On Heidan’s birthday, he went to school as usual.
Lin Zhen and Song Wei returned home early to start making the cake.
Whipping the cream was quite labor-intensive, but both Song Wei and Lin Zhen were strong, so they handled it easily.
The end result wasn’t the most beautiful birthday cake, but it wasn’t bad either.
The flowers piped on it were a bit sloppy, but that didn’t affect the taste.
The cake was decorated with jam and smelled sweet and delicious.
Song Wei nibbled on some leftover cake scraps and said, “He should be getting out of school soon.”
As the saying goes, speak of the devil, and he shall appear—Heidan came running home, accompanied by his little friends.
Today was his birthday, and Sister Song had promised to make something delicious for him. She even told him to invite his good friends over.
But Heidan had his own little plans. He had too many good friends now, and he didn’t want the house to be overrun with people eating all the food. What if they ate his family out of house and home?
So, he only invited a few of his closest friends—Shuanzi, Lewazi, and Fuwazi, along with two other kids he’d recently gotten along with well.
When the group of little kids saw the cake, their eyes grew wide.
“Wow!!!”
“It’s so pretty!”
“It smells amazing!”
Heidan’s small face turned bright red with excitement.
“Sister Song, Brother, is this for me? Is this really for me?!”
He didn’t even know what a birthday cake was, but that didn’t stop him from being overjoyed.
“It’s for you—a birthday cake.”
Under the gaze of the children, Song Wei lit the candles.
However, the candles were placed to the side since they weren’t edible.
“Make a wish and blow out the candles.”
Heidan thought this was the happiest birthday he’d ever had.
“I wish to always be with Sister Song and my brother and to always have a full belly!”
He shouted his wish loudly.
For a child who had experienced hunger, such a wish was simple and heartfelt.
Lin Zhen silently took note—he would never let his brother go hungry again.
After the candles were blown out, each child got a piece of cake.
The soft, fluffy cake with sweet cream and jam amazed all the children.
“This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten!”
Heidan squinted his eyes in contentment, feeling like he was the happiest person alive.
The other children were envious—they wished they could have a birthday cake too.
Song Wei captured the entire scene on camera and planned to get the photos developed in a few days.
For Heidan, this was undoubtedly the happiest day of his life. He was so overexcited that he couldn’t fall asleep at night, tossing and turning until Lin Zhen had to hold him down firmly.
“Go to sleep.”
“But I can’t sleep. Brother, can you tell me a story? Sister Song always tells me stories before bed.”
Lin Zhen sat up and looked at him. “You can’t sleep, huh? Easy fix.”
He lit the kerosene lamp, pulled Heidan’s math book out of his bag, and said, “I don’t know how to tell stories, but I can explain math problems.”
Heidan’s expression immediately fell apart.
His brother was a cold and merciless tyrant!
But, to be fair, this method worked—although it was a bit cruel. Before long, Heidan had fallen asleep.
Lin Zhen tidied up the books and lay down himself.
“Little rascal, you think I can’t handle you?”
The next day, troubling news reached the brigade.
The brigade was informed that they were going to receive a new group of educated youth.
The brigade leader frowned deeply as he smoked his cigarette. “We can’t exactly say no to this.”
He sighed heavily.
“Lin Zhen, come with me to pick them up.”
Lin Zhen put down his hoe and replied, “Alright.”
The arrival of new educated youth wasn’t unexpected for him, but he didn’t think there would be five of them at once.
The brigade leader’s face turned even darker.
Lin Zhen remained silent.
Among the five newcomers, two male youths were arranged by the public security bureau. There was another male youth and two female youths as well.
When they arrived at Ping’an Brigade, Song Wei was chatting with the village women, munching on sunflower seeds.
The farming work had eased up lately.
When she saw the group returning, she waved to the elderly ladies, patted the dust off her hands, and walked over.
“Let’s go take a look too.”
Before Song Wei even got close, she saw a young woman circling around Lin Zhen.
“Comrade Lin, my things are too heavy. Could you please help me take them down?”
“Comrade Lin, where do you live? Once I’ve settled in, I’d like to visit and thank you properly.”
“Brigade Leader, is there still room at the educated youth dormitory for us?”
While she spoke, her gaze repeatedly drifted toward Lin Zhen.
“There are so many of us. The dormitory probably won’t have enough room. Why don’t I stay at a villager’s home? I’m willing to pay for room and board.”
Her intentions were blatantly obvious.
Lin Zhen’s face remained expressionless.
“What did I help you with?”
What was this person talking about?
The young woman looked at him with bright, shining eyes. “You helped me load my luggage onto the cart!”
Lin Zhen was speechless for a moment.
“I helped them too. Could you please stop getting so close to me?”
What was wrong with this person’s head?
Zhao Yuyin hadn’t expected him to speak so bluntly, leaving her momentarily embarrassed.
Why… why was he so unromantic?
“Comrade Lin, I didn’t mean anything else. I just… just wanted to thank you.”
“A verbal thank you is enough. It wasn’t a big deal, so there’s no need to visit my home.”
At that moment, Song Wei walked over and smiled politely at Zhao Yuyin.
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Song Wei. I’m also an educated youth and his fiancée.”
“What?!”
Zhao Yuyin’s voice shot up, and she stared at Lin Zhen and Song Wei in disbelief.
“That’s impossible!”
Song Wei scrutinized her carefully. Did she know Lin Zhen?
Subtly pinching Lin Zhen’s waist, she asked, “Do you know her?”
Why did this feel like an unwelcome admirer had followed him home?
Lin Zhen’s face darkened. “I don’t know her.”
Everyone’s attention shifted to Zhao Yuyin.
Realizing she’d misspoken, Zhao Yuyin’s expression faltered. She forced a smile but couldn’t hide her disbelief as she stared at Lin Zhen and Song Wei.
“I… I just didn’t expect Comrade Lin to look so young and already have a fiancée.”
The brigade leader gave her a long, skeptical look. “Young? Are you sure about that?”
Zhao Yuyin’s forced smile became even stiffer.
Lin Zhen said nothing further, taking Song Wei with him as he left. The rest was left for the brigade leader to handle.
The brigade leader addressed the group: “Everyone, take your belongings. There are still plenty of rooms at the educated youth dormitory…”
Zhao Yuyin paid no attention to what he said. Her eyes stayed fixed on the direction Lin Zhen and Song Wei had gone, her lips tightly pressed together to maintain her composure.
This couldn’t be possible. Lin Zhen had never married or had children in his entire life.
How could he have a fiancée now?
No, she was determined to become his wife and rise to the status of the future wife of a wealthy man, changing her social standing.
Perhaps he had been engaged before but lost his fiancée due to some tragic event.
Yes, that must be it.
She just needed to wait patiently.
Reassuring herself with these thoughts, Zhao Yuyin followed the other educated youths to the dormitory.
When they arrived, the youths gathered to introduce themselves, as was customary.
Song Wei also came to join the group.
She clearly noticed the hostility in Zhao Yuyin’s eyes directed at her.
Hah… So she’s treating me as a love rival now?
Even after knowing Lin Zhen has a fiancée, she won’t give up. Confirmed—this one’s trouble!
“My name is Su Fang. You can call me Comrade Su,” one of the new female youths introduced herself.
“What did you say your name was?”
Zhao Yuyin’s expression froze, and she stared intently at Su Fang, her face twitching.
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