Lu Chengming's eyes flickered. "I didn't mean it like that. I was just too surprised and didn't react immediately."
"Then you shouldn't have asked that," Zhao Hong said, sounding a little wronged. "What are you going to do now? How about we get married?"
When Lu Chengming heard the word "married," he instinctively wanted to refuse. He had never considered marrying Zhao Hong.
"We're both still young. We can't get married just because of a child, can we? Besides, in this environment, we can't let the child suffer from the moment they're born, right?"
As Lu Chengming racked his brain for an excuse, Zhao Hong's heart grew colder and colder.
"Is it because of Chen Lishu? She's already married, and you're still hung up on her. She never even looks at you, yet you're still clinging to this foolish hope. I'm carrying your child now, Lu Chengming. Are you even human?"
Seeing her voice get louder and louder, Lu Chengming feared they would be overheard. He quickly stood up, wanting to explain a few things, appease her, and then persuade her to have an abortion. However, Zhao Hong became more and more angry, pushed him away, and ran out.
When she reached the courtyard and found that Lu Chengming hadn't followed her, Zhao Hong's emotions were indescribable.
What did he take her for? Someone he could call and dismiss at will? Did he have no feelings for her at all?
Disappointed, she looked up and saw Chen Lishu and Xu Ning. A complex emotion flashed in her eyes.
Chen Lishu and Xu Ning also saw Zhao Hong. Seeing her with red eyes running out, Xu Ning couldn't help but lean close to Chen Lishu and whisper, "She was fine when I came in. She must have argued with Lu Chengming."
Chen Lishu glanced at Zhao Hong. In her previous life, she hadn't known Zhao Hong well, but she knew Lu Chengming too well. It was good for Zhao Hong to see the scumbag for what he was sooner rather than later. Temporary pain was better than ruining her entire life.
Seeing them looking at her, Zhao Hong glared at them and walked out of the educated youth point. Her steps then turned, and she went directly to the home of the village secretary, Zhang Changhe.
Chen Lishu and Xu Ning saw her leave and didn't pay it much mind. As they were about to continue their studies, Lu Chengming slowly emerged from the dormitory and walked towards them.
"Comrade Lishu, you're here? Are you studying? It's a shame you can't go to university, but you're working so hard. It's getting dark, why aren't you going inside?"
Chen Lishu felt disgusted by his self-important demeanor and didn't reply. She put away her books and said to Xu Ning, "Let's stop here for today. Tomorrow, if you have time, come to my place early for dinner, and then we can study quietly in my room. There won't be any flies bothering us there."
Xu Ning found Chen Lishu's description of Lu Chengming as a fly quite fitting and nodded, suppressing a smile. "Okay, I'll come to your place after work tomorrow."
Seeing that neither of them paid him any attention, the muscles in Lu Chengming's cheeks twitched involuntarily, and a flicker of brutality flashed in his eyes.
"Just in time, my family mailed two packs of biscuits today. They're from a big store in the provincial city. Here, have a taste." Lu Chengming said, casually holding up two rolls of biscuits wrapped in paper and offering them to them.
"Thank you, Comrade Lu. I'm not hungry, so I won't eat them," Xu Ning replied softly, refusing.
Lu Chengming looked at Chen Lishu.
"I'm allergic to these things," Chen Lishu said casually and then walked away.
"Secretary, Captain, I personally saw them holding banned books in their hands. They even have English in them. You'll know when you go in and see."
As Chen Lishu reached the courtyard gate, she happened to hear Zhao Hong say this from not far away. Her heart skipped a beat.
So, when she went out earlier, she had gone to report them to the secretary and the captain.
Chen Lishu quickly glanced at "Boule de Suif" which Xu Ning had returned to her. She scanned her surroundings, realizing it was too late to hide the book. Turning around, she spotted Lu Chengming, and a flash of inspiration struck her.
Back then, because she liked Lu Chengming, she had even developed the habit of imitating his handwriting, especially his signature, to the point where it was almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
Without thinking too much, Chen Lishu picked up a pen and wrote a sentence on the flyleaf.
Soon, Zhao Hong arrived with the secretary and the captain, pushing open the courtyard gate. Upon seeing them, Xu Ning's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly hurried over.
Chen Lishu reached out and held her back, slightly exerting force to signal her to remain calm.
"Lishu, why are you at the educated youth point?" Since they lived in the same village, Zhang Changhe and Sun Yuzhu were reluctant to deal with the matter of reading banned books. Even during the most turbulent years, no one was persecuted for reading books. Why? They were all farmers who knew nothing but farming. They couldn't criticize others. If anything, they envied them.
Moreover, planting crops and striving for higher yields was the real deal. Yet, these educated youths were always causing trouble. They were good at nothing. Just a few days ago, they heard that educated youths from the next village had gotten into a fight with the villagers. With more and more people being transferred back to the city or retiring due to illness, it caused widespread unease. The higher authorities had specifically convened a meeting for village cadres to do a good job of appeasing the people.
So, as soon as he put down his chopsticks, he went. If you didn't handle such a trivial matter, it would look like you were negligent, so he had to bite the bullet and come.
"Secretary, it's this book. I saw it with my own eyes. It's written by a foreigner, and it's a banned book. Chen Lishu must be punished for this," Zhao Hong said, snatching the book from Chen Lishu's hand and handing it to Zhang Changhe and Sun Yuzhu to see.
"Lishu, is this the book you're reading?" Zhang Changhe looked at Chen Lishu and winked at her where others couldn't see, meaning for her to find an excuse and let the matter pass. If she adamantly denied reading it, who would know?
Chen Lishu smiled at Zhang Changhe and didn't rush to answer him. Instead, she asked, "Uncle Changhe, if one truly reads a banned book, what kind of punishment would they receive?"
"This..." Zhang Changhe looked at Chen Lishu's expression and was sure she understood his meaning. But why was she asking this? Did she have something in mind? "Reading banned books is a serious crime, and of course, there should be a severe punishment," Zhao Hong interjected, afraid Zhang Changhe would protect Chen Lishu.
"Zhao Hong, don't make such a big deal out of this. This book is mine..." Xu Ning stepped forward, about to take all the blame, but Chen Lishu stopped her.
Xu Ning looked at her, not understanding. Chen Lishu gently shook her head at her.
"The village is currently organizing people to plant windbreak forests and dig tree belts. Labor can solve most problems. How about we assign you to do a bit more work than others?" Captain Sun Yuzhu suggested.
Zhang Changhe thought this was a good idea and nodded in agreement.
"Too little labor probably won't solve the problem. I think a whole tree belt is appropriate," Zhao Hong said to Chen Lishu with schadenfreude.
A tree belt could be as long as five hundred meters. By the time Chen Lishu finished digging, it would probably be autumn. Let's see if she would still have time to come out and show off.
Chen Lishu smiled. "I don't think that's enough. It's better to have two tree belt ditches."
Seeing her smile, Zhao Hong felt uncertain. She was about to be punished, yet she could still smile. Was she so scared that she had gone foolish?