Chapter 37 I think I heard Gu Qingke's voice...

The first live-streamed vegetable sale had just ended, and after a two-day rest, the villagers started busy spreading fertilizer on the corn.

Su Tangtang and her family also bought fertilizer and spread it together. Because the weather was too hot, everyone avoided the hottest time of day and chose to go to the fields when it was cooler.

When Su Tangtang and her friends returned from the fields that day, they could hear the village was bustling with activity from afar. There were firecrackers going off and people singing on a stage. When they got closer, they found that someone was celebrating a wedding.

"Grandpa, whose wedding is it?" Su Tangtang asked curiously.

The old man chuckled and pointed ahead, "The Ersheng family, his son is thirty now, and he's finally found a wife!"

Su Tangtang looked in the direction he pointed and saw Ersheng beaming with joy, happily handing out candy to the villagers who were watching.

Meng Meng pulled Ke Tangshu and said, "Come on, let's go and share in the joy."

After saying that, she pulled him through the crowd, got close to Ersheng, and said a few auspicious words with a smile, "Uncle, congratulations!"

Ersheng was tall and thin, and quite old. His face was full of wrinkles when he smiled. "Thank you, young lady."

As he spoke, he grabbed a handful of wedding candies and stuffed them into her hand.

"Thank you, Uncle!" Meng Meng took the candy, then turned and asked, "Is there a song and dance performance tonight?"

"Yes, yes, we hired people to sing and dance!"

Meng Meng's eyes lit up, and she turned to Ke Tangshu, saying, "Shall we go out and take a look tonight?"

Ke Tangshu, however, was a little impatient. "Let's talk about it tonight."

Hearing his tone, Meng Meng also became unhappy. "If you don't want to come, then don't come. Why are you being so rude?"

Ke Tangshu didn't respond; he simply stood silently to the side.

Meng Meng was annoyed by his behavior and turned away in a huff.

Su Tangtang was listening to an old lady gossiping about Ersheng's family when she turned around and saw Meng Meng walking ahead angrily, with Ke Tangshu following slowly behind.

These two...fought again?

The thought flashed through her mind, but she was quickly drawn to the gossip about Ersheng's family.

"I heard that his daughter-in-law was bought," Aunt Zhang said in a low voice.

“I’ve heard about it too,” Aunt Zhang leaned closer, “It cost over 100,000 yuan.”

Zhou Yan and Su Tangtang exchanged a glance and simultaneously pricked up their ears.

When Huo Yizhou saw Su Tangtang listening intently to the gossip, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up, and his eyes were filled with a bit of doting.

Shen Yingying frowned slightly and interjected, "Isn't this... illegal?"

Aunt Zhang glanced at her and said, "What law is this against? They were introduced by a legitimate matchmaker. The money they spent is for the bride price, and the new bride will bring her back. The matchmaker only gets a small introduction fee at most."

Aunt Zhang quickly chimed in, "Yes, nowadays many men who are not well-off, either have physical disabilities or are poor and can't find wives, will ask a matchmaker to introduce them to women. The girls introduced by the matchmakers are all from the mountains because they want to get out of the mountains."

"There are several families like that in our village and the next village, and they're all doing just fine now, aren't they?"

Lin Lang's expression was serious. "But this sounds like human trafficking."

Aunt Zhang panicked and hurriedly explained, "You can't say things like that! It's all consensual, one willing to marry and the other willing to be married, how can that be considered human trafficking?"

"Moreover, they still need to meet in person. If they don't like each other, neither the woman nor the man will be willing to accept it."

The crowd looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Although it seemed like a mutual agreement on the surface, who knew how much helplessness and bitterness lay behind it?

Back home, Su Tangtang sat on a chair in the main room, her mind still replaying the words spoken by Aunt Zhang and the others.

She looked at Huo Yizhou, who was tidying up the table, and couldn't help but ask, "Do you think what they're doing... is illegal?"

Huo Yizhou paused, straightened up and looked at her. "Legally speaking, it doesn't count. They had a matchmaker, and the two sides had met. The money was nominally a bride price, not a sale."

Su Tangtang sighed softly, "But I still feel uneasy."

“I understand,” Huo Yizhou said gently. “It’s natural for us to feel something is wrong, but for some people, this may be their only option.”

Su Tangtang nodded. "I understand the reasoning."

Huo Yizhou walked to her side and said in a steady tone, "I know you feel sorry for that girl, but everyone's path is different. Some people are born into privilege, while others are born to struggle for survival. For her, leaving the mountains may be the best way out right now. At least her children will have a higher starting point than if they stayed in the mountains."

He paused, his voice becoming even softer, "You should know that it's easy to get into the mountains, but to get out of them... is often as difficult as climbing to heaven."

Su Tangtang felt a mix of emotions, but hearing Huo Yizhou's words made her feel a little better.

Yes, people cannot choose their birth, but they can ultimately strive for the kind of life they want to live.

After dinner, the sounds of singing and dancing drifted from the village, immersing the entire village in a festive atmosphere. Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou joined in the fun for a while, but soon returned. The joyful singing and dancing continued until 10 p.m. before gradually subsiding.

Normally, the village would be completely dark and quiet at this hour, with only the chirping of crickets and the occasional bark of a dog. But tonight, Su Tangtang lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Her slight movement woke Huo Yizhou on the other bed. There were five or six meters between them, with a cabinet and a curtain in between. He asked softly, "Can't sleep?"

"Hmm," Su Tangtang stared at the dark ceiling, "I'm having trouble sleeping."

"Would you like to go for a walk?" he suggested.

"So late?" she asked, somewhat surprised.

"Maybe walking around will make it easier to fall asleep."

Su Tangtang thought for a moment and then replied, "Okay."

She walked into the main room.

There's no air conditioning in the countryside, so we rely on fans on summer nights. Fortunately, it gets a bit cooler at night, so it's not so stuffy.

The two of them didn't change their clothes and gently pushed open the door to walk out of the yard.

"Shall we go to the fields and take a look?" Su Tangtang suddenly suggested.

Huo Yizhou nodded in agreement, but Su Tangtang couldn't help but laugh, "Aren't we being a bit crazy? It's already one in the morning."

Huo Yizhou smiled and said, "If this were in the city, the lights would still be on at this time, but the village is completely quiet."

“Yes,” Su Tangtang replied, then asked curiously, “What time did you usually go to bed at night?”

The original book doesn't describe Huo Yizhou, a supporting character, in much detail; his lifestyle is almost entirely blank. However, the author spares no effort in describing Gu Qingke, the male protagonist. He goes for a run at night when he can't sleep, and his hobbies and near-perfect character make him, in short, a perfect male protagonist.

But perhaps because she had traveled from another time, Su Tangtang felt that the current Gu Qingke, and even the female lead Shen Yingying, seemed to be subtly different from the story she had read.

“When I’m not busy, I go to bed at ten o’clock. When I’m busy, it’s common to stay up until one or two in the morning,” Huo Yizhou replied.

Su Tangtang asked knowingly, "So... are you more often busy, or more often not busy?"

She knew in her heart that as the company boss, he was extremely career-oriented and could not possibly leave work on time like an ordinary employee, but she just wanted to hear him say it in person and wanted to talk to him a few more times.

Huo Yizhou chuckled lightly, "Of course, I'm busier most of the time."

He paused, turned his head to look at her, and in the dim light of the flashlight, a faint smile played on his lips. "What, so curious about me?"

Su Tangtang caught a glimpse of his upturned lips, and her heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.

She forced herself to remain calm and looked straight ahead, but mustered her courage to reply, "Yes, it's just curiosity."

“What a coincidence,” Huo Yizhou said gently, “I’m also very curious about you.”

Su Tangtang subconsciously used a joke to cover her racing heart, "What's there for me to be curious about? A quick online search will bring up all my news, with all sorts of scandals flying around."

“But the you online is very different from the you now,” Huo Yizhou said seriously. “What I found was nothing more than how you chased after Gu Qingke. That information… feels meaningless.”

Su Tangtang was speechless for a moment.

“What I want to understand more about is the you in front of me,” he added softly.

These words made Su Tangtang's heart race. What did he mean? Could it be... that Huo Yizhou had feelings for her?

The thought had barely crossed her mind when she quickly shook her head inwardly: Impossible!

Perhaps it's because her online personality is quite different from her real-life personality that I'm curious and want to ask her.

She was panicking inside, but outwardly she tried to remain calm. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

Huo Yizhou looked at her profile, which was always turned to the side, and asked, "The person in the online video is you, and the person standing next to me now is also you, so why is there such a big change?"

Su Tangtang's heart skipped a beat.

She joked, half-jokingly, trying to get away with it, "Because I was reborn."

Huo Yizhou was visibly taken aback for a moment, then chuckled softly, "Reborn?"

“Yes,” she continued to make up, “I think Su Tangtang, who is clinging to Gu Qingke, is like a madwoman. If she continues, she will definitely not have a good ending. It’s better to wake up sooner. My family is well-off, and my parents and brothers love me. Why should I waste all my energy on a man who doesn’t love me?”

This is actually what Su Tangtang always felt sorry for the original owner of the body. Despite having a great hand and being born into privilege, she made a mess of her life.

Huo Yizhou said calmly, "That's good, that's how it should be."

Su Tangtang gave a soft "hmm," and said, "You can't always put all your eggs in one basket."

"So, you've really given up on me?"

Suddenly, a chilling voice rang out in the silent night.

The sudden sound startled Su Tangtang. She instinctively threw herself into Huo Yizhou's arms before whispering, "I think I heard Gu Qingke's voice."

Huo Yizhou looked down at the person who had thrown himself into his arms, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes, but his tone was calm, "Remove 'seems'."

Su Tangtang turned her head to look behind her, and sure enough, not far behind them, Gu Qingke was standing there.

She turned back, her tone tinged with confusion, "What's he doing here?"

Gu Qingke's face was gloomy, and he spoke in a cold voice, "I go for a night run."

Su Tangtang was speechless for a moment.

She had just remembered that Gu Qingke had a habit of jogging at night, but she never expected to run into him by chance.

Just as Su Tangtang was about to speak, she realized that she had rushed into Huo Yizhou's arms in her panic, and quickly took a step back to create some distance.

Feeling the sudden emptiness in his arms, Huo Yizhou felt a faint sense of loss.

In fact, he had noticed Gu Qingke long ago. Seeing that he was following behind, Huo Yizhou deliberately asked about Su Tangtang's changes during this period, just so that Gu Qingke could hear him.

Men understand men best.

Gu Qingke simply couldn't accept that the girl who had always followed him had suddenly turned and left, causing him to feel a sense of loss. In his subconscious, he had already assumed that Su Tangtang should always humbly follow behind him, letting him ignore her and treat her with disdain.

Author's note: I'm a little late...

It's past midnight, sob sob sob

My little pink flower from the 23rd is gone! [crying emoji]