Chapter 7

Yuan Fengxin gritted his teeth in anger, cursing Jiang Manzhu in his heart. It was already dark, and it seemed that Jiang Manzhu was not coming.

With this realization, Yuan Fengxin sighed and began walking back to the youth camp. However, perhaps because it was dark or because he was too angry, he didn't pay attention to his surroundings and suddenly missed a step. "Damn it, who dug a hole here?" Yuan Fengxin twisted his ankle and muttered bitterly, while several kids in the village sneezed at the same time.

At the youth camp, when they didn't see Yuan Fengxin at dinner, one of his roommates asked curiously, "Where's Yuan Zhiqing?"

Yuan Fengxin had always maintained a good image and behaved well, but recently, he had been trying to pull some strings to get a job and was short on money. He had been sweet-talking Jiang Manzhu for days, hoping to get her to hand over the money she had. But just when he was about to succeed, someone got in his way.

It was already commendable that he hadn't exploded in rage right on the spot.

"I'm not sure," the others exchanged glances and shook their heads. Yuan Zhiqing had disappeared as soon as they finished working, and no one knew where he had gone.

"Could something have happened to him?" Everyone knew that as outsiders sent to the countryside, they needed to stick together to avoid being bullied by the villagers.

"Should we go out and look for him?" After all, they were all in the same situation, so one of them spoke up.

But before anyone could follow up on that suggestion, someone else dismissed it, "Nothing could have happened. He's probably off courting some girl. Let's finish dinner. We still need to boil water for our baths; there's a lot to do."

"Yeah, what could possibly happen in the village? He'll probably be back soon."

"Fine, but if he's still not back by nightfall, we should go look for him. Just in case something really did happen." The speaker hoped that if they ever went missing, someone would come looking for them too.

"Right. After dinner, those who are free can help search for him. We're all in this together, after all…"

After finishing dinner and washing the dishes, with the sky fully dark, Yuan Fengxin still hadn't returned, and they were about to head out to search for him.

At that moment, they saw Yuan Fengxin limping back from the outside.

Startled, they quickly ran up to him. "Yuan Zhiqing, what happened to you? Did someone bully you? Did you get into a fight with someone from the village?"

"Sorry to make you worry," Yuan Fengxin replied gently, though with a hint of guilt. "I heard there were some nice bamboo shoots in the mountains, so I wanted to gather some for the camp. But I accidentally tripped and hurt myself. Sorry, I couldn't bring any bamboo shoots back."

Yuan Fengxin's tone was warm and remorseful.

"It's fine. As long as you're okay, bamboo shoots aren't that important." Seeing that Yuan Fengxin was unhurt, they felt relieved. "Oh, we saved you some dinner. Don't forget to eat later. But you should really avoid going out at night like that. We're all…"

With a faint smile on his lips, Yuan Fengxin felt a little annoyed but nodded along. After dinner, he took a bath and lay on his bed, thinking over the day.

In his earlier anger, he had overlooked something important.

Could it be that Manzhu didn't come because she was being watched?

"Was she… being followed by someone from the Li family? It must be. Maybe that third son of the Li family saw me talking to Jiang Manzhu earlier today?"

No, no. Perhaps it was because he had scared her yesterday when he grabbed the bamboo sticks. That must have frightened Manzhu, making her angry at him now.

Yes, that must be it. That's why she ignored him this morning!

Comforting himself with this thought, Yuan Fengxin refused to accept the reality that Jiang Manzhu might have completely cut ties with him. He quickly began thinking about why Jiang Manzhu might be upset with him.

Honestly, if there had been someone watching her, she should have told him sooner. What's the big deal if she got hit a little? Obviously, this was all her fault. But whatever, he wouldn't hold it against her. As a man, he should be generous and apologize to her, even if it wasn't his fault.

That's what being a "real man" is about!

…

Meanwhile, Jiang Manzhu had no idea that someone was still thinking about her in the background. Her evening was going smoothly, just like the night before. She had bathed and eaten, though the lack of an electric fan was still an issue. Fortunately, the tile-roofed house didn't retain much heat, so the night was relatively cool.

Well… "relatively" cool compared to the daytime.

By the time night had fully fallen, Jiang Manzhu was already finished with her bath and meal. Since oil lamps were expensive, she didn't want to waste time, so she found something to occupy herself: studying!

Though it would be a few more years before the college entrance exams were reinstated, if she neglected her studies in the meantime, all the knowledge in her head would slowly slip away.

If she reviewed diligently over the next few years, she'd definitely be far ahead of those cramming at the last minute.

'Knock knock knock,' a sound came from the door. Li Linxi, who had already returned to his room, heard the noise and felt annoyed.

Without even hearing her voice, Li Linxi knew exactly who was knocking at the door—Jiang Manzhu!

He wanted to ignore her, but the knocking wouldn't stop, and he didn't want to disturb his mother or Xiaobei.

It was clear to him now: this woman was really good at putting on a show in front of his mom and Xiaobei.

His mom and Xiaobei had both been fooled by her fake act. Worse yet, she was thick-skinned enough to refuse to return to the youth camp and insisted on staying with the Li family!

"What do you want?" Li Linxi opened the door, his expression dark, clearly annoyed. Although he was a clean-cut and delicate young man, his current mood made him appear rather gloomy.

Linxi, you were in second year of high school before, right? You should still have your books. Can you lend me a couple?" Jiang Manzhu asked with a smile, as she was there to borrow something.

"No," Linxi replied coldly, face stern, and the next second, he moved to close the door without bothering to talk further.

Instinctively, Jiang Manzhu stopped him from closing the door. Her expression turned serious, "Why won't you lend them? If not second-year books, first-year ones would be fine."

The current college entrance exams are different from those in the future. The compulsory subjects are politics, Chinese, and math. Then, you choose between the humanities, where you study geography and history, or the sciences, which include physics and chemistry. Only those applying for foreign language majors need to take a foreign language exam (like English, German, etc.). (This is based on information from Baidu.)

Jiang Manzhu recalled this from the original owner's memories. Not everyone had access to foreign language learning, especially in rural areas where kids had fewer resources.

As for biology… she could guess why it wasn't part of the exam yet. Perhaps the field of biology was still developing. Just a guess.

So, she needed to choose between the humanities and sciences. As for the compulsory subjects, politics likely involved certain quotations, Chinese wouldn't be a problem, and math was straightforward – you either know it or you don't! It needed to be learned.

Physics and chemistry would challenge her self-study abilities, while geography and history would mostly require memorization.

Jiang Manzhu made up her mind: I'll go for the humanities!

"Linxi, I'll just borrow a math book." Seeing his attitude, Jiang Manzhu thought maybe he wanted to keep the books for himself. So, she backed down, asking for just one book.

"No, let go," Linxi replied, glancing at her pale hand. If he slammed the door shut right now, could he break her fingers?

Eager to test this out, Linxi moved slightly, but Jiang Manzhu didn't notice. "How about first-year books? Could you at least give me the Chinese, math, and politics ones?"

Realizing Linxi still wouldn't lend her the books even after she had compromised, she frowned, "Linxi, do you have something against me? We're family now. If you have any issues, just say it. There's no need for this cold attitude."

She was annoyed, feeling that if he had any guts, he'd hit her!

Standing at his door, she confronted him confidently, asking what his problem was.

"No," Linxi replied, unwilling to engage in this nonsense. "Even if we are family, it's inappropriate for you to come to me at this time of night. No matter what you say, it's not right."

In the dark, Linxi seemed to blend into the shadows, exuding a cold, threatening aura, his gaze fixed on her like he was about to tear her apart.

He stepped toward Jiang Manzhu, his tall figure looming over her. Despite his gentle and scholarly appearance, he was quite imposing in height.

Staring down at this woman who used her pretty face to flirt around, his sharp eyes were as cold as ice. "Jiang Manzhu, tell me, what are you really after?"

Jiang Manzhu blinked her star-like eyes. "Linxi, I've told you, I'm just here to borrow some books."

Maybe she was startled by his intensity, so her voice softened, becoming more delicate.

Linxi stared at her slender neck. If not for worrying about scaring his mom and Xiaobei, he would…

No, he couldn't. If he got caught, it would be bad for him. And without him, how could his mom and Xiaobei survive in this village?

Suppressing his darker thoughts, Linxi's expression remained cold. Realizing how close they were, he stepped back and turned to retrieve two books from his room. He shoved them into her hands and, without a word, shut the door.

The whole process was swift, with no explanation. It was clear he didn't like her at all.

Holding the two books, Jiang Manzhu looked down at them but realized it was too dark to see the titles.

Ugh, now she had to walk back to her room in the dark. That wasn't very gentlemanly of him.

Her room was still lit by a dim kerosene lamp. The soft glow guided her as she returned and placed the books on her desk.

Only then did she realize, Oh… right, reading in dim light might hurt my eyes.

Forget it. I'll read tomorrow.

For the next few days, Jiang Manzhu's routine was busy but fulfilling. In the morning, she'd cut pigweed and make sour plum soup… well, she ran out of plums, so she tried different wild fruits. She'd bring chilled, sweet and sour "juice" from the stream to Linxi and his mom. After that, she'd return to make lunch. In the afternoon, she'd clean up, read, and then prepare dinner.

What a busy yet productive day!