Meng Yao actually began to vaguely picture the scene of planting peanuts in her mind. Resting her chin on her hand, she listened seriously.
“What’s even more important is that after finally waiting for them to ripen, you still had to work hard pulling them out of the soil, then washing them clean. And just to make this plate of fried peanuts for me, you probably had to boil them and fry them carefully, worrying during every step whether they were burnt or too salty…”
“Finally, after finishing them, you took a small taste. Only after deciding they tasted pretty good did you feel relieved enough to bring them here.”
Under Gu Jingcheng’s clear gaze, the simple fried peanuts somehow sounded, through his words, like a carefully prepared gift meant for meeting a lover. Embarrassed, Meng Yao avoided his eyes.
Gu Jingcheng suddenly fell silent.
Meng Yao lowered her head. The room became filled with something vague and indescribable that made it difficult to breathe.
She felt that if this continued, she might truly stop breathing.
Slowly exhaling, she tried breaking the strange atmosphere.
“You’re overthinking it. They’re just simple fried peanuts. Lots of street vendors sell them outside.”
Gu Jingcheng looked at the small section of her neck revealed by her lowered head before shifting his gaze away.
“Their value can’t be measured with money, and those street stalls can’t compare.”
“This is sincerity,” he said seriously.
Meng Yao couldn’t continue this topic anymore. Gripping the strap of her schoolbag, she changed the subject.
“How do you know how to grow peanuts?”
How could a rich young master like Gu Jingcheng know so much about farming? And speak about it so confidently?
She looked up at him.
Gu Jingcheng relaxed into his chair, casually peeling peanuts as he sighed.
“When I was little, I was too mischievous. Climbing roofs, tearing tiles apart—I did everything. Seeing how energetic I was, my grandfather opened up a patch of land in our backyard for me. Reclaiming land, planting vegetables, fertilizing, watering—I know how to do all of it.”
When speaking about the past, Gu Jingcheng’s face carried a smile.
Seeing the conversation return to normal, Meng Yao quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Then your grandfather really raised you well. You and your grandfather must be very close, right?”
Gu Jingcheng’s hands paused mid-peel.
Sitting up straight, he glanced at her before quickly looking away, looking dejected.
“We used to be very close. But recently, my grandfather keeps forcing me to marry a woman I’ve never even met before. I don’t know what kind of spell he’s under. We’ve argued endlessly over this matter, and our relationship is about to completely fall apart.”
Meng Yao’s heartbeat instantly quickened.
Feeling guilty, she didn’t dare look directly at him, yet her curiosity made her want to know what Gu Jingcheng truly thought of this fiancée deep down.
“Is it because you look down on her for being from the countryside, uneducated, and inexperienced, so you don’t want to marry her?”
“That’s not the reason,” Gu Jingcheng immediately denied.
Then he suddenly realized something.
“Wait, how do you know she’s from the countryside?”
Meng Yao panicked.
Her eyes darted around before she forced herself to sound casual.
“I guessed. You said you didn’t want to marry her, so I figured she probably wasn’t from a family equal to yours. I guessed she was from the countryside. Just a guess.”
“Oh, then your guess was pretty accurate.” Gu Jingcheng popped a peanut into his mouth.
“But I don’t look down on her. I just think… we haven’t even met, and there are no feelings between us. How can people just get married like that? What if the girl herself doesn’t even want to marry me?”
“It just feels awkward. What era is this? Why are people still doing arranged marriages?”
Meng Yao looked at him, her emotions complicated.
Gu Jingcheng gave her the feeling of being both smart and not smart at the same time.
What was smart about him was his outlook on life. He had his own set of principles, and because of them, he lived freely and confidently.
What wasn’t smart was the fact that he actually thought the girl might not want to marry him.
In the countryside, girls married through matchmaking once they reached the proper age. Most people married someone from a neighboring village, had children, and spent their entire lives laboring. A family like Gu Jingcheng’s was something no village girl would refuse.
Not just village girls—even women in the city would probably line up for him.
“Don’t worry. I definitely won’t marry her. At worst, I’ll just be kicked out of the family!” Gu Jingcheng insisted stubbornly.
Meng Yao tightened her fingers.
He would rather be kicked out of his family than marry her.
Meeting her eyes, the thoughts in Gu Jingcheng’s heart slowly surfaced through his gaze.
“And besides… I already have someone I like…”
After saying that, he slowly blinked at the girl across from him, his heartbeat speeding up.
He had made it obvious enough. Chen Yao should understand his determination now, right?
Only a warm-hearted and kind girl like Chen Yao was the type of person he wanted to spend his entire life with.
Across from him, Meng Yao’s heart sank to the bottom.
Not only did he refuse to marry her, he already liked someone else…
During the following English lesson, Meng Yao found herself distracted several times.
Seeing her state, Gu Jingcheng eventually stopped the lesson as well.
“You’re learning very quickly, but English isn’t something that can be rushed. Take it slowly,” he said.
“Are you… dealing with something? You can tell me. Maybe I can help.”
Meng Yao slowly shook her head.
Several times, she wanted to explain that she was actually Meng Yao, but the words simply wouldn’t come out.
She admitted that after these recent interactions, she had developed some feelings for Gu Jingcheng. She was afraid that once she revealed the truth, the relationship they had finally built would disappear completely.
In the end, she could only shake her head gently.
“It’s nothing. Maybe I just didn’t rest well yesterday. Let’s stop here for today. I should head back.”
Gu Jingcheng wanted to say something but ultimately held himself back. He escorted her to the gate, unwillingness flashing through his eyes.
After returning to the office, he became listless.
His mind was filled entirely with the girl’s lively and pretty face. Their tutoring sessions together felt far too short, especially since she had left early today.
He thought that next time they met, after tutoring ended, he would definitely make her stay and spend some more time with him before letting her leave.
But where should they go?
The movie theater? Boating? Listening to music?
Thinking of this instantly energized him, and he enthusiastically began planning their next meeting.
Meanwhile, Meng Yao spent the entire journey thinking about Gu Jingcheng’s words.
After spending these past few days with him, her opinion of him had completely changed.
He was warm-hearted, kind, humorous, lively, and respectful.
A boy this good should, in the future, marry someone he truly loved and who matched him well socially—not end up with her because of arrangements made by their elders.
She decided that once Gu Jingcheng finished teaching her English, she would go back and think carefully about how to handle this engagement.
She admitted that before, she had been unable to refuse the powerful Gu family.
But now that she had been reborn and possessed the space in her hands, no matter what happened in the future, she wouldn’t waste this second chance at life.
As for the English tutoring…
She would just consider it her tuition fee.
After figuring this out, Meng Yao finally felt better. Slowly exhaling, she quickened her pace as she left the county town.
In the countryside evening, the setting sun covered the land in brilliant golden light, so bright people had to squint while looking at it.
As the sun slowly descended, every household in the village began preparing dinner, and the scent of food drifted through the air.
Meng Yao placed the dishes on the table and sat on a small stool in the courtyard, reviewing the knowledge Teacher Ye had taught her while waiting for her parents to return.
“Meng Yu, I’m heading home first! Let’s go to the county town together again next time!”
“Okay! I’m leaving too. Take care on your way back.”
Voices came from the courtyard gate. Meng Yao closed her textbook and looked toward the entrance.
Using the last remaining sunlight, she clearly saw the large bags Meng Yu was carrying.
As Meng Yu came closer, she finally saw everything clearly.
Both of Meng Yu’s hands were loaded with items. One large bag was filled entirely with snacks—White Rabbit candies, crystal candies, peach pastries.
The other bag contained girls’ accessories like hair ties and hair clips. Through the red mesh bag, she could also see a new outfit from the department store and a small bottle of snow cream.
Their family wasn’t wealthy to begin with. Altogether, those miscellaneous things cost dozens of yuan. There was no way her parents could suddenly afford so much money.
“Where did you get the money to buy all this?” Meng Yao asked coldly.
Meng Yu proudly shook the two bags in her hands.
Using memories from her previous life, she had teamed up with several young men from the village entrance to engage in speculative trading. In just one attempt, she had earned several hundred yuan.
Unlike Meng Yao, who stared eagerly at the few cabbages in the field every day or hovered around the family chickens waiting for eggs, then worked herself to exhaustion bringing them into the city to sell for only a few yuan.
Thinking of this made her even prouder, her lips curving upward uncontrollably.
“Anyway, I didn’t steal or rob anyone. I earned this money with my own abilities.” Meng Yu looked extremely smug when she noticed Meng Yao staring at the items in her hands.
“If you want something to eat, it’s not impossible. Just apologize to me properly, and I might share some of the snacks I bought with you.”