When Gu Zhouye saw Shen Qiuqiu, his entire body tensed up.
But Shen Qiuqiu just looked at Bai Kerou with a smile on her face.
“Where did you buy this coat? I’ve searched all over Baizhai Town and haven’t seen anything like it.”
Bai Kerou had wanted to have a serious talk with Gu Zhouye, but now this utterly random person had shown up. Annoyed, she brushed her off. “I bought it in the capital. Comrade, I have matters to attend to. Could you please not disturb me?”
Bai Kerou took Gu Zhouye’s hand to leave, but he stood rooted in place, looking at Shen Qiuqiu with a complicated expression.
Bai Kerou asked, “Aye, do you know this comrade?”
Shen Qiuqiu immediately laughed and said, “Comrade, do I know you?”
The way Shen Qiuqiu said this made Gu Zhouye’s hair stand on end. He opened his mouth, but had no idea what to say. Shen Qiuqiu continued with a smile, “Comrade from the capital, your coat is really beautiful. Where exactly in the capital did you buy it? When I return to the capital, I’ll get one too.”
Bai Kerou was taken aback.
“You’re from the capital too?”
Shen Qiuqiu nodded.
“That’s right. So is my husband. We’ll be going back to the city soon.”
Bai Kerou looked at Shen Qiuqiu with a strange expression.
Shen Qiuqiu went on, “But I’ve heard recently that a lot of male educated youths have been abandoning their original wives because of the chance to go back to the city.”
As she said this, Shen Qiuqiu stared at Gu Zhouye.
Gu Zhouye felt like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat, but Shen Qiuqiu wouldn’t even give him a chance to explain. She continued, “Comrade, are you married? Would you abandon your wife?”
Bai Kerou finally understood. She pointed at Shen Qiuqiu, then at Gu Zhouye.
“You… you…”
Gu Zhouye grabbed Shen Qiuqiu’s hand and said with a serious expression, “Comrade, I think you’ve misunderstood. Your husband never had any such intention.”
Bai Kerou tried to interject, but she realized Gu Zhouye wasn’t giving her a chance.
“Didn’t you say you were going to Zhoushui? Why are you here?”
Shen Qiuqiu gave a fake smile. “What, did I interrupt your little rendezvous? Are you mad?”
Only then did Gu Zhouye look at Bai Kerou. A flicker of disgust crossed his eyes. Bai Kerou took a hurt step back.
But Gu Zhouye didn’t comfort Bai Kerou at all. Instead, he held Shen Qiuqiu’s hand tightly.
“I was tricked into coming here. Someone wanted to say things I didn’t want to hear.”
Shen Qiuqiu froze. She had expected Gu Zhouye, like the male leads in other novels, to spew a bunch of “let me explain” nonsense that only deepened the misunderstanding.
But Gu Zhouye’s explanation was concise and to the point.
Shen Qiuqiu held Gu Zhouye’s hand back and looked at Bai Kerou very seriously.
“He doesn’t even want to hear what you have to say, and you keep dragging him?”
Bai Kerou let go of Gu Zhouye’s hand. Only now did she fully understand: Shen Qiuqiu was the poorly educated wife Gu Zhouye had married.
Bai Kerou glared at Shen Qiuqiu, a flicker of disdain in her eyes.
“So you’re the woman with only a high school diploma?”
This remark infuriated Shen Qiuqiu. In the modern era, she had been a student at a prestigious 985 university. How was she now considered poorly educated? Besides, in this era, a high school diploma qualified you to be a primary school teacher.
How was that low education?
Shen Qiuqiu cleared her throat lightly, looked up at Bai Kerou, and smiled.
“And you’re the one who abandoned her lover for personal gain — Bai Kerou.”
Bai Kerou’s expression stiffened. She looked at Gu Zhouye.
“You’ve told her everything? You’ve opened your heart to her to this extent?”
Gu Zhouye let out a cold laugh.
“What business is that of yours?”
Bai Kerou wasn’t discouraged. She gave Shen Qiuqiu a deep look, filled with endless disgust and wariness.
“Gu Zhouye, I’ve said everything I needed to say. The decision is yours.”
With that, Bai Kerou turned and walked away. Gu Zhouye clenched his fists, then glanced at Shen Qiuqiu beside him. Shen Qiuqiu let go of his hand.
She let out a long breath. At that moment, she didn’t even know whether to be angry or pretend not to be.
“Qiuqiu, I’ll explain everything properly when we get back. But there’s something I need to say to her alone.”
Shen Qiuqiu frowned.
“Alone? What can’t be said in front of me? Why does it have to be just the two of you?”
Gu Zhouye didn’t answer. He just stared at Shen Qiuqiu.
Shen Qiuqiu sighed.
“Fine. I’ll go home first.”
But Gu Zhouye took her hand and said very seriously, “We’ll go back together. Wait for me at the bus station. I’ll find you by six o’clock.”
A wave of inexplicable disappointment washed over Shen Qiuqiu. She nodded.
After spending so much time with Gu Zhouye, she had finally come to understand one thing: this man was a truly good person. Whether he loved her or not didn’t change that.
So Shen Qiuqiu couldn’t express her unhappiness with emotional outbursts.
Gu Zhouye was a good person.
Gu Zhouye seemed to sense Shen Qiuqiu’s dissatisfaction. He reached out and patted her head.
“Wait for me.”
Shen Qiuqiu nodded and lowered her head, not looking at Gu Zhouye. Gu Zhouye looked at the top of her head and said quietly.
“I’m going.”
When Shen Qiuqiu looked up again, Gu Zhouye had already disappeared into the sea of blue-and-black-coated figures.
Just as Shen Qiuqiu was about to wallow in sentiment, she spotted familiar faces in the crowd.
It was the pair she had run into earlier that morning — Song Qiang and Wang Lixia.
Wang Lixia’s eyes were red, clearly having just cried heavily. Song Qiang was fussing over her.
Shen Qiuqiu loved gossip. She hid in the crowd and eavesdropped on their conversation whenever she could.
The two sat down at a small food stall to eat. Song Qiang pulled out some fried sugar cakes from inside his coat and handed them to Wang Lixia.
“Just bought these. Have some. Don’t be sad anymore. No matter what anyone says when we get back, I won’t leave you.”
Wang Lixia took a bite of the sugar cake, a flash of malice in her eyes.
“I’m not afraid. Let them talk. I just can’t accept it — can’t accept that Bai Xueying, that bitch, ruined me like this.”
A hint of disapproval flickered in Song Qiang’s eyes, but Wang Lixia continued, “You know what? Back when I rejected you, it was Bai Xueying who pushed me to get together with Sun Yuming. She said Sun Yuming’s grandfather was a big official in the city.”
Shen Qiuqiu was stunned.
No wonder Song Qiang had been so easily seduced by Wang Lixia. He had been carrying a torch for her all along.
But it made sense. Wang Lixia hadn’t gotten along with the original Shen Qiu, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t attractive. Southern girl, fair skin, with a pair of eyes full of emotion.
Song Qiang clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, “Those two are both trash. Xiao Yi had feelings for you too at one point. That bitch Bai Xueying was probably digging a trap for you all along because of that.”
Shen Qiuqiu, who had just been minding her own business, now had her mouth hanging open.
Heavens. This was messy…