Why would you give up the opportunity to study abroad and a high-paying, decent job and choose a government unit in a remote county? The general environment is poor and backward, neither transportation nor life is convenient, and the work is repetitive and monotonous. There is simply no satisfaction in anything. Human beings are very purposeful creatures. When doing something, they usually have a purpose to achieve. Even if it is just for fun, it is also a reason.

"Jing Ling, let me tell you a story." Yun Shu sat down next to him, put his arms around his waist, and snuggled in his arms.

The girl had a faint fragrance on her body, not the perfume that girls like to use nowadays, but the natural fragrance of plants and trees. Yunshu likes to grow plants. Whenever she needs to live in a place permanently, her house will be turned into a small indoor garden in a very short time. She plants some easy-to-grow plants, and over time, her house is imbued with the breath of nature.

Jing Ling used to get along very naturally with Yun Shu, but tonight, after being disturbed by that gossipy woman Chen Ze, he felt a little unnatural facing her closeness. Fortunately, his behavior was not very obvious, and Yunshu was immersed in his own thoughts and did not notice it. He quickly adjusted his mindset, relaxed his body, reached out and gently stroked her long hair, his fingers running through the smooth hair.

"Well, I'm listening."

Before his younger brother was born, Yunshu's life was relatively normal. His father always had a serious expression and never smiled. Every day, my mother was busy playing cards with other full-time housewives, visiting beauty salons, and trying various folk remedies to give birth to a son. The two of them had always been like this in their limited years together, so much so that she thought they were born that way. Until Tan Yunzhong was born, she stood outside the delivery room with her father waiting. When the nurse came out and told her congratulations that it was a boy, a smile instantly broke out on her usually serious face.

There was also the mother in the delivery room. She rarely smiled so gently at Yunshu and waved her over, "Come and see your little brother. He is so cute. As his sister, you must take good care of him in the future." Yunshu was still young at that time and didn't know what this meant. She obediently moved over and saw the wrinkled newborn in the cradle. She frowned subconsciously, "How ugly!"

I was caught off guard by a slap in the face.

"How do you talk like that! Who taught you that?" Mother's expression suddenly changed.

His face was burning, and Yunshu subconsciously reached out to cover it, with confusion and bewilderment in his eyes. Upon hearing the news, family members rushed over. Because they were anxious to see the newborn, they didn't notice the little one standing by the bed. She fell to the ground in the crowd, and when she looked up, she saw tall backs. With no one to support her, she sat on the ground for a long time, watching their happy smiles and listening to them taking turns praising how cute the newborn was.

For a long time afterwards, whenever Yunshu recalled that afternoon and those scenes replayed in his mind, his heart would ache.

Tan Yunzhong is not stupid, he is just spoiled too much. As long as he wants something, someone will quickly deliver it to him. When you can get what you want without any effort at all, there is no point in trying.

The two were three years apart in age, so it was natural that they went to the same school in elementary school. Tan Yunzhong’s daily concerns are about what’s delicious and fun to eat, while Yunshu naively thinks that as long as she gets good grades, she can win her parents’ attention. At least that's what other kids do.

What is the result?

The teachers knew Tan Yunzhong's identity and although they didn't say anything openly, they couldn't help but compare the two siblings in private. After hearing this by chance, Tan Yunzhong, driven by his ridiculous self-esteem, went to find Yunshu and warned her not to get first place in the exam again. Yunshu ignored him, so he reported the case to his mother.

Soon Yunshu was scolded by her mother, "I have taught you since you were young that Yunzhong is still young, and you, as the elder sister, should learn to be humble to him. You are a girl, and you will get married in the future, but Yunzhong is different, he is a boy, and he will inherit the family business in the future, and he will be the future support for you and Yunjin..."

Yunshu liked the word first and liked to see her name at the top of the honor roll, so she refused to obey. The consequence was that in the second year of junior high school, she was transferred to an ordinary middle school in a remote county, where she lived in the school dormitory and was only allowed to go home once every two weeks.

“When you know you are wrong, you will come back.”

The living conditions in the county are completely different from those in the city. At the beginning, she found it difficult to adapt, but she never thought of admitting her mistakes. There, she met a very good friend, a girl named Li Zhaodi, who was her deskmate and roommate, and she called her A Zhao.

A Zhao's home was in a remote village within the jurisdiction of the county seat. The school was far from his home, so he had to go to school with a torch before dawn and return home after dark in the evening. There are many children like her. Her family was relatively well-off in the village. She was admitted to the county middle school after elementary school and came here to study.

She works very hard, listens carefully in class, and takes the time during breaks to ask the teacher or consult classmates if she doesn't understand something. Yunshu is able to hold the top spot in the best middle school in the city. In addition to being smart, he also puts in a lot of hard work. After she transferred to this school, A Zhao would discuss with her any questions she didn't understand. In return, she tried hard to take care of Yunshu in life.

The two were very good friends for a while, until something unexpected happened.

That was in the second half of the third year of junior high school, when the high school entrance examination was approaching. A Zhao's grades are among the best in the school, and it is almost certain that he will be admitted to the key high school in the county. The teacher likes to tell students about college life, and A Zhao has always been longing for it. She and Yunshu agreed to go to the county's No. 1 Middle School together, study hard together, and apply to the same local university, so that she could visit Yunshu often.

However, one weekend, when A Zhao came back from his home, he felt a little strange. After Yunshu asked her repeatedly, she finally told him the whole story while crying.

A Zhao has a younger brother who is three years younger than her. That year, her brother had just finished primary school and was about to enter junior high school. His grades were not good enough to get into the county junior high school, and his parents were unwilling to let him continue studying in the village school, so they gritted their teeth and used their connections to pay the expensive school selection fee to get him into the county middle school. A Zhao's family is well-off, but only relative to other people in the village. The best they can do is to send their two children to school in the county, and that's already the limit. However, the school selection fee paid by my younger brother almost used up all the family savings, and we could only barely support one person's education.

It goes without saying who to choose and who to abandon.

Yunshu couldn't sleep all night, holding tightly the bank card which contained her little bit of private savings. She tossed and turned until dawn, when she finally fell into a deep sleep. Before falling asleep, she thought that when it was daybreak she would tell A Zhao not to be sad and that she would lend her money to continue her studies so that she could get through the current difficulties first and they could talk about the future later.

But when she woke up, she never had the chance to say it.

Before dawn, A Zhao jumped out of the corridor window of the six-story dormitory building. The dormitory manager was awakened and when she opened the door she saw a person lying on the ground with blood spreading on the ground like a blood-colored flower. Many light sleepers were woken up. They opened the windows and looked down, and screams echoed throughout the campus.

People who commit suicide by jumping off a building look very scary when they die, but when Yunshu saw Ah Zhao's body from afar, he didn't feel scared, he just felt heartbroken. That was the first time she realized the fragility of life. She felt sad for A Zhao, but she also felt sorry for herself. They have similar circumstances and sympathize with each other, but at the same time there are differences. She is much better off than A Zhao.

That was the age when the thirst for knowledge was the strongest, and also the period when self-awareness was truly awakened. At that time, Yunshu was not looking forward to the future like most people around her, but was trying to figure out what had caused her, A Zhao, and many other girls like them to encounter such misfortune.

"Compared to studying abroad or accepting a high-paying job, government work is really a terrible choice. It will continue to lower my quality of life, but it is the best way for me to realize my wishes. I hope that one day I can really have a say and do my best to help girls like Ah Zhao stay away from what she has experienced."

"I once wavered. I applied for a graduate program at a foreign university only because I was a coward and wanted to escape, get away from it all, and never come back."

"Thank you for giving me the courage to stay."

Yunshu's voice became choked with sobs when he finished speaking. She buried her face in Jing Ling's arms, her hot tears soaking her thin summer T-shirt, as if a raging fire was burning her heart.

"Don't be sad, I will always be with you." He comforted softly, "You should report there in early September. I will go to Jiangcheng to record a program at the end of August. Although I can't report with you, I can take this opportunity to accompany you to take a look, find a house, buy furniture, and decorate your small garden. When I come back from Jiangcheng, I will give you a small pet."

"Okay!" Yun Shu responded in a muffled voice.

"It's late now, go to bed."

It took Yunshu a long time to leave his arms. Her eyes were slightly swollen, and her eye sockets and nose tip were slightly red. She stood up, walked to the door of the room in her couple slippers, opened the door and turned around, "Then I'll go to bed first."

Jing Ling pretended not to understand her look, "Good night."

Yun Shu was stunned for a moment, then replied, "Good night."

After the door was closed, Jing Ling sat back on the sofa, squinted his eyes slightly, and fell into deep thought. He used to work in the public security system and also in the government. Compared to boys, girls are naturally at a disadvantage, and it is harder to climb up in such a place than anywhere else. But since Yunshu wants to, he will do his best to clear the obstacles for her.

Originally, the identity of a member of the Tan family should have been an excellent help and a very high starting point for Yunshu, but the fact was just the opposite. It can be said that it was the Tan family who pushed her onto this path. She chose the South Administrative District instead of the West Administrative District because she was afraid that the Tan family would intervene and stop it.

But it doesn’t matter now. With him here, the Tan family won’t be able to get their hands on us again this time! It’s time to put the favor I had previously owed to Xu Shaohuai to use.