“You little brat…” the old village chief frowned and scolded, “You’re already twenty-three this year and still don’t have a wife. I’m telling you, if you miss this chance, there won’t be another one.”
“With my looks, getting a wife would only take a single word. I just don’t care to marry.” Shen Linghua glanced again at the woman lying on the earthen kang bed. Her thigh wasn’t even as thick as his arm—clearly useless.
His elder sisters-in-law were both big and sturdy, yet they complained of waist and leg pain every other day and couldn’t even go out to earn work points.
What was the use of just being pretty?
Lin Qiuman stared at the man in front of her who looked utterly disgusted with her. His reaction was the same as in her previous life—he clearly didn’t want to.
But in her previous life, in order to have somewhere to stay, she cried and knelt, forcing Shen Linghua together with the old village chief until he had no choice but to bring her home.
His hair was long and messy, his stubble unkempt, and his speech crude. Compared to an intellectual like Wu Jianxun, he was worlds apart.
So even though she had begged Shen Linghua to take her home back then, deep down she despised him and looked down on him.
But she was wrong.
It was she who didn’t deserve someone as good as Shen Linghua.
“Maohua, if you keep fooling around like this, you might end up marrying a widow,” the old village chief flicked his finger at Shen Linghua and reminded him irritably.
Shen Linghua curled his lips. “If I like her, forget a widow—even an old woman, I’d marry!”
Seeing his carefree attitude, Lin Qiuman suddenly remembered the weariness in his eyes when he visited her in prison in her previous life, hoping she would confess that Wu Jianxun was the mastermind.
A young man in the prime of his life should have been this free and unrestrained.
Back then, there was no wedding. She simply carried her luggage and went to the Shen family with him. Though she was a refugee girl who should have been gossiped about, she was instead doted on endlessly.
Facing her two fierce sisters-in-law, it was Shen Linghua’s rough and fearless nature that protected her, giving her the courage to act recklessly.
But what about her?
She constantly found excuses to avoid sharing a bed with Shen Linghua. She even urged him again and again to work at the reservoir as a laborer so he could earn tuition money for her and Wu Jianxun.
To gather money, she even stole grain from the two sisters-in-law multiple times and framed Shen Linghua’s younger brother, Shen Lingkang… causing him to be viciously beaten by them.
What was even more unforgivable was the crime she committed with Wu Jianxun. After Shen Lingkang discovered the two of them secretly meeting in the mountains, they worked together and beat him unconscious.
At that time the restoration of the college entrance examination was approaching, and neither she nor Wu Jianxun wanted to go to prison.
So they tied the unconscious Shen Lingkang with hemp rope, bound him to a tree, and left him there to fend for himself…
Someone like her—even if she had been reborn—how could she calmly accept Shen Linghua’s care?
Thinking of this, she slowly sat up and said word by word, “Sir, I graduated from high school. I can teach, keep accounts, or even work in the fields to earn work points. Please don’t make things difficult for this big brother. I also don’t want to trouble him.”
She didn’t want to follow the same path as before and naturally return home with Shen Linghua…
If her presence only made things harder for him, then she truly wouldn’t know whether she was seeking redemption—or committing another sin.
“See? She’s starving to death and still looks down on me.” Shen Linghua’s playful expression instantly disappeared. He glared at Lin Qiuman and walked out without looking back.
“Girl, don’t judge that young man by his wild appearance. He’s very capable—worth three men by himself. If you follow him, you definitely won’t suffer.”
The old village chief stared at Shen Linghua’s departing back for a long while before awkwardly explaining.
“Sir, it’s not that I think that big brother is bad. I just don’t want to make things difficult for him.” Lin Qiuman pressed her lips together and spoke sincerely. “Sir… can I stay in the village?”
The old village chief stared at the documents in Lin Qiuman’s hand for a long time before finally gritting his teeth and saying, “You graduated from high school, which is quite an education. The new teacher the organization arranged for us hasn’t arrived yet, and the current teacher is about to give birth. You can temporarily take over the classes.
“But you’ve seen our village’s situation. As a substitute teacher, we can’t give you a salary—only work points.”
“Sir, just having a place to stay is already enough for me. I don’t need a salary. As long as I can eat a meal, it’s fine.
“Thank you…”
Tears slid down Lin Qiuman’s face again uncontrollably. The village chief was kind—he had taken her in in both lifetimes.
Originally, the substitute teacher position was supposed to go to Wu Jianxun. Although the official teacher eventually came, one teacher couldn’t handle the entire first grade alone, so Wu Jianxun had continued teaching.
But this time, there would no longer be a place for Wu Jianxun by her side.
“When we were young, we also fled famine. We all survived it…” the old village chief sighed, knowing that no one could escape natural disasters.
“Sir, you’re a good person.”
“Rest for now. I’ll go to the primary school. If you need anything, call your aunt—she’s inside the house.”
After speaking, the old village chief hurried out.
Lin Qiuman’s tense body finally relaxed, and she lay back on the earthen kang to rest.
In her previous life, she and Wu Jianxun hadn’t killed Shen Linghua’s younger brother. But because his brain had been injured and treatment came too late, he remained mentally impaired for the rest of his life.
She only learned this after leaving prison and coming to West Hope Village to look for Shen Linghua.
The villagers said that whenever the foolish Shen Lingkang saw a pretty woman, he would punch and kick her head, spit, and curse nonstop.
When his episodes happened, it was terrifying and made everyone uneasy.
So, with no other choice, Shen Linghua eventually moved deep into the mountains with Shen Lingkang to live in isolation.
Two perfectly good brothers had turned into wild men because of the sins she and Wu Jianxun committed…
Lin Qiuman knew Shen Lingkang’s hatred of beautiful women was because of her.
Because that day, she herself had beaten Shen Lingkang while Wu Jianxun pinned him down…
For the next forty years, she took all kinds of jobs to make money. Every cent she earned was sent back to the village for the villagers to pass on to the Shen brothers.
But before she died, she still never saw Shen Linghua or Shen Lingkang again.
She never got the chance to personally say, “I’m sorry.”
By the time she finished remembering all this, Lin Qiuman’s face was already soaked with tears.
At that moment, Shen Linghua—who had walked out so dashing earlier but forgotten to take his homemade slingshot—hesitated for a moment before stepping back inside the room.
The moment he entered, he met those tearful eyes.
“Big brother…” Lin Qiuman quickly wiped her tears and forced a smile at him.
“Don’t misunderstand. I just came back to get something—not because I want you to be my wife.” Shen Linghua lifted the slingshot in his hand and quickly ran out again.
Her two braided pigtails hung over her shoulders, making her already delicate, oval face look even smaller.
He couldn’t tell whether it was because her skin was too fair or her lips too red, but together they were simply soul-stealing.
Especially those big watery eyes—they naturally carried a pitiful charm that made people feel sorry for her.
Shen Linghua secretly felt relieved that he hadn’t agreed to bring her home.
If he had to look at those innocent big eyes every day, he’d probably never have the heart to say a single harsh word to her.
And then whatever she said at home would go.
Just imagining that kind of life was terrifying…