Chapter 013

In the kitchen—

Lin Xiaohan was sitting at the dining table, eating.

Chaozi was scooping grain from a sack and pouring it out for Chu Xia.

Both Chaozi and Chu Xia had emotionless faces.

Once the grain was measured and given, Chaozi turned and left.

He exited the kitchen and returned to the boys’ dormitory, where everyone else was gathered.

Han Ting sat at the edge of his bed, brows furrowed, face gloomy. He stayed silent for a long time, clearly trying to suppress his anger.

Eventually, as he calmed down a little, he looked up at Guogai and asked in a low voice, “The steamed buns we ate last night—were they all Chu Xia’s?”

Guogai hung his head and gave a slight nod. “Yeah.”

Han Ting gritted his teeth in fury and, trying to hold back, asked again, “Why did you eat hers? Didn’t I say at lunch that she’s especially sensitive right now and won’t let anything slide? Didn’t I say that?!”

Guogai shrank back, mumbling, “We didn’t wash the grain properly when grinding the flour. The buns we made were full of fine sand and grit—totally inedible. So we used hers to get through the meal. We always planned to return them. Who knew she’d go off the rails over something like this…”

Han Ting lifted his foot, ready to kick him, but Guogai instinctively dodged back.

Li Qiao, not one to abandon her own, stepped forward to stop Han Ting from continuing.

“Han Ting,” she said, “don’t take it out on Guogai. The idea was mine. I told them not to tell you. I put our buns in Chu Xia’s basket on purpose—to let her know we weren’t just taking without returning. We even agreed to explain everything to her at night. But she came back so late, we were already asleep… Didn’t get a chance before she caused that scene.”

Han Ting forced himself to rein in his temper.

No matter what happened, he wouldn’t blame the girls.

He looked at Li Qiao and said, “You don’t have to blame yourself. It was my fault for not handling the flour properly. Usually, between all of us, there’s no clear boundary—sharing food has never been a big deal. Chu Xia used to be okay with that too…”

He paused at that and didn’t continue.

The room fell silent for a moment. Then Gu Yuzhu suddenly spoke up, “Is it because she’s been hanging around Lin Xiaohan that she’s gotten so selfish and petty? She went out with him last night and came back super late.”

Han Ting took a deep breath, trying hard not to lose his temper again.

He didn’t respond to Gu Yuzhu’s comment, clearly unwilling to discuss this further. Instead, he simply said, “From now on, none of you are to touch anything of hers. And don’t bother trying to talk her down either. Let her be, let her do what she wants.”

Gu Yuzhu muttered under her breath, “Getting that close to Lin Xiaohan… she’s bound to regret it sooner or later…”

---

In the kitchen—

Chu Xia accepted the grain Chaozi gave her, but the anger in her chest hadn’t faded. She couldn’t shake the worry that her grain, flour, or buns might be stolen again. So she started looking around the kitchen.

But the few simple houses at the commune didn’t offer anywhere to hide things.

The cupboard had carved doors, but the doors were old and broken, with nowhere to attach a lock. The rest of the kitchen was even less secure.

After thinking it over, Chu Xia went behind the stove and pulled out a few strands of rice straw.

Her plan was to tightly bind the sack of grain with the straw, tying it in a dead knot. Then she’d thread the straw through the holes in the cupboard doors and tie those shut too.

This way, if the straw was broken, she’d know someone had touched her things.

She finished binding the grain sack but didn’t tie the cupboard shut just yet—

Because she still needed the coarse flour inside to steam buns. Otherwise, she’d have nothing for breakfast.

Chu Xia went to the stove to grab a mixing bowl and began preparing to knead dough.

Just as she picked up the bowl, she suddenly heard Lin Xiaohan speak from behind her at the table.

“Hey.”

She turned around, wondering what snide comment he was about to make.

But he gestured toward the table and said, “There’s extra—borrow it for breakfast. Don’t delay work.”

Chu Xia froze, blinking in surprise, thinking she must’ve misheard.

In front of him, steam was still rising from a bowl of freshly steamed buns.

Was Lin Xiaohan… actually offering her buns to eat?

Was this real?

She stood there stunned, unmoving.

Lin Xiaohan got up, picked up the bowl, and said, “If you’re not eating, I’ll take it back. But hurry up. Don’t slow me down at work. We still haven’t made progress on recruitment.”

Chu Xia snapped out of it and quickly stepped forward to take the bowl from his hands.

She didn’t let him take it back. Looking up at him, she said, “I’ll eat it.”

She needed excuses and opportunities to get closer to him anyway.

Now that he was offering her one, of course she had to take it!

Lin Xiaohan let go of the bowl.

Chu Xia held it carefully, then hesitantly asked, “Can I borrow a little pickled vegetable too?”

Lin Xiaohan: “…”

He let out a cold snort. “You really know how to push your luck.”

Chu Xia just grinned at him. “Then never mind.”

She sat down, lowered her head, and started chewing the bun.

But by the second bite, a new bowl appeared on the table in front of her.

In it was a small spoonful of soy-braised beans and a thin strip of dried radish.

Chu Xia lifted her gaze from the bowl—right into Lin Xiaohan’s.

He looked at her and said bluntly, “You’ll pay me back.”

With her mouth full of bun, Chu Xia smiled at him and mumbled, “Okay.”

Lin Xiaohan didn’t say another word. He packed up his own dishes and left first.

Chu Xia sat at the table, devouring the bun in large bites, trying not to waste time. She didn’t dwell on the stolen bun incident anymore—after all, work was more important.

Just as she was finishing the last bite of her steamed bun and the final fermented soybean, the curtain at the door was suddenly lifted from outside. Turning her head, she saw Su Yun walk in.

Having just gone through a commotion, Chu Xia naturally didn’t greet her.

She withdrew her gaze and continued eating her bun and soybeans, planning to finish quickly and head to the school. But Su Yun came straight up to her and sat down directly across from her.

Chu Xia lifted her eyes to glance at Su Yun, unsure what she was up to.

Su Yun didn’t bother with any pleasantries and got straight to the point:
“Chu Xia, you’ve misunderstood Han Ting. He had no idea about the steamed buns last night. It’s my fault—I didn’t stop them in time. Please don’t blame Han Ting; if you need to blame someone, blame me. After you and Lin Xiaohan left last night, Han Ting was really worried about you. The way he treats you is different from the way he treats us. You and he are like siblings, while we’re just acquaintances, so he’s more polite with us. I really can’t bear to see your relationship fall apart over something like this.”

“You just can’t let go of that chance to become a teacher, can you?”
Chu Xia swallowed the last bite of her bun and beans, then looked straight at Su Yun and said bluntly.

Su Yun froze, momentarily speechless. “Chu Xia, how can you think that? This has nothing to do with being a teacher. I just don’t want to see Han Ting so upset, and I don’t want you to regret hurting him like this in the future. After all, you two share over ten years of history.”

“I won’t regret it,” Chu Xia’s tone turned sharp. “And please, stop pestering me. You just want me to make up with Han Ting and listen to him so I’ll give up the teacher’s position for you. Let me make it clear to you now—give up that hope. It’s absolutely not going to happen.”

Su Yun’s face turned red, then pale. She held her breath, her voice soft and gentle:
“People see the world as they are inside. Maybe that’s why you think I’m like you. But I’m not as awful as you imagine. You take care of yourself.”

With that, she stood up and left without lingering.

Watching Su Yun fling the curtain aside as she exited, Chu Xia suddenly understood Lin Xiaohan’s joy—there was a certain satisfaction in speaking bluntly without mincing words.

Feeling much lighter, she cleaned up her dishes, tied up the cupboard door with straw, and then decided to move her food stash to the dorm and hide it under the bed.

Once everything was secured, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed to the school.

Worried that Lin Xiaohan would criticize her for dragging behind and wasting time, Chu Xia broke into a run as soon as she left the courtyard.

Of course, part of it was also her wanting to spend more time with Lin Xiaohan—to absorb some of his powerful energy.

If anything, yesterday proved how helpful his presence was. After spending the whole day with him, not only had her reflection in the mirror become clearer, but when she argued with Han Ting earlier, the words she wanted to say came out smoothly, without hesitation.

She thought to herself: As long as she absorbed enough of Lin Xiaohan’s magnetic energy, she would eventually break free of the novel’s original constraints on her.

And when that happened, she’d surely be able to see her face clearly in the mirror.

With that motivation, Chu Xia ran all the way to the school and only stopped once she reached the classroom.

The first thing she did—still out of breath—was greet Lin Xiaohan: “I’m here.”

Lin Xiaohan didn’t care what state she was in. He immediately stood up from behind the desk and said,
“Let’s go. We’ll make another round outside.”

Chu Xia: “…”

She hadn’t even caught her breath yet.

But she didn’t complain—just slowed her breathing and followed him out.

Based on their home visits the previous night, it was unlikely anyone would come register at the school today, so they couldn’t just sit around waiting. They had to take initiative.

Not wanting to be accused of slowing him down, Chu Xia quickly got into work mode.

She stayed right beside Lin Xiaohan as they made their rounds through the various production teams.

The same people weren’t working as yesterday, and the atmosphere hadn’t changed much.

Their tasks were similar, and their conversations were still the usual idle gossip—nothing major, just local family affairs.

They couldn’t get much traction talking about education or schooling.

So Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan tried to blend into their conversations instead, hoping to better understand the families and tailor their approach accordingly.

Tanxi Brigade was large and densely populated, and once the gossip started, it seemed never-ending.

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan listened carefully, mentally filtering out the useful information. Worried they’d forget, Chu Xia even took a notebook out of her backpack to jot things down.

An older woman chuckled and asked,
“Taking notes while chatting about home life?”

Chu Xia smiled and explained,
“We’re going to be living here long-term now—this is our home too. The more we understand the families here, the better we’ll be able to get along with everyone.”

It made sense.

Seeing how willing Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan were to listen and take notes, the villagers opened up even more, spilling all kinds of personal stories and household details.

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan chatted with them until close to noon.

When the sun reached its peak, everyone stood up and headed home, and the two of them followed suit, returning to the youth station.

On the way back, they passed by a small shimmering lake.

At the edge of the lake lay a fallen tree, partially hanging over the water.

Lined up along the tree trunk were six or seven children.

The oldest among them appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen, and she had a baby strapped to her back who was clearly too young to walk.

When Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan reached the lake, they paused.

The older girl was telling a story to the younger children. After listening for a moment, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan realized she was recounting the tale of Meng Jiangnv Weeps at the Great Wall.

Not long after, the story came to an end. The oldest girl stood up and said, “Alright, that’s it for today’s story. It’s almost noon—let’s head home. I’ll tell you another story tomorrow.”

One by one, the children jumped down from the tree. Some picked up bundles of firewood and strapped them to their backs, while others slung wicker baskets full of wild vegetables over their shoulders.

A child with firewood on his back asked, “Sister Yanzi, what story are you telling us tomorrow?”

The eldest girl replied, “Tomorrow, I’ll tell ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf.’”

The child who asked groaned, “I’ve heard that a hundred times already!”

Another chimed in, “Me too! A hundred times!”

After their chorus of groans, another child asked, “Why hasn’t the village played any movies yet? Ever since the New Year, not even one. The commune’s propaganda troupe hasn’t come to perform either.”

The eldest girl explained, “It’s spring planting season now—everyone’s busy. There’s no time for movies or performances. Once things settle down a bit, I’m sure there will be some.”

As the children chatted, they walked straight toward Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan.

Faced with these two city folk, the children instinctively grew shy. They quickly stepped aside and took a wide arc to go around them.

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan didn’t recognize these kids, so naturally, they didn’t greet them.

Once the children had passed, the two continued walking.

Neither of them spoke.

About a hundred meters down the road, they suddenly said at the same time, “I just thought of an idea.”

They looked at each other, once again speaking in unison, “You go first.”

“…”

Before either of them could continue, they heard a girl’s voice call out, “Comrades!”

They turned around simultaneously—it was the same girl who had been telling stories by the lake earlier.

Seeing them turn, she hurried over at a small run.

Before Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan could speak, she asked somewhat nervously, “Are you… enrolling students?”

Hearing this, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan nodded in unison. “Yes. Are you interested in signing up?”

The girl bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, then said, “My family can’t afford to send me to school, but I really want to learn. I want to be literate, like you. So I wanted to ask… if I don’t need textbooks or a student record, and I just quietly sit in the classroom and listen, would that be allowed?”

In her eyes, Chu Xia saw a deep and burning desire.

She could easily imagine how much courage it must’ve taken for the girl to ask that question.

Chu Xia didn’t respond right away and instead turned to look at Lin Xiaohan.

Without a hint of hesitation, Lin Xiaohan replied, “I’m sorry, but no.”

The light in the girl’s eyes immediately dimmed.

She didn’t press further. Instead, she forced a faint smile and said, “Oh… sorry to bother you.”

Then she turned and walked away. The baby on her back, however, kept glancing over his shoulder.

Chu Xia watched her leave, filled with both sorrow and reluctance.