He Would Not Be Controlled by Any Person or Thing

When Jiang Hongmei spotted Gu Yu, she no longer felt like weeding. All she wanted was to tell him about what had happened yesterday and ease the knot of resentment in her chest.

With grievance filling her eyes, she clasped her hands and called out pitifully, "Gu Yu, I have something to tell you. Come over here for a moment, okay?"

Gu Yu's eyelid twitched. As though he had heard nothing, he turned his head away and continued weeding. Seeing him play dumb, Shen Jianan could not help stifling a laugh. He too took a few steps forward, turned his body the other way, and presented her with his back.

Jiang Hongmei felt even more wronged and could not help raising her voice again. "Gu Yu, I'm talking to you! Did you hear me?"

Her voice was so loud that even the villagers working nearby heard it. They all looked up at her.

"What's Educated Youth Jiang doing? Not working this early in the morning, just throwing another little tantrum!"

The burly man replied to someone beside him, "Who knows? She makes a scene every day. She's annoying to look at!"

His wife immediately perked up and deliberately bent at the waist, smiling as she teased him. "Hey, that's not what you used to say, was it? You said women ought to be like this—soft, soft as water, or something?"

"Oh, for crying out loud!"

The burly man impatiently turned his head away. "You remembered wrong. I hate women who whimper and cry all day long."

"Fine, fine, whatever you say goes, all right?" The woman stopped while she was ahead, and her tone immediately softened.

However, the people nearby did not see it that way. Seeing that everyone was fed up with Jiang Hongmei, Niu Chunhua's slanted eyes rolled around. She planted her hands on her hips, turned toward the ridge, and started shouting.

"Captain! Recorder! Someone's slacking off here, and she keeps pestering the other educated youths, affecting everyone's work!"

At her words, Zhao Gang and Zhao Hongjun rushed over in a few nimble strides. "Who? Who's slacking off and holding up the work?"

"Her!"

Niu Chunhua pointed at Jiang Hongmei, who had come to her senses and was about to retreat into the field. With her chin raised smugly, she said, "That woman right there. Everyone's busy, but she's standing on the field ridge yammering for Educated Youth Gu. He ignores her, but she keeps shouting, wailing like a cat in heat. It's disgusting!"

"Ahem! Watch your mouth. That's vulgar."

Zhao Gang shot her a glare, then frowned at the tearful Jiang Hongmei and opened his mouth to ask, "Educated Youth Jiang, you..."

"I-I didn't! You're all bullying me! Sob..."

Before he could finish, Jiang Hongmei raised a hand to cover her mouth and began crying.

Zhao Gang was dumbfounded. He had not even said anything. How had Educated Youth Jiang already become the aggrieved party? Was she made of tofu? Did she crumble at a touch?

"What's this? What's this? Who are you putting on this crying show for?"

Zhao Hongjun had a fiery temper. Zhao Gang had barely done anything, yet she had already started dumping a chamber pot over their heads. He immediately stormed over, looked up at the person on the ridge, and demanded.

"Make yourself clear today. Who bullied you? Who bullied you? Let me tell you, there's a limit to falsely accusing people!"

His voice had always been loud, and now his questions came one after another, exploding like firecrackers. Jiang Hongmei was so frightened that guilt crept into her heart. When she looked up and saw that Zhao Gang's expression was not very pleasant either, she pursed her lips and began making excuses.

"I-I wasn't talking about you two. I meant Niu Chunhua, Zhao Hongying, Li Zhaodi, Zhao Jianguo, Gu Yu, Shen Jianan, and the people from the Educated Youth Station, and them."

As she spoke, she pointed at the villagers who had just criticized her. Her eyes were full of bitterness and accusation, but she failed to notice that everyone around her changed expression at the long list of names she had rattled off.

"Jiang Hongmei, don't you feel guilty saying that?"

"Exactly! What nonsense are you spouting? When did my husband and I ever bully you?"

"This is enough already. Why does she have so much drama every single day?"

"What did we do to bully her? We've never even brushed against her while walking. How could we bully her?"

"Who knows? Maybe there's something wrong with her head!"

Seeing that none of them would admit it, the grievance in Jiang Hongmei's reddened eyes deepened. Tears fell nonstop as though they cost nothing. "You were all wronging me just now, saying I make a scene every day and don't work properly. You even cursed me behind my back and talked badly about me."

Hearing that, everyone nearly went mad. Was this woman's brain waterlogged? Niu Chunhua's words might not have sounded pleasant, but they were the truth, were they not?

Early in the morning, everyone was busy rushing to finish their work. Yet she not only did nothing, she stood on the field ridge howling her lungs out and disrupting everyone's labor. Who would not call that bad luck?

"Then were you working properly?"

Educated youth Li Jiaojiao stepped forward and shoved her lightly. Tilting her head, she asked coldly, "Weren't you making a scene just now? Did everyone wrong you? Who cursed you behind your back and spoke ill of you? Tell us."

One question after another smashed into Jiang Hongmei. Li Jiaojiao had had enough of this stupid woman. She went crazy regardless of the occasion and then falsely accused others. Most importantly, did she know that while making herself hated, her behavior was also causing trouble for all of them?

The educated youths had gone to the countryside in response to the call, but because most of them had never done farm work before, they had caused the village quite a bit of trouble after arriving.

Although everyone disliked them, during the harvest rushes over the past few years, many villagers would help the educated youths with some of their work after finishing their own.

Though they had to be paid privately, it was still better than working themselves half to death and failing to complete their quotas. Because of this, the people at the Educated Youth Station would not take minor slights to heart as long as they were not too excessive.

Thus, after several years, they had not gotten along especially well with the villagers, but things had generally been passable. Yet this woman had offended every single person with one sentence.

She might feel satisfied herself, but did everyone else deserve to suffer along with her? If this continued, how were they supposed to get along with the villagers?

Thinking of this made Li Jiaojiao furious. Since Jiang Hongmei cared so little for everyone's circumstances and feelings, then she did not need to be polite either. Otherwise, they would be the ones to keep suffering in the future.

"Jiang Hongmei, since you think everyone at our Educated Youth Station bullies you, fine. The captain and recorder are here now."

Li Jiaojiao stepped forward, pointed at the two men with dark expressions, and shouted at her, "Apply to them to move out. Our Educated Youth Station is a small temple and cannot accommodate a great Buddha like you."

At those words, Jiang Hongmei's face instantly turned paper-white. "I don't..."

"Captain, Recorder."

Without giving her a chance to change her mind, Li Jiaojiao loudly blurted out what had happened during last night's argument. "Jiang Hongmei insisted that Gu Yu repair the roof of our Educated Youth Station last night..."

But once she left, she never came back. By the time they had finished repairing the roof, it was already past seven. It was completely dark then, and the people at the Educated Youth Station were worried something had happened to her. They did not even have time to cook before deciding to search everywhere.

Later, they saw her by the river. Only after asking did they learn that she had returned long ago. She had simply been upset after being angered, so she had gone to the riverside to get some air. The educated youths had nearly gone mad with anger.

Everyone had been so busy their feet never touched the ground, yet she had not only run off with another man earlier, she had also failed to come back and cook after everything was done, completely forgetting that cooking was her responsibility.

The key was that it had clearly been her fault, yet she would not let anyone mention it. She had even outrageously turned around and accused everyone of being selfish, claiming they had looked for her because they did not want to cook and so on.

Li Jiaojiao chattered on without stopping, while everyone listened in utter shock. Even Gu Yu and Shen Jianan, who had been busy working, stopped to join in the gossip. They had never imagined that Jiang Hongmei could be so selfish and brain-dead.

Shen Jianan in particular could not understand why the author had insisted on writing the female lead as such a morally warped idiot. Was the author not afraid of being cursed at?

Still, no matter what, the more people Jiang Hongmei offended, the less chance that madman Zhao Jianguo would have of getting together with her. That naturally meant he and Gu Yu would be safer.

Just as Shen Jianan was rejoicing, his head suddenly buzzed. It became stifling and airless, as though someone had forced him underwater. He shook his head in discomfort, and his breathing immediately grew rapid.

The scene before his eyes rapidly twisted and overlapped. The next instant, a strange sound, booming like a great bronze bell, rang ceaselessly in his mind.

Shen Jianan's vision went black, and he fell into a bizarre world. Countless words, like incantations, poured into his mind.

His heart immediately pounded like thunder. Were these not all the plot points from <The Seventies: My Fiery Life with the White Lotus Female Lead>?

What was this supposed to do? What did this voice want him to do?

[The plot has deviated from its track. The female lead has been harmed. Host, rescue her immediately. Rescue her immediately!]

Shen Jianan's head throbbed painfully. He clenched his teeth in misery. What did that mean? Why did he have to save her? Why should he be made to save the female lead?

As though sensing his thoughts, the cold mechanical voice sounded from nowhere again. [The host's mission is to advance the plot and ensure the male and female leads successfully end up together. You need not know anything else. Upon receiving the instruction, execute it immediately!]

"..."

Shen Jianan gasped harshly, feeling as sick as if he had swallowed a fly. At that moment, he hated this voice to the bone. To fulfill the male and female leads, it was luring him into digging his own grave. It truly stopped at nothing! He could not help cursing furiously.

"Get the fuck out! Why the hell should I save Jiang Hongmei?"

[If the host does not follow the plot, you will certainly receive severe punishment. The consequences are not something you can bear.]

"Then bring it on. Who's afraid of whom? I already kicked the bucket in the real world. These past two days were a free bonus anyway. Dying again makes no difference."

Shen Jianan would not be controlled by any person or thing.

[But you are already a host. Can you have a little professional ethics?]

The cold mechanical voice somehow made Shen Jianan hear a hint of grievance in it. But what the hell did that have to do with him!?

"It's not as if I volunteered to become a host."

Shen Jianan felt as if his head were splitting apart. It grew heavier and heavier, as though it were about to explode, and his consciousness became increasingly muddled.

He hurriedly bit the tip of his tongue hard. Only when he tasted the thick flavor of rust did his mind clear somewhat, allowing him to retort, "If you want a host with professional ethics, send me back and find someone else, won't you?"

[...The plot has already been bound. You cannot be replaced.]

"Then quit yapping!"

The youth growled angrily, then sneered at it. "Serves you right! Who told you to drag me into this era of scarce supplies without even asking?"

[..., if the host does not follow the original plot, both you and Gu Yu will be punished. Even if you are not afraid of death, you should at least think about him. After all, he has treated you well...]

"Wrong! He treated the original owner well, not me."

Shen Jianan snapped back fiercely. He discovered that whenever the other party spoke, his mind began to grow unclear. He immediately clenched both hands into fists, his nails digging viciously into his palms until they drew blood, and only then could he retain a little clarity. "Besides, the poor original owner is already dead. And he was killed by you and your twisted values."

The youth made it clear that he would not be brainwashed by this damn system, Plot Lord!

[...]

This was also the first time it had encountered such an uncooperative host. For a moment, it did not know what to do. But before it could think of a solution, Shen Jianan had already begun unleashing a furious stream of varied curses.

"If there's something wrong with your brain, get the hell away from me. Don't keep hovering in front of me. With such a morally warped plot, who knows how you even got hooked on it?

"For the sake of two brain-dead idiots, you harmed me, the original owner, and Gu Yu... I'm not some fool with a lump in my skull. I know I'm cannon fodder, yet you want me to rush out and save the female lead, speeding up my own destruction. Am I crazy?"

[..., didn't you just say you weren't afraid of death?]

"Is not being afraid of death the same thing as being screwed over to death by you?"

Shen Jianan felt that after cursing it out, his mind had cleared considerably. Even his breathing had become smoother, and excitement instantly rose in his heart. With a smile at the corner of his lips, he refuted it disdainfully.

"Even you get unhappy when I don't obey. Why should I obediently listen to you and die to fulfill someone else? I'm not some bodhisattva descended to the mortal world to undergo tribulations, who has to sacrifice the little self to achieve the greater self before ascending into immortality!"

[But, but if the host does not follow the plot, even if nothing happens now, once later plot developments deviate, you and Gu Yu will both be forcibly written out...]

"Pah! Why do you have so much crap to say?"

Shen Jianan raised his voice and cut it off, gritting his teeth as he said, "Didn't I make myself clear just now? Whether I die or not makes no difference to me.

"As for Gu Yu, I don't consider myself a great person, so I will not wrong myself for someone I have known for less than two days."

[..., but you are the original owner now, and the original owner is you. Gu Yu being good to him means he is good to you. How can you bear to let him be harmed? You have lived enough anyway, so what is wrong with sacrificing yourself a little?]

"Bullshit!"

Shen Jianan's breathing quickened again, and his head gradually grew heavy. He shook his head hard, never expecting this dog of a thing to be so despicable. Even at this point, it still wanted to brainwash him. He immediately flew into a rage and ground out through clenched teeth.

"You want me dead, right? Fine! Before I die, I'll kill the male and female leads first and make your hopes come to nothing. Let's see what you can do about it!"

With that, he gathered all his strength and abruptly raised his hoe high. In his mind, he said hatefully, "I'll smash Jiang Hongmei's head open first, then go find Zhao Jianguo!"

Then, heedless of everything, he charged toward Jiang Hongmei, Li Jiaojiao, and the others, who had fallen from the field ridge and were grappling with one another.

"I'll kill you!!!"

Gu Yu, who had been watching the drama from the side, saw the youth's movement and immediately cried out in terror.

"Jianan, don't be impulsive!!!"

Prompted by him, everyone snapped back to their senses and hurriedly shouted, "Educated Youth Shen/Shen Jianan, don't be impulsive!"

Jiang Hongmei was even more terrified, clutching her head and crying for help. "Ah! Don't hit me—"

[Don't... bzzz...]

Dozens of voices suddenly intertwined in Shen Jianan's mind, erupting with a thunderous boom. Like a key that could open a hidden realm, it instantly cleared his thoughts.

The next moment, that voice abruptly disappeared. Countless words appeared before him as they had before and rapidly rushed into his mind.

But the plot had become utterly chaotic, completely different from before, and many blank spaces had appeared. Unfortunately, Shen Jianan remembered none of it. He only noticed the sentence at the bottom of the final chapter—The story was not yet over. A new chapter was about to begin.