Chapter 10: The Vicious Female Supporting Character of the 1980s (10)

Su Qin truly did not know that Chen Guoliang had asked her to contribute articles. She gave a perfunctory “thank you” to Zhou Zhiyuan.

In her expression, there was no ecstatic joy or the excitement that Zhou Zhiyuan had hoped to see.

It was as if this was a very ordinary matter.

Instead, those present were unsettled. For a moment, there was complete silence. Father and Mother Zhou were dumbfounded. Liu Mei’s tongue tied and she could not say a word.

Su Qin had never even attended university, so how could she provide steady articles to a magazine? And each issue was published.

That was an opportunity that Zhou Zhiyuan and Su Yue had long sought but could not get.

The expressions on the faces of those present were as colorful as a painter’s palette. Naturally, they did not eat at the same table.

After finishing the meal, Su Yue found an excuse to say she needed to return to school. When Su Qin went downstairs, she happened to see Su Yue arguing with Zhou Zhiyuan.

“Have you realized that the one you like is actually Xiao Qin? If that’s the case, then let’s forget it. Let’s not continue,” Su Yue choked out to Zhou Zhiyuan. Tears in her eyes seemed ready to fall at any moment. She spoke with painful regret, “I never wanted to fight for anything. I just don’t want to see you so troubled and conflicted.”

When Su Yue started crying, Zhou Zhiyuan’s wavering heart tilted completely toward her. The two embraced. He assured her, “I have no other feelings. I’m just happy for her. Don’t overthink it. I really only have… brother-sister feelings for her.”

When he said the last few words, his heart trembled and his eyes flickered away twice.

Su Yue said, “If there is a mistake, it’s all mine.”

Seeing Su Yue so upset, Zhou Zhiyuan’s eyes filled with pity. He patiently comforted her, “You’re not wrong.”

Su Qin could not stand the two of them anymore. She walked over and scolded, “Are you two sick?”

Her sudden appearance startled them. Su Yue lowered her head, helplessly wiping tears. Zhou Zhiyuan was flustered, his expression awkward and confused.

“While you’re messing with your own pathetic drama, don’t drag me into it. Isn’t that just bad luck?” Su Qin said, then looked at Su Yue. “You’re willing to be a trash dump yourself, but you want me to be one too?”

Su Yue’s face turned pale. Wasn’t Su Qin basically calling Zhou Zhiyuan garbage?

After Su Qin left, Su Yue looked at Zhou Zhiyuan. He was staring at Su Qin’s back, lost in thought, his eyes filled with complicated emotions tangled inside.

Seeing Zhou Zhiyuan like this, Su Yue covered her mouth and ran away.

“Xiao Yue.” Zhou Zhiyuan anxiously called after her, chasing a few steps but did not continue. He stood still, hands clutching his pounding head, slowly squatting down.

It was too painful. He could barely breathe.

His strong inner conviction told him he should chase after Su Yue now. She was the one he loved most and he could not let her be sad. But he also wanted to find Su Qin, to explain something.

Explain what?

He did not know either.

Su Yue saw that Zhou Zhiyuan did not catch up and tears kept flowing.

That night, Su Yue lay in bed, half asleep, when a mechanical, cold voice came into her mind: “Plot deviation warning, plot deviation warning!”

“Current male lead favorability is seventy-five percent, dropping by twenty percent. Male supporting character favorability is zero. Data anomaly detected.”

“Host, please adjust immediately. I repeat, host, please adjust immediately.”

…

Su Yue was woken by the voice. She opened her eyes, wanting to listen carefully, but heard nothing more.

She felt uneasy, as if she had neglected something very important.

*

Throughout November, the sales of Happy Children magazine continued to rise. It was reprinted four times. Compared to the original print run, the sales increased several times over.

Achieving such success with the first issue was a breakthrough for both the magazine and Chen Guoliang personally.

This meant that if they maintained the results, they could establish a place for themselves.

By the second issue, Chen Guoliang was more selective with the content. The only two confirmed pieces were both by Su Qin, without a single revision.

Once the second issue was released, it quickly sold out again.

Chen Guoliang kept a copy for Su Qin. Later, Zhang Jun complained he wanted to read it, but Cheng Lan failed to buy one at the bookstore. So Su Qin gave her own copy to Cheng Lan.

Because the magazine’s sales were good, Chen Guoliang paid Su Qin her article fees promptly. With this money plus her wages, she was doing okay.

The article fees were not large though. The review materials for six subjects were not a small expense.

As the weather grew colder, she bought herself a scarf and a padded jacket, which cost quite a bit. Plus, Liu Mei’s cooking was always plain soup, so Su Qin often ate outside.

That little money was quickly eaten up. She also often went to the bookstore to read study questions without buying.

On the weekend, Su Qin got up early on purpose. It was freezing outside when she went downstairs. She walked to a breakfast shop and bought a meat bun. That gave her some energy.

Just as Su Qin took the bun from the shopkeeper and turned around, a 28-inch bicycle flew past her, startling her so much she stepped back quickly and accidentally flung the bun away.

Then it fell to the ground.

Before Su Qin could react, a short-haired girl stepped forward, raising her voice and shouting, “He Peng, you knocked down her bun, come back!”

After the short-haired girl said this, the person in front did not stop. She stomped angrily, hurriedly coming up to Su Qin and apologizing, “Sorry, I’ll buy you a new one.” Then she added resentfully, “That person really doesn’t watch where he’s going, it’s too much!”

Su Qin had just been feeling sorry for her bun and didn’t notice the name the girl said. After realizing, she asked, “That just now was He Peng? Does he work at the water plant?”

“Yes, do you know him?” Liu Xiaoyan replied.

Su Qin asked, “His parents work at the canning factory?”

She did not have a deep impression of He Peng, but he had a good relationship with Cheng Wenfeng. In the original story, He Peng disliked Zhou Zhiyuan and also disliked the original owner.

Liu Xiaoyan nodded.

Su Qin said, “My dad works at the canning factory too, we all live in the staff dormitory.”

“I see,” Liu Xiaoyan started complaining, “He’s just like that. He just rode his bike, grabbed my hair, and ran off. His brain definitely doesn’t work well!”

Su Qin looked at Liu Xiaoyan’s frustrated complaint. Although she seemed angry, it was more like teasing. He Peng’s behavior was a bit like boys in middle school who always liked to pull the pigtails of girls they liked.

“We’re out of buns. How about I buy you dumplings?” Liu Xiaoyan said apologetically.

Su Qin looked at the large bun she had been craving on the ground and sighed silently, “Forget it, I’ll buy it myself.”

Liu Xiaoyan insisted on buying it for her, repeatedly apologizing, and said that if she caught He Peng, she would definitely get justice for her.

Su Qin took the dumplings and walked towards the bookstore.

The dumpling wrappers were thin, the filling was plentiful, and the taste was good.

Su Qin stayed at the bookstore all morning. When she went back, she stopped by the magazine section to see if the second issue of Happy Children was available because she wanted to buy it to keep.

Unfortunately, it was out of stock.

Just as she was about to leave, Liu Xiaoyan came out from the side. She was holding a youth literature storybook and was deeply engrossed in reading. Seeing Su Qin, she was surprised and said, “What a coincidence.”

“It really is,” Su Qin smiled.

“Are you here to buy magazines too?” Liu Xiaoyan seemed to find a kindred spirit, “Any recommendations? Which one is good?”

Su Qin said, “I don’t know much about these. The one I wanted is out of stock.”

“This one is good. It made me cry.” Liu Xiaoyan held the magazine and sniffed, “That girl is so pitiful. Why can’t they be together?”

Su Qin glanced at it. Liu Xiaoyan was reading a romance magazine, probably telling a tragic and twisted love story.

Since that day, when Su Qin went to the bookstore on weekends, she occasionally saw Liu Xiaoyan. She was always in the magazine area reading books and sometimes bought one.

Liu Xiaoyan was a simple-minded girl. After seeing Su Qin more often, they naturally became familiar.

She told Su Qin she had severely scolded He Peng for her, grabbed his ears and hit him several times, and he had cried loudly.

Liu Xiaoyan also said she worked at the water plant too. Her father had passed away, and she took over his job. Every month, she gave her salary to her mother. Her family had a brother who was saving up for a bride price, so she had to save money every month just to buy a magazine.

She really liked reading these dramatic love stories. It was like her spiritual world.

Liu Xiaoyan also knew Su Qin was there to look at exam papers and was different from her because she planned to take the college entrance exam next year.

She admired Su Qin and wanted to be friends.

Since Liu Xiaoyan was very enthusiastic and clearly a simple-hearted girl, Su Qin did not refuse. She even treated Liu Xiaoyan to fried dough cakes and red bean soup, generously asking the owner to add eggs and shredded chicken, emphasizing, “Add double shredded chicken to both.”

Liu Xiaoyan’s eyes widened, “You’re really rich. Don’t you give your salary to your family?”

Most girls around her, after working, had to hand over their salary to their families.

That was shredded chicken and eggs. How could they eat so extravagantly all at once?

Su Qin said, “My mom has passed away. My dad remarried. I don’t give my salary to them.”

Liu Xiaoyan immediately felt a sense of shared hardship. She even thought Su Qin was worse off than her because she still had a mother and no stepfather.

Because of the fried dough cakes with eggs and chicken and their similar family backgrounds, Liu Xiaoyan cherished Su Qin as a friend. On weekends, she would bring scallion pancakes made by her mom to share with Su Qin.

When Su Qin was doing problems, Liu Xiaoyan would read novels beside her, sometimes smiling foolishly, sometimes wiping tears silently with her sleeve, quietly sobbing.

“Are you okay?” Su Qin asked during a break.

Liu Xiaoyan would tearfully say, “Their love story is so touching. I’m just too happy, sob sob—”

“……”

Su Qin continued focusing on her problems.

As time passed, their friendship deepened, and Liu Xiaoyan regarded Su Qin as her best friend.

Soon it was January.

The weather grew colder and snow started falling heavily outside.

Liu Xiaoyan came to the bookstore less often. It was said she was helping at home with pickling sauerkraut.

After not seeing Liu Xiaoyan for two weeks, she suddenly showed up again, bringing two boiled eggs. She excitedly told Su Qin, “I have good news.”

“What is it?” Su Qin stopped flipping through her book.

“Yesterday we did a big cleaning at home. I found lots of high school practice problems and various test papers in my brother’s room. Do you want to come to my house to see if any are useful?” Liu Xiaoyan said, then added, “I’m dumb, but my brother is awesome. He got into university. If he help you, you can also get into university and don’t have to work as a temporary worker at the canning factory. It’s better than being a regular factory worker.”

Su Qin did not refuse, “Shall we go to your place later to look?”

If useful, it could save a lot of money.

“Mm hm,” Liu Xiaoyan nodded, “I’ll go get a book to read.”

Su Qin’s problem-solving was going smoothly today. After finishing a set of problems, she packed her books and followed Liu Xiaoyan home.

Liu Xiaoyan hadn’t seen her for half a month. On the way, she chattered nonstop, sharing all kinds of recent things with her.

Most of the time, she was complaining about He Peng:

“He’s so annoying. If he’s going to read the water meter, just do it. Why does he have to nag so much? I hate men like that the most.”

“Yesterday he pulled my hair again. I grabbed him and almost slapped him twice.”

“So annoying. Whenever I see him, he always causes trouble for me. How can there be such an irritating man?”

…

Every time Liu Xiaoyan spoke, although she bit her teeth and spoke bitterly, there was no anger on her face. So Su Qin always smiled silently. Occasionally, when Liu Xiaoyan pressed her, she nodded and agreed, “Yes, a man like that probably won’t find a wife in the future.”

“Maybe not,” Liu Xiaoyan hesitated. “He looks good and is slick with words.”

Before she finished, under Su Qin’s gaze, she immediately added, “But he’s like a butterfly, doesn’t seem very smart, really annoying!”

Su Qin said, “Just ignore him.”

Liu Xiaoyan was a local, living in the second alley of Nanhong. She said that although her house was just a tile-roofed house, the courtyard was especially spacious.

“Oh, why is the door open?” Liu Xiaoyan saw that their big courtyard gate was open, looking puzzled as she stepped forward.

Su Qin followed her inside and immediately saw several people sitting in the yard.

She saw Cheng Lan smiling brightly as she spoke to the woman opposite, “Our Wenfeng is not very talkative, but actually very warm-hearted, cares for family, filial, and hardworking. He will definitely be a good husband in the future.”

After speaking, she emphasized an important point, “Besides delivering goods for the canning factory, he also delivers boards outside. Later, he can start his own business.”

“That’s good.” The woman nodded in satisfaction and pointed at the slightly plump woman beside her, “Our Yuanying is the same, like her mother, always busy.”

“Knows how to manage a household. In a family, women are very important.” Cheng Lan smiled and added, noticing someone had come in, she turned her head and said, “Xiao Qin?”

Whether it was Su Qin’s imagination or not, she felt that Cheng Wenfeng, who had his back to her, stiffened for a moment.