Chapter 25: The Lazy Educated Youth (25)

Chapter 25: The Lazy Educated Youth (25)

Luo Chengxing went to trade for some meat, gave half to his family, and took the other half home to braise.

Meat was a luxury.

Luo Chengxing put the lid on the pot, swept the yard with a big broom, and finally sat on the stone block by the door, looking up at the sky.

A bird flew across the sky, swooped past the tree in front of the yard, landed for a moment, then flew away.

Luo Chengxing watched the bird shrink to a tiny black dot, and suddenly felt that he and He Yubin were like the tree and the bird.

He felt he was the tree, rooted in the yellow earth, stuck in this one spot.

He Yubin was the bird, with wings to fly, able to see things he might never see in his whole life.

A bird only rests on a tree for a short while; the tree can't keep the bird.

He Yubin caught the smell of meat from way off. He didn't rush to check the pot; instead, he went straight to Luo Chengxing, all excited: "The college entrance exam has been restored!"

Luo Chengxing was sitting, and He Yubin placed both hands on his shoulders: "I waited for this, I waited for this... I'm so happy!"

He'd held in his excitement when he heard the news at the brigade leader's place, but the moment he got home and saw Luo Chengxing, it all spilled out.

"Let's eat first." Luo Chengxing smiled as well, stood up, and led He Yubin into the yard.

"Did you already know? Did Uncle Luo tell you? How come you're not surprised at all?" He Yubin asked several questions in a row as he walked, "You really got lucky—making Luo Fang study at home, now it's paying off!"

"Do you know? If this is for real, you might've changed Luo Fang's whole future!" He Yubin was still excited.

"How come you're not happy at all?" He Yubin turned Luo Chengxing's face toward him and looked carefully.

Luo Chengxing said, "I'm happy—for you and for Luo Fang."

He patted He Yubin's hand, "Snap out of it, let's eat first. I was waiting for you to get back before I started cooking."

With that, he went to the kitchen, lifted the lid, and the smell of meat burst out. Luo Chengxing set the bowl aside and started making braised pork with preserved veggies.

"I need to write home and see how things are!" He Yubin followed Luo Chengxing into the kitchen, "Can you ask Uncle Luo to help mail the letter?"

"No wait, if this is really happening, all the educated youth are gonna be writing home." Before Luo Chengxing could answer, He Yubin smacked his forehead.

"We'll just send them all out from the brigade later." He waved his hand, "Forget it, you cook."

Luo Chengxing's eyes followed He Yubin out of the kitchen, watching him happily water the veggies, feed the chickens, and then eagerly wash the clothes the two of them had left soaking in a basin the day before.

Like he had endless energy.

That night, as they lay in bed, He Yubin said, "I thought I'd never see the day, that I'd just spend my whole life with you here in Shanbao Village... I didn't think I'd actually get to wait for it..."

"You know, I'm really, really happy."

Spending the rest of his life with him in Shanbao Village.

After He Yubin finally fell asleep from exhaustion, Luo Chengxing slowly pulled back, those words still echoing in his mind.

A whole life...

Luo Chengxing draped his coat over his shoulders, leaned in close to He Yubin, and traced his face inch by inch with his eyes.

He wished they could be like this forever.

Holding back the fire in his chest, Luo Chengxing kissed He Yubin again and again—softly, ticklishly.

He Yubin had just dozed off when the kisses woke him. Half-asleep, he reached out to push Luo Chengxing's face away.

"Stop messing with me, let me sleep."

Those words made Luo Chengxing stop. He leaned down and wrapped his arms tightly around He Yubin.

The next day, not a single educated youth in Shanbao Village showed up for work. The field that was theirs stood empty, not a single person in sight.

Everyone knew then that the news about the educated youth going back to the city was real.

The villagers looked at the empty field, whispering among themselves as they worked.

Most people in Shanbao Village had no real idea what "college entrance exam restored, educated youth going back to the city" actually meant, just as they hadn't quite understood when the educated youth arrived in waves—they only knew they were here to "settle in the countryside."

Luo Chengjin said to Luo Chengxing, who was working with his head down, "Tsk, looks like nobody has to stay in Shanbao Village now."

Luo Chengxing grunted, "Get back to work."

Luo Chengjin found that boring and went off to talk to someone else.

Luo Chengxing counted how many days he and He Yubin had left together.

It was October now.

At the village-wide meeting, the brigade leader said Shanbao Village had gotten the news two days late, and the higher-ups said the exam would be held a month later.

That year's exam was in winter. For all the candidates across the country, it wasn't just the cold that was tough—they also had to use that time to review for the exam.

The Luo family was footing the bill for both He Yubin and Luo Fang. Luckily, Luo Chengxing had borrowed books from Teacher Liu at the commune school over a year ago—otherwise, at a time when everyone was going crazy scrambling for textbooks, it wouldn't have been so easy.

When filling out applications, He Yubin picked the best university in his hometown, Haicheng, and his other two choices were also in Haicheng.

He Yubin helped Luo Fang fill out her application. None of them knew much about it, and He Yubin was most familiar with the schools in Haicheng, so he guessed and filled in three.

The letter He Yubin wrote home was sent out from the brigade along with the other educated youth's letters. By the time a reply came back to the Shanbao Village brigade, the college entrance exam had just finished.

At the Luo house, Luo Fang was gulping water from a bowl, and Wang Fengxia sat beside her: "Fang, how'd it go?"

Luo Dasheng and Luo Chengxing had taken them to the exam, and Wang Fengxia had been waiting at home, getting more anxious by the minute.

"Not bad... I guess." Luo Fang hesitated. "There were quite a few questions I didn't know."

Luo Dasheng stopped Wang Fengxia from pressing further. "Don't ask anymore. The exam's over. Big Head said if she doesn't get in, she can take it again."

Wang Fengxia didn't ask Luo Fang anything else. She went inside, came back with an envelope, and handed it to He Yubin. "Xiao He, a letter from your family arrived. The ones for the educated youth compound are all at the brigade, but I brought yours back for you."

"Thanks, Auntie." He Yubin quickly took it and tore it open.

"Alright, nothing else then. You two head back." Luo Dasheng coughed, figuring the two of them must have things to talk about, and waved them away.

Luo Chengxing and He Yubin headed home. Along the way, He Yubin read the letter, and by the time they got there, he'd already read it twice.

He Yubin shut the gate tight and pulled Luo Chengxing over to sit at the stone table.

"My dad said they'll be able to go back to the city soon too." He Yubin said.

A smile now filled his face. During these two years he'd been sent down to Shanbao Village, aside from going hungry at the start when he first arrived at the youth camp, he hadn't had it rough at all. In fact, Luo Chengxing had taken such good care of him that he'd gained a bit of weight, his cheeks filling out.

Luo Chengxing paused. "That's good news."

He Yubin went on cheerfully, "Yeah, now that the college entrance exam is over, my dad said he'll come pick me up once he's got things set up back in the city."

"Alright, then I'll get your things together," Luo Chengxing said.

That's when He Yubin finally realized something wasn't right. He frowned and said, "You... aren't you coming with me?"

Luo Chengxing was taken aback. "Go where?"

"Back to the city with me!"

"You never even thought about coming with me?!" He Yubin jumped to his feet.

"I..."

Going to the city with He Yubin... that had never even crossed Luo Chengxing's mind.

He'd been born in Shanbao Village. It was his home, his roots.

The furthest Luo Chengxing had ever traveled was to the county town.

What was the outside world even like? He had no clue.

In Shanbao Village, he could farm and get by, but if he left... how would he eat?

"I haven't thought about it," Luo Chengxing said softly.

He Yubin had been grinning nonstop ever since he heard the policy changed, but now his face fell all at once.

"You mean... you want to break up with me?"

Luo Chengxing reached for He Yubin's hand. "No, I just want you to go back to the city and have a good life."

He Yubin had squeezed the letter so hard he'd crumpled it without even realizing, and he just said, "Come back to the city with me."

"What could someone like me even do in the city?" Luo Chengxing said. "Farming's all I know."

Luo Chengxing felt a little happy inside knowing He Yubin wanted him to come.

But he didn't dare... if he went to the city, what would he even do?

In an instant, the tables had turned. Now he'd be the one depending on He Yubin.

"What's there to worry about? You can find a job anywhere." He Yubin hugged him. "Trust me, you'll be good at whatever you do."

Though they'd been intimate before, hugging like this in broad daylight was rare.

He Yubin added, "If you can't bear to leave Uncle Luo and Auntie, coming back to Shanbao Village from the city isn't as hard as you think. It's not doable right now, but once things get sorted out, it'll be fine."

"I know," Luo Chengxing said.

"What are you worried about?" He Yubin pressed. "If something's on your mind, don't keep it to yourself. Tell me."

"You don't trust me?"

Their breathing mingled, and Luo Chengxing loved moments like this.

He said, "There's a lot to worry about... Your parents definitely won't accept us. I'm useless in the city. I don't know how to do anything, and I can't take care of you."

He Yubin shook his head gently. "I'll tell my parents about us sooner or later. As for the rest, you've got nothing to worry about. Things are changing fast now, and I'm the same as you, same as everyone else."

They were equally lost, equally hopeful, and equally anxious.

Luo Chengxing made a sound of acknowledgment. Though he didn't fully grasp He Yubin's meaning, his words somehow calmed him down.

And made him realize he'd been overthinking it—He Yubin really did want to be with him.

"Think about it," He Yubin said. "If you want to stay here... I won't force you to come to the city."

Luo Chengxing had never thought about going to the city before, but now that he knew how He Yubin felt, he really started to consider it. He Yubin was right—you could make a life for yourself anywhere if you worked hard...

And if Luo Fang really did get into university, he'd thought about finding someone reliable to look after her, but could he really trust that?

"Let me think about it," Luo Chengxing sighed. "We'll talk later."

He could wait until Luo Fang's exam results came in.

He knew He Yubin would definitely get in. He just wasn't sure about Luo Fang.