Chapter 275: Chapter 275: You’ve Already Been So Brave

On the surface, the words sounded normal, but there was a hidden meaning behind them, and Fang Youde instantly understood Gu Qinghuan’s threat.

It was obvious that Gu Qinghuan already knew what he’d done—she was threatening him. If he didn’t open the door, she’d call everyone over to see for themselves!

Fang Youde gritted his teeth in hatred. This Gu Qinghuan, always ruining his plans.

But he could also tell that Gu Qinghuan wanted to protect this girl. The fact that she hadn’t called others over immediately to catch him showed she wanted to spare Wang Ruolan’s reputation.

As long as someone had a weakness, there was nothing to fear. What was truly troublesome was if she was determined to tear things open and make a scene.

Fang Youde didn’t even bother pretending anymore. He let go of Wang Ruolan, got up, and opened the door. He understood that Gu Qinghuan already knew everything.

Gu Qinghuan looked at him—so shameless, a scoundrel in a gentleman’s skin. She wanted nothing more than to smash his head in.

But in the end, she suppressed her anger and walked straight into the room.

Earlier, Fang Youde had worried that turning on the light would attract attention, so he’d only lit a single candle in the corner.

By the faint candlelight, she saw Wang Ruolan curled up on the kang.

She was hugging herself tightly in the corner, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at Gu Qinghuan—fear, grievance, and despair all mingled together.

“Come with me, let’s go,” Gu Qinghuan said gently, reaching out her hand.

Wang Ruolan hadn’t expected Teacher Gu to really come save her. She glanced at Fang Youde, and seeing he didn’t react, she scrambled off the kang and hid behind Gu Qinghuan.

Gu Qinghuan gave Fang Youde one last look and lowered her voice: “How can a school have someone as rotten as you? Disgusting! You’d better behave yourself. If this happens again, it won’t end as simply as today.”

Fang Youde wasn’t ashamed at all. He shrugged, all swagger and insolence. “No, even if it happens again, you’ll still help cover it up for me, won’t you? I never force anyone. It’s all voluntary. Ask her—wasn’t it voluntary?”

Since coming to this era, Gu Qinghuan had never loathed anyone so much—she wanted to chop him to pieces. Her heart felt like it was burning, anxious and miserable.

In a way, he’d hit her weak spot. If something like this happened again, Gu Qinghuan would probably still choose to protect the children’s reputations. After all, times were different—she couldn’t judge people by modern standards.

Wang Ruolan shook her head desperately, clutching Gu Qinghuan’s arm tightly. She hadn’t wanted this—she’d just been forced into a corner.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t need to look to know how anxious the girl was.

“Evil deeds never go unpunished. Just wait and see!”

With that, she took Wang Ruolan back to her own dormitory.

Wang Ruolan sat on the edge of her kang, her legs still trembling. She was, after all, just a child—facing something so traumatic, she was terrified.

Gu Qinghuan poured her a glass of water and handed it over. “Have some water, soothe your throat.”

Wang Ruolan took the cup in her hands, finally feeling a sense of safety settle in her heart.

“Thank you, Teacher Gu. If it weren’t for you, I might have…” She wouldn’t have made it out of that room—might never have escaped for the rest of her life.

In that moment, she’d already made up her mind: if she couldn’t keep studying, then so be it.

Gu Qinghuan took a sip of water herself and tried to keep her voice calm. “Can you tell me why you did this? Was this the first time he’s done this, or…” Has it happened before?

In the end, Gu Qinghuan couldn’t bring herself to finish the question. It was too cruel for a young girl.

Wang Ruolan’s tears fell before she could speak, but she stubbornly wiped them away.

“My brigade is the poorest in the whole commune. In other brigades, one work point is worth eight cents, even a dime. In ours, a work point is only worth three cents. My parents can both earn full work points, and whenever I have time, I help out too. But after a year, aside from the grain we get, there’s barely any money left for our family.

I have a younger brother at home. My parents said they really can’t afford to keep me in school anymore.

Teacher Gu, if I really can’t keep up with my studies, I’ll just give up.

But I really love studying. I want so badly to go to high school.” Wang Ruolan covered her mouth with a handkerchief, crying silently, afraid someone would hear.

Seeing her pain, Gu Qinghuan couldn’t help but shed tears as well.

Once Wang Ruolan had cried herself out and calmed down, she continued, “One time, he asked me to go to his dorm, said he’d tutor me one-on-one. He got really close and even touched my hand.

I already knew what he wanted. After that, I tried my best to avoid him.

He hinted many times that if I went along with him, he’d give me money. I refused every time.

Yesterday, I was packing up to go home when he found me and said if I agreed… he’d pay for me to go to high school.

I really, really want to study, so I agreed.

If I don’t study, I’ll probably get married and have kids soon, become someone with nothing of my own, just like my older cousin.” Wang Ruolan’s voice was a little dazed.

Gu Qinghuan let out a quiet sigh of relief. Thankfully, things hadn’t reached the worst point yet.

“Thank you for saving me, Teacher Gu. When I was lying on the kang, being bullied by him, I already regretted it.

Maybe I’ll always regret this, but compared to selling myself for a chance to study, maybe not studying isn’t so bad after all.

If you hadn’t saved me today, I don’t think I’d ever be able to face myself again.” She finished and bowed deeply to Gu Qinghuan.

Gu Qinghuan hurriedly helped her up.

“You’ve already been so brave. Even while suffering, even when no one understood you, you still found strength in your own life.

And you’re so outstanding. In such a harsh environment, under so much pressure, you still managed to get second place in the whole school.

Honestly, I really admire your courage to keep struggling and striving upward.

But this kind of desperate, self-sacrificing method isn’t something to encourage.

Let’s forget about this. I’ll pretend I never saw anything, and we’ll keep it to ourselves.

Don’t worry, you won’t have to drop out. Leave everything to me. For now, just get a good night’s sleep.” As she comforted her, Gu Qinghuan made room at the end of the kang for her to rest.

Gu Qinghuan’s words warmed Wang Ruolan’s hopeless heart. No one had ever praised her like this before—brave, outstanding—such beautiful words, she’d almost felt unworthy of them.

A new hope began to grow inside her.

Could she really keep studying?

That night, neither Gu Qinghuan nor Wang Ruolan slept. With so much on their minds, sleep was impossible.

This usually shy, introverted girl told her teacher so much—things she’d never dared say out loud before.

She said her dream was to become the brigade secretary one day, to lead the villagers in making money, to change the backward state of her village, to make each work point worth not just three cents, but a dime, maybe even a whole yuan.

She thought her teacher would laugh at her for being unrealistic or just treat it as a childish fantasy. After all, she’d never seen a female brigade secretary before.

But Teacher Gu took her dream very seriously.

“Ruolan, I believe your dream will come true.

Because you not only have a dream, you’re working hard for it.

Success is never accidental—it takes constant effort.

Every goal requires wisdom and sweat—there are no shortcuts.

The seemingly ordinary days you’ve lived, all the energy and knowledge you’ve accumulated, will become a sky full of stars lighting your path.

One day, you’ll see the meaning of persistence, and you’ll get your answer.”

Wang Ruolan burst into tears again.

At that moment, her trust in Gu Qinghuan surpassed even that for her own parents.

To be respected and affirmed so fully—it was a wonderful feeling.

From birth until now, she’d been fighting against the world—against her parents’ rejection, against discrimination against girls, against those who wanted her to give up her studies, against her own uncertainty and fear.

She often asked herself: Is it worth it to keep going? Would it all end in disappointment?

But now, she had her answer.

She had to keep going. She had to prove she was right.

Later, she got into university—not only achieving her original dream, but even surpassing it.

She never forgot her dream. After graduating from the agricultural university, she returned to her hometown and used her expertise to support local agricultural development.

Once her job was stable, she brought her parents to live with her so she could care for them in their old age.

Her success influenced many people. They began to realize that girls were worth investing in too.

Girls could carve out their own place in the world.

But that’s a story for another time.

As dawn approached, the two of them finally dozed off for a bit, unable to stay awake any longer.

When Dabao and Beibei woke up and saw a big sister at home, they were amazed and surrounded her with questions, not wanting her to leave.

Wang Ruolan also liked these two polite little kids very much.

Gu Qinghuan got up and made a pot of mixed grain porridge, fried four soft-boiled eggs, and scooped up a plate of pickled cowpeas—this was breakfast for everyone.

Seeing this, Wang Ruolan blushed and said, “Teacher Gu, I’ve troubled you long enough. I’ll go back to my dorm now.”

Gu Qinghuan pulled her back. “Eat first! One more bowl won’t make a difference.”

“Are you heading home today? Do you have a lot of stuff? Can you carry it all by yourself?” Gu Qinghuan asked, seeing her just burying her head in her porridge, and put an egg in her bowl.

Wang Ruolan took a small, precious bite. She hadn’t tasted an egg in a long time, let alone a fried one, glistening with oil and looking delicious.

Eggs at home were a vital source of income for her schooling. Other than occasionally boiling one for her younger brother, she always begged her mother to save the rest to sell.

“Thank you, Teacher. I’ll head home soon—there’s lots of work to do, and I need to help out.

Don’t worry, Teacher Gu. I may look thin, but I’m actually very strong. I’ll be fine.” Wang Ruolan looked up and smiled, revealing two cute little tiger teeth.

Honestly, this girl’s smile was beautiful—like an unripe fruit.

Fang Youde did have an eye for beauty, but he used it for all the wrong reasons.

He actually tried to prey on such a young girl. If murder weren’t a crime, Gu Qinghuan would have killed him herself."