5. Let's talk.
◎Savings: You suspect Lin Xu is a male third party.◎
He asked, "Is there no reward today?"
What does it mean.
What does it mean.
What does it mean.
You can't really expect to turn yourself into a "repeat customer".
But the identity of "male model" is invalid in itself!
Xu Huaihuai rolled around on the bed.
Oh wow, let me see, whose sleepless night is this tonight, with the restless hearts of young girls?
What are they chanting?
"Can you shut up for once?" Xu Huaihuai raised her hand and slapped away the incessant chattering comments. "Are you even an adult? Go away, go to sleep, and stop spying on the adult world."
The comments regrouped and began a new round of output.
[Hmph. Hmph hmph hmph! Then stop being a pupa, you're the female lead, not a washing machine!]
"What's wrong? Can't a front-loading washing machine be the female lead?" Xu Huaihuai finally got tired of rolling around and sprawled out in a big "X" shape.
[Huh! A niche, unusual genre; what kind of readers with a penchant for the opposite sex would enjoy this?]
"Then don't worry about it." Xu Huaihuai said, then suddenly realized a direction she had overlooked, "Niche and niche, popular and mainstream... Let me think..."
"It's quite common to write romance novels with the male and female protagonists getting together as the happy ending, right? At least in the novels I've read, there are more happy endings than bad endings or good endings. And the plot of the male and female protagonists getting divorced usually happens before the ending."
"Authors often use divorce as a point of conflict, which can lead to descriptions of 'chasing after the wife' or 'chasing after the husband,' and can also create extreme tug-of-war between 'you love me but I don't love you,' and 'you don't love me but I've fallen in love with you,' leaving early readers scratching their heads and later readers who subscribed to the whole series with soaring blood pressure."
"Before the happy ending, divorce is just a means for the couple to get into the mood; but after the finale, there's no need for such tug-of-war, right? Even if the author writes it in the epilogue, it's hard for readers to be too indulgent when a couple repeatedly divorces and remarries and keeps getting back together."
"After all, if I were a reader, even if I sometimes wanted to cheer for the couples, it wouldn't mean I actually liked the author just rehashing old ideas. So, Egg, the author probably didn't write any side stories or 'what if' scenarios, right?"
The commenter, suddenly being mentioned, shuddered, if the emoticons from AFK players count as shudders.
No, no, as far as I know, the author has already ventured into the world of pure romance novels.
"Have you ever heard the saying, 'Love doesn't disappear, it just moves on'? While it's partly a joke, there's some truth to it. Truth and falsehood are often separated by a fine line. When it comes to emotions, there's no such thing as a definite expiration date."
[Forgive my ignorance, Lord Huai, could you please offer some further guidance?]
"What I mean is, is it possible for the male and female leads to deviate from the conventional happy ending of the original work and change naturally? In my original world, how many young couples who made vows of eternal love still ended up breaking up in the end?"
"There's also a term called the seven-year itch, so maybe the male and female protagonists are experiencing the five-year itch? In the main story, the male and female protagonists might have mutual feelings, but in the novel's world after the ending, they might develop more than one romantic relationship. For example—Lin Xu and the female protagonist."
"Before this, I was misled by my own behavior. I thought that my actions towards Lin Xu caused his reaction. But is it possible that, as the younger brother of the female lead's best friend, Lin Xu had a close relationship with the female lead before I took over her identity?"
"Compared to the male and female leads living happily ever after, the plot of the male supporting character rising to the top is relatively rare, but it does happen, and it might even be more appealing to readers."
[I understand! I'll summarize for you! Provincial Water Resources: You suspect Lin Xu is a male homewrecker!]
Xu Huaihuai: "." It's not that bad.
"But following this line of thought, my ex-husband might also have other romantic relationships."
【Hey. You stinky intellectual, if you suspect your ex-husband of cheating, just suspect him! Why all the flowery language?】
"Egg, I can live in the novel world for a year. What will happen to this world after I leave? Will my existence for a year affect this novel world? Will the original female protagonist of this world know about my existence? What about her consciousness?"
[Sorry, this is beyond Egg's authority! OO But Egg can guarantee you'll safely return to the original world at the agreed time.]
"Someone with higher authority than you? Looks like we Eggs are part of an organization."
The comments section started playing dead again, just like always.
Okay.
Xu Huaihuai closed her eyes and thought silently that the romantic relationships in the novel were already complicated enough, and perhaps she should make some things clear to Lin Xu sooner rather than later.
There's nothing wrong with flirting between adults.
There's no problem with having sex if it's consensual.
However, it seems that the female lead is the one who benefits from enjoying her life, and she cannot and does not want to be a thief in someone else's relationship anymore.
In the early hours of the morning, before the alarm clock had gone off, Xu Huaihuai vaguely heard the sound of a toothbrush stirring in a mouthwash cup.
It was coming from the bathroom next door.
No sunlight was shining in, so it must not be dawn yet. Xu Huaihuai subconsciously reached for her phone to check the time; it was not yet five o'clock.
Getting up so early?
Xu Huaihuai rubbed her eyes, got up, and went out to see.
Seeing Xu Huaihuai still sleepy, Zhao Yuanyuan hurriedly put down her mouthwash cup. "I'm so sorry, Sister Huaihuai, did I wake you up? I was in a bit of a rush, I'm so sorry!"
"No, no, I usually get up around this time," Xu Huaihuai said casually, noticing Zhao Yuanyuan's long-sleeved shirt and trousers. "Are you going somewhere?"
"Oh, my second uncle hurt his back a while ago, and the peanuts in the field haven't been harvested yet. My mom went to help, and I'm going now."
"Going so early?" Xu Huaihuai asked, surprised.
“Yes, otherwise it will be very hot when the sun comes out.” Zhao Yuanyuan’s tone was very calm, as she was used to getting up early to do farm work. “Sister Xiaohuai, my mom steamed some buns and corn. They’re in the pot in the kitchen. We can have them for breakfast. I’m leaving now, otherwise my mom won’t be able to manage by herself. Bye-bye.”
After saying goodbye, the tall and slender Zhao Yuanyuan quickly walked away carrying a large bottle of water.
Xu Huaihuai watched her leave from the balcony. A cool morning breeze blew by, bringing with it the unique fragrance of plants from the countryside.
As dawn approached, the dark blue sky gradually faded, the deep, rich blue being softened by a light, pale purple. Humanity's ever-changing palette appeared barren and monotonous in the face of nature's splendor and magnificence.
The morning glow, like the silk draped by a flying goddess, meanders and floats gracefully in the sky. A few stars twinkle faintly before the dawn arrives, and then quietly disappear when the orange-red clouds break through the horizon and the rosy glow bursts forth.
Watching the sunrise always fills me with awe and excitement.
Xu Huaihuai recalled the scenes of watching the sunrise in her life.
Weekends after work are precious, used for rest, shopping and dining with friends; short holidays allow for travel, but most of the time people go to artificial check-in spots, taking photos like NPCs completing tasks in crowded tourist attractions, then carefully editing the photos to create a sophisticated social media post.
Xu Huaihuai only ever did one physically demanding activity like climbing a mountain to watch the sunrise – during her university years – when she and her roommates climbed Mount Tai overnight – though they ultimately didn't catch the sunrise.
I actually watched the sunrise the most during my high school years. I would get up very early, ride my bicycle to school, and start memorizing vocabulary and model essays as dawn broke.
"It's 5:18 in the morning, and it's still dark. The little girl at the house I'm staying at has already gone out to help my mom and second uncle harvest peanuts. The gradually changing sunrise is really beautiful. I'm planning to go find the little girl after I wash up to see if she can help... Huh?"
Xu Huaihuai zoomed the camera from the distant horizon to the nearby courtyard.
At 5:20 AM, a familiar figure appeared in the vlog.
Lin Xu looked up from downstairs, curiously staring at the camera, and then appeared on camera with her fresh and lovely face. "Good morning... What are you filming?"
"I'm recording my rural trip vlog!" Xu Huaihuai finished recording. "Why are you up so early too!"
"I heard the birds chirping, so I got up to watch the sunrise. After all, the gradual change of the morning glow is really beautiful, isn't it, Sister Huai?"
"You're such a clever copycat! But if you're not going to sleep, come with me to find Yuanyuan and Sister Xiu. They've gone to harvest peanuts; maybe they can help!"
"Come down and have breakfast first. Flat things are more likely to cause trouble."
"I'll be there as soon as I've finished washing up."
"It's 8:36 now, and the sun is fully up. I'm here to record the current progress. The peanut vines in this area have been almost completely pulled up. The pulled-up peanut vines will be beaten on the ridges here to loosen the peanut roots, and then they will be bagged and taken back to dry."
Xu Huaihuai turned the camera to the edge of the field, where Lin Xu was doing something bad to the peanut vines—he was indiscriminately smashing and beating all the peanut vines, causing the originally clump-together peanuts to separate and be dumped into snakeskin bags, unable to escape.
"See? Young people have plenty of strength and skills!"
The aunt who was resting nearby chuckled upon hearing this, "Oh, right, Xiao Lin looks quite thin, but I didn't expect him to have such inexhaustible strength."
Xu Huaihuai laughed for a while before continuing to record the vlog.
"Some of the dried peanuts are kept as seeds, some are roasted and sold as dried goods, and the rest are sent to the oil press in town."
As Xu Huaihuai spoke, she saw Zhao Yuanyuan bending over not far away, her back soaked with sweat.
She paused the recording, picked up the large water bottle that Zhao Yuanyuan had placed in the shade, and walked across the field path.
"Yuanyuan, have some water."
Zhao Yuanyuan wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve, took off her muddy gloves, took the water, and said in a clear, crisp voice, "Thank you, Sister Xiaohuai!"
"Xiao Xu, you're down here again. Stand on the edge of the field, or you'll get your clothes and shoes dirty." Hearing the noise, Zhao Yingxiu deftly pulled out the peanut vines, shook off the mud, and looked up at Xu Huaihuai with a smile.
"It's okay, you can wash it if it gets dirty."
"Xiao Xu, you go back to the shed and wait for us. We'll be done here soon. Then we'll tidy up and head forward. If we do, we'll reach Yu Ting's house, which is the one Shan Danshan is going to visit."
"Okay! I'll go check on Lin Xu."
Crossing the ridge, a large area of the once lush green peanut field on the left has fallen over, while on the other side are late rice plants that have not yet formed ears. The wind blows and they sway gently, and you can see villagers wearing straw hats working in the fields.
In the past, for Xu Huaihuai, who grew up in the city, walking on the country roads was just a song she had heard in her childhood.
Visiting the people in the village who are receiving assistance is a very new experience for me.
This time, we will visit 12 people who have received assistance.
The application materials of the recipients show that they are all female students currently enrolled in school, and their family backgrounds are mostly that of divorced parents or younger brothers with a large age gap.
Xu Huaihuai seemed to be deep in thought. Not far away, Lin Xu was still enthusiastically helping the peanuts divide the property. When Zhao Yuanyuan's second aunt, Wang Chunzhi, saw Xu Huaihuai coming over, she quickly gave Lin Xu a wink: "Little Lin, your girlfriend is here to see you. I'll take care of the rest. Don't keep her waiting."
"She is me..."
Xu Huaihuai noticed Lin Xu's lips curling up. Hey, why is a tall guy like you, over 1.8 meters, showing such a shy smile? This expression makes it seem like their relationship isn't exactly innocent!
Is he innocent?
The comments drifted by leisurely~
Get lost!
Before Lin Xu could finish speaking, Xu Huaihuai quickly said, "I'm his sister's friend..."
Before she could finish speaking, her aunt, who was rather impatient, only heard half of it and exclaimed, "Oh my, siblings? They don't look like siblings at all!"
Okay. Siblings are fine too.
From now on, my best friend's brother is practically her brother.
Xu Huaihuai grabbed Lin Xu's clothes to stop him from talking nonsense, and then began her art of deception: "Haha, maybe one looks like Dad and the other like Mom, hahaha..."
"Then your parents must be very good-looking! Oh dear, you two siblings should go do your thing, thank you for your trouble."
Lin Xu, despite Xu Huaihuai's frantic hints while grabbing his clothes, was fairly compliant and replied, "Probably. It's nothing, no trouble at all. We'll be going now."
"Watch your step! Don't step in the mud!" Auntie warned.
The two walked along the ridge between the fields, one behind the other.
"Sister Huai, I..."
"Lin Xu".
The two spoke at the same time.
Lin Xu stopped and waited for Xu Huaihuai to speak first.
So Xu Huaihuai turned around and said sincerely, "When we get back, can I talk to you?"
[Author's Note]
Huaihuai: Let's talk.
Lin Xu: [Laughing out loud][Sprinkling flowers][Okay] Sister, it's finally my turn! Wait, which one is talking? [Tears welling up]
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