Chapter 12

The upper millstone hummed as it turned, with powder continuously seeping out from the gap between the two grinding stones.

Grinding flour was a laborious and tedious task, so Summer hummed a song to pass the time and make it less boring.

She was humming "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

The lyrics made her think of rowing a boat in Central Park.

As she hummed, Summer couldn't help but feel homesick, thinking about her parents.

She remembered how she had stubbornly ignored their pleas and objections, insisting on giving up a job opportunity in the city to follow Henry into the countryside. Her parents had been so angry that they didn't eat for two days. She hadn't felt it then, but now she was overwhelmed with regret and guilt.

If she had come to her senses before signing up to go to the countryside, she would never have done it.

She would have stayed in the city, close to her parents, to take good care of them.

Now that she was here, she couldn't even see them when she missed them.

Oh well, it's not too late to come to her senses now.

As long as she didn't make any big mistakes, she could get the chance to return to the city early.

She would treat this time as a period of self-growth and take good care of her parents when she returned.

Summer took a deep breath and pushed the millstone faster.

After grinding the sorghum flour and packing it back into a burlap sack, she moved on to grinding cornmeal and sweet potato flour.

While grinding sweet potato flour, someone else entered the mill.

It wasn't a local but Logan, who had dried and sun-dried his grains that morning, just like Summer.

When Summer turned and saw it was Logan, she didn't greet him.

With no other locals around, Logan didn't hide his haughty and aloof nature and also didn't greet her.

He didn't wait for the small millstone Summer was using. He was strong enough to push the large millstone in the middle of the mill, so he went straight to using it. It was laborious but faster.

Logan hadn't been there long when Summer finished grinding her sweet potatoes.

She cleaned off the sweet potato flour from the millstone, packed it all into the burlap sack, and left.

Back at the youth camp, she heard loud noises coming from the boys' dormitory.

It was already dark, and there were no lights on in the girls' dormitory, indicating that everyone was gathered in the boys' dormitory, playing together.

Summer didn't concern herself with them and went straight to the kitchen to light the stove and start cooking.

There was a new box of matches on the stove. Matches and lamp oil were provided by the village, so Summer used them directly.

She planned to steam some bread with the freshly ground flour, using sorghum flour, cornmeal, and sweet potato flour to make a few buns each. It wasn't too hot, so they would last several days.

She decided not to make porridge and would just drink hot water instead.

There were no vegetables to fry, but she still had some canned braised pork and beef stew that her parents had given her.

She hadn't eaten any of these herself yet, intending to save them to improve Henry's meals, but now she had changed her mind.

Thinking of the meat's aroma made her mouth water.

So, she quickly kneaded the dough and formed small buns, placing them on the steamer rack and steaming them over hot water.

Since the buns were small, they cooked quickly.

Summer didn't fuss about it and steamed the three kinds of buns in one pot.

When she estimated they were about done, she carefully lifted the lid, and the smell of steamed buns mixed with the hot steam, making her mouth water.

She put down the lid, hooked her fingers through the twine, and lifted the steamer rack from the pot.

The twine was hot, so she quickly placed the steamer rack on the table and lifted her hand to grasp the edges.

Without waiting for the heat to dissipate from her fingers, she went to the dormitory to fetch a can of meat.

She returned, sat down, and was about to eat when the curtain was suddenly lifted from the outside.

Summer looked up to see Henry.

As he entered, he clicked his tongue and said, "Enjoying some good food all by yourself, huh?"

He sat down at the table, picked up a cornmeal bun, and took a bite.

The buns were small, and he ate half of it in one bite.

Summer opened her mouth to speak, but he was already chewing.

"Mmm, fresh out of the pot, tastes great," he said, reaching for the can with his chopsticks.

This time, Summer reacted quickly, grabbing the can and holding it close to her.

Henry's chopsticks hit nothing but air, and he looked at her in surprise. "What's the matter?"

Summer hugged the can and didn't look at him, speaking in a low tone, "The canned food is mine, and the grain is rationed to me. If you eat it, I'll go hungry."

Henry looked at the bun in his hand, puzzled for a moment.

Then he laughed and said, "Oh, come on. We didn't plan to take your food. If you run out, you can eat ours."

Summer shook her head, still looking down. "No need."

If things went that way, they would definitely keep coming to eat her steamed buns and then give her grain. She would end up worse off.

Henry slowly put away his smile and set down the chopsticks and the remaining half bun.

He stared at Summer for a moment and asked, "What's really going on with you?"

Summer didn't answer, pressing her lips together and continuing, "Let's forget about what you ate before, but from now on, don't touch my food. We've already split up, and I need to eat too."

Henry looked at her in silence for a while, then nodded, "Alright."

Then he asked, in a concerned tone, "But really, what's been going on with you these past few days?"

Summer got up, fetched a new pair of chopsticks, sat back down, and started eating the buns with the braised pork.

As she ate, she answered, "Nothing, just had a sudden realization."

Henry looked at her, "A sudden realization that makes you stubborn and offensive for no reason? We came to the countryside together as a group. If we don't support each other, who can we rely on?"

Summer continued eating in silence.

Henry went on, "I heard you offended Grace last night, all over a mirror? You don't even like looking in the mirror. If she does, just let her. Why be so petty?"

In the past, Summer would have thought Henry's words made sense, seeing him as generous and reasonable.

But now, hearing them, she couldn't help but feel angry.

She didn't want to explain further, continuing to eat her meal, "The mirror is mine. I can let her use it if I want to and not if I don't. If you think I'm being petty, then so be it."

Henry watched her for a moment, then said, patiently, "Summer, being overly petty and selfish isn't a good thing. Look at Logan, living so detached and calculating. What's the point?"

Summer didn't know if Logan's life had any meaning.

But she didn't agree with his cold and calculating way of dealing with people, with no genuine emotion.

Seeing Summer not respond, Henry continued, "I know you're just in a bad mood these days. It'll pass. Let's not dwell on the past. I have something important to discuss with you. I heard from the locals that the village is reopening the school and wants you to be a teacher?"

Hearing this, Summer's nerves instantly tightened, and alarm bells went off in her mind.

If the plot followed the novel, Henry bringing this up now meant he wanted her to give the teaching opportunity to Sophia.

She looked at Henry, holding her breath and staying silent.

Henry continued, "I've watched you grow up. I know what you're suited for and what you're not. You're not really cut out to be a teacher. Among the ten of us, only Sophia often performs on stage. She reads a lot, has ideas, can sing and dance, and knows how to entertain. She'd be the best fit to teach the kids. Besides, she really struggles with farm work. So overall, I think it's best for Sophia to be the teacher. What do you think?"

I think it's terrible.

Summer wanted to blurt this out.

But the words got stuck, as if something was blocking them.

Henry, seeing her silence, took it as agreement.

He continued, "I know you're kind and sensible, always considerate of the bigger picture. I knew you wouldn't be selfish and refuse."

Summer desperately wanted to refuse, but the words wouldn't come out.

Her fingers turned white from gripping her chopsticks so hard, but she couldn't force the words out, growing increasingly anxious, her forehead starting to sweat.

She suddenly remembered that last night, when she wanted to refuse Henry's business proposal, it was the same.

It felt like something was binding her, preventing her from refusing Henry.

She held her breath and thought—could it be that even though she had awakened her self-awareness, she couldn't break free from the original plot's key events? Was she doomed to follow the main storyline, painfully aware of it?

No.

Absolutely not.

If she agreed to this, and continued to be controlled by the plot, it would be worse than death. If that were the case, she would rather not have awakened.

Summer clenched her fingers, trying to break free from this constraint.

But the more she struggled, the more she couldn't speak, sweat quickly forming on her forehead.

Henry was still talking, "Tomorrow, take some time to find Mr. Leonardo and talk to him about this. If he doesn't agree, I'll go with you to speak to the

 secretary."

Hearing this, Summer felt a deep pain.

She still used all her strength to try to refuse, exerting herself so much that the veins on her temples stood out, but it was no use.

Just as she was about to despair, there was a sudden scoff at the door.

Both Summer and Henry turned to see Logan entering the kitchen.

The moment Logan stepped inside, the invisible binding on Summer vanished.

In that instant, she quickly stood up, instinctively moved closer to Logan, and said decisively and urgently, "No, I refuse, I won't give it up."

Henry, already annoyed by Logan's smirking presence, frowned deeply.

He looked at Summer, about to speak again.

Summer immediately raised her hand, covering her ears and cutting him off, "Don't say another word. I won't give up the chance to be a teacher to Sophia. Your affection for her is your business. It has nothing to do with me. Don't drag me into it. I'm not playing the fool!"