Chapter 2: The Vicious Female Supporting Character in the 1980s (2)

The story of Su Qin deliberately making things difficult for her blind date spread like wildfire in the factory. Wherever Father Su went, he felt people whispering and laughing behind his back, mocking his daughter for being completely uncultured.

Ever since Liu Mei moved in and Su Yue arrived, Su Qin had seemed increasingly immature in his eyes, constantly causing trouble.

Holding in his anger, Father Su rushed home after work, determined to properly discipline her. Seeing his face dark with rage, Liu Mei quickly tried to calm him down.

“Don’t worry about it,” Father Su said as he glared at the tightly shut door. He stormed over and pounded on it, yelling, “Get out here now!”

Su Qin had been showing less and less respect for him as a father.

The door soon opened. But Su Qin didn’t appear as defiant and unruly as her father had expected. She bit her lower lip, her eyes clear, her back straight, looking stubborn and unyielding.

Father Su looked at Su Qin, and through her, he thought of Li Wen, the woman he had once greatly admired. For a moment, he felt a little dazed.

Before he could speak to question her, Su Qin spoke first: “I’ve already told Su Yue that I’ve given Zhou Zhiyuan to her. The engagement, as you said, is null! I will apologize to both Team Leader Cheng and her nephew.”

The person who introduced the blind date was the workshop supervisor from the canning factory, which made the situation more troublesome. Su Qin worked at the factory, and they saw each other often. When a mistake was made, it had to be corrected. She understood this principle better than Su Yue.

As Su Qin spoke, her voice carried a suppressed emotion, and her eyes glistened slightly, directly silencing the words Father Su hadn’t even spoken yet.

She had already agreed to break the engagement and would apologize tomorrow. How else did he expect to pressure her?

Upon thinking about it carefully, the engagement was decided by both families, and Zhou Zhiyuan hadn’t brought up canceling it before. Changing people halfway through was a dishonorable act.

Moreover, Zhou Zhiyuan was breaking off the engagement with Su Qin to be with Su Yue. If this spread, it would be quite embarrassing.

Father Su looked at Su Qin, and his anger seemed to be doused with cold water. All his words were stuck in his throat, and he could only say, “It’s best that you think this way.”

Liu Mei had thought there would be an argument when Father Su came back, but to her surprise, nothing happened. Even during dinner, the two of them sat peacefully.

Halfway through, Father Su asked, “Where did Xiao Yue go?”

Liu Mei recalled the scene from the afternoon. Su Yue had left in tears, but she didn’t dare say much. She vaguely replied, “She said she had something to do at school.”

Father Su didn’t say anything further, but his expression softened slightly.

Su Yue attended a junior college in the city. At this time, attending a junior college was like having a stable job, and Father Su was quite proud of this.

Su Qin paid no attention to the two of them. She just focused on filling her stomach. After dinner and washing up, she went back to her room.

That night, Su Qin lay in bed, her hands behind her head, staring at the beam and quietly reflecting on her life.

Suddenly finding herself in a strange environment, aside from initially feeling scared and lost, she had accepted it with little difficulty.

Su Qin had always been an orphan, with no attachments. Before transmigrating, she had been a second-year graduate student at A University’s Art CollegeShe liked to read all kinds of sweet novels. She never liked tragic stories.

Because her life had been too hard, she had to support herself from a young age. Aside from her studies, most of her time was spent on part-time jobs. Reading novels was a luxury, and she never touched tragic novels, not wanting to make herself sad when trying to enjoy a book.

Su Qin was tricked by the synopsis into reading this novel. If she had known the male and female leads were so despicable, and the female supporting character shared her name and met a tragic end, she wouldn’t have opened it.

She wondered if it was because of the resentment she felt while reading, but when she woke up, she had transmigrated into the book.

In the novel, the original owner was a love-brained person, while Su Qin was the complete opposite. Though she was good-looking, she was too poor and busy, struggling to survive. If a guy stood downstairs in the dorm to confess, she would be scared and hide, fearing trouble.

Su Qin had always believed that love was an emotional pleasure, and she didn’t have the qualifications to enjoy it. Her stomach wasn’t full, and her studies weren’t completed, so what right did she have to indulge in love?

Men only hindered her progress and added to her troubles.

After seeing the original owner’s fate, Su Qin reaffirmed this view. She didn’t know whether men were good or bad, but Zhou Zhiyuan was definitely not a good person.

The next day, Su Qin woke up early to go to work. She even arrived at the factory early to apologize to Team Leader Cheng. After all, she had kindly offered to help with her life’s major issue. Also, to do well, one couldn’t offend the leadership.

When she found out that Team Leader Cheng had taken the day off, Su Qin had no choice but to leave it for another time.

Recently, pineapples had ripened in large quantities, and the canning factory’s workers were all working overtime. Su Qin had no time to think much, so she just started working once she arrived at her station.

Su Qin’s job was to check the pineapples that had been initially processed and remove any leftover skin. She wore work clothes, gloves, and a mask, holding a peeler while standing in front of the conveyor belt, doing her job.

The factory was primarily engaged in export trade, and its equipment was relatively advanced. Hygiene standards were also strict. The pineapples that had been initially processed by the machines had to undergo two rounds of manual inspection before being sent to the next processing point.

Su Qin worked clumsily and wasn’t used to the work. When she applied force, the pineapple almost slipped out of her hands. She quickly grabbed it, skillfully turned it, and pretended to be inspecting it.

Fortunately, she had strong learning abilities. By the end of the day, she had become quite proficient and discreetly observed everyone in the workshop.

As soon as it was time to clock out, Su Qin couldn’t wait for a second. She quickly took off her work clothes. When she removed her gloves, sweat drenched her hands, and she felt very uncomfortable.

Every day, wearing non-breathable work clothes and repeating the same actions for hours, her back and waist ached. It was more exhausting than handing out flyers.

This temporary job had to be obtained through connections, and if the factory’s business wasn’t good, the first people to be laid off would be the temporary workers.

Su Qin couldn’t stand the thought of working as a temporary worker for the rest of her life. She made up her mind to get into university.

After finishing work, Su Qin walked out and ran into a woman. The woman had a prominent black mole on her forehead.

She was thinking of going to the bookstore and instinctively stepped aside to continue walking toward the door.

It wasn’t until she reached the door that Su Qin realized she hadn’t greeted the woman. She generally didn’t make enemies, so if she had known, she would have smiled. But she didn’t dwell on it and quickly walked outside.

Zhou Xiufang stopped in her tracks, frowned, and looked at Su Qin’s back with dissatisfaction.

Su Qin hadn’t spoken much all day. After work, she hurriedly left. Given the events of the past few days, someone half-jokingly said to Zhou Xiufang: “Su Qin had a stern face today. Looks like she’s really upset. Don’t rush to provoke her.”

Zhou Xiufang was Zhou Zhiyuan’s aunt, and everyone at the factory knew that Su Qin liked Zhou Zhiyuan. But Zhou Zhiyuan wanted to break off the engagement, and the matter had been dragging on for quite a while.

Zhou Xiufang wasn’t happy. “What does this have to do with me?”

“I heard your nephew likes the eldest daughter of the Su family? The one who came from the countryside?” There were plenty of gossips in the workshop.

Before Zhou Xiufang could respond, someone else added, “What’s wrong with coming from the countryside? She got into a junior college, and after graduation, she’ll be assigned a job. That’s a stable job, a permanent position!”

In contrast, Su Qin had been working at the factory for quite a while, yet she was still clumsy and careless with her tasks and couldn’t endure hardship.

“A college student?!” Someone who came over asked in a tone full of surprise and envy.

“Exactly.”

“All right all right, hurry up and go home to cook dinner.” Zhou Xiufang interrupted them without refuting what was said.

Compared to Su Qin, Zhou Xiufang naturally preferred Su Yue. Her daughter would be taking the college entrance exam next year. She still wanted Su Yue to tutor her daughter. If she could also get into college, there would be no worries about finding a job in the future.

Su Qin was completely unaware of all this. After browsing through the bookstore, she originally intended to buy a few textbooks and some sets of practice papers, but in the end, she found that she only had a few yuan left.

In terms of looks, the original owner was no less attractive than Su Yue. Moreover, she liked to dress up. One day she would buy a little dress and the next a pair of leather shoes. A temporary worker’s salary was already limited and completely insufficient for such spending.

After doing the math, realizing that payday was still several days away, Su Qin had no choice but to leave the bookstore reluctantly.

Because she had given up on herself, the original owner had scored very low in the college entrance exam. After she failed, all her textbooks had long been sold as scrap. If she wanted to repurchase all the textbooks and review materials, it would require a substantial amount of money.

Father Su would never give her money to buy books. She still had to save up on her own.

Just as Su Qin started to feel a bit down, she happened to hear a vendor shouting from up ahead, “Ice pops—selling ice pops—”

Her eyes lit up, and her attention was instantly diverted. She saw the old man pushing the cart not far away and quickened her steps to catch up. The old man pushed his cart into an alley and disappeared from her sight.

Su Qin turned the corner in a hurry. She ran too fast and too recklessly. Suddenly, a black bicycle came right at her. She was so startled that her eyes widened in shock, and she couldn’t stop her body in time.

The man riding the bicycle suddenly braked hard, quickly turned the front wheel to the side, and jumped off the bike.

“Bang—”

The bicycle brushed right past Su Qin, bringing along a gust of wind as it crashed into the corner wall.

She was still in shock. Looking at the fallen bicycle, she quickly looked toward the man and apologized, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching the road. I’m really sorry.”

She hoped the bike wasn’t damaged. She didn’t have money to pay for it.

As if knowing what Su Qin was thinking, the man picked up the bike and said, “It’s fine. It won’t break.”

His voice was low and magnetic as he spoke slowly. It couldn’t be considered gentle. Instead, it carried a calm and steady tone. Su Qin’s tense nerves were suddenly soothed. She looked at him instinctively, her expression momentarily dazed.

Wasn’t this the blind date the original owner had scolded?

His name seemed to be Cheng Wenfeng.

Speaking of Cheng Wenfeng, he and Zhou Zhiyuan were complete opposites. Zhou Zhiyuan was gentle and scholarly, wore glasses, and had a scholarly aura.

Cheng Wenfeng, on the other hand, had returned from military service. He had a tall and long-legged figure. His face was sharply defined, especially those eyes with their long and narrow tails and sharp gaze. When he wore a stern expression, he looked unapproachable. He gave off the impression of someone not easy to mess with.

What did the original owner say to offend him back then?

It seemed she said that no matter what, she would never like someone like him.

Su Qin felt a headache coming on. Because Cheng Wenfeng was no ordinary man, he was a well-known male supporting character in the novel. Later, he got rich by going into business and became a nationally recognized entrepreneur.

As far as she remembered, Cheng Wenfeng didn’t hold the original owner’s sarcasm against her. On the contrary, he even helped her out later on.

When the original owner died miserably on the street with no one to claim her body, it was Cheng Wenfeng who sent someone to collect her body. He even bought a cemetery plot to bury her.

He probably did that to prevent Su Yue from being criticized.

Cheng Wenfeng also recognized Su Qin. His brows furrowed slightly. He didn’t show much expression and was about to get on his bike and leave.

“I’m sorry.” Su Qin, slightly embarrassed, apologized again.

She didn’t want to offend a future big shot. As the saying went, more friends meant more opportunities.

Cheng Wenfeng clearly understood she was referring to the blind date incident. His thin lips pressed together. He didn’t respond immediately.

Su Qin saw the old man with the cart come out again. While walking inside, she said, “Let me buy you an ice pop, okay? Be the bigger person and let it go.”

Before she finished speaking, she was already jogging over to buy two ice pops. Cheng Wenfeng looked at the one she handed him, a flicker of emotion flashing in his eyes.

“That day wasn’t about you personally.” Su Qin forced herself to finish the sentence. She truly felt Cheng Wenfeng’s aura was intimidating. She couldn’t even look him in the eyes. She placed the ice pop on the back seat of his bike. “I’ve got something else to do. I’ll be going. Bye—”

After speaking, she turned around and left quickly.

Cheng Wenfeng watched Su Qin’s retreating figure. His brows furrowed again and again. His gaze fell on the white sugar ice pop on the back of the bike. His pupils darkened. He lifted his chin and looked in the direction she had left.

After a long while, he picked up the ice pop.

After Su Qin walked out of the alley, worried that the ice pop would melt, she tore open the wrapper and took bite after bite. The coldness made her almond-shaped eyes squint slightly, and a satisfied expression appeared on her face.

She turned left and right and headed for the recycling station.

She couldn’t afford brand-new textbooks. Su Qin thought she might as well check the recycling station to see if she could find any, since they were sold by weight there.

Su Qin explained her reason for coming to the boss lady, who didn’t drive her away. She pointed to the metal shed in the corner. “Go look over there. See if there’s anything.”

A few books weren’t worth much anyway.

Su Qin gratefully went over to search. After rummaging for a long time, she only found two high school textbooks. Seeing that it was almost dark, she had no choice but to stop for the day.

The boss lady saw her disappointed expression and said, “A truckload was just taken away a couple of days ago. Come back in a few days. There should be some then.”

“I’ll come back in a few days.” Su Qin responded with joy.

The boss lady went into the kitchen to cook. Su Qin held her books and thanked her again. Her steps on the way back became much lighter.

It had been a long time since she’d studied high school material. She had to review systematically.

Su Qin had just returned to the cannery and was about to head toward the workers’ dormitory when someone called out to her.

“Su Qin, we need to talk.” Zhou Zhiyuan stood up and walked toward her, seemingly having waited for her for a long time.

He called her by her full name, which clearly showed he was somewhat displeased.

Su Qin stopped walking. Her expression remained calm as she looked Zhou Zhiyuan up and down.

He looked quite refined and delicate, wore glasses, and was just a small editor at a magazine agency. At first glance, he seemed to be a very cultured person.

Su Qin’s excessive calmness instead caused Zhou Zhiyuan to get stuck on the speech he had prepared. He stood in front of her, sighed helplessly, and pleaded in a low voice, “Xiao Qin, don’t make things difficult for Xiao Yue. This has nothing to do with her. It’s all my fault.”

Seeing Su Yue feeling upset made him feel terrible inside.

Su Qin didn’t respond and kept looking at him, as if she were observing something. Her expression carried a hint of mockery, yet her eyes remained clear. Zhou Zhiyuan didn’t know how to react for a moment.

Neither of them spoke. The atmosphere grew tense.

Zhou Zhiyuan became even more uncomfortable. “Don’t be like this. I know I was in the wrong.”

“You’re more clear-headed than Su Yue. At least you know it was your fault.” Su Qin raised her voice after speaking, confirming, “Of course it’s your fault. You two sneaking around flirting behind my back—is that somehow my fault?”

Zhou Zhiyuan was choked by her words. Why did that sound so humiliating?

“Didn’t Su Yue tell you?” Su Qin suddenly spoke again.

“What?”

Su Qin suddenly smiled. “Didn’t I tell her? I was moved by the love you two shared in secret. I agreed to cancel the engagement immediately. I hope you two stay locked together for life and don’t come out to harm others.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiyuan’s expression froze for a moment. Her words made him feel rather ashamed.

She had degraded their relationship to be utterly worthless.

“But I have one condition.” Her tone suddenly changed.

Zhou Zhiyuan immediately composed himself and quickly replied with assurance, “Say it. As long as I can do it, I’ll agree to anything.”

“Starting from this second, both of you stay far away from me.” After Su Qin finished speaking, she turned around and threw out a cold and disdainful line, “It’s really unlucky!”

Her words were full of strong disgust, like she was shaking off something dirty and tainted. Zhou Zhiyuan stood there, lost and bewildered.

Cheng Wenfeng and He Peng happened to walk by and caught their entire conversation.

He Peng was a bit incredulous. “Wasn’t Su Qin still dead set on marrying Zhou Zhiyuan just a few days ago? Now she’s acting so smug? She’ll probably cry under the covers when she gets home. Oh right, a few days ago you went on a blind date with her. Did she snap at you? If I’d known your blind date was her, I would’ve stopped it.”

Afraid of hurting Cheng Wenfeng’s pride, He Peng changed the subject. “Let’s go eat at my place. My dad said the canning factory’s short on people to transport pineapples and pomegranates. Don’t you know how to drive big trucks? Just take the job for now.”

He Peng’s father worked at the canning factory, but He Peng thought the work was too hard and went to the water plant instead. He now spent his days slacking off while reading water meters in a fixed area each month.

After being discharged from the army, Cheng Wenfeng was transferred to the leather factory. Later, the leather factory went bankrupt due to poor performance. He then worked at the mining site, which also didn’t last. Now he was unemployed.

He Peng, being a chatterbox, kept going on and on about Su Qin and Zhou Zhiyuan’s gossip. Most of it was about how Su Qin was too spoiled and insisted on marrying Zhou Zhiyuan no matter what. He also felt lucky that Cheng Wenfeng didn’t get involved with Su Qin.

Cheng Wenfeng didn’t respond to a single word. The two of them went to another workers’ dormitory.

On the way upstairs, from this angle, Cheng Wenfeng happened to catch a glimpse of Su Qin’s figure. She seemed to have forgotten her key and, after knocking on the door twice, she stood in the hallway waiting.

No one from the Su family came to open the door for a long time, but Su Qin wasn’t in a hurry. She lowered her head and started flipping through a book in her hand. A strand of hair hung down, her side profile was fair and gentle, and the way she focused on studying was completely different from her earlier sharp tongue.

Su Qin seemed quite satisfied with the book in her hand. She slightly raised the corner of her eyes and slowly smiled. There was no sign of a bad mood at all.