Ji Zhaoxi was awakened by the appetizing aroma of food. She sat up in bed, looking completely bewildered.
Wasn't she just keeping Brother Qin Du company?
As soon as Qin Du walked in, he saw Ji Zhaoxi sitting blankly on the bed. Her soft hair draped down, her face was flushed, and she looked round and bundled up. Qin Du had specifically put an extra layer of clothing on her earlier, afraid she might catch a cold.
"Are you hungry?" Qin Du sat beside her, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.
Ji Zhaoxi stared blankly at Qin Du. The next second, her eyes turned red and she was about to cry, "Brother Qin Du!"
Qin Du gave a low response and pulled her tightly into his arms. He sighed, "You were frightened these past few days."
Crying, Ji Zhaoxi shook her head and hugged him tightly. Qin Du wanted to wipe her tears, but she refused to look up and just kept crying. Qin Du had no choice but to coax her while gently rubbing her back.
"I'm all better now, aren't I? Don't cry."
Once Ji Zhaoxi started crying, she couldn't stop. She cried until her voice grew hoarse. The more Qin Du tried to comfort her, the more flustered he became. But since she wouldn't let him see her face, he could only hold her in his arms and make promises to her.
Looking at her tear-reddened face, Qin Du felt a sharp ache in his heart. He sighed and carefully wiped away her tears.
"Have you been studying hard lately?"
Ji Zhaoxi kept her head down, no longer wanting to talk to him. Knowing he had said the wrong thing, Qin Du didn't dare ask any more questions.
Ji Zhaoxi leaned against his chest, gripping his clothes tightly. Qin Du lowered his head and gently nudged her forehead. "Don't be sad. I made some roe deer meat. Isn't that your favorite?"
Seeing that Qin Du had been trying to wake her up for a long time, Ji Zhuxin thought Ji Zhaoxi was just sleeping in.
She hadn't expected to see this scene as soon as she reached the door. Her heart skipped a beat. Oh no.
Suddenly recalling what the commune director had told her, Ji Zhuxin frowned. She decided not to call out to them, though her expression became noticeably subtle.
It took quite a while before Qin Du and Ji Zhaoxi finally came out.
The doctor had also arrived. Sipping his wine, he laughed, "Zhuxin's little sister, anyone who didn't know better would think you were the one who was sick."
Qin Du's mother smiled, "Zhuxin and Xixi have both worked so hard recently."
She hadn't gotten out of bed to eat for a long time, but today she had to come down no matter what. Everyone at this table was a benefactor to the Qin family.
The doctor ate mouthfuls of meat and sighed with emotion, "I heard before that Qin Du's family often gets to eat meat. It really is true."
Ji Zhuxin poured herself a glass of wine. "If you went hunting yourself, you could eat it often too."
The doctor waved his hand. "With my body, forget it. I get tired after taking just two steps."
The doctor was a chatterbox, constantly chatting with Mother Qin and Ji Zhuxin. He had nothing to talk about with the kids.
While smiling and talking with them, Ji Zhuxin was observing the two people beside her.
Although Qin Du and Ji Zhaoxi didn't speak much, their little interactions never stopped.
Ji Zhaoxi couldn't sit still, bumping into Qin Du beside her every now and then. Qin Du let her playfully fuss, picking out the food she didn't want to eat from her bowl.
Ji Zhuxin's breathing grew a bit heavier, and she poured herself another glass of wine.
Then, the two kids beside her thought of something and kept giggling.
Ji Zhuxin: ...
"Ji Zhaoxi, focus on your food while eating."
Ji Zhuxin finally couldn't help but speak up.
Ji Zhaoxi shot her a wronged look and buried her head in her food.
The doctor said speechlessly, "The girl is just eating. You elders really are something."
Ji Zhuxin couldn't be bothered to argue with him.
Qin Du didn't have any particular reaction to the deadline passing for the college entrance examination registration. He just followed Ji Zhaoxi to the side room as usual.
However, he no longer studied like before. Every day, he simply tutored Ji Zhaoxi and then went out to find new study materials for her.
But Ji Zhaoxi knew that Qin Du wasn't as indifferent as he appeared. He had studied so hard before; how could he let it go so easily?
One night, Ji Zhaoxi saw Qin Du sitting on the threshold, staring blankly at the pile of books his father had left him. His eyes were calm, but Ji Zhaoxi felt that he was enveloped in an immense sorrow.
Ji Zhaoxi stood in front of him, looking at him with concern.
"Brother Qin Du..."
Afraid she would worry, Qin Du wanted to give her a smile, but for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
Ji Zhaoxi stroked Qin Du's hair. Qin Du held her tightly, his shoulders trembling slightly. Ji Zhaoxi silently smoothed his hair, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
"There will be another chance."
But would there really be?
The whole village knew about Qin Du's situation. Most of them were gloating over his misfortune. Qin Du carried an original sin in their eyes, so this outcome wasn't too surprising.
When the village chief's wife found out that Qin Du missed the registration because of an injury, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness this matter had nothing to do with her family, otherwise it would have been a real sin.
The village chief smoked his dry tobacco pipe and looked at Chen Yiping, who was reading nearby. "Are you happy now?"
Chen Yiping said nothing.
The village chief blew a smoke ring, sitting in his rocking chair. "That's just Qin Du's fate. He was never going to make it that far. He's perfectly capable of driving himself to a dead end."
He had originally planned to block him during the political background check, but thank the heavens, he ended up going to the forestry farm instead.
The village chief's wife sipped her tea. "The political check is only strict this year. Next year it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
The village chief gave a faint smile. "That depends on how well our son does in the exams this year."
The Chen family only had this one son, so naturally, everything had to go his way. As for Qin Du, everything would be left to his own luck.
As the college entrance exams drew closer, Qin Du paid back the money he owed Ji Zhuxin, bought medicine for his mother, and then bought nutritional supplements for Ji Zhaoxi. He had nothing he needed to buy for himself.
Ji Zhaoxi got into the zone. Not daring to slack off even a little, she studied extremely diligently every day.
Afraid she would ruin her health by studying too hard, Qin Du fed her rich, nourishing foods every single day.
Even Ji Zhuxin couldn't stand to watch it anymore, telling him not to spoil Ji Zhaoxi so much.
Qin Du verbally agreed, but continued to do exactly what he had been doing.
Qin Du had already thought it through. After Ji Zhaoxi got into college, besides tuition and living expenses, there would be many other places where she'd need money.
As soon as her exams were over, he would go make money. He couldn't let her go off to college empty-handed.
A week before the exams, Ji Zhuxin was constantly worrying about Ji Zhaoxi's accommodation. Chen Yiping could stay at the state-run guesthouse because he could get a letter of introduction, but she couldn't.
She asked around, and everyone said they were staying in large communal beds, with over a dozen people crammed into a tiny room. Some even stayed in illegal private lodgings where men, women, old, and young all mixed together. It was too chaotic, and she really couldn't feel at ease.
If only she had relatives in the county town; then they could stay for a night.
Qin Du also went to the county town to look for a place to stay. Any decent place required a letter of introduction, and they were all fully booked anyway.
He went to check out the communal beds. It was a very narrow room completely filled with beds. When the time came, it definitely wouldn't be quiet.
