Chapter 76 — Educated Youth Who Abandoned His Wife and Child (7)

While she was still digesting the news, Shen Xiuyan smiled and went on, “Look at you—so happy you’re speechless. You must be offering us your blessings, right?”

That line cut straight to the heart.

Huaizi could no longer hold it in. Her basket slipped from her hands and hit the ground, but she didn’t even bother to pick it up.

She spun around and bolted, her twin braids flying behind her like banners caught in the wind.

The group trailing behind her didn’t fare much better. They all stood there, stunned, as if blown apart by a gust of wind.

One of them hurriedly picked up the basket and chased after her. “Huaizi, wait for me!”

The rest looked at one another awkwardly, then slunk off with forced laughs.

Once everyone had left, Cui Cui marched over in shock and grabbed Su Mingyue’s arm.

“You’re really dating Comrade Shen?”

Su Mingyue nodded bashfully.

Cui Cui slapped her shoulder with exaggerated admiration. “Well damn, Mingyue, you actually snagged Comrade Shen.”

He was the dream man of half the women in the village.

Then, as if something occurred to her, she leaned in and muttered under her breath, “But… have you thought about what exactly Comrade Shen sees in you…?”

“I don’t mean anything by it, I’m just worried for you. I don’t want him messing with your feelings.”

Su Mingyue tilted her head. “What do I have that’s worth deceiving me for?”

Cui Cui gave it some serious thought, her head swaying side to side.

Honestly… not much, right?

Wait a second. She snapped back to herself. “You may not have anything, but your dad sure does. He’s the brigade leader, and his health’s not great. If you two are together, he could totally assign Shen Xiuyan to some cushy job.”

Su Mingyue tugged her closer by the sleeve, whispering in her ear, “Brother Shen proposed to me. If it were just about getting an easier job, don’t you think that’s paying a bit too steep a price?”

“Huh?” Cui Cui’s brain short-circuited. She repeated numbly, “Proposed?”

“Mhm.” Su Mingyue smiled, sweet and radiant.

“……”

After a moment of stunned silence, Cui Cui accepted reality.

Well, if Mingyue says so… it probably isn’t about job placement. There were way easier ways to pull strings—this would be the least reliable route of them all. So that must not be it.

Shen Xiuyan really likes Mingyue!

What girl wouldn’t dream of something like that? She was genuinely happy for her.

Behind them, Shen Xiuyan stood with an unreadable expression.

He was standing right here, alive and well, and they were acting like he couldn’t hear any of it?

Even if they were whispering, he’d caught enough of the conversation to piece things together.

Cui Cui, huh…

As expected. You again.

All these familiar faces, one by one, showing up in this world. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was fate—or something else entirely.

“Ahem.” Shen Xiuyan cleared his throat, gently reminding the two women lost in their own world.

They finally turned around, completely bewildered.

Right. They’d almost forgotten Shen Xiuyan was standing right there.

The moment was… awkward.

Cui Cui gave him a sheepish nod, then turned to Su Mingyue. “Alright, I’ll be off then.”

—

Not far away, a group had finally caught up to Huaizi.

Seeing the sour expression on her face, one of them tried to comfort her. “Who would’ve thought Shen Xiuyan was that blind? Of all people, he went for her?”

“Exactly!”

“There’s gotta be something fishy about it.”

“Well, you never know.”

If Cui Cui could think of it, of course they could too. “Maybe he’s trying to get a cushy job?”

“You know what, that might actually be true.”

“Hahaha, well, we’re in for a show. That Heiniu girl’s bound to get dumped sooner or later. Just wait and see.”

Really, they were all just trying to comfort themselves—but hey, it worked. The more they said it, the better they felt.

Now they were all fired up, eager to see Heiniu make a fool of herself.

They huddled together, whispering excitedly. They had to spread the word fast.

The more people who knew, the more humiliating it would be when Heiniu fell flat on her face.

Just picturing that scene lifted everyone’s spirits. They were ready to act immediately.

Why should someone like her win over Shen Xiuyan?

There had to be something shady going on.

They didn’t even hate her—but when it came to girls and jealousy, logic rarely had a place.

—

Back home, Su Mingyue had no idea people were already lining up to enjoy the drama.

Even though Su Dazhuang was the brigade leader, their family wasn’t exactly well-off. Not in this day and age.

The house was in terrible shape. As soon as the door opened, yellow dust rained from the eaves.

Inside, it wasn’t any better. The old furniture had long since rotted, but they still used it out of necessity.

Nervously, Su Mingyue set the lunchbox she was carrying on the table.

Brigade Leader Su raised an eyebrow. “You’re back? Where’d you go? What’s this?”

Su Mingyue mumbled, “It’s meat…”

“What?” Her voice was too soft, so he didn’t catch it—but his hands were already prying the lid off the box.

The moment his eyes landed on the glossy, braised pork inside, he froze.

Even though it had gone cold and congealed into a greasy slab, the smell still made his mouth water.

His eyes widened. “Where did this come from?”

Su Mingyue kept her head down. “Comrade Shen gave it to me…”

“!!!”

“He gave you this? Why?” An ominous thought struck him like lightning. Was his jinx of a mouth really about to come true?

He’d barely brought it up earlier today. It hadn’t even been a full afternoon…

He felt suffocated.

Su Mingyue stammered, “I-I…”

Brigade Leader Su clutched his chest. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!”

Su Mingyue glanced up timidly and saw that her father’s expression was anything but friendly.

Before he could explode, she stomped her foot and blurted out, “I’m dating Comrade Shen!”

“Oh, dating, huh…” The sudden confession blindsided him.

His mind blanked. His mouth and brain weren’t even on speaking terms. “Still, even if you’re dating, you can’t just take something this fancy…”

“No, that’s not it!!!”

“I just talked to you about this at lunch, and now you’re slapping me in the face not even a few hours later!”

He inhaled sharply, forcing himself to stay calm.

“My girl, listen to your father. This Comrade Shen is not a good match. Why don’t you consider someone else?”

Su Mingyue turned her head, refusing to even look at him.

A silent protest.

“You little rascal, why won’t you ever listen!” Brigade Leader Su’s liver ached from rage.

He slammed the table with both hands—bam, bam—so loudly that it startled Liu Yanyun, who was cooking at the stove.

She wiped her hands and came over. “What’s going on? Why are you shouting at the child like that?”

She saw her daughter looking like a bullied puppy, rolled her eyes at Su Dazhuang, and pulled the girl over to her side, gently patting her shoulder.

“What’s your father done to you now? Tell Mama, I’ll get justice for you.”

Su Mingyue, feeling she’d found her one safe harbor, murmured, “Dad won’t let me date…”

Liu Yanyun: “……”