Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
Thirty years ago, Zhang Clan Village and Li Clan Village had only one university student, and that student was from a famous university. That person was, of course, Zhang Xiao.
Zhang Xiao was exceptionally intelligent, and he was also very hardworking. He was a talented young boy who came from this small village in the mountains. At that time, let alone in Li Clan Village or Zhang Clan Village, the number of young people comparable to him was far and few between even in the entire county.
Zhang Xiao stood out from the crowd since he was a child, but he wasn’t arrogant or willful. On the contrary, he was approachable and very kind to others.
Zhang Xiao and Li Yan went to the same school, but Zhang Xiao was older than Li Yan. When he was in middle school, Li Yan was only in primary school. Back then, the children in Zhang Clan Village and Li Clan Village went to the same school. There weren’t many children in the village who could afford to go to school, and even fewer could continue their education.
Li Yan was also a brilliant child. However, her family favored men over women, and since they weren’t so well off, she dropped out of school after completing primary school.
However, Li Yan refused to give up. She continued to study in secret. Later, Zhang Xiao accidentally saw her studying in secret and volunteered to be Li Yan’s teacher.
However, Zhang Xiao was already in high school and could only come back to the village once every week. Every time he returned, he would spare time to teach Li Yan secretly. Zhang Xiao also started sending her study materials. Later on, he began to save up some of his pocket money to buy some small items or gifts for his beloved woman.
During those times, dating was something to be done secretly, but it was also very pure and beautiful. Zhang Xiao also heartily cherished the moments they had spent together.
Until when Li Yan turned 16, and the village chose her chose to be the holy maiden to pay respects to the River God next year. Back then, Li Yan didn’t take it seriously. She had learned a lot of scientific knowledge with the help of Zhang Xiao and was eager to explore the beautiful world outside. To Li Yan, those villagers were ignorant and naive as they worshipped the River God. She believed there were no such things as gods or deities in this world, and instead of worshiping and praying to them to ask anything, they should work hard for themselves.
Ever since the people in village chose Li Yan to be the holy maiden, many people went to her house with a marriage proposal, but Li Yan rejected every single one of them. Sometimes, when she couldn’t go against her parents’ persuasion, she would only use ‘offering the River God’ as an excuse. Eventually, those people also stopped coming with proposals.
However, a few months before the day of the ritual, Zhang Xiao returned for summer break and brought along a group of his classmates from university.
Many of these students were children who had lived in the city. They had never seen such an ancient and beautiful village before, so they naturally had a great time playing in the village.
Back then, one of their classmates, who was from a wealthy family, brought some delicious food and red wine.
One night, the few of them agreed to meet by the river to gather for drinks secretly. With something fun to enjoy, Zhang Xiao naturally brought Li Yan along happily.
However, who knew that…
When the story reached this point, Zhang Xiao suddenly stopped talking.
He stared at the wine bottle on the table and suddenly started laughing. His laughter was filled with pain.
“Brother Zhang, you…”
Ning Huanxin felt that Zhang Xiao’s emotions were fluctuating drastically. At that moment, Ning Huanxin finally realized with surprise—
Zhang Xiao was indeed the man who had always loved Li Yan and was also the person who kept burning offerings to her.
However, if the child in Li Yan’s stomach belonged to him, why would he deny it? Why would he watch as his beloved woman and his child died?
That was utterly illogical!
Back then, why didn’t he stand up for her?