did not have any malice towards Ye Hui. Although Li Mingwei was greedy, she only pitted herself, but it was not good for her to forcibly bring up Ye Hui just to strike up a conversation with Hu Jin.
It would be better not to talk to her much next time, in case she went to Hu Jin again to say something out of line.
Withdrawing her gaze from Ye Hui, Li Mingwei scanned the classroom and found that Ye Dong was not sitting very steadily. She reckoned that he also saw his sister coming to pick him up again today and was unhappy in his heart.
Li Mingwei got up and walked behind Ye Dong. Ye Dong immediately stiffened his spine. She reached out and grasped Ye Dong's hand holding the brush, and said gently, "You need to calm your heart when writing characters. What are you looking around for?"
"Yes."
Ye Dong responded in a low voice and did not dare to look out the window again.
When Li Mingwei looked up, she no longer saw Ye Hui in the yard. She did not know if Ye Hui had gone out to wait. Everyone else was in groups of three or four, five or six, talking in low voices. Ye Hui was alone, and people kept looking at her from time to time, making her probably very uncomfortable.
Li Mingwei did not pay much attention. She wandered leisurely around the classroom.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, a shrill cry broke the tranquility of the school. Li Mingwei’s sharp ears could tell it was Ye Hui’s voice. She ran out instinctively to take a look, and those who were faster than her were the people in the yard.
She found a gap and squeezed in. Ye Hui had collapsed on the ground. It had snowed again today, and her hands and clothes were stained with gray snow, and her hair was also disheveled, looking extremely embarrassed.
"Are you alright?"
Seeing no one went to help her up, Li Mingwei could only walk over herself and pulled Ye Hui up. Ye Hui lowered her head without speaking, and wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. Only then did Li Mingwei see that her face was also injured.
Across from them, a man also pushed the woman beside him to the ground, "What’s wrong with you, I already said I just greeted her when I bumped into her. What gives you the right to attack?"
"Cui Jian!" The woman who fell to the ground shouted angrily. She resolutely climbed up from the ground with red eyes, "You fought with me for her sake?"
"Don't forget, you got married. I am your wife. Just for this kind of woman, you fought with me?"
Cui Jian did not speak, just looked at her gloomily.
Her eyes shifted between Ye Hui and Cui Jian. The corners of her mouth lifted in a bleak smile, "I knew you still had her in your heart!"
"Today, today I will fight it out with you!"
The woman rushed forward with a shout and pounced on Ye Hui. Her actions were too fast. The people around simply could not react in time. Li Mingwei, who was supporting Ye Hui, was also knocked back by the force and almost fell, but was caught by several people behind her.
"Mr. Li, Mr. Li, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
Li Mingwei steadied herself and rubbed her belly. Fortunately, fortunately, there was no movement.
Cui Jian strode forward, pulled his wife from Ye Hui, and pushed her away. He helped Ye Hui up, "Go home and pack up. Get out of my sight. I will go to Mr. Jin to write a divorce letter right away. There is no place for a shrew like you in the Cui family!"
"Good, good! Divorce me. It works out just right. After divorcing me, you can take her into the household!"
The woman grabbed a handful of snow and mud from the ground and threw it at Cui Jian, then turned and ran away. Two or three women explained something to the people around them, then hurriedly chased after her.
Another woman pulled Cui Jian away from Ye Hui and dragged him to apologize to his wife. Cui Jian dodged her hand and walked straight into the school.
Immediately, discussions broke out among the crowd, "Is he really divorcing his wife?"
"Looks like it."
Someone could not help but spit at Ye Hui, "What a vixen."
"She obstinately refused to marry back then and wanted to be someone else’s concubine. Now that she has been driven back, she goes to seduce other people's husbands shamelessly."
Ye Hui flared with anger, "Who seduced him? I said we just happened to bump into each other. Aren't you ashamed of gossiping maliciously behind my back?"
The woman was about to refute when someone pulled her back. Seeing Li Mingwei’s unpleasant expression, she shut her mouth.
"This is a school. The children are still in class. If you want to argue, find another place."
Li Mingwei looked at the filthy Ye Hui standing there and sighed, telling her to go to the kitchen in the backyard to wash herself.
Ye Hui glanced at her and went inside.
"Mr. Li, why are you helping her? She knew Cui Jian was married and still talked to him. She's asking for it."
Li Mingwei felt a little headache coming, "It's not that I want to help her, but I can’t just let her go back home like this. The Ye house is very far."
If she went back like this, who knows how many eyes she would attract. After all, she was a young lady. Moreover, Li Mingwei knew that her goal in coming to the school was Hu Jin. Her encounter with Cui Jian was most likely a coincidence, not what they said about her seducing a married man.
Li Mingwei did not want to explain more to them. She went back to ask Hu Jin to help watch the class for half a period, then went to the backyard to find Ye Hui.
Ye Hui was not washing herself, but hiding in the kitchen crying. Hearing Li Mingwei come in, she turned her head to look, then choked out, "Since I came back, I have never looked for him. It was just a coincidence today. But she insisted that we had a date."
Li Mingwei gently hmm-ed, found a small basin to pour some hot water for her: "Wash first."
Ye Hui did not move, but stared at her, "Do you believe me?"
Li Mingwei smiled. "Why wouldn't I believe you?"
She sat down on the stool and looked calmly at Ye Hui, "To be exact, we’ve only talked properly twice, I think. As far as I can remember, I have never mentioned Hu Jin to you, but Big Brother Hu told me that you said we were close friends and mentioned him many times."
Ye Hui was a little embarrassed that Li Mingwei was so direct. She was silent for a moment before explaining, "It was just some polite remarks."
Li Mingwei curled her lips in a mocking smile, "You know clearly yourself whether it was polite or not. If I hear him say that again next time, I will expose you directly."
So she believed her because she saw that she was interested in Hu Jin?
Ye Hui clenched her fingers and nodded. She couldn’t make ideas from her. There must be other ways.
She looked up at Li Mingwei somewhat puzzled, "So why did you help me today?"
From her words, it was obvious she did not like her.
"I didn't really help you much either. I was afraid you would argue too unpleasantly for the children to hear and learn badly from it."
Especially little Dong. If something happened to Ye Hui at the school gate, he would be ridiculed by the other children again when he went back.
Ye Hui smiled helplessly. She got up and washed the mud off her hands, then dampened a handkerchief to slowly wipe away the stains on her clothes bit by bit.
After finishing, she did not leave immediately, but sat down opposite Li Mingwei.
Li Mingwei raised her brows, "Anything else?"
"Some questions I'd like to ask your advice on."
Ask for advice?
Li Mingwei hesitated. Ye Hui was much more capable than her. What would she need her advice for?
