Chapter 41

Li Yuechan nodded, thinking that Li Meili, who was ten years younger than her, wasn’t worth arguing with. She reassured, “Aunt, I’m not upset. I’ll just take a walk.”

“Alright, go ahead, but be careful on the road. Don’t go to the back of the mountain—it’s dangerous.”

Li Yuechan responded with a hum and turned away. The corners of her lips curved slightly as she thought to herself—her aunt wasn’t a bad person.

“Meili, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you going to the fields?”

Li Meili wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, looked up at the person who had arrived, and said, “Dongmei, it’s you. Why didn’t you go to the fields either?”

“Oh, my brother came back, so he went in my place and told me to stay home and rest. But I couldn’t sit still, so I thought I’d come out to gather pigweed. What about you?”

Li Meili absentmindedly plucked a foxtail grass and said, “I’m fine.”

“Then let’s go gather pigweed together!”

“I’m not going. You go ahead.”

Li Goudan glanced at Li Meili and said, “Alright then.”

Li Meili wandered aimlessly.

In her past life, she had been dragged into a small grove by a village scoundrel. Fortunately, her eldest brother arrived in time to save her.

But somehow, the news spread, and her reputation was completely ruined.

In the end, she had no choice but to marry that scoundrel.

At first, Li Goudan treated her decently, but before even a year had passed, he grew tired of her and started beating and scolding her.

Later, she even lost the child in her belly.

Her eldest brother and second brother found out and gave Li Goudan a good beating.

But instead of repenting, Li Goudan became even worse.

Then there was her mother-in-law—an absolute miser. Whenever Li Goudan wasn’t around, she abused Li Meili, sometimes even refusing to give her food.

One time, Li Goudan broke her leg. With no way to go on, she ended up jumping into the river.

She never expected that when she woke up, she had returned to the year she was 18.

This year was wonderful—nothing had happened yet, and everything was still as it had been.

However, the only difference was her cousin.

In her past life, her cousin had already died by this time. Later, her third uncle and aunt divorced.

Not long after, her third uncle remarried a widow. After that, she got married herself and didn’t bother asking about her third uncle’s family anymore.

She only heard occasional rumors that her third uncle had a daughter.

As she walked, she kicked at the small stones along the roadside, pondering how she could escape this wretched place.

In her previous life, she had died at the age of 23, yet she had never once left the village.

She had occasionally heard Li Goudan talk about the world outside, and she had always longed to see it for herself.

In three years, the college entrance exam would be reinstated. She could take the test and go to university.

But then she shook her head. She hadn’t even fully grasped junior high school. It had been hard enough for her to get a graduation certificate—how could she possibly pass the exam?

Maybe she could start a small business?

But right now, she had no money and no introduction letter.

What should she do?

As she walked, she suddenly noticed a man chopping wood nearby.

She didn’t think much of it and simply walked around him.

But the next moment, it was as if she had been struck by a pressure point—she froze on the spot. A new plan suddenly formed in her mind!

She turned back and looked at the man’s broad-shouldered figure as he chopped wood, biting her lip.

She remembered this man—he was Xu Guoqing, a sent-down youth in the village. A few years later, he would be the only one among them to pass the college entrance exam. Based on the timeline, he must have just arrived in the village.

If… if…

Her eyes darted as an idea took shape.

“Ah!”

Xu Guoqing was just wondering who had suddenly shout when he looked up and saw someone lying on the ground not far away!

He immediately threw down his axe and sprinted over.

“Hey, hey are you alright?”

Li Meili struggled to lift her head. “I twisted my ankle…”

Xu Guoqing hesitated, stretching out his hand before withdrawing it. “Maybe I should go get someone?”

Li Meili quickly interjected, “No, no, no! I just need to rest for a bit. Could you help me up first?”

Only then did Xu Guoqing extend his hand and help her up from the ground.

Li Meili pointed to a nearby rock. “Uhm, could you help me over there? I’ll just sit and rest for a while.”

Xu Guoqing nodded and supported her as they walked toward the rock.

But just before they reached it, Li Meili’s foot suddenly slipped—

“Thud!”

She fell, dragging Xu Guoqing with her, and both of them tumbled down the small slope together.

Fortunately, the slope wasn’t too steep—just a little over ten meters—but they still rolled down and landed in a heap.

Li Meili winced. This time, her ankle really was sprained. It felt like needles were stabbing into her flesh.

But as she looked at the man who had landed underneath her, the corners of her lips curled up involuntarily.

Xu Guoqing scrambled to get up and quickly helped her up as well. “Sorry, are you okay?”

Tears streamed down Li Meili’s face as she winced in pain. “I’m fine… it’s just my ankle… it really hurts…”

“Oh my, who’s this? In broad daylight, hugging and clinging to each other like that!”

A shrill voice interrupted them.

Xu Guoqing instantly stood up straight. “No, no! Aunt Guilan, don’t misunderstand! This girl sprained her ankle, I was just helping her—”

“Oh, who are you trying to fool? You were holding her in your arms!”

“No, no! That’s not—”

Li Meili looked up at the woman and quickly explained, “Aunt Guilan, please don’t misunderstand. I just accidentally twisted my ankle, and this man was helping me—”

“Pfft, what’s there to misunderstand? My eyes saw everything clear as day. You two aren’t fooling around, are you?”

She then sneered, “Li Meili, aren’t you afraid your grandmother will beat you to death?”

“Aunt Guilan, please don’t say such things! I really just twisted my ankle—”

“Hah! Who’d believe that?” With a dramatic wave of her hand, the woman strutted away.

Inside, Li Meili was secretly delighted.

But on the surface, her tears flowed even harder, like a flood bursting through a dam.

She looked at the man in front of her and sniffled pitifully. “I’m really sorry! I’ll explain everything to everyone.”

With that, she limped away.

Xu Guoqing frowned as he watched her go, a suspicion forming in his mind. Was this deliberate?

But after thinking about it, he shook his head.

He had arrived late to the village because he missed the scheduled departure with the other sent-down youths.

When he got here this morning, he had only met the brigade leader before heading straight to the youth dormitory. He hadn’t even seen any villagers yet.

This girl was clearly a local. It was probably just an accident.

Seeing her limping away, tears still streaming down her face, he felt a little guilty.

“Don’t cry. I’ll explain everything to them.”

Li Meili wiped her tears and nodded repeatedly. “Mm-hmm.”