Chapter 9: " The resurrected ex-wife who once cast me aside"

"Knock, knock, knock..." She knocked on the door gently at first. When the head nurse, who was busy writing, looked up and motioned for her to come in, Jiang Yuan walked to the table and said cautiously, "Head Nurse, were you looking for me?"

She had always been afraid of this stern head nurse, who had a rigid expression, always combed her hair neatly, and never smiled. So today, after changing the patient's medicine and returning to the nurses' station, when she heard Sister Zou say that the head nurse wanted to see her, she began to feel uneasy. Could it be that she hadn't done her job well and that the head nurse had some concerns, so she wanted to see her alone?

With this uneasy feeling, Jiang Yuan came to the head nurse's office.

The head nurse looked at Jiang Yuan for a moment and then said, "Sit down!"

Jiang Yuan quickly pulled over a chair and sat down, her two round black eyes looking at her anxiously.

The head nurse put down her pen and asked, "Jiang Yuan, do you know why I called you here?"

Jiang Yuan bit her lower lip, shook her head, and looked confused. "Did I do something wrong in my work?"

The head nurse didn't say anything, opened the drawer of the desk, took out a letter from it, and put it on the table. "Read it yourself."

Jiang Yuan had a bad feeling. She hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out her hand and held the letter. It had already been opened, so she took out the letter paper, unfolded it, and read through it. The more she read, the redder her face became, and her dark eyes filled with moisture.

After reading it, Jiang Yuan was so angry that she was shaking all over. She raised her red eyes and said aggrievedly, "Head Nurse, please believe me, this is absolutely not true. I really didn't do it. How could I be so... slutty..."

She, an unmarried girl, couldn't utter the last few words.

At this moment, Jiang Yuan was filled with hatred. Well done, Lin Laoshi. No wonder he had been so unkind to her for the past half month—it turned out he had a big trick up his sleeve. He had actually reported her under his real name, claiming that she, a nurse, had taken advantage of his immobility to touch and harass him. There was his seal on the letter, making it hard for her to believe it was a misunderstanding.

He must have been dissatisfied with her sarcasm toward He Chunli, so he slandered her after being discharged from the hospital. Hey, Sister Zou was right. It is difficult for officials to settle family affairs. You may be doing something for someone else's good, but once the couple reconciles, you become a nobody. She would never do such thankless work again.

The head nurse saw Jiang Yuan shaking with anger and sighed. "You have worked in the hospital for two years. You are careful, diligent, enthusiastic, and capable. Everyone can see this, and we all believe in you. But this incident has a bad impact. You should go back and rest for a few days until the investigation is complete."

"Resting for a few days" was just a gentle way of saying she was being suspended. Jiang Yuan felt deeply aggrieved. With red eyes, she nodded sullenly, walked out of the head nurse's office, returned to the nurses' station, and changed out of her white nurse uniform.

When Sister Zou returned and saw this scene, she immediately grabbed her arm and asked, "Xiao Jiang, what happened?"

Jiang Yuan shook her head, said nothing, took her things, lowered her head, walked out the door, and went down the stairs.

At the gate, Yu Mengshu came up to her and said in surprise, "Xiaoyuan, why are you here so early today? Not only did you not get off work late, but you even left ten minutes early. I thought I would have to wait a little longer!"

Seeing someone so close to her, Jiang Yuan could no longer hold back her tears, which suddenly burst forth, rolling down like beads on a string.

Yu Mengshu was terrified. He pulled Jiang Yuan to the side of the road, took out a handkerchief, wiped her tears, and asked with concern, "Xiaoyuan, what happened? Don't cry. Did someone bully you? Tell me, I'll help you beat that guy up."

Jiang Yuan cried for more than ten minutes, venting her grievances and sadness. She took the handkerchief and wiped her tears, sobbing, and then recounted what had happened today in a broken voice. "Because I offended his wife, the patient who was discharged from the hospital actually reported that I harassed him. The head nurse asked me to suspend my job until the matter is investigated..."

After listening, Yu Mengshu was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly grabbed Jiang Yuan's shoulders and said, "Xiaoyuan, resign. We don't need this job anymore!"

Jiang Yuan widened her eyes in surprise and stared at him blankly. After a long while, she said dejectedly, "If I resign, what should I do? I don't know how to do other jobs." It is not easy to find a stable job these days. Many older educated youth who had returned to the city had still not found work.

Yu Mengshu squeezed Jiang Yuan's shoulders tightly and said, "Be my wife, and I will support you in the future."

Jiang Yuan widened her eyes in shock, as if she had not expected him to propose so suddenly.

***

A crisp slap interrupted Yu Mengshu's chatter. He covered his face and stared at Jiang Yuan in disbelief. "You hit me!"

Jiang Yuan was so angry that her face turned red, and her chest rose and fell violently. "I *should* hit you, Yu Mengshu! You're a college student who has read so many books, yet your thoughts are still so dirty. Nursing is a noble profession—saving lives and healing the wounded—but in you, I only see men and women. I really misjudged you!"

After being slapped in public and scolded by his girlfriend, Yu Mengshu couldn't bear it. He licked his lips and said hatefully, "Jiang Yuan, you're really determined to stick to your crappy job, huh?"

Jiang Yuan sniffed and said stubbornly, "That's right! I will never quit!"

"Okay, okay, okay, then you can stick to your crappy job for the rest of your life. If you don't quit, then it's over between us!" Yu Mengshu said angrily and stormed off.

Jiang Yuan watched his back as he walked away, holding back the urge to cry, and shouted loudly, "It's over! Who cares?!"

She said she didn't care, but after he was gone, Jiang Yuan still covered her mouth and cried bitterly. After all, he was her boyfriend of half a year. How could she not be sad after such a fight?

Today was just an unlucky day. She was reported at work, her boyfriend fought with her and wanted to break up, and all of this was because of that bastard Lin Laoshi.

Jiang Yuan gritted her teeth, repeating Lin Laoshi's name, muttering angrily, "Laoshi, Laoshi, you are really not honest at all!"

***

After a long journey of a day and a night, the train stopped in Da'an County. This was a small station, and the train only stopped for five minutes. Lin Laoshi and He Chunli hurriedly squeezed off the train with their luggage.

Da'an County was about twenty miles from Lin Laoshi's hometown, Dafeng Township. There were two buses from the county to the town every day, one in the morning and one at noon.

The two left the train station, hurried to the bus stop, waited for the bus, got on, and finally arrived in town at three o'clock in the afternoon.

Lin Laoshi's brother, Lin Jianyi, had borrowed a Phoenix-brand bicycle and was waiting at the station. When he saw them get off, he hurriedly pushed the bicycle over, looked them up and down, and finally fixed his gaze on the crutch in Lin Laoshi's hand. He asked worriedly, "Ashi, your leg isn't healed yet?"

"It's much better, but I still can't walk properly. I need to recuperate for a while," Lin Laoshi answered truthfully.

After hearing this, Lin Jianyi quickly patted the back seat of the bicycle and said, "Then sit down, I'll take you!"

Lin Laoshi lifted his leg and stepped over, sitting on the back seat of the bicycle. Lin Jianyi placed his luggage on the front seat and tried to push the bike, but it was very difficult.

"Brother, ride it!" Lin Laoshi said earnestly.

Lin Jianyi glanced at He Chunli. "What about your wife?"

Lin Laoshi replied, "Let her walk back. The town isn't far from home, and she comes here often. She won't get lost."

Lin Jianyi, with his simple-minded nature, didn't think anything was wrong with this arrangement. He hopped onto the bicycle and called out to He Chunli, "Sister-in-law, we're heading off first!"

With that, he pedaled hard and rode away. Within seconds, he turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

He Chunli was left standing by the roadside, her hair slightly tousled by the wind. These two brothers had no sympathy for women at all. Fortunately, it was the conservative 1980s—if it were twenty years later, she'd definitely be single forever.

How did she end up with such a man? Furious, He Chunli stood there, pouting in frustration.

Just then, a tractor rumbled over and stopped in front of her. A young man in an ill-fitting leather jacket, his hair slicked back, sat in the driver's seat. He whistled and called out ostentatiously, "Hey, isn't this Chunli? What are you doing standing here by yourself? I heard your family's Lin Laoshi is back—why are you alone?"

What nonsense. He Chunli looked up and glared at Juan. Just her luck—how did she run into this bastard?

Juan, however, wasn't bothered by her glare. He patted the back of the tractor and grinned. "I borrowed this from the team to deliver public grain to town. I'm heading back now. We're from the same village—come on, hop in. I'll give you a ride. It's way too hot to walk."

Although He Chunli was tempted to accept, she immediately recalled the misery Juan had caused her in her previous life. If it hadn't been for this sweet-talking scoundrel, she would never have followed him and ended up wandering aimlessly, with no home to return to.

This bastard was responsible for most of her past life's suffering. There was no way she would believe his honeyed words again!

Seeing the hatred in her eyes, Juan shrank his neck slightly but still pouted and exaggeratedly complained, "I'm just being nice, offering you a ride—why are you looking at me like that? Did Lin Laoshi, that saw-mouthed gourd, make you mad? I mean, why bother getting angry at him? He's always been stiff and dull..."

Juan's loud voice drew the attention of the surrounding people.

Not wanting to make a scene, He Chunli snapped, "Shut up and get lost!"

With that, she strode forward.

But how could she outrun a tractor? Within two minutes, Juan caught up to her, deliberately slowing down so the vehicle crawled forward at a snail's pace, matching her speed.

This was way too conspicuous. Furious, He Chunli turned and demanded, "What do you want?"

"Aren't we from the same village? I'm just giving you a ride. Otherwise, if people see me, they'll say I'm heartless. What's wrong? You don't dare to ride with me? Afraid Lin Laoshi will get mad?" Juan smirked. "I mean, he already left on his bike without a second thought about you. Why are you still so worried about him? Besides, it's just a ride—what's the big deal? You'll sit in the cargo bed, and I'll drive up front. We'll have nothing to do with each other!"

Juan was smooth-talking and persuasive. Not only did he effortlessly dispel He Chunli's concerns, but he also managed to stir up her resentment toward Lin Laoshi.

Yeah, Lin Laoshi had just left without caring about her at all. Why was she still thinking about him? More importantly, the sun was scorching, and she was already drenched in sweat. If she walked all the way back, she'd probably get sunburned.

Frustrated and annoyed, He Chunli finally gave in. She hoisted her small bag, climbed onto the tractor's cargo bed, and sat in the back—keeping as much distance as possible from Juan. Even though she accepted the ride, she decided to completely ignore him.