Rebirth 78, the beginning of the marriage was broken off by the female educated youth

"I'm a dozen years older than Chu Qiao, but I've been immersed in the vortex of love she created since I was a child..."

Shen Yujing's voice is hollow and makes people think.

Li Xiangnan, who was smoking a cigarette, couldn't help but return to that special era with his thoughts.

Red brick walls, cement floors, tall sycamore trees casting dense green shade in the summer, with practice tires hanging on the branches.

The air was filled with the aroma of the cafeteria's big pot meals, the smell of boys' sweat, and the passionate revolutionary songs on the radio.

This is the "compound" where Shen Yujing and Lin Chuqiao grew up together.

At that time, the Shen family had already become wealthy. As the youngest son of the Shen family, Shen Yujing, who was loved by all the family members, was also a prominent figure among the children in the compound.

But Lin Chuqiao is different.

She is the daughter of Deputy Commander Lin and a true "princess" born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

She had two brush-like braids and wore an old military uniform that was washed white, but even so, it couldn't hide her natural elegance and agility. She was like an orchid that grew stubbornly in a rough environment, the white moonlight that was unattainable in the hearts of all the boys in the compound.

Ever since Shen Yujing first fell in love, there has only been Lin Chuqiao in his eyes and heart.

His liking was the kind of liking that was unique to the boys in the compound of that era: clumsy, a little self-righteous and "domineering".

He would deliberately ride his 28-bar bicycle and rush over when Lin Chuqiao was jumping rope, causing a gust of wind and making the girls scream, just to see her eyes widen in anger.

He would "carelessly" place the brand new picture book he had finally obtained, which was printed with a photo of Li Tiemei from the model opera "Red Lantern", on her windowsill, and then hide in the corner, watching her pick it up in surprise with his heart pounding.

In winter, he would get up early, holding a hot roasted sweet potato in his arms, and wait at the small intersection that Lin Chuqiao had to take to go to school. When she approached, he would pretend to be casual and hand it to her, stiffening his neck and saying, "Here, I... I can't finish it, here you go!"

Then, without waiting for her to react, he got on his bike and rode away, his ears red and hot.

When Lin Chuqiao participated in the school propaganda team's performance, he was definitely the one who clapped the loudest in the audience, with his hands clapping red.

After the performance, he would help her carry the heavy props home like a little follower, silent all the way, with only sweat running down his forehead.

Lin Chuqiao's occasional cold but polite "Thank you, Brother Yujing" would make him laugh for several days.

Sometimes during difficult times, every family is short of food.

Shen Yujing would secretly save his share of steamed bread mixed with wild vegetables, and replace it with a few precious hawthorn rolls or a small bag of fruit candies, and stuff them into Lin Chuqiao's schoolbag when no one was paying attention.

He remembered she said she liked sour food.

He even queued for hours in front of the cinema in the early morning of the cold winter, wrapped in a military coat, with his nose running, just to buy two consecutive tickets just for Lin Chuqiao's words "The Red Detachment of Women is a really good movie."

Although in the end, Lin Chuqiao probably went to see the movie with his female classmates, his extra ticket might have ended up being bought by some snotty little brother.

His contribution is silent, stubborn, and passionate, wrapped in the "brotherhood" that is unique to the boys in the compound.

He thought he had done enough and it was obvious enough, and he thought he was the one closest to Lin Chuqiao.

He even fantasized that after a few years, when his father's position would be more stable, he could openly propose to Deputy Commander Lin.

However, Lin Chuqiao always kept a polite and distant distance from him.

She called him "Brother Yujing", a common name among the children of the compound, but there was never any intimacy.

Her eyes were clear, with the idealistic light unique to the revolutionary youth of that era. Occasionally, they would pass by him, "Shen Laoyao", but never seemed to really stay.

She was more like a dream that he carefully guarded, a dream that he thought he could reach as long as he ran hard.

The tide of the times sweeps everyone away.

The wave of going to the countryside to work and study came.

Suddenly one day, Shen Yujing got the news that Lin Chuqiao responded to the call and went to the distant Nan'an Province to join the team with full of enthusiasm.

Shen Yujing was shocked when he heard the news, but his family had already made arrangements for him, so he plunged into the Science and Technology Department, waiting for his beloved to return to Yanjing.

The distance did not dilute his longing, but instead made the unrequited feelings even more sincere in his imagination.

He wrote letters to Lin Chuqiao regularly and sent packages filled with food coupons, canned meat, a brand new army green cotton coat, and various books he had collected.

His letters were carefully chosen, and he never dared to overstep the line. Most of them talked about his experiences in Yanjing, encouraging her to achieve great things in the vast world. However, his cautious concern and expectations could not be concealed between the lines.

Then, the devastating news exploded like a bombshell when he was completely unprepared.

A letter from Nan'an, not from Lin Chuqiao, but from another child from the compound.

The letter was written with a playful tone, hoping to see the fun unfold. "Hey, Shen Yao, let me tell you something new! Our sister Lin has fallen in love with a country doctor named Li Xiangnan in Lijia Village! I heard they even got married! Tsk tsk, I never expected that. I've met Li Xiangnan before, he's a bit of a taciturn person, and his family is just an ordinary one in the area. How can he compare to you, Shen Yao? Sister Lin's taste..."

The letter slipped from Shen Yujing's trembling hands.

He felt as if he had been hit hard in the chest by an invisible hammer. He staggered back and knocked over the chair.

My mind went blank with a buzzing sound.

Li Xiangnan? A country doctor? Getting married?!

That taciturn Li Xiangnan?!

What right did he have?! Who the hell was he?! A doctor's son, a guy who could only handle needles and pills, what right did he have to take away the moon that Shen Yujing had guarded for over a decade, the moon that he cherished like a treasure?!

After the shock, there was overwhelming anger, humiliation and the pain of betrayal!

He paced frantically in the room like a wounded trapped beast, punching the wall with his fists, leaving bloodstains.

Those heartfelt letters he wrote to Lin Chuqiao, those packages he sent with all his savings, those thoughts and expectations late at night...all became a huge joke at this moment!

He felt like a complete fool!

A cold hatred, like poison ivy, grew wildly in his heart for the first time.

This hatred was not only directed at Li Xiangnan, whom he had never met but who took away the love of his life, but also vaguely directed at Lin Chuqiao.

Why? Why choose that good-for-nothing Li Xiangnan?!

……

Hearing this, the stunned Li Xiangnan refilled his cigarette and shook his head helplessly, "So... now you start to hate me? To a stranger you've never met?"

Shen Yujing gathered his strength for a while and sneered, "What else? That's my white moonlight!"

Li Xiangnan didn't comment on Shen Yujing's absolute infatuation. He just exhaled a puff of smoke and asked, "What happened next?"

"What happened next?" Shen Yujing sighed. "What shocked me even more was that Chu Qiao came back and you also came to Yanjing..."