The Vicious Educated Youth Tea Tempts Again, The Refined Widower's Heart Ignites

Meng Luosheng was once a pampered young lady from a prominent political family in the capital, but her world collapsed when her parents, brother, and grandfather were arrested for political crimes. Sent down to a remote rural work point in March 1972, she endured brutal farm labor, leech-infested paddy fields, and constant harassment from local men. Her only comfort was her childhood friend Wang Xiaoli, the daughter of a subordinate. Their survival depended on mutual support in a place where food was scarce and dignity was fragile. During this period of hardship, Meng Luosheng encountered Xu Qingyan, a wheelchair-bound young man from a local village. Xu Qingyan had been paralyzed in a human-made accident and viewed himself as a living corpse, having attempted suicide multiple times due to despair. Meng Luosheng was the first person to treat him with genuine kindness and equality, lifting his wheelchair off him when he fell and offering him food prepared by his mother. Her gentle demeanor and refusal to pity him became a lifeline for Xu Qingyan, igniting a deep, obsessive love in his heart.

However, Meng Luosheng’s situation deteriorated rapidly. Harassed by a lecherous villager and pressured by local matchmakers, she faced the constant threat of sexual violence and public humiliation. Xu Ziyi, a scheming villager who desired her, manipulated the crowd to accuse her of being a "rightist" and lying about having a fiancé. To protect Meng Luosheng from being labeled a counterrevolutionary and sent to a cowshed, Xu Weiliang, the ruthless brigade leader and Xu Qingyan’s father, intervened. He publicly announced that Meng Luosheng was already engaged to his son, Xu Qingyan, and set a wedding date for her eighteenth birthday. Forced into a corner, Meng Luosheng accepted the engagement, not out of love, but as a strategic move to secure her safety and stability. She approached Xu Qingyan and confessed her "despicable" intentions, admitting she was using him to bind her life to his. Surprisingly, Xu Qingyan, blinded by devotion, accepted her confession without hesitation, viewing her manipulation as an act of love.

The engagement transformed their dynamic. Xu Qingyan, driven by a desire to provide for Meng Luosheng, agreed to falsify accounts for his father’s illegal business operations, compromising his moral principles for the first time. He secured Meng Luosheng an accounting job and arranged for Wang Xiaoli to become a schoolteacher, lifting both women out of the most grueling field labor. Despite the outward appearance of a romantic union, the relationship was built on a foundation of deception and power imbalance. Meng Luosheng maintained emotional distance, viewing Xu Qingyan as a stepping stone to survive the countryside and eventually return to the city. She suppressed thoughts of her former fiancé, Lu Mingyuan, and resolved to avoid having children to prevent future entanglements. Meanwhile, Xu Qingyan’s mother, Chen Xiue, disapproved of the match due to Meng Luosheng’s superior social background and feared the inevitable heartbreak when Meng Luosheng returned to the city. She warned her son that their families were not matched, but Xu Qingyan remained steadfast, willing to endure any pain as long as he could be with her.

As the wedding date approached, tensions simmered beneath the surface. Xu Weiliang viewed Meng Luosheng with suspicion, warning his son that she might be using him and threatening consequences if she betrayed his trust. Xu Qingyan, however, remained oblivious to the dangers surrounding him, convinced that his love was sufficient to sustain their future. Meng Luosheng, meanwhile, plotted her next moves, considering applying to Worker-Peasant-Soldier University but realizing her class background made it impossible. She accepted her confinement to the countryside for the time being, focusing on maintaining her facade of a devoted bride. The story concludes with Xu Qingyan falling ill with a fever, dreaming of Meng Luosheng, while she prepares for a marriage that is simultaneously her salvation and her prison, unaware that the fragile peace she has constructed is destined to shatter when her past resurfaces.