TFRLTOP Chapter 41 Part 1

Chapter 41 – The Educated Youth’s Plain Wife (14)

Read! Read what? — Your Chinese textbook!

Ming Ming started working as a clerk at the supply and marketing store. On her first day, she was full of energy and ready for action. By the second day, she was already figuring out how to slack off.

After all, there weren’t customers coming in all the time. She helped others restock, did some bookkeeping, but most of the time she just sat around.

She had worked at convenience stores and supermarkets before, so none of this was hard for her. In fact, she was quick-witted and picked it up fast, which made Sister Ding, the shop supervisor, look at her in a new light.

On top of that, Ming Ming brought a few books with her to the shop. Whenever she had nothing to do, she’d open one up. To others, it made her look like a studious, motivated young woman—a complete turnaround from the impression she used to give.

Yan Junsheng passed by the shop a few times on purpose and always saw her reading her Chinese textbook with great interest. He thought to himself, Juan doesn’t like politics, but she does enjoy Chinese literature. History is so-so, but she’s decent at the sciences too. I wonder if she’ll choose liberal arts or science. Either way, she’ll have to deal with some politics.

He reminded himself to tell her at home later: read more politics, even if you don’t like it.

Sister Ding was puzzled. She noticed that when it came to her stack of books, Juan usually divided her time evenly—except for that Chinese textbook. She couldn’t put it down and would even smile suspiciously from time to time. If you asked her why, she would look calm and answer, “There’s a house of gold inside the books.”

“Getting married to an educated youth really changed you,” Sister Ding said with satisfaction, patting her head. “Your father told me that in the past, he had to trick and bribe you just to get you to study. Now look—you take the initiative, you’re self-motivated. Your father really has good eyes. He picked you a fine husband.”

Feeling guilty, Ming Ming quietly switched to a politics book.

Before closing that afternoon, she bought some beer, peanuts, and seasonings. On her way home, she dropped the books off, then carried the groceries over to her father’s place.

Just as she stepped out, she ran into Yan Junsheng.

“I’m going to see my dad. Do you want to come along?” she asked.

Junsheng still wasn’t very fond of Chen Weiguo, so he shook his head. “I’ll come pick you up later.”

She waved him off. “It’s only a few steps away. No need.”

At Chen Weiguo’s house, he had just returned from the fields, legs caked in mud, washing off in the courtyard. Seeing his daughter, he told her to go around the side so she wouldn’t get splattered.

“Dad, I bought you some things from the store. If you need anything else, just tell me. I can get it there.”

Chen let out a long sigh, wanting to scold her a bit. “Look at you. You haven’t even started earning yet, and you’re already wasting money. That meat you brought the other time—I meant to talk to you about that. You’re not a little girl anymore. You’re married now, living your own life. You need to keep track of yourself…”

But by the end, he couldn’t stop smiling. Turning his back, he muttered to himself, “My daughter’s grown up. She’s thoughtful now. Good. Good…”

When she tried to put the things on the table, Chen quickly came over, took them from her, and said, “Alright, sit down and wait for dinner. I’ll put this away.” He moved a stack of papers aside before setting the items down.

From him, Ming Ming felt a kind of fatherly love that was both new and strange. She was genuinely touched. Over dinner, father and daughter even shared some wine. Ming Ming couldn’t hold her liquor well, though Chen Juan was decent enough at it—as long as she wasn’t drinking bottles head-to-head with Wang Hu like last time, she wouldn’t get drunk.

After a few rounds, Chen Weiguo spoke, tipsy: “Juan, Junsheng is a good man—steady, dependable. You two need to live well together. If you can make it into the city, then go, don’t worry about me.”

Ming Ming poured him more wine. “What are you saying? You’re my father. Of course, I’ll take care of you.”

He waved her off. “Junsheng can’t stand me, but he treats you well. As long as you two live a good life, I’ll be at peace. I’m not much of a man. Being a brigade leader now is pure luck. I’ve spent my life stuck in this village. Big or small, I’ve done all sorts of things. But the thing I’m most proud of is arranging this marriage for you.”

“I could only take care of you for the first half of your life. I can’t take care of the second half. But I found you someone reliable. From now on, lean on him. Like before, don’t worry about anything. You can live happily until old age.”

Ming Ming sat in silence. Chen truly doted on his daughter. He paved the way for her, found her a support system, all from a traditional way of thinking—that the most important thing for a girl was to find a good man to rely on. He probably never thought about investing that energy into raising her potential. Or maybe he did try, but Chen Juan had been spoiled and could never amount to much.

If Ming Ming didn’t already know how this forced marriage would end, she might have been moved by this fatherly love.

The truth was, she didn’t even like studying. She only worked hard at school because studying was her only way out. The future was too uncertain, and she was clinging to one hope—that a college diploma could be her ticket to a slightly easier life.

In her bones, she was actually lazy. She’d say things like I’m going to fight hard or I won’t accept defeat, but if she had a choice, she’d happily flop down after the first push. Still, when she had no choice, she could accept a life of hard work without complaint.

She was like a spring—when there was pressure, she could take it; without pressure, she naturally popped back up.

No one had the right to blame her for it. After all, this was the best survival strategy she had found in her twenty-some years of hardship.

She sipped her wine slowly, the taste leaving a bitter trace in her throat.

I’m not Chen Juan, she thought. I won’t follow the script to tragedy and ruin. So what’s there to be afraid of?

This world was fake anyway. The worst outcome was failing the mission and losing her chance at resurrection, truly dying in that car crash. But if resurrection meant more suffering and going back to her exhausting old life, what was the point?

Here, in this illusion, she could at least let herself breathe a little.

They finished the meal, both with their own thoughts. Ming Ming said goodbye and got ready to leave.

Chen insisted on walking her back, but she refused. He’d had too much to drink and could barely walk straight. She pushed him back inside.

The moment she stepped out, she saw a man leaning against the low wall, arms folded. The moonlight stretched his tall shadow across the ground, as if he had been waiting there alone for a long time.

It was Yan Junsheng.

When he saw her, he straightened up and walked toward her.

Ming Ming came down the steps, but stopped in place. So he also stopped a few steps away.

He stayed silent, waiting patiently.

She tilted her head, studying him in the moonlight. What made Chen Weiguo so certain this marriage would protect his daughter for the rest of her life?

His looks, his character, his education, his wealth—they all belonged to him. Even if they were forced into marriage, none of that automatically transferred to Chen Juan.

But wait—he had given me his money.

That was because we had slept together the night before.

Maybe he’d been pressured by Chen Weiguo. Maybe he was just one of those old-fashioned men with a heavy sense of responsibility. Either way, it seemed he now felt obligated to me.

But how long would that sense of duty last?

Once he got a chance to return to the city, would he still leave me without hesitation?

The timeline had diverged because I was Ming Ming, not Chen Juan. I hadn’t followed Chen Juan’s path. But Yan Junsheng was still Yan Junsheng. Even if the altered timeline interfered, he would probably remain true to himself in the end.

Seeing her motionless, Junsheng took two more steps forward, leaving barely half a step between them.

“Had too much to drink?” he asked softly.

Maybe.

Ming Ming turned her head and looked at the two long shadows on the ground. Though their owners stood apart, the shadows tangled together like one.

She used to hear people say drinking could drown sorrow, but right now it felt more like the saying, “Drink to forget, and the sorrow only deepens.”

Yan Junsheng asked again, “Want me to carry you back?”

His voice was so soft it was like a whisper brushing her ear.

“I want to go to college,” Ming Ming blurted out for no reason.

Yan Junsheng stayed quiet, just listening.

Head lowered, Ming Ming kept repeating, over and over, “I’m going to college. I’m going to college.”