Chapter 34 The Deceived Girl in the 1970s: Fake vs. Real Daughter Story (34)

Feng Qingqing didn’t reveal her plans. No matter how persistently Li Wenli questioned her, she just kept her head down, quietly eating with a sorrowful look on her face.

When Li Wenli pressed harder, she looked up at her with tear-filled eyes, aggrieved and trembling, the tears shimmering but never falling—a perfect display. Even Xiaoxiao was a bit stunned watching her.

It reminded Xiaoxiao of what she’d heard in the past about actors needing to cry beautifully—tears welling but not falling, or falling one by one in delicate drops. If you could cry gracefully, your acting was top-notch.

Alas! Feng Qingqing was born in the wrong era. If she’d been born twenty years later, she could’ve become a beauty and an acting queen—a true leading lady.

Her looks were solid, and with this kind of acting skill, many of the so-called “flower actresses” of the future wouldn’t stand a chance.

Without thinking, Xiaoxiao gave her a thumbs-up, which nearly made Feng Qingqing break character.

Feng Qingqing shot Xiaoxiao a resentful look, and Xiaoxiao felt a bit awkward—almost like she’d interrupted someone’s stage performance.

Seeing she couldn’t get anything more out of Feng Qingqing, Li Wenli became visibly frustrated. Spotting Xiaoxiao’s gesture, she immediately turned her ire in that direction.

“Xiaoxiao, what was that hand gesture supposed to mean?”

Unfazed, Xiaoxiao met everyone’s gaze and calmly replied, “Oh, I was encouraging Comrade Feng Qingqing—to stay strong and brave when facing malicious people.”

Li Wenli was so angry she nearly choked. She was certain that wasn’t Xiaoxiao’s intent, but knowing she couldn’t win an argument with her, she could only stew in silence.

Feng Qingqing, meanwhile, was secretly pleased. That little lapdog dared to turn against her? She must’ve been having a rough time lately.

After dinner, someone suggested they sing a few songs. Xiaoxiao didn’t really enjoy it, but she wasn’t going to spoil the mood.

And she had to admit, some people were pretty talented.

What intrigued her, though, was how different the Lu brothers seemed—especially Lu Chuan. With Feng Qingqing being humiliated like that, he hadn’t said a word?

Xiaoxiao glanced around and finally leaned toward Wang Xiuxiu to whisper, “Hey, what’s going on with the Lu brothers and Feng Qingqing? Did they have a falling out?”

Wang Xiuxiu whispered back, “Not just that. After Lu Ze moved out, Li Wenli ended up doing all the chores. She got fed up and fell out with both Lu Chuan and Feng Qingqing.”

Xiaoxiao nodded but remained curious—had Lu Chuan really stopped being a lovesick fool?

She hadn’t been paying attention to the educated youth point gossip for a while, and now it felt like everything had changed.

Wang Xiuxiu continued, “Don’t worry, I’ll explain. After Li Wenli came to our team, she got married, which let her cut ties with them. That left just Lu Chuan and Feng Qingqing—neither of whom knew how to do anything useful. You think that went well? Then Lu Chuan ran out of money, his family stopped sending care packages, and Lu Ze ignored him too. Feng Qingqing ended up transferred to our team as well. Eventually, Lu Chuan had no choice but to join our collective meals. But after that, he stopped talking to Feng Qingqing—said she looked down on him and betrayed him.”

Xiaoxiao nodded again. So, a classic lovesick fool who ended up with nothing.

But compared to those who’d give their lives for a female lead, enduring endless abuse just to protect her, Lu Chuan wasn’t that bad. At least he woke up… or maybe he just got dumped.

As the two whispered gossip, it was soon Xiaoxiao’s turn to perform. She chose a simple song everyone knew and didn’t go overboard. With the group gathered in a festive mood, it actually felt… pretty nice.

At least she wasn’t sitting alone, listening to the laughter from others’ homes and feeling homesick and lonely.

Humans really were social animals. Being surrounded by people just felt better.

****

Once the first day of the Lunar New Year passed, people began making their social visits. This was the peak time for gossip to spread far and wide, and, unsurprisingly, the rumors about Feng Qingqing exploded, sweeping through the village like wildfire.

Feng Qingqing had a moment of panic. But she couldn’t make the first move—if she did, it would ruin her carefully cultivated good-girl image.

So, she adopted a new tactic: sneaking off to the riverside to sit in a daze, as if depressed and lost in thought. Villagers had pulled her back several times already. Soon, everyone knew about it. The village head even told folks to keep an eye on her.

Xiaoxiao was thoroughly enjoying this drama when suddenly Chen Zhibin showed up at her door, saying he came to wish her a Happy New Year.

Xiaoxiao: …Really? Couldn’t he come up with a better excuse? Isn’t New Year’s visiting usually younger people greeting elders? Was she supposed to prepare a red envelope for him?

To avoid giving people something to gossip about, Xiaoxiao generously welcomed him inside, leaving the door wide open for all to see.

She poured him a cup of water and asked, “What brings you here?”

Chen Zhibin answered, “You said I could come see you.”

Xiaoxiao: …That was just being polite.

Chen Zhibin’s voice took on a slightly wounded tone. “So… were you just saying that to be polite?”

She felt awkward. In modern times, everyone threw around “Let’s have lunch sometime!” without ever meaning it—unless there was a proper follow-up.

Now, under Chen Zhibin’s steady gaze, she coughed and quickly changed the subject, glancing at his leg.

“How’s your leg? Are you going back to work soon?”

Chen Zhibin nodded. “Yeah, I’m all healed. I’ll head back after the holiday.”

Then, suddenly serious, he said, “Comrade Ye Xiaoxiao, my name is Chen Zhibin. I live here in town. I’m 24, and I work for the county transport team—my monthly salary is 56 yuan. My parents and my sister also work in town. You’ve met my sister already. I…”

As he finished, Xiaoxiao’s cheeks flushed red. Was this… a self-introduction like during a matchmaking meeting? He was so direct?!

How was she supposed to respond? Recite her own resume?

Chen Zhibin looked at her earnestly. “Back at the hospital, listening to you talk to your village leader—I thought, this girl is interesting. Then you turned and smiled at me—just a little smile—and you had these tiny dimples. At that moment, I felt something. The more I heard about you, the more I liked you. I want to date you. Will you consider it?”

Xiaoxiao: …So it was the smile, huh? Love at first sight, huh? Always about appearances.

But hey… same for her.

From what she knew of him, this guy had a pretty good background for the era. And she’d been thinking about finding someone, so… Why not give it a try?

Especially since he looked good, was tall, and probably had abs. Her type, no doubt.

So Xiaoxiao looked at him seriously and said, “I’m still young, so let’s just get to know each other and see if we’re a good match. If not, we part ways peacefully. Okay?”

Chen Zhibin: “We’re definitely a good match. No doubt about it.”

Then, cautiously: “So… you’re agreeing to be my girlfriend?”

Xiaoxiao nodded. “Just to try it out.”

Chen Zhibin pretended not to hear that part, beaming. “I have a girlfriend now! You’re my girlfriend!”

(T/N: This was the fastest proposal I have ever seen.)

He was so happy, he nearly lifted her into a celebratory spin, but glancing at the open door, he held back for the sake of her reputation.

Then he grinned. “Xiaoxiao, let’s go see a movie together!”

He was so excited and didn’t know how else to express it. He wanted to hug her, but for her sake, he kept his hands to himself.