Chapter 010

School Office.

Lin Xiaohan sat at the desk, still waiting for someone to show up and enroll.

Chu Xia, looking as carefree as ever, sat down beside him, stretched out her arms in a big yawn, then slumped over the desk and promptly fell asleep.

“…”

Lin Xiaohan couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.

When Chu Xia finally woke up from her nap, it was nearly time for the afternoon shift in the fields.

She stretched her arms again, looked out the window as she gathered her thoughts, then turned to Lin Xiaohan with a dazed look and asked, “Anyone come to register?”

Lin Xiaohan didn’t want to admit that he’d ended up being the butt of the joke.

But after a silent moment, arms crossed, he finally muttered, “No.”

Still groggy, Chu Xia responded mostly on instinct, mumbling, “Still acting all smug when no one even came…”

Her mouth moved faster than her brain. Once the words were out, her mind caught up, and she quickly added with a smile, “Oh, I wasn’t talking about you.”

Lin Xiaohan: “…”

He stared at her and asked, “Tell me—how did you know no one would come to sign up?”

Chu Xia pursed her lips and didn’t answer right away.

She thought to herself: if she just explained it verbally, it’d only take a few sentences. But if she showed him instead, it would naturally give her more time to spend with him.

So she stood up and said, “Come with me.”

As she spoke, she slung her bag over her shoulder, turned to look at Lin Xiaohan, and waited for him to follow.

Lin Xiaohan stared back at her for a moment, grabbed his own bag, and stood up.

He stepped closer to her, narrowing the space between them. With his eyes fixed on hers, he asked, “You seem so eager to partner up with me—what exactly are you planning?”

All morning, she hadn’t lifted a finger. He’d assumed she was just being lazy, planning to let him do all the work and then reap the rewards.

But now he saw that wasn’t it. She had been waiting—for him to fail, to realize he needed her, to ask for her help—so she could naturally join in.

She could’ve easily gone to recruit students on her own. But she insisted on doing it together with him. Why?

Because Lin Xiaohan was tall, his gaze was a bit intimidating. Chu Xia felt the pressure, but she forced a smile and said, “You’re so suspicious! I’m just a silly girl who only thinks about romance—what could I possibly be scheming? I just think, since the brigade entrusted this task to us, we should work together to do it well. I told you this morning your method wouldn’t work, but you didn’t believe me. Now, if I just say it again, you still won’t believe me. So I thought I’d take you out to see for yourself.”

Lin Xiaohan replied, “I can go see for myself and figure out the problem on my own.”

Chu Xia: “…”

Lin Xiaohan added, “And don’t think you can just sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor. If I do all the work recruiting students, the brigade cadres will know exactly who did what. You think your reputation for being hardworking and reliable will stay intact? Think again. I’m the last person who’s going to take a loss here.”

Lin Xiaohan said, “So stop playing those little mind games with me.”

Chu Xia: “…”

Lin Xiaohan stared at Chu Xia in silence for a while, then asked again, “So what’s your real plan?”

Chu Xia felt like she was starting to sweat under his gaze.

After thinking for a bit, she quietly let out a breath and said, “I’m tired. I don’t want to keep following Han Ting around anymore. But he still comes to me for everything. It’s really annoying. I want him to dislike me—so much that he’ll stay far away. He’s kind and righteous to everyone else, but you’re the only one he can’t stand. So I thought…”

Lin Xiaohan: “…”

His expression grew darker and more intense.

Chu Xia, feeling the pressure of his gaze, clamped her lips shut and didn’t dare say more.

Then Lin Xiaohan suddenly gave a cold laugh, turned away, and walked out.

Chu Xia watched him leave, and the tension in her body instantly melted as she let out a long, exhausted sigh.

This was really getting tricky.

Was there seriously no one else in the world who could neutralize Han Ting’s “magnetic field”?

Maybe she really should look for someone else…

Chu Xia was still feeling discouraged when she suddenly heard a voice from the doorway: “Come on, what are you just standing there for?”

She looked up and saw Lin Xiaohan had come back.

Realizing quickly, she responded with an “Okay!” and hurried to catch up with him.

They stepped outside the courtyard to lock the gate.

Lin Xiaohan said, “I’m not interested in being your friend, talking about feelings, or solving your problems. I just want to save time and get this done. And, for the record, I’d be more than happy to make Han Ting uncomfortable along the way.”

Chu Xia nodded. “I get it.”

Then she added reassuringly, “Don’t worry—I won’t drag you down at work.”

As she fastened the lock and pulled out the key, Lin Xiaohan took it and said, “Then don’t be so cryptic and roundabout. You’re just wasting time. Just tell me straight—why hasn’t anyone come to register?”

Chu Xia didn’t play games this time.

Looking at Lin Xiaohan, she said, “We need to look at this from two angles. First, from the kids’ perspective. Take you, for example—did you want to go to school when you were little?”

Lin Xiaohan looked back at her and said, “Of course. What kind of future can an illiterate person have?”

Chu Xia gave a slightly awkward smile. “Well, you’re in the minority. Most kids don’t want to go to school—they just want to play. Like the ones we all know: Han Ting, Chaozi, and Guogai. They just wanted to roam the alleys. Going to school felt like torture to them. They only went because their families forced them, and they’d skip school every few days to go run wild all over Beijing.”

Lin Xiaohan: “Go on.”

Chu Xia continued, “Second, from the parents’ point of view. In the city, sending kids to school is as normal as eating and drinking water. Even if the family’s poor, they’ll figure out a way to send their kids. But in the countryside, it’s different. Every family has lots of kids, and to them, kids are labor. By the time they’re four or five, they’re already expected to help out. Most of these families are very poor—they have kids to help work the land, not because they want them to succeed. To them, schooling costs money and offers no real return, so it’s not something they consider. Before the founding of the country, poor villagers had no access to education. After the revolution, schools were opened for literacy campaigns, but not many people attended. And then with the Cultural Revolution, the schools shut down again. After all that back and forth, it’s no surprise no one’s eager to send their kids to school now. Of course, there are exceptions—but not many.”

Lin Xiaohan turned to look at her. “That’s a solid argument. You’ve really thought this through.”

Chu Xia grinned. “My brain isn’t all filled with romance and fluff anymore.”

Lin Xiaohan had already noticed that.

If she were still as clueless and naïve as before, he never would’ve agreed to work with her.

Everything she just said was logical and well-supported, so Lin Xiaohan was willing to keep discussing things with her.

After going over the reality of the situation, the two of them brainstormed some strategies for recruiting students.

There wasn’t any especially effective approach. The only option was to patiently talk to people and try their best to change minds and attitudes—to help them understand the value of education.

With a rough plan in place, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan set off to find school-age children in the village.

These kids weren’t in school, and they were too young to work, so they naturally banded together and wandered the village.

Usually the older ones looked after the younger ones, hanging around while gathering pigweed, firewood, or even collecting manure. Some were herding pigs or sheep.

The forage and firewood they collected could be used at home or turned in to the production team for work points credited to their family.

Same with tending livestock—if they were watching the team’s pigs or sheep, they could earn points too.

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan found a group of kids near a small stream in the village.

There were around a dozen of them. The oldest looked about eight or nine, and the youngest just three or four.

They were all playing in the mud by the stream, wearing straw hats made of woven willow twigs.

The boys were throwing mud balls, shaping tanks and thatched houses out of mud, while the girls were making little mud dolls with braided hair. Their hands, faces, and clothes were covered in mud.

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan approached and greeted them.

The girls giggled shyly and didn’t respond.

A couple of the boys, bolder and more mischievous, looked at them and asked, “Are you here to play with us?”

Chu Xia smiled. “Not exactly.”

Lin Xiaohan followed up, “This morning, Captain Liang announced over the loudspeaker that our brigade’s elementary school will reopen this year, and everyone can go to school. Did you hear it?”

Worried that his own explanation might be unclear or ineffective, he had specifically gone over the enrollment announcement with Liang Youtian so Liang could deliver it himself.

A dozen or so children responded, some louder than others: “We heard it.”

Chu Xia followed up, “Then why haven’t any of you gone to register for school?”

Their answers were exactly what Chu Xia had anticipated.

The two mischievous boys, as lively as monkeys, replied, “Who wants to go to school? We’re not stupid.”

What could be more fun than playing with mud?

Going to school meant learning, following rules, and even getting hit on the palms by the teacher.

Lin Xiaohan looked at them and said, “Not going to school is what’s really foolish. Reading and learning make you smarter and help you understand the world. That way, you won’t be tricked or bullied.”

One boy raised his fist. “I’ve got this—nobody dares bully me.”

The other kids burst out laughing. One added, “He’s really good at fighting…”

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan talked to the children for half an hour without getting a single positive response.

Then they went to find two more groups of kids—same result.

After meeting with three groups of children, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan turned their attention to the adults.

Naturally, they didn’t bother those who were working. Instead, they roamed the village looking for people who couldn’t work due to old age or poor health.

Of course, they avoided those too weak to move, simply sitting against walls in the sun.

They looked for people gathered chatting, stitching shoes, doing needlework, or squatting over improvised checkerboards playing games with pebbles.

But even after meeting two groups of such people, they got the same response.

Everyone just waved them off: “We don’t know anything about that. Go ask someone else.”

They were dismissed before the conversation could even start.

Although they’d prepared themselves mentally, it was still discouraging.

In the warm glow of the setting sun, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan walked along the path back to the Educated Youth compound.

Chu Xia turned to look at him and asked, “Let’s head back for dinner first, then go house to house afterward?”

Lin Xiaohan gave a grunt of agreement. “In the end, it’s the parents who decide.”

Chu Xia thought for a moment. “These people have lived like this for generations. It’s not easy to change their thinking with just a few words. This is way harder than we imagined.”

Lin Xiaohan had sensed this too.

But he didn’t voice any discouragement. He simply said, “If there’s a problem, we solve it. No matter what, we have to recruit students and open the school. I’m not going back to the fields to fling manure.”

Chu Xia gave him a long look. “You’re not even pretending. Aren’t you afraid I’ll report you to the brigade leader?”

Lin Xiaohan chuckled without a care. “Not at all. They trust my character.”

Chu Xia: “…”

What character?

Back at the Educated Youth compound, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan made dinner together.

Their mouths didn’t rest either—they discussed all sorts of persuasive arguments they could use to convince the parents to send their children to school.

After dinner and doing the dishes, they left the kitchen just as the others were returning from the fields.

Just like at noon, Chu Xia avoided their eyes and walked straight into the dormitory.

She and Lin Xiaohan planned to rest for a bit, then wait until everyone had finished dinner and was more relaxed before going door to door to talk about school.

At this point, she no longer cared what Han Ting and the others thought of her.

In fact, she hoped Han Ting would be annoyed with her and never speak to her again. Otherwise, he’d keep treating her like his little sister and pushing her to make sacrifices in the name of righteousness.

Inside the dorm, Chu Xia sat by the bed, lost in thought about the enrollment issue.

In the original novel, recruiting students was also part of the plot. She had given the opportunity to be a teacher to Su Yun. After brigade leader Liang Youtian approved, Su Yun and Lin Xiaohan began their enrollment efforts.

Due to their poor relationship, Su Yun and Lin Xiaohan worked separately.

And just like now, they faced the same difficulties.

Su Yun hadn’t adapted to rural life and didn’t know how to communicate with the locals. She couldn’t even hold a proper conversation, so this task became a real headache for her.

Especially when she saw that Lin Xiaohan had already recruited some students—her pressure doubled.

So she went to Han Ting for help, and Han Ting, ever gallant, stepped in and solved the problem for her.

Han Ting didn’t enjoy school and scoffed at the idea of being a model student. The villagers weren’t particularly fond of him either. But recruiting students? Easy. He just said a few words at the villagers’ homes, nothing special, and the parents all nodded and agreed to send their kids to school.

That’s the power of the male lead—he could effortlessly accomplish whatever he wanted.

Chu Xia took a deep breath and flopped back on the bed.

Lying there, thinking about the novel, she suddenly remembered her face.

She stretched her arm back into the bedding and dug out a mirror.

Holding the mirror above her while lying down, she looked at her reflection.

She stared for a moment—then froze.

Was it just her imagination, or did her face look a little clearer?

The lighting in the room was dim, so it should’ve looked even blurrier.

She suddenly sat up and went to the window. Under the fading daylight, she looked again in the mirror.

It wasn’t an illusion. Her face was definitely clearer.

She couldn’t help but feel a rush of happiness, her eyes and lips curving with joy.

Before, she hadn’t even been able to see her own expressions in the mirror. But now, she could see herself smile.

Her heart began to race uncontrollably.

Chu Xia pressed her lips together and thought—Getting close to Lin Xiaohan really is working.