Leaving 

Father Lin and Secretary Li felt that today’s New Year’s Day was incredibly unlucky. 

They had been happily watching the show when Zhang Hui came running over, disheveled and covered in dirt, saying that Wang Laizi had gotten drunk, gone to the pig pen, and started a drunken rampage. In the end, he smashed into a wall and passed out cold. 

There was no choice. After all, they were from the same production team—they couldn’t just ignore it. So they called two people to carry him to the clinic. 

Wang Laizi was a menace. People usually found him annoying, and now on New Year’s Day, he was still causing trouble. 

No one questioned whether he’d hit his head on purpose or not—so long as he didn’t die, it was fine. 

On the way back, Lin Miaoyin casually tossed the stone into the pond and rubbed her frozen face, feeling a wave of relief. 

At first, she had struggled over whether or not to save Zhang Hui. But later, she thought—did Zhang Hui do anything wrong? Yes, but she had already been punished. 

If she didn’t help, her conscience wouldn’t rest easy. 

As for why she waited until Wang Laizi entered the pig pen before stepping in—first, she and Zhang Hui had unresolved issues, and if she warned her too early, she wouldn’t believe her; second, she wanted Wang Laizi to pay the price for his lecherous behavior. 

As for what Zhang Hui thought of her, she no longer cared. 

An hour had passed, and most of the show was over. 

She slipped back into the crowd and returned to Meng Yuanzheng’s side, only to find that the seat she had claimed was now taken by an older woman. 

Meng Yuanzheng gave her a helpless look. 

The woman saw her and realized she had taken someone else’s seat. She awkwardly said, “Oh, I saw no one here so I sat down. Sorry about that, girl.” 

This woman was from another production team and didn’t know Lin Miaoyin. 

But while she apologized, she didn’t make any move to get up. 

Lin Miaoyin was speechless. You took my spot—at least return my stool. 

She had no choice but to go over and lean against Meng Yuanzheng’s back to rest a bit. 

“Sit here. I’ll stand for a while,” he said, turning his head. 

“You’re too tall. If you stand, you’ll block everyone behind us.” 

She shook her head with a laugh, leaned in close to his ear, and whispered, “I want to sit on your lap.” 

Meng Yuanzheng frowned slightly. “There are so many people around.” 

But his body was already cooperating, adjusting his legs to act as a seat. 

“Everyone’s focused on the stage. No one’s looking at us,” she said as she sat on his lap and grabbed his hands to warm hers. 

“Where did you go? You were gone so long. Your hands are freezing,” he said, wrapping her hands in his. 

They had done this sort of hand-warming thing a lot since winter started. Meng Yuanzheng skillfully rubbed her hand warm, then tucked both of their hands into her pocket. From the outside, it looked like he was holding her by the waist. 

“Don’t worry about it. Just watch the show.” 

She stared at the stage intently, though her heart was slightly nervous. 

Meng Yuanzheng might be quiet, but when he flirted, he really made her heart race. Then, just when her heart started fluttering, he’d go back to playing the gentleman. 

If she didn’t take the initiative, they might as well shave their heads and become monks and nuns together. 

By the time the performance ended, it was already past nine at night. Everyone left satisfied and headed home. 

They walked back together against the cold wind. Lin Miaoyin had her hands stuffed in her pockets and shivered as she said, “Meng Yuanzheng, I want to ask you something.” 

Meng Yuanzheng: “Go ahead.” 

“Cough, um… do you like me?” 

He froze, unsure at first. Then after a few seconds, he suddenly smiled and said warmly, “I do.” 

“Do you like me?” he asked. 

Somehow, hearing the word “me” from him in that context sounded kind of strange. 

“I do.” Lin Miaoyin couldn’t help but burst into laughter, but then she slipped and nearly fell flat on her face. 

Meng Yuanzheng quickly caught her and didn’t let go. They walked home like that, swaying side by side. 

“It’s snowing again.” She felt a cool flake land on her nose. 

“Let’s hurry back and soak our feet. It’s freezing.” She stomped her feet and pulled him into a run. When they got home, she saw she’d stepped right into a puddle. 

Meng Yuanzheng went to heat some water. They soaked their feet, then poured the hot water into the empty infusion bottles they had brought back from the clinic, sealed the rubber stoppers tight, wrapped them in cloth, and stuffed them into the bed. 

When he turned around, he saw Lin Miaoyin standing behind him. She smiled and said, “Sit down. I’m going to kiss you.” 

…… 

Not long after New Year’s Day, the Spring Festival was approaching. 

Every household began preparing for the new year. The team slaughtered pigs, and each family got a portion of meat. People also made glutinous rice balls and rice cakes, roasted sunflower seeds and peanuts, and did big house cleanings. 

Lin Miaoyin also prepared many things to bring to Meng Yuanzheng’s house—cured meat, sausages, new clothes, and more. Since his grandmother might not have long to live, she decided to pack the coats and leather shoes Meng Yuanzheng had brought earlier, planning to sell them if they ran short on money. 

What ended up happening with that incident involving Wang Laizi last time? Even though Wang Laizi kept claiming that he was knocked out by someone, no one believed him. Everyone thought he just got drunk and was hallucinating. 

Only Meng Yuanzheng started behaving oddly, disappearing without warning from time to time. When he returned and was asked where he went, he’d only say he went for a walk. 

Lin Miaoyin was too busy to pay much attention, until the few days before the educated youths were allowed to go home for the New Year. Meng Yuanzheng disappeared two days before the train was set to leave. 

Lin Miaoyin had gone to visit her family, and when she came back, he was gone. His suitcase was missing too, though she had no idea when he had packed it. 

Only a letter was left on the table. Meng Yuanzheng simply said he had something urgent and needed to return to the city first, telling Lin Miaoyin to spend the New Year with her family, and that he’d come back after he handled things. 

He also took the two train tickets they had booked in advance, along with most of the money at home. 

After reading the letter, Lin Miaoyin was furious. It was probably too late to chase after him now, and Meng Yuanzheng wouldn’t let her catch up easily anyway. 

Was he crazy? Leaving without a word and giving just one vague reason—what kind of matter was so important that she couldn’t know about it? 

She was completely thrown off, and really wanted to drag him back for a good beating. 

But Meng Yuanzheng had taken the train tickets. She only knew his family lived in Shanghai, not the exact address. Besides, getting a train ticket now required a certificate, which was a hassle and had to be done in advance. She wouldn’t be able to buy a ticket in time. 

Once she calmed down, she started thinking: why would Meng Yuanzheng do this? 

Gradually, she recalled how he’d been acting recently. Something seemed off these past few days—he always looked preoccupied and kept going out. 

What would a man need to hide from his wife? Money issues? No, they’d already discussed those matters. Besides, it looked like he had taken the new clothes and cured meat she had prepared. 

Then… another woman? Was he seeing someone else? 

Suddenly, she thought of someone—Zhu Wanqin. 

From everything she had observed over the past half year, she could now be certain that Zhu Wanqin had been reborn. 

She didn’t know what Zhu Wanqin had gone through after the original story ended, but after being reborn, she’d given up on Jin Chengren and set her sights on Meng Yuanzheng. Judging from her attitude, it was clear she had no good intentions. 

Lin Miaoyin quickly locked her door and headed to Jin Chengren’s house. Jin Chengren’s little sister was chopping vegetables to feed the chickens. 

“Sister Miaoyin, what brings you here?” 

“Doumei, I’m looking for Zhu Wanqin. Is she here?” she asked from the gate. 

“Zhu Wanqin left this morning,” Doumei replied. 

Just as she suspected. Lin Miaoyin froze, a sour feeling welling up in her chest. She forced a smile. “Thanks. I’ve got something else to do, so I’ll get going.” 

“Oh, Sister, take care.” Doumei noticed her pale face and didn’t dare ask more. 

Lin Miaoyin went to the Lin family and told them what happened. 

Mother Lin was actually happy. “I told you he should just go back alone. Isn’t it better for you to spend New Year’s with us?” 

She didn’t understand why her daughter was so upset. “Didn’t he leave a note for you? Oh, don’t cry, don’t cry. What are you crying for?” 

Father Lin, puffing on his pipe, said, “Yuanzheng doesn’t seem like an unreliable guy. Maybe he really had an urgent matter.” 

Lin Miaojun added, “Yeah, little sister, don’t cry. It’ll be New Year soon. After the holiday, he’ll come back.” 

Cui Fen said, “Didn’t his father have something happen earlier this year? Maybe he went back to handle things and thought it’d be inconvenient to bring you along.” 

Lin Miaoyin: You’ve all been bribed by him! 

But she couldn’t exactly say that it was because of Zhu Wanqin that she was so upset. 

It was obvious that Zhu Wanqin and Meng Yuanzheng were both from Shanghai. They left on the same day, and there were only one or two trains to Shanghai per day. The chances of them traveling together were very high. 

Just thinking about it made her feel like her chest was filled with cotton. It was incredibly painful. 

After having dinner at the Lin family, she returned home but was unable to sleep despite tossing and turning throughout the night. At dawn the next morning, she rose and made a firm decision—she would go to Shanghai to find him.