Chapter 39.1

As November came to an end, the weather grew increasingly colder after several bouts of rain. Zhou Yao’s package from Shencheng arrived, containing a few down jackets. Back in this era, down jackets didn’t have the variety of styles they would later, appearing quite simple.

However, from Wen Yue’s perspective, who was accustomed to future fashions, the down jackets were rather basic. To people of this time, though, down jackets were a valuable and novel item.

So, when Wen Yue wore a black down jacket to school, she attracted a lot of attention.

“Wen Yue, is that a down jacket you’re wearing?” A curious classmate couldn’t help but approach her with the question.

Wen Yue wrapped her self-knitted red scarf around herself, her fair cheeks glowing with a rosy tint, her eyes crescent-shaped as she smiled and replied, “Yes, it’s a down jacket.”

“I know what a down jacket is. The cheapest ones cost around fifty or sixty yuan, right? How much did yours cost?”

Wen Yue recalled what Zhou Yao had mentioned in a phone call a few days ago and answered vaguely, “About that.”

“Fifty or sixty? That’s even more than my mom’s monthly salary!”

“That’s really expensive! But I’ve heard they’re very warm to wear. Did you buy it in the city?”

“The last time I went there, the market seemed to be out of stock. Is it available again?”

Wen Yue smiled brightly, “My man sent it from Shencheng.”

She knew her classmates were aware of her marriage, and she didn’t shy away from mentioning it. In fact, Wen Yue wanted to change Zhou Yao’s image in their minds. The idea that he was a good-for-nothing troublemaker was entirely wrong.

Sure enough, her statement piqued her classmates’ curiosity even more.

“Isn’t your man from the village? He went to Shencheng? What’s he doing there?”

“He actually spent money to buy you a down jacket?”

“Didn’t people say your man was a troublemaker? Where did he get the money?”

“……”

“Who told you Wen Yue’s man is a troublemaker?” Li Nianqiu, who had been listening nearby, raised an eyebrow and spoke up. “I’m from the same village as him, and I haven’t heard anyone say that. Who did you hear it from?”

“Just something we heard from others.”

Li Nianqiu snorted dismissively, “Then you’ve been fooled. Oh, you should have seen Wen Yue’s man before. He used to sell necklaces and bracelets on South Street. You all remember that, right?”

A few girls exchanged glances and nodded, “Yeah, we remember.”

Li Nianqiu continued, “The tallest one—he’s Wen Yue’s man. He didn’t have a fixed job before, but he’s still been making money. Now he’s gone to Shencheng to make a name for himself.”

Wen Yue smiled and chimed in, “Nianqiu is right.”

“What? It’s him! I remember—the one who’s really tall and quite handsome. I even told my friends he’s more attractive than some male celebrities. Wen Yue, I can’t believe your husband is him!”

“He often sells things from Shencheng, so he must have money. Even if he doesn’t have a proper job, you can’t just call him a good-for-nothing troublemaker.”

The rumors that had been circulating were quickly shattered, leaving her classmates a bit surprised.

“Then is it true that people say your man was originally your cousin’s fiancé?”

“Hmm? Yes, my man was originally my cousin’s fiancé,” Wen Yue replied calmly. “She didn’t want to marry him because she thought he was just a country boy without any prospects, so she pushed me into the relationship. To be honest, I’m quite grateful to her. If it weren’t for her not wanting to get married, I might not have been able to wear this down jacket, come back to school, or have the chance to go to university.”

Wen Yue turned her gaze to Wen Xiaoyu, who was sitting at her desk, seemingly engrossed in her studies, and raised her voice, “Wen Xiaoyu, my cousin, thank you so much!”

Her classmates exclaimed in surprise, “What???”

“Wen Xiaoyu is your cousin??”

Wen Yue smiled without responding. She returned to her seat, took out her practice exercises, and handed them to Li Nianqiu. In turn, she received Li Nianqiu’s exercises so they could help each other correct their answers.

Seeing this, the other students returned to their seats as well. However, the revelation from Wen Yue was indeed unexpected, and they were more interested in discussing the news rather than studying. They started passing notes to each other, sharing their shock and surprise.

Especially Wen Xiaoyu’s deskmate, who had been the one to spread the rumors. She felt deceived and wrote a note asking Wen Xiaoyu why she had misled her.

Wen Xiaoyu replied on the note: When did I lie to you? I didn’t say anything wrong. Wen Yue’s husband was originally my fiancé. I didn’t say she stole him. You misunderstood me, and now you’re blaming me?

Deskmate: … Wow.

So it’s all my fault now?!?

Wen Xiaoyu’s deskmate felt very aggrieved, but upon closer inspection, she realized Wen Xiaoyu hadn’t really lied. It was just that what she had said could be easily misinterpreted.

The girl was so frustrated that she drew a line to separate herself from Wen Xiaoyu, and they ended their friendship just like that.

Wen Xiaoyu was feeling quite low herself. She had heard every word Wen Yue had just said, and it felt like a thorn in her heart. She couldn’t help but wonder, if she had been the one to marry Zhou Yao, would the down jacket Wen Yue was wearing now belong to her?

Would everyone be envying her instead?

The more she thought about it, the more irritated she became. She couldn’t focus on the words in her textbook. Her mind was already far away. Although Zhou Yao was indeed a country boy, it seemed he still had some talent. At least he could earn money, and he was quite handsome too.

If only she had known back then, she would have married him! She wouldn’t have let Wen Yue take advantage of this!

Now Wen Yue was back in school, moving to the county to live, and wearing a down jacket—she had completely outdone her! How was that fair?!

The more Wen Xiaoyu thought about it, the angrier she got, not realizing the odd looks her classmates were giving her.

Her deskmate had already told everyone the whole story. Everyone was no fool. It was clear that Wen Xiaoyu hadn’t directly said anything wrong, but the way she had spoken made it easy for misunderstandings to arise. Wow, who would have thought she was this kind of person!

Li Nianqiu also saw the notes being passed around. She hadn’t liked Wen Xiaoyu from the start and picked up her pen to write in a note about how Wen Xiaoyu’s family had treated Wen Yue.

They had taken advantage of the land given to Wen Yue’s grandmother, taken money for her schooling, forced Wen Yue to drop out and work at home, and made Wen Yue take her place in marrying Zhou Yao, whom they looked down upon.

Young people often dislike injustice and aren’t as diplomatic as adults. They looked down on Wen Xiaoyu’s behavior, and of course, they expressed it directly by isolating her, refusing to interact with her.

So, when the class ended, Wen Xiaoyu got up to find her friend, wanting to walk to the bathroom together. However, she was met with a very unfamiliar look from her friend, who said, “Wen Xiaoyu, I can’t believe you’re this kind of person. Let’s break off our friendship. I don’t want to be friends with someone like you!”

Wen Xiaoyu’s smile immediately froze on her face, her heart racing as she pretended to be confused. “Ayu, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

Ayu huffed, “We all know about the situation between you and Wen Yue. You were the one who spread those rumors about her. No need to argue. You’re clever, but we aren’t fools. If you weren’t being malicious, then why didn’t you explain things when the rumors got out? After all, Wen Yue is your cousin, right?”

With one sentence, Wen Xiaoyu was left speechless.

“Anyway, I don’t want to play with you anymore.”

Wen Xiaoyu looked expressionlessly as her friend walked away hand in hand with other girls, feeling extremely aggrieved. If they didn’t want to play together, then fine—who cared? She had long been fed up with her friend’s condescending attitude. Just because her family had some money, she thought she was so great!

Fuming, she turned to find someone else to play with but discovered that no one in the class was willing to pay her any attention. Eventually, she returned to her seat, opened her book, and began to cry on the desk.

No matter what, Wen Xiaoyu was still just a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl. Being isolated by so many people was too much for her to bear.

“Still have the face to cry,” Li Nianqiu scoffed, resting her chin on her hand, and lowered her voice. “I thought her skin was thick enough not to care about this stuff.”

Wen Yue remained calm. “Forget about it. She tried to tarnish my reputation before. Now it’s her turn to face the music. I’m done with her.”

Li Nianqiu looked at her and said, “You have a good temper.”

Wen Yue smiled lightly.

It wasn’t that she had a good temper; she just didn’t want to stoop to the level of a young girl. Perhaps it was because she had been a teacher in her previous life? After all, they were the flowers of the motherland, and she had learned her lesson, so there was no need to hold a grudge.

They were in their final year of high school. No matter how big the issue was, it all revolved around the college entrance examination. So, the uproar caused by this incident quieted down within a couple of days, and everyone started to devote themselves to their studies, creating a suddenly tense atmosphere.