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Zheng Nanle wouldn't feel inferior, nor would she have thoughts like, "He's a college student, and I'm just a village girl with no primary school education, so I'm not good enough for him."
Even if she doesn't work in the future and becomes a parasite kept by others, she won't.
Her confidence comes from within.
Looking to the future, she's considering whether she should start her own business.
Actually, I don't really want to.
She was tired.
Before the apocalypse in her previous life, she had already taken over her own company, getting up earlier than the chickens and sleeping later than the pigs, working busier than a wheel could turn in a week. After the apocalypse, as a high-level mental ability user, she had to go on missions to save people, serve as the base's guardian beast, cultivate, and participate in base decision-making, making her even busier than before the apocalypse.
Before the apocalypse, after a busy period, one could still take a break. But after the apocalypse, even when resting, one would only have one eye open.
In this safe and leisurely new world, she just wants to give up.
After thinking for a while, Zheng Nanle got up and went to the village chief's house.
In summer, it gets dark late, but people also finish work late. By the time they finish eating, the stars are already scattered, and it's dusk.
Hard work during the day leaves few people strolling around the village, except for the occasional bark of a dog that breaks the village's silence. Zheng Nanle walks along the village road under the moonlight, the shadows of the trees on the ground swaying like menacing monsters.
As she passed the educated youth settlement, she saw Zhang Yu returning from the direction of the back mountain. Under the moonlight, Zhang Yu had a relaxed smile on his face, and a smudge of oil glistened at the corner of his mouth.
Zheng Nanle chuckled; so this was stolen food brought back from the spree.
However, Zhang Yu doesn't know how to cook, so who made the food for her?
The thought flashed through Zheng Nanle's mind, but he didn't investigate it further.
"Zhang Yu." A suppressed, deep male voice rang out. Zheng Nanle couldn't resist the urge to watch the excitement, so he hid behind a tree, stopped, and peeked over there.
However, when Zhang Yu was still some distance away from the educated youth settlement, he was stopped by a young man wearing a Zhongshan suit.
The young man was around twenty years old, wearing round glasses. His hair was combed up, revealing his handsome features. His Zhongshan suit was a faded marble white, but without patches, clean and neat, which made him look refined, elegant, and upright like a pine tree, quite outstanding.
There is a difference between him and the villagers in terms of temperament and appearance.
He was Zhao Shu, an educated youth.
No wonder Zhang Yu dated him before; he is indeed outstanding in appearance.
"Zhao Zhiqing, is something the matter?" Zhang Yu's smile vanished when she saw this unlucky fellow, and she spoke unhappily with a drooping face. Without waiting for Zhao Shu to speak, she walked past him and continued forward. "If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."
"Zhang Yu, let's talk." Zhao Shu pushed up his glasses and reached out to stop him.
Zhang Yu stepped back, creating distance between himself and Zhao Shu.
She looked at Zhao Shu warily and said cautiously, "I have nothing to say to you."
Zhao Shu lowered his head and smiled bitterly. In the moonlight, his expression was quite endearing, making people believe that he had his reasons. "Zhang Yu, I was wrong. Let's make up."
"No way, impossible, we're not related."
"Zhang Yu, are you really going to be this heartless?" Zhao Shu looked at her with deep affection. "Were all your feelings for me before just a lie?"
Zhang Yu was furious.
How could he say something like that?
Wasn't it him who gave up on this relationship?
As if sensing Zhang Yu's inner thoughts, Zhao Shu continued, "I've always loved you. My close relationship with Xie Qingmiao was just because I wanted to give you a better life and take you out of the countryside. I've always loved you."
"Pooh!"
Zhang Yu felt nauseous.
It's true that you never know if your travel companion is a good person or a bad one until the very last moment. Zhao Shu pretended so well in the city, but he revealed his true colors when he got to the countryside.
She was incredibly grateful to have gone to the countryside. If she had only discovered his despicable nature after falling on hard times following their marriage, she didn't know how badly he would have schemed against her.
Seeing that Zhang Yu was unmoved by his words, Zhao Shu dropped his affectionate facade and said coldly, "Zhang Yu, don't forget, it was you who wanted to go to the countryside that made me go with you. You think you can get rid of me? No way."
"What do you mean you'll come with me to the countryside? Don't try to fool me and fool yourself too." Zhang Yu spat. "You're only able to come to Liushan because of me. Otherwise, who knows where you would have been assigned?"
"Do you think I don't know? There are four siblings in your family. Your eldest brother has a job and can't go to the countryside. Your second sister is married and doesn't need to go to the countryside. Your youngest brother is your parents' darling. Your mother plans to leave her job to him. Only you, no one is planning for you."
"You even lied to me, saying that your...Mom...left the job to you, and that you refused to go to the countryside with me because you wanted to. Ha, I was so naive to believe you, and I actually got my dad to use my connections to get you and me assigned to the same place."
Zhang Yu's family was well-off; you could tell just by the fact that she received supplies every month—malted milk powder, biscuits, and chocolate were never lacking. But as good as her family was, once she arrived in the countryside, all she could do was satisfy her cravings and live a little better. After all, she had to work every day, and at the educated youth settlement, she had to eat those bland and tasteless dishes.
It's no wonder Zhang Yu is so greedy. She never went hungry in the city, and in the two years in the countryside, she felt like she had suffered all the hardships of the first half of her life.
Zhao Shu's face contorted slightly, but he quickly regained his composure, his eyes once again filled with deep affection. "Zhang Yu, I don't know where you got this false information from—"
"Stop," Zhang Yu raised her hand to make a stop gesture, "Don't say those disgusting things. From the moment you started pursuing Xie Qingmiao, it was over between us. I, Zhang Yu, am not someone you can string along. If you don't know what's good for you, don't blame me for telling my dad."
Zhao Shu opened his mouth, then swallowed hard.
Zhang Yu's father is the factory director. If Zhang Yu hadn't been sent to the countryside because his political enemies were watching him and the Zhang family didn't want to give anyone a handle to use against them, Zhang Yu wouldn't have gone to the countryside. If Zhang Yu were to file a complaint, his father could easily punish his family in a reasonable and legal way.
He never intended to give up on Zhang Yu. How could Xie Qingmiao, that country girl, compare to Zhang Yu?
He just desperately wanted to escape the countryside. The scorching heat, the yellowish hue of the fields, the arduous farm work, and the unseen future weighed him down day after day.
Even the factory director's daughter is stuck in the countryside after two years. As an ordinary worker's son, is his chance of returning to the city even slimmer?
He wanted to go back to the city, to desperately escape his current situation; he didn't want to spend his whole life in the countryside.
The future of the factory director's son-in-law is far away, but the quota for worker-peasant-soldier recommendations is right in front of him.
The quota for worker-peasant-soldier recommendations was in the hands of the village chief, and his gaze fell on the village chief's granddaughter, Xie Qingmiao.
He thought that the village girl was not very knowledgeable, and that as long as he dressed neatly and showed Xie Qingmiao a disappointed and dejected expression with his handsome face, he would attract Xie Qingmiao's attention and make her fall in love.
He doesn't respond, but subtly hooks the other person, and they fall for it.
That's how he hooked Zhang Yu back then. If he could hook the factory director's daughter with this trick, wouldn't it be a piece of cake to catch a mere village girl?
After he graduates from university, he will propose to Zhang Yu and use the marriage to help her escape Liushan Village. After that, he will become the factory director's son-in-law, and with the factory director's support, he will rise through the ranks and have a smooth life ahead of him.
Liushan Village will completely fade from his life.
Things were progressing well. Xie Qingmiao was indeed lured closer to him, but that village girl was a bit cunning. She wouldn't give him anything without seeing some benefit or hearing some sweet words.
Helpless, he could only deviate from his original persona, reveal a little affection, and make a promise. But by sheer coincidence, Zhang Yu overheard it, slapped him on the spot, and told him that their relationship was completely over.
After that, no matter how he tried to make peace or reminisce about the past, Zhang Yu ignored him. After Zhao Shu realized that there was no hope of reconciliation with Zhang Yu, he decided to capture Xie Qingmiao.
The factory director's son-in-law is gone, but he's sure to get a spot at the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University. Although Xie Qingmiao was born in the countryside, she has a job and is fair-skinned and pretty, so she's barely a good match for him.
But for some reason, Xie Qingmiao, who had previously been nice to him, turned on him after Zhang Yu turned on him, saying that she never expected him to be this kind of person, still looking for her even though he had a girlfriend.
Zhao Shu was baffled. Everyone in Liushan Village knew about his affair with Zhang Yu, so what was Xie Qingmiao pretending for?
But Xie Qingmiao insisted that she didn't know anything about it. She had been studying away from home and had never heard of it. She even spread the news about what he had done in a big way. Thinking back to the whispers about him in the village and the explosive gossip at the Xie family's place, he couldn't suppress his story completely. He hated Xie Qingmiao to no end.
He hated Zhang Yu even more.
Four years of relationship.
From their youthful days on campus to their life together in the countryside, they've been through so much together. When they faced hardship together, couldn't she just endure it for his sake?
She has always been a part of his future, but what about her?
He turned around and stared at Zhang Yu's departing figure, his heart filled with resentment.
How did such a promising situation turn out like this?
Suddenly overcome by malice, he lunged at Zhang Yu. Seeing this, Zheng Nanle emerged from behind a tree, preparing to rescue Zhang Yu, when another tall figure suddenly appeared and kicked Zhao Shu, who was holding Zhang Yu, to the ground.
Recognizing the person, Zheng Nanle slowly walked back behind the tree.
Xie Ronghua.
Er Ya said he has someone he likes.
When he ate a big meal in the cowshed, he deliberately filled a bowl halfway.
She would occasionally give Zhang Yu some wild game and ask if she needed any help, but she would say no.
Occasionally, you could see Zhang Yu walking ahead and Xie Ronghua walking behind.
No, Xie Ronghua, you with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, you've kept it a secret really well.
Although she and Xie Ronghua rarely met, Xie Ronghua never showed any signs of being in love, nor did he bring up such topics. He usually seemed carefree and thoughtless, so she thought he hadn't developed feelings for anyone. It turns out that he was deeply in love, but he kept it to himself.
Zheng Nanle hid herself even more deeply, not wanting to disturb Xie Ronghua's heroic rescue.
"Xie Ronghua." Zhao Shu braced himself on the ground, staring at the newcomer in shock.
Zhang Yu was still in shock, her hands clasped in front of her chest, her body trembling slightly. She walked behind Xie Ronghua and took his sleeve.
"I understand!" Zhao Shu roared, "It was all your doing!"
Why did Xie Qingmiao's attitude change so frequently? And why did Zhang Yu overhear his conversation with Xie Qingmiao at such a convenient time?
If Xie Ronghua conspired with Xie Qingmiao to set up a scheme in order to get Zhang Yu, then everything makes sense.
He thought everything was going according to his plan, but in reality, Xie Ronghua was just going along with it.
"You peasant, you think you can pluck the moon? You're just delusional!" He got up from the ground and threw a punch at Xie Ronghua.
But he was no match for Xie Ronghua. Xie Ronghua kicked him in the abdomen and he fell to the ground. Xie Ronghua said to Zhang Yu, "Zhang Zhiqing, it's getting late. You should go back now."
Zhang Yu nodded, glanced at Xie Ronghua, and then turned and ran away.
After watching Zhang Yu leave, Xie Ronghua pressed down on Zhao Shu and beat him mercilessly.
Zheng Nanle didn't look at it for long and turned back to the Zheng family home.
She changed her mind; she decided to take the job.
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