After receiving the letter from Uncle Song, Song Yunqiao felt completely shaken.
Although she had come to this era of scarce resources, at least the original owner’s family conditions were decent—she never had to worry about food or clothing. But now that this had happened, relying only on her meager work points, she felt she couldn’t even support herself.
“Xiao Qiao, Xiao Qiao…”
He Suxia called out to her several times from beside her.
Song Yunqiao turned to look at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Your clothes were almost swept away by the water.”
With that, He Suxia handed the clothes back to her.
At noon, after finishing work, the two of them had come to the riverside to wash their bed sheets. He Suxia had noticed that Song Yunqiao hadn’t been in a good state these past couple of days, often zoning out.
“I’m done washing. I’ll hang my sheets over there to dry, then come back to help you.”
Since villagers usually came here to do laundry, someone had strung up ropes nearby to make it easier to hang clothes and let the water drain.
Song Yunqiao nodded. “Alright.”
He Suxia had only left for a short while when a shout suddenly came from the riverside. Grabbing her wooden basin, she ran back.
“What happened? What happened?” she asked anxiously.
“Someone fell into the water!” someone replied in a panic.
Hearing that, He Suxia instinctively looked for Song Yunqiao—only to realize she was nowhere in sight.
The ones who had fallen into the water were none other than Song Yunqiao and Ma Xiaoping.
Song Yunqiao couldn’t swim. She tried to surface and call for help, but Ma Xiaoping kept grabbing onto her body. Gradually, her struggling weakened.
“Xiao Qiao! Xiao Qiao!” He Suxia cried out worriedly.
Someone with sharp eyes spotted two people in the river and exclaimed, “Isn’t that Educated Youth Song and Ma Xiaoping? How did both of them fall in?”
As soon as those words fell, two figures jumped into the water one after the other.
Jiang Jiyuan grabbed Song Yunqiao and carried her toward the riverbank. Behind him, Gu Guanghua also pulled Ma Xiaoping out.
Once ashore, Jiang Jiyuan laid Song Yunqiao flat on the ground. Seeing that she had lost consciousness, he lightly patted her cheeks, but there was still no sign of her waking up.
“Could she be dead?” a child watching nearby blurted out innocently.
Hearing the word “dead,” Jiang Jiyuan’s expression darkened instantly.
An elderly man stepped forward. “Everyone move aside and let me take a look!”
He was the village’s barefoot doctor, so people quickly made way.
After checking her pulse, he said urgently to Jiang Jiyuan, “Her heartbeat is weakening. Quickly press on her chest to make her expel the water!”
Jiang Jiyuan immediately began pressing on her chest.
After several attempts, Song Yunqiao still showed no response. Her face had already turned deathly pale.
“Xiao Qiao…” He Suxia stood to the side, tears streaming down her face in panic. She wanted to help but didn’t know what to do.
The doctor, still checking her pulse, shook his head. “This won’t work. Blow air into her mouth, then press her chest.”
At that moment, Jiang Jiyuan no longer cared about propriety between men and women and followed the doctor’s instructions.
After several tries, Song Yunqiao finally coughed up the water in her chest. She opened her eyes briefly before losing consciousness again.
The doctor let out a sigh of relief. “She’s alive, she’s alive.”
The onlookers were all stunned—they had never seen someone saved like this before.
At that moment, everyone’s attention was on Song Yunqiao and Jiang Jiyuan. No one noticed Ma Xiaoping. When she heard that Song Yunqiao had been saved, a trace of regret flashed in her eyes.
Jiang Jiyuan picked Song Yunqiao up and carried her toward the educated youth dormitory, with He Suxia following behind.
Ma Xiaoping weakly said to Gu Guanghua beside her, “Gu Zhiqing, thank you for saving me.”
“It’s nothing, as long as you’re alright.”
Suddenly, Ma Xiaoping swayed, and Gu Guanghua quickly reached out to support her.
“Comrade Ma, are you okay?”
She continued pretending to be weak. “I’m fine… just felt a bit dizzy.”
Gu Guanghua kindly said, “Then I’ll help you back.”
Ma Xiaoping felt secretly pleased but nodded weakly on the surface.
..
When Song Yunqiao woke up again, it was already night.
He Suxia had been watching over her the whole time. Seeing her awake, she immediately stepped forward.
“Xiao Qiao, you’re awake! How do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
Song Yunqiao shook her head. She had just had a dream—she dreamt that she had died. More precisely, it was the original owner who had died. Ma Xiaoping had shamelessly taken over all her belongings, including a large sum of money sent by Uncle Song. She lived lavishly, eating and drinking well—not only spending it herself, but also giving money to Gu Guanghua.
He Suxia poured her a cup of water. “Today was really dangerous. Thank goodness you’re alright.”
“Was it Jiang Jiyuan who saved me today?”
Song Yunqiao vaguely remembered seeing him.
He Suxia nodded. She wanted to say something, but seeing that Song Yunqiao had just woken up, she decided not to upset her further. Whatever needed to be said could wait until tomorrow.
Song Yunqiao glanced around the room. Only the two of them were there; the other three were nowhere to be seen. Fine—there would be time tomorrow to settle accounts with Ma Xiaoping.
By evening, rumors had already spread through the village that Jiang Jiyuan had kissed Song Yunqiao.
When Ji Peilan heard this, her face turned pale. After returning home from work, she called Jiang Jiyuan into the room.
“A-Yuan, is what they’re saying true?”
Jiang Jiyuan didn’t speak. It was true that he had kissed her—mouth to mouth—even if it had been under urgent circumstances.
“I’ll marry her,” Jiang Jiyuan said firmly.
He had always been decisive since childhood. Seeing that he had made up his mind, Ji Peilan said nothing more.
“Tomorrow, I’ll go see Comrade Song.”
Jiang Jiyuan knew that his mother’s “visit” wasn’t just a simple visit.
“I’ll go tomorrow,” he said. He felt that he should take responsibility himself.
In truth, Jiang Jiyuan wasn’t entirely confident—after all, Song Yunqiao’s conditions were so good.
After eating the meal He Suxia had saved for her, Song Yunqiao lay down to rest, sorting through everything from her dream. Because Ma Xiaoping had seen the many valuable items Uncle Song sent her, she had developed murderous intent. But she wasn’t the original owner—she hadn’t died in the river like before.
She had only thought Ma Xiaoping liked taking small advantages. She never expected her to be so vicious as to attempt murder.
It seemed she would have to teach her a proper lesson.
Early the next morning, Jiang Jiyuan was already waiting outside the educated youth residence.
Wan Changsheng opened the door and was startled to see him.
“J-Jiang… Comrade Jiang, who are you looking for?”
“I’m looking for… Comrade He.”
Jiang Jiyuan had originally wanted to say Song Yunqiao, but remembering she had just fallen into the water yesterday and unsure of her condition, he decided to ask He Suxia first.
Wan Changsheng didn’t think much of it. “I just saw Comrade He get up. I’ll go call her for you.”
“Thank you.”
He Suxia was curious when she heard someone was looking for her. When she stepped outside, she realized it wasn’t anyone else—but Jiang Jiyuan.