There weren’t many people who could make Shen Yanting eat crow, but she was one of them.
Perhaps due to conservative thinking, women of that era weren’t as bold as those in modern times.
Shen Yanting’s deep gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds. She didn’t quite match the lovesick fool the rumors made her out to be.
“Thought it through?”
Song Nanzhi nodded.
“Fine.” Shen Yanting didn’t waste more words.
“Tomorrow at ten in the morning, there’s a boat at the dock heading to Zhou Island. I’ll have someone receive you.”
“Okay.” Song Nanzhi took note.
With the matter settled, Shen Yanting raised his hand to check his wristwatch.
“I still have things to do. I’ll head off now. You take—”
Before the word “care” could leave his lips, he looked up to find Song Nanzhi already several steps away.
He curled the corner of his mouth, let out a light snort, and lit his cigarette.
Song Nanzhi truly had no interest in him as a person.
Her high heels clicked crisply against the concrete floor, the lines of her waist faintly visible through her clothing.
Song Nanzhi seemed to sense the gaze on her back, her spine stiffening. As if possessed, she turned her head back.
Suddenly, a vintage bicycle burst out from the alley entrance, careening straight toward her like it was out of control.
Song Nanzhi had no time to react. She only felt her head buzz.
You’ve got to be kidding me?
She’d only transmigrated two days ago, and just when she was about to get a taste of the good life, she was going to be taken off the stage?
She instinctively protected her lower abdomen.
Suddenly, a figure in green rushed over, wrapping an arm around her waist and yanking her back with force.
“Ah!” The tip of Song Nanzhi’s nose bumped against a stiff military uniform button.
Pressed tightly against him, she could clearly feel the man’s scorching warmth.
And the steady, powerful thumping of his heartbeat.
So she’d actually run into this kind of clichéd drama plot?
Her hand, pressed against the man’s chest, stealthily rubbed around a little.
This feel…
Shen Yanting lowered his eyelids, frowning as he looked at her.
A cool, refreshing scent from her hair, along with a woman’s unique fragrance, drifted into his nose.
He could feel her trying to break free, but the movement wasn’t the least bit decisive?
He let out a light snort, the corner of his mouth about to curl up.
“Hiss.” Extremely faint, like the sound of flesh burning.
Then came a sharp sting at the base of his thumb. Shen Yanting’s hand twitched involuntarily.
Song Nanzhi felt it too. She broke free abruptly, her cheeks burning hot.
What was she doing?
Carrying another man’s child in her belly, and she still had the nerve to be craving a man’s body?
It must be the pregnancy hormones messing with her. Yes, that had to be it.
But… the thing that happened before wasn’t something she’d done either!
Who was she supposed to reason with…
On Shen Yanting’s hand, just above the base of his thumb, there was a distinct red mark.
Still faintly emitting wisps of white smoke…
It was probably the mark left by the cigarette butt in his moment of urgency.
Under Song Nanzhi’s gaze, he didn’t even furrow his brow. He casually wiped it with his thumb.
A rough gesture.
What a real man!
Song Nanzhi opened her mouth, about to say something, but Shen Yanting spoke first.
With his usual tone, “What are you looking at?”
With that, he raised his hand toward her shoulder.
Song Nanzhi instinctively flinched back.
Shen Yanting paused for a moment, then chuckled lightly as he flicked the cigarette ash off her shoulder.
Glancing at her chest area, he said, “Relax, I have no interest in a body like yours.”
“As for you…” He wasn’t made of wood, after all—he’d certainly felt her hand’s little movement just now.
Song Nanzhi had been feeling a bit of guilt over the burn mark.
But it was instantly choked back by his words.
“I… I’m a pampered young lady, after all. I’ve seen all kinds…” She swept her gaze teasingly across his jawline. “How could I be interested in someone like you…”
Before she could finish, her momentum had already weakened.
Shen Yanting looked at her, a light laugh spilling from his throat.
This act of hers—bluffing to save face and give herself an out.
Was actually a bit… cute.
He slowly picked up where she left off. “Best if that’s the case.”
Song Nanzhi’s cheeks burned even hotter than before, the flush spreading down to her neck.
Why did she always end up looking like a clown in front of this man?
She turned her face away, refusing to look at Shen Yanting, and muttered quietly, “It is what it is!”
Shen Yanting snorted with a laugh but didn’t respond.
He slipped the hand with the burn mark into his pants pocket and turned to walk away.
Song Nanzhi stood there fuming. What kind of person was he!
Couldn’t even be bothered to say goodbye.
The Song residence, first-floor living room.
Yun Shuang paced back and forth with a cup in her hand, her brows knitted together.
“Where is Song Nanzhi?!”
“It’s already this late! Didn’t she agree to go to the street office today to get the rural relocation paperwork done?”
Song Mingyu sat on the sofa, his face dark as he smoked. Irritated, he said, “Will you stop pacing? You’re making me dizzy!”
Yun Shuang’s voice was shrill. “You have the nerve to blame me? This is all your fault—you gave her all that money yesterday!”
“Now look what’s happened! She’s disappeared without a trace this morning!”
Song Mingyu shot her a glance, smoke curling around him. “What’s the rush? Maybe Nanzhi went out to buy something.”
“Buy something?” Yun Shuang slammed the cup heavily onto the table with a loud clatter.
“I think she’s taken the money and run!”
She glared at Song Mingyu with resentment. “You were quick enough to hand over the money yesterday—that was ten thousand yuan!”
“And all those ration tickets too. She’s just a young girl, carrying that much money…”
A thought struck Yun Shuang. “Old Song, what if she couldn’t handle the hardship of going to the countryside and took the money somewhere to live comfortably?”
“If she were dead, that’d be one thing. But if she got cheated out of the money and came back, do we take her in or not?”
Her words grew uglier by the minute.
Song Mingyu, irritated by her rambling, snapped, “Enough! Say a little less!”
“Don’t you know Nanzhi? She’s been timid and fearful since she was little. Where could she possibly run to?”
“Besides, with her family background, without a letter of introduction and no place willing to accept her, she couldn’t take a single step anywhere!”
What he said made sense, but last night’s Song Nanzhi had seemed like a completely different person.
Yun Shuang twisted the hem of her clothes with both hands, staring fixedly at the door.
…
Just then, the courtyard gate let out a creak as it was pushed open.
Both their gazes turned toward the doorway, where Song Nanzhi walked in with a light, carefree expression.
Yun Shuang was startled at first, then let out a sigh of relief.
Song Mingyu shot Yun Shuang a look—he’d said Nanzhi wouldn’t run off; she was always making a fuss over nothing.
Seeing Song Nanzhi enter, Yun Shuang’s face stiffened again. “So you remember to come back. Where the hell did you disappear to this early in the morning?”
“You promised to go handle your rural resettlement paperwork today. Did you forget?”
Song Nanzhi didn’t even lift her eyelids. She tossed the household register onto the table.
Her voice was calm. “Paperwork’s done. I leave tomorrow morning.”
Tomorrow?
Yun Shuang and Song Mingyu exchanged a glance—sooner than they’d expected?
Yun Shuang forced a smile. “Ah… leaving tomorrow, then. That’s fine. The sooner you go, the sooner you can adapt…”
Song Nanzhi rolled her eyes inwardly. Adapt sooner? Hah, if you can’t say anything useful, just shut up.
Too lazy to spare them another glance, she headed straight for the stairway.
She needed to go back to her room and pack her things, see what she was missing, and then head to the Black Market later to stock up.
That island life Shen Yanting had mentioned—who knew if it was real or not?
The thought of eating cornmeal buns every day did nothing to excite her.
Sure, that stuff was praised in modern times—lowers blood lipids and blood pressure, prevents cardiovascular disease…
But she was picky about food, and she was pregnant on top of that.
Eating a balanced diet might be unrealistic, but she still needed something nutritious, right?
Just then, the courtyard gate downstairs was pushed open again.