Chapter 132

Shaw was equally surprised upon hearing the news. "Is that true?"

Carman immediately brought him over to look at the backpack and the wallet. "See for yourself."

Shaw was even more astonished upon seeing it and asked, "How did you manage to save all this?"

Carman didn't let Summer explain again, pulling her outside for a meal. While Summer was busy eating her dumplings, Carman recounted Summer's story to Shaw.

Shaw listened in amazement.

When he finished, he exclaimed, "Our Summer has really grown up!"

Summer, having finished her dumplings, put down her chopsticks and said without modesty, "Working in the countryside has really been a learning experience. I'm no longer that silly little girl from before!"

Hearing this, Shaw and Carman both laughed.

Because it was late and Summer had traveled all day, they didn't keep her up for long and let her go wash up and sleep.

Summer was indeed very tired. She didn't bother unpacking her luggage, just brushed her teeth, washed her face, took a bath, and went to bed.

Lying in her fragrant bed, wrapped in fresh sheets, she felt like she was lying on soft, sweet clouds. She was so comfortable that she fell asleep before she could even think about anything.

Even in deep sleep, her mind wasn't empty.

Entering a deep dream, Summer found herself transformed into a marionette. She had her own thoughts but couldn't move independently; all her actions were controlled by the strings attached to her.

She wanted to walk on her own, to do what she wanted, so she struggled with all her might to break the strings controlling her.

She fought hard, her skin tearing and bleeding as she did so.

The blood soaked her clothes, and one by one, the strings broke.

With only the last string remaining, she gritted her teeth and made one final effort.

With a "snap," she felt an unprecedented sense of ease and freedom as the last string broke.

Her world, once gray and dull, turned blue with a clear sky and white clouds. She smelled flowers and heard birds singing.

A smile spread across her face, and a pair of white wings unfurled from her back.

With a gentle flap of her wings, she soared into the sky.

She flew higher and higher, feeling freer and happier with each beat of her wings.

Looking down from the sky, she saw magnificent mountains and rivers, beautiful flowers and trees, and a vast world she had never seen before.

When Summer woke up from the dream, she still felt like she was floating in midair, lying on clouds.

She kept her eyes closed, waving her arms as if she were still flying.

Satisfied with her imaginary flight, she opened her eyes and got up.

Though she didn't need to go to work at the factory today, she had plenty to do: she had to gather materials to register her household, get it transferred back home, and then go to the food supply office to handle the ration supply procedures.

After quickly tidying her bed and tying her hair, Summer grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste, then carried her towel and enamel mug to the washbasin in the yard to wash up.

In the city, there was running water, but it wasn't piped into every house.

In the yard, shared by several households, the water pipes were only connected to the yard with a few faucets and stone troughs nearby. Each family did their washing, cooking, and laundry here.

When Summer came out with her washing supplies, the yard was empty.

She set down her washbasin by the stone trough, turned on the faucet, and rinsed her mouth and brushed her teeth.

Just as she was about to wash her face, she heard a hesitant voice from across the yard. "Summer?"

Summer looked up to see Becky, the daughter of the Johnson family, who lived in the west wing.

Becky, four years younger than her, had always called her by her full name. When Summer went to the countryside, Becky still looked like a child, but now she was a young lady, and Summer had to hesitate a bit before addressing her.

Summer smiled at her. "Long time no see."

Becky stared at Summer for a while before saying, "It has been a long time. You look different."

Summer didn't know how she appeared to Becky.

After nearly two years in the countryside, it was impossible not to change. Becky had been attending school during this time and had changed quite a bit as well.

Since they were not particularly close due to their age difference, Summer and Becky were just ordinary neighbors.

After a brief chat, Summer went back to washing her face.

Returning to her room, she applied some snow cream to her face.

When she came out, Shaw and Carman were just bringing breakfast to the main room, calling her, "Time to eat!"

They had made extra dumplings last night, so they were having dumplings again for this meal.

Life at home was truly the best, Summer thought as she went to the kitchen to get vinegar and chopsticks.

Eating together, the family didn't bother with separate plates; one bowl of vinegar in the middle was enough.

"Vinegar's here," Summer called in Carman's tone, placing the bowl in the center of the table. After sitting down, she smiled and handed chopsticks to Shaw and Carman.

Shaw and Carman, upon receiving the chopsticks, couldn't help but stare at Summer.

Seeing them dazed, Summer laughed and said, "Take them!"

Snapping out of it, Shaw and Carman took the chopsticks.

As they began eating, Shaw and Carman continued to glance at Summer.

After a while, Shaw spoke up with a smile, "It seems like you really had a good time in the countryside. The environment there must be great because you look even prettier than before."

Carman nodded. "Not just a little prettier, a lot prettier."

In fact, she looked stunningly beautiful. Shaw and Carman had been taken aback when they saw her face clearly for the first time.

The dim light last night had obscured her features, but now in the full daylight, it was impossible not to notice her transformation.

Hearing this, Summer was surprised.

She blinked, remembering Becky's reaction earlier, saying she looked different. Could Becky have meant she looked prettier?

Suddenly, she recalled the dream she had last night.

Could it be...

She stopped herself from overthinking and quickly put down her chopsticks, heading to her room.

She went straight to the dressing table and bent down.

Her face in the mirror looked the same as before.

Leaning closer, she examined herself carefully.

After half a minute, she noticed a small teardrop-shaped mole at the corner of her right eye!

She raised her hand and rubbed it.

It didn't come off, and her heart started to race.

That little teardrop mole made all the difference. Now that it had appeared, she looked different to others, and she had finally broken free from the constraints of her novel's setting!

No wonder the dream of breaking the strings felt so real. No wonder she felt so light and free this morning, as if she'd been unbound.

She was truly free now!

Summer almost laughed out loud but quickly covered her mouth.

Just then, Carman called from outside, "Summer, what's wrong?"

Summer hurriedly replied, "Nothing, I'm coming."

She took a deep breath, calmed her excitement, and tried not to look strange as she returned to the table and continued eating breakfast with Shaw and Carman.

After eating a few more dumplings, she said casually, "The environment in the countryside is really good, very nourishing. The people are nice, too. They're all honest and kind, and the local officials are fair and upright."

Carman smiled at her. "I think if you stayed there for another year or so, you might not want to come back."

Summer quickly replied, "That would never happen. There's no place like home, and no one is better than Mom and Dad!"

Her words made Shaw and Carman very happy.

They noticed that not only had Summer's appearance improved, but her personality had also become more cheerful and lively.

She had grown up, become more sensible, and learned to make her parents happy.

Before going to the countryside, she had been an innocent girl with eyes only for Henry.

Shaw and Carman were delighted, and Summer was naturally even happier.

But as she finished half a plate of dumplings, she suddenly realized that now she was completely free from the constraints of the novel's setting. She no longer had to find Logan.

Thinking about how she no longer had to bother him, Summer subconsciously sighed in relief.

He didn't like being pestered or having people get too close to him. He didn't need relationships, friends, or female friends. She didn't want to keep embarrassing herself in front of him.

But after that relief, her mind couldn't help but drift to Logan's face, which had been in her thoughts for almost two years. Summer felt a twinge of melancholy.

She hadn't expected their parting at the train station last night to be their last meeting.

If she'd known, she would have said a proper goodbye.