Chapter 16

At this time, when fishermen go out to sea, the fishery production team assigns designated areas. If you want to cast your net elsewhere, you need to apply in advance.

After hearing Lan Xiruo’s words, Uncle Jiang He pondered for a moment before agreeing.

Since he agreed, the other unmarried young men had no objections.

So, after they returned, they immediately went to the team leader to apply for an offshore fishing trip.

The team leader was a good-natured person. Moreover, after the recent cultural relics incident, he had gained recognition from the commune leaders, so he had no reason to refuse.

—-

Today was Wen Ze’s first day on the island.

Thinking about how his classmate had mentioned in a letter about “tidal foraging,” he was especially excited.

As soon as the other educated youths returned from the sea and assigned him a bed, he tossed his luggage onto it, skipped dinner, and ran straight to the shore.

Unfortunately, the tide was still high, making it impossible to forage, so he walked back in disappointment.

Halfway back, he noticed two young women following him for quite some time. Annoyed, he frowned, stopped, and coldly said:

“Comrades! I have no intention of dating at the moment. Please stop following me.”

Sun Yuqing: “…”

Where did this idiot come from?!

That voice…

Lan Xiruo’s eyes instantly turned red.

She had been talking to Sun Yuqing the whole way and hadn’t even noticed who was ahead of them.

Now, hearing that all-too-familiar voice, the deep-seated hatred in her heart surged, nearly drowning out her reason.

Fortunately, she managed to restrain herself.

Lan Xiruo, nothing has happened yet. You cannot lose your composure.

As long as she was smarter this time and didn’t fall for that scumbag’s tricks, she would have plenty of opportunities for revenge.

After calming herself down, she noticed Sun Yuqing looking at her with concern:

“Xiruo, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Why are you suddenly shaking all over?”

Lan Xiruo shook her head. “It’s nothing. I just suddenly encountered an idiot, and it disgusted me.”

“Pfft!” Sun Yuqing laughed. “Yeah, he sure is. But isn’t your reaction a bit too extreme? Have you encountered similar suitors before?”

Lan Xiruo: “…”

Well, Sun Yuqing had even provided her with an excuse.

So she nodded.

Their casual conversation completely ignored Wen Ze, which made him very unhappy.

“Hey! You two comrades, what’s the meaning of this? Can’t you see I was talking to you?”

Lan Xiruo gave him a deep look before suddenly curling her lips into a smile. “Comrade, you must be a newly arrived educated youth, right? Is this how you people flirt? That’s quite amusing.”

It was just a slight smile, but Wen Ze felt an electric shock run through his heart, rendering him speechless and dazed.

By the time he snapped out of it, the two women were already gone.

When Lan Xiruo and Sun Yuqing returned to the educated youth dormitory, they noticed a new figure in the neighboring male dormitory.

The person didn’t turn around or introduce himself.

Lan Xiruo didn’t bother wasting energy trying to figure him out. She just glanced at him and entered the female dormitory.

Only after she left did the man slowly turn around, his gaze complicated as he looked towards the next door.

—-

Inside the dorm, Lan Xiruo discovered that a new female educated youth had also arrived today.

When she saw the woman sitting on her bed, looking into a mirror, Lan Xiruo’s pupils contracted sharply, and her fingernails dug into her palm.

The girl was petite, with a delicate and innocent appearance.

She had brought two large bags of luggage, taking up almost half of the dormitory’s open space.

Previously, she, Sun Yuqing, and another girl named Chen shared the dorm, and it was quite spacious. But now, with this newcomer, it would feel cramped.

Lan Xiruo found it amusing that, even at a moment like this, she was thinking about such trivial things.

During the first few days after her rebirth, she had constantly fantasized about taking revenge the moment she saw that scumbag and that woman.

Now that they were in front of her, she realized she was incredibly calm—and she knew that taking revenge right now wasn’t realistic.

Luckily, starting tomorrow, the fishing team would be heading offshore and wouldn’t return daily. She wouldn’t have to endure facing those two scumbags.

They would be gone for about half a month, which was just enough time for the two of them to get involved with each other. When they returned, she could execute her revenge plan.

Lan Xiruo’s thoughts ran wild, but in reality, only a short moment had passed.

Apparently, she had been staring at the delicate-looking girl for too long.

The girl touched her own face and asked curiously: “Comrade, why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?”

“No. I was just thinking… With such a beautiful girl like you, why would you come here? Judging by how much stuff you brought, your family must be well-off. Why didn’t they use their connections to get you assigned somewhere easier?”

Of course, Lan Xiruo already knew the answer.

She had asked on purpose—she wanted to see when this girl’s act would start.

Lan Xiruo carefully observed the girl’s face. She saw the girl’s expression change multiple times before settling into a look of pitiful calm.

Then, the girl’s eyes reddened as she covered her mouth and choked out:

“You might laugh at me for this, but… I ran away from home. My father wanted me to marry his superior, who was as old as him, to advance his career. I refused, so he beat me every day. My mother felt sorry for me and secretly registered me for the rural education program so I could escape. But everywhere else was full, and only this island still had spots. To make it up to me, my mother prepared all these things for me.”

The same story as before.

Lan Xiruo lowered her head and let out a cold laugh.

Sun Yuqing, unaware of the truth, believed her story and raged:

“That’s horrible! What kind of father does that? It’s already modern times, and he’s still trying to sell his daughter for power? Why didn’t you go to the Women’s Federation for help?”

The girl hesitated before explaining: “Well… He is still my father, after all. If I made a big scene, it wouldn’t be good for my whole family.”

Sun Yuqing nodded. “True. Sigh, being a daughter is so unfair. Even when our parents are wrong, we don’t dare to fight back.”

Noticing Lan Xiruo’s lack of reaction, the girl wiped her tears and asked: “Do you think I’m lying?”

Lan Xiruo responded calmly, “No. I just think you’re really pitiful.”

She truly was pitiful.

This girl, in her past life, had stolen all of her family’s savings—including the money meant to buy her brother a job—just because her parents prioritized her brother’s career over hers.

She had secretly used connections to register for the rural education program, leaving her family clueless about her whereabouts.

Because of her actions, her brother lost his job, his engagement was called off, and her parents were so enraged that they both fell ill, bedridden with grief.

If Lan Xiruo had a daughter like that, she would have strangled her early on.

Sun Yuqing, completely taken in, nodded in agreement. “Yes, you’re really too pitiful.”

Then she smiled. “Oh, right! I’m Sun Yuqing, and she’s Lan Xiruo. What’s your name?”

The girl wiped her tears and softly said, “My name is Xu Mei. You can call me Meimei.”