Director Wu was weighing what arrangements she could offer, waiting only for the other party to speak up. Yet she never expected Yu Jingqiu to make a request that took her completely by surprise.
“What did you say? You want your daughter to attend the military’s recent matchmaking dance?”
Director Wu was genuinely astonished. She turned her head to look at the Feng family girl beside Yu Jingqiu, who appeared equally shocked, and couldn’t help but ask again: “Comrade Yu, you do know what these matchmaking dances are for, don’t you?”
Bin City had stationed troops and military academies. Every year, they organized multiple matchmaking dances specifically to address the marriage issues of single men in the military. Various units in the city would recommend outstanding young unmarried female comrades to participate.
Yu Jingqiu held her daughter’s hand, signaling her to keep calm, then nodded and smiled at Director Wu: “I know, the dance is for matchmaking. My Mingshu is eighteen this year, old enough for matchmaking. She has a high school education, a gentle personality, and reasonably proper looks. So I’m presumptuously asking Director Wu for an admission ticket to the matchmaking event.”
Hearing Yu Jingqiu’s assessment of her daughter, Director Wu looked at the bright-eyed, charming young girl opposite her, whose face was flushed with shyness, and couldn’t help but click her tongue.
This mother was being far too modest. This girl wasn’t just “reasonably proper” looking – she was clearly a beauty. Though she still carried a student’s air about her, exuding youthful innocence, if she were to dress up and put on makeup, she would become utterly captivating, undoubtedly attracting numerous young men’s pursuits.
However, in these times, being pursued by too many people wasn’t necessarily a good thing. A single misstep could lead to trouble, with nowhere to turn for help when things went wrong.
If there was any place that could offer protection, none was better than the military.
Director Wu suddenly understood Yu Jingqiu’s planning for her daughter – after all, she was a mother too.
She also thought about how at every year’s dance, there were always a few officers who were either clueless about romance or looked down on everyone, only to later complain that the organizers hadn’t been diligent enough.
Director Wu snorted inwardly, an idea forming in her mind. She smiled broadly at Yu Jingqiu and said: “No admission ticket needed. There’s a matchmaking dance next Sunday at the Hongxing Auditorium on Jinxi Road. I’ll wait for Mingshu at the entrance at 2 PM and personally escort her inside.”
Feng Mingshu listened dazedly as her mother and Director Wu discussed the dance arrangements, then followed her mother out in the same befuddled state.
When they reached a quiet spot, she grabbed her mother’s hand and said urgently: “Mom, I don’t want to get married. I want to stay with…”
She wanted to say “stay with mother,” but realizing mid-sentence how difficult this would be, she changed her words: “I’ll go to the countryside. I’ll volunteer for rural work. I can choose a place that’s not too harsh.”
She needed to volunteer for rural assignment before next May – this would allow her to both avoid the coming turmoil and earn political points, which would benefit her mother and younger siblings remaining in Bin City.
But Yu Jingqiu shook her head: “Silly child, how can leaving one’s hometown not be harsh?”
“Mom, it’s fine, I can adapt. However bad it is, it can’t be harder than those fifteen years.” Feng Mingshu was confident – while labor camps offered no freedom, rural assignments were different.
“Zhuzhu, in unfamiliar places, besides the hardship, what you should pay more attention to is your personal safety.” Yu Jingqiu gently stroked her daughter’s fair, delicate face, worry evident in her eyes. “You’ve grown into such a beauty – how could I rest easy letting you go to strange places without any protection?”
Hearing this, Feng Mingshu recalled the greedy gazes from her previous life and shuddered all over.Seeing her daughter’s face suddenly turn pale, Yu Jingqiu didn’t press further but hugged her lovingly: “Zhuzhu, Mom isn’t sending you to the dance to force you to marry someone. It’s about fate. If you find someone agreeable, you can bring them home for me to meet; if none catch your eye, just treat it as a way to relax.”
“Mom, the way you say it makes it sound like if I like someone, they’re bound to like me back.” Feng Mingshu blushed shyly, nestling in her mother’s embrace.
“In Mom’s eyes, my daughter is the best. No one could possibly not like you.”
“Mom, you’re just like the melon seller boasting about her own goods.”
“When Mom has raised such a fine melon, of course she should boast about it.”
Feng Mingshu’s mood lifted under her mother’s praise, and before she knew it, she had agreed to visit the tailor shop for new clothes the next day.
Truthfully, she had no real interest in marriage. But since her mother had gone through so much trouble arranging this, she decided to go through the motions and later tell her mother that no one had taken a liking to her.
For one, she held no particular yearning for marriage. Secondly, given her current class status, if she married someone, she would only drag her husband down when political turmoil arose. If they had children, it would be even more complicated.
In her previous life at the labor farm, she had seen many people abandoned by their partners due to class issues, some even struggling to survive on the farm with their children.
Since that was the case, why invite trouble?
Therefore, she would rather go to the countryside to earn political points for her family. If her face continued to cause trouble, she could simply scar it as she had in her past life.
Having made up her mind, the next day she didn’t go to the family’s usual tailor but chose the state-run shop closest to home, also refusing her mother’s company.
Soon, she picked out a gray-blue denim fabric—the cheapest material available.
As she was discussing measurements and style with the shop apprentice, a voice feigning surprise sounded behind her.
“Cousin, is that really you? You’re getting clothes made here too? That fabric you’re holding is so cheap, it doesn’t suit your status.”
Feng Mingshu turned around and, unsurprisingly, saw Chu Xuanxuan, along with Zhang Yunxiao behind her. The latter looked hesitant, as if wanting to say something.
After just one glance, Feng Mingshu turned back to face the scrutinizing and doubtful looks in the shop, smiling slightly: “What status could I possibly have? Aren’t we all working people? This denim suits me just fine.”
Feng Mingshu was extremely sensitive to cold. Seeing the overcast weather, she had worn a padded coat and ordinary black cloth shoes when going out—nothing could be plainer, aside from the absence of patches.
After scanning her attire, the people in the shop immediately dismissed their doubts. When they turned to look at Chu Xuanxuan outside, they saw her wearing a bright wool dress and leather shoes, and couldn’t help but curl their lips in disdain.
Stung by their contemptuous looks, Chu Xuanxuan stamped her foot: “Don’t be fooled by her appearance—she’s a capitalist’s daughter…”
Zhang Yunxiao quickly tugged her sleeve, pleading in a low voice: “Stop talking.”
“Why shouldn’t I speak? I’m telling the truth, what do I have to fear?” Chu Xuanxuan shook off his hand, noticing with satisfaction how her words had changed the shop’s attitude toward Feng Mingshu.Feng Mingshu smiled instead. “I may come from a capitalist family, but I have never exploited others or indulged in luxury. I live on my mother’s hard-earned wages, and in the future, I will rely on my own labor to support myself. I don’t see how you, dressed in such a fine Western-style dress, have any right to criticize me.”
Chu Xuanxuan was caught off guard by this retort, her face flushing crimson. Under the renewed scornful gazes directed at her, she grew flustered and blurted out, “I don’t usually dress like this—it’s just for today…”
“Oh, young lady,” an elderly woman chimed in, “I also went out today, but I’m not wearing anything as fancy as you.”
“Exactly, who does she think she’s fooling?”
“Let me give you some advice, girl: before pointing fingers at others, take a good look at yourself.”
The tailor shop quickly turned into a public denunciation. No matter how sharp-tongued she was, Chu Xuanxuan was just an eighteen-year-old girl. She couldn’t hold her ground for long and soon ran off in tears.
A slight smile tugged at Feng Mingshu’s lips, and she felt a wave of satisfaction.
In the past, out of consideration for their familial ties and her own reluctance to argue, she had often ended up at a disadvantage when dealing with Chu Xuanxuan. After Chu Xuanxuan used connections to enroll in Yangming Middle School, even the dogs on campus seemed to know about Feng Mingshu’s family background. Despite her modest daily attire, she was isolated for years.
So, when Zhang Yunxiao expressed that he didn’t mind her background and extended kindness to her, the lonely young girl couldn’t help but gravitate toward that warmth.
Although it later proved to be fleeting, she bore no resentment toward Zhang Yunxiao.
Still, in this life, she had no desire to be entangled with him again.
“Classmate Zhang, please leave. Don’t come looking for me anymore.”