As she hummed, she couldn’t help but feel homesick.

She missed her parents.

She remembered how she’d insisted on going to the countryside with Han Ting, even against her parents’ strong objections. She gave up a good job in the city. Her parents had been so angry they hadn’t eaten for two days. At the time, she didn’t feel anything—but now, the regret and guilt came flooding in.

If she had come to her senses before applying to go to the countryside, she definitely wouldn’t have come.

She would’ve stayed in the city, stayed by her parents’ side, and taken good care of them.

Now that she was here, she couldn’t even see them when she missed them.

Still—better to realize it late than never.

As long as she didn’t make any major mistakes, she’d eventually get the chance to return to the city early.

This time in the countryside could just be a kind of personal growth. Once she was back, she’d make it up to her parents.

Chu Xia took a deep breath and pushed the millstone faster.

Once the sorghum flour was done, she packed it into the sack and moved on to the corn and sweet potatoes.

While she was grinding the sweet potatoes, someone else entered the mill.

It wasn’t a villager, but Lin Xiaohan—who, like Chu Xia, had also laid out grain to dry earlier that morning.

When Chu Xia turned and saw him, she didn’t greet him.

With no villagers around, Lin Xiaohan made no effort to hide his usual arrogant demeanor. He looked down his nose at her without saying a word.

He didn’t wait for her to finish using the small millstone.

With his strength, he could handle the large millstone in the center, so he went straight for it.

Though harder to push, it milled faster.

Not long after Lin Xiaohan arrived, Chu Xia finished grinding her sweet potatoes.

She brushed the sweet potato flour off the millstone, packed it all into a woven plastic sack, and headed back.

Upon returning to the educated youth compound, she heard a commotion coming from the boys’ dormitory.

By now, it was already dark. There were no lights on in the girls’ dorm, so it was clear that everyone had gathered in the boys’ dorm to hang out.

Chu Xia didn’t concern herself with them. She went straight to the kitchen, lit the lamp, and started preparing her meal.

A fresh box of matches sat on the stove. Matches and kerosene were provided by the brigade, so Chu Xia used them without hesitation.

She planned to steam some buns using the freshly ground flour—sorghum, cornmeal, and sweet potato flour—all steamed together to last a few days since the weather was still cool.

She decided to skip cooking porridge and just drink some hot water instead.

As for dishes, she had nothing fresh to cook, but she still had several cans of braised pork and beef.

Her parents had bought those for her before she came, though she hadn’t touched a single one yet.

Originally, she had planned to save them for Han Ting to improve his meals. But now, she clearly no longer thought that way.

The thought of the rich, meaty aroma made her mouth water.

So she quickly kneaded the dough and rolled it into small buns, placing them into the steamer. Then she boiled water and began steaming.

Since the buns were small, they cooked quickly.

She didn’t bother steaming them separately—just threw all three types into one pot.

Judging they were almost ready, she carefully lifted the lid. The aroma of freshly steamed buns mixed with the rising steam, hitting her face with warmth and delicious scent.

Chu Xia replaced the lid, hooked her fingers into the hemp rope handles, and lifted the steamer basket out of the pot.

The rope was hot, so she quickly set the steamer down on the table, then raised her hands to pinch her fingers to relieve the heat.

Before the heat had even faded, she rushed to the dorm to fetch a can of meat.

Returning with the can in hand, she sat down and was just about to eat when the door curtain was suddenly lifted from outside.

Chu Xia looked up and saw—it was Han Ting.

He clicked his tongue and said, “Sneaking off to eat the good stuff alone, huh?”

As he spoke, he sat down at the table, reached out, and grabbed a cornmeal bun, taking a bite.

The buns were small—he bit half of one in a single mouthful.

Chu Xia opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, he was already chewing.

“Mmm, fresh out of the pot—tastes great,” he said while chewing.

Then he reached for the chopsticks on the table and moved them toward the canned meat.

This time, Chu Xia reacted quickly and snatched the can into her arms.

Han Ting’s chopsticks came up empty. He paused, looked at her in confusion, and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Clutching the can, Chu Xia avoided his gaze. Her tone was low but firm: “The canned food is mine. The grain was rationed to me. If you eat it, I’ll be the one going hungry.”

Han Ting looked at the bun in his hand, stunned for a moment.

Then he laughed and said, “Oh come on, what’s the big deal? It’s not like we expect you to share everything. If you run out of food, just eat ours.”

Chu Xia kept her eyes down and shook her head. “No need.”

If things went that way, the others would see him eating her food and then follow suit—offering her their rations in exchange. But that would only leave her at a loss.

Han Ting slowly dropped the smile from his face. He put down both the chopsticks and the half-eaten bun.

He looked at her for a moment and asked, “Tell me honestly—what’s going on with you?”

Chu Xia didn’t respond. She pressed her lips together, then added, “Let’s forget about all the things I gave you before. But from now on, don’t eat my food. We’ve already gone our separate ways. I need to feed myself now.”

Han Ting stared at her in silence for a while, then nodded. “Alright.”

Then, in a softer tone, he asked, “At least tell me—what’s gotten into you these past few days?”

Chu Xia stood up, fetched another pair of chopsticks, sat back down, and started eating the buns with her canned meat.

While eating, she responded, “Nothing. I just suddenly figured things out.”

Han Ting looked at her. “So you figured things out, and that means you have to shut down, stay silent, pick fights, and be stubborn? We came to the countryside as a group of more than a dozen people. If we don’t stick together and help each other, who else can we rely on?”

Chu Xia kept eating, not responding to that.

Han Ting continued, “I heard you offended Gu Yuzhu last night—just over a mirror? You don’t even care about looking in mirrors. She does, so what’s the harm in letting her use it? Why make a fuss over something so petty?”

In the past, hearing Han Ting say things like that would make Chu Xia think he was generous and reasonable.

Now, hearing it again just made her angry.

She didn’t bother explaining and kept eating as she said, “The mirror is mine. If I feel like letting her use it, I will. If I don’t, I won’t. If you all think I’m being petty, then fine—I’m petty. Think whatever you want.”

Han Ting watched her for a while longer, then patiently added, “Chu Xia, being overly petty and stingy isn’t a good thing. Take Lin Xiaohan, for example. He keeps to himself and trusts no one—what kind of life is that?”

Chu Xia didn’t know whether Lin Xiaohan’s life had any meaning.

But she did agree—he never treated anyone with genuine sincerity, always calculating and guarded.

Seeing that Chu Xia still didn’t respond, Han Ting said again, “I get it. You’re just in a bad mood lately. It’ll pass. Let’s forget about all that. I actually came to talk to you about something important. I heard from some of the villagers that the brigade plans to reopen the school—and they want you to be the teacher?”

As soon as Han Ting brought this up, a tension snapped in Chu Xia’s mind. Alarm bells rang instantly.

If the story was unfolding the way it did in the novel, then Han Ting bringing this up now meant one thing—he wanted her to give the teaching job to Su Yun.

She raised her gaze to look at him, holding her breath and staying silent.

As expected, Han Ting went on: “I watched you grow up. I know better than anyone what you’re suited for and what you’re not. Teaching just isn’t your thing. Out of all of us, only Su Yun has experience performing on stage. She reads a lot, is thoughtful, sings, dances, does arts and culture—she can teach the kids all kinds of things. She’s the perfect fit. Plus, she really can’t handle farm work. So, all things considered, I think Su Yun would be the best person for the teaching job. What do you think?”

I don’t think so.

Chu Xia was about to blurt out this sentence.

But when the words were on the tip of her tongue, they seemed to be blocked by something, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t speak.

Han Ting looked at her in silence and assumed she had silently agreed.

He continued, “You’ve always been righteous and considerate since you were little. You’re so sensible and understanding. I know you wouldn’t selfishly refuse this.”

Chu Xia desperately wanted to refuse, but no words would come out.

Her fingers, gripping the chopsticks, turned white. She had words on the tip of her tongue but couldn’t bring herself to say them. Her heart was racing, and she could feel the sweat forming on her forehead from the anxiety.

She suddenly remembered that last night, when she tried to reject Han Ting’s business partnership offer, it felt exactly the same.

It was as if something was binding her, making it impossible to reject him according to her will.

She tightened her breath and thought to herself—Could it be that although I’ve awakened to my own consciousness, I’m still unable to break free from the key plotline of the original story? Am I going to be forced to watch myself follow the main plot of the original?

No.

I absolutely cannot let this happen.

If I agree to this, and later get controlled by the plot, wouldn’t that be worse than death? If that’s the case, it would have been better if I had never awakened in the first place.

Chu Xia clenched her fists, trying to break through this invisible barrier.

But the harder she tried, the more her words stuck. Soon, beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Han Ting, still talking according to his plan, said, “Tomorrow, when you get a chance, go find Captain Liang and talk to him about this. If he disagrees, I’ll take you to the Party Secretary.”

Hearing these words, Chu Xia felt a wave of anguish wash over her.

She still tried her hardest to refuse, but her efforts only made the veins on her temples stand out, and yet, nothing came out.

Just as despair began to settle in her heart, she suddenly heard a mocking laugh from the door.

Both Chu Xia and Han Ting turned to look, and saw Lin Xiaohan entering the kitchen.

The moment she saw him, Chu Xia felt that invisible barrier lifting.

As soon as the barrier disappeared, she quickly stood up from the table, instinctively taking two steps toward Lin Xiaohan. She urgently spoke, “I won’t go, I refuse, I won’t allow it.”

Han Ting, already annoyed by the sudden appearance of Lin Xiaohan with that mocking smile, frowned even deeper upon hearing Chu Xia’s words.

He looked at her, about to speak, but Chu Xia immediately raised her hand to cover her ears, interrupting him, “Don’t say anything more. I’m not giving up the chance to be a teacher for Su Yun. You liking her, wanting to take care of her, and being kind to her—that’s your business. It has nothing to do with me. Please don’t drag me into this. I won’t be your scapegoat!”