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The next morning, she got up just after five o’clock. She took some bread out of the fridge, heated it up, ate it, picked up another suitcase, slung a small bag over her shoulder, and headed out.
When she arrived at the train station, there were already quite a few people there.
Yu Jingjing spotted Zhao Yuan, her best friend from school.
“Jingjing, you’re going to the countryside too?” Zhao Yuan took the initiative to come over.
“Yes.”
Zhao Yuan looked puzzled: “I’m the eldest child at home and don’t have a job, so I have to go down to the countryside. You’re an only child—why do you have to go too?”
Yu Jingjing sighed. “It’s a long story. Let’s talk about it once we’re on the train.”
While they were talking, a young man approached.
“Jingjing.”
Yu Jingjing sized him up and then remembered—Chen Mingxu was the original owner’s fiancé from a childhood arranged marriage. Not long after the original owner’s parents died, Chen’s parents came forward, insisting loudly that Chen Mingxu wasn’t good enough for her. The original owner had been fond of Chen Mingxu but hadn’t gotten to develop the relationship due to their young age. Unable to withstand Chen’s parents’ persistent pressure, the original owner eventually agreed to break off the engagement.
“Jingjing, the break-up was my parents’ decision. They didn’t even consult me.”
“Comrade Chen, whether you know it or not, the engagement is off. I have no regrets. I’m not the original owner, so I don’t have to accept her feelings.”
Even if the original owner were still around, with Chen Mingxu’s snobbish parents, being with him wouldn’t necessarily have been a good thing.
“But Jingjing, I don’t want to break the engagement.”
“Comrade Chen, that’s your business. I’m a single woman now and don’t want to get entangled with you.”
Having said that, she turned away and went back to talking with Zhao Yuan.
Once everyone was gathered, the young intellectuals lined up to board the train. They found their seats and sat down.
Yu Jingjing naturally sat next to Zhao Yuan, while Chen Mingxu, quick to act, sat directly opposite her.
“Jingjing, what a coincidence, we’re sitting together.”
“Hmm,” Yu Jingjing responded coolly. Where someone sits is their own choice. She wasn’t going to make him leave.
Chen Mingxu quickly took out a steamed bun from his bag and offered it to Yu Jingjing. “Jingjing, this is from my mom—no, actually I bought this big meat bun from the state-run restaurant. Have one.”
Yu Jingjing refused. “Comrade Chen, we’re no longer connected. I can’t accept your things.”
“But we’re still old classmates, and might be sent to the same place to work together. Just take it.”
“No, I want to make a clear boundary with you. No more relationship.”
She hated emotional entanglements the most. She wasn’t planning to find a partner, especially not someone like Chen Mingxu. It was better to cut it off early.
“Jingjing.”
Yu Jingjing turned her head aside and stopped talking.
Chen Mingxu awkwardly put the bun back in his bag.
At that moment, at Yu Dabo’s house, when he woke up, he found his home much bigger than before and thought he was dreaming.
“Hahaha, am I in the big house of the second brother’s family?!”
But looking at the dark ceiling covered with spider webs, it was indeed his house. The furniture inside was all gone—even his bed, the quilts, and blankets were missing.
Looking down at himself, he only had his underwear left.
What happened?
What on earth happened?
Then Yu Yanjiao and Old Lady Yu woke up as well. As soon as they opened their eyes, they saw the empty room.
“Ah~” Yu Yanjiao screamed loudly, as if her body was breaking. “Where’s my bed? Why am I sleeping on the floor? Ah~ what happened to our stuff? Why is everything gone?”
Old Lady Yu first checked her underwear. The pocket was empty—over a thousand yuan was gone. Looking around the house, only a few walls remained.
“What… what happened? How could it become like this overnight?” She looked as if she had seen a ghost, more hurt by the lost things than anything, and especially worried about the lost money.
They glanced at each other.
“Why is there a turtle on your face?!”
“You have a chrysanthemum on your face!”
“Ah~” They screamed together.
Yu Dabo came into the room. “Our house was robbed last night, and we didn’t even know it.”
Seeing that the two women weren’t dressed, he quickly covered his eyes and turned away.
“My dad has a turtle on his face too. What is going on?”
Yu Yanjiao and Old Lady Yu couldn’t find anything to cover themselves with, so they just hugged each other. Yu Dabo faced away from them and spoke.
“Mom, Yanjiao, our house was robbed last night. Everything in this room is gone.”
“Yeah, Dad, everything’s gone.” Yu Yanjiao looked at the bare walls, tears welling in her eyes. “What kind of thief can steal everything so cleanly? He even took our clothes off us, and we didn’t even notice?”
She hurriedly checked her body, hoping the thief hadn’t done anything to her while she was unconscious. It seemed not.
“How would I know?” Yu Dabo recalled when Yu Jianmin stole from the Yu family. “That thief probably used drugs like Jianmin did, so we didn’t notice a thing. Such a rotten thief, why steal everything so cleanly? At least leave some daily necessities. How are we supposed to live now?”
“Dad, report it to the police. They have to catch that thief—no, that gang of thieves—and recover our stuff.”
“Report to the police?” Yu Dabo gave a bitter laugh. “Those thieves are probably hard to catch.” They let Yu Jianmin steal from Yu Jingjing’s family a few days ago thinking it was safe, but now their own home got robbed.
But now, they could only try their luck and hope the items could be retrieved. “Fine, I’ll report it, but I have no clothes to wear.”
“What do we do then?”
The three fell into gloom.
After a while, Yu Yanjiao said, “If someone could bring us some clothes, we wouldn’t be so worried. Dad, that brat should be sent to the countryside today too. Their house has everything. We can just go live there.”
“Yes, yes. We’re not completely without possessions. We’ll ask neighbors to help us get some clothes for now.”
But when the neighbors heard about the robbery and saw them barely clothed, they just stood outside laughing at them.
Their reputation here was bad; no neighbors cared to help.
Meanwhile, the leadership from the pharmaceutical factory and the police came to their door: “Yu Changhe, you are suspected of illegally selling factory materials. Come with us.”
The police took off their coat and gave it to him to wear; as for the lower half, that was how it was.
Yu Dabo was taken away to reunite with his wife and child. Then officials from the youth office came to the door. As soon as they entered, they saw the shocking sight of the grandfather and granddaughter.
“Yu Yanjiao, you will be sent to the northwest countryside to work in two days. Prepare yourself.”
Yu Yanjiao shouted from inside the house: “Why send me to the countryside? I didn’t sign up! You must be mistaken!”
“We’re not mistaken. Your name and address are clearly written in the registration book. If you registered but now don’t want to go, I’m telling you, once registered it’s set in stone. You can’t back out. The day after tomorrow, at 7 am, be at the train station. If you’re late or try to avoid it, someone will come for you.”
To avoid further eye injury, the two officials left quickly after notifying her.
Yu Yanjiao curled up inside, crying.
“Why? I never signed up to go to the countryside. How did my name get there? I don’t want to go.”
She suddenly thought of Yu Jingjing. It was her mother who signed Yu Jingjing up for the countryside. Someone must have done the same thing to her.
It could only be Yu Jingjing. She couldn’t think of anyone else.
“Yu Jingjing, don’t let me see you again, or I’ll definitely kill you.”
By evening, they barely borrowed two patched-up, ragged clothes and hurried to the Yu family home, only to see strangers there.
Cousin Liang Ailing said, “Jingjing already sold this house to us. It’s ours now.”
She showed the property deed and transfer paperwork to Old Lady Yu and Yu Yanjiao, who were dumbfounded.
“No, this is my house. That girl can’t sell it. It’s mine.”
The old lady sat at the door, crying loudly but was still asked to leave. She could only go back inside with Yu Yanjiao to that empty house.
They couldn’t stay there and decided to find her real son.
Having been raised in the Gong family in Beijing for so long, now it was time to make him truly take care of her.
They also had to quickly find a buyer for Wu Yanjiao to raise money for their travel expenses.
Yu Jingjing shared her homemade soy-braised eggs with Zhao Yuan, and Zhao Yuan gave her some glutinous rice cakes her mother had made.
“Jingjing, your eggs are so delicious.”
“Auntie’s rice cakes are wonderful, too.”
Chen Mingxu sat across from them, itching to share his food with Yu Jingjing as well, but she gave him no opportunity.
The train rolled on, entering a region where it was raining. After a while, Yu Jingjing felt a little hungry, so she opened her satchel and took out two big red apples, handing one to Zhao Yuan.
“They’ve been washed. You can eat it right away.”
“Thank you, Jingjing.”
Chen Mingxu could only sit beside them, drooling silently.
Just as Zhao Yuan took the apple, she glanced out the window and gasped, “Jingjing, look! A rainbow! It’s beautiful!”
Yu Jingjing and Chen Mingxu both turned to look. Yu Jingjing, who had been about to zip her satchel, left it open as she looked out.
At that moment, a middle-aged man of average height passed through the carriage. Though he didn’t walk quickly, his face betrayed obvious tension.
His eyes scanned everyone and everything in the car with quick, guarded glances. When he reached Yu Jingjing’s side and saw her satchel wide open, he deftly tossed a pocket watch inside.
He memorized the color and style of the bag, and also took note of the girl’s face—fair-skinned and pretty, easy to recognize. Once he shook off the people chasing him, he’d come back and retrieve it from her.
Just as he walked past, the rainbow outside faded from Zhao Yuan and Yu Jingjing’s view as the train continued moving. Yu Jingjing turned back around and casually zipped up her satchel, then kept munching on apples with Zhao Yuan.
Not far behind, Lu Yunxiao and Hu Dong rushed down the aisle. They were chasing that same middle-aged man.
As they passed by Yu Jingjing, Lu Yunxiao’s tall, striking figure immediately caught her eye—she recognized him instantly. She also saw Hu Dong behind him.
Yu Jingjing was surprised and delighted. She wanted to ask them if they had picked up her handkerchief.