The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress-Chapter 32: The Era of Face-Slapping Rebirth of a Woman

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: The Era of Face-Slapping Rebirth of a Woman

The news about Anning scoring the top spot quickly spread throughout Xiaogou Village.

The small mountain village was abuzz, with countless people rushing to the Lin Family home to see the excitement.

Lin Jiugen and Wu Pan'ni, the two elders, were so happy that their eyes were squinting into slits.

Wu Pan'ni, in particular, was holding onto Anning and couldn't bear to let go.

Leaders from the county and the countryside came, followed by reporters from the Provincial City for interviews.

On the day of the interviews, every member of the Lin Family headed to Anning's house, all dressed in their newest and finest clothes, looking tidy and clean. When asked by the reporters, they all kept praising Anning non-stop.

Anning is so sensible, always loved reading since childhood.

Anning is so filial, helping parents with chores as soon as she could walk.

Anning is kind to everyone, never having quarreled with anyone over the years.

Basically, they praised everything praise-worthy, to the point where Anning's face was blushing.

After the interviews, the reporters took several photos, especially a family portrait for the Lin Family.

After the reporters left, Lin Jiugen grandly instructed Lin Aimin to go buy firecrackers and said they should also visit the ancestral grave to report the news to their ancestors.

In their excitement, and amid the chaos, not a single person in the Lin Family noticed that Lin Anjie had run away.

Anning knew, but she did not say.

Two days later, the Lin Family finally settled down, and at this time, a notice came from above for Anning to go to the county to receive her financial reward.

Just the day before, the county leaders had given Anning US$ 200, and the headmaster of the town's middle school had also visited, giving Anning US$ 100. This time, the county's reward money was certainly going to be a bit more than what was given by the countryside, presumably.

When Anning went to the county, she also heard that the city had awarded her a bonus.

She had earned quite a bit of money now, not lacking any for personal use, but money offered freely is not to be refused. Naturally, Anning went to collect her reward with great delight.

Moreover, she had another purpose for going to the county.

Lin Anjie had run off too hastily that day, and her complexion seemed a bit off. Anning had noticed.

She suspected that Lin Anjie must have gotten into some unsavory business again, and this trip to the county was to clarify whether her suspicions were correct or not.

Xue Feng took Anning to the county when she went.

Xue Feng was heading to the county to shop. He also did well in the college entrance exams, scoring just shy of US$ 600. Among all the graduating students from the town's middle school, he was one of the top performers.

With such a score, getting into a good university was almost a surefire thing for Xue Feng. The Xue Family was extremely happy and asked Xue Feng to buy some clothes in county, and also pick something he liked as a reward.

By this time, the weather had become very hot, so Xue Feng and Anning set out early in the morning to avoid the heat.

On the way to the county, Xue Feng couldn't help but say to Anning, "The day your results came out, your sister looked a bit off, and she took off with bags big and small when you weren't paying attention. She didn't go back to the Su family, nor did she say goodbye to anyone, just ran off in a hurry. I always feel there's something more to it."

Anning sat in the back seat of the car, her expression unchanged, but her voice carried a hint of panic and suspicion, "My older sister? Did she cause some trouble again?"

Xue Feng shook his head, "I don't know, but it would be best for you all to find out."

Anning thanked Xue Feng.

Upon reaching the county, Xue Feng went shopping, and Anning went to the Education Bureau to collect her financial reward.

This time, the city provided 300 yuan, and the county also gave Anning another 300, plus the reward from the town and the school, Anning received a total of 900 yuan just in prize money.

In the early 1980s, that was a considerable sum of money.

Anning took the US$ 600 she had received and wandered around the shopping mall, wanting to buy something for her family.

When she arrived at a men's clothing counter, she ran into the postal worker Xiao Zhang.

Xiao Zhang, who often went to Xiaogou Village, was a few years older than Anning and quite familiar with her.

Seeing Anning, he approached with a smile on his face: "Comrade Lin, congratulations."

Anning smiled back: "Thanks."

"When are you going to the Capital?"

Xiao Zhang asked with a smile, "Didn't your sister pick up your admission notice for you a few days ago? There should be a start date written on it, right?"

That remark immediately made Anning's expression turn solemn.

She no longer cared about looking at clothes and stared intently at Xiao Zhang: "Comrade Zhang, are... are you saying my admission notice arrived a few days ago and my sister picked it up for me?"

As she asked this question, she thought to herself that she had guessed right; Lin Anjie, that brainless fool, really took her admission notice and wanted to prevent her from going to university.

Xiao Zhang nodded: "Yes, it happened a few days ago. I don't understand how it happened; your scores hadn't even been released yet and your admission notice arrived. Your sister happened to be there and picked it up, saying she wanted to give you a surprise."

Anning frowned: "But... it's been so many days, and my sister hasn't said anything about the notice. She didn't even mention it when she came back, and now she's run off again. I have no idea where she is?"

Then, Anning started to panic: "What should I do? My notice is still with her — if I can't find her, I..."

Anning was so anxious she was close to crying.

Hearing this, Xiao Zhang also became worried: "What's going on? She's your sister. She said she'd deliver it to you, so I just..."

Xiao Zhang, seeing Anning so distressed she was crying, became anxious too, and felt guilty towards Anning.

If it weren't for him giving the notice to An Jie, such an incident wouldn't have happened.

However, in his several years of delivering in the countryside, being asked to pass on messages and items was common. He had delivered things for fellow villagers and relatives without any incidents before. Who could have imagined that such a problem would arise with the Lin Family?

Anning wiped her tears: "It's not your fault. You know my sister too. She insisted on taking it, and you couldn't have refused. It's just that... I didn't expect her to be so cruel, so determined to ruin me."

Anning pleaded with Xiao Zhang: "Comrade Zhang, I... I have to go home and talk to my dad about this. Also, I will need you to later give testimony that my sister received the admission notice."

This matter certainly needed to be clarified; Xiao Zhang seriously agreed: "Don't worry; I will tell the truth."

Anning left the shopping mall looking particularly troubled.

She didn't go to find Xue Feng but went to a classmate's home instead.

This classmate's family used to live in the town; she and Anning were deskmates in junior high school, but later the family moved to the county seat.

Anning went straight to this classmate named Gai Yue and asked to borrow a bicycle to ride.

Gai Yue was a warm and helpful girl. As soon as she heard Anning needed to borrow a bicycle, she handed it over without asking any questions.

Anning rode the bicycle and hurried off towards home.

It was almost noon at this point, the sun was particularly fierce, the air was scorchingly hot and the ground seemed almost to be emitting steam.

Cycling on the road back to the village, Anning's skin was dry from the sun, she felt dizzy, and when she looked into the distance, everything seemed a blur.

Finally, enduring the blazing sun, she reached home, nearly sun-dried in the process.

She rode into the yard, entered the house without even drinking a sip of water, and started calling out: "Dad, Mom, Dad..."

When Anning called out, there was a sobbing tone in her voice, which made it heartbreakingly sad to hear.