Ji Yanchen's pace quickened, his old cotton shoes crushing the thin ice on the road.

Zi Xi jogged after him, her breath dissipating in the wind.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he suddenly grabbed an axe from the corner of the wall!

"Snap!"

The clothesline pole snapped in two, and the floral bed sheet hanging there fluttered to the ground.

"It's dirty...it's all dirty..."

Ji Yanchen stared at the footprint. The axe clattered to the ground. He breathed heavily, his fingers digging deep into his hair. The muscles in his back gradually stiffened under his cotton-padded coat.

Zi Xi silently picked up the bed sheet and soaked it in ice water.

As the frost flowers spread across the fabric, she walked behind him and slowly wrapped her arms around his stiff waist.

Ji Yanchen trembled violently, turning around abruptly as if burned, but the moment he saw Zi Xi's face, he released his grip.

"It's all in the past. Now that you have me, everything will be alright..."

Zi Xi gently patted his back to comfort him, and kissed his trembling eyelids.

Suddenly, as if all his strength had been drained, Ji Yanchen collapsed into her arms.

As scalding tears soaked Zi Xi's shoulder, he let out a whimper like a young animal.

*

The midday sun was scorching hot when suddenly the loudspeaker on the old locust tree at the village entrance crackled to life, followed by a booming voice: "...Reinstate the college entrance examination! Educated youth..."

Zi Xi practically burst in, slamming the door against the earthen wall with a loud crash.

Ji Yanchen was squatting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his fingers gently stroking the old books in the wooden box. The pages were yellowed with three years of dust, but they were all kept as treasures.

"Yan Chen! The college entrance examination has been reinstated!"

Her voice trembled, as if she were holding her breath, or as if she was about to burst into tears of joy.

Ji Yanchen looked up blankly, and before he could react, Zi Xi had already shoved the broken radio into his ear.

The cloth cover was worn and frayed, and the electrical crackled, but the announcer's voice was like a knife, piercing his ears word by word: "...The target students include workers, farmers, and educated youth..."

He froze, his breath caught in his throat.

The next second, he suddenly grabbed Zixi and pulled her so tight that she could barely breathe.

You're eligible to take the college entrance exam!

His Xixi can leave this place!

They can finally fly out of this poor mountain village and go to school!

As for himself?

Ji Yanchen had never even considered it.

All he knew was that from now on, he would have to work himself to the bone to earn money and support her.

He would propel her to the height she flew.

But suddenly, their courtyard gate was pounded on loudly.

"Lin Zhiqing! Can we borrow this series of books to copy?"

Liu Fang led five or six educated youths to squeeze at the door, holding half a bag of sweet potatoes as a thank-you gift.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, their eyes searched like hungry wolves, staring at the books that hadn't yet been put away inside the house, their eyes immediately lighting up as they looked at them.

Ji Yanchen watched them barge into the house with displeasure, looking like a group of bandits, and picked up a machete from beside the bed.

"We'll take turns copying it, and we absolutely won't damage it..."

A male educated youth reached out to touch the spine of the book.

With a whoosh, the machete chopped into the corner of the table!

The hilt of the knife vibrated and hummed, only half an inch away from that hand.

"Hey... don't do that. You can borrow the book, but you can only read it in our yard."

Zi Xi pressed down on the back of his hand, where the veins were bulging, to offer silent comfort.

Regardless of the era, impulsive acts of violence and murder are subject to legal consequences. They will go to university and may never have any further contact with them, so there's no need to get angry over something like this.

The group looked at each other in bewilderment.