Chapter 47 — IAVD (QT) Chapter 47

Death—she really couldn’t hold up against it.

Afraid that Ji Xiu might make more demands, Ji Dasao, seeing that everything was settled, couldn’t wait to leave. She grabbed Ji Yingzi and pulled her into the house.

Ji Yingzi turned back to look at her parents, revealed a small smile, and waved. “Goodbye, Daddy and Mommy.”

She was still very young, but Li Shiyue had raised her well—obedient and well-behaved, not willful at all.

Although this was the common look of the era—scraping a living from the fields meant many children lost their childhood too early, growing up fast, having to worry about supporting the family at eleven or twelve—there were still very few children who could be this sensible at the age of five.

Watching her short little hands waving with all their might, Ji Xiu’s heart softened completely.

“Yingzi, be good at your aunt’s place. Daddy will come pick you up tonight.”

“Got it!”

Ji Yingzi’s tender little voice came floating back, obedient and cute. Ji Xiu felt thoroughly satisfied listening to it. Only after a long while did he come back to himself, turn to Li Shiyue, and say, “Let’s go.”

Li Shiyue stood there without moving, sizing Ji Xiu up with a surprised look.

The Ji Xiu from before did dote on his daughter too, but he’d never been this… clingy.

Could it be that when he used to refuse to go work, it really was because he couldn’t bear to leave their daughter?

When that possibility occurred to her, Li Shiyue’s heart turned sour, and the more she thought about it, the more tangled her thoughts became.

Come to think of it, it did seem like after Yingzi was born that Ji Xiu suddenly stopped wanting to go to work. He stayed home every day, perfectly justified, saying he had to take care of the child and couldn’t leave…

Ji Xiu looked utterly puzzled. “What’s wrong with you?”

Li Shiyue shot him an annoyed glare, then turned and walked away.

Ji Xiu was completely at a loss and hurried after her. “Hey, hey, don’t go—wait for me, let’s go together.”

Li Shiyue walked faster and faster.

From behind, Ji Xiu pleaded, “Wife, slow down. I don’t know the way.”

Hearing that ingratiating “wife,” the sourness in Li Shiyue’s heart eased a little. Once she calmed down, she felt that she was being ridiculous—getting jealous over her own daughter. She must be crazy.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, she put on an air of disdain. “If you don’t even know the road, then what *do* you know?”

Ji Xiu caught up to her, his face full of grievance. “Chunxi Village is so big, with so much farmland. I’m someone who hasn’t gone to work—how would I know where we’re working today?”

Li Shiyue glared at him and muttered, “You really have the nerve to say that…”

A grown man refusing to go to work, leaving her to do the labor alone.

No matter what, the two of them still made it to the work site smoothly, without being late.

…

At this moment, hurried footsteps sounded from afar, interrupting the thoughts at hand.

“Captain Lin, sorry, I’m late today.”

Captain Lin turned around and saw that it was Guan Ji’an from the educated youth compound. He quickly waved his hand. “It’s fine, it’s fine. You’ve never been late before—there must have been something today. I’m not that rigid. Hurry and get to work.”

Guan Ji’an said gratefully, “Thank you, Captain Lin. I’ll get to it right away.”

He walked to the edge of the field and was about to step down when, unexpectedly, his gaze met Ji Xiu’s.

Both of them froze at the same time.

Ji Xiu searched his memory for that face, raised an eyebrow, and showed a faintly meaningful smile, but said nothing, lowering his head again to transplant seedlings.

Guan Ji’an looked a little awkward, quickly avoiding him and entering the field from the other side.

After a while, Captain Lin left. With no one watching, the fields became lively again as villagers whispered among themselves.

“Ji Xiu ran into Educated Youth Guan—there’s going to be a show.”

“Yeah, yeah. Back when Ji Xiu was still working, Educated Youth Guan always avoided him. Ji Xiu hasn’t worked for years—Educated Youth Guan must’ve forgotten to dodge him, hahaha, and ran straight into his hands.”

“When do you think Ji Xiu will start fighting with Educated Youth Guan?”

“Ten minutes?”

“Too long. I say five.”

“I think five too. Even when Captain Lin was here before, Ji Xiu still beat people without hesitation. Now that Captain Lin’s gone, do you think Ji Xiu can hold back?”

“Makes sense, hahaha.”

Some villagers were never very diligent at work anyway, dragging their feet and liking to gossip to pass the time.

Now that a good show was set right in front of them, about to begin, each and every one of them kept their eyes trained on Ji Xiu and Guan Ji’an, looks of anticipation on their faces, even the work in their hands turning into a complete mess.

Mixed in among the educated youths, Li Shiyue also heard the low murmurs around her.

“Quick, get Brother Guan to leave—what if Ji Xiu hits someone again?”

“Yeah, yeah. Who’s going to go remind him? Brother Guan is too unlucky, running into a brute like Ji Xiu. There’s no reasoning with someone like that.”

A sharp female voice chimed in, dripping with sarcasm. “What are you afraid of? Isn’t Ji Xiu’s wife right here?”

The two female educated youths speaking earlier were stunned. They looked at Li Shiyue and hesitated. “Shiyue can’t persuade Ji Xiu either. Let’s not make things hard for her…”

The owner of the female voice wouldn’t let it go. “Has she ever tried to persuade him? If she had, Brother Guan wouldn’t have been beaten until he bled last time and sent to the clinic for bandaging!”

The two female educated youths frowned. “Sun Yue, what nonsense are you talking? We were all there when it happened. Don’t twist things around.”

Sun Yue’s face twisted. She couldn’t understand why there were still people taking Li Shiyue’s side.

Among the batch of educated youths who came that year, she had been the prettiest. Yet both Ji Xiu and Guan Ji’an had their eyes on Li Shiyue.

Ji Xiu was one thing—she didn’t care for him anyway—but Guan Ji’an was so good, and he liked Li Shiyue too.

Her heart was sour and humiliated, jealousy eating her alive. There was a question she thought about constantly:

In what way was she inferior to Li Shiyue?

If Li Shiyue and Guan Ji’an had ended up together, she wouldn’t have felt so resentful.

But both Ji Xiu and Guan Ji’an had pursued Li Shiyue, and Li Shiyue—blind as if her eyes didn’t work—actually chose Ji Xiu, giving up Guan Ji’an.

The man she dreamed of was someone another woman discarded without a second thought?!

Sun Yue was proud by nature. Every time she thought back on this, she couldn’t accept it and kept snapping at Li Shiyue relentlessly.

She also knew that other female educated youths secretly admired Guan Ji’an, yet every time she tried to needle Li Shiyue, they instead stood on Li Shiyue’s side.

Sun Yue truly couldn’t understand what they were thinking. Did they really believe that by currying favor with Li Shiyue, Guan Ji’an would end up noticing them?