Chapter 17 “Educated Youth Office”

On the way back to the army camp, Gu Xiao’s mind was still full of what had just happened.

Her soft whimpering, the slight redness in her eyes, and that unbelievably delicate touch… it was enough to drive a man crazy!

He realized that back when she used to ignore him, he could still control his desire for her. But ever since she agreed to be in a relationship with him, the possessiveness in his bones had completely broken free. All he wanted now was to hide her away where no one could see, so he could cling to her day and night.

Gu Xiao leaned back against the car seat, shut his eyes, and exhaled sharply, trying to suppress the dark thoughts in his heart.

By the time he returned to the army camp, it was already past ten at night. He went straight to the commissar’s dormitory and dragged the half-asleep man out of bed.

“Commissar, I submitted that marriage request over a day ago. Why hasn’t it been approved yet?”

The sleepy commissar, bleary-eyed, grumbled, “What the hell—#*&…!”

—

On the other side, Song Youyou was also zoning out.

The foreign journal on her desk was something she could normally translate in half an hour, but an hour had passed, and she’d only gotten halfway through. Her mind kept replaying what had happened earlier.

Her swollen lips, her red tongue, the marks on her waist from his barely restrained strength… all reminded her how reckless that kiss had been.

She swore, if they had already gotten their marriage certificate, he definitely would’ve devoured her whole just now.

Thinking about the beast-like look in his eyes at the end, Song Youyou couldn’t help but shiver. Instinctively, she felt a bit afraid.

She suddenly realized… marriage wasn’t as simple as she’d imagined. Sleeping in the same bed—no, sleeping in the same bed with Gu Xiao—might be…!!

She shook her head furiously. No! Stop thinking!

Blushing furiously, Song Youyou tried to clear her mind and focus.

Translate, translate. Make money!

Because she’d been delayed earlier, she only managed to translate three foreign texts that night. The next morning, she had a boiled egg for breakfast and then finished translating the last two before tidying up the house and prepping lunch.

She planned to go to the Xinhua Bookstore at noon to submit the translated texts. Her friend Wen Xiaorou worked there, and she had promised to bring her lunch—just a little something to improve her friend’s usual meals.

Using the leftover ingredients in the house, she made a pot of dumpling soup, stir-fried some pork, and pan-fried two eggs.

Song Youyou never short-changed herself when it came to food.

First, she knew many health issues stemmed from malnutrition. Second, in her past life after the economic reforms, everyone’s standard of living improved, and she had gotten used to eating better. If she had to go months without meat or starve herself every day, she wouldn’t even have the energy to work.

Luckily, she had found a way to earn money. No way was she going to treat herself poorly.

She packed the lunch in two separate containers, grabbed her bag of translated documents, and walked to the bookstore.

By the time she arrived, it was just about lunchtime. Since the store stayed open during lunch hours, employees ate in shifts.

When Wen Xiaorou’s break came around, the two of them found a spot to eat together.

“Wow~” Wen Xiaorou inhaled deeply as she opened her lunchbox.

The thick, savory aroma of dumpling soup filled the air, the stir-fried pork was glistening and mouthwatering, and the eggs smelled so fresh it made her stomach growl.

“What are you eating that smells so good?” A curious coworker had followed the smell and walked over. The moment she saw what was in their lunchboxes, her eyes widened in disbelief.

“Whoa! This is so luxurious!”

In these times, most people filled up on thin porridge and sweet potatoes. The lunch Song Youyou brought would be considered decadent.

“Eh, it’s just a special occasion,” Wen Xiaorou quickly closed the lids, acting casual. Song Youyou played along seamlessly.

“Yeah, I just wanted to treat Xiaorou to lunch today, that’s all.”

“Hehe, I see…” The clerk, Ruan Qian, seeing no more food to ogle at, pouted and walked off.

Not long after, Ruan Qian went to find Song Baozhu, speaking with a tone thick with sarcasm.

“Tsk. Baozhu, why are you still eating thin porridge with pickles? Your so-called ‘cheap sister’ brought noodles and meat for Wen Xiaorou! You look downright pitiful!”

Song Baozhu was stunned.

What’s wrong with eating porridge and pickles? Back in the countryside, she only had two meals a day, and there was rarely any rice in her porridge. Now, she got to eat lunch, with plenty of rice in her bowl, fried pickles with pork bits, and even a boiled egg. Wasn’t that good?

Of course, Ruan Qian didn’t actually think Baozhu’s meal was bad—on the contrary, considering her family background, it was quite good. But after seeing what Song Youyou brought, it paled in comparison.

“She brought dumpling soup, fried eggs, and meat…” Ruan Qian swallowed visibly. “Baozhu, I’m only telling you this because we’re close. Don’t think I’m looking down on you.”

Song Baozhu’s face darkened instantly.

When a woman says “I’m not judging,” it usually means she is. And she hated being looked down on more than anything else.

Maybe it was her deep-rooted insecurity, but she couldn’t stand being called poor or uncultured—especially if someone dared to suggest that Song Youyou was doing better than her.

“Hmph! Song Youyou is just a parentless stray. Her good days won’t last!”

That damn Song Youyou! How dare she deliberately bring fancy food to flaunt in front of her and favor an outsider like Wen Xiaorou? She must’ve done it to embarrass her!

Fuming, Baozhu lost her appetite. She packed up her lunch and stormed off toward the local “Educated Youth Office.”

This was a newly formed government office established to support the national “Send Young People to the Countryside” movement. It handled all administrative work for relocating youths to rural areas as laborers.

The moment she entered the office, she shouted, “I want to report someone! There’s someone with no job who refuses to go to the countryside and take part in labor construction! That’s capitalist behavior!”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Song Baozhu felt immensely satisfied.

This wasn’t her fault—it was Song Youyou who brought this on herself.

She was just a cast-off from the family, a wild girl with no parents. She should’ve been crying her eyes out every day in misery. But instead, she made her look bad and made everyone look down on her!

She couldn’t wait a single day longer. She had to report her now—have her dragged off to the countryside to do the hardest, dirtiest work.

Hmph. Let’s see how Song Youyou cries then!