Summer nights in the countryside were quiet and still. From time to time, the croaking of frogs and the chirping of insects drifted over from the riverbank.
Under the moonlight, the river shimmered, scattering delicate, beautiful glints of light across its surface.
Pei Huaiye and Su Qingyue sat on a stone by the river, speaking softly as they watched the water flow.
They sat very close to each other. From time to time, his strong, sturdy arm brushed against her slender, delicate one, and wherever they touched felt as if it were burning with heat.
Su Qingyue quietly shifted a little farther away—only for Pei Huaiye to move closer in a domineering manner.
His Adam’s apple rolled as he spoke in a low voice. “Did you specially bring those buns for me?”
Su Qingyue touched the canned fruit beside her. “Mm. I bought them at the state-run restaurant. Hurry and eat.”
She tilted her head slightly, peach-blossom eyes full of smiles, her gaze clear and bright, red lips gently curved upward.
“The canned oranges must’ve cost a whole yuan, right?”
Pei Huaiye nearly greedily admired her beauty. “Not expensive. If you like them, I’ll buy them for you again in the future.”
After completing his mission, he had rushed back in a hurry. When he saw a colleague buying several cans of oranges for his wife, he didn’t know why—but Su Qingyue immediately came to mind.
Pei Huaiye paid for one can and ran off with it.
He hadn’t eaten all day, yet thinking about her made his heart feel as sweet as honey, his whole body brimming with energy. Only now, seeing the meat buns, did he truly feel hungry.
Pei Huaiye wolfed down the buns, yet his eyes never missed a single expression on Su Qingyue’s face, as though he could never get enough of her.
Su Qingyue smiled softly. “Are you a soldier? Did those thugs you caught last time confess to anything? Why do people say you work at the county machinery factory? And why do you live alone?”
Pei Huaiye wiped his mouth clean. The surprise in his eyes turned playful as he leaned closer, raised an eyebrow, and teased, “Worried about me?”
Their noses were barely a breath apart.
Su Qingyue froze for a moment. Her cheeks instantly flushed red. She turned sideways in a huff, her tone carrying a familiarity she herself didn’t notice. “I’m talking about serious matters!”
Seeing that even her dainty ears had turned red, Pei Huaiye didn’t dare tease her further.
He straightened up, his expression sobering. “Comrade Su, please swear to the Chairman that you won’t reveal my work secrets!”
Su Qingyue’s small face turned solemn. She raised three fingers. “Comrade Pei! I swear to the Chairman and guarantee with my integrity that I will not reveal a single word of what you tell me today!”
Pei Huaiye spoke calmly. “I’m a special forces soldier. I can’t tell you my exact position or duties yet.
“I need to disguise my identity and work at the machinery factory every day. Please keep this secret for me—absolutely don’t let it slip, not even to my family.
“As for the two thugs we caught that day, they were originally interrogated by us, but due to jurisdiction issues, they were transferred to the capital base.
“They were sentenced to ten years and are locked up now, so don’t be afraid.”
Su Qingyue felt a bit disappointed. She had thought that incident might have something to do with Su Qianqian.
Pei Huaiye didn’t tell Su Qingyue that someone was pulling strings behind the scenes because the case involved many confidential matters. He was also afraid that if there were no concrete results, it would only make her worry and feel let down.
“And you—are you getting used to life in the countryside? Does your hand still hurt?” Pei Huaiye looked at her delicate appearance. She didn’t look like someone who could do heavy farm work at all.
“I’ll get used to it slowly. My—”
*Splash!*
A stone suddenly fell into the river, sending water splashing everywhere.
Su Qingyue gasped and fell silent.
Pei Huaiye loosely wrapped an arm around her and whispered, “Let’s go. Hurry back. After I finish a mission next week, I need to talk to you about something very important. Wait for me!”
Su Qingyue hesitated, wanting to speak but afraid of being seen. She hunched over and hurried home.
Pei Huaiye mulled things over. She was so delicate—how could she possibly handle heavy labor in the fields?
*Knock, knock, knock!*
The sound of knocking rang out incessantly. Xiang Jianming had no choice but to get up, grumbling, “Who is it now?”
“Captain Xiang, it’s me.”
Pei Huaiye pulled Captain Xiang to a secluded spot. “From now on, arrange some lighter work for Su Qianqian. I’ll make up for whatever work points she lacks in other ways.”
Captain Xiang was full of question marks and glared at Pei Huaiye in silence.
Earlier that very day, Su Qianqian had relied on the fact that her biological father was a commander in the capital. She had brought gifts and bossed people around, demanding lighter work assignments.
Captain Xiang had been furious and driven her away. If all the educated youths followed her lead—slacking off and cutting corners—when would their brigade ever become an advanced unit?
“And how exactly are you planning to make it up?” Captain Xiang asked.
“Ten work points a day is too exhausting for her—she can’t handle it. Assign her tasks worth three or four points. I’ll hunt a wild boar every week and trade it for thirty work points to cover the difference.”
Captain Xiang did the math—it was a稳赚不亏 deal. “Alright. But, kid… you’ve got your eye on her, don’t you?”
He shook his head. “That girl’s from the city—spoiled and overbearing. I hear she wants meat at every meal. Can you even afford to support her in the future?”
Captain Xiang had heard gossip more than once: Su Qianqian and Zhou Wenfang used money and ration tickets every day to trade villagers for meat and grain. A girl who lived like that—Pei Huaiye’s twenty-something yuan monthly salary probably wouldn’t be enough.
Pei Huaiye thought of Su Qingyue—soft, well-behaved, happily eating meat in big bites. His heart softened completely. “Don’t worry about the rest, Captain.”
“Kid, be careful. If she doesn’t agree, keep your distance. Don’t get yourself into trouble.”
“I know my limits. I’m leaving.”
……
The village broadcast blared as usual early the next morning.
The educated youths set out in small groups, carrying hoes to reclaim land. Captain Xiang stopped Su Qianqian. “You don’t need to hoe the fields. Go level the ground and pick up wheat stalks.”
Su Qianqian was delighted, thinking her words from the night before had worked. “Thank you, Captain Xiang. I’ll definitely write to my parents and tell them what a good captain you are.”
Captain Xiang shook his head. If not for Pei Huaiye’s willingness to hunt wild boar, he wouldn’t have bothered with Su Qianqian at all.
Zhou Wenfang looked envious. “Qianqian, why are you the only one going? What about me? What should I do?”
Su Qianqian put on a troubled expression. “Wenfang, the captain said it’ll be arranged gradually. After all, there are so many people watching us.”
Zhou Wenfang felt unhappy but helpless. Out here, the only person she could rely on was Su Qianqian.
In the fields, villagers were busy harvesting wheat. Su Qingyue wore gloves and picked up wheat stalks.
She had told the village head that she’d found a job in the county town and would come earn work points only when she had free time.
With the light task of picking up wheat stalks, Su Qianqian worked much more easily. After getting off work at noon, she planned to go find Shen Xunbao.
Instead, she saw Su Qingyue standing with Shen Xunbao, talking about something. After Su Qingyue finished speaking, Shen Xunbao became visibly emotional and even tried to hug her—only to be pushed away by Su Qingyue.
Su Qianqian’s fury flared. She jogged over. “Su Qingyue, what are you doing?!”
Several aunties in the fields all looked over.
Su Qingyue turned her head aside. “It’s none of your business!” Before leaving, she added to Shen Xunbao, “Think about my proposal.”
Shen Xunbao looked dejected. During these days in the countryside, he truly hadn’t cared much about Su Qingyue. No wonder she wanted to break off the engagement.
Qiao Wang was nowhere to be seen. He’d said he was helping with work, but hadn’t shown up all day. No one knew if something had happened.
Blisters and calluses had formed on Shen Xunbao’s hands. He lived every day in the shabby men’s dormitory, surrounded by strange smells, sleeping poorly at night.
Meals were always coarse grains. Fine grain food only came occasionally—and even then, it was secretly prepared for him by Su Qianqian.
“Shen Xunbao, what’s wrong? Did Su Qingyue bully you?”
“You’re just too good to her—that’s why she dares to bully you! If you ask me, she doesn’t deserve you at all!” Su Qianqian fumed.
Shen Xunbao studied Su Qianqian thoughtfully. His gaze was gentle, his voice soft. “Then who *does* deserve me?”
Su Qianqian’s eyes lit up. She lowered her head shyly. “Y-you’ll find out… slowly.”
She stuffed a handkerchief-wrapped packet of egg cake and milk candies into Shen Xunbao’s hand, then turned and ran off.
Several aunties watched the scene with great interest.
“Why are they all getting tangled up with Shen Xunbao?”
“He does look decent, but he’s so soft and delicate—what’s the use?”
“That’s something you’d have to ask Su Qianqian and Su Qingyue. Both of them are chasing after him.”
Su Qianqian stopped in her tracks. Thinking of Shen Xunbao’s attitude today, her eyes rolled.
“Aunties, since you ask, I won’t hide it from you. The Shen family and mine arranged a childhood betrothal long ago.
“But after I returned to the city, Su Qingyue kept clinging to Shen Xunbao.
“Shen Xunbao and I came to the countryside together because we love each other. Who would’ve thought that after returning to the village, Su Qingyue still wouldn’t let go—she even picked fights with him, saying he didn’t care about her…”
Su Qianqian added fuel to the fire, twisting black into white, claiming that Su Qingyue had stolen her fiancé.
The aunties frowned deeply upon hearing this and cursed Su Qingyue as a shameless vixen who didn’t know her place.