Chapter 17: I’ve Definitely Found My True Love

Several new educated youths were heading to the brigade office to collect their rations — each person was to carry ten catties of sorghum with husks and fifteen catties of wheat.

Chen Mingxu didn’t bother with carrying his own share first. Instead, he hurried to Yu Jingjing’s side.
“Jingjing, let me help you carry it.”

“No need.” Yu Jingjing rejected him again. “I can do it myself. Have you already forgotten how I knocked down those two cheap women?”

Besides, Chen Mingxu was the frail scholar type and definitely not as strong as she was.

Gong Fanrui had been pampered since childhood and couldn’t handle carrying grain, yet she saw how Yu Jingjing effortlessly slung hers onto her back.

A new male educated youth named Ding Mingzhou stepped up and asked,
“Comrade Gong, do you need my help?”

“Then thank you,” she replied.

“No need to be so polite, Comrade Gong.”

Gong Fanrui was feeling smug again. Even if Yu Jingjing had the strength, she had to do all the work herself. Meanwhile, she, Gong Fanrui, had someone helping her and didn’t need to lift a finger.

Zhao Yuan was a tall girl who had done all kinds of chores at home and could easily carry the rations. For Yu Jingjing, it was even easier — she hoisted her load with no effort at all.

After the rations were brought back, it was time to talk about meal arrangements.

Fang Yuhao said, “If any of the new educated youths want to join our meal group, then bring a week’s worth of food rations first. Once you’ve finished those, then we’ll collect again for the next—”

Before she could finish, Jiang Wan interrupted, casting a sideways glance at Yu Jingjing and Zhao Yuan.
“I don’t think Comrade Yu and Comrade Zhao want to eat with us. Didn’t you all see them eating on their own at noon?”

As she spoke, she glanced over at Gong Fanrui.

“Eating alone is fine with me,” Yu Jingjing responded.

She had grain and vegetables in her spatial storage. If she wanted meat, she could just go hunt some wild game in the mountains. Eating on her own was much better than joining their group.

However, she couldn’t decide for Zhao Yuan.
“Yuan Yuan, I won’t be joining their group. If you want to eat with them, you can give them your food rations.”

“Jingjing, how could I leave you alone? I’ll eat with you.”

Yu Jingjing really wanted to say it wasn’t necessary. She had her own spatial storage — being alone meant freedom.

But for now, she agreed.
“Alright then, we’ll eat together.”

Chen Mingxu showed up again.
“Jingjing, I’ll eat with you guys.”

“No need. Two young girls eating with a grown man? People will gossip.”

Chen Mingxu had no idea how many times he had already been rejected, yet he showed no signs of giving up on Yu Jingjing.

Jiang Wan clenched her teeth. She had just wanted to make things difficult for Yu Jingjing, but she hadn’t expected her to agree so straightforwardly.

Chen Wei interjected,
“Comrade Jiang, who are you to decide whether others can join our meal group? Are you the leader of the educated youth here?”

Jiang Wan immediately turned to Fang Yuhao.
“Comrade Fang, I didn’t mean anything by it. I just thought that Comrades Yu and Zhao didn’t seem to enjoy being with us. Since they don’t want to join, why force them?”

Fang Yuhao nodded in agreement.
“Comrade Jiang is right. There’s no need to force anyone. Comrade Chen, we should respect the wishes of the new educated youths.”

Chen Wei regretted forgiving Fang Yuhao — he was still siding with Jiang Wan.

With Fang Yuhao backing her, Jiang Wan stepped up to Yu Jingjing and Zhao Yuan and said,
“Since you two have decided to cook separately, don’t use the water or firewood collected by the veteran educated youths. You’ll also need to buy your own iron pots. As for the vegetables from the garden — if you want any, grow them yourselves.”

“That’s fine. But I’m not doing it because you said so — you don’t have the authority.”

Chen Wei felt guilty.
“Comrades Yu and Zhao, don’t listen to her. She has no right to make those decisions.”

“Comrade Chen, we understand your good intentions. But honestly, we wanted to cook separately anyway.”

“Well… alright then. If you run into any trouble, feel free to come to me anytime.”

“Okay, thank you, Comrade Chen.”

Yu Jingjing not only had grain and vegetables in her spatial storage — she also had pots, bowls, and utensils. But she needed to come up with a proper reason for taking them out.

A few new educated youths went to a carpenter’s house in the village and each bought a wooden trunk, a rack, and a bamboo mat. Since they couldn’t carry it all back, the carpenter would deliver everything to the educated youth compound in his cart that evening.

Meanwhile, Lu Yunyang was on his way to the educated youth compound, carrying a little bunny made from willow twigs. He planned to give the bunny to Comrade Jiang Wan, hoping she would like it.

Since he was young, just like his second brother, he had never been interested in any girls. But after seeing Comrade Jiang Wan a month ago, he found himself unknowingly drawn to her.

He believed in his feelings — once he fell for a girl, it meant he truly liked her. He would pursue her, marry her, and make her the love of his life, his one and only.

Holding the bunny, his heart felt like it was bouncing just like the bunny in his hands. Full of excitement and nervousness, he headed toward the compound.

But before he could reach the entrance, he saw a few unfamiliar young people. His father had gone to receive the new educated youths today — these must be the new arrivals.
Who cared who they were—it had nothing to do with him. He was going in to find Jiang Wan.

But as those people got closer, he suddenly noticed a particularly striking young woman.

That girl had bright eyes and perfect teeth, skin like snow. Although she wasn’t exactly slim, she gave off a delicate, pitiful aura that tugged at the heart.

As she walked closer and closer, his heartbeat quickened, his breathing grew rapid. He touched his face—it was burning. It had to be red.

When he felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore, he quickly turned away. If he kept looking, he was afraid he’d pass out.

Why was he feeling this way?

It was intense—too intense!

He remembered when he first met Jiang Wan, his heart had sped up a bit, sure, but his breathing wasn’t this strained, and his overall reaction wasn’t nearly as overwhelming.

At the time, he thought he liked Jiang Wan and that his reaction was what it meant to feel moved.

But now, he realized he had truly fallen for this girl.

He raised his hand to his chest—his heart was thumping like it wanted to leap out.

“Eh? Who’s that guy? Why’s he so red all over? What’s he doing standing at the entrance of the educated youth spot?”

Hearing the voice, Lu Yunyang glanced back and just happened to lock eyes with Yu Jingjing. He immediately turned his head away again.

No, no, he was going to faint. He bolted from the scene.

It was confirmed—definitely confirmed—he had found his true love!

Qin Lulu watched Lu Yunyang run off and muttered, “Weirdo.” Was she really that stunning? What a bumpkin—he was blushing all over, even his ears. Must be shy from seeing someone as beautiful as her.

That evening, all the educated youths except Yu Jingjing and Zhao Yuan ate dinner together. While rummaging through her bag, pretending to look for something, Yu Jingjing suddenly felt something cold and hard—metallic.

She pulled it out to take a look. It was a golden imported flip pocket watch.

First, the old man had given her a wristwatch. Now, suddenly, she had a pocket watch.

But she couldn’t remember ever putting a pocket watch in her bag. Besides, her family had never owned one like this. She searched through both the original host’s memories and her own since transmigrating but couldn’t recall any moment where this pocket watch came into her possession. She had absolutely no memory of it.

Could someone have slipped it into her bag?

And why would they do that?

While Zhao Yuan was in the bathroom, she carefully examined the pocket watch. There was nothing unusual about it—no markings or hidden features.

Unable to figure out where it came from, she put it back. Thinking her bag wasn’t safe enough, she tossed it straight into her space.

There were already weirdos here in the educated youth camp—what if there were thieves too?

Her bunk was right next to Zhao Yuan’s, and Gong Fanrui’s was beside Zhao Yuan’s. When she went out to use the bathroom, Gong Fanrui suddenly chased after her and said, “Don’t get too smug. My grandpa might’ve given you a watch, but do you know how much he’s given me? Compared to what I have, that watch of yours is nothing.”

“What’s that got to do with me?”

“Oh, and it’s not just my grandpa—my three older brothers have given me tons of things, too. I’m the only girl in the family. You have no idea how much they spoil me.”

“Then why did you still come down to the countryside? Shouldn’t they have kept you in the city?”

“I wanted to come. And they’ll all visit me here later.”

“That’s your business. Don’t tell me about it.”

Yu Jingjing had no interest in talking to her. As for that wristwatch, she absolutely wasn’t giving it back to Gong Fanrui—let her try whatever she wanted.

Gong Fanrui glared at Yu Jingjing’s back as she walked away. Once her brothers came to visit, Yu Jingjing would die of envy.

After lights-out in the dorm, Yu Jingjing began mentally chatting with the system.

“Xiao Caicai, I’ve already figured out that I transmigrated into a novel, but the original host isn’t even a character in that book. So why did I still end up here?”

【Th-this…】

“System, you’re stuttering. Are you trying to lie to me?” People usually stammer when they’re making things up.

【I’m not trying to lie—it’s just that I really don’t know. I’m just a system that binds to a host and helps them. I don’t know anything else. I’m actually just a poor little thing too.】

It blurted everything out in one breath without any punctuation. Surely that gave away how guilty it was feeling.

“You stopped stammering real quick the moment I called you out. Fine, fine, forget it. I’ll just assume I’m a special transmigrator—there must be some kind of extraordinary adventure waiting for me.”

After her chat with the system, she soon fell asleep.