I'm caught in the cycle of endless competition, you're waiting for me in the apocalypse.

"Aunt Dong, I'm looking for Ayu, is he here?"

"Oh, yes, who are these people?"

"These are three college students. They seem to be doing some kind of research and they've come to interview the village chief of Fulin Village."

"It's important business, so please come in with me." Aunt Dong slowly led the group through the screen door and the hanging flower gate to the main courtyard.

As soon as the three entered the courtyard, they saw the extremely thick locust tree. But just as Uncle Dong had said, the tree had not blossomed, and even its leaves were withered and yellow. What An Xin saw was a heavy aura of resentment surrounding the locust tree, and a sense of decay that seemed to be on the verge of death.

"Mom, who is it?" A man about the same age as Uncle Dong came out of the main room while looking at his phone.

"Oh, it's Dong Dachang. He brought three college students with him. They said they've come to interview you." Aunt Dong stepped aside to let Dong Dachang and his group come forward. "Xiaochang, let me pour you some tea."

Upon hearing that it was Dong Dachang who had come with three college students, the village chief immediately put away his phone and looked up with a warm smile.

But in that instant when he looked up, a flash of red light appeared in his eyes. No one else saw it, but how could it escape An Xin's all-seeing eye?

An Xin blinked and looked at the village chief again. He was still as natural and gentle as ever, without any flaws.

"Oh, Dachang, it's been a long time! Come, come, have a seat." The village chief led the group to the main hall and invited everyone to sit down. He himself sat leisurely in the head seat.

"Let me introduce you. These three are college students studying sociology. They came to our Fulin Village to do research and will be writing a report on rural development. That's why they came to find you and want to interview you."

The village chief frowned slightly, glanced at Dong Dachang, then turned to look at An Xin and the others. Turning to face An Xin, he said, "Hello, I am Dong Wenyu, the village chief of Fulin Village. May I ask your name?"

Li Qingchuan, who was sitting at the front, stood up, bowed slightly, and extended his hand, saying, "Hello, Village Chief Dong. We are from the Sociology Department of Q University. I am Li Qingchuan, a senior student."

"Hello, I am Wei Ran."

"Hello, I'm An Xin. We're classmates."

"Oh, okay, why did you come to our Fulin Village? Our village is both remote and unknown."

—Hehe~ She's a bit wary and not so easy to fool.

An Xin was pondering when Li Qingchuan spoke up: "Here's the thing, we've selected three villages with unique characteristics. One is Xiangyang Village, which is relatively close to the city; another is Pingyuan Village, which is relatively close to the national highway; and the last is Fulin Village, which is the most remote but surrounded by mountains and water."

Li Qingchuan calmly took out his phone, found some information and photos about Fulin Village online, and handed them to the village chief.

"We are going to visit these three villages with different geographical locations, compare their environments and development trends, and propose a series of prospects for development."

—As expected of the second senior student, his mind is too sharp. He came up with his speech in such a short time. If I didn't know, I would really think he came prepared, like a college student here to gather inspiration. According to him, he could actually write a research paper.

"I see. So what do you think of our village?"

"...Well...there's not much information about Fulin Village online, mostly just architectural research on the brick and tile houses. So, I can only share my impressions from when I first entered the village yesterday." Li Qingchuan took a sip of tea and said, "Besides the brick and tile houses, Fulin Village is beautiful with its green mountains and clear waters, a small population, and is exceptionally quiet..."

"Little girl, what do you think?" Before Li Qingchuan could finish speaking, the village chief looked at An Xin and asked with a smile.

—This is a complete reversal of roles… We were the ones who came to ask questions, but now he has us completely under his control, and we can’t show any signs of anything amiss.

An Xin cursed inwardly, but put on a sweet smile and said, "Uncle Village Chief, there are too few people here. We haven't seen any children along the way. Is your village aging a serious problem?"

"Oh, no, it's just that most young people are working away from home with their kids, so it gets very lively here during holidays like Chinese New Year."

"Oh, I see. Uncle Village Chief, we heard that you are the grandson of the former head of the Dong family in this village. You must know a lot about the history of this village. Tell us about it."

An Xin blinked, seemingly innocent and naive, but every word she said resonated with the village chief. Seeing the village chief's proud expression, as if he were the head of the Dong family, An Xin secretly rejoiced: Let's see if this old rascal doesn't spill some beans.

"Hahaha! Our village has a long history, but the history of our Dong family branch is even longer. We held high-ranking positions and enjoyed great success in our official careers. At its peak, the Dong family had tens of thousands of members, producing prime ministers and countless top scholars in the imperial examinations." Just as he was speaking with great passion, he paused, then changed to a gentle and peaceful tone, saying, "Unfortunately, later the country lacked a wise ruler, treacherous officials were in power, and foreign enemies invaded. Our branch of the Dong family endured humiliation and hardship, and to preserve our bloodline, we migrated as a whole until we found this beautiful and precious place. We decided to settle down here, multiply, and thrive."

"So that means you also retain the norms and customs of a large clan?" Li Qingchuan asked at the opportune moment.

"Yes, our family also has an ancestral hall and clan rules, but women and people from other clans are not allowed to visit the ancestral hall!"

"Oh~ how come such a prestigious family is now reduced to just these people in the village?" An Xin muttered to herself, seemingly unintentionally.

“That’s right. How can a prestigious family marry into a foreign family that is not of equal social standing and has no manners?” The village chief lowered his head, his face suddenly contorted with rage, but when he looked up, he spoke in a nonchalant tone, “But it’s a new society now. Where do you still see such people? Right, Da Chang! Da Chang’s wife is from out of town.”

An Xin observed the village chief closely, not missing a single expression. Each change in expression was instantaneous, making it difficult for an ordinary person to notice. This further convinced An Xin that the village chief definitely, absolutely, definitely had a problem.

"Yeah, it's better than you not being able to find a wife!"

"Hey, how dare you talk like that? How dare you talk like that?"

"What's wrong? It's nothing!"

Seeing that the two middle-aged men were about to fight, Li Qingchuan and Wei Ran each grabbed one of them and pulled them back.

"Village chief, village chief, don't worry, don't worry. It's nothing serious, let it go." Li Qingchuan said, pulling the village chief aside while spouting nonsense.

"Dong Dachang, what gives you the right to talk about me like that? So Tian Xiaofeng was talking to me. If I hadn't been unwilling, would you have been able to marry her? I even tutored your Liangdong and Xiaohua."

"Bullshit! You two-faced bastard, talking like you're protecting our village's bloodline. I just married a woman from another village. Who doesn't these days? Besides, what about you? The clan rules don't allow men from other clans to settle here. How did you let that butcher Zhang move into the village? You say one thing and do another, and you always look down on women from other villages. If you weren't the village chief, I would have beaten you up long ago."

"Calm down, calm down, Uncle Dong, it's all our fault. How about I take you home?" Wei Ran stopped Uncle Dong, who looked like he was saying, "I'll beat you up today or I'm not a member of the Dong family." He said to him with a slightly aggrieved expression.

"You are all good children. It is this Dong Wenyu who does not know what is good for you. You still have important things to do. I will leave now and will not delay you." Dong Dachang walked out angrily without even saying goodbye to Aunt Dong, who was hesitant to speak in the courtyard. He slammed the door and left.

Li Qingchuan and Wei Ran chuckled awkwardly and sat back down in their original chairs. Meanwhile, An Xin, who hadn't uttered a sound, inwardly exclaimed, "Wow! This trip not only provided some juicy gossip, but also yielded important information!"

“Village Chief, please don’t take it personally with Uncle Dong. I think it’s really admirable that you’re so dedicated to protecting the village and upholding your family’s traditions.” Li Qingchuan quickly picked up the teacup in front of the village chief and handed it to him. “Come, come, have some tea to cool down.”

Once the village chief had finally calmed down, the group discussed the current situation of Fulin Village and its future development plans. To An Xin, it all sounded like empty talk, devoid of any real substance and impossible to implement. The reason was that without young people returning to the village or the influx of fresh blood from outside, it was all just empty talk.

Finally, the village chief saw the three of them out of the house, giving An Xin one last, deep look.

"Xinxin, this guy was looking at you suspiciously from behind just now!" Di Ting reminded An Xin in her mind.

“Okay, I’ll keep an eye on it. This village chief is definitely a bad guy, he’s scheming, and just like Uncle Dong said, he’s a two-faced person. On one hand, he’s a gentle elder in public, and on the other hand, he’s a sly bug.”

Once An Xin saw that they were some distance from the Dong residence, she felt more at ease and turned to look at Li Qingchuan with a sly grin.

Li Qingchuan was bewildered by her teasing gaze. He touched his face and said, "Hey, Xinxin, what's with that look? Is there something on my face?"

"Hehe~ My Qingchuan senior, I didn't expect you to be like this~ You're quite skilled at lying without even thinking and flattering without leaving a trace. You can even make the most of irony. It seems I should stay far away from you in the future, or I won't even know when I'm being fooled."

“Ah, right, I thought so too just now, Master… no, I mean senior, what you said is really eloquent, how come I never noticed you were like this before?” Wei Ran also looked like he was agreeing with him.

"You two heartless little devils, if I hadn't been quick-witted, would I have been able to get so much information out of you?" Li Qingchuan slapped Wei Ran on the head and continued, "This village chief is very problematic. Usually, people who are so obsessed with bloodlines are either too brainwashed or crazy! And that butcher Zhang is definitely problematic too. Think about it, how could someone who is so fixated on bloodlines, who wouldn't even marry a woman from another village, possibly agree to let someone with a different surname move into the village and settle down?"

"Senior Qingchuan, although I despise your blatant lying, I am completely subservient to your brilliant mind and meticulous analysis. Please accept my utmost admiration." After speaking, An Xin made a gesture as if she was about to kneel down and bow with her hands clasped.

Li Qingchuan quickly grabbed An Xin's hand and pretended to pull her up, saying with a doting expression, "Alright, you're the naughtiest one. Let's go to Zhang the butcher's place at the village entrance now."

—My handsome and composed senior is reliable.

Just as she thought of this, she glanced at the handsome and sunny Wei Ran beside her, sighed, and thought: Well, Wei Ran's good looks must have come at the cost of his intelligence.