Wen Ya had no idea that complete chaos had erupted back in the dining car. Xie Ling had been sitting there eating, secretly cursing Wen Ya in her heart as a fox spirit, a shameless vixen, and a cheap slut. She was racking her brain trying to figure out how to teach her a thorough lesson—preferably one that would utterly humiliate her so she would stop trying to seduce the man Xie Ling fancied.
Suddenly, a blinding stab of pain shot through her skull, so intense that she let out an ear-piercing shriek.
Without warning, she began ripping off her clothes, acting like a total lunatic.
Her initial scream had already drawn everyone’s attention, but before anyone could process what was happening, she started shedding her garments. The dining car instantly exploded into uproar. The male passengers sat frozen, staring and enjoying the unexpected show—some unabashedly taking advantage of the view, figuring free sights are free sights—while more decent men quickly averted their eyes or yelled for the dining car staff. The women in the car immediately began screaming curses at her: Shameless! Vixen! Whore!
The dining car attendants rushed over. By the time the female staff members finally managed to pin her down, Xie Ling had stripped down to her thin camisole and was frantically trying to rip that off as well. The staff forcefully subdued her and practically wrestled her clothes back onto her body.
In truth, this was all Ling Hao’s doing. Using his psychic abilities, he had placed a mental restriction on her: the moment she so much as entertained a thought of harming Wen Ya, her mind would be violently assaulted with agonizing pain. That was why her head had hurt so badly.
Right after that, he planted a subtle behavioral suggestion: as long as she wasn’t scheming to seduce people, she would be completely fine. Since his psychic rank wasn’t at its peak, the mental cue would only last for seven days—meaning as long as Xie Ling kept her mind clear of those twisted thoughts for a week, she’d be safe. But because Xie Ling’s brain was actively plotting how to seduce him, the mental block triggered instantly, causing her breakdown.
The commotion inside the dining car was simply too massive. Since it was mealtime, many passengers who had a bit of spare cash and didn’t want to bother with ration coupons had crowded in to eat, alongside rubberneckers from the neighboring carriages who had come running at the sound of the screams. A huge crowd had gathered.
After a short while, the agonizing mental pressure lifted, and Xie Ling snapped back to clarity, abruptly stopping her stripping. But when she saw dozens of people surrounding her, pointing, staring, and whispering, while women cursed her for stripping and bringing shame upon public decency, the reality hit her.
Even under the mental suggestion, she remembered every single thing she had just done.
She felt like crawling into a hole in the floor and dying of shame. It was the most humiliating moment of her life. Sobbing hysterically, she shoved her way through the gawking crowd and bolted.
Only after she fled did the spectators finally disperse, walking away and gossiping with their companions. Passengers from her own carriage returned to find her weeping bitterly at her seat, and soon the entire carriage was buzzing with the scandalous tale of what she had done in the dining car.
Right as Xie Ling felt on the verge of a complete mental collapse, the train finally screeched to a halt. Their batch of educated youth was scheduled to get off at this station.
Wen Ya stood up and began struggling to haul her heavy luggage down from the overhead rack. Before she could strain herself, Ling Hao reached up and effortlessly lifted it down for her.
“Thank you,” Wen Ya said politely, grabbing her bags and heading for the exit.
Ling Hao was carrying his own gear as well, but when he saw the sheer mountain of luggage Wen Ya was hauling, he reached out a hand. “Here, let me carry some of that for you.”
“No, it’s fine, I can manage myself! You have quite a bit of luggage yourself.”
“Just hand it over,” he replied smoothly. “Otherwise, you’re going to get squashed flat out there in the crowd.”
Wen Ya looked down at her massive pile of bags, then glanced out at the surging wave of passengers preparing to exit. Submitting to reality, she silently shuffled a few bags closer to him.
“Thank you so much.”
“We’re traveling together. It’s only right to help each other out.”
The group edged toward the exit doors. As they approached the restroom area near the carriages, movement came to a complete halt because the passage ahead was packed shoulder-to-shoulder.
The moment the train doors slammed open, the crowd surged forward like a tidal wave. Fortunately, Ling Hao used his subtle energy field to keep a protective pocket of space clear around Wen Ya while simultaneously blocking the crushing weight of the crowd pressing in from behind.
Because of his shielding, Wen Ya felt relatively fine. Once they finally stepped off the train, she walked along with the flowing current of passengers. After moving a short distance away from the congested platform, she turned to Ling Hao and said, “I can take my things from here. Thank you for your help—I won’t take up any more of your time.”
“You’re an educated youth, right? So am I. Over there are the receptionists for the new arrivals. Let’s head over together.” As he spoke, Ling Hao raised his chin, gesturing toward a large cloth banner fluttering in the distance.
Wen Ya followed his gaze and spotted a welcome banner waving in the wind.
“Ah, thank you.”
The two of them walked over to the designated reception area together. A handful of other arrivals were already waiting there.
As they stood by, waiting for the rest to gather, Wen Ya caught sight of Xie Ling, Wang Meiyu, and a few other young men and women walking over. As they drew closer, Wen Ya noticed Xie Ling’s eyes were swollen red and puffy like walnuts from crying. Moreover, the dynamic between Wang Meiyu and Xie Ling felt distinctly icy and weird.
With her sharp eyes, Wen Ya spotted a large, purplish bump on Wang Meiyu’s forehead. Did she transmigrate too? Wen Ya thought. So the two of them fought? And their friendship completely shattered?
Once most of the arrivals had trickled in, the official from the educated youth office stepped forward with a clipboard to call roll.
A large number of youths had been assigned to this county, arriving in waves, and this particular group was scheduled to be deployed to the same rural commune.
Before long, the newcomers were directed toward the back of a fleet of tractors sent by the commune to pick them up.
Having read plenty of period novels, Wen Ya knew tractors were notoriously loud and rattled your bones to dust. The moment she climbed into the flatbed trailer, she grabbed the thick cloth bag containing her woolen coat, tossed it onto the wooden slats, and parked herself right on top of it for cushioning.
Ling Hao promptly hoisted himself up and sat down right beside her.
Xie Ling, meanwhile, ended up stuck on a completely different tractor. She had desperately wanted to squeeze onto this one, but because she had spent so much time crying her eyes out earlier, her brain felt foggy and sluggish, and she had missed her chance.
Once the tractors chugged to life and rattled down the paved county roads, the ride was smooth enough that nobody felt much discomfort. But the moment they crossed the county border onto rough dirt tracks, the passengers immediately gripped onto whatever iron bars or wooden edges they could find, terrified that a single violent jolt would fling them right off the moving trailer.
Even with Wen Ya’s careful preparation, the bone-rattling jolts left her feeling thoroughly jarred. One could only imagine how poorly the young city kids who had never experienced rural roads were holding up.
The absolute least-fazed person in the entire group was undoubtedly Ling Hao. Back in the wasteland, he was entirely accustomed to high-speed vehicular chases and life-or-death escapes; this bumpy tractor ride was absolute child’s play. Even so, he kept his attention locked on Wen Ya the entire time, ready to steady her if the jolts became too much to bear.
Though uncomfortable, Wen Ya managed to hold her own.
By the time the convoy reached the commune headquarters, several passengers staggered off the trailers and immediately doubled over to retch against the nearest trees. Wen Ya felt slightly green in the face and her legs were buzzing with numbness, but otherwise, she was completely intact.
At the commune drop-off point, the local reception committees were waiting. Most of them had brought ox carts instead of tractors, since tractor fuel quotas were fiercely restricted and few production brigades had access to one.
The commune official stood by with a megaphone and started calling out names for local brigade assignments. Wen Ya only knew she had been assigned to the Xiangyang Commune; her specific production brigade would be determined right here at the distribution site.
She pricked up her ears and listened intently. When her name was finally called, she learned she was assigned to the Ping’an Production Brigade.
Historically, the area had been known as Kaoshan Village (Mountain-Leaning Village), but after the production brigades were established, the name was officially changed.
Right after her name, she heard the officials call out Xie Ling and Wang Meiyu’s names as well. She didn’t pay attention to the rest.
Of all the twists of fate, Wen Ya groaned inwardly. I ended up assigned to the exact same brigade as the female protagonist. What kind of toxic karma is this?
Meanwhile, Ling Hao had used his psychic awareness to scan the master roster the moment the official pulled it out. If Wen Ya had been assigned to a different location, he had already been prepared to pull strings and alter her placement. The moment the official called out her name during roll call, he finally locked down her full name in his mind.
With roll call concluded, everyone gathered their luggage and headed off to meet their respective production brigade leaders.