The next day, Ruoruo got up early, grabbed her household register and a marriage certificate that looked like a “Model Student” award, and headed straight to the production brigade office.
Captain Liang had already written and stamped the letter of introduction and the proof of divorce reason, just waiting for her to arrive.
“Ruoruo, your uncle knows your head’s gotten sharper now, but you’re a young woman. When you’re out there, keep your wits about you, and keep your money safe—there are plenty of pickpockets out there.”
“I know, Captain. Don’t worry.”
Ruoruo appreciated Captain Liang’s kind reminder.
She tucked the letter and money into her canvas satchel, and after walking a stretch, found a more secluded spot to stash the money into the Spatial Dimension.
In this small town where the average monthly wage was under five hundred yuan, two thousand yuan was indeed a fortune.
But when she pressed the ring to enter the Spatial Dimension, she nearly scared herself to death.
The few melon seeds she’d planted last night—just one night—had already produced a bunch of melons!
Each one was glossy and smooth, like magic.
Ruoruo picked one and bit into it. Fragrant! Sweet! Crisp!
They were genuinely real melons, not some illusion.
Absolutely better than any melon variety she’d tasted in her past life! After eating one, her whole body felt refreshed and invigorated.
In other words, the soil in this Spatial Dimension was a treasure ground that could make plants grow at rocket speed.
After downing a whole melon, Ruoruo finally studied the three different colored plots carefully. Last night, she’d planted melon seeds in all three colors to test what differences they had. Now, the Red Soil had sprouted two plants, while the seeds in the Black Soil and Golden Soil hadn’t even poked out a sprout.
She dug into the black and golden plots—those two melon seeds were still lying there quietly.
Ruoruo replanted the seeds in the Red Soil, then picked the remaining ripe melons and stuffed them into her canvas satchel to carry.
From now on, melons on demand—eat whenever she wanted.
After finishing that, she went to wash her hands…
The back of her hand, which had been scraped raw yesterday, now didn’t show a single scar!
Just this morning when she’d washed her face, the wound was still there, and it stung when it touched water.
Could the fruits grown in the Spatial Dimension’s soil heal wounds? Could the water remove scars?
First, get the divorce done, then come back and study it properly.
Getting to Le’an Town was the priority.
Ruoruo’s village, Ping’an Village, was located in Le’an Town, Shunde County, Southern Guangdong. The male party’s detailed address on the household register was Huimin Street, Dongshan District, Huacheng.
One look at the address, and Ruoruo knew that area was Huacheng’s old-money district. It had a saying: “Rich in Xiguan, noble in Dongshan.” It was the birthplace of the Dongshan young masters and Xiguan ladies stories.
Ruoruo would take a minibus from Le’an Town to Shunde, then transfer to a big bus from Shunde County to Huacheng. Given the travel time and current bus speeds, it would take half a day.
She’d calculated it: arrive by noon, finish the paperwork in the afternoon, and rush back to Le’an Town—a full round trip in one day, just in time.
After buying her ticket at the window, Ruoruo sat in the waiting room. Thinking about the male party’s address on the marriage certificate, something felt off.
Shunde and Huacheng—that was a countryside-to-provincial-capital relationship. What ability did Xingxing have to marry her off to Huacheng? And in the original owner’s memory, Xingxing barely knew a few characters.
Moreover, Xingxing definitely wouldn’t know that address was a wealthy district—otherwise, with her personality, she’d have married herself off there.
She’d ask these questions when she met the other party.
If the divorce went smoothly, she wouldn’t fuss over being a remarried woman. But if it didn’t, Ruoruo would hold this grudge against Xingxing forever.
She boarded at Le’an Town, bounced along for an hour to reach Shunde County, got off, immediately went into the station to buy a ticket to Huacheng, and just caught a bus that was about to depart.
There were quite a few people heading to the provincial capital. Ruoruo scanned the cabin—only her seat was left.
A window seat.
“Hello, excuse me, could you let me through? Or we could swap seats—you take the inside spot.”
“Hello…”
Outside Ruoruo’s seat sat a young man in a white shirt and black trousers. He’d have to stand up or shift his legs for her to squeeze in.
Whether he genuinely didn’t hear or was pretending not to, Ruoruo had to call out three times before he looked up.
This man had features carved like sculpture—refined and handsome. On such a young, striking face, his eyes should have been deep and spirited, sparkling like stars.
But all Ruoruo saw in those eyes was a heavy gloom, a stagnant pool, listlessness…
At such a vibrant age, it shouldn’t be.
“Excuse me, could you let me through?” Ruoruo repeated.
The gloomy young man also sized up Ruoruo—dusty, face a bit dirty, but that couldn’t fully hide her delicate bone structure and eyes so clean, so clear and pure.
Chen Zhuo finished his appraisal without a word, silently stood up, and let Ruoruo slide into the seat.
An estimated 185 cm tall, all legs below the waist—a perfect model’s build. Assessment complete.
Ruoruo sighed. She didn’t know what he’d been through at such a young age, but it was a shame—the build, the face.
The bus from Shunde County to Huacheng took two hours, and even those two hours were not peaceful. The bus had only made it halfway when one of its tires went flat.
Everyone got off the bus to wait for the tire to be changed.
Ruoruo found a rock by the roadside to sit on and wait, lamenting that she should have checked the almanac before going out today.
She only hoped that today, of all days, the divorce would go smoothly. Please, please, Ruoruo muttered to herself, clasping her hands together in a prayer-like gesture, looking anxious.
Changing the tire took over an hour, and even then, it wasn’t done.
Passengers voiced all kinds of complaints, but the most unhinged was the young handsome man sitting next to her. He was shaking the roadside tree like a madman, his handsome face twisted in fury. A pair of brand-new leather shoes was used to kick at the stones on the ground, and he managed to tear the toe of one shoe open.
Was it really worth getting this upset over a delay of an hour or two?
The people accompanying him alternated between coaxing and pulling at him, until he finally vented his anger. Then he squatted down on the ground, clutching his stomach with both hands, looking utterly pained and exhausted.
Of the two companions, one held a thermos, and the other was pouring a packet of black sesame paste into an enamel cup.
To have this kind of butler-like service in this day and age, this man was no ordinary person.
But even so, he wasn’t satisfied with his two male attendants. When they handed him the prepared sesame paste, he scowled and threw the enamel cup into the grass.
His eyes were hollow, dull, and lifeless.
It was like the despair of a man who had just learned he had a terminal illness, but it felt even deeper than despair. Ruoruo figured she couldn’t quite put it into words.
Driven by some inexplicable impulse, Ruoruo took a muskmelon from her canvas bag and walked over to him.
She only hoped the muskmelon wouldn’t be too conspicuous. Fortunately, it was in season, and everyone in the village grew them in their private plots around their houses, so it wouldn’t stand out.
“Maybe you’d like this. Give it a try.”
Ruoruo offered the muskmelon to him.
Chen Zhuo’s face showed no expression at all. But when he caught the sweet, distinctive aroma of the muskmelon, the pain wracking his body seemed to ease a little.
Only then did he glance briefly at Ruoruo. With a haughty air, he took the small muskmelon. One of his companions pulled a water bottle from his backpack and naturally rinsed the muskmelon with it, not stopping until the bottle was empty.
Fine, I know I’m dirty, a total mess. I’m supposed to be playing a fool, so what can I do? Ruoruo consciously moved farther away from him, deciding not to disgust a sick man.
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