Chapter 23

It wasn’t exactly ladylike for a young girl to eat so quickly, and Liu Yu’s speed at devouring her meal was so fast it almost made people laugh. Wang Changping, unable to suppress his amusement, slightly curled his lips. With his handsome and dusky features, his smile was even more striking, especially with the pair of dimples that appeared at the corners of his mouth.

Realizing she had embarrassed herself in front of someone, Liu Yu—though never one to aim for refinement—still felt slightly awkward. “Uh… thank you, Comrade Wang. You take your time. It’s getting late; I should head back,” she mumbled, giving herself an excuse to leave.

“Wait.”

Wang Changping called out to stop her, got out of bed, and dragged a box out from underneath it. After rummaging through it for a bit, he pulled out a green canned tin.

“This is for you.”

He handed the can to Liu Yu.

Liu Yu took one look at it and exclaimed in surprise, “Is this canned fruit? Pineapple and yellow peach? Comrade Wang, you’re really generous!”

It wasn’t that Liu Yu was ignorant—it was just that in this era, resources were scarce. A tin of canned fruit cost fifty cents, making it something of a luxury! Especially this square green tin—it was fancier than the typical glass jars and naturally more expensive.

“Take it home and enjoy,” Wang Changping said in his usual calm tone, but there was something different in the way he looked at her.

Scoring two tins of canned fruit for no reason put Liu Yu in a fantastic mood. She thanked Wang Changping profusely and, noticing that it wasn’t fully dark yet, hurried on her way home.

From a distance, as she approached her house, she could already hear a commotion.

“Bah! You little vixen! Acting like this at your age—who knows what trouble you’ll cause when you grow up!”

It was her mother, Nie Xiaocui, shouting.

“Auntie, how could you say that about me… I didn’t do anything wrong! It was clearly Liu Yu who…”

A soft, tearful voice began to cry.

Liu Yu’s eyes widened. Oh, what a small world—it was none other than Bai Xueling.

Bai Xueling was considered one of the most beautiful girls in Baohe Village. Her features were perfectly proportioned, and she lived up to her name—her skin was as fair as snow, making her jet-black hair stand out even more.

She had an ironic nickname, “Snow White.” But unlike the fairy tale Snow White, who only had seven dwarves, Bai Xueling had far more men circling around her.

Nie Xiaocui’s face was filled with rage as she shouted, “How is this my daughter’s fault? If it weren’t for you, would she have jumped into the river?”

Bai Xueling wiped away her tears, looking utterly pitiful. “But Auntie, Liu Yu jumped into the river herself. I didn’t force her.”

Standing between them was Liu Jian Guo, the second son of the Liu family.

Liu Jian Guo and his elder brother were both the hardworking farmer types, with sun-darkened skin. Standing next to the snow-white and delicate Bai Xueling, the contrast between them couldn’t have been more obvious.

Bai Xueling wasn’t his biological daughter but rather the stepdaughter his wife had brought into the marriage. Officially, she was still his child, so when Bai Xueling and Nie Xiaocui argued, Liu Jian Guo could only try to mediate and hold them apart.

Nie Xiaocui wasn’t having it. “If it weren’t for you messing around with that Li Qinghua, none of this would’ve happened!”

Bai Xueling started sobbing harder. “You can’t accuse me of that! When have I ever messed around with Comrade Li? It’s Liu Yu who liked Comrade Li and went chasing after him! He scolded her, and she jumped into the river herself. How is that my fault?”

Normally, Nie Xiaocui was one of the fiercest women in the village, but when faced with the soft, tearful Bai Xueling, it was like her fists were hitting cotton. Her accusations suddenly seemed unreasonable, making Nie Xiaocui appear as though she was in the wrong.

“Who said I liked Li Qinghua?!”

A cold, clear voice cut through the noise as Liu Yu stepped into view.

Her face was slightly shadowed, her expression somber. She was still the chubby girl everyone knew, but her gaze had changed. Gone was the lifeless look in her eyes—it had been replaced by a spark of vitality.