To keep Ren Chaomei, that troublemaker, from finding out, Ren Ganying still left with Ren Dahe and the others early the next morning after breakfast, just as usual, putting on an act as if she were heading off to work.
Wang Xiaoqin, meanwhile, rubbed her temples weakly. “Chaomei, my old ailment is acting up again. Take today’s clothes to the river and wash them. The sheets and bedding in your rooms need washing too. Since you’re staying home today, take them all to the river and wash them.”
Since Wang Xiaoqin stayed home while everyone else had to go out and work in the fields, most of the household chores, such as cooking and washing clothes, were usually done by her.
Whenever she felt unwell, the laundry and cooking would fall to the two sisters, Ren Chaomei and Ren Ganying.
Normally, Ren Chaomei wouldn’t refuse such an arrangement.
But today, she said, “I have something to do today. I already made plans with the others to go into the mountains and look for wild rabbits. We’ll deal with the laundry after I get back tonight.”
With that, she dashed off.
The moment she left, Ren Ganying, who had gone outside but hadn’t gone far, quickly turned around and returned home. She changed into another outfit and a different pair of shoes.
Looking at the several new tears in her new clothes, Ren Ganying complained unhappily, “I finally managed to make a new outfit, and she still tore it. I even have to sneak off to a blind date behind her back, as if I’m going out to do something bad.”
“She’s jealous and can’t stand seeing you do well. Better to avoid trouble whenever we can.”
Wang Xiaoqin looked at her daughter, who was all dressed up, and said with some dissatisfaction, “Cheer up. Stop looking so miserable. Everyone wants to bring home a pleasant, cheerful wife. Who are you making that miserable face for?”
“I…” Ren Ganying was about to explain, but then remembered that her parents didn’t want to hear her talk about the purse anymore. In the end, she could only say, “I’m just too worried. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
Suitable blind-date prospects from the city weren’t easy to come by. She had searched over and over again for the purse, but she truly couldn’t find it.
The purse was gone, but she couldn’t afford to lose her chance to marry into the city as well.
Ren Ganying took a deep breath and forced a smile onto her face.
“Let’s go, Mom. Let’s go find Auntie Zhao and head to the county town.”
While they were getting ready, Ren Chaomei was already on her way to the county town.
After two hours of walking, Ren Chaomei began cursing under her breath as she trudged along.
“Why is it so far? How did the Ren family’s ancestors choose this place? Couldn’t they have settled somewhere closer to the city?”
“I’m really suffering just to make someone else miserable.”
It would take two hours to get there and another two hours to return. Four hours of walking in total, plus she would have to find lunch.
She was purely causing trouble for someone else without benefiting herself at all.
But when it came to doing bad things, she couldn’t be afraid of hardship or exhaustion.
Keeping herself busy with all these pointless schemes had actually cured Ren Chaomei of her internet and smartphone addictions without her even realizing it.
Back in her old life, she had practically never been without her phone. She would even bring it into the bathroom when she showered.
Now, she had to tell the time by listening to the production brigade’s loudspeaker broadcasts. When talking to people, she had to shout at the top of her lungs.
She also couldn’t understand why people would wave at her from such a distance just to say hello, forcing her to shout back.
Her mind was now filled with thoughts of Ren Dahe, so she barely thought about the entertainment apps on her phone anymore.
But not being able to check the time was genuinely inconvenient.
Since she had finally made the trip to the county town, Ren Chaomei planned to look at some watches and do a little shopping while she was there.
Since she was already there, she couldn’t very well leave empty-handed.
Whether it was fate guiding her or something else, the first place Ren Chaomei found after arriving in the county town was the department store.
But she stood at the entrance, glanced inside twice, and then reluctantly pulled herself away. She grabbed a passerby and asked, “Excuse me, Big Sis, how do I get to the park?”
“Turn left up ahead, then just keep going straight.”
“Thank you, Big Sis.”
Ren Chaomei walked while asking for directions along the way. Whenever she felt she might have gone the wrong way, she would simply grab some random person on the roadside and use them as a human GPS to point her in the right direction.
She had been spoiled by all kinds of modern navigation devices for too long and had developed the habit of never remembering the roads she walked. Her sense of direction wasn’t particularly good either.
So after taking a detour, she finally reached the park.
There were only a few scattered people standing at the entrance. Wang Xiaoqin and Ren Ganying hadn’t arrived yet.
“Good thing I got here before them.”
Ren Chaomei stood in a corner, secretly observing the people around her while chewing on a piece of candy.
But the moment she swept her eyes across the crowd, her gaze was immediately drawn to one particular man.
He was over six feet tall, fair-skinned, clean-cut, and had a tall, straight figure.
She really couldn’t resist. Pretending to be casually passing by, she walked in front of the man and secretly stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye.
“Not only does he have big double eyelids, but his nose is so high too.”
He was practically an upgraded version of the man who had deceived the original owner into marriage.
The original owner had been completely captivated by that face.
As for that scumbag who had tricked her into marriage, Ren Chaomei had ruthlessly dealt with him and slashed his face.
And now she had encountered an even more advanced, upgraded version.
Ren Chaomei gritted her teeth and cursed inwardly about how unfairly good-looking this man was, then pretended to pass by him again.
She took another look.
Damn it, he was still incredibly handsome!
He was standing at the entrance of the park, was ridiculously good-looking, and had a scholarly, delicate air about him. The location was right, the appearance was right, and the overall vibe was right.
Ren Chaomei walked straight up to him.
“You’re surnamed Ye, right?”
The man nodded. “Ye Changqing.”
Even the surname matched.
Ren Chaomei was certain. This was the man she was looking for.
With a face like that and an urban household registration, it was no wonder Ren Ganying was willing to marry him even though he was sick and would die young.
The man really was handsome. Taking him out in public would be incredibly impressive.
As the ultimate troublemaker, Ren Chaomei decided to stir things up in a different way.
Under Ye Changqing’s puzzled gaze, she walked around him once before asking expectantly,
“Want to date?”
“No…”
Ye Changqing was just about to refuse when Ren Chaomei’s ears suddenly became exceptionally sharp.
She thought she heard Wang Xiaoqin’s voice.
“Are we almost there?”
“It’s just ahead.”
At a time like this, Ren Chaomei had no time to waste arguing with Ye Changqing.
No what?
She didn’t hear it.
“Great, you’re willing. Come on, let’s go somewhere else and talk.”
Regardless of whether he was actually willing or not, Ren Chaomei grabbed Ye Changqing and dragged him away.