Chapter 334 - 126: The Green Tea Female Side Character in a Period-Piece Novel (13)
Chapter 334: Chapter 126: The Green Tea Female Side Character in a Period-Piece Novel (13)
Chi Yun’er nodded and chuckled. "Whoever becomes Brother Hua’s wife will be so happy..."
"I’ve said I won’t get married," Jiang Yihua emphasized.
Chi Yun’er didn’t take his words to heart. "Brother Hua, you’re still young. Time will give you countless chances to regret that. So, young man, don’t make such sweeping statements about your whole life."
Jiang Yihua couldn’t help but laugh. "Silly girl, you say that as if you’re so much older."
’She’s right. It’s best to leave the future for the future.’
Before, Chi Yun’er hadn’t wanted to leave on her own accord. Now that she was thinking of returning to the city, the Chi Family would surely work quickly to have her transferred back.
’How much longer could they spend together?’
Ever since he could remember, Jiang Yihua had been bettering himself, constantly studying and working hard. Even after arriving at the farm, he never had a moment of leisure. He was either doing practical work or learning from the various experienced elders in the area.
His emotional life wasn’t so much a blank slate as it was a consequence of his condition. He knew it all too well, using constant work to numb himself and ignore the fact that he could never have a complete life.
His days were lonely and tinged with a bitter sorrow. Who wouldn’t yearn for the single beam of warm light that shone for him in the darkness? Especially when a person like Chi Yun’er appeared, fulfilling every fantasy he had about a partner.
He decided to follow the desires of his heart and let himself be reckless for a while. It would be a way of giving himself some emotional closure.
"So, Brother Hua, who did you give your job to?" Getting back to the point, Chi Yun’er continued to indulge her curiosity, asking with a smile.
Jiang Yihua shot her a look. He knew that if he didn’t give her a satisfactory answer today, she would probably bring it up every time they met in the future.
"The daughter of my mother’s colleague. Our families had intended to set us up. But I rejected the idea outright, and our elders never brought it up again. She would still occasionally visit my home as a guest."
"One night, I was on my way home and saw her on a bridge, about to jump into the river to kill herself. It was because she had been assigned to come to the countryside, to this harsh place. She’d been terrified by things she’d heard from others and couldn’t see a way out."
"As it happened, I was planning to volunteer to come to the countryside anyway, so I just gave her the job placement and came to Zhaoyang Farm in her place."
Chi Yun’er pouted. "Brother Hua, have you ever considered the possibility that she did it on purpose? That she timed her little suicide drama for when you would show up, all so you would offer up your job?"
Jiang Yihua smiled and nodded. "That was pretty obvious. But I didn’t lose out. I didn’t just give the job away; I sold it to them."
"My work unit was a good one, with decent wages and benefits, so I sold it for a good price."
Hearing this, Chi Yun’er grew indignant on his behalf. "Brother Hua, what about the rumors that she dumped you? I don’t believe for a second she had nothing to do with it!"
Seeing her get all bristly like a little white kitten, Jiang Yihua’s hand started to itch.
He shoved his hands into his pockets and said, amused, "In your eyes, am I just some fool who lets people take advantage of him and doesn’t know how to fight back?"
"Think about it. Who did public opinion favor?"
Chi Yun’er blinked.
The corners of Jiang Yihua’s lips couldn’t help but curve up. ’When I’m with her, my expressions become so much more animated. The smiles come from deep within.’
’Before, I never believed that between a man and a woman, so different from each other, there could be anything more than the fleeting indulgence of passion. I didn’t get what it meant for something to be unforgettable, for someone to be irreplaceable, or where the "love at first sight" from books came from.’
’No matter how passionate things were in youth, they would eventually be worn down and buried by the long, monotonous stretch of time.’
’But in this very moment, he realized that simply walking side-by-side with her through the waves of wheat was the height of romance. Looking at the soft, beautiful girl beside him, this was enough for him to cherish for the rest of his life!’
He gave a low cough, pulling himself back from his thoughts. "Does that make me seem a bit petty, despicable, and vindictive?"
"I gave her the job—even if I sold it, it’s still the case that I didn’t sell it to just anyone. I sold it specifically to her."
"Her family thought I had a soft spot for her. To push their daughter and me together, they started spreading rumors everywhere that something was about to happen between us."
"And everyone believed it! Even my own parents asked me about it three or four times!"
"Perhaps in her family’s eyes, my trip to the countryside was temporary and I’d be back soon. Plus, I’m capable and have a bright future ahead of me, making me a particularly suitable son-in-law."
He shrugged, putting on an exaggerated expression for Chi Yun’er, like that of a wronged husband who had endured life’s hardships only to be abandoned. "But... whenever anyone asked me about it directly, I’d just put on this long face, sigh, and say, ’Jobs are so hard to find. I don’t know when I’ll be back from the countryside. How could I hold a nice young lady back?’"