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After finishing her chores, exhaustion hit her, and she collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.
Perhaps it was due to her fatigue, that night she slept particularly soundly.
She slept through the night until dawn.
Dressed, she stepped out of her room and found the surroundings eerily quiet.
….
The next morning; she woke up; got dressed, headed out of her room, and found the surroundings quiet
As the landlady had mentioned, most of the residents were factory workers who had already left for work by this time, so it was indeed quiet.
Lin Yuyao tidied up and went out to buy supplies.
Divorce wouldn’t be easy; it’s likely to be a protracted battle.
Yesterday, Lu Jiangting hadn’t bought much, thinking she wouldn’t stay here long and would return to the family compound soon. Therefore, many items were left out.
However, Lin Yuyao needed to think about staying long-term and had to buy cooking supplies.
She deliberated for a long time on whether to buy an electric stove or a coal stove.
The shopkeeper noticed her indecision while she kept comparing the two and asked, “You live on that old street, right?”
Lin Yuyao nodded, “Yes.”
“That old street often has power outages. If you buy an electric stove, you should also prepare a coal stove; otherwise, you won’t be able to cook when the power goes out. If you must choose one, I’d recommend the coal stove. It won’t hinder your cooking whether there’s power or not.”
That made sense.
Lin Yuyao said, “Then I’ll take the coal stove. Sir, can you give me a better price?”
Seeing her dressed in a floral cloth outfit and looking a bit rustic, like a girl from the mountains, the shopkeeper assumed she didn’t have much money and offered her a discounted price.
While giving her change, the shopkeeper smiled and asked, “Young lady, where are you from? You’re quite pretty.”
Lin Yuyao smiled and replied, “I’m from Yushan.”
“Oh, that’s quite far.”
…
After buying Lin Yuyao went downstairs to make a phone call. She saw a public phone booth at the complex’s entrance yesterday, with many people queuing up to make calls. Since it was after work hours then, the place was busy. At this hour, however, it was time for work, and no single person was at the phone booth.
Holding a coin in her hand, Lin Yuyao began searching her bag for the paper with the phone number.
That paper had been carefully tucked inside a small notebook. After locating the number, she dialed it, and it connected after a short ring.
“Hello, who are you looking for?”
Lin Yuyao felt a bit anxious, “I’m looking for Fu Huayi.”
“He’s not here; he went to the restroom. Call back in ten minutes.”
Lin Yuyao: “…”
What bad luck.
“Uh, thanks.”
She hung up the phone and glanced at the time.
Ten minutes? She wasn’t sure if that was enough time for him to finish in the restroom.
Might as well wait twenty minutes; after all, it cost a coin to make a call, and it wasn’t cheap.
Fu Huayi and Yi Yunshuo emerged from the restroom, chatting casually.
“Wasn’t the girl that Old Zhang introduced to you quite nice? Why did you refuse her again?”
“She was ugly.”
Yi Yunshuo: “…”
“You’re too superficial. I’m telling you; you can’t just look at appearances; you have to look deeper. The girl may not be stunning, but she comes from a good family. Her parents work in government, and she’s the daughter of a secretary.”
Fu Huayi starting to get irritated. “What does that have to do with me?!”
“If you become the son-in-law of a secretary, won’t your future be secure?”
“I won’t worry about my future whether I’m the son-in-law of a secretary or not.”
“Heh, that’s true.”
“What about you? You should consider it.” Fu Huayi was slightly annoyed.
Yi Yunshuo: “…”
“I…” He scratched his head, embarrassed. “I like pretty girls.”
Huh?
“Only looking at appearances is superficial, just like you said earlier.”
“You’re saying that as if you don’t like pretty girls.”
When “pretty girls” came up, Fu Huayi suddenly thought of someone.
That girl was indeed beautiful, exceptionally so.
But she was Lu Jiangting’s wife.
She mentioned wanting to divorce Lu Jiangting; he wondered how that was going.
“By the way, did Lu Jiangting come back yesterday?”
“Yeah, why do you suddenly ask about him? Didn’t we say we wouldn’t hang out with that guy anymore?”
“Just asking casually.”
Yi Yunshuo seemed to guess what was on his mind and chuckled, “Oh, I see. Are you thinking about the pretty girl from Lu Jiangting’s hometown?”
Fu Huayi: “…”
“Shut up.”
“Hey, don’t get mad. It’s not just you who thinks about it; I do too.”
“Tsk, that girl who picks tea was pretty good-looking.”
“So, you broke your leg just to see her pick tea?”
Yi Yunshuo: “…”
“I didn’t break it; I just sprained it. Don’t slander me.”
Is there a difference?
Fu Huayi couldn’t be bothered to reply.
The two of them walked back to the machine room, and just as they entered, someone called out to Fu Huayi.
“Brother Fu, you had a phone call a moment ago.”
“Who called?”
“I don’t know; it sounded like a young girl. I told her to call back in ten minutes.”
A young girl was looking for Fu Huayi, but the others didn’t think much of it. However, Fu Huayi…
Somehow, Lu Jiangting’s wife popped into his mind again.
He inwardly berated himself for constantly thinking about another man’s wife.
He had said ten minutes, but he waited nearly twenty before the phone rang again.
“Hello, who is this?”
It was Fu Huayi.
But his question “Who is this?” stumped Lin Yuyao.
Had she ever told him her name?
If not, saying she was Lin Yuyao wouldn’t mean anything to him.
Should she say she was Lu Jiangting’s… what?
That would be awkward.
She hesitated, unable to speak, when the other side suddenly said, “Lin Yuyao?”
Lin Yuyao: “…”
He covered the phone to prevent others from hearing, his lips close to the receiver, his voice low.
It felt as if his voice was whispering directly into her ear.
Lin Yuyao felt inexplicably nervous and softly responded, “Mm.”
“This is Lin Yuyao. Comrade Fu, is the deal still on?”
“Of course. How can I help you?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ve come to Nancheng.”
“You’re in Nancheng?” Fu Huayi was surprised. “Where are you?”
“I’m in the Lingxiang Street area…” She briefly described her location.
The other person immediately understood.
“Meet me at six o’clock at the department store entrance on the street.”
“Huh?”
“That’s it. I have to go now.”
But…
Before she could say anything else, he hung up.
The call cost her two coins, which she felt was a significant loss.
Since he said he was busy, she couldn’t call again. She could only wait until six o’clock to meet him. But, Lu Jiangting would probably arrive around that time. How could she avoid him to meet Fu Huayi? Her intuition told her that Lu Jiangting couldn’t know about this.
Fu Huayi was willing to help her; she couldn’t implicate him.
After Fu Huayi hung up, Yi Yunshuo leaned over and asked, “Who was that?”
“Nobody.”
He glanced across the room; three rows away, Lu Jiangting was furiously typing on his keyboard.
Was he trying to finish his work early so he could leave?
Fu Huayi clenched his fist, turned on his computer, and prepared to find some extra work for Lu Jiangting.