Chapter 128: Lin Jingyue, I Can Return to the City

Some slept soundly through the night, while others tossed and turned, only falling asleep in the middle of the night.

Before dawn the next day, Lin Jingyue rose and jogged outside for half an hour, followed by an hour of shadowboxing.

Only then did she feel her spirit and energy fully released.

After nine o’clock, Lin Jingyue stretched lazily, wrapped herself in a thick cotton coat, and opened the door. Sure enough, everything outside was blanketed in white, a silver world dressed in snow.

Jiang Xun was cooking red bean porridge. Seeing her come out, a faint blush colored the corners of his eyes. “The hot water’s ready. Wash up first, breakfast will be ready soon.”

Lin Jingyue noticed the slight reddening at his ear tips and the faint smile that crept into his brows. “Mm-hmm.”

Zhou Yan was washing his face nearby. Observing the scene, he felt something was off — the two of them seemed to be pulling invisible threads with their eyes.

Pah, the sour stench of love.

He rolled his eyes and even sped up his washing routine.

Breakfast was red bean porridge sweetened with sugar, paired with savory egg pancakes. Lin Jingyue devoured two big bowls of porridge and two egg pancakes, then drank a cup of malted milk.

When hunger is satisfied, one must not miss out.

After breakfast, Zhou Yan washed the dishes while Jiang Xun approached and pulled out several red envelopes. “Grandpa and the others prepared some New Year’s money for you.”

There were three in total, from Grandpa Jiang, Father Jiang, and Mother Jiang.

“Huh?”

Lin Jingyue raised an eyebrow. Even though she hadn’t visited, they still gave her red envelopes?

“It’s their little token. Buy whatever you want.” Jiang Xun saw her thoughts and chuckled softly, placing the envelopes in her hands. “My mom said she’s too far away and busy with work to come see you, but giving New Year’s money is normal. Don’t mind it — we’re all family.”

Mother Jiang valued Lin Jingyue greatly.

No, more precisely, she valued Jiang Xun’s partner. She truly loved her son, and anyone her son liked was the best in her eyes.

As parents, they could steer the general direction but shouldn’t interfere in every detail, especially since their son was already an adult.

Choosing a partner is a major life event, but as long as the girl was honorable, there was nothing to complain about.

In short, they trusted Jiang Xun’s judgment.

Lin Jingyue looked at the three envelopes deeply and then, handing them back to Jiang Xun with a soft hum, teased, “You schemer.”

Jiang Xun cleared his throat. “Well, you’re my partner. It’s only natural for me to find ways to bring you home.”

He said it with righteous confidence.

Lin Jingyue rolled her eyes. “Just wait; I’m still young.”

Jiang Xun’s eyes suddenly darkened, as if recalling something, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. “Not that young.”

Actually, Lin Jingyue was nineteen. In this era, she could have gotten married last year.

But she felt she was still young inside, so she wasn’t in a hurry.

“Bang!”

Their warm atmosphere was shattered by a sudden loud knock. Both turned sharply toward the door.

Chen Chunlan’s face was dark as she glared inside. “When did you apply for this?!”

Sun Liangdong, leaning against the kang bed, looked pale but his eyes were bright. He stared at Chen Chunlan. “If you don’t want to live with me anymore, I’ll grant your wish. Let’s get a divorce.”

His tone was calm, not a negotiation but a declaration.

Chen Chunlan’s anger exploded. “Sun Liangdong! I’ve served you diligently for half a year, and you just want to leave like that?”

“If I hadn’t been at the brigade office today, I wouldn’t have learned you were getting a medical discharge to return to the city!”

That sentence instantly changed the mood among the educated youth.

Medical discharge? Returning to the city?

Returning to the city! It was every educated youth’s dream. How could Sun Liangdong possibly be allowed back?

Sure, some managed medical discharges, but the policy was harsh: only the sole child in the family, with connections, and a genuinely serious illness could qualify.

Sun Liangdong’s family had a younger brother and an elder sister; their connections weren’t strong.

Chen Chunlan ground her teeth, recalling the letter Sun Liangdong had asked her to mail months ago.

“Hmph, as soon as you get the chance to return to the city, you want to kick me aside? I’ll tell you, if I can’t have it easy, neither can you!” Chen Chunlan glared fiercely.

“Your leg…”

Sun Liangdong caught the deep meaning in her eyes and shivered. “I was rambling. You’re my wife; how could I divorce you?”

This Chen Chunlan — how did she see through his disguise so well?

Chen Chunlan snorted and slammed the door behind her, shutting out all sight.

Those who overheard the argument had varying thoughts and expressions.

Lin Jingyue and Jiang Xun exchanged glances and smiled, saying nothing.

It wasn’t their business.

It was already 1975, two years before the resumption of the college entrance exam. Lin Jingyue felt she could wait.

But Sun Liangdong’s medical discharge to return to the city…

The next day, Chen Chunlan returned from the brigade office, chin raised arrogantly as she waved the documents in hand. Seeing everyone’s changed expressions, she smiled smugly. “Ah, I can go back to the city now. The rural construction will be up to you all from now on.”

She scanned the room, noticing Lin Jingyue’s averted gaze, and deliberately approached. “Lin Jingyue, I’m going back to the city.”

“Oh.” Lin Jingyue didn’t look up, flipping through her junior high textbook.

Reviewing old lessons to learn new knowledge, her heart was devoted solely to the classics.

“I’m telling you, I’m going back to the city.” Chen Chunlan sounded displeased. How could Lin Jingyue not envy her?

“Congratulations,” Lin Jingyue replied perfunctorily.

Did this scatterbrained woman really think she was going back? She’d be fooled and not even realize it.

Lin Jingyue always kept her distance from people like that, never bothering to warn them.

People like her only understood through personal experience; otherwise, they’d suspect envy and sabotage.

Chen Chunlan snorted and turned away, her posture radiating pride.

Xia Nan, knitting a scarf nearby, leaned toward Lin Jingyue. “Is it really true? She can go back to the city?”

“Probably. Are you jealous?”

Of course.

Who wouldn’t want to leave the countryside?

Xia Nan sighed. “But as much as I envy, I’ll probably never return to the city.”

With a sweet face but a bitter stepmother at home, she was already lucky to live peacefully in the countryside.

Lin Jingyue nodded silently.

Xie Wenjuan, washing clothes, glanced complicatedly at Chen Chunlan’s door. Did Chen Chunlan have such good fortune to be allowed back to the city?

All the educated youth envied and resented it.

But some things are never so simple. Two days later, Sun Liangdong’s family came to take him away.

Lin Jingyue was eating a roasted sweet potato Jiang Xun had made when she looked up at the commotion.

A man and a woman entered the courtyard, dusty and worn, wearing patched cotton coats.

Yet their spirits were decent, eyes shining with vitality.

Because of scarves, their faces were unclear, but the man’s eyes resembled Sun Liangdong’s closely.

Her heart skipped slightly as understanding dawned.

They were Sun Liangdong’s family.