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A knock sounded at the door. Jiang Wanwan ran to open it, and there was Shen Sanqian’s handsome face. Just like the first time they met, he handed her a roasted chicken. But this time, instead of leaving, he walked right into the courtyard.
Startled, Jiang Wanwan looked left and right, and seeing no one, she quickly shut the gate. Afraid the neighbors might hear them in the yard and tell her mother, she pulled Shen Sanqian inside the main hall.
“Why are you here?” she demanded, glaring at him.
“To tell you that your name has been removed from the countryside list, and I’ve arranged a job for you. You’re a teacher at the mechanical factory’s elementary school,” the young man said, still smiling. “I’ve done what I promised. What about you? Have you told your family we’re dating?”
“Told them what? Am I trying to die a quick death?” Jiang Wanwan shot back. Then she saw Shen Sanqian’s amused expression and remembered she was the one who needed his help. She quickly forced a smile onto her face.
Eagerly, she pulled out a chair for him and poured him some hot water. “If I told my family, everyone would know we’re dating. If we end up getting married, that’s fine, but if we date for a year and realize we don’t get along, it would be a messy breakup. It wouldn’t look good.”
Shen Sanqian nodded. “So, you’re planning on a breakup from the start, then.”
“No, that’s not it! I’m doing this for your sake, too. Even if we break up, with my face—I’m a factory flower, you know—I’ll have no trouble finding a new boyfriend. But your reputation isn’t so great around here. If we break up, people will say, ‘He couldn’t even hold onto the factory flower; who could he possibly be with?’ No one will ever try to set you up again!” Jiang Wanwan said, her brow furrowed with what looked like genuine concern.
Shen Sanqian continued to nod, a broad smile on his face. “That makes a lot of sense. To avoid being lonely in my old age, I’ll definitely cherish my factory flower. But comrade Jiang, dating without the intention of marriage is like being a hooligan. To keep my reputation from getting any worse, maybe we should just get married now?”
Jiang Wanwan’s expression froze. This wasn’t going as she’d planned. She racked her brain, her mind running at top speed, and finally came up with a new excuse.
“Sanqian…”
Shen Sanqian, who had just taken a sip of water, promptly spat it out. He frowned, not even bothering to wipe his mouth. “What did you call me?”
Jiang Wanwan looked at his expression, suddenly remembering that “Shen Sanqian” was a nickname people had given him.
…Since he was a difficult-to-deal-with hoodlum, people only called him by that name behind his back; no one would ever dare to call him that to his face.
“J-Jun… Brother Jun?” she stammered, using the name she had heard his followers call him.
Shen Sanqian’s brow relaxed, then he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Which Jun?”
“Th-that’s not important!” Jiang Wanwan said, feeling guilty. She quickly changed the subject, returning to her previous point. “Brother Jun, I’ll be honest with you. Because of your reputation, my mom looks down on you. The only reason I was sent to the countryside was that she saw you give me candy that one time. She was afraid your ‘sugar-coated bullets’ would corrupt me, so she forced me to sign up.”
“The group hasn’t even left yet. If I tell her now that we’re dating, she’ll put me right back on that list. I can’t tell her until we’ve already gotten married and she can’t object.”
“You want to get married before you tell her?” Shen Sanqian was surprised, but then he looked thoughtful. “That’s not a bad idea.”
“I mean after we get a license! I can’t get a license until a year from now! That’s why I said we should date for a year first. I’ve thought this through very carefully,” Jiang Wanwan said, wiping the sweat from her forehead, feeling that her explanation was very reasonable. But Shen Sanqian’s next words once again left her speechless.
“It’s okay if you’re not old enough. I can find someone to change your age. Then, we can get married right after the September group leaves?”
“You… you’re so annoying! I said let’s talk about it after a year! Don’t you understand me?!” Jiang Wanwan was furious. “We already agreed to date for a year, but now you’re going on and on about getting a license now. If you want a marriage license so badly, you can go marry someone else!”
“I don’t need your job! I’ll go to the countryside; what’s so great about it anyway?”
“I’m afraid that won’t work,” Shen Sanqian said, leaning back in his chair with his long legs stretched out, calmly taking a sip of water. “You came to me to make a deal, and now that I’ve done my part, you want to back out? Do I look like I’m easy to bully?” The young man was still smiling, but Jiang Wanwan could see an unspoken threat behind his words.
“But you were the first to break the deal!” she argued, feeling completely justified.
“You said you wanted to date me, but you’re being all sneaky and secretive about it.”
“We’ve known each other for less than a day, and you’re already thinking about breaking up.”
“I suspect you’re trying to con me. Is it wrong for me to ask that you talk to your family and date me openly?”
“And you refusing to do so only confirms my suspicions. I’m afraid I’ll get nothing out of this, and I want to get the license early. Is that wrong?”
Jiang Wanwan started to feel a little guilty. After all…
…she had been planning to use him from the very beginning.
“You’re only seventeen and just graduated from high school. You’re still naive about the world. I’m three years older and have been working for a few years, so I’m bound to think more about things than you.” He sighed. “You know my reputation isn’t great. If we date for a year, people are bound to see us together. They won’t think we’re sneaking around because we’re afraid of your parents; they’ll just assume I’m a hooligan taking advantage of a naive girl.”
“Even if we get married, people will gossip, saying we were reckless before marriage and maybe even that you were forced into it. If we don’t get married, the rumors will be unstoppable; people will say I played with your feelings and then abandoned you.” Jiang Wanwan knew that gossip still existed in her own time, so it was undoubtedly worse in this more conservative era.
“It’s true that with your good looks, you won’t have trouble finding a husband even with a bad reputation, but marriage isn’t just about two people; it’s also about both families. Even if a man doesn’t care about your reputation, it doesn’t mean his family won’t. And men, even if they don’t care before marriage, the moment someone gossips about us after we’re married, it’ll plant a seed of doubt in their hearts. Over time, that’s bound to cause trouble.”
“If you tell your parents about us now, even if they’re angry, people will just say you have bad taste for falling for a hooligan. But if we break up later, they’ll just say you made a good decision and came to your senses.”
The smile never left the young man’s face, but Jiang Wanwan now saw it as a kind and gentle one, shining with a saintly glow.
“But I told you my mom will beat me to death! Last time, she hit me with a broom just because you gave me half a roast chicken. This time, she might even use a stick!” Jiang Wanwan had to admit his logic made sense, but she was still worried about her mother’s reaction.
“That’s what I’m here for. Do you think I’d just stand by and watch my girlfriend get beaten?”
“You can stop her today, but you can’t stop her tomorrow. The beating will still come for me,” she said, not convinced.
“Fine. You go to your room and lock the door. I’ll talk to your parents,” the young man said, finishing his water and standing up to leave.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m going to buy some pastries. It would be rude to meet your future in-laws for the first time without a gift.” He had already reached the gate when he stopped, turned around, and looked directly at Jiang Wanwan, who was still standing in the main hall doorway. “And one more thing. My name is Shen Tingjun—like tíngjūn as in ‘thunderous power.'”