Li Qingge turned her gaze to Bai Wei. Hah, just looking at her made one want to punch her.
[Gongsun Shinian must have had his brain kicked by a donkey, right? This female lead is nothing but a black-hearted little white lotus. No chest, no butt—unlike me, with curves in all the right places.]
Gongsun Shinian, who could hear her thoughts: Mm, the figure is indeed nice. I quite like it too.
He shook his head violently, his face turning completely dark. What was he just thinking? He’d actually been influenced by this woman. She was truly toxic.
Li Qingge wolfed down three steamed buns stuffed with meat before stopping.
“Shi Nian-gege, have a tangerine.”
Bai Wei had approached at some point, her voice gentle and her eyes filled with adoration as she looked at him.
Gongsun Shinian shook his head coldly, his expression stern. “No need, thank you.”
Rejected, Bai Wei’s eyes dimmed with dejection. Her hand still hovered in mid-air, holding the tangerine.
“Ah!”
The tangerine in her hand was snatched away by the old woman before she could react. In her haste, the old woman’s fingernails scraped painfully across Bai Wei’s palm.
The old woman peeled the tangerine while shamelessly declaring, “Such an expensive fruit—can’t let it go to waste. Since this comrade doesn’t want it, might as well give it to me. Respecting the elderly and cherishing the young is a virtue, you know.”
Hearing her brazen words, Bai Wei nearly twisted her mouth in fury. This shameless old hag was utterly vulgar—just looking at her was nauseating.
The old woman popped a segment of tangerine into her mouth, then tucked the rest into her bosom.
Li Qingge watched the female lead’s pained expression with amusement. Truly entertaining.
Bai Wei returned to her seat without a word. Losing the tangerine to the old woman was one thing, but what really infuriated her was Gongsun Shinian’s cold indifference toward her.
“Waaah… I want some too… Grandma’s eating tangerines!”
A piercing child’s cry rang out through the carriage.
The old woman shot an annoyed glare at her daughter-in-law, who quickly clamped her hand over her son’s mouth, finally rescuing everyone’s ears.
[Isn’t this the male supporting character, Mu Chuan? The female lead’s loyal dog, licking until he ends up with nothing. Male lead, female lead, male supporting character, and me—the vicious female supporting character—all gathered together, even on the same train. What kind of cursed fate is this?]
Vicious female supporting character?
Gongsun Shinian discreetly glanced at the woman across from him, who had her eyes closed in rest. She looked peaceful enough on the surface, but her inner monologue was certainly lively.
His childhood friend Wen Shaoqing whispered beside him, “Interesting. This woman is far too interesting—much more so than those girls in our compound who burst into tears at the drop of a hat.”
He then tilted his chin toward the old woman’s direction. “Someone like that stubborn old hag needs someone like her to handle her. It takes a rogue to deal with a rogue.”
Li Qingge’s eyelids twitched. The male lead’s childhood friend sure talked a lot. Don’t think she hadn’t heard him call her a rogue. Hah, fine—she liked being the rogue.
The train traveled for two days before reaching the Northeast. When the announcement of the station came over the loudspeaker, the passengers began gathering their luggage, preparing to disembark.
Li Qingge grabbed her two bags and only realized when she stood beside Gongsun Shinian how tall this man was. He had to be at least 1.9 meters. Unlike herself—162 centimeters wasn’t short for a woman, but standing next to him, she was dwarfed into a little shrimp. So infuriating.
Wen Shaoqing wasn’t far behind, nearly as tall as the male lead. He was the sunny, outgoing type of handsome—a completely different breed from Gongsun Shinian.
“Rumble…”
The train pulled into the station, and everyone began shoving toward the doors.
“Damn it! Who the hell—you squeezed my pants right off!”
A burly man cursed as he yanked his trousers up with one hand while fastening his belt with the other.
Some people thrived in such crowded chaos. A shifty-eyed man slyly extended his hand toward Li Qingge ahead of him. Her satchel was bulging, and she looked naive and easy to bully.
“Ah… ow…”
The moment his hand touched her satchel, his arm was twisted and snapped, making him howl in pain.
The surrounding passengers stared at the scene in shock.
Gongsun Shinian kicked the thief to his knees, his arm wrenched outward at an unnatural angle.
Li Qingge snapped back to her senses and quickly thanked him. “Thanks.”
Though there was no money in her satchel, she had to admit she’d unwillingly incurred a debt of gratitude to the male lead.
The train stopped, and the crowd poured out in a swarm. Li Qingge had no choice but to accompany Gongsun Shinian in handing the thief over to the local police station and giving a statement.
Sitting on the bus to the county, she stared at the back of the man in front of her, silently complaining in her heart.
[Damn it. How did I end up owing the male lead a favor out of nowhere? I don’t want any ties with him. I need to repay this favor someday and be done with it.]
Gongsun Shinian’s eyes darkened. Didn’t want any ties with him? That remained to be seen.
Wen Shaoqing, that carefree fool, had fallen asleep the moment he got on the bus. He slept all the way to Qingbei County. After they finished registering, they walked out to find a few honest-looking farmers standing at the entrance.
“Any educated youth assigned to Majiasi Brigade?”
“Anyone going to Lijia Brigade?”
“Educated youth assigned to Zhuzuiling Brigade, gather here!”
A booming male voice rang out.
Wen Shaoqing hurriedly said, “Yes, yes, yes, the three of us are heading to Zhuzui Ridge.”
Li Jianguo was momentarily taken aback by the three’s good looks, then nodded with satisfaction. These two young men looked strong and fit for farm work.
He spoke up, “Hurry and get on the cart, everyone’s here, just waiting for you three.”
With that, he turned and walked toward an ox cart.
Old Zhang, the cart driver, sat at the very front of the cart, holding a thin whip for driving in his left hand and a handful of green grass to feed the ox in his right.
The old yellow ox was munching happily, and the cart driver patted its head as if petting his own child.
Standing around the ox cart were Bai Wei and Mu Chuan, along with Gongsun Shinian, Li Qingge, and Wen Shaoqing—these five were the new educated youths this time.
The brigade leader glanced at the sky and said, “Quick, get on the cart. If we don’t leave now, we won’t make it in time for dinner.”
Li Qingge checked her watch—it was 4:30. In the Northeast autumn, it gets dark at 5:00, so time was indeed tight.
The group swiftly climbed onto the cart and stowed their luggage. Mu Chuan reached out a hand toward Bai Wei: “Weiwei, come on up, I’ll pull you.”
Bai Wei glanced at the cow dung on the cart, her face full of disgust. This was no different from stepping directly in shit—the thought alone made her nauseous.