Chapter 20

Meng Yinyin angrily opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling of the Educated Youth dormitory, frowning.

What was happening to her lately? Why had she been having such strange dreams for several days?

What was even stranger was that although the dreams seemed absurd individually, when Meng Yinyin tried to piece them together, it felt like there was a main storyline. The separate dream fragments seemed to revolve around a central theme.

She racked her brain trying to connect all the dreams she had had lately, but to no avail. She couldn’t find any clue that would lead to the truth.

Could it be that she was overthinking, and these were just random dreams?

In the end, Meng Yinyin could only shake her head and put the matter aside for now.

After all, the pressing issue was her situation with Lu Chen. This was crucial for her staying safely in the Nanjiao Brigade!

When the work time came in the afternoon, Meng Yinyin reluctantly went to the work site, no matter how awkward she felt.

When she arrived, Lu Chen was already there, as usual.

But this time, he was different. He wasn’t working in the field but was standing by the field side.

Seeing his back, Meng Yinyin hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to approach.

However, Lu Chen had sharp hearing and quickly noticed her footsteps.

After a brief pause, he turned around to look at her.

They were separated by a distance. One was looking directly at the other, while the other avoided eye contact, clearly too embarrassed to meet his gaze.

In the end, it was Lu Chen who spoke first.

He asked, “Educated Youth Meng, are you hungry?”

Meng Yinyin paused for a moment before looking up at Lu Chen, clearly surprised by his sudden question. She hadn’t expected him to ask her something like that.

Why was he asking if she was hungry? She had just eaten lunch a little over an hour ago. Although she hadn’t eaten much, it wasn’t as if she was starving already.

Wait, could it be…?

It seemed like she had realized something, as Meng Yinyin hesitated for a second before carefully nodding.

“I’m a little hungry.”

She knew she was lying, but she was really craving meat!

Right after she said that, she saw Lu Chen relax as if he had been holding his breath. Then, he lowered his head and took something wrapped in a handkerchief from his pocket.

Once he took it out, he carefully unfolded the handkerchief and spread it open in his palm.

And then, Meng Yinyin saw the familiar strips of jerky.

It was jerky! Jerky!

At that moment, Meng Yinyin felt like her eyes were shining.

Seeing her staring at the jerky in his hand without moving, Lu Chen relaxed even more, finally feeling at ease.

“Here, eat it. If it’s not enough, there’s more at home.”

Actually, he wanted to say that besides the jerky, there were plenty of other things to eat at his house. If she wanted, she could even go over there to take a look.

But saying that seemed a bit too forward, almost like something a rogue would say.

So, Lu Chen chose to swallow those words.

At this point, Meng Yinyin’s attention was completely focused on the jerky in Lu Chen’s hand. She didn’t notice his expression, so she missed out on a major piece of good news for her.

However, after the initial joy, she remembered how Lu Chen had silently “rejected” her earlier in the morning. If she reached out and took the jerky now, wouldn’t that make her look like she didn’t have any pride?

But that thought lasted less than two seconds before Meng Yinyin pushed it away.

What pride!

It’s not like she has no money. At most, she can just pay Lu Chen for whatever she eats!

Humph, besides, he was the one who brought it out himself. Who knew, maybe he was trying to apologize for what happened this morning?

If she didn’t give Lu Chen this opportunity, wouldn’t that make her seem heartless?

So, after thinking this through, Meng Yinyin quickly convinced herself.

Of course, she had to put on a face that said, “I’m only eating because you offered,” before she reluctantly reached out to take two pieces of jerky from Lu Chen.

“Don’t you want more?” Lu Chen raised an eyebrow when he saw she only took a little, instinctively asking.

Meng Yinyin: “…!!!”

You said this yourself!

She glared at Lu Chen angrily, then ruthlessly grabbed all the jerky from his hand, making sure to justify herself.

“You’re the one who told me to take all of it!”

Lu Chen, with his good temper, simply nodded in response without any signs of regret.

In fact, when he saw Meng Yinyin holding the jerky, bundled with the handkerchief, close to her chest like a little hamster, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

It was as if, as long as Meng Yinyin was happy, he too was happy.

He turned away, hiding the small smile on his face.

“I’m going to work.”

After giving the food to Meng Yinyin, Lu Chen didn’t hesitate any longer and returned to the fields.

Meng Yinyin, with her eyes still on him, moved her lips as if she wanted to ask him what he really thought, and what giving her the jerky meant. Was it just an apology for what happened this morning?

Or had he already decided to be with her, starting now, and would he take care of her?

But before she could ask, Lu Chen was already far off.

She deflated, knowing she would have to wait until he came back from work to ask him.

However, what she didn’t know was that during the time she waited for Lu Chen, news about her quickly spread through most of the Nanjiao Brigade.

No one really cared where the gossip started from anymore because everyone was focused on the content of the news.

“What? I thought that Educated Youth Meng had high standards, but who knew she would end up liking Lu Chen?”

“My goodness, doesn’t she know about Lu Chen’s past? How dare she get involved with him?”

“Well, I didn’t know she could make clothes. I wonder how they turn out. Don’t tell me they’re as messy as her other work.”

“I’m just curious about when they’re going to get married. But I don’t think that Educated Youth Meng is the type to settle down. She’s probably just playing with that Lu Chen kid.”

As for the rumor that “Meng Yinyin gave Lu Chen a piece of clothing, and the two might be dating,” some people were eagerly watching, some were skeptical, and others were pessimistic.

But one thing was clear: almost everyone who heard the news didn’t believe in the relationship between Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen.

Somehow, the news even reached the brigade leader’s ears.

When the brigade leader heard it, his heart skipped a beat.

He never expected a rumor like this to spread about Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen.

Yes, in the brigade leader’s mind, this was definitely a rumor!

After all, one of them was a cold, emotionless man who cared only about his work points and had no interest in romance, and the other was an Educated Youth who could barely afford a meal. How could they be anything other than teacher and student? Where would they find the time to mess around with relationships?

In the simple-minded brigade leader’s view, survival was the most important thing. Before addressing the basic needs of food and warmth, no one could afford to think about anything else.

Although he firmly believed that Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen were completely innocent, rumors had even reached his ears. He felt it was necessary to give them a warning, urging them to be cautious or at least not let these matters bother them too much.

Moreover, when thinking about Meng Yinyin, the brigade leader suddenly remembered that he hadn’t checked her work points in a long time. He had been too busy recently and hadn’t had time to look at the work point records.

Now that he had a moment, he went to find Song Yue to ask about Meng Yinyin’s situation.

When Song Yue heard the question, his face immediately showed an awkward expression.

Seeing this, the brigade leader felt something was wrong.

Sure enough, the next moment, Song Yue spoke: “Brigade leader, during this period, Educated Youth Meng’s work points have been zero…”

This was, of course, due to Song Yue’s constant surveillance of Meng Yinyin’s work site, ensuring she couldn’t slip by and avoid her duties.

At the same time, Song Yue was well aware that Meng Yinyin was completely indifferent to him, but what did that have to do with him? When she had rejected him in front of so many people, did she ever think about him?

Therefore, this situation was entirely Meng Yinyin’s fault!

The brigade leader, of course, had no knowledge of the feud between Meng Yinyin and Song Yue. Upon seeing the long string of zeros behind Meng Yinyin’s name, he felt as though he was about to faint from anger!

How could someone be so stubborn and difficult to deal with?!

No, he had to educate her properly!

With that thought, the brigade leader grabbed the work point book and angrily headed toward the work site where Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen were.

Uncertain whether it was Meng Yinyin’s sharp intuition, she felt like some danger was approaching. Frightened, she dared not sleep and quickly got up, calling Lu Chen over.

Lu Chen, worried that something might be wrong, rushed over from the fields.

As soon as he reached Meng Yinyin’s side, the brigade leader arrived in a hurry.

He saw Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen—one was standing by the field with mud on his legs, clearly having just finished working, while the other was standing clean and neat on the shore, looking as though she hadn’t done anything!

The brigade leader checked his watch and realized it was already five o’clock, with only half an hour left until the end of the workday.

Yet Meng Yinyin hadn’t done anything!

Was she wasting all his efforts?!

The brigade leader was furious and finally confirmed one thing: Meng Yinyin truly couldn’t be helped.

“Educated Youth Meng! What are you doing? You’ve had such a long time and such a good opportunity. Why didn’t you learn farming from Lu Chen? Instead, you’re slacking off. You’re not thinking about the brigade, at least think about yourself!”

The brigade leader was heartbroken.

“Do you know that without work points, there’s no food, no way to eat, and going hungry could even kill you!”

Meng Yinyin was completely shocked by the brigade leader’s sudden arrival. She was so startled that she didn’t even have time to process his words.

Before she could respond, the brigade leader continued: “What is wrong with you? Why are you dating during work hours? You… you… what are you thinking? Do you really think dating is more important than work points?”

If she were sure the brigade leader wasn’t this angry, Meng Yinyin might have honestly nodded and replied, “To me, dating is definitely more important than work points.”

After all, she needed “someone” to survive in the countryside!

But afraid that the brigade leader would faint from rage if she spoke the truth, Meng Yinyin could only hang her head, acting embarrassed.

Lu Chen, standing to the side, finally understood what was happening. His brows furrowed as he asked the brigade leader in a deep voice.

“Brigade leader, about Educated Youth Meng and me…”

He was about to say that things weren’t like that because he wasn’t sure if saying it would harm Meng Yinyin’s reputation.

However, before he could finish, the brigade leader, already upset, interrupted him.

“Don’t ask me how I know. By now, everyone in the brigade probably knows about your situation. You two, you’re something else. You make it so obvious that you’re dating, as if you’re afraid no one will find out!”

What?

Everyone knew about her and Lu Chen’s relationship? How could this happen?!

Meng Yinyin was absolutely certain that only she knew about her situation with Lu Chen, and she did not even told Yu Xiaoyu about it!

What made her even angrier was that she had been rejected by Lu Chen, so who was spreading these rumors?

If others found out that her relationship with Lu Chen had failed and she had been rejected, wouldn’t she be utterly embarrassed?

Fuming, Meng Yinyin felt like her mouth was about to curl up in anger. She wanted nothing more than to catch the person who spread the rumors and tear them apart!

However, after hearing the brigade leader’s words, Lu Chen’s expression darkened. He was thinking more deeply than Meng Yinyin.