Chapter 7

The joy on Li Tao’s face seemed to have been doused with a bucket of cold water, leaving the happiness in his chest neither warm nor entirely gone.

He exchanged a glance with Wei Dongming and Lin Kexin, then gave an awkward smile, rubbing the back of his neck, and chose to stay silent. His family, though from the town, was too poor to support so many people, so he had volunteered to come here as a sent-down youth to lighten the burden at home.

He had seen the disdain and contempt in Liu Xuewei’s eyes just now—he had encountered such expressions countless times before, so habitually, he chose to avoid confrontation.

Liu Xuewei, expecting them to ask her name, was frustrated. Li Tao remained silent beside her, and Lin Kexin didn’t even give a glance to her or Wei Dongming, instead talking about going up the mountains to gather mushrooms and hunt.

Annoyed, Liu Xuewei huffed, then crossed her arms around her knees and buried her head, refusing to look at them.

Seeing Lin Kexin and the others chatting animatedly, Li Tao felt uncomfortable sitting next to Liu Xuewei, so he jumped off the ox cart, laughing as he said to Lin Kexin and Wei Dongming,

“I’ll tell you, my favorite thing is hunting in the mountains, and I’m especially good at setting traps there…”

With Li Tao joining, the atmosphere between them became even livelier. Liu Xuewei, still sulking, shifted her bundle behind her, lay down on her side, and sulked…

Chen Hongjun noticed her movement but only shook his head faintly, his expression unreadable.

The ox cart wound its way to Victory Brigade. After returning the ox, Chen Hongjun led the four of them to the sent-down youth dormitory.

“Tomorrow, you don’t have to work. First, get your personal items ready or observe what other sent-down youth are doing. Then go to the brigade office to receive some grain. This grain is lent to you by the brigade and will be paid back with your work points.

Right now, it’s not busy. Everyone has two rest days per month. During harvest, there will be no rest. If you have any questions, come see me or the brigade leader.”

Chen Hongjun explained everything responsibly, and the four of them listened carefully. Even Liu Xuewei, usually haughty, paid attention for once.

“The row ahead is for female sent-down youth; the males live over there.”

Chen Hongjun pointed out the dormitories before leaving.

“All right, rest for today. We’ll deal with anything else tomorrow.”

After he left, Li Tao looked at Lin Kexin’s bundle and offered,

“Lin Comrade, I’ll help you carry that!”

As they walked, chatting and laughing, the group quickly grew closer. Seeing that Lin Kexin was small and slight, Li Tao kindly offered help.

“Come on, let’s carry it for her. It’s getting dark, and the path’s hard to see. She might trip if we don’t.”

Wei Dongming also set down his load and grabbed one side of Lin Kexin’s bundle. The two of them carried it toward the girls’ dorm, leaving her no chance to refuse.

“No, I can—” Lin Kexin began to protest but saw they had already taken several steps. She decided not to be fussy and let them carry it.

“Lin Kexin, I didn’t expect you to be so good at charming men!”

Liu Xuewei, completely ignored, was furious. Watching the two boys busy helping Lin Kexin, her jealousy was impossible to suppress.

“Filthy people see everything as filthy,” Lin Kexin muttered, walking ahead without looking back.

Fuming, Liu Xuewei stomped her feet. It was already past seven in the evening; insects chirped on both sides of the dark road. Seeing the three figures ahead growing farther away, fear overcame her anger, and she shouldered her bundle and ran toward the dormitory.

After thanking Li Tao and Wei Dongming, Lin Kexin entered the dormitory. Sent-down youth returning from work were mostly resting on their kangs, chatting only with those close to them.

The dorm was simple: a row of earthen kangs occupied half the room from east to west, with several wardrobes and tables already holding belongings.

Lin Kexin smiled and nodded to the youth who glanced at her. She found an empty spot by the window, quickly wiped it down with a cloth, and laid out her bedding.

Once her bed was ready, she carried a basin outside to fetch water to wash her hands and face.

When Liu Xuewei walked past with her bundle, she snorted and went inside. Lin Kexin ignored her, continuing her tasks.

By the time she finished and lay down in bed, Liu Xuewei was still tidying her clothes.

“Are you done yet? How long do you plan to keep sorting things? People want to sleep too!”

“Yeah! Tomorrow you don’t work, but we do! Lijie, let’s extinguish the kerosene lamp. Let her fuss all she wants!”

“Turn off the lamp! We’re exhausted!”

Seeing that everyone was ignoring her, Liu Xuewei felt tears welling up. She tried to hold them back, abandoned tidying, and carried her basin outside.

“Look at her pitiful face! Someone might think we’re bullying her!”

“Exactly! She dawdles and blames others! That new girl is already in bed, yet she complains!”

“Forget it. Everyone, let’s just keep quiet.”

The girl called Lijie, Hu Lili, had been here the longest and was helpful, so the female sent-down youth regarded her as the leader. Her words carried weight.

Lin Kexin smirked slightly. In her past life, Liu Xuewei also delayed everyone by tidying up. Back then, she had quickly apologized and helped her, calming the situation.

Lin Kexin didn’t know when she had fallen asleep. After two days and nights on the train, she finally slept soundly until morning.

The female sent-down youth gradually woke up, moving quietly without disturbing those still sleeping.

Lin Kexin got up with them and went to the yard to wash.

“You don’t have to get up early today. New sent-down youth don’t work on their second day,” a round-faced girl with two braids kindly reminded her.

“Mm, I know! Thank you!” Lin Kexin smiled warmly. The girl was Yun Ying, who had helped her in her previous life.

“I’m going to town today to pick up some items that were sent over, so I got up a bit earlier.”

“Do you know the way to town?” Yun Ying asked enthusiastically. She wasn’t a classic beauty, but her gentle manner and dimples when she smiled made her endearing.

“Yes, I asked Chen Hongjun. By the way, my name is Lin Kexin. You can call me Kexin!”

“I’m Yun Ying. Everyone calls me Yingzi!”

Lin Kexin chatted a bit more with Yun Ying, and the two became friends.

Some people, no matter how long you know them, never become close. Others, you can bond with from the very first meeting. It’s all fate.