Bai Wei had been pampered and spoiled her whole life—she had never walked such a long distance on foot before. After half an hour, her soles were aching with a hint of exhaustion mixed in.
The people behind her soon overtook her.
Bai Wei stared longingly at Gongsun Shinian’s profile. But the man didn’t spare her a single glance as he brushed past.
“Weiwei, are you tired?”
Mu Chuan, her number one simp, asked with concern.
Bai Wei shook her head. “Chuan-ge, I’m not tired.”
Seeing her endure the discomfort without wanting to trouble others, Mu Chuan’s heart ached for her again.
In his eyes, Bai Wei was radiating a holy light at this moment—gentle, kind, and considerate, the best girl in the world.
At the same time, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If Bai Wei had actually agreed to let him carry her, the road was too long—he wouldn’t have been able to manage it.
Wen Shaoqing, the chatterbox, was making small talk with Li Qingge, going from funny stories from their school days to the romantic escapades of their neighbor Old Wang.
Before they knew it, an hour had passed, and the group arrived at the commune.
Bai Wei plopped down on a stone block and refused to get up. She felt like her legs were completely ruined.
Mu Chuan stood beside her, his gaze sticky and unwilling to look away.
It turned Li Qingge’s stomach. As she passed by Bai Wei, she deliberately said, “Oh my, Comrade Bai Wei, how come you’re sitting on urine?”
If she hadn’t said anything, it would have been fine. But after she spoke, Bai Wei felt that her bottom was wet.
A soprano shriek rang out as Bai Wei leaped away like a startled monkey. She touched the back of her pants—soaked through. Bringing her hand to her nose, sure enough, there was the smell of urine.
Bai Wei was completely devastated.
Mu Chuan’s expression was sour too. They had just arrived at the commune and hadn’t even started browsing before they had to turn back.
Seeing the female lead suffer misfortune put Li Qingge in a good mood, and she couldn’t help humming a tune.
Gongsun Shinian and Wen Shaoqing said nothing, the two of them tacitly falling in step behind Li Qingge.
Soon after, Li Qingge noticed she had gained two tagalongs.
When she went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a washbasin and other daily necessities, Wen Shaoqing and the other bought things too.
When she went to the state-run restaurant for a bowl of plain noodles, the two of them also ordered a bowl of plain noodles with extra meat.
Setting down her bowl, Li Qingge wiped her mouth and gave the pair across from her a subtle look. Wen Shaoqing flashed his big white teeth: “Hey, what a coincidence, Educated Youth Li. We meet again.”
Beside him, Gongsun Shinian acted as if nothing was amiss, unhurriedly picking up his cup and taking a sip of water.
Their gazes met in midair, sparks crackling between them. Li Qingge thought to herself, as expected of the male lead—his skin was thick indeed. Even after being caught, he still put on an air of unruffled composure.
Li Qingge glanced at her watch.
[Almost two o’clock. The show is about to begin. I’m so excited!]
Wen Shaoqing: He was excited too.
Time ticked by, each minute feeling like a year. Just as Li Qingge was growing impatient, a burst of shouting and cursing came from outside the state-run restaurant.
Li Qingge let out an internal prairie-dog scream of joy and sprinted toward the scene at full speed.
Wen Shaoqing refused to fall behind, abandoning his meal in his eagerness to watch the drama. He wanted to secure the best viewing spot.
Gongsun Shinian strolled leisurely behind on his long legs.
Wen Shaoqing, ever the sly one, had already squeezed his way next to Li Qingge—getting to watch the spectacle while also catching Li Qingge’s inner thoughts in real time. Killing two birds with one stone, hehe. He really was a clever little rascal.
“Bai Dacheng, you man who doesn’t know his place! Marrying you was the biggest misfortune of my life!”
Surrounded by layers upon layers of onlookers was a fair-skinned man with a slightly plump build.
His hair was a mess from being pulled, his face looked disheveled, and his clothes were all wrinkled.
Seeing the crowd growing larger, the woman grew even more excited.
She grabbed Bai Dacheng by the collar and yanked him off balance, saying furiously, “Everyone, please be the judge here. My name is Li Juan, and he’s Bai Dacheng, my husband.”
“I didn’t mind that he was a penniless nobody. I married him because I wanted to live a good life. Who knew that you can know a person’s face but not their heart? This man looks honest on the outside, but he doesn’t do a single decent thing.”
This piqued the crowd’s curiosity, and someone couldn’t help but chime in: “What did he do? Tell us more.”
It was as if Li Juan’s years of grievances had finally found an outlet. She continued, “This man is lazy and gluttonous. He won’t work and won’t earn money. Every day he just lies around at home. I’m a weak woman—I work to raise the kids and support him too.”
Someone couldn’t bear to listen anymore and cursed, “Shameless! Isn’t that just living off a woman?”
“That’s right, absolutely no sense of shame.”
Bai Dacheng’s face turned ashen from the scolding.
He looked at the woman with dissatisfaction and contempt in his eyes.
Li Juan slapped him across the face with a sharp crack. “You eat my food, drink my water, and you still have complaints? Even raising a dog would be better than you.”
She turned back to the crowd and said, “Not only does this man live off me, he also sends my money to his cousin who came down to the countryside. Said his cousin was all alone and pitiful.”
“Damn it, you worthless man! You spend my money—did you even ask me? You shameless freeloader!”
Getting more and more agitated, he said, “Slap, slap.”
Li Juan gave him two more slaps.
Bai Dacheng refused to admit his mistake, and questioned, “You’re her cousin-in-law, isn’t it only right that the two of us take care of her? I never thought you’d be so vicious, quibbling with your own cousin.”
Li Juan laughed in anger, “Open your dog eyes and take a good look. Do I look like a fool to you? I support you and the kids, and now I have to support your cousin too? You useless fool, let’s go get a divorce. I’m done with you.”
Bai Dacheng was completely panicked. He didn’t want a divorce. Without Li Juan working to support the family, how could he enjoy his blissful life of eating and sleeping all day?
Divorce was out of the question. He’d never agree to it, even if it killed him.
If they divorced, that meant no one would earn money for him to spend. How could that be?
With a thud, Bai Dacheng knelt down in front of Li Juan.
“Wife, I was wrong. I’ll definitely change. I’ll listen to whatever you say.”
Everyone was stunned by his ability to bend and stretch. No wonder he could live off a woman—this was a natural talent.
“Get lost!”
Li Juan kicked him out of the crowd.
Just then, a dog passed by and left its mark, and Bai Dacheng’s head landed right in the steaming hot dog shit.
[Hahaha, hilarious! Too bad Bai Wei isn’t here to see her cousin make a fool of himself.]
Li Qingge looked at Li Juan with sparkling eyes. Well said! It was exactly to her liking.
The image of Bai Dacheng lifting his face seemed frozen in time. Li Qingge almost burst out laughing like a goose, and the onlookers stood there dumbfounded as if they’d been hit with a pressure point.