Chapter 9

Chen Zhiqiang did not affect Lu Yun’s mood. After returning to the office, she tidied up her desk and began to busy herself with work.

Sister Sun, sitting next to Lu Yun, inquired, “Your salary wasn’t deducted, was it?”

Lu Yun shook her head. “I ran into our office’s deputy director when I just got here. He didn’t say anything.”

Sister Sun smiled. “If he had said anything, that would be strange. When I came in today, I saw him meet with the factory director, and he was praised by the director. You really brought honor to our office during the Mid-Autumn Festival gala.”

After saying that, the two began to chat about their daily lives. Although Lu Yun was not married, Sister Sun enjoyed talking to her. Sometimes, Lu Yun could even offer comfort from perspectives Sister Sun had never considered. Sister Sun felt that Lu Yun, being a young girl, had a certain clarity, and their relationship had improved compared to before.

As they discussed the tightness of daily life, Sister Sun told Lu Yun, “It’s strange; during weddings, there are both bride prices and dowries, and both partners are earning salaries together. But once married, it becomes about being poor. There are so many things to add to the family.

After finally getting back on their feet, having children makes life even tighter. There’s a saying that goes something like: being poor for three years after marriage, and then being poor for another three years after having kids.”

She patted Lu Yun’s hand. “While you’re still unmarried, save up a bit so that life will be easier in the future.”

Sister Zhang, sitting across from them, nodded. “That’s exactly right.”

—o—o—o—

In the quiet of the night, as Chen Zhiqiang read, he could not help but recall Lu Yun singing at the Mid-Autumn Festival gala at the Cotton Textile Factory.

When she smiled gently, her eyes resembled crescent moons. This was the umpteenth time he had thought of this in recent days. However, he quickly remembered how cold Lu Yun had been towards him today.

He knocked on the door, and Chen Zhiqiang’s aunt entered.

After getting married and then divorced, Chen Zhiqiang’s aunt had been living with his family. She wore a clean, polka-dotted white shirt and blue trousers, her hair neatly tied up, making her appear very polished, though her looks were quite ordinary.

Chen Xue said, “A few days ago, I ran into Lu Yun’s parents. That couple looked uneducated; their simple words made everything sound complicated. Just thinking about them, and then about Lu Yun, who has a pretty face, makes my head spin.

In the future, when you see her at the Cotton Textile Factory, You should keep your distance. I see this girl is relying on her looks, trying to climb the social ladder. Nowadays, who isn’t concerned about matching backgrounds when it comes to marriage? Don’t let her pretty face deceive you. Your former uncle, after we divorced, was charmed by his new wife’s looks. Just look at the life he’s living now.”

After saying that, she placed the warmed milk on Chen Zhiqiang’s desk. “What do you think? You also want to find a college student, right? But even those from the countryside won’t do.”

Chen Zhiqiang opened his mouth, unsure of what to say, and managed to reply, “Lu Yun is pretty good.”

Chen Xue was so irritated by Chen Zhiqiang that she took the cup of hot milk she had poured for him and left.

—o—o—o—

After working diligently for half a month, Lu Yun finally reached the payday in October at the Cotton Textile Factory.

She received 73 yuan, and combined with the leftover from last month, she had a total of seventy-eight yuan.

Lu Yun planned to set aside eighteen yuan for traveling to the provincial capital and for daily bus fare, leaving 70 yuan: 30 for buying a wedding gift for Li Ling, another 30 for the Lu family, and 10 yuan for her regular expenses this month.

It wasn’t that Lu Yun was careless with her money; she just wanted to make sure Li Ling’s wedding gift was special, given their close relationship and the previous dress incident.

As for the Lu family, before her time travel, she had focused solely on her appearance and hadn’t bought anything for them while working.

—o—o—o—

On the day Lu Yun traveled to the provincial capital, she made a special trip to Li Ling’s home to see if there was anything Li Ling needed, wanting to surprise her.

However, upon arriving at Li Ling’s house, she found them busy preparing the wedding bedding. Li Ling’s mother was seated with a needle and thread, working diligently, while others were helping out.

Li Ling’s mother looked exceptionally joyful and greeted Lu Yun much more warmly than usual.

After chatting with Li Ling in her room for over half an hour, Lu Yun didn’t notice anything Li Ling needed. Li Ling quietly told Lu Yun that she had saved up quite a bit of money over the years of working and, in preparation for her wedding, she had taken out a portion to buy her own dowry to make it more impressive.

Lu Yun felt somewhat inadequate. This month, she would likely still be living paycheck to paycheck and needed to find a way to make some extra money. However, at this moment, she recalled Sister Sun’s words in the office about Li Ling’s wedding gift, which sparked a new idea. It seemed that simply giving cash wasn’t quite right.

Li Ling hesitated for a moment and asked, “Cousin, I feel like He Cheng’an is half a matchmaker for me and my fiancé. I want to invite him to the wedding banquet without asking for a gift. Is that okay?”

Worried that Lu Yun might disapprove of her inviting He Cheng’an, Li Ling had been contemplating this for several days.

Lu Yun nodded. “Inviting him for drinks? Why not?”

—o—o—o—

After Lu Yun took her leave from Li Ling, Li Ling suddenly remembered something and slapped her thigh. “How could I forget?”

Just then, Li Ling’s father entered. “What’s the matter? Hurry up! Today is the weekend, and we need to go deliver the invitations.”

Li Ling replied, “I want to invite my cousin’s friend to the wedding banquet, but I forgot to ask my cousin to help me deliver the invitation. No worries; I was planning to make a special trip to my cousin’s place anyway. I’ll just go see her next time.”

Then she remembered something and quickly added, “I don’t want him to give me a gift; I just want him to come to the banquet.”

Li Ling’s father, amused and exasperated at the same time, said, “You’re grown up now, and you don’t want a gift, but you still need your cousin to run an errand for you? I’ll go with you to deliver it; don’t trouble your cousin. Let me see where it is.”

Once he grabbed the invitation, he exclaimed, “Perfect! We’re heading to that alley today anyway, so we can go there first.”

Although Li Ling felt a bit intimidated by He Cheng’an, she thought about how polite he had been during their recent encounters and hesitated only briefly before nodding in agreement.

After taking the invitation meant for He Cheng’an, she went out to deliver it first.

He Cheng’an heard a knock on the door and initially thought it was Zhang Hao coming over. He quickly put on a shirt and opened the door, only to find Lu Yun’s little cousin, Li Ling.

Instantly, He Cheng’an’s expression turned serious.

“What happened to your cousin?” He Cheng’an asked.

Li Ling waved her hands and recounted the events of the day. After she finished, He Cheng’an, holding the invitation, asked, “Is your cousin going to the provincial capital?”

Li Ling paused for a moment and replied, “Um, my cousin is going to the provincial capital today. She said she wanted to check out the state-run shopping mall. She’s probably at the bus station by now.”

He Cheng’an rushed back inside, quickly changed his clothes, and hurriedly brushed his teeth and washed his face.

In his rush, he still had toothpaste foam in his mouth. After locking the door behind him, he dashed out of the alley.

—o—o—o—

After leaving the Li family’s house, Lu Yun took a bus to the bus station. Once there, she waited for her bus. She wasn’t impatient at all; in fact, she bought herself a bottle of water.

When she saw the bus to the provincial capital approaching, she quickly put the water into her military green crossbody bag that she had brought specifically for the day.

Once on the bus, Lu Yun realized that, since this was not the bus’s starting point, the vehicle was nearly full when it reached their stop. The only seats left were in the back, where people were squeezed together, leaving only two middle seats available.

When He Cheng’an boarded the bus, he wiped the sweat from his brow. He looked at the back seats and spotted Lu Yun standing there. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some cash—around twenty yuan, enough for several round trips to the provincial capital.

His gaze fell on a couple sitting in the middle row. He approached them, handed over the money, and asked if he could take a seat in the back. The couple quickly accepted the money, eager to move before He Cheng’an changed his mind.

As Lu Yun hesitated over which seat to choose, a couple with cheerful expressions settled into the two seats she was considering. Before she could say anything, she heard He Cheng’an call out to her, pointing to the two empty seats beside him.

Lu Yun took the window seat, and He Cheng’an sat next to her. They had barely settled in when the bus started moving, and it felt a bit bumpy, the noise quite loud.

Noticing a slight odor inside the bus, Lu Yun cracked open the window. She asked, “What happened to the people who were sitting here?”

As the wind blew in, He Cheng’an caught the faint scent of Lu Yun’s perfume. He sat stiffly, feeling a mix of tension and the joyful urge to lean a little closer to her.

“They must have gotten off,” he replied.

Lu Yun felt puzzled, but it wasn’t impossible; she remembered times she had to get off a bus or train at the last minute, even after it had started moving.

As she looked at He Cheng’an, she noticed the fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Instinctively, she wanted to offer him a tissue, but all she had was a handkerchief. She took it out and handed it to him.

Once He Cheng’an accepted the handkerchief, she turned her gaze back to the window, feeling a sense of curiosity about the provincial capital since this was her first trip there since her arrival.

He Cheng’an held the handkerchief, his long yet slightly rough fingers tightening around it as he intended to use it to wipe away his sweat.

In the end, he lifted his arm and used his sleeve instead, wiping off most of the sweat before carefully using the handkerchief to dab his forehead. “Thank you. Once I wash this, I’ll return it to you,” he said.

Before Lu Yun could respond, he asked, “I’m going to the state-run shopping mall to buy some things. What are you going to the provincial capital for?”

“I’m also going to the state-run shopping mall,” Lu Yun replied.

“Then let’s go together. I can help you carry your things, and we can come back together.” He Cheng’an suggested.

Lu Yun nodded. “Okay.”

He Cheng’an felt as if he was dreaming.

He touched the pocket where he kept Lu Yun’s handkerchief and sat straight in his seat.

—o—o—o—

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