At that time, a few gossipy women and idle men who were enjoying the cool under the locust tree nearby were pointing and talking secretly, saying that Zhang Chunxue was taking advantage of the intellectuals in the city.
Is Zhang Chunxue the kind of person who can suffer in silence?
On the spot, her eyebrows raised, her eyes widened, and she put her hands on her hips and cursed those gossipers!
"Laugh! What are you laughing at? You're almost laughing your teeth off! He's an intellectual from the city, here to support our village's development! He's here to endure hardships! All of you, stop making sarcastic remarks and pollute his ears with those dirty words!"
She swiftly helped the young man, who was dizzy and nearly fell face first into the dirt, to steady himself, and very naturally reached out and patted the dust off his body.
"Hey, little comrade, are you okay? The roads in our village are full of potholes, not like the smooth concrete roads in your city. You'll have a long and hard time in the future!"
She still remembered that she looked him up and down several times, secretly marveling at him.
This young man is really handsome, with fair skin and tender flesh, as if he walked out of a New Year picture. The scholarly air about him is something that these peasants like them can never learn.
She had even teased him with a smile: "Hey, you little comrade, you're so handsome and elegant, like a grown-up girl. How can you endure the hard life in the countryside with your thin arms and legs?"
When Zhang Chunxue thought of this, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
How could she have imagined at that time that the 18-year-old young man who seemed so frail and delicate to her and who would cry and scream to go back to the city in a few days would stay in this remote and poor mountain village for more than ten years without saying a word.
Zhang Chunxue suddenly came back to his senses. The smile on his face had not yet completely disappeared, but was replaced by a trace of melancholy.
"Come to think of it, didn't all those educated youth return to the city one after another last year? Why...why didn't you go back to the city? Your family, aren't they...aren't they worried about you? You're not young anymore, and you're not getting married."
Song Xingzhi's steps were still calm and his expression was still gentle.
"They're anxious, of course they are. But I've explained everything to them, and they respect my opinion. Besides, I have an older brother, so it's not my turn to worry about the continuation of the family line."
When Zhang Chunxue heard this, her heart skipped a beat and she didn't know what to say.
Song Xingzhi seemed to see through her thoughts. His clear eyes looked over at her with a faint smile.
"Sister-in-law Haruyuki, don't you want to know what I told my family?"
Zhang Chunxue's heart skipped a beat.
She guessed almost subconsciously that he must have told her about her.
That little bit of panic quietly emerged from the bottom of my heart.
But now that things have come to this, I can't just keep silent and play dumb.
She swallowed dryly, her voice a little tight: "You...what did you say?"
Song Xingzhi's gaze was still on her face. There was no aggression in his gaze, but it was like a deep pool that could suck people in.
"I told my family that I already have someone I like in the village."
Zhang Chunxue's breathing suddenly stopped and her heart beat faster, as if it was about to jump out of her throat.
Song Xingzhi's voice continued, unhurriedly, "It's just...it's just that she's already married and has a family. So, I want to stay in the village. Just to be able to watch over her from afar is enough."
Zhang Chunxue's voice trembled slightly. "I... I don't understand you! Secretary Song, why are you doing this? After all these years... Haven't you ever met... met another woman who could make your heart flutter?"
Song Xingzhi looked at her anxious and angry expression, but instead of getting angry, he laughed softly.
"Sister Chunxue, you may not know this. We in the Song family are probably like this in our bones."
"My great-grandfather fell in love with my great-grandmother at first sight. Later, he found ways and put in a lot of effort to finally marry her off."
"It was the same with my grandfather and my second grandfather. It was the same with my father, my eldest uncle, and all the uncles from my second grandfather's family. To be honest, it was the same with my eldest brother in my generation."
"Our Song family is full of infatuated people. So, I told my family about my feelings. Although they were worried about me, they also... understood me very well."
When he said this, a gentle smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. There was no reluctance or bitterness in that smile, but instead a sense of relief and determination.
"My grandfather always said that there's nothing wrong with me staying in the village to develop the countryside. He also thinks there's nothing wrong with me staying with you."
"In this life, one must have a dream and a goal to live in order to have a good time. If you like someone, as long as she can live a good life and feel at ease, that's enough."
Zhang Chunxue felt a mixture of emotions as she listened to Song Xingzhi's heartfelt words.
It's touching, it's guilt, it's heartache, and there's also a hint of indescribable throbbing.
Her eyes felt slightly hot, and she looked at Song Xingzhi with a hoarse voice: "Song, Secretary Song... the way you said that makes me feel... I feel that I'm really sorry for you."
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