No, no, no—
The original owner didn’t have a space.
But she did!
How could she possibly be unable to escape?
If anything became unsolvable, she could just hide in her space and avoid reality—or move somewhere else entirely.
Even if the female lead also had a space, she wasn’t afraid. That space could only store items—it couldn’t hold people. There was no way she could be dragged inside and killed.
Once she figured that out, the corner of her lips curved upward.
Her handsome smile made the man across from her momentarily dazed.
This guy really was good-looking—a proper pretty boy.
Huo Nanting also thought she looked like some young master from a wealthy family, putting on that aloof, arrogant air.
Lan Xingyu glanced at the man across from her. He was exactly her type—but she had no intention of getting close.
First, because he belonged to the female lead.
Second… because she felt inferior.
Yes.
Miss Nan—the proud young lady—was actually feeling inferior for the first time in her life.
Unbelievable.
But inferior she was.
Because during her bath that afternoon, she had seen her own chest. Not only was it misshapen, it was flat as an airstrip—an extremely unattractive shape.
At that moment, she had decided to rely on cosmetic surgery.
Unfortunately, this era didn’t have such procedures.
And just like that, her hopes of finding a man and having children were crushed.
Should I go back and find Lu Qingqing… and be her kept pretty boy?
No.
Her orientation was perfectly normal.
Better not think about romance at all.
Living properly was enough.
While her thoughts wandered, the cigarette had already burned down. She flicked away the butt and got up to fix her little bed.
She took out a small hammer, drove two nails into the wall, and hung up the electric fan.
Then she grabbed a machete and headed out, cutting several branches at the foot of the mountain. Carrying them back, she fixed the branches to the four bedposts, added four more across the top, then hung up a mosquito net.
After that, she sewed gray dacron cloth along the other three sides of the bed.
Before she could finish, Zhang Weiping came to call her for dinner. Today he had teamed up with several male educated youths. Since Lan Xingyu hadn’t returned earlier, he had taken two of her sweet potatoes and cooked her portion as well.
“I’m not eating. Those two sweet potatoes are yours.”
Lan Xingyu kept working without even lifting her eyelids.
“Alright.” Zhang Weiping gave an awkward laugh, then turned to Huo Nanting. “Educated Youth Huo, let’s go eat.”
Huo Nanting gave a low acknowledgment, pulled on his clothes, and left the room.
By the time they returned from dinner, Lan Xingyu had finished setting up her bed.
From the outside, you couldn’t see a thing inside—completely sealed off.
Lan Xingyu leaned against the wall, reading while the electric fan blew steadily. The bed was padded with cotton batting and already quite soft, but summer was hot, so she had also laid down a bamboo mat.
She had hammered two more nails into the wall and strung a line for hanging clothes. As for private items, everything went into her space. A few clothes hung outside were enough to keep up appearances.
For now, it wasn’t the right time to return to her female identity.
She still had to live as a man for a while longer.
She loved medicine, so what she read were all medical texts. The book in her hands was about cosmetic surgery.
Too bad when she bought medical equipment, she hadn’t purchased implants…
Otherwise—
…even then, she wouldn’t have been able to perform the procedure on herself.
She let out a deep sigh.
As long as I’m alive, that’s enough.
Just as she was getting absorbed in her reading, a crisp, pleasant female voice sounded outside:
“Nanting, I steamed some corn buns. I brought a few for you.”
“No need. I’ve already eaten.”
Toward someone he had grown up with in the compound, Huo Nanting’s attitude was still decent. But she kept coming to find him—anyone with eyes could see what she wanted.
But he wasn’t interested.
For no other reason than he often saw her appearing in pairs with her partner. It always felt like she was someone else’s woman.
Besides, he had no intention of dating.
“Just try one. We’re not outsiders—why are you being polite?”
Tang Zhirou held the bowl out to him, smiling brightly.
Huo Nanting nudged the bowl back and said coolly, “I really can’t eat anymore. Take it back and save it for tomorrow.”
Tang Zhirou coaxed sweetly, “Oh come on, just have one. I added white sugar—it’s nice and sweet.”
“Not hungry.”
Huo Nanting wasn’t about to give her an opening. Eat this one and there’d be a next.
At the side, Zhang Weiping stared at the golden corn buns, desperately wanting one—but obviously no one was offering him any. He glanced toward Lan Xingyu’s bed.
Once I make money, I’m buying white flour and steaming meat buns myself.
“Just eat one.”
Tang Zhirou’s smile was starting to crack. This man was too hard to deal with.
“Take it back.”
Huo Nanting’s voice turned colder.
Tang Zhirou’s heart clenched. Tears welled in her eyes, making her look pitiful—as if Huo Nanting had bullied her.
“I’m going to bathe.”
Huo Nanting stood and walked out, giving her no face at all.
He couldn’t soften.
The moment he did, she would cling to him.
Even though he had never dated, he understood perfectly well.
Watching his back disappear through the doorway, Tang Zhirou’s tears finally fell.
Zhang Weiping glanced at the buns in her bowl, quickly pulled out his only roll of toilet paper, tore off some, and handed it over without a word—his eyes fixed on the buns.
Tang Zhirou took the paper, shoved the bowl into his arms, and stormed off angrily.
Zhang Weiping grinned wide.
Scheme successful.
He grabbed a bun and took a big bite.
So sweet. So delicious.
He devoured them eagerly.
I’ll call Jiani over to eat two later.
He glanced toward Lan Xingyu’s bed and decided to use one bun to build goodwill.
Walking over, he said, “Educated Youth Lan, want a corn bun? It tastes great.”
“Not eating.”
“…Alright.”
Well, he had offered. Whether she ate it or not, his goodwill was clear.
Haha—this was even better.
Zhang Weiping’s family circumstances weren’t good either. With many siblings at home, he often went hungry. Right now, eating the corn buns felt like feasting on delicacies.
He finished three in one go and saved the remaining two for Jiani.
He went to call Zhao Jiani over. She also ate with great satisfaction—and noticed that Tang Zhirou seemed like someone worth cultivating a relationship with.
However, when she looked toward Lan Xingyu’s bed, she couldn’t help thinking—
Was all this really necessary?
What a spendthrift young master.
That gray dacron cloth alone could make two sets of clothes, and he used it to curtain a bed. Too extravagant.
Lan Xingyu stayed hidden inside and didn’t come out until she needed the toilet before bed.
The moment she opened the door, she ran into Huo Nanting returning with a wild rabbit in hand.
She sidestepped him and left.
Huo Nanting was equally cold. Since she didn’t speak, he had no interest in talking either.
But when he went out to wash up, he heard puff-puff spraying sounds from the toilet.
Was she… spraying something?
When Lan Xingyu returned to the room, he went into the toilet and took a sniff.
What a sharp smell.
…But kind of fragrant.
This guy really was a delicate young master.
Back in the room, the three of them slept soundly through the night.
When Lan Xingyu woke up, she pulled open the bed curtain and looked—
Heh.
Both men were wearing nothing but underwear.
And pitching tents.
Good thing she studied medicine.
Otherwise, that would’ve been too much stimulation.
“Time to get up and cook. Educated Youth Lan, Educated Youth Huo—last night they said the three of us will cook for ourselves from now on. How about we each take turns cooking one day?”
Lan Xingyu had been about to head out when Zhang Weiping hurriedly spoke.
He couldn’t miss this money-making opportunity.
He was certain Lan Xingyu didn’t know how to cook.
If he helped, he could earn money.
Sure enough—
“I don’t know how to cook. Help me cook—one yuan a day,” Lan Xingyu said.
“Okay, okay, okay! Then you cook today first, and I’ll help. You pay me one yuan today.”
Zhang Weiping’s eyes were practically sparkling.
“Whatever.”
After speaking, Lan Xingyu grabbed her washbasin and went to the kitchen to scoop water. Inside were three stoves—so they could cook separately.
“Educated Youth Lan, I figured it out—you really are surnamed Lan.”
Zhou Jianjun, who was peeling sweet potatoes, said, “My name is Zhou Jianjun. Nice to meet you.”
Lan Xingyu gave a nod and stepped outside, squatting under the eaves to rinse her mouth. Then she washed her face with a towel. After finishing, she hung the towel on the rope under the eaves, returned to the room to put away the basin, and headed out again.
She went to the fields, took out skincare products and applied them, then sunscreen.
After that, she pulled out milk and bread to eat.
Once finished, she wandered along the ridges—and sure enough, she spotted bugs in the rice paddies.
I am not going into that field.
Absolutely not getting bitten by those things.
She lit another cigarette and walked along the ridge until the educated youth courtyard grew noisy. Only then did she head back—
—and froze like she’d been struck by lightning when she heard Village Chief Liu.
Today, the male comrades would carry manure water.
The female comrades would pull weeds.
She was… currently a male comrade, right?
Following the group of men to the manure pit, she was assigned a shoulder pole and buckets.
But she stood a full ten meters away from the buckets.
Watching everyone carry load after load of manure water away, she fidgeted with her fingers, even stuffing paper into her nose.