But the words reached her lips, and seeing Lin Peiru’s face that looked like she wouldn’t give up until she got what she wanted, he swallowed them back down.
Forget it.
This stubborn mule—if she doesn’t run headfirst into a brick wall herself, she won’t give up.
“…Fine.”
Li Dashan finally relented, letting out a heavy sigh as if surrendering to fate.
“Your things can be left at my place first. You… take care of yourself.”
He helped carry Lin Peiru’s heavy canvas bag and bedding roll back to his own courtyard, grunting with effort.
After settling her luggage, Lin Peiru thanked him and immediately dashed off again.
She didn’t go far—just found a hidden dirt slope near the Huo family and crouched down.
Like a patient leopard, she fixed her gaze tightly on her target.
Finally, with a creak, the tightly shut wooden door opened.
Huo Yunshen stepped out with a hoe on his shoulder, his back straight and firm.
He locked the gate, didn’t even glance around, and strode toward the fields in the east of the village.
Only after his figure disappeared completely at the end of the road did Lin Peiru emerge from behind the slope.
She brushed the dust off her pants and, like a thief, sneaked toward the Huo family gate.
Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She knocked heavily on the wooden door that had shut her out.
…
Inside the house.
Huo Yunqiao was feeding bran to the chickens in the backyard when she heard the sudden knocking and jumped in surprise.
From the dim inner room came her mother Mu Xinyao’s weak and uneasy voice.
“Yunqiao… who is it?”
“Mom, I don’t know. Don’t move, I’ll go check!”
Huo Yunqiao responded loudly, wiped her hands on her apron, and quickly ran out from the backyard.
She unlatched the door and carefully opened it a crack.
Outside stood a beautiful young woman she had never seen before.
Her skin was as fair as snow, her eyes bright like stars, and her clothes were made of fabric she had never even seen before.
Huo Yunqiao froze completely.
Clutching the door, she asked timidly, “You… who are you?”
“What do you want at our house?”
For Lin Peiru, it was the first time in both of her lives seeing a living Huo Yunqiao.
In her previous life, she had only seen this younger sister in a faded black-and-white photo that Huo Yunshen had treasured.
The girl in front of her was thin and frail like a bean sprout, her complexion slightly yellow, but her eyes—like Huo Yunshen’s—were clear and bright, carrying a pure, untainted spirit.
Such a good girl.
Lin Peiru felt a sharp sting in her heart, as if pierced by a needle—sour and aching.
This innocent girl… who would later be violated, forced into marriage with a rapist, suffer a miscarriage, lose her sanity, and eventually drown in the icy river at the village entrance.
Her eyes burned instantly, nearly spilling tears.
Lin Peiru quickly lowered her head, blinked hard, and when she looked up again, she had already forced out a bright, radiant smile.
“Hello, my name is Lin Peiru. I’m a new sent-down youth,” her voice was soft and sweet. “The commune dorms aren’t built yet, and I don’t have a place to stay, so I was wondering if I could stay at your house for a while.”
Huo Yunqiao’s eyes widened instantly.
“Stay… stay at our house?”
“Yes!” Lin Peiru nodded firmly, pointing at the clean yard and neatly stacked firewood.
“I just walked around the village, and your courtyard is the cleanest and most tidy one!”
“It’s obvious your family is very neat and not sloppy at all.”
“I really like cleanliness, so I especially want to stay here.”
She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice as if sharing a secret.
“Could you let me talk to your parents first? Is that okay?”
The young girl couldn’t withstand such praise.
Hearing compliments about her home, Huo Yunqiao’s cheeks turned slightly red, and her guard faded significantly.
She bit her lip and, almost unconsciously, opened the gate.
“My… my brother is out working.”
“It’s okay!”
Lin Peiru slipped inside immediately, smiling brightly.
“I can talk to your parents!”
Hearing this, Huo Yunqiao’s eyes dimmed slightly.
She lowered her head and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum, “My dad… passed away when I was very young.”
“And my mom… is sick now and can’t get out of bed.”
Lin Peiru’s heart tightened.
Her smile vanished instantly, replaced by deep apology.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know…”
“It’s okay,” Huo Yunqiao shook her head.
Lin Peiru looked at her carefully and asked, “Then… can I go in and speak to your mother?”
Huo Yunqiao hesitated.
“Maybe… but…”
She looked up, troubled.
“All matters in our family are decided by my brother.”
“He… has a bad temper.”
“You should…”
She tried to persuade her to leave, but before she could finish, Lin Peiru had already lifted her head again, wearing that warm and unwavering smile that was impossible to refuse.
“It’s okay. I can wait for him to come back.”
“I’ll just go inside and see Auntie first, okay?”
Her tone was so gentle it seemed to drip with sincerity, her eyes full of honest concern that made it impossible to refuse.
Almost unconsciously, Huo Yunqiao nodded.
“…Okay.”
She stepped aside and let Lin Peiru into the house.
The room was dim, filled with the faint smell of herbs and the lingering heaviness of poverty.
At a glance, Lin Peiru saw the woman lying on the earthen kang bed.
And in that instant, she froze completely.
Huo Yunshen’s sharply defined, strikingly handsome face—so aggressive in its beauty—had clearly been inherited from his mother.
Even though the woman was pale and emaciated from illness, reduced almost to a skeleton, one could still see that she must have been an extraordinary beauty in her youth.
The straight nose bridge, the deep eye sockets—she looked as if she had been carved from the same mold as Huo Yunshen.
But her brows carried more fragility than her son, less ruthlessness, and instead a lingering sorrow shaped by hardship.
This was Mu Xinyao—the poor woman who, after her son was imprisoned and her daughter died tragically, would eventually end her own life with a rope.
Lin Peiru’s heart ached as if it were about to split apart.
Mu Xinyao, startled by the sudden arrival of such a beautiful outsider, struggled to sit up.
“Yunqiao, who is this…?”
Lin Peiru quickly walked over and gently pressed her shoulder.
“Auntie, please don’t move. Just lie down.”
She sat down at the edge of the kang bed and repeated the prepared explanation.
“Auntie, hello. My name is Lin Peiru. I’m a new sent-down youth. The commune dormitory isn’t ready yet, and I was wondering if I could stay at your house for a while. Would that be convenient for you?”