Chapter 32: The Bumpy Ride

Because she needed to send something to her father, Tang Wan hurried back to the sent-down youth settlement after having dinner at Grandma Bai’s house.

Her urgent task was to write a letter to her father. Tang Wan had seen the handwriting in the books the original owner brought, and it was very similar to her own, so she had no worries about writing the letter herself.

She wrote the letter very carefully, first describing the environment here, then writing about how she had started sharing meals at Grandma Bai’s place, trying not to worry her father too much.

Then she slightly vented some complaints, writing that the reality here was very different from what the aunt had said. If she had known it would be like this, she wouldn’t have acted impulsively.

Of course, Tang Wan couldn’t explicitly write that she wished she hadn’t gone to the countryside—such words were very dangerous.

But what she wrote was enough for her father to understand her meaning, and most importantly, to let him know why she had been so determined to choose to go down in the first place.

It was because she had been misled by relatives who helped the family.

After finishing the letter, Tang Wan packed some other items. There were still two cans of preserved food in her space.

Originally, she didn’t plan to send those, but she wanted her father to have some Lingquan water, and after thinking it over, she decided the cans were the safest way to send it.

She packed everything into one parcel, then went to bed early.

The next morning, even without an alarm, Tang Wan woke up early.

Feeling lighthearted inside, she woke up when it was still almost dark, and stayed awake until dawn, then got up to wash.

By the time she was ready, it was still not fully daylight.

Without a set appointment time, she planned to go to Grandma Bai’s first.

But unexpectedly, when she opened the gate of the sent-down youth settlement, Qin Zheng was already waiting outside.

The tall figure was leaning against a bicycle, staring at the gate.

When Tang Wan opened the door, she immediately met Qin Zheng’s gaze.

“When did you get here? Why so early?” Tang Wan didn’t expect Qin Zheng to be waiting outside.

“Not long ago,” Qin Zheng said, reaching out to take the packed parcel from Tang Wan, then handed her a package wrapped in oil paper.

Tang Wan smelled the sweet scent of corn immediately. Opening it, sure enough, it was corn cakes steamed by Grandma Bai and an egg.

“Have you eaten already?” Tang Wan asked.

“I have. You can eat it on the bike later. Let’s go.” Qin Zheng hung the parcel on the handlebar, stretched his long legs and got on the bike, one foot on the ground, waiting for Tang Wan to get on.

Tang Wan was wearing a skirt today, so she sat sideways on the bike’s back seat. This was her first time sitting like this on a bike’s rear seat.

Once she settled, Qin Zheng spoke up, reminding her: “Hold onto my clothes, don’t fall off.”

Tang Wan looked at the food in her hands with some hesitation, then chose the most stable position.

She held Qin Zheng’s waist with one hand so she could eat with the other.

When her slightly cool hand touched Qin Zheng’s side waist, he noticeably stiffened for a moment, but the bike soon started moving.

Tang Wan focused on eating the corn cake in her hand.

They set off before the sky was fully bright, and they didn’t meet anyone on the village road.

The road outside the village wasn’t as good as inside, and because of the drought, dust was thick on the road.

Tang Wan wanted to eat the egg after finishing the corn cake, but with so much dust, she feared half the bite would be dirt, so she put the egg directly into her bag.

The dirt road outside the village was bumpier and uneven, and Tang Wan thought there seemed to be more uneven spots than before.

At first, she could keep her balance, but gradually, holding Qin Zheng with one hand was no longer enough to keep steady.

“If you can’t sit steady, you can hold me with both hands,” Qin Zheng’s voice came faintly in the wind.

But Tang Wan understood his meaning. Since he said that, she naturally didn’t hesitate. There was no one else on the road.

Tang Wan didn’t hold him with both hands as Qin Zheng imagined.

Sitting sideways, that posture wasn’t convenient.

Instead, she reached out to wrap her arms around Qin Zheng’s waist with one hand, while the other hand also rested on his waist. Because of this embrace, her upper body was almost pressed against Qin Zheng’s back.

Especially since her arm was bare and still a bit cool, Qin Zheng felt as if his abdomen had lost all sensation.

Feeling Qin Zheng’s stiffness in her hands and the bike becoming less bumpy, Tang Wan said nothing.

The morning breeze was pleasantly cool. On the big road beside the fields, the tall man riding the bike with the skirt-wearing girl sitting behind looked like a beautiful painting.

Qin Zheng had no trouble riding with Tang Wan on the back, and they never slowed down.

Compared to a cattle cart full of people, the bike was much faster. By almost dawn, they had already covered half the distance.

As they approached the town, more people appeared, coming and going along the road.

Tang Wan didn’t notice when she unconsciously grabbed onto Qin Zheng’s clothes again.

This time the ride was smoother, and soon they arrived in town.

After arriving, Qin Zheng first took Tang Wan to the post office to send the parcel. The post office had just opened.

Surprisingly, there was also a parcel waiting for Tang Wan.

She asked if she could pick it up later in the evening. Before the post office clerk could answer, Qin Zheng spoke first: “The post office will probably be closed by the time we come back tonight.”

“What should we do then? Is there a place to store parcels?” Tang Wan asked.

If she had come alone, she could just put the parcel in her space, no problem. But now Qin Zheng was here, so that method obviously wouldn’t work.

They wouldn’t return to town for at least half a month.

“You take it now. I’ll show you a place to put it later.”

“Will there be enough time?”

“It’s quick, the place is very close.” Qin Zheng gestured for Tang Wan to retrieve the parcel.

The parcel’s address was to the army, obviously sent by Tang Wan’s older brother, Tang Sheng.

“Where are we putting this?” Tang Wan asked, holding the parcel as she sat on the bike’s back.

“I’ll take you there,” Qin Zheng said, leading her confidently to a residence.

Tang Wan got off the bike and watched Qin Zheng park it.

“Let’s put it here. We’ll come back and pick it up later,” Qin Zheng said, pulling out a key and opening the door.

It was a fairly large house—houses this big were rare in town. The courtyard was empty and neatly kept.

“This is… how do you have the key?” Tang Wan was a bit surprised ever since she saw him unlock the door.