Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

Wednesday afternoon, the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class.

Liu Xiangyang closed the handouts, stood up, and walked out. Wang Dazhu followed beside him, still reciting the injection techniques that Nurse Zhang had taught him during the day. Zhao Xiaoman walked on the other side, and the three of them went to the cafeteria together.

By the time we finished eating, it was already getting dark.

As Liu Xiangyang and Wang Dazhu walked towards the dormitory, a head popped out of the window when they passed the gatehouse.

"Liu Xiangyang! There's a letter for you!"

Liu Xiangyang paused for a moment, then walked over.

The old man at the gatehouse handed over a thick stack of envelopes, wrapped in kraft paper, bulging and full.

"From the capital."

Liu Xiangyang took it and glanced at it.

The envelope was written in Xue Bingbing's handwriting.

He twitched his lips and put the letter in his pocket.

Wang Dazhu leaned closer: "Whose letter is this? It's so thick!"

Liu Xiangyang ignored him and walked towards the dormitory.

Liu Xiangyang returned to his dormitory, sat down on the bed, took out the stack of letters, and opened them one by one.

Xue Bingbing's letter was short, saying that everything was fine at home and that he shouldn't worry. Le Yao wrote a full five pages, half of which was a complaint about him not keeping his promise, and the other half was a description of her longing for him. Le Qi said little, only instructing him to study hard, as she was at home. Luo Lan and the others wrote a letter together, each of them writing a paragraph, all saying things like "study hard" and "come back soon."

Looking at those words, Liu Xiangyang recalled Xue Bingbing writing letters under the lamp, Le Yao's silly look as she wrote on the kang (a heated brick bed) and poked holes in the paper, and the figures of Le Qi and Luo Lan...

He folded the letter and tucked it under his pillow, thinking that he had been in Harbin for over a month and it was time to go back home; the land back home also needed to be plowed.

Thursday afternoon, the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class.

Liu Xiangyang was packing up his lecture notes when Wang Dazhu ran in from outside, panting.

"Towards the sun! Towards the sun!"

Liu Xiangyang looked up at him.

Wang Dazhu ran over, lowered his voice, and looked shocked:

"Zhou Zhiming has been sentenced!"

Liu Xiangyang paused for a moment.

Wang Dazhu leaned close to his ear and lowered his voice even further:

"Execute him!"

The other people in the classroom were still packing up their things, and no one was paying attention to this side.

Liu Xiangyang closed the lecture notes, his face expressionless.

"Who told you that? When did that happen?"

Wang Dazhu said, "I just heard it from the security department. It's a done deal. I heard his family's background was also problematic, and now they've dug it all out..."

Liu Xiangyang hummed in agreement and asked, "Have you set a time?"

Wang Dazhu was still rambling on: "I didn't hear anything about it. It should be around this time. I can't believe it. Just a few days ago, he was giving us lessons like a proper gentleman, and now..."

Liu Xiangyang thought for a moment, stood up, and patted him on the shoulder: "Let's go, let's go eat."

Wang Dazhu paused for a moment, then followed.

"Is this all you're going to do?"

"So how should I react? He did something like this, should I still be sad for him? I'm hungry, let's go, Xiaoman is still waiting for us."

When they arrived at the cafeteria entrance, Zhao Xiaoman was waiting for them. When she saw Liu Xiangyang, her eyes lit up and she went to greet him.

During the meal, Zhao Xiaoman glanced at Liu Xiangyang several times, seemingly wanting to say something but ultimately holding back.

After finishing their meal, Liu Xiangyang told Wang Dazhu to go back to the dormitory first, while he and Zhao Xiaoman slowly walked back.

As they walked to the old locust tree behind the dormitory building, Zhao Xiaoman suddenly grabbed his hand.

Liu Xiangyang turned to look at her.

Zhao Xiaoman looked at him, her eyes bright, with a hint of worry and something else.

"Towards the sun."

"Um."

"Have you heard about Zhou Zhiming's matter?"

Liu Xiangyang nodded: "I just heard it from Dazhu."

Zhao Xiaoman bit her lip.

"I originally thought the worst he would do was be arrested and put in jail. Now they want to execute him. Isn't that going too far?"

Liu Xiangyang reached out and tucked her stray hairs behind her ear: "He dared to make a move on my woman. Executing him would be too lenient. Even if I didn't execute him, I wouldn't let him go."

Moonlight filtered through the leaves, falling on her face. Her eyes were downcast, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her lips were pursed, but the corners of her mouth slowly turned up, impossible to suppress.

Liu Xiangyang looked at her.

"What's wrong?"

Zhao Xiaoman shook her head and remained silent.

But she tightened her grip on him, buried her face in his chest, and curled up in his arms.

Liu Xiangyang looked down at her: "Were you frightened?"

A muffled voice came from his chest: "No." She paused for a moment, then continued, "I'm just... just happy."

He paused again.

"Xiangyang, could you repeat what you just said?"

Liu Xiangyang looked at her and smiled: "Which sentence are you referring to?"

Zhao Xiaoman squirmed in his arms, and seeing that he still wouldn't speak, she could only stomp her foot and say, "Is it the line before that?"

"Is it the line, 'Dare to make a move on my woman? Shooting would be too lenient'?"

Zhao Xiaoman hugged him even tighter. After a long while, she looked up at him, her eyes bright: "Xiangyang, I want... your love."

Liu Xiangyang looked down at her, the moonlight illuminating her face, her eyes shining brightly, her lips slightly parted, her cheeks flushed: "Comrade Zhao Xiaoman, do you know what you're saying?"

Zhao Xiaoman blushed and nodded, saying, "I know."

Liu Xiangyang leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Can I have it here too?"

Zhao Xiaoman was stunned for a moment, looked around, and her face turned even redder, but she did not deny him. She just said softly, "Yes, you... I'll be wherever you want me to be."

Liu Xiangyang looked at her, smiled, and flicked her nose: "So obedient? Then call me 'good brother' first."

Zhao Xiaoman was stunned.

She glared at him, her face flushed crimson.

"you……"

Liu Xiangyang just looked at her, a smile in his eyes.

After hesitating for a long time, Zhao Xiaoman finally managed to utter:

"Don't pretend to be innocent after getting the benefit."

Liu Xiangyang looked at her with a smile: "How did I get a free ride? You said you wanted this yourself. You asked me for a favor, so of course I have to make some demands."

Zhao Xiaoman was speechless for a moment, then punched him in the chest: "You...you're deliberately bullying me!"

Liu Xiangyang didn't dodge, letting her hit him: "Yeah, it's on purpose, I just want to bully my woman, so what?"

He smiled, his eyes bright, and looked at her: "Are you going to call me or not? If you don't, I won't give it to you."

Zhao Xiaoman blushed, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible:

"Good...good brother."

Liu Xiangyang looked at her, his smile deepening: "What are you saying? I can't hear you."

Zhao Xiaoman got impatient and punched him again: "Aren't you annoying! I already called out, and you're still teasing me."

Liu Xiangyang smiled and took her hand: "Hurry up, it doesn't count if I didn't hear you."

Zhao Xiaoman struggled twice but couldn't break free, so she gave up. She lowered her head and after several seconds, she raised her voice a little: "Good brother."

Zhao Xiaoman looked up at her fiercely: "Good brother, good brother, I want you to love me."

Liu Xiangyang felt weak all over at the sound of her voice. He pulled her up tightly around her waist, pressing her against his chest until she was flattened. His heart was pounding so fast it was frightening.

Liu Xiangyang lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "Good sister, I'll grant your wish right now."

Liu Xiangyang took her hand and walked along the path. After a few steps, Liu Xiangyang stopped, and Zhao Xiaoman looked in the direction he was looking—their classroom was just ahead, dark and with the doors and windows tightly closed.

Zhao Xiaoman's face flushed red, and she reached out to hit him. Liu Xiangyang let her hit him once, and then pulled her towards the classroom.

The classroom door wasn't locked; it opened with a push. Moonlight streamed in through the windows, falling on the rows of desks and casting a hazy glow over the entire classroom.

Liu Xiangyang closed the door, and Zhao Xiaoman stood beside the podium, looking at him, her heart pounding.

Liu Xiangyang walked over, hugged her from behind, and asked, "I'm going to start!"