Chapter 30

Confession

After the police left, the young intellectuals returned to their work in groups of two or three. Zhang Shiye thought for a moment, and while Zhang Heping wasn’t paying attention, he quietly tugged on Xia Wanyang’s sleeve. “Can you step out at noon?”

Xia Wanyang almost couldn’t hide her expression. “Sure, under the old locust tree after lunch?”

Zhang Shiye nodded.

When they returned to the work site, Xia Wanyang was immediately surrounded by a group of people asking what had happened. She honestly told them the whole story.

“You say, these two were really unlucky, huh? On their wedding night, they got bitten by snakes and died—what bad luck!”

“Do you think that Fang Zhaodi, who’s on her period, could have attracted the snakes after they woke up from hibernation because of the smell of blood?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. What woman doesn’t have her period? Nobody’s going to attract venomous snakes!”

Everyone was discussing it vigorously, and Xia Wanyang didn’t interrupt, feeling quite pleased with herself for avenging her past life.

At noon, when she returned to the young intellectuals’ dorm, Xia Wanyang shouted, “I’m not eating, I’ll give Li Xiang my lunch!” and then quickly ran back to her room, locking the door behind her as she entered the space.

She washed away all the sweat, even shampooed her hair. In a hurry, she grabbed a hairdryer to dry it and tied it into a fishtail braid. She was about to change into a dress but worried it might seem too deliberate, so she put back on the same outfit she wore in the morning: a blue shirt and beige pants.

She sniffed herself—no particular smell—but still decided to spray a little perfume just in case. The makeup table in the space was full of cosmetics that Zhang Shiye had prepared for her in her previous life—various kinds, everything she could possibly need.

After checking herself in the mirror, she applied some lip oil to make her lips glossy.

Before leaving, she quickly ate a few dumplings, glanced at the time, and rushed out.

“Li Xiang, do you think your sister’s going to date one of the village lads? Why’s she running out in the middle of the day instead of taking a nap?”

Gu Xiuyuan, eating his meal, gave a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth.

Li Xiang had already been annoyed with Xu Jiaojiao since the morning. First, she had been chattering in front of the police, and now she kept saying things that made others misunderstand. He slammed his chopsticks down onto the table. “Xu Jiaojiao, what’s wrong with you? Your own house is a mess, but you keep staring at my sister. How boring!”

Hearing about her family situation made Xu Jiaojiao feel uneasy. Xia Wanyang might have told Li Xiang, but it seemed unlikely because Xia Wanyang and she weren’t on good terms. However, Li Xiang was a single-minded person, and she was worried that he might figure it out.

Having made up her mind, Xu Jiaojiao stayed silent and lowered her head to eat her meal quietly.

Xia Wanyang was panting as she ran to the spot 20 meters away from the old locust tree.

Breathing heavily, she eagerly scanned the area for Zhang Shiye. When she saw him standing quietly under the tree, an indescribable joy swelled in her heart.

She tried to steady her breathing, but her lips couldn’t help but curve into a sweet smile.

Carefully, Xia Wanyang tiptoed and walked to the other side of the old locust tree, sneaking up behind Zhang Shiye.

She took a deep breath, then suddenly shouted, “Hey!”

Hoping to see the surprised look on Zhang Shiye’s face, reality didn’t quite go as expected. Zhang Shiye seemed to have already anticipated her little prank and wasn’t startled at all.

Zhang Shiye slowly turned around, looking at her helplessly. “I knew when you were three meters away!”

Xia Wanyang pouted, “How did you know?”

What could Zhang Shiye say? Could he admit that he recognized her unique scent?

“It’s nothing, I just heard you walking,” Zhang Shiye said, his ears turning red.

Xia Wanyang looked at him in confusion. “You could hear me walking on tiptoe? Are you a dog? Your hearing is that good!”

Zhang Shiye rubbed his forehead helplessly, and Xia Wanyang continued to tease him. “What do you want from me? Do you want to take off your shirt and show me that you’re actually quite strong?”

Zhang Shiye broke out in a sweat at her bold words, narrowing his eyes. “Xia Wanyang, do you speak like this to other men too?”

After saying that, Zhang Shiye froze. They were only slightly familiar with each other, and he wondered if his words might make her angry.

Xia Wanyang looked at him, her long lashes fluttering. Her beautiful fox-like eyes were dark with a layer of mist, and her expression was one of quiet grievance.

Zhang Shiye was stunned. Was she upset?

He had been sulking all morning, and now she seemed to be the one upset?

Xia Wanyang lowered her head and said nothing, which left Zhang Shiye feeling flustered and unsure of what to do.

“I’m just joking, don’t cry. I was wrong,” he said in a panic.

Xia Wanyang raised her head, “Zhang Shiye, how could you think that of me? In these few days, even the people at the young intellectuals’ point can see that I’m interested in you, and you think I act the same way toward every man? Is that how I appear to you?”

After speaking, she squeezed her hand behind her back and pinched a soft part of her body, so sharply that she almost yelped out loud.

Two hot tears immediately rolled down her face.

Zhang Shiye was stunned, unable to speak for a moment. He had a feeling Xia Wanyang was different from the others, at least she hadn’t been impatient with him. But he had always thought she was only interested in him because his father was the brigade leader—he never imagined she liked him.

No, what did he have? She was so beautiful, gentle, and kind-hearted, living like a little sun. He was just a mere accountant in a rural village—he didn’t deserve her at all.

“Xia Wanyang, don’t joke like that with me. And don’t cry, I’m really sorry for what I said earlier. I didn’t mean it, really!” Zhang Shiye was nervous and didn’t know how to explain himself.

Xia Wanyang secretly rubbed her sore bottom behind her back, looked up at Zhang Shiye, and found that this silly man was still the same as in her past life—always looking at her with such intense eyes, but too afraid to take the next step forward.

“Zhang Shiye, I’m not joking. This is the first time in 18 years that I’ve liked a man. I wouldn’t joke with my reputation. I like you, I liked you the moment I saw you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gotten so close to you. Whether you believe me or not, it’s up to you. Three days from now, I’ll wait here for you. If you come, it means you accept me. If you don’t, I won’t bother you again.”

Then, she silently added in her heart, *But that’s impossible.*

Zhang Shiye opened his mouth as if to say something, but Xia Wanyang stopped him with a gesture of her hand. “Don’t rush to answer. Take your time to think about it.”

After that, she flicked her fishbone braid and walked away without looking back. As she walked about ten meters away, she patted her chest. “Oh my god, I’m so nervous. First confession in two lifetimes!”

Back in the room at the youth station, Xia Wanyang ran to the mountain in the space, calling for Da Zhuang and Cuihua to listen to her talk.

She rambled on about her past life and then talked about her mindset in this life. Da Zhuang, seeing the infatuated look on her face, secretly rolled his eyes multiple times.

Zhang Shiye squatted under the old locust tree, staring ahead with a fixed gaze, as if he had turned into a statue frozen by time.

A question kept circling in his mind: *How could that little girl like me?*

This question made him sink into deep thought, as if he were on drugs, his thoughts floating, but he couldn’t find an answer.

He kept asking himself, *Why?* as though he needed to carve the answer into his bones.

Later, he figured it out: Even if the little girl was just teasing him, what did it matter?

He was willing to be played with by her, as long as he could be with her, whatever happened.

Being confessed to by the person he liked was an unexpected joy for him, the happiest day of his twenty years of life. He was willing to try, even if he was ultimately abandoned. He felt that his life would still be worth it.

After all, having once had something was much better than never having it at all.