Chapter 73: Suspicion
The moment Ning Qingzhi saw the mailing address on the envelope, he knew the letter was from his younger sister. Their parents had written to him earlier, and he already knew that his sister had gone to the countryside to work there.
Excited, Ning Qingzhi eagerly opened the letter, ready to read, but then he noticed Ji Yanming staring straight at him.
“Hey, Old Ji, why are you staring at me while I’m reading? It’s creeping me out — I can’t even focus. I’m telling you, this letter is from my little sister, so don’t bother me while I read!”
“Alright, take your time. I’ll go read my book.”
Ji Yanming pretended nothing was happening, calmly turned around, picked up a copy of The Art of War from the table, and leaned back in his chair, flipping it open.
“That’s more like it,” Ning Qingzhi said with satisfaction, moving over to the bed to sit down and read.
Though Ji Yanming held the book in his hands, he didn’t absorb a single word. Instead, he was quietly observing his comrade’s reaction.
When Ning Qingzhi opened the envelope, he found two folded sheets inside — one addressed to him and another to “My Brother’s Comrade.”
“Hey, Old Ji, looks like this one’s for you. What did you do? Why would my sister write a thank-you letter to you? Did you run into her when you passed through Yue County?”
The moment Ji Yanming heard that there was a letter for him too, he immediately tossed The Art of War aside.
“Give me my letter. You should be able to figure things out from your own letter. Once you’re done reading, I’ll explain.”
“Alright, I’ll read mine first.” Ning Qingzhi handed over the other letter and focused on reading his own.
Receiving another thank-you letter from the same person made Ji Yanming chuckle.
This little girl sure likes writing thank-you notes.
He opened it and saw the familiar handwriting. As he read further, the contents started to feel strangely familiar.
Pulling out the previous thank-you letter from his bag, he unfolded it and compared the two. Well, what do you know — except for the name of the person being thanked (one addressed to “Comrade Ji,” the other to “Comrade Friend”) and the event being thanked for, the rest was identical.
Even the punctuation and sentence breaks were exactly the same — all empty formalities.
At first glance, the letter seemed full of heartfelt emotion, but in reality, only the first paragraph was genuinely sincere. The rest was just emotionless slogan-style writing.
Looking at the nearly identical closing paragraphs of both letters, Ji Yanming couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.
Clearly, the little girl knew how to write a thank-you letter — polite and proper, but keeping a careful distance from strangers.
The more Ning Qingzhi read, the angrier he became. He slapped the table after finishing the letter.
“Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! How could those two treat my sister like that? I’d shoot Zhang Yuan and Ning Xiaoxiao myself if I could. They’re disgusting. Old Ji, tell me what happened — I’m going to ask for leave right now.”
Ji Yanming calmly put the two letters away and looked at his furious friend. “Calm down. Let me explain.”
He then told Ning Qingzhi everything he knew, which helped calm him down. Still, Ning clenched his fists and said fiercely, “Just wait until New Year’s when I go back — I’ll make those two pay for bullying my sister. Hmph.”
“And I’ve got to say, my sister’s really smart — and capable, too.” He immediately switched to bragging about her and even patted Ji Yanming on the shoulder. “Thanks, Old Ji.”
“I need to send Yuèyue more things. Old Ji, lend me some money and ration tickets. And give me that new military coat you just got — I’ll send it to her. Two coats might not even be enough. A girl alone in the countryside — winters there are freezing. I’d better prepare more for her.”
Then he began gathering everything he could find to send to his sister.
Ji Yanming took out some money and tickets and handed them over, then dug out a box of soft candies from a drawer.
“Here, take this too. My mom forced it on me, but I don’t like sweets. You can have it.”
“Good man, thanks! I’ll bring you some wild pheasant meat next time we’re out training,” Ning Qingzhi said. Then, looking at the box of candy, he had an idea: “Old Ji, I’ll eat one, and send the rest to my sister. You don’t mind, do you?”
Ji Yanming glanced up from his book, unconcerned. “I gave it to you. Do what you like — no need to ask me.”
Ning Qingzhi looked at the money and tickets in his left hand and the candy in his right, feeling deeply grateful.
“Old Ji, you’re too good to me. Thank you. Once I get my stipend, I’ll pay you back.”
“No rush. It’s not like you’re running away, and I’m not in a hurry. I haven’t collected that military coat yet — I’ll pick it up tomorrow and give it to you.”
Ning Qingzhi was moved almost to tears. His comrade was a truly good man.
Ji Yanming, in a great mood, returned to reading his book.
Ning Qingzhi gathered up a big package of things, leaving only two yuan for himself, and packed up the rest to send to Ning Xiyue the next day.
Ning Xiyue, meanwhile, had no idea that her brother was preparing to send her most of his belongings — even borrowing from others — just to make her life in the countryside easier.
At that moment, she was carrying meat into the house.
Her little kitchen wasn’t finished yet, so she couldn’t store things there.
Chen Yechu offered to let her keep the meat in their shared room and even helped her carry it.
After they were done and sat down to rest, Ning Xiyue said, “Thank you, Yechu.”
“No problem. By the way, how was your visit to your brother today? Yesterday I overheard Ning Xiaoxiao talking about going next door to see her cousin. That must be your brother, right?”
Chen Yechu asked tentatively.
Suddenly, she remembered — in her previous life, Ning Xiaoxiao had been detained for ten days, and by the time she was released, that incident had already passed. Maybe this time things would be different, and Xiyue’s brother wouldn’t get into trouble.
Ning Xiyue immediately understood that Chen Yechu was recalling her past life and was trying to warn her. She gave her a grateful smile.
“Mm, yes, he’s my brother. But if she goes looking for him, she won’t get any sympathy. I’ve already told him about everything between us, and of course he’s on my side. If she goes to him, she’d better be ready to get beaten.”
Chen Yechu nodded, then drew the curtain closed, deep in thought. In their previous life, she had never seen Xiyue in the educated youth compound.
Oh right — Ning Xiaoxiao had said her cousin died in an accident before going to the countryside.
Chen Yechu turned to look at the scar on Ning Xiyue’s forehead. “Xiyue, does your head still hurt?”
Ning Xiyue’s heart skipped a beat. She’s suspicious. After all, in the previous life, the original Ning Xiyue had died before she even left for the countryside — there was no “her” here.
If that memory was triggered now, it was only natural that Chen Yechu would start wondering.
Pretending not to notice, Ning Xiyue switched into acting mode. She’d been acting since she was a child in the orphanage — maybe not flawless, but certainly good enough that no one here could tell.
Her expression showed three parts pain, seven parts relief, and a hint of lingering fear:
“It hurts, of course it hurts. Sometimes it still aches faintly in the middle of the night. You have no idea — I was this close to losing my life. I almost didn’t make it. If a kind passerby hadn’t found me and taken me to the hospital in time, you wouldn’t be seeing me now.”
“Ning Xiaoxiao is truly wicked,” Chen Yechu said angrily.
“Yeah. When I collapsed, I saw her foot still extended, not even pulled back yet. That’s when I decided I’d never treat her as family again. From then on, we’re enemies.”
The two talked a bit longer before Ning Xiyue started packing up for a bath. As Chen Yechu sat down on the heated bed, she suddenly asked, just before drawing the curtain:
“Xiyue, do you think we’ll ever have a chance to take the college entrance exam and go to university?”
Ning Xiyue laughed twice, as if she’d just heard a joke.
“Yechu, don’t be ridiculous. The college entrance exam’s been suspended for years now. If it were going to happen, it would’ve happened already. But if you really want to go to university, there’s still a chance. If you perform well, you might be chosen for a worker-peasant-soldier university quota someday.”
Chen Yechu chuckled softly. “Mm, true. I was daydreaming. Go take your bath — it’s getting late.”
“Alright. It’s been a long day — I need to finish up quickly and get some rest.”
Ning Xiyue left with a smile on her face, clothes in hand.
Try to get information out of me? Not even in this lifetime. If I don’t want to say it, no one will ever know.
