Lin Chuan
Su Su, 25 years old this year, just finished her master’s degree. After her internship, instead of rushing to find a job, she participated in the school’s poverty alleviation and re-education initiative, and joined a group of passionate young people to go to remote mountainous areas to work as teaching assistants, for a period of one year.
For this, she prepared for nearly two months, specifically finding a large military green backpack online. Although it was not good-looking, it was spacious enough to pack everything she needed for a whole year, so she set off.
Originally, everything was heading in a good direction. There, she found the quiet life away from the city that she longed for, as well as memories of her childhood in the countryside. Little did she know that halfway there, the bus they were on overturned due to suddenly darting sheep, and she was thrown out of the bus and fell down the mountainside in a very embarrassed manner, knocked unconscious due to the strong impact.
When she woke up, she found her whole body aching terribly. Around her, there were only trees and grass, and occasionally frightening growls of wild beasts.
It was dusk, and everything around her was already becoming blurry, indicating nightfall. It would be very dangerous to stay there any longer. Su Su, who used to be a delicate and teary girl, now had to sniffle and insist on getting up to try calling for help.
Fortunately, her oversized backpack was also thrown out with her, and her phone was in the side pocket of the backpack.
When she reached for her phone, she found there was no signal. Fate seemed to be against her.
Su Su couldn’t help but shed a few tears, saying, “Why am I so unlucky? I’ll never ride a bus again.” But self-pity was of no use now. She could only hold her backpack and phone, trying to find a signal.
Because of the pain in her legs and waist, she didn’t walk far before falling again. Somehow, her phone slipped out of her hand and she couldn’t find it no matter how hard she searched.
Was she surrounded by an aura of misfortune?
Su Su couldn’t bear to go on and sat on her big backpack, resting her head on her legs, silently crying. She didn’t dare to cry loudly, fearing it might attract wild beasts.
As she was lost in her thoughts, suddenly there was a rustling sound. Startled, she stepped back and asked, “Who’s there?” Her voice trembled, about to scream in fright.
But then she thought: If it’s a person, there’s hope. She wouldn’t have to wander aimlessly without any sense of direction. So she immediately asked, “Is, is it a person?”
“Yes.” With the voice, a green figure flashed out of the bushes. He was about a meter tall, wearing what seemed to be military attire, but of a retro style. He carried a military green bag and a military canteen, looking like he was either filming a period drama or intentionally cosplaying.
Su Su thought, maybe she had encountered someone from a film crew shooting a period drama here?
But when she looked at his face, she was certain he must be the male lead. He was too handsome. And unlike some of the young idols nowadays, apart from being slim, he had a rugged and manly look, even more beautiful than a woman. But this man, with his strong physique and sharp eyes, standing there naturally exuded a kind of oppressive aura, making it difficult for people to look directly at him.
Desperate to survive, Su Su thought it was more important to seek help from him.
“Scared me to death! I just fell from the bus, and my leg seems to be injured, I can’t walk too far. Can you help me call for help or find a place with a signal so I can make a call for rescue?” She swore she had never been so polite before, just hoping this man who seemed righteous could help her out of trouble.
But the man frowned after sizing her up and said, “Comrade, it’s getting dark. There won’t be anyone passing through this mountain. Moreover, to make a call, you need to go to the town, which is several miles away after leaving the mountain. If you’re injured, you probably can’t make it there.”
Su Su was speechless. Wasn’t there nationwide network coverage? Why did she have to go to town to make a call? This must be a very poor area.
“What should I do then?” She was in pain all over, and hearing that she had to walk so far to make a call immediately filled her with despair.
“If you trust me, why not come with me to my home? It’s in a small mountain village ahead.” The man dressed like a character from a historical drama suddenly spoke up.
A small mountain village?
It sounded familiar.
“I…” Although the man was handsome and dressed in military attire, he wasn’t a real soldier after all. In this unfamiliar place, what if something happened?
Su Su’s mind kept turning, but seeing the man patiently waiting for her, he didn’t seem like a bad person. Moreover, stranded in the mountains, she might as well find a place to hide. Maybe they could take her to the village where she was supposed to help the poor.
Thinking of this, she nodded slightly and said, “Then, I’ll trouble you.”
The young man nodded and took the lead, seeming to want to guide her.
Su Su reached for her backpack and followed, but the path was difficult to walk on. She had only taken a few steps when the grass tangled around her ankles. She tried to pull it off forcefully, but failed, and the pain from her wound made her cry out and dare not move again.
“Comrade, this won’t do. We need to get down the mountain before it gets dark, or the wolf pack will come out, and we won’t be able to leave,” he said.
“What?” Wolves too?
“Wolves.”
“But, my leg hurts, I can’t walk.” Su Su felt that although the man in front of her was very righteous, he didn’t know how to comfort a girl at all. She was almost scared to tears, but he still stood there with a furrowed brow.
“I’ll carry you.” He seemed to have made a big decision and finally spoke after some consideration.
“Um, I’m quite heavy,” she hesitated. She weighed over a hundred catties, not too fat, but not thin either.
“Get on.”
The man sounded a bit impatient.
“Um, thank you.”
“I’ll carry the backpack.”
“Are you sure?”
Although he looked strong, her backpack was heavy too.
However, she was quickly proven wrong. He effortlessly lifted her onto his back, picked up the backpack, and started walking as if it was nothing at all.
This was too impressive, the kind of boyfriend material that was off the charts.
Su Su was almost moved to tears. Although he seemed cold and tough, just for this straightforwardness, there would be plenty of girls falling for him. She wondered if he would be willing to make friends; maybe she wouldn’t see him again in this place.
So she cautiously asked, “I’m Su Su, and you?”
“Lin Chuan.”
???
The name sounded somewhat familiar, she just couldn’t recall where she had heard it before.
She paused for a moment, her mind racing, and suddenly had a flash of insight. “Does your village have a captain named Lin Dong He?”
“Yeah.”
No, it must be a coincidence, right?
She remembered reading about a small mountain village, Lin Chuan, Lin Dong He, and other names while on the bus.
Could it be…
“Then, is there a young educated youth named Qin Yue Yue in your village?”
“Yes,” he replied promptly, sounding a bit puzzled.
“No, it can’t be…” She realized she didn’t fall into a mountain but was actually transported to a different era. Could such a fantastic thing really happen in this world?
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