Gu Zhouye looked deeply at Shen Qiuqiu. Shen Qiuqiu smiled back at him.
“Gu Zhouye, there’s no need to take life so seriously.”
Just as Shen Qiuqiu had thought earlier — transmigrating into a book meant she didn’t have to go to the office, but she still had to go to work. That was just life: always full of unexpected twists.
Shen Qiuqiu lay down on the bed, pulled up the covers, and went straight to sleep. After a long time, Gu Zhouye finally stirred. He lay down next to her.
They were confined for three days. During that time, their marriage application was approved. The two of them received their marriage certificate and became official husband and wife.
When Gu Zhouye took the marriage certificate, he stood by the window for a full hour. The sight of his back made even Shen Qiuqiu feel a little guilty.
“Gu Zhouye, if you have someone else in your heart, we can go get the divorce papers as soon as we’re back in the city.”
Gu Zhouye turned to look at Shen Qiuqiu, his expression extremely complicated. He didn’t say anything — just silently tucked the marriage certificate away.
On the fourth day, the organization finally announced its decision. Gu Zhouye’s spot to return to the city remained unchanged. As for Xiao Yi and Bai Xueying…
The two of them had to get married. But Bai Xueying had rural household registration, while Xiao Yi was an educated youth. If they married in the village, Xiao Yi would most likely be stuck there for the rest of his life.
By the time everyone was finally allowed to return to the city, more than a decade would have passed. By then, even if they made it to the city, they probably wouldn’t be able to survive.
The morning wind blew fiercely, making her head ache. Outside, a massive blizzard was raging.
Even so, they still had to go to the forestry station for work — not outdoor labor, but study sessions.
Gu Zhouye silently threw on his coat and hat and walked to the door. He turned and glanced at Shen Qiuqiu.
Then, rather awkwardly, he said one sentence.
“Let’s go. Time for work.”
Shen Qiuqiu quickly caught up and stuffed her hand into Gu Zhouye’s pocket.
“How about we have a wedding in a few days? Invite everyone over for some fun. What do you think?”
Gu Zhouye was stunned. A few snowflakes had landed on his eyelashes, giving him a strangely vulnerable look.
“Do people like us… need to have a wedding?”
Shen Qiuqiu stomped on Gu Zhouye’s foot, annoyed.
“Of course we do. A monk rings the bell as long as he’s a monk. Even if we end up divorced, we still have to live our days properly.”
Gu Zhouye took a deep breath.
“You don’t have to try so hard to please me. After the New Year, when we go back to the city, I’ll definitely take you with me. I keep my word.”
Gu Zhouye’s biggest flaws were that he held grudges and overthought everything.
Shen Qiuqiu sighed in exasperation. Her foot slipped, and she nearly fell. Gu Zhouye reached out and caught her.
“Are you okay?”
Shen Qiuqiu shook off Gu Zhouye’s arm. She was so angry she wanted to slap him — but then she looked at his handsome face, and her anger vanished instantly.
“You’re so awkward and so petty. You’re not open at all.”
When they arrived at the forestry station, Shen Qiuqiu found Ding Rui. Ding Rui’s little face was red from the cold. When she saw Shen Qiuqiu, her eyes went wide.
“Qiuqiu, you’re amazing! You latched onto Gu Zhouye so early. Everyone’s heard the news today — the only spot in our production brigade to return to the city is Gu Zhouye’s. I thought Gu Zhouye was just making things up at the assembly!”
Shen Qiuqiu looked over at Xiao Yi, who was sitting off to the side. There was a very obvious handprint on his face — clearly, someone had slapped him.
And they had slapped him hard.
Ding Rui helpfully added, “Look at Xiao Yi’s face — Bai Xueying did that. Her family came to his door and demanded that he marry her. First he said he needed to write to his family, then he said now wasn’t the right time to get married. He’s just afraid that if he marries Bai Xueying now, he won’t be able to return to the city.”
In the original book, after Xiao Yi returned to the city, Bai Xueying relied on her own efforts to work her way up and pass the exams to get into the county hospital. It wasn’t until she had the opportunity to go to the capital for further training that she saw Xiao Yi again. In the meantime, the two went through all kinds of misunderstandings and angsty entanglements. Shen Qiuqiu had found it very entertaining to read back then, but now that she was living through it, she just thought Xiao Yi was a complete piece of trash.
Shen Qiuqiu spat in Xiao Yi’s direction.
“Scumbag.”
Ding Rui naturally didn’t understand what “scumbag” meant. She asked curiously, “What does that mean?”
“It means a man whose character is as broken as corn grits — the kind of human garbage that makes everyone who sees him want to step on him.”
Ding Rui couldn’t help but clap.
“Qiuqiu, ever since you got together with Gu Zhouye, your cultural literacy has gone through the roof.”
Meanwhile, Gu Zhouye was sitting as far away from them as possible, curled up alone in a corner. Shen Qiuqiu looked at his back and couldn’t help but shake her head.
This man loved to act aloof — but she liked it.
The day’s study session ended. Shen Qiuqiu was so tired her eyelids were fighting each other. Just as everyone was about to leave, she suddenly remembered she still had something to do. She hurried over to Gu Zhouye, took his hand, and announced to the room.
“Everyone, wait a moment. Gu Zhouye and I are going to have a wedding in three days. Please come and join the celebration.”
Gu Zhouye wasn’t well-liked, and the original Shen Qiu wasn’t either. But Shen Qiuqiu’s smile was warm and sincere. Ding Rui immediately raised her hand.
“Yes! I’ll go!”
Ding Rui tugged at the sleeves of a few people nearby to get them to raise their hands too. Wang Lixia let out a cold snort. Although she hated Shen Qiuqiu, she also felt a bit of pity for her good sister Bai Xueying.
They had all thought Xiao Yi was reliable. Who knew he would turn out to be so heartless at the critical moment? Bai Xueying’s belly wasn’t very noticeable yet. If her due date got closer and they still weren’t married, the children wouldn’t even have household registration.
Xiao Yi, who used to be surrounded by admirers, now had no one paying him any attention. He clenched his fists and glared at Shen Qiuqiu.
Quite a few people agreed to come. Shen Qiuqiu walked over to Xiao Yi and asked with a smile, “Xiao Yi, why don’t you and Xueying come too? We’re all comrades in the same production brigade. I won’t hold a grudge for what happened in the past.”
Shen Qiuqiu’s words were pure poison. Song Qiang, an activist who hung around Xiao Yi, patted Xiao Yi on the shoulder.
“Xiao Yi, even the wronged party is saying this. If you keep scowling, it’s not going to look good.”
Xiao Yi clenched his fists and glared venomously at Shen Qiuqiu.
“Fine.”
Shen Qiuqiu smugly took Gu Zhouye’s hand and left.
Along the way, Gu Zhouye didn’t say a word, but he didn’t let go of Shen Qiuqiu’s hand either. The heavy snow had finally stopped, but the road was buried under an extremely thick layer of it. Shen Qiuqiu wasn’t tall and was struggling to walk.
Suddenly, Gu Zhouye stopped. He said to Shen Qiuqiu, “Get on.”
Shen Qiuqiu was stunned. This guy was offering to carry her on his back.
“Okay, honey.”
Gu Zhouye’s heart skipped a beat. He felt all the blood in his body rush to his face. Silently, he hoisted Shen Qiuqiu onto his back.
Above them, a giant moon hung in the sky, illuminating the snowy wilderness like a scene from a painting.
It was actually quite romantic. But Shen Qiuqiu’s cultural level was limited — she didn’t know how to say anything romantic.
“Gu Zhouye, listen to me — we’ve got nothing to fear. You don’t like to talk, but I love to talk. You just sit there like a mascot, and I’ll handle anything that comes up.”
Gu Zhouye had come to the forestry station at eighteen. He had been here for seven years. At his lowest point, he had nearly died here.
So he had forgotten how to communicate with people. He even hated people.
Gu Zhouye laughed.
“Okay.”