Chapter 127: Where Can You Run? Closing In Relentlessly

Sun Lanlan chased after Cai Jinzhou, continuously explaining as the two figures gradually disappeared from sight.

At the young intellectuals’ settlement, Lin Jingyue entered the courtyard and immediately sensed the uneasy atmosphere.

Yet she paid it no mind, greeting briefly before carrying her belongings back to her room.

Having not stayed there for a long time, the room felt cold and desolate.

She hurriedly cleaned up, and just as she was about to come out to light the fire, Jiang Xun had already taken the initiative.

“You go rest. Once the kang is warm, I’ll boil water for you to freshen up.” After two days on the train, neglecting personal care would be unbearable.

“No, I’ll stay with you,” she replied.

The two of them lit the kang together, while nearby, Zhou Yan, who had a kang to himself, twitched the corner of his mouth, subconsciously recalling the matchmaker’s candidate he had met since returning to Beijing.

The girl… wasn’t bad at all.

He gave a gentle smile but quickly restrained it. She was indeed nice, yet he was in the countryside and she in the city… something felt off.

Well, it was a matter with no foundation; he would think about it later.

Later, all the young intellectuals had returned from their trips home for the New Year except for Luo Jianhua.

Xia Nan came back from the city and upon seeing Lin Jingyue, her eyes brightened. “You’re finally back.”

“Happy to see me?” Lin Jingyue asked, puzzled.

Why did she look like a dog spotting a bone?

Pfft, she was no bone.

Xia Nan nodded earnestly. “Yeah, when you were gone, my meals were terrible—no oil, no flavor.”

Lin Jingyue was speechless.

She really was treated like a dog’s bone.

Lin Jingyue knew a bit about Xia Nan’s family situation: a stepmother in charge, a father who was decent but couldn’t provide much.

Still, the occasional few yuan sent home was better than some who had both stepmother and stepfather. It was just a little better.

So, Xia Nan wasn’t short on money, but without tickets, she couldn’t buy good things.

Before the New Year, she risked a trip to the black market and nearly didn’t make it out.

Since then, she kept to herself. Places like the black market were not for ordinary people.

Because of this, she appreciated even more how precious it was that Lin Jingyue could sell her delicious food.

“Do you still have some cured meat? Sell me a pound,” Xia Nan asked, eyes wide.

“At black market prices,” Lin Jingyue whispered.

Lin Jingyue chuckled softly. “I’ll give you a pound each of cured meat and sausage.”

Who was she to ever be short of meat?

“I knew you were a good person!”

Lin Jingyue smiled, handing her the goods. “I’ll get it for you soon, but remember, black market prices.”

“Of course,” Xia Nan said without hesitation.

Most of the time, their transactions were straightforward—goods for silver—and that worked well.

After a while, Lin Jingyue brought the cured meat and sausage to Xia Nan, then joined Jiang Xun and the others to cook.

The vegetables in the garden were mostly garlic shoots and scallions, plus cabbage and white radish, all covered in snow but still edible, though many were spoiled.

They steamed three bowls of rice and placed two or three corn-flour steamed buns beside them. Their buns were mixed with white flour and sugar, soft, fragrant, and sweet.

They stir-fried garlic shoots with cured meat, cooking the meat a bit drier to enhance its fragrance and chewiness. They also made stir-fried shredded potatoes and egg and radish soup, with generous portions.

After the meal, Zhou Yan came in carrying a bag. “This is all food my mother prepared. You can keep it here.”

He handed the bag to Lin Jingyue.

When they dined together, he usually stored the grain in Lin Jingyue’s locker, keeping only a few snacks on his side.

The bag contained White Rabbit milk candies, chocolates, small cookies, sponge cakes—all in one or two-pound packages—about ten pounds each of rice and finely ground cornmeal, and five cans of yellow peaches.

These were Lin Jingyue’s favorite items, brought especially for her.

In Zhou Yan’s heart, Lin Jingyue was not just his good friend’s partner but also a friend.

He was always generous with friends.

Jiang Xun glanced at him, then said to Lin Jingyue, “Take it. Don’t be polite with him.”

Lin Jingyue smiled and accepted the bag. “Alright.”

Though the three shared their food without strict divisions, they had an unspoken understanding not to let anyone be at a disadvantage.

Zhou Yan smiled. “I’m going to rest now. You two continue chatting.”

Train rides could be exhausting.

After he left, Jiang Xun’s smile instantly softened. He took Lin Jingyue’s hand, giving it a squeeze.

The little ungrateful one had gone to An City, but aside from a brief message to say she was safe, she hadn’t sent him a single letter or called.

“What’s wrong? Missing me so much you want to confess?” Lin Jingyue’s lips curved, eyes sparkling, looking as if to say, “Go ahead, I’m listening.”

Jiang Xun’s thousand thoughts got stuck at his throat.

His lips twitched. Lin Jingyue was truly an expert at ruining the mood.

“Oh, it’s just that I didn’t write you a letter? I’ll remember next time, okay?” Lin Jingyue took his hand and gently pressed into his palm, smiling warmly.

Next time?

“Pfft, I misspoke. There won’t be a next time.” Lin Jingyue’s expression was masterful.

Jiang Xun laughed. “Lin Jingyue, you’re such an ungrateful girl.”

“Ha, what’s conscience? Can you eat it?” she tilted her head.

Life had been so much better since she gave up on having a conscience.

Jiang Xun…

Lin Jingyue made him twitch at the mouth, but she was quietly amused. When Jiang Xun looked at her, she quickly assumed a serious expression.

Jiang Xun helplessly patted her head. “Little girl, you’re not good at all.”

“Do you like it?” Lin Jingyue looked up with wide eyes.

In dramas, this was how people flirted. She hadn’t done anything wrong, right? Why was Jiang Xun not reacting?

The next moment, her pupils contracted as she stared at his close-up handsome face, her eyes filled with confusion.

Before she could react, something blocked her view.

Then came the slightly cool touch on her lips, like jelly, yet like ice cream in a warm room… in any case, Lin Jingyue liked it very much.

She blinked, her raven-black eyelashes brushing against Jiang Xun’s palm, sending a shiver through him.

Realizing what he had done, he abruptly pulled back, looking at the girl with her eyes covered by his hand, his heart melting into a puddle.

Her pale face, lips slightly parted, was irresistibly alluring. Jiang Xun cleared his throat and withdrew his hand, gazing into her slightly dazed yet more radiant eyes. His heart instantly fluttered; his face flushed bright red. “Jingyue… I… I’m sorry…”

Lin Jingyue stared at him, stunned, but her reflexes were quicker than her thoughts. As Jiang Xun turned to flee, she grabbed him and then—pressed herself against him—

Jiang Xun: “...!!!”

Jiang Xun: “———”

The snowy courtyard lay deep in the night—