The true heiress of metaphysics travels back to the 1970s and recognizes her father, a high-ranking

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Just as Jiang Muyan and the others finished distributing the grain, the villagers and educated youth who had been working also began to finish their work and go home.

Lin Yuexi raised her hand to cover her cheek, her fingertips touching something burning hot, a searing pain spreading along her skin.

Even with a straw hat on their heads, working under the scorching sun during the hottest days of summer still couldn't keep them from being scorched.

She's been working in the countryside for two years now. If it weren't for... she wouldn't have come to this poor, remote place to suffer like this.

Two years have passed since that incident. If all else fails, she'll ask her parents to think of a way to transfer her back to Beijing.

During her two years in Heilongjiang Province, she suffered hardships she had never experienced before. Even with her parents' support, she still had to work every day.

At home, she was a pampered young lady who never lifted a finger and rarely even stepped into the kitchen. But here, she had to do everything herself, from laundry to cooking. That earthen stove was really hard to heat, and at first, she would be covered in soot every day.

During the winter hibernation period, although she didn't have to work in the fields to earn work points, she still had to store up enough food for the winter and collect a lot of firewood for heating the kang (a traditional heated bed). She had to carry the firewood back in trips, making several months' worth of firewood, which felt even more grueling than going to work.

"Yuexi!" A clear voice came from behind. Geng Yuerong quickly caught up, her face beaming with excitement. "I just heard the auntie who brought me food from the village say that all the new educated youth who arrived today are very good-looking. Do you think... your Brother Fu might be among them?"

Lin Yuexi snapped out of her daze, turned to look at her panting friend, and a faint smile appeared on her lips:

"Yuerong, I didn't see you just now. I thought you went back to the educated youth settlement first."

"No way!" Geng Yuerong waved her hand, leaned closer, and lowered her voice, "I just passed by the village entrance and overheard some aunties chatting, so I listened in for a bit. By the way, Yuexi, I called home a few days ago, and my mom told me that everyone in Beijing is saying that Fu Moxuan came here as an educated youth specifically to find you!"

"Yuerong, don't talk nonsense. You know, Fu Moxuan and I have nothing to do with each other anymore!"

As Lin Yuexi spoke, a bitter look appeared in her eyes. In fact, upon closer reflection, she and Fu Moxuan had never had a real relationship.

Outsiders only thought she was Fu Moxuan's fiancée, but now, even that empty identity is gone.

Seeing her like this, Geng Yuerong felt a glimmer of hope rise in her heart, but she kept her expression unchanged and softened her tone to comfort her:

"I know, I know. But what if? What if Fu Moxuan's leg can be healed?"

Lin Yuexi lowered her eyes, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the sweat-soaked cuffs of her sleeves. The rough texture of the fabric added to her sense of confusion and bitterness. If Fu Moxuan's leg could truly heal, he wouldn't even glance at her again.

Her mother and Fu Moxuan's mother, Aunt He, were very close friends. When her mother was pregnant with her, Fu Moxuan was only three years old. Her mother casually joked with Aunt He that if she gave birth to a daughter, she would arrange a marriage between their children. Aunt He neither agreed nor refused at the time, but her mother took it seriously.

The Lin family wasn't bad off, but the Fu family was far more illustrious. Later, Fu Moxuan joined the army and rose through the ranks, displaying outstanding abilities and becoming a young talent in the eyes of many.

Her family was eager to match her with Fu Moxuan. Her mother even subtly mentioned the promise they made years ago to Aunt He, but Aunt He always said that Fu Moxuan was a man of his own mind and that she couldn't make decisions for him.

Later, seeing that Fu Moxuan remained single and had no girlfriend, his family privately revealed the agreement his mother had made with Aunt He while she was pregnant with him. As the rumor spread, everyone assumed she was Fu Moxuan's fiancée.

She had always admired Fu Moxuan, and amidst the compliments and envy of others, she gradually began to consider herself Fu Moxuan's fiancée.

Those days were the most glorious time of her life. Even though Fu Moxuan remained cold and distant towards her, she still dreamed of marrying him and becoming the young mistress of the Fu family. It was this thought that sustained her through two years of hardship in the countryside.

Who knew that when she called her family when she went to town a while ago, her family told her that her engagement with Fu Moxuan had been "cancelled".

She was struck dumb. After pressing her for details, her family told her that Fu Moxuan had suffered a serious leg injury during a mission, and the most authoritative doctors in Beijing had determined that his leg could never be healed.

Actually, if she insisted on marrying Fu Moxuan, her family might have considered her opinion. But when she thought about Fu Moxuan's crippled leg and the fact that he would be discharged from the army, she backed out.

She liked Fu Moxuan, but she liked even more the feeling of standing on high, admired and adored by everyone. But Fu Moxuan, after his serious injury, couldn't give her the life she wanted.

Therefore, she acquiesced to her family's decision. In the end, she and Fu Moxuan never had a formal engagement; what was dissolved was merely the Lin family's wishful thinking.

But the resentment and pain in her heart surged like a tide, impossible to suppress. Her beautiful dream was shattered completely, and the man who had captivated her was now utterly irrelevant to her.

She even felt a little resentful. Wasn't Fu Moxuan supposed to be very capable? How could someone as capable as him get injured? And what about those doctors? How could they be so useless? How could they not cure Fu Moxuan's leg injury?

However, she knew that no matter how much resentment she harbored, it was useless. All she could do now was to hurry back to Beijing and find the next "goal" that could give her the life she wanted.

Geng Yuerong was still chattering away in her ear, but Lin Yuexi paid no attention to her and only gave perfunctory replies.

Back at the educated youth settlement, she couldn't help but want to inquire about Fu Moxuan, but thinking that the two of them would have nothing to do with each other again, she suppressed the impulse and went straight to her room.

Her dormitory was behind the girls' dormitory. Every day after work, she was already exhausted, and she still had to cook for herself.

She had considered cooking together with other female educated youth, but the collective food was too coarse and hard to swallow. With the help of her family, she could buy some meat and eggs to increase her nutrition, so she decided to cook for herself.

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On the other side, Jiang Muyan carried the divided grain back to her room, closed the door behind her, and dumped all the coarse grain from the cloth bag into a mustard seed bag.

She had just arrived at the educated youth settlement and had no belongings. She could only find some snacks and a bag of vacuum-packed beef in her mustard bag.

She had been craving this beef all the way on the train, but the packaging was too eye-catching, and she was afraid of getting caught and causing trouble, so she had been holding back from eating it.

Jiang Muyan tore open the packaging bag and was about to take a bite when a clear voice suddenly came from outside the door:

"Is Jiang, the educated youth, here?"

Jiang Muyan recognized Jiang Xiechuan's voice, so she quietly put the things she had just taken out back into her mustard seed bag.

"I'm here!"

As he spoke, he turned around, walked over, and opened the door.

Jiang Xiechuan, standing outside the door, was carrying two rough porcelain bowls. Seeing her come out, he scratched his head somewhat sheepishly and handed the bowls to her.

"Jiang Zhiqing, I saw you just arrived and haven't had a chance to cook yet. I cooked too much today, so I brought you some."

Actually, it was Brother Fu who reminded him to bring food to Jiang Muyan.

Brother Fu said that Jiang Muyan had just arrived here and didn't even have any cooking utensils yet.

Upon hearing Fu Sange's reminder, he originally wanted to invite Jiang Muyan to his dormitory for a meal, but then he thought that since they had only known each other for a short time, Jiang Muyan, being a young girl, might be too shy, so he simply brought the food over himself.

Jiang Muyan looked down at the bowl, which contained a bowl of warm mixed grain porridge, a large portion of stir-fried vegetables, and a mixed flour steamed bun on top.

A warmth filled her heart, and she looked up at Jiang Xiechuan, her eyes crinkling into a smile:

"Thank you so much, Jiang Zhiqing."

"You're welcome. It's fate that we're here, so helping each other is only right! It's just that my cooking skills are so-so, so please don't mind."

"No, I'll treat you next time!"

Jiang Muyan accepted the food and gave Jiang Xiechuan a bright smile.

Jiang Xiechuan stared at her smiling face and suddenly paused. In the sunlight, the girl's eyebrows were relaxed, and her smile was clean and warm. Her appearance stirred up a strange sense of familiarity in his heart.

He snapped out of his reverie and waved to Jiang Muyan.

"Jiang, you don't need to be so polite. I'll head back now. You should go eat quickly, or it will get cold."

Seeing Jiang Muyan nod, Jiang Xiechuan then walked towards his dormitory.