As for Wang Yulian—she didn’t know yet. She didn’t even have the money!
Thinking of this, Shimei Lan pedaled even harder.
She really looked forward to when they would find out.
Shimei Lan rode her bike from Chunfeng Town back to Lijia Village, a journey that took over an hour.
By then, it was already past five in the afternoon. On the way back, they passed by the Lijia Village school.
At this time, school was just letting out.
The school was funded by several villages pooling money. Lijia Village was the largest among them and contributed the most, so the school was built at the village’s entrance. Children from the nearby villages all came to study here.
The school consisted of three simple buildings, accommodating over sixty students, divided into junior and senior classes.
The junior class students were mostly children. Some only learned basic characters before dropping out to help their families farm.
The remaining students progressed to the senior class.
Senior class students were mostly preparing for the college entrance exam, ranging from their early teens to early twenties.
There was no electric bell in the school, only a manual one. At dismissal, the teachers would beat a gong outside.
The bronze gong rang out loudly, drifting through the windows and into the classrooms.
The students inside stirred noisily, and the teacher standing on the podium called out, “Class dismissed!” The students cheered and ran out.
Sitting behind a desk, Lin Xinran looked up, watching the teachers and classmates leave one after another.
It was a bright summer evening at five o’clock.
Gentle sunlight streamed through a half-open window, falling on the podium.
The chalk marks on the blackboard stood out like carved relief, each character sharp and clear—27 days until the college entrance exam.
She stared blankly.
The tail of the number 7 seemed to pierce downward, beyond the blackboard, dissipating into the endless air, becoming drifting dust dancing in the sunlight.
College entrance exam.
Her father had told her many times to take the exam, to leave backward, ignorant Lijia Village and fly to the legendary Beijing—to see how high the sky was, how wide the land.
But she couldn’t pass.
Repeated mock exams, countless late-night study sessions—her grades were always at the bottom of the class.
Her father wanted her to succeed, so he used connections to get her into the senior class early, but she still couldn’t keep up.
She couldn’t even pass the graduation exam.
The bright red “X” marks on the test papers sentenced her life to death; she couldn’t leave this place.
Her father was disappointed and finally decided to abandon her and her mother, returning alone to faraway Beijing.
She and her mother were left with no roots, unable to absorb any nourishment here, only withering slowly.
Following the normal trajectory, she should leave school and prepare to marry in the village, marrying whoever, bearing children, cooking, washing clothes, taking care of children, cooking, washing clothes, bearing children, cooking, washing clothes.
A repetitive, hopeless future, like a stagnant deep lake—that was her life.
The white numbers on the blackboard grew increasingly glaring.
She sat still in her chair, but her heart felt like it sank into icy water. She shivered, struggling to breathe.
“Xinran—”
A sudden voice rang above her, pulling her back to the classroom after dismissal on a summer evening.
She looked up and saw a young man in a white shirt smiling and asking, “What are you thinking about?”
It was Li Tianci.
Li Tianci was very handsome, just like Principal Li. Both had auspicious phoenix-shaped eyes, pale faces, red lips, and their smiles resembled movie stars.
Lin Xinran looked at Li Tianci’s face and forced a faint smile. “I was thinking about the problems.”
“If you don’t understand something, I’ll teach you.” Li Tianci softened his voice and reached out to rub her head.
The cute, obedient little sister lowered her head and whispered, “Maybe later. Let’s go home now.”
Li Tianci smiled and nodded.
The budding feelings between young boys and girls hid in the afterglow of the setting sun.
They walked out of the school side by side, just in time to see Shimei Lan carrying Hu Honghua pass by.
“Is that Hu Honghua?” someone exclaimed. “She looks so pretty today.”
“It must be Auntie Shi who bought her those clothes!”
“A new mother-in-law naturally buys clothes for her new daughter-in-law!”
The cheers from the crowd drifted into the ears of Shimei Lan and Hu Honghua on the bike.
Hu Honghua lowered her head, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Shimei Lan furrowed her brows and turned to ask the girl behind her, “Little Honghua, be honest with Auntie. Do you like Li Tianci? Do you want to marry him?”
Hu Honghua sat on the back seat. Hearing this, she looked up at Auntie Shi.
All she could see was Shimei Lan’s back and the nearby setting sun.
She thought for a moment, confused, then slowly leaned against Shimei Lan and said, “I don’t care who I marry.”
Women were born to marry. Not marrying was a shameful thing. After marriage, they served their parents-in-law, husband, bore children—many children.
All rural women knew this from childhood, and Hu Honghua was no exception.
Her kindness toward Li Tianci wasn’t really for him but for her husband.
Whoever was her husband, she’d be kind to him. And who her husband was, her uncle would decide.
Her uncle hadn’t wronged her. The family of Li Ershu, the in-laws, were one of the best families in the whole village.
Other families barely had enough to eat, but Shimei Lan’s family had meat at every meal and money to buy clothes—it was obvious they were a good family.
She only wanted a good husband—to live the rest of her life better.
It didn’t matter who he was, as long as he was good.
Shimei Lan was relieved.
“If you don’t like him, that’s good,” Shimei Lan said coldly. “He’s no good. He knew about Li Ershu’s mess but kept it from me. People like that aren’t worth marrying. Auntie will find you a good one.”
When Hu Honghua heard “not worth marrying,” she hesitated slightly. Leaning against Auntie Shi’s waist, she felt the softness beneath her and softly murmured, “Will I still be able to come to see Auntie Shi?”
If Auntie Shi was no longer her mother-in-law, would she still take her out to buy clothes?
“What?” Shimei Lan didn’t hear clearly.
“Never mind,” Hu Honghua said, “I’ll listen to Auntie Shi.”
Shimei Lan pedaled faster, passing the children who had just finished school.
The noisy chatter of the children didn’t just reach Shimei Lan and Hu Honghua; it also reached Li Tianci and Lin Xinran.
Lin Xinran said nothing, showing no reaction.
But Li Tianci’s face darkened as he gripped Lin Xinran’s arm and hurried her away.
After they’d walked far, Li Tianci said to Lin Xinran, “I’m going to tell my mom tonight to break off the engagement. She’ll definitely agree.”
His father might not decide, but his mother doted on him. No matter what he wanted growing up, his mother gave it to him, and this time would be no different.
Lin Xinran knew why Li Tianci said this.
The unspoken feelings were like ripples beneath the lake’s surface—not visible to outsiders, but those inside the water could feel it brushing their fingers.
She squeezed Li Tianci’s arm in response and softly said, “Mm.”
She didn’t know how long Li Tianci would like her or what he’d do for her, but at this moment, his closeness made her feel warm.
For her, Li Tianci was a straw in the dead lake, giving her a glimmer of hope for life. She didn’t want to let go.
They had barely held hands when Lin Xinran heard a loud shout: “Xinran!”
Startled like being electrocuted, both she and Li Tianci let go and turned around.
Not far off, a tall figure ran over, tanned skin gleaming, holding a fresh melon, shouting, “I picked a melon for you today—Brother, you’re here too?”
It was Li Tianfu, Li Tianci’s younger brother.
Li Tianfu couldn’t focus on studying and had dropped out early to farm. When he was young, Shimei Lan used to work in the fields with him, but as he grew older, Shimei Lan stopped going and left the work to Li Tianfu.
There was a melon patch with a canopy where Li Tianfu occasionally slept. The sweet melons nourished his sturdy body. Though uneducated, his simple mind was straightforward. In short, he was a big, kind oaf.
Unlike the reserved, intelligent, gentle Li Tianci, Li Tianfu was boisterous and outgoing, especially toward Lin Xinran.
Whenever he saw her, he would run around her non-stop, words spilling out in torrents, as if he had a thousand things to say.
If Li Tianci was a pine tree waving branches only when the wind blew, Li Tianfu was a lively dog running circles around Lin Xinran.
When she kicked him, he would happily lick her toes.
Lin Xinran instinctively looked at Li Tianci.
Li Tianci pressed his lips tight and stayed silent, walking ahead.
Lin Xinran held the melon, following Li Tianci. She wanted to say, “I won’t be with him either,” but in the end, she didn’t.
Li Tianfu kept chattering—how clueless he was, not seeing the simmering tension between his brother and the girl he liked, like a third party forced into the scene, not only annoying but barking all the time.
Once they got home, Lin Xinran finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Walking toward the door, she bit her lip and thought the three of them made things too crowded. She needed to talk clearly with Li Tianfu.
Lost in thought, she entered her home.
The door creaked as she pulled it open, only to find no one inside. She shouted, “Mom!” but there was no reply.
Where was her mother?
She didn’t know.
The family’s storeroom was in complete disarray.