AYLS – Chapter 99

Sister Zhang still hoped that Li Yan could make use of her own strengths.

At the same time, she was also worried that Li Yan might be dissatisfied because she hadn’t been assigned any work before, so she asked Lin Qiao and the others to talk to Li Yan from time to time, to do some “ideological work” on her.

Lin Qiao quickly nodded and agreed.

After Sister Zhang left, she went to chat with Li Yan.

She said, “You can’t go on like this. You used to dance — that’s your specialty. You can’t just waste that ability.”

Li Yan sat under the shade of a tree, looking at the bean field. “Anyone can dance, but here, they can’t do without me.”

Lin Qiao said, “That’s not true. You’re a professional at dancing; as for farming, there are people even more professional at it.”

Hearing this, Li Yan’s eyes suddenly turned red as she looked at Lin Qiao.

“……” How is she crying again? She’s even more of a crybaby than me. Such a delicate little thing.

Delicate Lin Qiao had finally found someone who could cry more than herself, and she even felt a bit superior about it. “Why are you crying again? We can’t be this delicate; it’s not good.”

Li Yan asked, “Am I really that useless?”

“Who said that?”

“I thought only I could give them strength. Turns out, I’m just one of the countless insignificant ones. They never really needed me.”

For example, that person who easily gave up on years of affection and abandoned her.

For example, in the art troupe — she thought she was talented, danced well, and was a pillar of the troupe. But after something happened, she was sent back home by the troupe. Very quickly, someone else replaced her position.

There was also Zhang Tuo. She had thought Zhang Tuo couldn’t live without her, but reality proved otherwise—he could leave. Just like that, he left and never came back.

Li Yan cried harder and harder. Lin Qiao: “…” She suddenly felt she could understand Gu Huayuan’s feelings now—how good-tempered he must have been back then to put up with her constant crying.

Lin Qiao felt helpless. “Alright, alright, I won’t make you leave anymore, okay? But really, I’m just a girl. Crying at me won’t help. I can’t exactly give you loving hugs.”

Li Yan, tear-streaked, asked, “Didn’t you say there was someone better than me at farming?”

Lin Qiao: “…But nobody else puts as much heart into it as you do. Techniques can be learned, but attitude can’t be replaced. Otherwise, why didn’t I let anyone else plant before, and only let you plant? It’s because I trust you.”

“…” Li Yan looked at her. “Really?”

“Truer than a pearl.”

Li Yan was clearly comforted, her mood lifting. Looking at the plot of land with deep affection, she said, “I’ll take really good care of them.”

Lin Qiao: “…That’s not really necessary.”

Back at the office, Lin Qiao asked Fat Cat, “Was Li Yan in the original storyline?”

Fat Cat had been in a bad mood lately and didn’t want to talk to her. But for the sake of stirring things up, it forced itself to answer, “Mm, yes.”

Lin Qiao asked curiously, “What’s her ending? With her personality, she doesn’t seem to fit into this era.”

“You want to know? Go pick a fight with Su Weizhen or Li Ermei right now, and I’ll tell you.”

“…What’s wrong with you.” Lin Qiao rolled her eyes. “Are you addicted to being the villain or something? One of these days I’ll make you study moral conduct.”

Fat Cat lay lifelessly in the space, like a puddle of mud.

It really wanted to tell this player that without energy, it couldn’t even get a lollipop.

Every day it could only watch coldly as the player cheated the plot, drifting farther and farther from the original setting.

Lin Qiao said, “Fine, don’t tell me then. I was only asking. I won’t talk to you anymore.”

That wouldn’t do—Fat Cat immediately sat up.

If the player ignored it, it wouldn’t even have the chance to stir trouble.

It knew that in the future there was still a major opportunity to strike at the player.

It cleared its throat. “There isn’t much storyline about her. Just that she dies a few years later.”

Hearing that word, Lin Qiao’s heart lurched. “How can that be? What about Zhang Tuo? He treats her so well, and the Zhang family too. And she’s come here—how could she die?”

Fat Cat said, “Coming here doesn’t mean she won’t go back. She made a fuss about going back—who can you blame for that? Those people can’t always protect her. Anyway, I think she brought it on herself. Shows she’s not a good person. Player, I advise you to keep your distance from her. Don’t go down the dark path. You already got too close to the villain Li Ermei, and the plot’s shifted. If it deviates more, I’ll lose my ability to know the future. That’s very bad for you.”

Lin Qiao shook her head firmly. “If that’s the future, then I’d rather never know and try to change it.”

“Aren’t you afraid that before you can go back, the plot will change too much and something will happen to you too? Don’t blame me for not warning you then!”

“…It’s fine. You’re still here with me, aren’t you?” Lin Qiao said deliberately to irritate it.

Sure enough, Fat Cat clenched its little fists in anger.

It regretted every second choosing this player.

Counting on her to follow the storyline was no longer possible. Its only chance now was to stop the original female lead, Su Weizhen, from altering the plot of Gu Huayuan’s sacrifice. According to Gu Huayuan’s original fate, he would sacrifice himself. The dark energy then should be plentiful.

Since the player didn’t want to leave, then fine—she could stay here. It would just gather enough energy to leave on its own.

At that moment, Gu Huayuan was in Captain Wang’s office talking. Xu Yuanzheng was there too.

Recently Captain Wang had received notice: there seemed to be plans for a rotation of troops. This year, a new batch of recruits would be enlisted. The new recruits would first be assigned to the Construction Corps for training.

Veterans like Gu Huayuan, who had experienced actual combat and were rich in experience, would be transferred to the border defense units.

The cadres under Captain Wang were all quite outstanding.

For example, Gu Huayuan’s individual training and command ability, and Xu Yuanzheng’s engineering and construction ability.

Some border defense leaders had already contacted the Construction Corps directly, naming these two specifically, saying that once the rotation began, they would transfer them over.

Of course Captain Wang was reluctant, but he was also happy for the two, so he simply called them over to inform them.

Hearing the news, both Xu Yuanzheng and Gu Huayuan were quite pleased.

For soldiers, who wouldn’t want to defend the border?

Even though they’d applied to come here at the start, that had been because the situation here was urgent and the war had ended. They could come and contribute.

Now that the land-reclamation task here was mostly done, of course they hoped to move to a more important post.

Xu Yuanzheng immediately said he would obey organizational arrangements, wherever he was needed, as long as he could contribute.

Captain Wang nodded and then asked Gu Huayuan.

Gu Huayuan asked, “When’s the latest we’d have to go?”

Captain Wang said, “Next spring.”

Hearing this, Gu Huayuan nodded. “Then I’ll give you my answer a bit later.”

Captain Wang said, “What’s there to hesitate about? You’re not planning to farm here forever, are you? I don’t believe you, Gu Huayuan, are a coward.”

“Farming isn’t a bad thing. Mainly, I’m reluctant to leave everyone. Especially you, Captain.”

Captain Wang laughed. “Cut it out. I’m not falling for that. Fine, you can think it over, but let me know soon. Who knows, maybe you two can be assigned together.”

Xu Yuanzheng grinned. “That’d be great. Our wives get along well—they could keep each other company.”

Leaving Captain Wang’s office, Xu Yuanzheng asked Gu Huayuan what there was to hesitate about. He didn’t believe Gu Huayuan didn’t want to go to the border.

Although the environment over there wouldn’t be much better than here, at least the work done there would be within their line of duty. And although there was no war now, there were still occasional frictions at the border. As long as no bullets were fired, fistfights with the enemy were still possible.

Gu Huayuan said, “This is something I’ll need to discuss with my family first. After all, moving there means taking my wife and everything else with me.”

“…My Weizhen shouldn’t object. Back when I came here, she didn’t even say a word before following me. Your Comrade Lin Qiao is also a generous person.”

“I like to discuss things with my wife, can’t I?” Gu Huayuan said earnestly. “I just like showing off that I have a good wife. I like to tell her everything.”

Xu Yuanzheng: “…”

…

Because Lin Qiao knew about Li Yan’s original fate—how she would eventually sacrifice herself—she always felt uneasy inside.

Although she and Li Yan were only on so-so terms, the thought that someone she knew, a living person, would die in a few years still left her depressed.

When she looked at Li Yan, she couldn’t help feeling pity. She wanted to persuade her not to work so hard, to take more breaks—there were always others to do the work anyway.

Unfortunately, Li Yan had no idea about her good intentions. Even after work, she wasn’t in a hurry to leave; she sat in the bean field chatting with the bean sprouts.

Lin Qiao couldn’t help sighing. She might be even more delicate than herself and hard to get along with, but someone who could talk to bean sprouts—how bad could she really be?

According to Fat Cat, Comrade Li Yan’s future fate had to do with returning to the capital.

As long as she didn’t go back to the capital and stayed here, there might be a good chance to change her destiny.

And it made sense. The environment here was simple, the people honest. Even someone like Ermie could stir up storms in this compound, which showed how safe it really was.

So Lin Qiao decided not to rush Li Yan out of the chicken farm. Let her fall in love with raising chickens, fall in love with farming, and stay here.

That night, when Gu Huayuan came home, Lin Qiao had already bathed and put on her coarse-cloth pajamas. Seeing him come back, she immediately pulled him to chat, but before he even got close, she smelled sweat and, with disgust, told him to bathe first.

Gu Huayuan saw her pinching her nose in disgust and deliberately moved closer to rub his face against hers before smiling and going to wash.

Seeing Gu Huayuan only carrying a bucket and not taking any hot water, Lin Qiao called out, “Use hot water to bathe, don’t catch a cold.”

“It’s too hot, no need.” Gu Huayuan waved his towel without looking back.

After he quickly took a “battle bath,” Lin Qiao had already cooked porridge and left it to cool on the table. There were still steamed cornbread buns kept warm on the stove and a bowl of cold-dressed wild greens.

Summer meals were easy to prepare, and Lin Qiao had taken the initiative to handle the cooking. After all, she didn’t want to turn into someone despised as lazy.

Gu Huayuan sat down to drink porridge and eat steamed buns, while Lin Qiao sat opposite him without picking up her chopsticks.

Gu Huayuan asked, “Something on your mind?”

“Yeah, I want to talk to you.” Lin Qiao propped her chin on both hands on the table. “Today Sister Zhang said she wanted to reassign Li Yan and have her form a performance troupe to entertain everyone, but Li Yan refused.”

“Oh,” Gu Huayuan responded lightly.

“How come you don’t react at all?” Lin Qiao was dissatisfied with his perfunctory attitude.

Gu Huayuan said, “Why should I talk so much about other female comrades?”

“This is your brother’s wife we’re talking about. As for me, I’m very satisfied with her work attitude now, so I’m planning to cultivate her to stay at the chicken farm and work well. What do you think?”

Gu Huayuan nodded. “Of course, that’s fine.”

“Then can you also talk to Zhang Tuo more, tell him not to go back to the capital and just stay here to develop? That way, it won’t be in vain for me to train a talent. Don’t you agree?”

“Zhang Tuo hasn’t said he’s going back, has he?”

“Who can say for sure.” Lin Qiao bit her chopsticks. She knew very well that in the original plot he did go back.

“By the way, what’s going on between Zhang Tuo and Li Yan anyway? He seems to have never gone home, right? This isn’t good. I think Comrade Li Yan’s mood isn’t great; she’s a little… odd. She really treats the beans as her friends now.”

Lin Qiao sighed. “I think she’s probably too lonely. Let Zhang Tuo pay more attention.”

Gu Huayuan said, “It’s hard to speak about other couples’ matters. I’ll try to talk to him another day.”

Lin Qiao didn’t know what was between Zhang Tuo and Li Yan either, but thinking how much he used to care about Li Yan and how he suddenly stopped even going home, she couldn’t help sighing. “Men change their hearts so fast.”

Hearing this, Gu Huayuan choked. “Don’t talk nonsense. I’m not that kind of person. As for Zhang Tuo, he doesn’t have that kind of courage either.” If he really had, he wouldn’t have been suffering for so long. Even now, he still secretly asked about Li Yan every day, sometimes even sneaking to look at her.

But every time he saw Li Yan living well, not seeming sad at all about his absence, Zhang Tuo himself ended up feeling worse.

From what Gu Huayuan had seen of him recently, “not doing well” would be an understatement.

“Alright, let’s stop talking about them. Let’s talk about you. Comrade Lin Qiao, if we suddenly had to leave here, when do you think would be a good time?”

Lin Qiao sipped her porridge and said seriously, “Of course only after we expand the chicken farm and get it on track. We’re only just starting now.”

Gu Huayuan asked, “How long do you plan to take to reach that goal?”

“I don’t know. I originally thought within two years, but now more than half a year has passed and we’ve only achieved this much. We even had a meeting at the chicken farm recently to increase hatching and expand the flock. By the end of the year, we’ll ensure a sufficient supply of eggs for our regiment.”

Gu Huayuan’s expression turned heavy; he looked hesitant and conflicted. “Here’s the thing. Today Captain Wang talked to me about something.”

He told Lin Qiao everything about what had happened today.

Lin Qiao’s mouth hung open. She thought it was quite sudden.

One of her wishes here was to accomplish something. Otherwise, she would’ve advanced her departure long ago. She’d been planning to finish her work and then leave this world with peace of mind. Who knew Gu Huayuan would now be taking her away from here…

Gu Huayuan said, “Here’s how I’m thinking: your work is important too. I’ll transfer first, and you can continue your work here. Once you’re done, you can come join me. How does that sound?”

After saying this, there was an indescribable melancholy in his expression, giving off a faint, fragile sense of vulnerability.

Lin Qiao instantly felt a pang of pity. She pondered whether this was the kind of feeling you get when a tough guy cries. Yet while her heart felt tender, her words remained honest. “That works. Once I finish my tasks, I’ll come find you.” Then she could calmly finish her work and finally go home.

Gu Huayuan felt a chill run through him.

Ice-cold.

And it was his own words that did this. He pressed his lips into a small smile and nodded, “Alright… then, we’ll do it that way?”

“Sure, no problem. I agree.” Lin Qiao replied cheerfully, thinking this was the best solution—it allowed her to complete her work and not hold back Gu Huayuan’s career.

Although… she did feel a bit reluctant… but leaving was inevitable anyway.

Lin Qiao secretly sighed, pushing the feeling of reluctance out of her heart.

That evening, after Gu Huayuan helped Lin Qiao set up the mosquito net, he went out wearing just a tank top, saying he wanted to train.

Lin Qiao said, “Training at this hour? Go to bed earlier.”

“I can’t sleep. I need to burn some energy,” he replied. If he didn’t get it out, he’d feel completely stuck inside.

Watching Gu Huayuan walk off without looking back, Lin Qiao, even if a bit slow to react, realized that he was in a bad mood.

She thought for a moment—what could suddenly put him in such a mood? After some pondering, she realized… could it be because of the work transfer?

“You stubborn man, saying one thing and feeling another. Complaining about it too, huh!” she huffed, lying down angrily to sleep.