Chapter 25: The Original Heroine Reappears

Perhaps it was due to the scene before boarding, but once the group climbed onto the tractor, they consciously split into two teams... Oh wait, it was three teams.

One team consisted of the female educated youths, who sat against the right side of the tractor. Another was the male educated youths, who hugged the left side tightly. The remaining group included a few middle-aged women and the only young married couple of the day—Mu Wangwan and Fang Yinnian.

They stood at the back of the tractor, swaying with its jolts for half an hour until they finally reached the nearby Zhaoyang Town. There was a market in the town today, and as soon as they entered, it was obvious that the crowds had grown.

Fang Yinnian was the first to get off the tractor after the older women. Once he was on the ground, he reached out to help Mu Wangwan down.

"You’re a good young man, quite doting on your wife," one of the older women remarked with a chuckle upon seeing his gesture.

Fang Yinnian felt his ears burning again; he lowered his gaze and gave a shy, embarrassed smile.

Mu Wangwan, oblivious to Fang Yinnian’s unease, grabbed him the moment she landed and started running. "Let’s go! To the bookstore, we’re going to buy comic books!"

Fang Yinnian shook his head helplessly, allowing himself to be led away by her energetic, bouncing strides.

Wu Siqi, who had followed them off the tractor, stomped her foot heavily at their vanishing backs. "Bitch!"

"Alright, Siqi, if you keep making a scene, the educated youth Xie will leave," Liu Xiaoyan whispered, tugging on Wu Siqi’s sleeve to warn her.

Hearing that Xie Wenhao was about to leave, Wu Siqi immediately shouted, "Educated Youth Xie, wait for me!"

Xie Wenhao, who had intended to slip away quietly, tripped over his own feet and nearly fell. Damn it, he regretted provoking this idiot.

At the same time, Kang Yuzhu, who was coming out of the post office, heard the term "educated youth" and instinctively looked up. Finding no sign of the person she was longing for, she was about to frown when the still-lingering Wu Siqi caught her attention.

Kang Yuzhu remembered this gaudily dressed female youth; she had seen her standing with that male youth at the train station yesterday. They seemed to be... the new arrivals at Red Star Farm?

"Yuzhu? Yuzhu? What’s wrong?" Zheng Lijuan called out to her a few times without response, then gave her a nudge. "What are you looking at?"

Zheng Lijuan looked around, saw nothing of interest, and pulled Kang Yuzhu along. "Let’s hurry to the market, otherwise it’ll be too crowded to move."

Kang Yuzhu was dragged away forcibly. By the time she looked back for Wu Siqi, the girl had already disappeared. A flash of anger crossed Kang Yuzhu's eyes. She really wanted to slap her. She hadn't originally planned to visit the market today, but because of Zheng Lijuan—her good classmate and the new romantic interest of her second brother—who wanted company during her time off, she had been coaxed by her brother to tag along.

If it weren't for accompanying her, she would have gone straight to Red Star Farm to find him.

Kang Yuzhu took a deep breath, barely suppressing her rage, and forced a smile. "Lijuan, watch your step, don't fall, or my second brother will definitely settle the score with me."

"What are you saying?" Zheng Lijuan blushed and pulled her hand away.

Kang Yuzhu put her hand behind her back and wiped it with a look of disgust.

While wiping her hand, Kang Yuzhu suddenly remembered that newly arrived educated youths usually had a day off to purchase daily necessities. Since she had seen the new arrivals from Red Star Farm just now, did that mean the male youth she saw yesterday was also in town?

Thinking of this, Kang Yuzhu finally revealed a genuine smile.

Zheng Lijuan, walking beside her, was unaware of Kang Yuzhu’s inner thoughts. Seeing her smile, she assumed she was being teased. After all, Zheng Lijuan’s family was strict; she had never dated before. Finally landing a boyfriend, who happened to be her high school classmate's second brother... she felt quite shy.

"Yu... Yuzhu, stop laughing. Let’s hurry, or the goods will all be snatched up."

The Zhaoyang Town market was held only once a month, on the 22nd. On this day, the town was exceptionally crowded. Whether buying or selling, the designated market area was packed to the brim. If they were too slow, they really wouldn't be able to get anything good.

Fearing that others would buy everything up, Kang Yuzhu hurried to keep up.

*

Meanwhile, at the bookstore.

Mu Wangwan wore a pitiful expression, squatting in front of the bookshelf. "How can there be none? Why are there no comic books?"

"Did you hide them?"

"How could we hide books? If that were discovered, we’d be penalized with a mark against our records." The bookstore clerk, also looking miserable, was at his wit's end. He never expected that one day, he would be accused of hiding books just because someone couldn't find what they wanted. If she weren't so pretty, he would have kicked her out already.

"Alright, stop talking nonsense. If they don't have them, we’ll just wait—"

"Fang Yinnian, I hate you." Mu Wangwan swatted away the hand he reached out with. "If you hadn't insisted on bringing me here, I wouldn't be crouching here for comic books right now."

"It’s all your fault."

Fang Yinnian looked at his hand, which had been ruthlessly batted away, and sighed. He squatted down beside her and ruffled her drooping hair. "I’m sorry. How about we call Grandma now and have her mail a couple over?"

Mu Wangwan grabbed his hand and stood up abruptly. "Let’s go, right now."

There was no trace of crying or frustration on her face; there weren't even any tear stains.

Fang Yinnian realized he had been tricked, but he didn't let go of her hand. Forget it. He had already promised her. Since the town didn't have any, they could only have them sent from the capital. But—

"Only two, no more than that."

"Why?" Mu Wangwan huffed, turning to glare at him.

Fang Yinnian’s gaze swept past the corner of her eyes. Even as he was being pulled along, he remained calm and unhurried. "Because we have to be discreet right now."

Fang Yinnian looked at Mu Wangwan with intense seriousness.

Mu Wangwan’s hurried pace slowed down, struck by the emotion in his eyes. Before arriving in this world, she had no contact with this period of history. Even having experienced it for a while, she always felt as if something stood between her and this reality. With the mindset of someone from the interstellar era, she couldn't understand the actions of some people, let alone why they could be so easily brought down. She could only conclude... they weren't strong enough.

In the interstellar era, as long as the New Humans held absolute power, they could counter everything.

Mu Wangwan wanted to let go of Fang Yinnian's hand, but the moment she moved, he gripped her even tighter.

"Wangwan, don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid." And she really wasn't.

She struggled twice more, but failing to break free, she simply let him hold her hand. Fortunately, there was a backpack between them acting as a shield; otherwise, if someone saw them, it would surely lead to a report.

This era was filled with all sorts of strange policies and measures that Mu Wangwan wasn't accustomed to. Her brow furrowed. "Fang Yinnian, you must work hard to climb higher."

"Of course." Mu Wangwan turned, facing the morning sun and smiling at Fang Yinnian. "I will work hard too."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you when the time comes."