Chapter 74: Returning to the Maiden Home

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Returning to the Maiden Home

"Do you think Deng Zhiqing failed the entrance exam?" a man plowing the fields asked as he wiped his sweat, squatting by the irrigation ditch to chat with his neighbor during a break.

"That’s impossible, isn’t it? The other educated youths all passed."

"That’s exactly why it’s weird. Everyone else received their admission letters, but she didn’t."

"HISS, now that you mention it, it’s really possible. Granny Zhang is probably going to be thrilled to death. Deng Zhiqing really doesn’t put her heart into her work, and with a child, her mind probably isn’t on studying anyway."

The man nudged his companion’s shoulder and pointed toward the Zhang Family’s home. "Tell me, if she really failed and can’t leave Dazhang Village, do you think she’ll go back to Jiahua?"

"Then your information is too outdated. Both Meng Zhiqing, the rich guy from the Knowledge Youth Institute, and Zhang Ci Hao like her. Why would she go back to her ex? Why make a joke out of herself when she can still prove a point?"

"PFFT, a woman like that. I used to be a little interested in her, but now, I realize she’s nothing special. Maybe Meng Zhiqing and Zhang Ci Hao will see her true colors through this and won’t want her anymore," the man scoffed.

A middle-aged woman who had come to the fields to deliver food squatted down, picked up a clod of dirt, and threw it at him. "Watch your mouth! Someone like you, even if you begged at her door, she still wouldn’t want you."

"Actually, no." The woman suddenly remembered what Deng Yuyuan had said. "Even if you begged, you’d have to get in line."

"No one knows yet if she passed or not. But even if she didn’t, you still don’t deserve her. Even without going to college, she’s an intellectual. And you? You’ve been a slacker since you were a kid, and your household register still labels you as semi-illiterate." The woman put her hands on her hips. "During the Spring Festival, when your kid went to the Knowledge Youth Institute asking for candy, Deng Yuyuan generously gave them a whole handful. If you have any guts, spit it back out!"

The woman’s lethality was not to be underestimated. The man stood up, his face flushed red, and returned to the field to pretend to work. He muttered under his breath, "A good man doesn’t fight with a woman."

The woman spat on the soil. "PTOOEY, coward."

She also felt a bit worried in her heart. However, she was afraid that young people were thin-skinned; going over to console Deng Yuyuan right now might just be rubbing salt into her wounds.

***

Zhang Ci Hao rode his bicycle back to the Knowledge Youth Institute, shaking his head with a solemn expression.

"The postman said there are no other university admission letters for Dazhang Village."

For once, Meng Deyin didn’t argue when he met up with him. Instead, he gently coaxed Deng Yuyuan, "It was too risky when you filled out your university preferences. You should have chosen a safety school. Maybe your scores just weren’t high enough, but that’s okay. The worst-case scenario is that we just take the exam again next year."

Deng Yuyuan stared blankly at the ground and numbly shook her head.

It was absolutely impossible. There was no way she could have failed.

"Could someone have taken my admission letter?" she suddenly asked.

Zhang Ci Hao was alerted by her words. "It’s possible, but I couldn’t get anything out of my inquiries. Besides, these admission letters are dispatched through multiple levels, so it’s hard to trace which step went wrong. I asked around town, and no one has received an admission letter to Jinghua University. Even if someone did take yours, they probably wouldn’t broadcast it."

"It’s fine." At this moment, Meng Deyin looked like a father unconditionally pampering his child. "Anyway, you have the commendation for your heroic act, which allows you to leave the village. You can come back to Beijing with me to continue preparing for the exam. Beijing is my turf. Even if someone wants to play dirty tricks, they won’t be able to touch you."

The usual coldness on his face completely receded. As he gazed at Deng Yuyuan sitting cross-legged on the chair, his gentle eyes concealed a dark, viscous desire.

"I’ll look for it for you." Zhang Ci Hao pursed his lips, avoiding Meng Deyin’s gaze. He did feel inferior because he couldn’t compare to Meng Deyin’s family background, but as long as he was useful to Deng Yuyuan, that was enough. "I plan to start driving a freight truck anyway. I’ll drive along the postal route and ask around for you as I go."

Deng Yuyuan looked at him quietly, then suddenly broke into a bright laugh, her body trembling with mirth. "You’re so silly."

But she was clearly pleased.

Meng Deyin’s eyes darkened. Why was he always slightly outdone by that kid’s words? Deng Yuyuan didn’t even need to work so hard. If she married him, she would instantly live a good life. If she wanted a high academic degree, the two of them could completely just study abroad together.

She stood up. "It’s fine, you don’t need to do that. I’ll just take the exam next year. Since I can indeed leave the village, I might as well take Tuantuan and go visit my maiden home."

"I’ll go with you," Meng Deyin immediately declared.

Deng Yuyuan turned her head. "Little Hao, could you help me pick Tuantuan up from Uncle Zhang’s house? If I walk over there myself, a lot of people will definitely gossip about me. I don’t want to hear it, and I don’t want to argue."

Zhang Ci Hao looked steadily at her and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. "If you feel sad, you can use this to dry your tears."

Over the past two years, his embroidery skills had only improved; the two mandarin ducks on the fabric looked incredibly lifelike.

After Deng Yuyuan took it, he stood up and left the room, ready to go pick up Tuantuan.

Only then did Deng Yuyuan say to Meng Deyin, "I am taking Tuantuan back to my maiden home by myself. I don’t need anyone to accompany me."

Meng Deyin’s jawline tightened slightly. He opened his mouth, but swallowed his words back down. He tried his best to control the dark and grim expression on his face, but in Deng Yuyuan’s eyes, that handsome face had already become distorted and uncontrollable.

"What if I say no?" He looked up, his eyes filled with an inevitable possessiveness. The hint of dark grimness from a moment ago had now been tempered into an icy, sharp edge.

He suddenly took a step closer. His Adam’s apple bobbed, eventually letting out a low chuckle that sounded almost like a murmur. Tilting his head slightly, he spoke softly in a tone as casual as discussing the weather, "I’m sorry, it seems... I haven’t given you the right to choose."

Deng Yuyuan met his determined gaze without a ripple of emotion in her eyes. Calm as a serene lake, her red lips parted slightly. "...It seems I don’t need you to give it, either."

Their gazes clashed in mid-air, neither willing to back down.

Hostility churned in Meng Deyin’s heart, and that terrifying desire grew stronger by the second. He thought that perhaps he shouldn’t have bothered learning how to court someone; he should have just forced Deng Yuyuan to be with him. Over time, they would definitely become lovers.

Perhaps Deng Yuyuan didn’t lack love for him; she was just sick. He could act as her guardian and take her back to Beijing to recover.

The thoughts in his mind grew more and more extreme. Just before Meng Deyin planned to lay all his cards on the table, the woman’s warm, soft scent pressed up against him.

"I admit, I do have some feelings for you," the woman’s soft voice sounded from behind him, her warm, trembling chest pressing tightly against his back.

It was too close... In that instant, her sweet words and a warmth he hadn’t felt in a long time invaded his mind.

"This past year has been a cooling-off period for our relationship. I need a solitary, calm environment to think about my feelings between you and Zhang Ci Hao. I lean more toward you, but sometimes I wonder if this is just an emotional illusion born from us spending every day together."