Back then, she was still an innocent girl who understood nothing about the world. Going to the countryside alone for the first time, everything made her timid. She was afraid of this, afraid of that.
Gu Ansheng had been sent down a year earlier and was responsible for receiving the batch of educated youths that she came with.
On the way to the youth dormitory, she noticed that Gu Ansheng would glance in her direction from time to time. Several times when she raised her head, their eyes happened to meet.
Hmph. What people call love at first sight? More like being attracted by a pretty face.
From that first meeting on, Gu Ansheng started sticking around her. He would run over to see her several times a day. Even though their relationship hadn’t been confirmed yet—and they had barely spoken more than a few sentences—he kept bringing her this and that.
But who could blame him? He was good-looking, and he handled things thoughtfully and with good judgment. Whenever she ran into trouble, he always managed to help her out at the most critical moment.
Not only did Zhu Queqi not find him annoying, she actually felt a sweet warmth in her heart. Gradually she began thinking about him all the time. Later, she found herself relying on him more and more. Whenever something happened, he was the first person she thought of.
And just like that, naturally and without much fuss, the two of them became a couple.
After they officially got together, Gu Ansheng became even more excessive. He was constantly worried she might not eat well or sleep well, so he often asked his parents in the city to mail things that couldn’t be found in the countryside. Sometimes he even had them send women’s necessities for her.
He treated her with such care that it was almost as if he were placing her on an altar.
Only later did Zhu Queqi realize that it was probably from that time onward that Gu Ansheng’s mother began to hold a grudge against her. After all, they weren’t even married yet, yet the boy’s family was already buying and sending her all sorts of things. Anyone would feel uncomfortable about that.
Thinking about it that way, some of Zhu Queqi’s resentment toward his mother faded.
Later on, Gu Ansheng even stopped her from working in the fields. Through connections in the village—pulling strings and slipping people some money—he got her a job as a work-points recorder.
Being a recorder was such a comfortable job. Not only did she not have to endure the sun and wind working in the fields, but the villagers also tried to stay on her good side, afraid of offending her and having their work points reduced.
Of course, she had never done anything so unethical. No matter what her relationship with someone was, she always recorded things honestly—one was one, two was two. She never played favorites.
After becoming the recorder, Zhu Queqi’s life became extremely comfortable. Since she no longer had to work in the fields, she had plenty of spare time. When she had nothing to do, she even started knitting sweaters.
Other people were sent to the countryside to suffer, but she seemed to have come here to enjoy life. Compared to before she left the city, it was as if she had blossomed. Her skin grew even fairer, her eyes brighter and more lively. Her whole appearance became increasingly radiant.
Not only the educated youths at the dormitory, but even the local villagers envied her.
Once people start letting their minds wander, time seems to pass especially quickly. Before she knew it, it was already past five in the evening. Zhu Queqi’s parents had returned home.
When they pushed open the door and saw her, the whole family froze for a moment.
Her mother reacted first. Carrying the groceries, she headed straight for the kitchen. As soon as she walked in and saw that the leftover steamed buns from the morning had all been eaten, she immediately frowned. Without even asking whether Zhu Queqi had suffered during the past year in the countryside or whether she was tired from the journey home, she began scolding her:
“You got home early and couldn’t even bother preparing something for the family to eat? Just waiting for me? What do you think you are—a spoiled young lady?”
Although Zhu’s mother was getting old, it was obvious she had been beautiful in her youth. But as she aged, she had grown increasingly sharp-tongued and mean-spirited, to the point that even her appearance seemed harsher.
Zhu’s father, on the other hand, hadn’t changed much. He still looked calm and detached. Seeing his daughter being scolded, he didn’t dare say much. He simply smiled at her and squeezed in a quick greeting—“Our girl’s back home”—before ignoring the situation entirely.
He sat down at the dining table and continued reading the newspaper he hadn’t finished that morning.
The only person truly happy to see her was her younger brother.
At first he didn’t even react—he just stood there blankly. But when he realized it was really her, his mouth opened wide and he let out a loud shout. The chubby little boy ran toward her with his short legs pumping, throwing himself into her arms.
He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and looked up at her, grinning as if he had eaten honey. His excitement made his words tumble out incoherently.
“Big sister! Big sister! I missed you so much! Why did you only come back now…”
Zhu Queqi hugged her little brother tightly. Her big eyes curved into crescent moons, and the bitterness in her heart faded a little.
At least someone in this family still cared about her.
That evening, the family sat around the table eating dinner. Only Zhu’s mother kept talking nonstop. No one else said anything; the only sounds were the clinking of chopsticks.
The chubby little boy quickly finished the rice in his bowl and was just about to ask Zhu Queqi if anything interesting had happened in the countryside. But Zhu’s mother immediately urged him to go back to his room to do his homework.
Zhu Queqi was already in a bad mood and didn’t feel like doing anything. After finishing her meal, she set down her chopsticks, turned around, and returned to her room. She locked the door behind her, ignoring whatever her mother was saying outside.
In the past, she would never have dared treat her mother like that. But Gu Ansheng had spoiled her so much that her courage had grown.
The following days passed in much the same way.
During that time she also went to the educated youth office to ask about job assignments. Just like in her previous life, they told her that too many people were still waiting in line for work and asked her to go home and wait for news.
But waiting like this wasn’t a solution. She could wait—but her mother clearly couldn’t anymore.
Just yesterday at the dinner table, her mother had issued a final ultimatum: if she still didn’t have a job soon, they would start arranging blind dates for her and marry her off to someone nearby.
As if that weren’t enough, her mother scolded her again, saying she couldn’t even handle the simplest tasks. She was picky with food, refusing this and that, making trouble for no reason.
But that really wasn’t her fault.
During the years she spent in the countryside, even her personal laundry had been washed by Gu Ansheng. He had spoiled her so much that she had practically forgotten how to do anything herself.
Zhu Queqi sighed inwardly. In the end, she decided to follow the same path as in her previous life: go to the neighborhood office and ask around again, maybe take a temporary job sweeping the streets.
Anything was better than sitting at home waiting helplessly.
With a heart full of worries, Zhu Queqi left the house in low spirits.
Just as she reached the bottom of the apartment building, she saw someone she hadn’t seen for several days.
He stood outside the entrance, holding several bags in both hands.
It was Gu Ansheng.