Axolotl Translations

For the first time, Xiangyang realized just how naive he had been—insisting his sister go to the countryside to help lift others out of poverty—only to end up harvesting rice under the blazing sun for a week.

He had thought that having ideas and dreams was enough to succeed. But he hadn’t understood that sometimes, no matter how good something seems, it simply won’t work. Timing, location, and people—if even one is missing, success is out of reach. For now, his dreams had to take a backseat. Earning work points was the priority.

“Wei Zhiqing, what a coincidence! What are you doing here too?”

The overly sweet voice in his ear made Xiangyang frown with impatience. He’d already gone out of his way to avoid Xu Yanni, yet somehow, she was still sticking to him like glue.

After two years in the countryside, he’d have to be a fool not to see through her motives by now. Truth was, Xu Yanni didn’t cling to him because she actually liked him, but because he had the best conditions among the educated youth. Thanks to his sister sending food and supplies every now and then, he never went hungry—so of course, people with ulterior motives took notice.

Among them, Xu Yanni was the most persistent. She was four years older and had been throwing herself at him even before he turned eighteen. Honestly, her shameless flirting was almost impressive in its boldness.

Well, not that he was actually blind—just young and inexperienced back then. But now? After two years, he understood women.

Fang Tao might fall for her act. Other men at the commune or in the village might too. But not him.

These days, just seeing her approach gave him goosebumps. Normally, he’d take a different route just to avoid her, worried she might really do as his sister warned—try to cling to him.

“Stop! Don’t come any closer!” Xiangyang called out hastily, and without giving her a chance to respond, he turned and bolted.

Xu Yanni: …………………

What am I, a tiger coming down from the mountains?

Watching Xiangyang run off in panic, Xu Yanni nearly fell over backward in anger. Was she really that awful? So terrible that he’d run away just from seeing her?

It had been two whole years—two years!—and she still hadn’t found a single chance to talk to him alone, to open her heart. It was infuriating. If it weren’t for Fang Tao still hovering around as her backup plan, she’d have packed up and left this dump long ago.

Just as she turned around to storm off, she noticed someone standing on the path behind her.

“Qian Li, how long have you been standing there?” Xu Yanni marched over, her tone accusatory. “I’m warning you, whatever you saw or heard today, you’d better keep it to yourself.”

Qian Li glanced at the self-important woman before her and rolled her eyes. Without saying a word, she turned and walked off with a bundle of firewood on her back.

“Hey… what kind of attitude is that?” Xu Yanni sputtered. “Is everyone just ignoring me now?”

She was livid, but she didn’t dare chase after Qian Li. Everyone at the commune knew that despite being the youngest and looking the most approachable, Qian Li had a fiery temper—and if you pushed her too far, she would explode.

As for Qian Li, she didn’t care about Xu Yanni’s shouting. All she could think about was the way Xiangyang had looked when he’d bolted like the plague was coming, desperate to avoid Xu Yanni.

She hadn’t intended to eavesdrop today. She’d just been heading back along the path when she happened to see Xu Yanni approaching Xiangyang.

There was only one way back to camp, and with firewood on her back, it wasn’t like she could just make way for the two of them. Still, she hadn’t expected Xiangyang to react like that.

How to describe it… it was kind of cute.

Normally, he always seemed so confident and aloof, like someone hard to get close to. She never imagined he had such a side to him in private.

In these past two years, it was the first time Qian Li really noticed a man.

Before, her days were filled with surviving. She’d been sent to the countryside while still young, and all she ever thought about was making it through each day. People knew her situation and mostly kept their distance—aside from Zhong Xiaoling, her roommate, who was always crying over that indecisive jerk Fang Tao.

Of course, she had never been interested in mingling with others either.

Now that Qian Li had just reached adulthood, her beautiful face—even when she wore a perpetual scowl—had earned her plenty of admirers among the young men. They called her the “Ice Beauty” in private, and some even placed bets on who would be the first to pluck this flower from the heights.

Qian Li scoffed at them. Win her over? What a joke. Wasn’t it better to save money? Wasn’t singlehood a form of freedom? Why should she stake her future on the fleeting illusion of romance or rely on some man? It was pure foolishness.

She couldn’t even rely on her own family—those bound to her by blood. If she didn’t fight for herself, who else could she depend on? Certainly not those men who were full of bluster and posturing.

But what Qian Li didn’t know was how hard she would fall once she encountered real love.

Affection begins with understanding, and understanding starts with attention. That was how it began for her and Wei Xiangyang.

One time, she happened to see him reading, and to her surprise, it was a high school textbook. After that, she started bringing her own textbooks to ask him questions. She knew he didn’t want anything from her. She might be pretty, but compared to his ethereal older sister, she wasn’t much.

Those textbooks of hers were salvaged from a scrap station in the county after she came to the countryside. She just wanted to learn more, in case knowledge became useful one day. But having never studied systematically, her progress was rough. Asking Zhong Xiaoling for help was pointless—she was always skipping class for student meetings and probably knew even less.

Missing out on high school was a sore spot for Qian Li. If her family hadn’t neglected her, she wouldn’t have been sent down in place of her older brother at such a young age. She was the one who should have been protected…

So when she saw Wei Xiangyang, she approached him. Thankfully, he was kind-hearted. Seeing how eager she was to learn, he gladly helped.

Unlike with Xu Yanni, Xiangyang didn’t need to be on guard around Qian Li. He might not know much about women, but even he could tell she wasn’t interested in him romantically—she came to him because she trusted him and wanted to learn.

Their mutual trust only brought them closer as they studied together. Before long, the entire zhiqing compound began to whisper and wonder when they’d become a couple.

Of course, not everyone was pleased—especially Xu Yanni. She had chased him for two years, only to lose him to some little brat? She was furious.

But fury aside, Xu Yanni couldn’t do anything about it. One didn’t like her, the other was too fierce to cross. She had no choice but to swallow her resentment and set her sights on someone else.

And the men who liked Qian Li? Once they saw their rival was Wei Xiangyang, they quietly gave up. They knew his conditions were far better than theirs. No point embarrassing themselves by trying.

Qian Li didn’t realize she had fallen for Wei Xiangyang until a full year into their study sessions.

That day, she was walking toward their usual meeting spot, a textbook in hand, when she spotted the team leader’s granddaughter heading toward him. Qian Li stopped, then—without really thinking—found a place to hide.

“Comrade Wei, this egg is for you.” The girl’s voice trembled slightly with nerves. Her fingers curled awkwardly around the egg.

Wei Xiangyang looked up at her—face red, eyes filled with hope and shyness—and coldly said, “Thanks, but I don’t need it.” Then he went right back to reading, not sparing her another glance.

His sister had told him: if you don’t like someone, make it clear. Don’t string people along. It’s cruel and irresponsible. He had always followed that advice, and today was no exception.

Hiding behind the tree, this wasn’t the first time Qian Li had heard someone confess to Wei Xiangyang, but it was the first time she felt uncomfortable—like something that belonged to her was being coveted. The mood she came with was completely gone.

Fortunately, she heard his cold rejection, and then the sound of the girl running away in tears, unable to bear his indifference.

Before she could react, the light above her dimmed, and in front of her appeared a pair of army green canvas shoes. She recognized those shoes. Looking up, she saw Wei Xiangyang’s ever-expressionless face.

Qian Li hurriedly stood up, her face flushing red as she stammered an explanation, “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

She realized how foolish she’d just been and was afraid Wei Xiangyang might think poorly of her, so she tugged at his sleeve and continued, “I saw her when I got here, and I couldn’t turn back, so I just hid. How was I supposed to know she came looking for you? If I’d come out, wouldn’t I have interrupted you?” Her words carried a jealousy even she didn’t notice. Then, in a soft mumble, she added, “You’re really too much of a magnet.”

Wei Xiangyang stared speechlessly at the woman who turned the tables on him. She saw another girl approaching him and didn’t come to help—she hid. What a waste of all the lessons he’d taught her.

Still, annoyed as he was, he said nothing about her holding his sleeve. “Come on,” he said. “If you don’t finish all the exercises I taught you yesterday, I’ll make you pay for it.”

Qian Li quickly bent down to pick up the book she’d dropped in panic and jogged to catch up with him, pleading with a smile in her voice, “Teacher Wei, don’t be so strict! I was too tired last night and went to bed early. I’ve been working all day—maybe I didn’t master it all yet!”

Hearing her voice from behind, Wei Xiangyang’s lips curled slightly. “We’ll see how you do.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll do my best!” she nodded eagerly.

When did things start to change between them? When did she start putting him in her heart? Qian Li didn’t know. She only remembered that snowy day she went up the mountain to gather firewood. The snow was heavy, and as dusk fell, she hadn’t returned. She remembered hearing Wei Xiangyang’s anxious voice calling her name.

She remembered seeing him in a thick cotton coat and hat, his face finally relaxing with relief when he saw her, and his scolding voice filled with urgency as he rushed over, and the warmth of his coat as he wrapped her in it.

She couldn’t hear what he was saying clearly, only saw his lips moving. Then she said what had been in her heart all along: “Wei Xiangyang, I like you!”

The rest was a blur. Or perhaps not. In a daze, she was led back to the zhiqing camp by his hand.

It wasn’t until she was lying on the warm kang bed, her body slowly regaining warmth, that Qian Li realized what she had done. She remembered his startled expression after her confession—and his suddenly flushed face.

Though he said nothing afterward, he helped her into his coat, put his cotton hat on her head, carried the firewood for her, and led her by her long sleeves back home. But she didn’t know whether he did it out of kindness, or… because he accepted her.

She tossed and turned all night. Not until the early hours, when exhaustion finally took over, did she fall asleep.

The next morning, when she saw the slight avoidance in Wei Xiangyang’s eyes, her heart sank. She thought she had probably lost the person in her heart. But then, after breakfast, when everyone had left for work, Wei Xiangyang hesitantly walked over to her.

In a low voice by her ear, he said: “You have to like me forever. No second thoughts.”

Watching him walk away in long strides, Qian Li burst into a smile. At that moment, spring bloomed in her heart.

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