CHAPTER 6: Registration

That evening, after all the relatives and friends had eaten and gone home, Su Yuan was sweeping debris from the corners when Wen Yan came over.

Glancing upstairs, she said, “Dad went out on some errand — I don’t think he’s coming home tonight. Weren’t you looking for those letters? Now’s a good chance. I’ll keep watch for you.”

Her voice was barely above a whisper, just enough for the two of them to hear.
Su Yuan glanced around, then gave Wen Yan a slight nod.

In the past, after dinner, Zhang Lanjun would always go out for a walk. Recently, because of her foot injury, she couldn’t go out, so she spent her evenings cooling off in the courtyard instead.

Zhao Xiaoxue would keep her company until it got dark, and only then would they go inside.

The study was on the far end of the second floor. Seizing the moment when no one was around, Su Yuan slipped quietly inside.

The first thing she saw was a bookcase covering half a wall. In front of it stood a desk over a meter long. Other than a pen holder, the surface was completely bare.

This room was considered forbidden ground in the Su household. Su Jianguo never allowed anyone to enter without permission. She remembered that once, when Su Aimin had sneaked in and rummaged through things, he’d been beaten so badly it left her, as a child, deeply shaken.

The scene had been so brutal that it cast a long shadow over her — ever since then, apart from cleaning, she’d never willingly stepped foot into the study.

“Hoo…”

Taking a deep breath, Su Yuan started with the desk. Of its six drawers, two were locked. She carefully searched the other four, but came up empty-handed.

Now, only those two locked drawers remained. She stared at them for a while, then gave up.

The keys were definitely with Father Su. Picking the lock wasn’t an option. Her only hope now lay with the row of bookcases.

Time ticked by as she pulled out every book, flipped through them, then returned each to its place.

Knowing how meticulous her father was, she even checked for traces of dust between the books when putting them back.

Half an hour later, the top four rows were done — only the bottom row remained.

As the sky grew darker, Su Yuan unconsciously quickened her pace. Suddenly, something caught her eye: a hidden compartment beneath one of the books. If not for looking closely, it would be easy to miss.

She gently pushed open the tiny latch. Inside lay a neat stack of envelopes.

The light was too dim to read clearly, and she didn’t dare turn on the lamp, so she leaned in close. The mailing addresses were from all over the country, but strangely, every envelope was sealed with wax — as if no one had ever opened them.

She focused on the ones from the Northeast and quickly found two letters. The sender’s name was Su Yanning — her aunt.

Su Yuan hurriedly took out paper and pen, scribbling down the address.

Just then, Wen Yan’s voice drifted in from outside, startling her into shoving the paper away and ducking under the desk, her heart pounding wildly.

Moments later, the study door opened. Along with footsteps came Zhang Lanjun’s voice.

“Yanzi, why are you following me? Go back to bed. Xiaoxue is here with me.”

“Mom, I want to knit Aijun a sweater, but I keep getting it wrong. Why don’t you come to my room and take a look?”

Wen Yan hooked her arm through Zhang Lanjun’s, stopping her from heading toward the study.

Zhao Xiaoxue pouted. “Second Sister-in-law, what are you doing? I was waiting for Mom to show me the photo album.”

“It’s pitch black, what photos can you see? Why don’t you come with me instead? I happen to have two movie tickets I want to give you.”

To keep Su Yuan from being discovered, Wen Yan was really going all in.

Wanting her daughter to experience more of city life, Zhang Lanjun readily agreed for her. “Alright, let’s go together.”

So Wen Yan left, arm in arm with both women, quietly exhaling in relief as she went downstairs.

Only when their footsteps faded did Su Yuan crawl out from under the desk.

After finishing jotting down the address, she returned the envelopes to the hidden compartment, her mind full of questions.

Night fell quiet and deep.

Wen Yan slipped into her room, asking softly, “Well? Did you find anything?”

“Mhm. I got my aunt’s address.”

For Su Yuan, that was already half the battle.

Wen Yan was delighted for her. “Then my two movie tickets weren’t wasted. You didn’t see Xiaoxue’s face — she got the tickets for free and still complained about the seats. Didn’t even say thank you.”

Meanwhile, in the next room, Zhao Xiaoxue lay on her bed fiddling with those same tickets.

She wanted to watch the movie with Xiao Qi, and after much deliberation, couldn’t sleep at all…

The next morning, Zhao Xiaoxue took her lunchbox and went early to the canteen, hoping she might run into Xiao Qi.

Lately, the Su family had been the talk of the compound. Whenever someone saw her, they’d sneak in an extra glance. Some even came up to ask nosily, “How’s your mom’s foot? When will she be out walking again?”

Suppressing her impatience, Zhao Xiaoxue smiled. “She’s doing alright. Probably another half month before she can walk normally.”

“And… what’s going on between Su Yuan and Xiao Qi? Are they really together?”

At that, Zhao Xiaoxue’s face darkened. “Of course not. There’s nothing between them.”

As luck would have it, the moment she spoke, Xiao Qi appeared, striding toward them with a cold, intimidating aura.

The busybody took one look at him and quickly slipped away.

Zhao Xiaoxue instinctively took a step back. “I wasn’t badmouthing you. I was just telling the truth.”

Xiao Qi loathed her, his expression like ice. “What business is it of yours? Let me warn you — if you dare bully her, I’ll make you regret it.”

“I never bullied her!”

Feeling wronged but unwilling to give up on this promising man, Zhao Xiaoxue pulled out the movie tickets and, summoning her courage, said, “Su Yuan and I get along fine. Look, she even invited me to the movies.”

His gaze dropped to the tickets. Seeing they were for the new release, his expression finally eased a little. “Why would she invite you to the movies?”

“Why not? We have no grudges, and we’re both part of the Su family. Our parents tell us to respect and love each other.”

Unaware of the Su family’s true situation, Xiao Qi studied her for a long moment before believing her. His tone softened. “Would you sell me your ticket? I’ll pay for it.”

Seeing that she’d achieved her goal, Zhao Xiaoxue forced down the grin threatening to spill across her face and put on an air of reluctance. “I want to spend some quality time with Su Yuan, so I can’t sell you the ticket.”

Xiao Qi frowned, but for once spoke in a gentle tone. “As long as you’re willing to sell it to me, I can agree to one request of yours.”

Zhao Xiaoxue pretended to hesitate, and after a long moment finally said, “Then… alright. I’ve been craving braised pork. Why don’t you treat me to lunch? Once we’re done eating, I’ll give you the movie ticket.”

The thought of watching a movie with Su Yuan made Xiao Qi agree without a second thought.

—

Meanwhile.

Su Yuan borrowed a bicycle from Sun Xiaohu and rode over to the countryside volunteer registration office at the Revolutionary Committee.

Just standing there, her striking beauty and extraordinary bearing quickly drew the attention of the staff.

“Comrade, what can I help you with?”

Su Yuan gave a polite smile. “Hello, may I ask if there are any available slots for assignments to Longjiang Province?”

The staff member blinked in surprise, then asked curiously, “Is this for you, or are you asking on someone else’s behalf?”

“I want to register to go,” Su Yuan replied firmly.

Looking at her fair skin and delicate appearance, she didn’t seem like someone who could endure hardship. The staff member couldn’t help but caution her, “My hometown is in Longjiang. Winters there are bitterly cold — even locals can’t stand it. You’ll have to be mentally prepared. Most people aren’t willing to go there as educated youth.”

“It’s fine, I’m already prepared for it. May I ask when the earliest departure date is? And what are the locations? Can I choose for myself?”

Easy locations were snatched up quickly, while no one wanted the remote, bitterly cold ones. The staff member handed her a register and told her she could pick any.

Inside were more than ten placement sites, all under Longjiang’s jurisdiction, with departures scheduled for the end of the month.

Su Yuan flipped through the register quickly, then pointed at Baiyun Village, Qingshan City and asked, “Do you know how far this is from Harbin?”

“It’s more than four hours by train. If you like Harbin, you could choose a village closer to the city.”

Su Yuan shook her head. She said she liked Baiyun Village and decided to be stationed there.

The registration process was simple — it took less than ten minutes.

When she left the Revolutionary Committee, the warm sun shone above her, and she felt relaxed and content…

To avoid complications, she decided to keep the matter of registering to go down to the countryside a secret for now.

—

The next evening, Zhao Xiaoxue, wearing a brand-new dress, left the house in high spirits.

Zhang Lanjun noticed and, puzzled, turned to Su Yuan. “Where is she off to? Do you know?”

Sitting in the yard reading, Su Yuan didn’t even lift her head. “Didn’t Second Sister-in-law give her two movie tickets? She’s probably gone to the cinema.”

“She didn’t invite you to go with her?”

“No.”

Zhang Lanjun pursed her lips, a bit worried. She feared that her biological daughter, new to the household and inexperienced, might fall for the wrong man and ruin her future.

“Do you know who she’s watching it with?”

“I don’t.”

“You’re not going to ask? Maybe find out who she’s close to? Or when she’ll be home?”

“I really don’t know.”

Su Yuan still didn’t look up. Seeing her so unmoved, Zhang Lanjun raised her voice. “She’s your younger sister. Why don’t you care at all? What if she runs into bad people?”

They weren’t far apart, and Su Yuan could clearly sense her anger. She lifted her eyes from her book and asked, “The cinema is inside this military compound — what bad people could she possibly run into? If you’re that worried, should I help you over to take a look?”

Who knew what they might bump into then…

Realizing the possibility, Zhang Lanjun quickly refused. “My foot hasn’t healed yet, I can’t go.”

As expected, Su Yuan gave her a sincere look. “Mom, Xiaoxue has finally come home — you should pay more attention to her. And as for my brother and dad, they get so busy with work that they’re hardly ever around. You should remind them too — what’s work compared to Xiaoxue? She’s only eighteen. What if she gets tricked by a bad man?”

“…”

Zhang Lanjun’s eyes went wide. The retort hit her so hard she nearly choked.