By the time Xu Qiaoqiao said anything more, Wei Nan could no longer hear her.
The moment she spoke the name “Jiang Sirui,” a rush of memories suddenly flooded into Wei Nan’s mind.
She finally remembered, this body’s original owner had indeed been married, and that Jiang Sirui really was her husband.
He had been a fellow “sent-down youth” who had worked alongside the original owner and Xu Qiaoqiao in the countryside.
The original Wei Nan had known almost nothing about him before.
Because of her family situation, the original Wei Nan had been introverted and timid. She was the youngest among that group of sent-down youths, always alone, and never fit in with the others.
Except for Xu Qiaoqiao, because they came from the same hometown and had been lodging in the same villager’s house, they had gotten along reasonably well.
With the others, Wei Nan had almost no contact.
The girls didn’t keep in touch much among themselves, let alone with the boys.
Even with Jiang Sirui, over six years, Wei Nan had barely exchanged a few words with him.
The reason they had any interaction at all goes back to the summer of 1980.
One day, Wei Nan had her period and felt too embarrassed to wash clothes with everyone during the day. So she waited until midnight, taking them quietly to the river to wash alone.
What she didn’t realize was that several heavy rains had fallen in succession, causing the river to swell.
Following her usual habit, she walked to the large rock she often used.
But the rock was slippery, and she suddenly fell into the river.
What was usually chest-high water easily rose over her head.
Wei Nan flailed desperately, screaming and calling for help, hoping someone would hear her.
Just as she was about to be swept away, on the verge of despair, someone quickly swam to her and dragged her to the riverbank.
By then, Wei Nan had already been choked and nearly passed out from the water. All she could do was instinctively cling tightly to the person who had saved her, knowing nothing else.
Later, when she woke up, she learned that the person who had saved her was Jiang Sirui.
At that time, he had just come out of the sent-down youth site for some fresh air. When he heard her calling for help, he jumped into the water and rescued her.
Wei Nan expressed her gratitude to him, and the production team publicly praised Jiang Sirui at a meeting. At first glance, it seemed the matter would just end there.
But then Jiang Sirui received a letter from his parents. They said they had arranged everything for him, his enlistment notice would arrive soon, and he should start preparing the paperwork to return to the city.
At the same time, Xu Qiaoqiao’s parents were also arranging her return to the city, and things were nearly finalized.
Apart from them, the families of the other sent-down youth were all finding ways to help their children.
By now, nearly everyone who could leave had left. Among the girls, only Wei Nan remained, with no prospects at all.
Wei Nan repeatedly wrote to her family, pleading for help. She even offered that if they allowed her to return to the city, she would never marry and would hand over all her wages to the family.
But no one responded.
If she wrote too often, she would get only a few cold words from Wei Damin: “No way. Just stay put.”
Wei Nan’s nature was compliant and resigned; having no other options, she prepared to accept her fate.
But Xu Qiaoqiao was different.
She felt sorry for Wei Nan and worried that if everyone else at the sent-down youth site left, Wei Nan would be left alone in that remote, harsh place, with no one knowing what might happen to her.
So after much thought, Xu Qiaoqiao came up with a suggestion for Wei Nan—
She should force Jiang Sirui to marry her.
Xu Qiaoqiao explained that when Wei Nan fell into the river, she screamed loudly for help, and many people nearby had heard it.
Everyone came out, but Jiang Sirui happened to be closest, so he rushed forward first.
When he pulled Wei Nan out of the water, many people were on the riverbank.
Everyone saw Wei Nan clinging tightly to him.
Their summer clothing was thin, and their bodies were pressed together in public.
Xu Qiaoqiao said that Wei Nan could fully use this moment as leverage to demand that Jiang Sirui marry her.
After all, everyone knew she was introverted, shy, and timid.
A person like that being seen hugging a man, even if there was a special reason, could easily be misinterpreted, and it was understandable if people thought something improper had happened.
Jiang Sirui was about to enlist in the army. His files, his reputation, could not have even the slightest blemish.
If anyone discovered that he had a moral issue in the countryside, even with justification, he certainly would not be allowed to serve.
Hearing Xu Qiaoqiao explain all this, Wei Nan was completely shocked.
She could not imagine anyone would suggest such a thing.
Moreover… she didn’t have the courage.
Just thinking about using her rescuer, someone tall, strong, and completely unfamiliar, to coerce her made her legs go weak with fear.
So she absolutely refused.
But Xu Qiaoqiao became more and more convinced that this plan could work.
She genuinely cared for Wei Nan and feared that if Wei Nan were left alone after everyone else left the village, she would be bullied or worse.
So Xu Qiaoqiao resorted to threats and intimidation, forcing Wei Nan to agree.
She told Wei Nan that this might be the only chance in her life to leave this wretched place.
If she missed it, she would never escape.
Once the other sent-down youths left and no one watched over her, she would be left entirely alone.
She might even be forced to marry a local villager, or worse, one of the local bullies.
Wei Nan was terrified.
Eventually, with her reluctant consent, Xu Qiaoqiao went to speak with Jiang Sirui.
Wei Nan never knew exactly what was said between them.
She only knew that Jiang Sirui agreed to their request and, before leaving, registered the marriage with Wei Nan.
However, they did not consummate the marriage. The day after getting the certificate, Jiang Sirui packed his things and left the small mountain village.
Still, he did keep his promise.
Before he left, he asked a familiar village leader to look out for her. Even after he was gone, Wei Nan still received care.
No one dared to bully her, and when work was divided, she often got the lighter tasks.
On top of that, after Jiang Sirui joined the army, he sent her a few letters. Although the words were few, he always included some money and food ration coupons.
Because of this, Wei Nan’s return home this time wasn’t completely awkward; she could even afford the train ticket.
She had also brought back several dozen yuan and around twenty kilograms of ration coupons, money and food coupons that Jiang Sirui had sent before, which she had been saving carefully, unwilling to spend.
Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last long.
This situation lasted less than half a year, and then there was no news from him again.
At first, Wei Nan thought it was because the army was strict and he couldn’t write.
But later, every letter she sent went unanswered. Calls to the phone number he had given through the village committee were all disconnected, with no one picking up.
She waited in the village, day after day.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. She waited for the notice to return to the city, for news of her father’s death, but she never heard from him.
By then, she had been married on paper to Jiang Sirui for a year and a half, and he had cut off contact for over a year.
The villagers said Jiang Sirui no longer wanted her, claiming that a [1]“forced fruit isn’t sweet” is a Chinese proverb. It means that something gained or forced upon someone—especially relationships or situations—rarely turns out well or brings genuine … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2020833_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2020833_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });forced fruit isn’t sweet.
They said someone with a bright future would surely leave her behind.
Wei Nan herself thought the same.
She felt that she had indeed forced the issue before, and it was reasonable that he didn’t want her.
So she got her household registration back in Jinning and buried that chaotic “marriage” deep in her memory.
She refused to think about it ever again.
ᘻᘿᓍᘺ
After inheriting these memories, Wei Nan felt completely unwell.
She was a modern university student, twenty years old, who had never dated anyone, had never had a relationship, completely inexperienced in love.
Being transmigrated into a poor little girl raised in hardship would have been enough, but now she had inexplicably become married, and had an extra husband on top of that?
How was she supposed to accept this?!
Wei Nan felt her entire mind go blank, with only one thought echoing over and over—
She’s gone crazy, she’s gone crazy, she’s gone crazy.
Yes, she was about to lose it.
Dealing with difficult relatives, finding a job, improving life, she could handle all that.
She could grit her teeth and fight through it!
But, suddenly having a “cheap” husband appear out of nowhere, and on top of that, missing and vanished?
She couldn’t even find anyone to get a divorce certificate from!
How was she supposed to accept this?!
Her face turned red, then pale, and she was so angry she felt tears rising.
To Xu Qiaoqiao, this expression looked like Wei Nan was being bullied again.
“Jiang Sirui bullied you? He… he didn’t let you transfer your household registration to Beijing?”
Xu Qiaoqiao grabbed her arms, furious, demanding an answer.
Wei Nan looked at the original owner’s friend in front of her, feeling a mix of emotions.
Rationally, she knew this person genuinely cared for the original owner.
But emotionally… what kind of awful idea had she actually come up with?
It was outrageous!
She had ruined both the original owner and Jiang Sirui.
Yet she couldn’t say that out loud.
After all, it had been the original owner who agreed to the plan back then; now she couldn’t blame Xu Qiaoqiao for it.
Wei Nan felt like vomiting from frustration, but she could only suppress the huge storm inside and shook her head.
“I don’t know. He hasn’t contacted me for over a year, and I can’t find him. I never even had the chance to tell him about returning to the city.”
Hearing her explanation, Xu Qiaoqiao was genuinely surprised.
“He hasn’t contacted you at all? I remember before I left, didn’t he still write to you? Didn’t he send you money and ration coupons?”
“The last letter I received was three months before you left,” Wei Nan reminded her. “After that, there was no news at all.”
“This man… how could he be like this! Did I misjudge him before? That can’t be—Jiang Sirui never seemed like the irresponsible type. And at that time, he also told me that once married he would take responsibility.”
At this, Xu Qiaoqiao’s voice carried deep guilt. “Xiao Nan, I’m sorry, it’s my fault I got you into this.”
“It’s not your fault,” Wei Nan shook her head.
Although the plan had been Xu Qiaoqiao’s idea, the decision was made by the original owner. She really couldn’t blame her friend.
“So what will you do now?”
Hearing this, Xu Qiaoqiao’s guilt intensified, and she held Wei Nan’s hand as she asked.
“First, get the household registration sorted, then figure out a way to find a job.”
Saying this, Wei Nan glanced around and asked, “Qiaoqiao, do you still work at the Educated Youth Office?”
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