Chapter 2

Lu Yun had not expected to encounter He Cheng’an so soon.

He Cheng’an was looking at Lu Yun, and Lu Yun was staring back at him.

He Cheng’an’s appearance gradually overlapped with that in her dreams.

She took a step back, creating some distance between them.

In the novel she had read, He Cheng’an had been Lu Yun’s unresolved sentiment.

Now, Lu Yun found herself in the position of the female supporting character that He Cheng’an liked. For a moment, she was at a loss about what to do; she hadn’t thought it through.

He Cheng’an pulled out a Snow Cream from his pocket and pressed it into Lu Yun’s hand. “This time, don’t let me find out you’ve given it away again.”

Not long ago, He Cheng’an had overheard Lu Yun mention to a friend in the cafeteria that she wanted a Snow Cream, but it was only available in the provincial city.

He had made a trip to the provincial city, bought the item, and returned with some random things from the mall to give to Lu Yun.

Lu Yun accepted the gift, but then he saw that her little cousin was wearing the dress he had given her. Since the dress had been gifted away, he figured the rest had probably been given away too.

Fortunately, He Cheng’an understood Lu Yun’s nature and had bought an extra bottle of Snow Cream.

Lu Yun watched He Cheng’an’s silhouette and thought about the original plot, unable to help but call out to him, “He Cheng’an, I don’t dislike you. Thank you for this Snow Cream.”

He Cheng’an paused, turning to look back.

In the sunset, Lu Yun walked through the alley wearing a pure white dress. Her shadow stretched long behind her, and a gentle breeze stirred a few strands of her hair.

—o—o—o—

That evening, Lu Yun’s little cousin came over, her face flushed with excitement. Without asking, Lu Yun knew that her cousin’s blind date must have gone well.

Following the current trend, they would soon be discussing dowries and marriage gifts, then they would set a wedding date and prepare for the ceremony.

Lu Yun’s little cousin, Li Ling, was beaming, her cheeks reddened. Next to her, Li Ling’s mother was enthusiastically describing the blind date’s qualifications and appearance, nearly singing his praises to the heavens.

The four members of the Lu family were gathered around, all listening to her, including Lu Yun.

Since Lu Yun had crossed over, she had not only loving parents but also an Eldest Brother who was a few years older than her and now worked in a factory.

“It’s for you, but that day I was in a hurry for the blind date, so I left it at my house. After I got back, I washed your dress, and now that it’s dry, I came over,” Li Ling said.

Lu Yun asked, “Did you run into He Cheng’an on the day of your blind date?”

Li Ling replied, “Cousin, how did you know? We met at the State-Owned Restaurant for dinner. That place has glass windows, and when I looked up, I saw He Cheng’an. It seemed like he was staring at the dress I was wearing. I thought, could he have mistaken me for you?”

As she spoke, Li Ling felt a surge of happiness. Everyone knew that Lu Yun was a beauty; she was only somewhat similar in figure to Lu Yun. The thought that He Cheng’an might have confused her for Lu Yun made her giddy with delight.

Li Ling continued, “But He Cheng’an looked like he was in a bad mood. When he saw me, he frowned, as if I owed him money, which really scared me. My blind date seemed startled too, but he still stood up to ask He Cheng’an, ‘Do you know my girlfriend?’ That’s when I quickly confirmed our relationship. So, you could say that He Cheng’an is half a matchmaker for me and my boyfriend.”

Lu Yun looked at the dress that Li Ling had washed for her and thought, perhaps she should be grateful for this dress.

Outside, the conversation had initially revolved around Li Ling’s blind date, but it soon shifted to Lu Yun’s blind date. Once that topic came up, Zhang Meili began expressing her worries.

Li Ling’s smile faded a bit. “Cousin, look at you! If I had half your looks, when I went on a blind date, I’d be selective. I’d at least find someone who owns a house! I think that Chen Zhiqiang really lacks vision.

And the Chen family—they act as if they’re looking down their noses at people. Just because Chen Zhiqiang went to college and works as a deputy director at the factory, what’s so impressive about that? If I really ended up marrying into that family, I can’t imagine how they’d grind me down.”

Lu Yun patted Li Ling’s shoulder. The young girl, despite her age, had quite a sharp perspective. It wasn’t just about being ground down; Lu Yun had never thought of the term “grind down” while reading novels before, but Li Ling’s description was just too fitting.

The female supporting character—no, she had only changed her temperament after being worn down by the Chen family, ultimately ending up divorced from Chen Zhiqiang.

The novel clearly stated that after marrying into the Chen family, the female supporting character had a tumultuous relationship with them.

Lu Yun couldn’t believe that the female supporting character could have caused such chaos in the Chen family all on her own. She liked Chen Zhiqiang, and she was already busy trying to please the Chen family; something must have happened that led to her downfall, but the novel hadn’t elaborated on that.

Lu Yun replied, “You’re right.”

Li Ling was delighted. “Cousin, you’ve figured it out! That’s great!”

—o—o—o—

Lu Yun had crossed over at an excellent time—the main story of the novel hadn’t begun yet.

However, if there was anything Lu Yun was dissatisfied with, it was probably the fact that her pursuit of Chen Zhiqiang had become well-known.

The people at the Cotton Textile Factory knew, many of the residents in her alley were aware, and she had even publicly declared that she would only marry Chen Zhiqiang in this lifetime.

Lying in her bed, Lu Yun felt so embarrassed that she could have fashioned a dream castle out of the tangled sheets.

She turned over and got up to push open the window for some fresh air.

Feeling that it wasn’t cool enough, she grabbed a nearby straw fan and began to fan herself.

Although the straw fan didn’t look as exquisite as the one Lu Yun had used before, it was simple and practical.

The most important thing was that it genuinely provided a nice breeze.

She didn’t even realize when she became extremely sleepy and, before she knew it, had fallen asleep with her head resting on the bed.

The next day, Lu Yun had to go to the Cotton Textile Factory for work. Having adapted to life here, she didn’t just roll out of bed like she had when she first crossed over.

The Lu family was preparing breakfast when Zhang Meili looked at her and said, “You child, why didn’t you close the window when you went to sleep last night? Your dad saw it open this morning and closed it for you. You must have gotten bitten by mosquitoes last night.”

Lu Yun touched her face and nodded.

Yes, she had been bitten, and there were bites on her face.

Before heading out to work, Lu Yun looked at herself in the mirror. Surprisingly, the spots where the mosquitoes had bitten her looked rather cute, located just below her cheek.

Of course, this cuteness came with the annoyance of itching.

With a blank expression, she put down the mirror, slung her bag over her shoulder, and stepped outside.

Zhang Meili watched Lu Yun’s retreating figure and felt troubled. “Look at her! As soon as she goes to work, she spends the entire morning getting ready just to meet that Chen Zhiqiang. If you ask me, it’s Chen Zhiqiang who’s blind. How could he not be interested in such a beautiful daughter of ours? If it were someone else, they’d be so thrilled they’d fly to the sky!”

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She placed her hands on her hips and said, “Of course, he’s blind! The whole Chen family is blind—what kind of people are they?”

—o—o—o—

He Cheng’an hadn’t slept a wink the previous night, and he felt like he had boundless energy. He didn’t dare to keep going to the alley where Lu Yun lived, so he waited near the Cotton Textile Factory for her.

When he finally saw Lu Yun riding her bicycle toward him, He Cheng’an realized he didn’t know how long he had been waiting.

He Cheng’an rode his bicycle to catch up with Lu Yun, and the two bicycles moved forward side by side.

After glancing at Lu Yun, He Cheng’an slowed down a bit.

Seeing He Cheng’an again, Lu Yun felt much calmer. She hadn’t expected that the novel would start with the female supporting character getting divorced from the male lead.

Many of the previous events were merely memories or things recounted by others.

For instance, He Cheng’an’s friends reminisced that before Lu Yun got married, He Cheng’an would always find opportunities to meet her.

After Lu Yun married, he would only glance at her from afar—they said  that if she wanted stars from the sky, He Cheng’an would figure out a way to pluck them for her.

So, it was strange that He Cheng’an wasn’t finding chances to meet her.

He Cheng’an took advantage of his long arms to place a lunchbox in Lu Yun’s bicycle basket. “You said you don’t dislike me, so you have to eat this braised pork today.”

Lu Yun stopped, and He Cheng’an followed suit.

When she looked up, she saw He Cheng’an smiling, but his thin lips were pressed tightly together.

When she remembered the novel made her heart soften.

Lu Yun explained, “I still have the Snow Cream and the dress; I didn’t give them to my little cousin.”

He Cheng’an paused for a moment, looking at Lu Yun with an unexpectedly serious expression.

Lu Yun recounted what had happened with Li Ling to He Cheng’an, but she left out that the dress was a gift from him.

After all, the system had only helped her understand her surroundings and didn’t reveal everything in detail.

In fact, Lu Yun had questioned why, if the system had the power to make her cross over, it didn’t also restore her memories.

But she knew better than to ask such questions; the system would never answer. It would only say something vague, like, “You’ll know in the future.”

Looking at the lunchbox in her bicycle basket, Lu Yun thought about He Cheng’an’s earlier expression and continued pedaling her bicycle toward the Cotton Textile Factory.

Lu Yun worked in the office of the Cotton Textile Factory, handling tasks that were not particularly important—just some mundane matters that needed attention, like creating spreadsheets and compiling statistics about the production workshop. These tasks were simple and easy for Lu Yun to manage.

However, Lu Yun wasn’t foolish enough to finish all her work in the morning; she completed her tasks at a pace similar to everyone else’s.

At noon, the factory had a cafeteria where workers could eat. Those who brought their own lunch could have it heated up and then enjoy their meal in the cafeteria.

The system had already provided Lu Yun with basic information about interpersonal relationships.

For instance, she knew who she was currently close to in the office. One of those people was Sister Sun, a woman six or seven years older than her.

When lunchtime came, the cafeteria was packed with workers, both those dining in and those taking their meals back. Everyone was crowded together, forming a long line.

Sister Sun said: “Thank goodness we brought our own food! If we had to wait in line for lunch, who knows how long we’d be waiting? I’m starving—let’s hurry; there’s an empty table up ahead.”

Lu Yun was known as the “Changhua” (“Factory Flower” meaning the most beautiful girl in the factory) of the Cotton Textile Factory. As soon as she entered the cafeteria, many gazes turned toward her. Given her bold declarations about only marrying Chen Zhiqiang, she had truly become a “celebrity” within the factory.

For a moment, Lu Yun felt her scalp tingle from all the attention, but thankfully, she had walked the red carpet before and wasn’t too embarrassed. Otherwise, she might not have been able to enjoy her meal.

After sitting down across from Sister Sun, Lu Yun opened the lunchbox that He Cheng’an had prepared for her.

As soon as she lifted the lid, she was stunned. She hadn’t expected He Cheng’an to pack so many dishes—stir-fried meat with green peppers, meatballs, braised fish, and a stir-fried vegetable dish. It was a well-balanced meal with both meat and vegetables.

Not only Lu Yun, but even Sister Sun across from her couldn’t help but swallow as she looked at the spread. The meal Lu Yun brought was simply too good!

With a smile, Lu Yun served some to Sister Sun. “Try some.”

During the meal, Lu Yun ate a bit more than she intended, wanting to avoid wasting any food.

He Cheng’an had packed too much, but everything tasted delicious. The savory stir-fried meat had a rich texture, the sauce enveloping it was flavorful, the meatballs were tender, the braised fish was fresh, and the stir-fried vegetables were light, making for a perfect combination.

In the afternoon, Sister Sun treated Lu Yun especially well. After all, a mouthful of food could tie people together, and Sister Sun even helped Lu Yun finish some of the work that she hadn’t completed.

The entire afternoon, the office was exceptionally quiet. Lu Yun listened to the various discussions about relationships and marriages around her.

Most of the conversations revolved around other people’s matchmaking experiences.

However, everyone knew about Lu Yun’s previous bold declarations, so unless someone intended to provoke her, they wouldn’t mention her.

This, in a way, gave Lu Yun some peace, while the other single girl in the office turned red from embarrassment as they spoke about such topics.

—o—o—o—

Pushing her bicycle out of the Cotton Textile Factory, Lu Yun walked through the crowd, where many were discussing what to cook for dinner.

Most of these conversations came from those already married, who needed to support their families.

Meanwhile, single people were making plans to watch movies or go out together after work.

Lu Yun was moving slowly. She wasn’t very familiar with riding her bicycle, and there were too many people around, so she decided to wait until she was out of the crowd before riding.

Finally reaching a quieter area, Lu Yun began to pedal forward.

To her surprise, she encountered He Cheng’an again, who was waiting for her. This time, they rode side by side once more, and He Cheng’an tossed another package into Lu Yun’s bicycle basket.

Seeing him made Lu Yun’s heart soften.

She couldn’t help but think of the ending of the novel where he and the Female Supporting Character concluded their story together. She couldn’t bear to see his bright eyes begin to dim.

She asked, “What is this?”

He Cheng’an tried to control his excitement as he replied, “It’s some floral water and mosquito coils. The coils have a bit of a strong smell; light them when you get home, then extinguish them before you sleep. And use some floral water on yourself.”

The mosquito bites were itchy if scratched, but during the day, Lu Yun had almost forgotten about being bitten. Now, as she finished work, she found He Cheng’an had brought her floral water and mosquito coils.

Lu Yun replied, “The floral water doesn’t smell good.”

After saying that, she picked up her speed and added, “Don’t follow me; there are a lot of people watching us.”