TFRLTOP Chapter 45 Part 2

He could hardly believe it, but couldn’t think of any better explanation.

“……” Ming Ming’s face was blank. “Get lost.”

That meal left Yan Junsheng feeling pretty defeated. He’d been planning to teach Ming Ming how to use a knife and fork, but the moment the steak was served, she sliced through it like a seasoned butcher. By the time his shock wore off, she had already thoughtfully cut his portion as well and swapped the plates.

Yan Junsheng looked from his plate to Ming Ming. She gave him a modest little smile, lips curving as she quoted, “What you learn from books is always shallow—you only truly understand by doing it yourself.”

“Don’t look down on my little yellow books!”

Her chin tipped up, eyes gleaming with pride and mischief, the kind of expression you couldn’t look away from.

Yan Junsheng turned his head, resting an elbow on the table, palm half-covering his mouth as if that could hide his racing heartbeat and flushed cheeks.

Juan’er, you really do know how to get under my skin, he thought with resignation.

Through the whole meal, he barely tasted a thing, while Ming Ming ate happily. Afterward, they strolled around for a while. Yan Junsheng bought her skincare creams, snowflake cream, and pearl cream—spending money like water. Ming Ming grew nervous. “You don’t need to buy so much. These all do the same thing. One is enough… No, no, this is too much spending today. Don’t buy any more—let’s go home!”

“Relax, I’ve got money.” Yan Junsheng, rich and willful, kept buying anyway.

“Even if you do, you can’t just waste it like this!” Ming Ming ached over the expense.

Yan Junsheng, though, was secretly delighted with her attitude. To outsiders, it might seem petty, but to him, it was proof she was starting to see their lives as intertwined. She cared about his money as if it were her own. That meant she saw them as one unit.

Perfect.

“Done shopping? Ready to head back?” he asked, satisfied.

Ming Ming glanced around, then tugged him toward a clothing shop. “Wait a minute. I told you I’d buy you a set of clothes—my treat!”

This time, Yan Junsheng didn’t argue. He simply followed quietly and let her fuss over picking outfits for him.

She chose a Zhongshan suit and a Western-style suit, sending him off to try them. With his tall frame and straight posture, he looked good in anything. But when he came out in the Western suit, Ming Ming couldn’t tear her eyes away.

So handsome.

“I’d love to get you both, but…” she said sheepishly, “I don’t have enough fabric coupons.”

“Which do you like better?” he asked, leaning down slightly, his voice coaxing.

“Suit,” she answered without hesitation.

The shopkeeper nodded. “The lady has good taste. This suit is more expensive than the Zhongshan one—the quality speaks for itself.”

Yan Junsheng’s tone softened into mock deference. “Well then, Juan’er, it’s pricey… should we buy it?”

The shopkeeper teased, “What a good man—asks his wife’s permission before buying.”

“That’s right,” Yan Junsheng said smoothly, “my wife runs the house.”

Ming Ming, suddenly brimming with a sense of authority, paid without a second thought. Luckily, it was with coupons instead of cash—otherwise the equivalent few hundred yuan would have made her wince.

They left the shop with no more errands to run and started heading back, until Yan Junsheng slowed at the sight of a bookstore.

“I remember you’ve read that one book over and over again,” he teased. “Since we’re here, don’t you want to buy something new?”

Ming Ming was tempted, but instinct told her he was up to no good. She immediately refused.

“No. Starting today, I’m turning over a new leaf. I am no longer the old Chen Chanjuan. I am Master Chen, Disciple of Emptiness.”

She pressed one palm upright, the other behind her back, bowing solemnly. “Benefactor, please behave. We monks see all as empty. No lustful thoughts… hey, hey, don’t choke me, I can’t stand straight!”

Yan Junsheng ignored her protests and pulled her into the bookstore. A quick half-circle later, he spotted something tucked away in a hidden corner.

He picked up a worn science-and-culture book. Opening it revealed passages cobbled together from innocent words—into paragraphs that were anything but innocent.

Yan Junsheng: “……”

Even though he’d braced himself, the impact still hit hard.

Looking down, he caught Ming Ming craning her neck to read, mouth slightly open, clearly absorbed.

“Should I turn the page?”

“Wait, not done yet.” She skimmed the rest at lightning speed, then finally looked up. Meeting his eyes, she ducked her head in “shame.”

“Want to buy it?”

“…No.” Her tone dripped with reluctant sacrifice.

“Buy it. I don’t mind,” he said coolly. “I’d like to study it myself.”

Ming Ming’s hackles went up instantly. She snatched the book from his hand, shoved it back, and dragged him out.

“You’re a proper intellectual. You can’t be a bad influence like me, a mere illiterate!”

“You’re no illiterate—you’re a genius, aren’t you?”

Ming Ming pinched his waist, making him laugh and dodge before pulling her safely back to the inside of the road.

“So,” he asked, “what exactly did you pawn that watch for?”

“…Nothing,” she muttered.

“What for?” he pressed.

Irritated, she didn’t even look at him. “It’s complicated. You might not get it. Just know it had to be done. What it meant depends on the situation, and the situation—well, that depends too…”

Yan Junsheng: “……”

“Not telling the truth? Then I’ll interrogate you tonight,” he threatened.

Ming Ming shot him a sideways glare. “I’ll tell you this: the will of the people is unbreakable. We won’t be defeated by reactionaries like you! Stop your pointless resistance and surrender! Justice will triumph over evil—”

He leaned down and whispered in her ear. Instantly, her face flamed red, and she stammered a revised line: “The answer will eventually be revealed. Please be patient and await the truth in due time!”

“Speak plainly.”

“I’ll tell you at home.”

He didn’t let her brush it off. “Your revolutionary rhetoric’s coming along nicely. Very impressive. Clearly, political study is paying off. We’ll continue when we get back.”

She mumbled something too quiet for him to hear.

“What?”

She raised her voice a little, but it was still muffled.

“What was that?”

Finally, under pressure, she said it clearly: “I bought gold bars.”

Yan Junsheng stared at her in stunned silence. “…You… you really are something.”

She shot him a sulky look. “Something what?”

He shook his head with a sigh. “Juan’er, your mind is too sharp. With fewer constraints, you could thrive anywhere.”

“Really?” Her eyes lit up. She tilted her face up proudly. “So you think I’m amazing too?”

“I do,” he admitted with a laugh.

They rode the carriage home side by side. Ming Ming, who had always craved praise but rarely received it, basked in the memory of his words, her heart bursting like fireworks. She hugged her knees and leaned her head toward him. “So how did you decide my mind was so clever?”

Her gaze brimmed with expectant shyness.

He slipped an arm around her shoulders and said earnestly, “With your brains, if you understand the rules, there’s nothing you can’t do. Like just now, most people wouldn’t dare push a pawnbroker until he caved. And I can tell when you sold that watch, you weren’t planning on buying it back later. Yet you turned his weakness around, and when he agreed to lower the price, you still pressed him further. Not many people could do that.”

Ming Ming smirked, though she tried to keep a straight face. “Serves him right for trying to fleece us.”

“And before,” he added, “when you found ways to bring in money and meat—others might call it cutting corners. But this society always has loopholes. The question is whether you’ve got the wit to use them. I’m not saying to break the rules, but I can help you understand them better. That way, within limits, you’ll still achieve what you want. Juan’er, you’re far more capable than you think.”

He brushed the hair from her forehead, his voice soft but steady. “I’m just glad I kept quiet back there—otherwise I would’ve held you back.”

“Aw, I’m not that great,” she said with mock modesty, though her grin gave her away. She was about to downplay it as life’s hard knocks shaping her, but her voice trailed off as she met his smiling eyes.

“In the future,” he said, “don’t worry about cluing me in first. I’ll do my best to keep up with you and back you up.”

The sun was setting, the road nearly empty, the fields echoing only with crows and wind. The glow of dusk painted their faces as they stared at each other, locked in that lingering moment.

Ming Ming leaned over and kissed his cheek.

…