Yi Roujing saw two men carrying an Eight Immortals table coming out from the room closest to the door on the left side, followed by two girls holding bowls and chopsticks.
"Dinner's ready." One of the skinny, tall men carrying the table shouted, and a few other people came out gradually from the rest of the rooms at the young intellectuals' point. Yi Roujing noticed Xia Xingchen among them.
"Xia Xingchen." Yi Roujing called out directly without knocking.
"Sister-in-law." Xia Xingchen looked up and saw Yi Roujing, a faint light gleaming in his eyes.
"Anmin asked me to call you for dinner, hurry up." Yi Roujing urged, raising her hand.
"Xingchen, why are you associating with someone like that?"
Yi Roujing looked up and saw a girl with dark skin, petite stature, two thick black braids reaching her waist, and a blue shirt and pants accentuating her black and shiny appearance. Apart from the long hair, the only remarkable feature were her brilliant apricot eyes.
After assessing her up and down, Yi Roujing could somewhat understand her disdain, as there were also people in the team who had opinions about her original self, but this girl was bold enough to speak her mind.
"Dongxue, we just heard some gossip, it's not reliable. Today, I was cutting pigweed with sister-in-law, and she's not like the rumors." Xia Xingchen explained to Tong Dongxue, "She's diligent and kind-hearted."
Diligent and kind-hearted Yi Roujing, the corners of her mouth slightly curved in agreement, her eyes showing a hint of approval. Xia Xingchen's judgment wasn't bad.
"Xingchen, did she threaten you?" Tong Dongxue asked, widening her eyes.
"Hey, young lady, it's not good to speculate on people's actions at will." Yi Roujing said, "I'm a straightforward person, do I need to threaten anyone?"
"Dongxue, why say so much." A girl in a white dress with blue floral patterns put down the plate in her hand, her expression calm as she glanced at Yi Roujing, then turned her gaze to Xia Xingchen. "Xingchen, what do you say, do you want to stay for dinner, or go with her?"
Although it was just a fleeting glance, mostly in profile, it was enough to see that this girl was quite charming. That high Greek nose added dimension to her features. This young intellectuals' point sure had its share of beauties.
"Zhiluo, I'll go with sister-in-law, I'll come back after eating well." Xia Xingchen said with a smile to Song Zhiluo and waved to them, opening the courtyard door and leaving with Yi Roujing.
Zhiluo? Yi Roujing slightly furrowed her brows, that name sounded familiar too.
"Xingchen, what was the surname of that Zhiluo just now?" On the way home, Yi Roujing asked.
"Song, Song Zhiluo, a talented girl, about our age." Xia Xingchen replied with a smile, "Although she seems cold, she's actually a very nice person."
"Song Zhiluo? Song Zhiluo? Xia Xingchen..." Yi Roujing suddenly stopped in her tracks, and if her facial features could perceive on their own, it would probably be like an earthquake.
"Ah? What's wrong?" Xia Xingchen turned around and walked over to Yi Roujing's side, "Why are you so surprised?"
"I need some quiet." After the shock came a sudden calm, and Yi Roujing gave Xia Xingchen a complicated look.
"Quiet?" Xia Xingchen seemed at a loss, "Is it Sister-in-law's 'Jingjing' in her name? Is that your nickname, Sister-in-law?"
"Ah, sort of." Yi Roujing seemed to be drained of life, her whole demeanor wilted, her steps smaller, her actions slower.
Song Zhiluo, Xia Xingchen, Ding Ancheng, Ding Anmin, Dingping Production Team... She hadn't connected the dots before, but now she realized these names and places exactly matched the bestselling web novel "Promise You a Lifetime of Luohua," which her roommate had enthusiastically recommended.
Yes, her roommate recommended it in the first place because there was a third-tier supporting female character in the novel who had the same name as hers and was the original wife of the male lead, but drowned to death just a few months after marriage.
It's just that this supporting female character was a complete fool, and her roommate was so annoyed that someone with such a name was being compared to someone as smart as her, she was furious and wanted her to complain to the author for infringing her name rights.
Hehe... Of course, she didn't complain, but why had she become one of the book's characters now? Yi Roujing felt it was unfair of the heavens to treat her like this.
Yi Roujing kicked a nearby stone with forceful resentment, sending it flying towards the reeds by the roadside.
"Quack—Quack—"
A flurry of duck calls emerged from the reeds by the creek, startling several ducks that flapped their wings and flew into the water.
But one duck was fainted in the reed cluster, clearly visible to the naked eye, as it had fallen in the lowest corner of the reeds.
"Whoa—" Xia Xingchen was dumbfounded, stunned for a moment before turning to look at Yi Roujing, "S-Sister-in-law?"
"This isn't one of the ducks raised by the team, is it?" Yi Roujing asked, her mouth twitching with frustration.
"It's a wild duck." Xia Xingchen responded honestly, "You can take it home; as long as no one sees, you get to keep all of it."
Yi Roujing was a bit surprised and then slid off to the side of the road.
"Sister-in-law..."
"Shut up, if you yell so loudly and someone hears, the fainted duck will fly away." Yi Roujing turned back and gave Xia Xingchen a glare.
Xia Xingchen immediately covered her mouth to show her understanding.
It was dinner time, so there weren't many people passing by on the road. Yi Roujing went into the reeds, crouched down to pick up the duck, and then saw several nests of wild duck eggs at the bottom of the reeds.
"Come down." Yi Roujing stood up and gestured to Xia Xingchen, whispering.
After they collected about thirty wild duck eggs, carrying a fainted wild duck wrapped in wild grass for cover, they sneaked out of the reeds only to meet Anmin's eyes.
"I thought you went to the county to call someone." Ding Anmin sneered.
"Anmin, look!" Xia Xingchen parted some of the wild grass slightly, revealing the gray-green wild duck eggs inside to Ding Anmin.
In an instant, Ding Anmin's eyes widened, and she quickly looked around, "How come there are so many?"
"Sister-in-law found them, and Sister-in-law also kicked a duck unconscious." Xia Xingchen looked at Yi Roujing with admiration in his eyes, "Just casually, and we got so many good things. Don't you think Sister-in-law is a blessing star?"
"Don't pin such titles on her." Ding Anmin glared at Xia Xingchen, "Think before you talk, if someone hears, you won't have a good time."
"Anmin is right, having a brain is a good thing, you should use it often." Yi Roujing agreed. Now that she knew she was in a book, she remembered Xia Xingchen's fate clearly; he was sold by his stepmother in collusion with others.
In the end, he died in childbirth, pitifully without even a grave. It was the protagonist Song Zhiluo who, by chance, found Xia Xingchen's child and discovered her almost fully decayed body in the depths of the mountains, giving her a resting place.
Xia Xingchen was considered the third female lead in the book, and her introduction and description were quite detailed, but the author did not give her a good ending.
Alas, if Yi Roujing was foolish, then Xia Xingchen was simply naïve, not the fortune-favored kind of naïve, but naïve enough to be deceived to death.