Flirting Back
This was clearly an opportunity, and Su Su, who had never been in love before, felt her heart race with excitement. Thankfully, all the books she had read helped her react quickly, and she shot back, “Whatever you want me to do, that’s what I’ll do.”
Whatever he wanted her to do?
Lin Chuan started overthinking, and then it all went to his head.
From Su Su’s perspective, Lin Chuan must have been thinking about something not quite proper. Just look at how red his neck was—it almost looked like he was wearing a scarf.
“Be good and listen now, and later on, you can do whatever you want,” Su Su said, her face flushing as she decided to throw caution to the wind. She could only imagine how amusing his reaction would be.
Lin Chuan looked at Su Su in surprise, but her innocent expression remained unchanged, as if she had no hidden meaning behind her words. Maybe he was just overthinking it, for sure, he must have been.
“I…”
“What are you two doing?” A sharp voice cut through their moment, dousing them both with a cold splash of reality, making them instinctively pull apart with a shiver.
Su Su turned and saw the female lead, Qin Yue Yue, approaching. She immediately smiled and said, “Brother Chuan got hurt, so I’m helping him with his wound.”
“Is that so?” Qin Yue Yue looked them up and down, clearly skeptical about how close they were standing.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on between them, but she wasn’t certain. If these two really were interested in each other, then maybe she could use this to her advantage. Not only could she escape this marriage, but she could also make the Lin family feel indebted to her. That way, they’d take care of her until she left for school, and she might even get out of repaying the dowry money.
A hundred yuan was a significant sum, enough to last her quite a while at university. Although what she was considering wasn’t exactly right, her frustration after the recent phone call with her parents made it hard to resist. They had suggested she give up her spot at university for her younger brother, and when she refused, they decided not to support her financially, leaving her to fend for herself.
Well, she could always repay the money after she graduated and earned enough. The Lin family was large, and with Lin Chuan being a soldier with a stipend, they probably didn’t need the money as much as she did.
Once the thought crossed her mind, she couldn’t suppress it. No matter how she looked at it, she became convinced there was something between Su Su and Lin Chuan.
Even when Mother Lin arrived, Qin Yue Yue didn’t bring up her real purpose of delaying the wedding. She just exchanged a few words and then prepared to leave.
Mother Lin suggested Lin Chuan see her off, but he hesitated, glancing at Su Su before saying, “Lin Hai, you go see Comrade Qin off.”
Lin Hai, who had just arrived, scratched his head in confusion and asked, “Why do I have to see her off?” After all, she wasn’t his fiancée.
But Qin Yue Yue smiled and said, “Brother Chuan, you take me back. I have something to discuss with you.”
Lin Chuan had no choice but to follow her, albeit a bit reluctantly. But before he left, he turned back and said, “I’ll be back soon.”
“Why do you need to come back right away?” Mother Lin scolded him with a glare, then suddenly realised that his words weren’t directed at her but seemed to be meant for…
She glanced at Su Su, who was sitting quietly to the side, and couldn’t help but wonder, “Su Su, you…” No, it couldn’t be. She was a university graduate, even had a master’s degree—could she really be interested in their somewhat simple-minded son?
“What is it, Auntie?” Su Su was still thinking about the look Lin Chuan had given her when he left. It was a look of guilt and fear, directed at her. Why would he feel guilty or afraid? Had he done something that would upset her?
But wait, they weren’t even involved yet, so there shouldn’t be anything for him to feel guilty about.
Still, the fact remained that he was about to marry the female lead. Even if it was just for show, the thought left her feeling a bit unsatisfied.
She made up her mind—before the wedding, she would get to the bottom of his feelings for her.
Having decided, she joined Mother Lin in tidying up the woodpile, some of which was still stained with blood. She couldn’t understand why he was working himself into such a state.
Meanwhile, as Lin Chuan followed Qin Yue Yue, she suddenly asked, “Brother Chuan, what do you think of me?”
“Huh?” Lin Chuan was feeling unsettled, convinced he had made a big mistake.
“So, do you like me or not?” Qin Yue Yue asked boldly.
Lin Chuan stopped in his tracks. He had never given it much thought before, assuming that marriage was just something that happened. In the army, wasn’t it the norm to return home, meet someone, and quickly get married? Didn’t those marriages end up being happy?
But ever since that other figure had entered his life, his perspective had changed. It was as if his entire worldview had shifted. The impact had been profound.
No matter how much he tried to avoid it, to hide from it, or to ignore it, it was futile.
It was like waves crashing over him, one after another, until they consumed him entirely.
So, when Qin Yue Yue asked him that question, he could no longer remain indifferent. He took a deep breath and said, “I don’t have any feelings for you.”
“Then why are you still insisting on getting married?”
“…” He didn’t want to insist anymore. He didn’t even care about his parents’ or the villagers’ opinions anymore.
“Forget it, there’s no point in asking.” Qin Yue Yue had gotten her answer—he didn’t have feelings for her. So, did that mean he had feelings for Su Su instead?
It made sense—Su Su was smart, pretty, and a university graduate. Well, she might as well help them out. With that thought, she calmly said, “You can go back now,” and then turned and walked away. But instead of returning to the commune, she went to find Lin Donghe. He was the only one in the village who truly understood and cared for her, and she knew he would help her out.
As Qin Yue Yue walked away, Lin Chuan felt a sense of emptiness in his heart. What was he supposed to do now?
If only the army would issue an emergency call, he could escape all of this. But that was unlikely.
He lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, trying to calm his nerves. Later that evening, his uncle’s family came over to see if they could help with the wedding preparations and brought some red cloth, which was hard to come by.
Since cloth was in short supply, Lin’s parents decided to make dinner and invite them to stay.
In the northeast, when guests arrived, the women of the household didn’t sit at the table with the men. Mother Lin naturally didn’t join them for the meal, and even Lin’s aunt stayed standing to help. But when the men started drinking, they could go on until midnight, so Mother Lin said to Su Su, “Su Su, it’s getting noisy in here. Since your uncle’s wife and I need to stay in your room for a bit, why don’t you go rest in the back yard? The kang is heated, so it won’t be cold.”
“Alright.” Su Su agreed, knowing she needed to prepare for tomorrow’s class and memorise the lesson.
Lin Hai escorted her to the back yard, where she lit an oil lamp and sat on the kang to study some quotes, selecting a few easy characters to memorise.
Meanwhile, Lin Chuan, feeling down, drank a bit more than usual. He could normally hold his liquor, but today, after just two bowls, he was already feeling unsteady. His eyes were bloodshot, and he swayed where he sat.
Lin Donghe noticed and said, “Brother Chuan seems drunk. I’ll take him outside for some fresh air.”
“Alright.” In rural areas, people didn’t have too many formalities, so Father Lin didn’t think much of it and waved him off. None of them realised why Lin Chuan had gotten drunk in the first place. After all, in this part of the world, a man drinking too much wasn’t unusual.
Lin Donghe helped Lin Chuan outside, where the cold air hit them. “Congratulations, Brother,” he said with a smirk.
“…” Lin Chuan pulled out a cigarette, but in the end, he didn’t light it because the wind kept blowing out the match.
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