TFRLTOP Chapter 37 Part 1

Chapter 37 – The Educated Youth’s Wife 

Deep into the Night

Ming Ming turned her head and saw Yan Junsheng standing in the doorway, expressionless, staring at her.

Her guilty conscience made her look away.

After a moment’s hesitation, she handed the candy beans back to Wang Hu.

As if that could erase what had just happened.

Yan Junsheng walked over, greeted Wang Hu, and said evenly, “It’s so late—haven’t gone home for dinner yet?”

His tone was calm, but the chill in his eyes all but shoved the man out the door.

Wang Hu ignored him and pushed the little bag of candy beans toward Ming Ming. “I brought these for you. Why give them back? Take them, eat them—they’re not stolen, not robbed. What’s there to be afraid of?”

The system chimed in, egging her on: “What a great chance—perfect way to get him annoyed with you.”

Ming Ming thought so too. If Yan Junsheng really hated her, then cozying up to Wang Hu right in front of him should work in her favor. The more he loathed her, the sooner he’d cut ties.

So she reached out to accept them.

But out of the corner of her eye, she caught Yan Junsheng’s storm-dark face, his piercing gaze locking on hers the moment she turned.

Ming Ming flinched and pulled her hand back.

Wang Hu lifted his eyelids and sneered. “City boys really are something else. Bet you’re full of rules and posturing at home, huh? No wonder Juanzi’s been suffering with you.”

Yan Junsheng’s forehead veins were about to pop. Ming Ming quickly grabbed his arm and rushed to explain, “You’ve got it wrong—my Junsheng is wonderful! I’m not suffering. Not at all!”

It was meant as clarification, but somehow it only sounded more suspicious.

She didn’t care anymore. The two men were natural opposites, and she didn’t want them crossing paths too much. She decisively took the candy beans from Wang Hu’s hand. “Thanks, I appreciate it. Now go on home—you haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

She waved him off, as if ruthlessly driving him away… except she ruined it by sneaking what she thought was a subtle glance in his direction.

Wang Hu’s gaze lingered on her, then slid to Yan Junsheng, and finally settled back on her face. He gave her a quick chin lift before turning to climb onto the ox cart and ride away.

It was like they’d exchanged a secret signal—a tacit understanding only between them.

In Yan Junsheng’s eyes, it was an eyesore.

What was this?

It felt as if the two of them were the ones truly in love, and he was just the outsider intruding between them.

Could it be that she really liked that careless Wang Hu?

His fists clenched tight. Wang Hu was gone now, but Chen Chanjun was still holding onto his arm. He wished this moment could last longer, wished she would depend on him just a little more.

Once, he had thought she was overbearing. Now, he found her… adorable.

The next second, Ming Ming withdrew her hand without a thought. Yan Junsheng stared down at his arm, suddenly empty, the warmth gone, leaving him oddly hollow.

Ming Ming held the candy beans up to him. “Want one?”

“No. Thanks.” His reply was stiff.

“Oh.” She pulled her hand back, lowered her head, and started counting how many were left in the oiled paper packet. Her lips pressed together as if she wanted to eat them, but couldn’t bear to waste any more.

Yan Junsheng almost said I’ll buy you more tomorrow, but before the words could leave his mouth, she had already adjusted her mood and moved on.

“Have you eaten? Ready to head back?” she asked.

He gave a quiet “Mm,” though his chest felt weighed down.

“Then let’s go.” Ming Ming ducked inside to tell Chen Weiguo, who handed her a bag of malt candy to take home.

They said goodbye and set off together under the moonlight.

On the road, silence stretched between them. Ming Ming hopped along the dappled shadows of the trees, skipping and jumping, while Yan Junsheng followed behind, watching her slim figure dance with the moonlit branches.

He thought: Chen Chanjun doesn’t seem to need me. She doesn’t consult me, doesn’t share her thoughts with me.

What kind of husband and wife are we, like this?

But with Wang Hu, she did talk.

Wang Hu knew many of her little secrets. The two of them even made pacts to hide things from him.

They were close in age, grew up together in the same village, childhood playmates who could read each other with a glance. The bond and understanding between them—what did he, a “city boy” outsider, have to compete with that?

The realization made him burn with jealousy.

And earlier, drinking with Chen Weiguo, he had faintly sensed a truth: it wasn’t that Chen Chanjun had wept and begged to marry him, forcing Chen Weiguo to pressure him. No—the whole scheme had been Chen Weiguo’s doing.

She was only eighteen. What could she really know? He was just a fair-skinned city youth, a novelty in this rural place. Of course, she’d be curious.

She didn’t understand the planned economy, had been spoiled by her brother, and knew nothing of love.

To Chen Weiguo, he was a reliable match with good conditions. But to her… Wang Hu might have been the real fit.

Suddenly, Ming Ming stopped walking and turned to him, as if about to speak. Yan Junsheng pushed aside his thoughts and leaned in slightly, signaling that she had his full attention.

“Thank you for today,” she said seriously.

His face stayed calm. “There’s no need for thanks between us.”

“There is.”

She clasped her hands behind her back and began walking backward, facing him. Yan Junsheng stepped forward too, keeping just half an arm’s length between them, ready to catch her if needed.

His eyes stayed fixed on her while his peripheral vision watched the road for her.

“Actually, you don’t need to do all this for me,” she continued. “You and I… how to put it? At most, we’re just life partners. If we can get along, fine. If not, no need to force it. If you want a divorce, I won’t object.”

Her tone was utterly sincere, but Yan Junsheng’s face tightened.

Oblivious, she kept her head down and went on. “Don’t worry, I’m not being coy or playing hard to get. I’m not scheming anything new. After spending time with you, I think you’re a really good person. Setting our marriage aside, I’d like us to be friends. If this ends badly, that’d be a shame.”

The system in her head went wild: “Hey, hey, aren’t you being a little too blatant? What am I, dead? You’re straight-up trying to change the timeline here!”

“…Shut up,” she muttered.

Yan Junsheng listened in silence, his expression growing darker.

So that’s it—you just want to leave me and run off with that boy who hasn’t even grown up yet?

Suddenly, he spoke, voice rough: “So what you mean is… whatever happens between us, I get to decide?”

“Yes.”

Ming Ming handed him the choice without hesitation.

Yan Junsheng’s tone was cool. “All right. I understand.”

They walked home without another word. Ming Ming, having laid her cards on the table, felt lighter.

It was still early, too early to sleep. She sat at the head of the bed, pulled out her political theory book, and began reviewing, preparing for the college entrance exam that might resume someday.

Dreams were abundant. Reality was…

Less than five minutes later, drowsiness swamped her.

She shut the book, tossed it aside, and told herself: Enough—it’s bedtime.

But she couldn’t help herself—she opened another literature book, read two pages, and her eyes lit up like she was absorbing the very essence of heaven and earth. Only then did she turn off the lamp, satisfied.