“Don’t make things up—I didn’t touch your stuff! It just happened to be at my feet and was in the way, so I moved it a bit.”
Yu Zhaozhao let out a light laugh.
She hadn’t actually seen it happen, and Liu Ying had no evidence.
The onlookers didn’t know the truth either—but that didn’t stop them from whispering and making moral judgments.
So now wasn’t the right time to settle accounts.
But it didn’t matter. She and Chen Zhaodi were heading to the same countryside location—there would be plenty of chances to deal with her later.
Including settling things on behalf of the original owner of this body.
“Fine. If you say so, then it is.” Yu Zhaozhao said indifferently, returning to her seat to organize her luggage.
“But Comrade Yu…”
Liu Ying grew anxious. Yu Zhaozhao’s cold attitude made her worry—had she misunderstood and thought Liu Ying was stirring trouble?
“Liu Ying, if a dog bites you, you don’t go bite the dog back.” Yu Zhaozhao blinked at her.
“What do you mean? Who are you calling a dog?” Chen Zhaodi wasn’t stupid—she immediately caught the insult.
“Whoever responds, that’s who I mean.”
“You—”
Chen Zhaodi wanted to argue further, but Yu Zhaozhao had no interest in wasting time. She looked at Liu Ying, hesitated for a moment, then made up her mind.
“Comrade Liu, I found two spots in the sleeper carriage. Do you want to come with me?”
“I… I can go too?” Liu Ying was stunned. Sleeper carriages were usually for officials—she had never even dared to think about it.
“Mm. Do you want to come?”
“Yes!”
Liu Ying nodded vigorously.
She had never seen what a sleeper carriage looked like—now that she had the chance, she was eager to try.
“Then let’s go.”
Yu Zhaozhao picked up her luggage and gestured for Liu Ying to follow. Liu Ying snapped out of it and hurried after her.
Originally, Yu Zhaozhao hadn’t planned to bring Liu Ying along. But after the argument just now, she knew Chen Zhaodi would definitely make things difficult for Liu Ying along the way.
Since the conflict had started because of her, she wanted to help this kind-hearted girl—repaying the warmth Liu Ying had once given to the original owner of this body.
Soon, the two arrived at the sleeper carriage. Liu Ying looked around curiously.
Yu Zhaozhao closed the door and slid the bolt in place. A sense of security instantly settled over her.
“I’ll take this side. You take that one.”
“Okay.”
Liu Ying placed her luggage under the berth and sat down.
“Comrade Yu, sleeper tickets must be more expensive than hard seats, right? How much did it cost? I’ll pay you back.”
Although Liu Ying’s parents favored sons, her family was still well-off. She always had pocket money, and her grandmother, who doted on her, often slipped her extra cash.
Liu Ying was frugal and had quietly saved it over the years. With additional support for going to the countryside in place of her younger brother, she now had several hundred yuan saved.
She wasn’t the type to take advantage of others—she believed relationships should be free of debts to feel at ease.
Yu Zhaozhao hadn’t planned to take her money, but hearing this made her happy.
It meant she had good judgment—Liu Ying was someone worth befriending.
“No need. I helped the train staff earlier—this is my reward.”
“But… that still doesn’t feel right. How can I just enjoy something meant for you?”
“It’s fine. Just consider it my way of thanking you for watching my luggage earlier. Comrade Liu… if you don’t mind, would you like to be friends?”
In her previous life, Yu Zhaozhao had always been a loner. She had never known what friendship felt like.
Now, given a second chance, she wanted to experience a different life—to try all the things she never had before.
“Of course! Then… can I call you Zhaozhao?”
“Sure. Then I’ll call you Yingying?”
“Mm!”
The two girls smiled at each other. In the narrow train compartment, their friendship quietly began to blossom.
The compartment was peaceful—no troublesome people, no chaos. They chatted, shared snacks, and time passed quickly. Before they knew it, they had reached their destination.
At the train station exit, the educated youth office had already set up a reception point. Three staff members stood by the roadside holding a sign that read “Welcome, Educated Youth Comrades.” Yu Zhaozhao spotted it immediately.
“Liu Ying, over there.”
She pointed toward the sign and led Liu Ying to the gathering point.
Aside from the staff, there were already six young people there. Two of the men were wearing military uniforms, and the remaining four were women.
Yu Zhaozhao recognized them—the male and female leads had arrived.
The novel had mentioned that the educated youths arriving today were split into two groups. One group of six came from the capital, but four were assigned to other production teams. Only the male and female leads would be sent to the same place as Yu Zhaozhao.
Soon after Yu Zhaozhao and Liu Ying arrived, Chen Zhaodi, Wang Fangfang, and the others followed. About twenty people gathered around the staff.
Once everyone was present, an older staff member stepped forward.
“Comrades, welcome to Dayangshu Commune. I am Yu Weidong, director of the commune’s educated youth office.
Our commune has seven production teams. The team leaders will arrive shortly to pick you up. For now, we’ll divide you into groups. Please gather when your name is called.”
He began reading names, grouping those assigned to the same team.
“Qianggouzi Production Team: Liu Ying, Li Jun, Wang Fangfang, Zhao Ruicheng, Chen Zhaodi, Yu Zhaozhao, Zhao Nianze, Jiang Yan.”
Just as in the original story.
Yu Zhaozhao and the others stood in their assigned spot. She quickly glanced at Zhao Nianze and Jiang Yan—and was momentarily stunned.
No wonder they were the male and female leads—their looks alone were striking.
Zhao Nianze was sharp. The moment Yu Zhaozhao looked at him, he noticed. But he was used to such attention—it had followed him since childhood.
He didn’t think much of it.
Just another foolish girl captivated by his looks. Not worth his attention.
After another ten minutes, an ox cart approached in the distance. An old man sat atop it, lazily flicking a whip, his expression unreadable.
When the cart drew closer, Yu Weidong said:
“Educated youths of Qianggouzi Production Team, this is your team leader—Zhou Youfu.”
The old man glanced at the group—three men and five women.
Looks like when they got back, the villagers would complain again.
“Put your luggage on the cart. The rest of you, walk.”
As soon as Zhou Youfu spoke, the group sprang into action. Within minutes, everything was loaded.