Chapter 14

“Bang! Bang! Bang!…”

Gu Beilu’s heart raced. He felt like he was frozen in place, allowing Leng Xue to push him into the courtyard where the male educated youths used to live.

The slogans on the courtyard wall had faded with time, but hadn’t peeled off.

[Embrace poverty, lead the peasants to prosperity—Educated Youths Go to the Countryside]

[Educated youths go to the countryside, poor and lower-middle peasants rejoice, broad land refines a red heart]

It was the first time Leng Xue had seen such slogans from a different era. After glancing at them a few more times, she started examining the courtyard.

There were two trees in the courtyard—both were pomelo trees.

The trees were tall and spaced far apart. A rope had been tied between them for drying clothes and bedding.

Leng Xue pushed Gu Beilu under the shade of a tree. Taking advantage of the sunlight, she hung up the bedding Gu Beilu had brought to air it out.

She then went next door to fetch water and a rag to clean the room.

A male educated youth had recently returned to the city, so the house was still quite clean. About ten minutes later, Leng Xue had finished cleaning.

Gu Beilu sat under the pomelo tree, watching Leng Xue bustle back and forth, and felt more useless than ever.

He pounded his leg and sighed, lowering his head, lost in thought.

“Beilu, the room is ready. Let’s go inside and talk.”

Leng Xue’s gentle voice rang out. Gu Beilu’s heart trembled. He didn’t understand why Comrade Leng Xue was suddenly being so intimate with him.

Before he could make sense of it, Leng Xue had already wheeled him to the steps.

“Sit tight, I’ll carry you up.”

Instinctively, Gu Beilu obeyed, staring in shock as this seemingly frail woman effortlessly lifted the wheelchair with a grown man in it.

Then, without breaking a sweat or changing expression, she carried him ten steps into the house before setting him down.

“Alright, now we can talk.”

Leng Xue ignored Gu Beilu’s stunned expression—this was nothing. Her strength was just a small case, after all.

“Beilu, I was your fiancée in our past life. After I died, I pleaded with the King of Hell to let me cross into your world. Now, I want you to fulfill the promise you never got to keep—that is…”

Leng Xue deliberately paused, watching this life’s version of Gu Beilu look completely overwhelmed and disbelieving. The image of his always-wise past self flashed through her mind, and she found the contrast so adorable.

She really wanted to pinch his face.

As she thought this, her fingers followed her heart and pinched Gu Beilu’s cheek.

“Comrade Leng Xue, you…”

“What about me?” Leng Xue asked calmly. “Were you going to say I’m being improper?”

Gu Beilu’s face turned bright red. He neither nodded nor shook his head, only said:

“Can you please let go of me first?”

There was a trace of grievance in his voice, which made Leng Xue laugh. She found this forgetful version of Gu Beilu even more fun.

“Beilu, I went through so much to chase you here—to marry you. In our last life, you promised to give me a grand and radiant wedding. I didn’t expect that now you’d completely forgotten me. You drank the soup of forgetfulness. I don’t blame you… but now, you’re actually pushing me away when I try to be close to you.”

Leng Xue half-jokingly accused Gu Beilu, but her eyes reddened with real emotion.

In their past life, Gu Beilu had died tragically for her. Every time Leng Xue thought of that scene, it made her heart ache so badly she couldn’t breathe.

This talk of past lives and reincarnation was hard for Gu Beilu, who had grown up with modern education, to accept.

Logically, he didn’t believe it could be real—but emotionally, he wanted it to be true.

“Comrade Leng Xue, please don’t joke with me. How could there be a King of Hell and a bowl of forgetfulness soup in this world?”

Gu Beilu shook his head. It couldn’t be real. And even if there were past lives, how could someone as beautiful as a celestial fairy like Leng Xue have been his fiancée?