The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man

Hu Ziqiang trudged down the path, seething with resentment. He had no idea where Li Hongmei had disappeared to; he’d run after her, only for her to vanish completely.

’Is she part turtle or something?’

’She’s so good at hiding.’

The longer Hu Ziqiang walked, the hungrier he got and the fouler his expression became. He scanned his surroundings, but there wasn’t a soul in sight.

As he walked on, Hu Ziqiang suddenly looked ahead and saw her. Li Hongmei was standing amidst a patch of withered yellow weeds, her head bowed.

The sunset’s afterglow fell upon her dark, sallow face, illuminating her round, flat features and making her look even uglier. Hu Ziqiang’s first instinct was to turn and leave, but he had strong willpower and forced himself to stay put.

Li Hongmei was oblivious to her own appearance. Her eyes were now incredibly swollen from crying. Tears, mixed with dust, were caked onto her skin. Not even the glorious sunset could salvage her looks.

She had no idea how unsightly she looked; in her mind, she was a picture of beauty.

A moment ago, she had seen Gu Jiaojiao’s fair, delicate face illuminated by the sunset. The resulting glow was intoxicatingly beautiful.

So she naturally assumed that the same light on her own face would be just as beautiful.

So, just as Hu Ziqiang looked over, she flashed a shy, demure smile. The sight almost made him gag.

’She’s just too ugly.’

There were quite a few female sent-down youths. If you had to pick the prettiest, it was without a doubt Gu Jiaojiao. If you had to pick the ugliest, it was absolutely Li Hongmei.

’It’s always the ugly ones who cause the most drama.’

Hu Ziqiang wanted to curse her out. He reconsidered, however, when he thought about her situation. Her outburst was clearly because she’d heard about Yun Hao’s wedding. It must have forced her to face the reality that he didn’t like her back, and she’d simply lost control. The harsh words he’d wanted to say died in his throat.

’Whatever,’ he thought. ’I’ll put up with it, seeing as she’s so into me.’

Forcing his legs, which desperately wanted to turn and flee, to stay put, Hu Ziqiang finally spoke.

”Li Hongmei, do you have any idea how worried everyone is about you running off alone like this? Hurry up and get back.”

’And I still haven’t eaten!’

He’d spent all day helping Yun Hao clean his room, which was exhausting enough. On top of that, he hadn’t even gotten to eat dinner. He felt like he was about to collapse from hunger.

Hearing this, Li Hongmei’s eyes lit up.

’She knew it! Hu Ziqiang was worried about her.’

She wasn’t popular at the youth point. Her relationships with the young men were mediocre at best, and all the young women despised her.

In her mind, Hu Ziqiang’s perfunctory words transformed into a declaration of love.

Li Hongmei sidled up to Hu Ziqiang shyly, her voice softer than he’d ever heard it. ”Ziqiang, I didn’t realize you were so worried about me. You even came all the way out here to find me. I’m so touched.”

Hu Ziqiang was speechless.

’What is happening? Has she completely misunderstood something?’ he thought. ’I only came after her because everyone else told me to, not because I wanted to!’

He decided he had to set things straight with her.

”Hong Mei, listen, I...”

But Li Hongmei suddenly held up a hand, stopping him from saying more.

”Shh. Ziqiang, you don’t have to say a thing. I understand completely. And I accept.”

’Hu Ziqiang likes me this much... he doesn’t even care that I used to have feelings for Yun Hao. This is the first time a man has ever loved me this much! I have to seize this chance.’

’He might not be handsome, but he loves me!’

’He might be short, but he loves me!’

’And who knows, maybe I’ll need his help to get back to the city!’

With these thoughts, Li Hongmei grew even more cheerful. The two of them slowly made their way back to the youth point together.

For Hu Ziqiang, the atmosphere was suffocatingly miserable.

For Li Hongmei, however, it was the height of romance.