51: Notes of a Paranoid Educated Youth 20

When Lin Hongying stumbled and rushed over, Zhou Linchuan's doorstep was already surrounded by people.

She squeezed at the periphery of the crowd, her chest heaving violently, sweat soaking the stray hairs at her temples. Through the gaps in the crowd, she saw the village head hunched over, holding a basket of fresh eggs in both hands, and the Party Secretary carrying two bottles of old baijiu that had been cherished for many years.

The commune cadres held brand-new enamel basins, each with a dazzling, blinding smile on their faces.

"No need," Zhou Linchuan's voice was neither cold nor indifferent. "I'm leaving tomorrow."

Lin Hongying's nails dug deep into her palms. She suddenly pushed forward, her elbow hitting a woman blocking her path, her heel stepping on someone's foot. Amidst a chorus of complaints, she finally squeezed to the very front, her hair messy and stuck to her flushed face.

"Zhou, Minister Zhou!" She quickly changed her address, her voice shrill and piercing. "I'm here to help you pack your luggage!"

The air suddenly solidified. Everyone's gaze turned to her, all with a somewhat meaningful look.

Zhou Linchuan didn't even lift his eyelids. He turned and went back to his room to pack. His large, veiny hands meticulously folded a woman's shirt. Lin Hongying recognized it; it was an item of clothing Wen Ci had worn.

Her face felt hot, but she still wouldn't give up. She no longer cared about her reputation. If Zhou Linchuan became a Minister, she would be the Minister's wife.

So she absolutely had to have him!

Then a thought flashed in her mind, and she shamelessly blurted out, "Comrade Wen Ci entrusted me to look after you before she left!"

"Click," went the sound as Zhou Linchuan closed the wooden box.

He was indeed drawn by that name. His slow turning motion was like a leopard locking onto its prey, and his dark eyes finally landed on Lin Hongying's face.

Lin Hongying suddenly remembered a frog being stared at by a snake, and a bone-chilling coldness shot up her spine.

"She entrusted you?" Zhou Linchuan's lips curved into a strange arc.

"Yes… yes!" Lin Hongying's lies became smoother as she spoke. "She said, she said to me to care for you more…"

As she spoke, she found herself unable to continue, a chill spreading through her body, because Zhou Linchuan suddenly smiled at her, a smile that sent shivers down her spine.

"Lin Hongying, do you know what I hate most?"

Lin Hongying shivered, swallowing nervously.

"I hate it most when someone lies using her name," Zhou Linchuan slowly approached, looking down at her. "Especially a… disgusting woman like you."

A collective gasp erupted from the crowd. Lin Hongying's face turned from red to white, finally settling into an ugly greenish-gray.

Her pupils trembled as she saw the women's director, who used to fawn over her, mouthing "shameless" to someone beside her, and the Party Secretary's daughter-in-law spat on the ground.

Everyone seemed to be laughing at her.

"No…" She couldn't accept it, screaming as she reached to grab Zhou Linchuan's sleeve. "Minister Zhou, it's not like that, Wen Ci she…"

Wen Ci was simply not worthy of Zhou Linchuan!

The military uniform's cufflink glinted, and Lin Hongying lunged, missing, and fell to the ground.

Zhou Linchuan looked down at her, his gaze like he was looking at a rotting corpse. "You're not even fit to carry her shoes."

The entire crowd was in an uproar.

That night, Lin Hongying curled up in her room, biting her lips until they bled.

Memories from before her rebirth flashed like a kaleidoscope. In her previous life, at this moment, Zhou Linchuan should have been doting on her, taking her back to the city to get married, fighting for her, and laying all his allowances at her feet for her to squander!

Even if he never touched her, his eyes were completely on her alone.

And not like this, so cold and cruel to her now.

All of this was because of that woman, Wen Ci. It was Wen Ci who stole the man who should have been hers.

She, Lin Hongying, should be the future Minister's wife, and Zhou Linchuan should be her man!

"Wen Ci… Wen Ci…" She tore at the pillow as if possessed, her fingernails filled with debris, when she suddenly felt the scissors hidden under the pillow. The coldness of the metal made her shiver.

A crazy thought exploded in her mind: What if Wen Ci's beautiful face was slashed…

"Bang!"

The woodshed door was kicked open, and moonlight outlined three sturdy figures. The production team leader, who was at the front, held an oil lamp, its light revealing the gleaming weapon in her hand.

"As expected, she was planning sabotage!" The leader sternly shouted, "Minister Zhou was right, you are a tumor!"

Lin Hongying felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

So he had anticipated her actions, so in his eyes, was she really that malicious?!

The next morning, the entire village gathered at the threshing ground to see him off.

Lin Hongying was held by two militiamen, standing at the very back. She stared intently at the wooden box in Zhou Linchuan's arms. Inside it were Wen Ci's comb, her hair ties, and perhaps even… her intimate clothing.

This realization made her stomach churn with acid.

As the black car kicked up dust, she finally broke down and screamed, "Zhou Linchuan! Look at me!"

Her answer was the villagers' shaking heads and sighs, and faint jeers, "A toad wanting to eat swan meat!"

"Minister Zhou only has Comrade Wen Ci in his heart!"

Under the scorching sun, Lin Hongying seemed to see her own shadow melting, just like her ridiculous rebirth, like her delusional dream of wealth and status.

And at this moment, in the black car, Zhou Linchuan was caressing the lock on the wooden box, his eyes dark and obsessive.

"Ci'er," he murmured softly, like the most intimate whisper between lovers, "I've come for you."

He opened the wooden box and took out a strand of long hair tied with a red string.

It was her fallen long hair, which he had carefully collected.

He sniffed the hair obsessively, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Little liar…" The car window reflected his bloodshot eyes. "This time, I'm going to lock you in a place only I know."

The scenery outside the car window rapidly receded, just like his gradually collapsing sanity.

This time, he wouldn't let her escape again, nor would he tolerate it any longer.

Never again.

He wanted to catch her, to bite her fragile throat, to make her gasp beneath him.

He wanted her to belong entirely to him.

The sedan stopped overnight at a guesthouse.

"Minister Zhou, this way, please."

Zhou Linchuan's room was already prepared, on the top floor, in the corner, the one with the best soundproofing.

As soon as he entered, he tore open his proper collar, ripped off his indifferent mask, and carefully placed the wooden box on the bed.

As he unlocked it, his hand actually trembled slightly. The moment the lid was lifted, the familiar scent of Wen Ci wafted towards him.

He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, like an addict finally getting the drug he had craved for so long.

"Mine, all mine…" he murmured as if possessed, burying his face in Wen Ci's clothes.

"Wen Ci…" He called out her name, as if she were right beside him.

The next morning, Zhou Linchuan was neatly dressed, having resumed his stern and serious image as Minister Zhou.

Soon, the car finally drove into the city.

He was about to see her.