Chapter 21: Confronting Li Xinyue

“Also, didn’t your parents teach you how to greet people?”

The girl’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at Song Yue in disbelief. No one had ever dared to speak to her like that before!

After saying her piece, Song Yue turned her head back to the window, unwilling to waste her energy on someone like that.

She would suffer enough hardships in the countryside.

And if this girl kept yapping, Song Yue wouldn’t mind teaching her why the flowers are so red*.

It took Li Xinyue a while to snap out of her daze. Just as she was about to argue with Song Yue—

Zhao Zirui, sensing that the situation was about to escalate, quickly stepped in to mediate.

“Xinyue, even if we can’t sit together, we’re still facing each other. Isn’t that even better? We can see each other every time we look up.”

“Just put your things down first.”

Under Zhao Zirui’s coaxing, Li Xinyue reluctantly nodded, though her mood was clearly sour.

Liu Wei, watching Zhao Zirui pacify Li Xinyue, couldn’t help but envy her.

If only she had someone like Zhao Zirui—handsome, with a great personality, and seemingly from a good family.

While Zhao Zirui was storing their luggage, Li Xinyue stood there, pouting in frustration, occasionally shooting resentful glares at Song Yue.

Song Yue could feel the stare but ignored it.

The bus ride was already making her uncomfortable, and she had no interest in talking.

If this girl kept pushing her buttons, she’d just settle things with her fists.

A voice from behind her suddenly spoke up, “I think it’s good that you two are sitting apart. You should be mindful of your behavior in public.”

Li Xinyue shot a glare in that direction. “Shut up, Lin He!”

Once their things were stored, the next issue was seating arrangements.

Zhao Zirui looked at Liu Wei and Song Yue, hesitating.

Li Xinyue obviously wouldn’t sit next to Song Yue, which meant Zhao Zirui had to sit there while Xinyue sat across from him.

Noticing Zhao Zirui’s dilemma, Liu Wei’s heart skipped a beat. These two seemed well-off. If she made a good impression on them now, maybe they’d look out for her once they got to the countryside.

Tentatively, she spoke up, “How about—”

Before she could finish, Li Xinyue noticed her and immediately cut her off.

“Oh, right! She won’t move, so you move.”

Liu Wei: “…”

Volunteering to change seats was one thing. Being bossed around was another.

She didn’t respond but instead looked at Zhao Zirui.

Lin He, the guy sitting behind Song Yue, spoke again, “Li Xinyue, if you keep ordering people around like that, no one’s going to listen to you.”

“If you want someone to switch seats, you should at least ask nicely.”

Li Xinyue huffed. “I won’t! I just won’t!”

Zhao Zirui quickly stepped in, “Alright, alright, Xinyue. Lin He, stop provoking her.”

After calming Li Xinyue down and glaring at Lin He, Zhao Zirui turned to Liu Wei with a gentle tone.

“Comrade, would you mind switching seats with us—”

Before he could finish, Liu Wei eagerly nodded and got up. “Of course! No problem!”

She moved to sit beside Song Yue, while Zhao Zirui and Li Xinyue took their seats.

Zhao Zirui ended up directly across from Song Yue, while Li Xinyue sat by the aisle.

He smiled at Liu Wei. “Thanks. By the way, what’s your name?”

“I’m Liu Wei,” she introduced herself before gesturing toward Song Yue. “And this is Song Yue. We’re both from Rong City.”

Song Yue: “…”

Wow. So thoughtful.

“Rong City?” Li Xinyue wrinkled her nose and covered it with her hand, her face full of disdain. “That’s such a remote place. How many days did you have to travel? Ugh, you stink of sweat.”

Liu Wei, eager to please, immediately felt awkward.

Song Yue raised an eyebrow at Li Xinyue, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

“But it’s still not as bad as your mouth.”

Li Xinyue’s eyes widened. “Who are you calling foul-mouthed?!”

Song Yue’s tone remained calm. “Whoever responds first.”

Li Xinyue shot to her feet, pointing a trembling finger at Song Yue. “You—”

Song Yue’s smile deepened. “I wouldn’t mind breaking that finger.”

Li Xinyue froze.

There was something about Song Yue’s expression—she was smiling, yet it sent chills down her spine.

She gulped and quietly lowered her hand.

Even Zhao Zirui was taken aback by Song Yue’s presence. A sinking feeling crept into his gut—this was not someone to mess with.

“Xinyue,” he whispered, pulling her down into her seat. “Watch your words when you’re out in public.”

Li Xinyue sulked, glaring at Song Yue.

She was annoyed, but also a little afraid.

For some reason, she had a gut feeling that if she crossed the line, Song Yue really would break her finger.

Song Yue simply stared back in silence.

An awkward tension filled the air.

Zhao Zirui, trying to smooth things over, looked for a topic to break the ice.

Behind them, Lin He spoke up. “Comrade Liu, Comrade Song, are you both heading to the countryside too? Where exactly?”

Liu Wei turned around to answer, immediately noticing that Lin He was actually quite good-looking. Not as handsome as Zhao Zirui, but still attractive.

Most importantly—Lin He was single.

Smiling, she nodded. “Yes, we’re both being sent down. I’m assigned to Kuai Zi Mountain Commune in Lianshui County, Haqi City, Heilongjiang Province.”

Song Yue twitched at the mention of the location.

If she remembered correctly, that was exactly where she was going.

What a nightmare.

Behind her, Lin He muttered, “That place sounds familiar… Don’t tell me we’re in the same commune?”

As he spoke, he rummaged through his bag for his assignment notice.

After pulling it out and reading it, his eyes widened in excitement.

“Holy crap, we really are!”

Song Yue: “…”

Great.

Just great.

And before she could even process that—

Li Xinyue spoke up again, her voice saccharine-sweet. “Brother Zirui, I don’t want to be in the same commune as her.”

Song Yue’s lip curled as she prepared a response—

But Lin He beat her to it.

“Don’t worry, you definitely won’t be.”

“Before coming here, I did some research. Each commune has multiple production brigades, and each brigade has several smaller teams. Who knows where you’ll end up?”

Li Xinyue: “…”

Lin He suddenly stood up, raising his voice.

“Hey, comrades! Anyone else assigned to Kuai Zi Mountain Commune in Lianshui County, Haqi City, Heilongjiang?”

The entire bus went silent.

All eyes turned toward them.

And since Lin He was standing behind Song Yue and Liu Wei…

That meant they were suddenly the center of attention.

Liu Wei forced an awkward smile.

Song Yue remained expressionless, but internally: “…”

After a brief, eerie silence—

Voices began responding one by one.

“I am!”

“Me too!”

“Same here!”

“Me as well!”

“…”

Five more people were heading to the same place—three men and two women.

Just as Song Yue thought this was the end of it—

She realized it was only the beginning.