Wang Lixia was tall and fair-skinned. Her family was from a rural area in the southwest, but she had managed to get an urban household registration through her aunt before being sent down as an educated youth.
Wang Lixia didn’t aim very high — she just wanted to stay in the city. A county town counted as the city. She had been very upset recently, after Sun Yuming broke up with her and her best friend cut off all contact.
But Wang Lixia had bounced back. Song Qiang was warm-hearted and kept bringing her food. One thing led to another, and the two of them got together.
Song Qiang was a man of few words. No one else knew that his family was from the capital. When Wang Lixia found out from Song Qiang that he was from Beijing, she perked up instantly. She pulled out all the stops and won Song Qiang over.
Song Qiang was a spineless coward. Faced with this situation and two girlfriends, all he could do was back away.
Seeing how useless Song Qiang was, Wang Lixia grabbed his hand.
“Zhou Qian, I’ll be honest with you. Song Qiang and I are together now. I have no other path left. Your parents will at least take you back home. I have nothing.”
Zhou Qian was trembling with rage. She pointed at Wang Lixia viciously.
“Believe me, I’ll report you for moral misconduct!”
A threat like this might have been very effective before, but the general environment had loosened up considerably. Many scandals involving male and female educated youths had caused a big stir, only to fizzle out in the end.
Wang Lixia let out a cold laugh.
“I don’t have any other choice. Worst case, I die.”
The moment Song Qiang heard Wang Lixia mention death, he quickly grabbed her hand. Wang Lixia discreetly pinched his palm hard.
Song Qiang immediately looked up at Zhou Qian and said, “Qianqian, I’m sorry. I’ll compensate you.”
Song Qiang pulled fifty yuan out of his pocket and stuffed it into Zhou Qian’s hand.
“This is all the money I’ve saved over the years. Take it.”
With that, Song Qiang pulled Wang Lixia away. Zhou Qian stood frozen in place, clutching the money, tears streaming down her face.
“He spent a hundred on clothes for that bitch. The money he gave me is only fifty.”
Zhou Qian wiped her tears away in big handfuls, completely ignoring the stares of the people around them. Shen Qiuqiu and Ding Rui quickly pulled her to a quieter spot.
Zhou Qian cried her heart out. Ding Rui, ever kind-hearted, asked hurriedly, “Qianqian, stop crying for a moment. Think about what you want to do.”
Zhou Qian said through gritted teeth, “That Wang Lixia is an expert at stealing other people’s men. I’m going to report them to the organization!”
Shen Qiuqiu sighed.
“Six months ago, that would have been the end of her — no question. But haven’t you noticed? No one cares anymore. Even if she gets caught, all she’ll get is a verbal reprimand.”
Zhou Qian clenched her fists and ground her teeth.
“I’m going to kill those two dogs.”
Ding Rui quickly tried to stop her, grabbing her arms tightly.
“Don’t do anything rash! Sleeping around might not get you in trouble, but murder is a crime. You’ll go to prison!”
Zhou Qian wiped the tears from her face. Her eyes were red, and she looked utterly pitiful.
“Then what do I do? Do I just swallow this humiliation?”
Shen Qiuqiu sympathized with Zhou Qian, but she didn’t know what to suggest either. This was a chaotic time. Everyone was trying to achieve their own goals by any means necessary.
Who really cared who got hurt along the way?
Zhou Qian was in a bad mood, so Ding Rui, being a kind-hearted soul, accompanied her back midway. But Shen Qiuqiu had come with an important mission.
She had told everyone she was going to Baizhai Town to buy a winter coat for Gu Zhouye, but in reality, she wanted to sell the gold. Given the current situation, however, Shen Qiuqiu decided to put that idea on hold.
After all, buying anything still required ration coupons. The risk was too high.
Shen Qiuqiu went to a men’s clothing store and carefully picked out a coat for Gu Zhouye. Gu Zhouye was tall and handsome, with a natural air of nobility between his brows. Dark colors suited him best. Shen Qiuqiu spent a considerable amount of money on a coat.
Holding the coat, she found a small restaurant and had a bowl of wontons. After eating, she was about to look around a bit more before heading back when she glanced up and spotted a familiar face in the crowd.
It was Gu Zhouye.
Standing next to Gu Zhouye was a woman wearing a stylish, belted wool coat. Shen Qiuqiu froze.
She glanced up at the still-fairly-clear sky. Did catching adulterers have auspicious days now too? Shen Qiuqiu clutched the coat and quietly followed behind them.
The streets were packed with people, and the noise was loud and jumbled. Growing anxious, Shen Qiuqiu moved a little closer.
Clumsily, she stepped on the heel of the person in front of her. The passerby turned around and saw Shen Qiuqiu, then said with annoyance, “Young lady, why don’t you watch where you’re going?”
The woman and Gu Zhouye ahead turned to look behind them.
Shen Qiuqiu quickly ducked into a shop.
Gu Zhouye turned back around and looked at the woman beside him — Bai Kerou, the woman who had been entangled with him for years. She had expended tremendous effort to travel from the capital to this place.
She had written to Gu Zhouye before, but he never replied. So she found a mutual acquaintance in the military to pass along a message, finally managing to trick Gu Zhouye into meeting her.
Bai Kerou took Gu Zhouye’s hand, but he immediately flung it away in disgust.
Still, Bai Kerou refused to give up.
“Zhouye, everything is about to return to normal. You’re such a talented person. Don’t let the past hold you back forever.”
Gu Zhouye looked coldly at Bai Kerou.
“I’m not stuck in the past. I’ve been moving forward.”
“Then you married a woman with such a low level of education — a woman who can only talk to you about cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. Does that truly satisfy you?”
Gu Zhouye walked faster, as if trying to put more distance between himself and Bai Kerou.
“She can talk to me about more than that. And besides, this is what life is.”
Bai Kerou froze. She stood in place, looking at Gu Zhouye with disappointment.
“Gu Zhouye, you’ve changed. The old you was above worldly matters. Now you’re just like every other ordinary person.”
Gu Zhouye hadn’t wanted to engage with Bai Kerou, but that remark seemed to anger him.
“Bai Kerou, who are you to say something like that? If you hadn’t framed me back then, how could I have ended up in this situation?”
Bai Kerou clenched her fists, an expression of disbelief on her face.
“You know?”
“I know. You were the one who volunteered to tell them.”
Bai Kerou nervously twisted the hem of her clothes. She began to sob softly.
“You know everything. Then why didn’t you take revenge back then? If you had just exposed that, you could have avenged yourself.”
At this, Bai Kerou seemed to find a glimmer of hope. She reached out and tugged at Gu Zhouye’s sleeve.
“Gu Zhouye, you still have feelings for me, don’t you?”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than Bai Kerou felt a tightness in her chest. She looked down to see a petite, soft-looking woman — so thin she seemed almost malnourished — blinking a pair of mischievous eyes and looking up at her with a smile.
“Comrade, I have a question for you.”