Yes, yes, yes, you’re the most well-behaved and proper young woman among the educated youth.
So fierce!
Back when Feng Jiayou was a young woman at the Chengjiawan Educated Youth Point, she was never like this. She was such a quiet, well-behaved, and proper girl! Aside from going out to work, she usually spent her time at the Educated Youth Point reading books. People in the brigade had mentioned that she never seemed to argue with anyone.
But this time, with Cheng Xueming here, he truly witnessed the fighting spirit of this woman.
Now look at the situation! She’d practically put everyone in the family on the spot, leaving them with no way to save face!
The most embarrassed of all was Cheng Xueming himself—an outsider who now found himself in a dilemma: neither staying nor leaving felt appropriate.
“So you’re just going to ignore me, is that it?!”
“Fine, Cheng Xueming, we’re not bothering with this anymore. We’ll just go out right now, stay at the guesthouse, and sleep together!”
Seeing that even her father ignored her, the arrogance Feng Jiayou had only just been scared out of came surging back. She grabbed Cheng Xueming, turned, and was ready to storm out.
She even shouted into the room, deliberately emphasizing “stay at the guesthouse, sleep together,” as if afraid those inside might not hear it clearly.
Cheng Xueming honestly wouldn’t have minded going to the guesthouse and sleeping together. They were both young and full of fiery energy.
But he knew full well: if he actually agreed and left with Feng Jiayou, that would be the end of him!
Without hesitation, he grabbed her and quickly changed the subject: “I brought you something delicious. Eat first, then we’ll talk!”
“Something delicious?!”
The moment Feng Jiayou heard that, her greedy side instantly took over. She eyed the cloth bag Cheng Xueming had set down by the door when he came in.
“I brought a little something!”
“Strictly speaking, I shouldn’t have come empty-handed this time!”
“But your letter made me leave in such a hurry, I didn’t have time to prepare anything. So I just grabbed whatever was at home!”
He really hadn’t brought much. Used to traveling light, this time he’d only packed a few changes of clothes.
And a big sack of local specialties from home.
“Big red dates?!”
When Cheng Xueming opened the bag to reveal the plump, crimson dates inside, Feng Jiayou’s eyes lit up with delight. She couldn’t resist reaching in, grabbing one, and popping it in her mouth.
“Sweet!”
“Really sweet!”
“Cheng Xueming, are these from the big red date tree at your house?! How did you know I’ve always craved the dates from your family’s tree?”
“Don’t you know, it’s not just me! All the girls at the Educated Youth Point have been longing for them!”
“Every summer, the girls at the Educated Youth Point would practically drool over your family’s big date tree!”
“Cheng Xueming, do you remember? The year before last, Chen Jianfei from our Educated Youth Point fell out of your tree and broke his leg—had to retire early and return to the city. Do you know who put him up to sneaking into your yard?”
Feng Jiayou reminisced about the old days at the Educated Youth Point as she munched on the dates.
But Cheng Xueming had only transmigrated here half a year ago—how could he possibly know what his predecessor had experienced?
All he knew was that his predecessor had been quite taken with this girl, pursuing her relentlessly.
That spring, when he’d rescued her, it had also been his predecessor who’d taken the initiative. Only, before he could actually save her, Cheng Xueming had already crossed over—saving the girl in the process.
After that, at first, Cheng Xueming was unenthusiastic, still adjusting to his new life, and thus seemed cold to her for a while.
This, in turn, made the girl anxious and uncertain, causing her to become even more enthusiastic toward him.
Besides, this girl was recognized as the most beautiful Educated Youth in their commune. After some back and forth, everything that followed naturally unfolded.
Now that Feng Jiayou suddenly mentioned someone named Chen Jianfei, Cheng Xueming had no recollection whatsoever.
When he arrived, there seemed to be only two female Educated Youths left at the Point.
It was the beginning of the year, and most had already passed the college entrance exams and returned to the city.
After all, Educated Youth Points usually sent students from the same school in the same area.
Those assigned to Chengjiawan Brigade with Feng Jiayou were mostly her high school classmates from Yanjing, all with some family connections.
Compared to Educated Youth sent elsewhere, they often got wind of policy changes ahead of time.
So even before the reinstatement of the college entrance exam was officially announced, they had already begun preparing in advance.
That’s why, at the end of last year, during the first college entrance exam, four out of the six Educated Youths at their Point were admitted to university and went back to Yanjing.
Only Feng Jiayou and another older female Educated Youth weren’t eligible to participate, so they stayed behind.
Moreover, the other girl, though she missed last year’s exam, soon received word from her family and, after about two months, managed to return to the city.
In the end, Feng Jiayou was left alone at the Educated Youth Point.
Fortunately, as soon as the other girl left, Cheng Xueming helped her secure a spot for the July entrance exams, giving her hope at last.
Otherwise, if she had been left alone at the Point, who knew if she could have held out until she was allowed to return to the city?
With eligibility for the entrance exam and a solid foundation from early preparation, plus Cheng Xueming’s intensive coaching, the woman smoothly received her admission letter from Yanjing University in August, working through the night before returning to the city.
“Who was it?!”
“Don’t tell me it was you, Feng Jiayou?!”
After these thoughts flashed through his mind, seeing the sly and cunning glint in Feng Jiayou’s eyes, Cheng Xueming boldly ventured a guess.
“Hehe! How could it be me?! You know full well I was the most proper and well-behaved girl at Chengjiawan Brigade—how could I possibly have encouraged a male Educated Youth to steal dates from your family’s tree?”
“But Chen Jianfei really was hopeless—imagine falling out of a tree just trying to steal a few dates. I wonder how he’s doing now, after being forced back to the city because of his injury!”
Being sent home due to injury might sound better than being sent home for illness, but everyone knew he was injured while stealing dates—a major stain on his life. His prospects after returning couldn’t have been good.
He could forget about being assigned a job; even if he passed the college entrance exam, he might not survive the political screening.
Injured or sick returns were considered deserters.
In those days, a deserter was always ridiculed and suppressed—especially such a recent case!
“Right, right, right, you, Feng Jiayou, are the most proper and well-behaved! So proper and well-behaved that you returned to the city with a big belly!”
No one knew when her mother had come out with a quilt in her arms. Hearing Feng Jiayou, this little troublemaker, still proudly declare herself the most proper and well-behaved Educated Youth made her mother laugh out loud.
Had there ever been a so-called proper and well-behaved girl who managed to get herself pregnant just before returning to the city?
All the other girls, rebellious or not, had returned home intact to start university!
“Mom! Try the dates, they’re so sweet! Cheng Xueming brought them from home—the ones I mentioned in my letter, picked from that big date tree of his!”
Ignoring her mother’s sarcastic tone, Feng Jiayou cupped a handful of big red dates in both hands, offering them up ingratiatingly as though presenting a treasure.
“Thank you so much, move aside!”
“You’ll have to make do with the bamboo bed tonight. We’ll talk about everything else tomorrow!”
Her mother shot her a look, elbowed her out of the way, set the quilt on the bamboo bed, and left with hardly a backward glance, returning to her own room.
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