6
This Girl is a Little Afraid of Him
Jiang Zhizhi watched several strong young men pinning the elderly man to the ground and couldn’t help reaching out to pull them back: “What are you doing? Bullying an old man in broad daylight?”
The young man who was pulled away turned his head and glared fiercely at Jiang Zhizhi: “Mind your own business!”
Seeing the old man’s glasses fallen on the ground and a patch of skin scraped off his face from being pressed against the pavement, Jiang Zhizhi felt anger rising in her heart. She took two steps back to create space for herself to fight, when suddenly someone grabbed her left wrist. Before she could react, she was pulled aside.
The grip on her wrist quickly released: “Don’t be impulsive.”
Jiang Zhizhi turned her head and was surprised to see Zhou Xiye. Frowning, she said: “They’re bullying an old man.”
Zhou Xiye’s deep-set eyes looked serious as he shook his head: “You can’t interfere in this matter. They’re from the security department.”
Just as Jiang Zhizhi wanted to argue further, she saw the old man being pulled up. One of the men scolded: “Stealing again? Next time we catch you stealing from the library, you’ll see what happens.”
While saying this, they pushed and shoved the old man away.
Jiang Zhizhi suddenly realized that during this period, many books were locked away in libraries and weren’t permitted for reading. Getting caught stealing them carried severe consequences. If she had fought those security personnel earlier, she might have been arrested as the old man’s accomplice.
Zhou Xiye looked down and noticed Jiang Zhizhi frowning, lost in thought. Her face showed a range of expressions – she was clearly a girl who couldn’t hide her feelings.
He had been passing by on his way to the station when he saw Jiang Zhizhi stepping back with fury blazing in her eyes. Knowing she might be about to start a fight, he quickly went over and pulled her away.
She had a strong sense of justice, quick reactions, and decisive actions – she’d make a good soldier.
After some consideration, he asked: “How old are you?”
She seemed quite young to him, and he wondered if she was even eighteen.
Jiang Zhizhi looked up at Zhou Xiye, feeling quite surprised. For some reason, she answered honestly: “Nineteen.”
Zhou Xiye nodded slightly: “Have you considered joining the military? In three months, winter conscription will begin. You could sign up. Your skills…”
Jiang Zhizhi’s mouth fell open in surprise. She never imagined that Zhou Xiye’s repeated help was actually him trying to persuade her to join the army, and he seemed completely serious. Without hesitation, she shook her head: “I don’t want to. I have things to do, I should go.”
With that, she grabbed her bag and quickly made her escape. If Zhou Xiye knew she was his dark-skinned, plain-looking wife, would he still pay any attention to her?
Zhou Xiye watched helplessly as Jiang Zhizhi hurried away. He felt like this girl always treated him like some kind of monster, avoiding him as quickly as possible. Was she really that opposed to joining the army? Maybe she didn’t want to endure hardship?
…
Meanwhile, the Jiang family had also received their relocation notice early that morning. However, the notice specified Gansu North as their destination, which happened to be the same area where Sun Xiaoyue was being sent as an educated youth.
Sun Xiaoyue was completely stunned, her hands trembling as she held the notice. In her previous life, it had been Zhangbei – why had it changed to Gansu North this time?
If she didn’t go to Zhangbei, how would she meet that educated youth Jiang Zhenhua who would later get into university? How would she secure her comfortable future?
Jiang Zhenhua, however, didn’t seem to mind: “Going to Gansu North is fine too. Zhizhi will be there, so our family can see each other more often.”
Song Wanying frowned, recalling Jiang Zhizhi’s resolute departure, but said nothing. Even if they went to Ganbei, she didn’t want to see that ungrateful wretch anymore.
Sun Xiaoyue’s eyes reddened with anxiety. “Dad, is there a mistake? Wasn’t it agreed we’d go to Zhangbei? It’s closer to Beijing. Now we’re going to Ganbei—it’s so far…”
Seeing her daughter’s distress, Song Wanying quickly comforted her. “Your dad has already verified it—there’s no mistake. We might have misheard earlier, confusing Zhangbei with Ganbei. Xiaoyue, don’t worry. Your Educated Youth Housing won’t be far from us. We can meet often.”
“By the way, we leave tomorrow. Go to the neighborhood office this afternoon to change your name. From now on, you’ll be Jiang Xiaoyue.”
Sun Xiaoyue had no mind for such matters. Her thoughts were consumed by one question: What was the purpose of her rebirth?!
She couldn’t care less about seeing Jiang Zhenhua and his wife regularly—after all, these two would die from an epidemic within a year of being sent down.
Right now, all she wanted to know was how to meet that educated youth named Jiang Donghua.
Jiang Zhenhua didn’t understand why Sun Xiaoyue was so upset. Wasn’t it enough for the family to be together? Adjusting his glasses, he reassured her, “Zhizhi has already gone to Ganbei. If we go there, our family can reunite—isn’t that good? Xiaoyue, if you want to stay here, I’ll try to think of something later.”
Hearing again that Jiang Zhizhi had gone to Ganbei, a bold speculation suddenly struck Sun Xiaoyue. Was it because she had been reborn that Jiang Zhizhi went to Ganbei, thus altering everyone’s fate?
What if Jiang Donghua had also gone to Ganbei this time?
If so, she needed to hurry and get there before Jiang Zhizhi could meet Jiang Donghua!
With this realization, her anxiety faded. Feigning remorse, she went over and clung to Song Wanying’s arm. “Mom, it’s not that I don’t want to go to Ganbei. I’m just thinking—you’ll have to adapt to such a harsh climate so far from home. It breaks my heart to see you two, at your age, suffering so far away.”
Tears welling in her eyes, she leaned pitifully against Song Wanying’s shoulder.
Touched that her daughter was grieving for their sake, Song Wanying’s eyes also reddened. Patting Sun Xiaoyue’s back, she said, “It’s alright. As long as we’re together, a little hardship means nothing.”
Sun Xiaoyue gritted her teeth, lowering her gaze to conceal the cold glint in her eyes.
Going to Ganbei might be for the best. She’d make sure to destroy that fool Jiang Zhizhi.
Even if Zhou Xiye was destined to die young, he was still too good for her!
…
Jiang Zhizhi boarded the train and found it quite crowded. Fortunately, she had managed to get a window seat. With her injured arm against the window, she didn’t have to worry about it being bumped. Using her left hand, she awkwardly shoved her bag under the seat.
Earlier, she’d been cautious—during a bathroom break, she’d hidden most of her money and Food Stamps in a secret inner pocket of her trousers. Her regular pocket now held only two yuan and three jin of Food Stamps, which she estimated would be enough to last until Ganbei.
After arranging her mug and lunchbox on the small table and settling her belongings, the seats beside and opposite her filled up.
Next to her sat two elderly women. Across was a family of three—a refined, intellectual-looking couple.
Within minutes of sitting down, the group struck up a lively conversation, asking each other about their destinations, occupations, and hometowns.
The woman beside her smiled and asked Jiang Zhizhi again, “Young lady, you don’t look very old. Where are you going all by yourself? Visiting relatives or going to the countryside?”
Her excessive enthusiasm made Jiang Zhizhi somewhat uncomfortable. She forced a smile and replied, “Visiting relatives.”
The woman looked Jiang Zhizhi up and down. “Whose daughter are you? You look somewhat familiar to me.”