Go back to the past to plant trees

"Ji Xiurong, have you seen Shen Mengyin? Why hasn't she come back yet, it's so late?"

That evening, Meng Yue and Qin Xuemei were looking at the documents that Feng Cheng had translated. Seeing that it was already nine o'clock and Shen Mengyin had not returned, Meng Yue couldn't help but ask Ji Xiurong, who had just returned.

"Oh, I saw her boiling water for Wu Yansheng in the cafeteria when I just got back!"

"She? Boiled water for Wu Yansheng?"

Meng Yue was surprised. She knew that Shen Mengyin was very delicate when she first came up. She only fetched water for her own bath. Ji Xiurong helped her with things like boiling water. She didn't even know how to light a stove. Now she was actually taking the initiative to boil water for Wu Yansheng.

“Yes! He said Wu Yansheng wasn’t feeling well these past few days and needed to drink more hot water, so she boiled some for him before going to bed and poured it into a thermos so that Wu Yansheng would have hot water to drink when he got up in the middle of the night.”

"You know, she's such a delicate young lady, and now she's doing kitchen work. It seems she really likes Wu Yansheng!"

Meng Yue glanced at Qin Xuemei beside her with some concern and whispered, "Xuemei, do you want to go and see? Wu Yansheng only went to the dam because of you."

Qin Xuemei said calmly, "What are you looking at? He's with Shen Mengyin, isn't that a good thing? I told him I didn't want to be in a relationship for the past few years, but he wouldn't listen to me and kept bothering me. Now it's great, he's with Shen Mengyin, so I don't have to worry about holding him back!"

"Xuemei, do you really not like Wu Yansheng?" Ji Xiurong couldn't help but ask after hearing Qin Xuemei's words.

Qin Xuemei said, "I told you long ago that he is not my boyfriend, but you just didn't believe me. He pursued me for three years. If he really liked me, we would have been together long ago."

"Xuemei..."

Meng Yue was somewhat dissatisfied with what Qin Xuemei said. She felt that Wu Yansheng was a very good person and very devoted. Moreover, he had pursued her for three years and even gave up his job in Beijing to come to Saihanba, a harsh and cold place. No matter what, Qin Xuemei should not have said such disheartening things.

Wu Yansheng and Shen Mengyin have become closer. Meng Yue thinks that Qin Xuemei herself has problems. After all, he has been pursuing her for so long. Even the hardest heart would have softened by now! Qin Xuemei, on the other hand, kept rejecting him. Now look what happened, Shen Mengyin took advantage of her vulnerability!

Meng Yue felt that Qin Xuemei shouldn't say anything in anger at this time. The most important thing now is to win Wu Yansheng back. Before the two of them have confirmed their relationship, if they don't do it now, Wu Yansheng will really get together with Shen Mengyin.

Given Wu Yansheng's infatuation with Qin Xuemei, Meng Yue felt that as long as Qin Xuemei went over and talked to Wu Yansheng, she would definitely be able to win him back.

Meng Yue is somewhat of a literary type. She finds Wu Yansheng's persistent pursuit of Qin Xuemei very romantic. He is willing to risk everything for love, which is the kind of love that Meng Yue yearns for. Of course, she also thinks her own love is very romantic.

Ji Xiurong also said, "Qin Xuemei, I think Wu Yansheng is actually quite good. He's handsome, a college student, from a high-ranking official's family, and he likes you so much."

Qin Xuemei shook her head slightly and said, "If we only look at the conditions, Wu Yansheng is not the best. There are boys in our school who are better than him. When it comes to feelings, it mainly depends on the feeling. I don't have a feeling for him yet."

"So what kind of guy are you looking for? There are only a few guys like that in Bashang, right? Besides Wu Yansheng, Feng Cheng is the only one who would suit you. You don't actually like Feng Cheng, do you?"

Ji Xiurong asked with some surprise.

Qin Xuemei smiled and said, "I've already said that I don't want to be in a relationship for the next few years. Besides, there are only a few boys in Bashang now, but that doesn't mean there will only be a few in the future. After the forest farm is established next year, there will definitely be a lot of people transferred over. There will be so many boys that you'll be spoiled for choice."

Meng Yue kept looking at Qin Xuemei. When Ji Xiurong was talking about Feng Cheng, although Qin Xuemei acted nonchalantly, Meng Yue saw a flicker in her eyes.

The two had been in the same dormitory and class for four years of university, and knew each other very well. Therefore, Meng Yue knew that Qin Xuemei had fallen in love with Feng Cheng, a boy she had known for less than a month.

Meng Yue couldn't understand why Qin Xuemei would like Feng Cheng. He admitted that Feng Cheng was indeed good-looking and outstanding, but they had only known each other for a short time and hadn't fully understood each other yet.

"Xuemei, to be honest, I still think Wu Yansheng is better. Mengyue wants to try to get him back."

"Meng Yue, quite a few boys liked you back then, and your current boyfriend isn't the best one either. Why did you choose him in the end?"

Qin Xuemei looked at Meng Yue and said, "Some things don't make sense. This isn't like going to a department store to buy something. You can't just buy this because it looks good. Feelings can't be reasoned with."

"Take Ji Xiurong for example! Da Kui has liked you for so many years, and you two even grew up together. He also chased you all the way to Saihanba. Why don't you like Da Kui and instead go for Yan Xiangli?"

"I...I've always told him I don't like him!"

Ji Xiurong didn't expect the conversation to suddenly turn to him, which made him feel inexplicably guilty.

"I said the same thing. Does that mean I have to like him just because Wu Yansheng likes me?"

"Also, Meng Yue, do you really understand Wu Yansheng's character?"

Qin Xuemei looked at Meng Yue and asked seriously.

Meng Yue was stunned: "Why would you ask that? We've known each other for so long, and we go to the same school, so we should know each other well!"

Qin Xuemei said, "But we're not in the same profession, and although he said he was pursuing me, he wasn't always around me. He would just come to see me occasionally, only a few times a week, and we'd only meet for an hour or two in total. He wasn't with us most of the time. So how do you think we know him? Most of our understanding comes from what we hear from other people!"

These are the thoughts that Qin Xuemei came up with after reflecting on things recently. Ever since Wu Yansheng came to Saihanba, he has made Qin Xuemei dissatisfied with everything he says and does. The sunny boy who used to be on campus has lost his brilliance.

When Wu Yansheng and Shen Mengyin got together, Qin Xuemei began to examine their issues more calmly.

Unlike the original drama, where Wu Yansheng fought with Feng Cheng for her as soon as he arrived at the dam, and later fought again over pulling up the saplings Feng Cheng had planted, this time he played the victim very well, making Qin Xuemei unable to help but care for him, and thus using the opportunity to deepen their relationship.

The current situation is that Wu Yansheng was given a good talking-to by Feng Cheng when he went to the dam, and his arrogant attitude was directly brought to the ground. In addition, Feng Cheng's achievements have attracted Qin Xuemei's attention. Also, Feng Cheng is no longer the wild man he used to be. This made Qin Xuemei unconsciously compare the two of them.

As the old saying goes, comparisons are odious. No matter how well or how outstanding a person is, their fate is already sealed when they are compared to others. This is because everyone has flaws, and when compared, those flaws are magnified infinitely. This is exactly the situation for Wu Yansheng. He didn't think much of his flaws when he was in school because everyone was about the same, but once he entered society and compared himself with others, his flaws were magnified infinitely.

And Wu Yansheng, by sheer bad luck, ended up with Shen Mengyin. Qin Xuemei is the kind of person who becomes even more assertive the more assertive you are, as evidenced by her stepmother's visit to Saihanba.

Therefore, Wu Yansheng's tactic was quite effective when there were no competitors, but with Feng Cheng as a competitor, Wu Yansheng's use of this tactic felt like shooting himself in the foot.

Human nature is so complex; the outcome of an event can be completely different depending on when it occurs.