“Your body was already weak, and now you’ve fallen into the river again in this cold weather. If you don’t take good care of yourself, I’m afraid it’ll affect you in the future… even when you get married.”
Xu Ying’s gentle refusal made Lu Daya lower her head in embarrassment. Thinking of all the times she’d caused trouble before, she nervously gulped down the entire fish soup in front of her. After finishing, she licked the corners of her mouth happily.
This was the first time she had ever tasted fish soup in her life.
Seeing her empty the bowl clean, Xu Ying’s lips curled into a soft smile. She stood up, took the bowl, and placed it in the basket.
Then, glancing around cautiously, she quietly slipped a few boiled salted eggs out from her space and handed them to Lu Daya from her pocket. “Sister Daya, keep these for yourself. Eat them slowly.”
Lu Daya’s eyes widened. “Can I give one to my second brother?” she asked quickly. Her second brother was the only one in the family who had ever treated her kindly.
Her parents were always biased toward the eldest brother’s family, giving all the good food and things to her eldest brother and nephew. Although her second brother wasn’t particularly affectionate, he at least cared a little. Whenever he got something good, he’d secretly save it for her instead of keeping it for himself. Now that she finally had something good, she wanted to share it with him.
But after all, these eggs weren’t hers to begin with—she had to ask first.
Xu Ying almost laughed out loud. This Lu Daya really had such a timid and soft-hearted nature. “I’m giving them to you. It’s up to you how you use them. But make sure you eat some yourself. If I see you still weak and sickly next time, I’ll…”
Lu Daya’s face paled. “You’ll… what?”
Xu Ying chuckled, shaking her head. “I’ll watch you finish them right in front of me. I won’t let you give them to anyone else.”
Hearing this, Lu Daya finally broke into a giggle. “Don’t worry, Sister Xu Ying. I won’t give them all away. And my second brother probably won’t be willing to eat them anyway.”
“Good. Oh right—Sister Daya, once you’re feeling a little better, come with me to the brigade office this afternoon and tell everyone what really happened when you saved me.”
Lu Daya nodded without hesitation. When she first woke up, she’d overheard her mother scolding Chen Yanran for shamelessly taking credit for saving Xu Ying. Now it seemed her mother had been telling the truth.
“You have a good rest. I’ll head back first.” Xu Ying lifted the basket and turned to leave.
Not long after she left, Mother Lu stormed into the house with her eldest grandson. Spotting the single pair of chopsticks left on the table, her face darkened. “You wretched girl! You drank all the fish soup? You couldn’t even leave some for your eldest nephew? So greedy!”
Lu Daya flinched at the scolding. “Sister Xu Ying said if I didn’t finish it, she’d pour out the rest…”
Mother Lu glared at her, then stomped out angrily. But Lu’s eldest grandson wasn’t so easily pacified—he bawled and wailed for the fish soup.
Finally, Mother Lu promised to boil him an egg that night, and only then did the boy stop crying.
Listening to the commotion from inside her room, Lu Daya felt a dull ache in her chest. Just because she was a girl, no matter how hard she tried, her parents would never care for her.
That night, after the family had eaten dinner and returned to their rooms, she quietly crouched by the door and called softly to her second brother, who was chopping firewood in the yard. “Second Brother, come here.”
Lu Aimin glanced around warily, then quickly slipped into her room, still holding an armful of firewood.
“Daya, what’s wrong?” he asked, setting the firewood down and walking over.
Lu Daya’s eyes lit up as she took an egg from a box in the corner, cradling it like a treasure. “Second Brother, eat this. Sister Xu Ying gave it to me.”
Lu Aimin stared at the egg, his expression melting into joy. But seeing his sister’s pale face, he gently pushed it back. “I won’t eat it. You keep it for yourself.”
“No, Second Brother, please—just eat it.” Lu Daya pressed it into his hand earnestly. “Sister Xu Ying gave me ten eggs. If I don’t finish them in time, they’ll go bad. We can share—one a day for five days.”
Lu Aimin froze in surprise. Ten eggs? The team leader was really generous…
Swallowing hard, he took the egg, quickly peeled it, then split it in half. He ate one half and handed the other back to Lu Daya.
Before she could protest, he carried the eggshells out of the room. Once in the yard, he quietly ate the shell scraps himself, licking the corners of his mouth contentedly.
—
Xu Ying had just left the Lu family’s yard with the basket when she saw Dong Wenzhong walking ahead. Her fists clenched in anger. But she forced herself to hold it in—it wasn’t worth it to confront him here. She’d bide her time. She wanted this man’s life to be a long, miserable one.
Suppressing her fury, Xu Ying quickened her pace, brushing past him without a glance.
Dong Wenzhong was stunned. In the past, Xu Ying had always lit up whenever she saw him, practically tripping over herself to talk to him. What was going on? Was it because of Yanran?
“Yingying, why are you ignoring me?” he called, catching up.
Xu Ying gave him a sidelong look and sneered. “Who are you? Why should I care about you?”
Dong Wenzhong’s face stiffened. He thought she was just throwing a childish tantrum, so he softened his tone to coax her. “Yingying, don’t be mad. I didn’t know Yanran would pretend to be Daya and claim she saved you. Please forgive her—she’s just a kid, she didn’t know any better.”
Xu Ying laughed coldly. “A kid? Chen Yanran is a year older than me—she’s still a child? Comrade Dong , you’re hilarious.”
Dong Zhiqing flushed at her mockery. “Yingying… Yanran knows she was wrong. But what’s done is done. Let’s not make a big deal out of it. If this blows up, Yanran’s reputation will be ruined. Could you really bear that?”
“She’s like my little sister, and my parents adore her. If you ruin her… you’ll make things hard for them too.”
Dong Wenzhong’s words were meant to pressure her. After all, didn’t she like him? Didn’t she want to marry him? If his parents disapproved, how could she marry into his family? Surely Xu Ying would understand.
Xu Ying froze as those all-too-familiar words echoed in her ears. Rage surged in her chest. Looking at Dong Wenzhong’s self-righteous face, she couldn’t hold back any longer—she slapped him hard across the cheek.
“Shameless bastard. You disgust me.”
Dong Wenzhong stumbled back, holding his cheek in shock. “Xu Ying, are you crazy? You actually dared hit me?”
“Damn right I hit you! She’s old enough to know right from wrong. She’s ‘just a kid’? What a joke. If she knows she’s wrong, then what about Lu Daya? And what does your family’s favoritism have to do with me?”
“As long as you don’t tell anyone, it’s fine. We can compensate Lu Daya later—”
“Compensate? We compensate?” Xu Ying’s chest heaved with fury. “You’re really something, Dong Wenzhong. So good at calculating!”
She spun on her heel and ran off. If she stayed a second longer, she was afraid she’d beat him to death.
Dong Wenzhong panicked, shouting after her. “Xu Ying! You still like me, right? You don’t really not like me anymore, do you? You still want to be with me, right?”
Xu Ying’s face turned pale with anger. Without looking back, she snapped coldly, “I don’t like you anymore.”
If it wasn’t illegal to kill someone, she’d have strangled him on the spot. But as a good, law-abiding citizen, she couldn’t do that—at least not openly.
Dong Wenzhong stood there in a daze, his expression twisted in disbelief.
She said she didn’t like him anymore.
Impossible. She’d always been so clingy, always bringing him food, even buying him clothes. She’d followed him around like a lovesick puppy. How could she stop liking him, just like that?
No—she was just playing hard to get.
“Xu Ying,” he called loudly, “I’m warning you—if you dare leave now, don’t ever think about being with me again!”
Xu Ying stopped in her tracks.
Dong Wenzhong’s heart leapt. He knew it—she still liked him. Just as he opened his mouth to speak—