“What?” Wen Quhua looked at him in shock, meeting his serious gaze.
Yang Qin lowered his eyes and looked at her. In his dark eyes, there was a faint trace of caution and solemnity. Just as he was about to continue speaking, a loud voice interrupted—
“Brother, why are you at Boss Wen’s place? We’ve been looking for you for ages!”
Yang Tian stood outside with wide eyes, staring in surprise at Yang Qin and Boss Wen.
He had gone to the detention center to pick up Yang Qin but missed him. Remembering that they had agreed to gather at the barbecue stall to shake off the bad luck, he originally came to the sweet soup shop to buy an iced mung bean drink. Instead, he saw the brother he could not find standing in the back kitchen, seemingly saying something to Boss Wen.
Hearing Yang Tian’s loud voice, Wen Quhua immediately pulled her hand back and walked out, feeling uncomfortable all over.
Yang Qin kept watching her slender back as she quickly avoided him.
He no longer wanted to ask about the lawyer or He Youdao. What he wanted to know was whether there was even the slightest possibility between him and her.
He had to admit it, whether he wanted to or not. He seemed to have fallen for her at first sight.
From the very first glance, his eyes had been drawn to her. Even knowing he was not worthy, he still wanted to get closer. This time, she had secretly helped him. Perhaps she also had a tiny bit of fondness for him.
He wanted to take a chance.
But having been interrupted just now, Yang Qin could only ask her later. He returned to the sink, washed the burnt pot clean, and tidied up the counter before walking out.
At the barbecue stall, the workers who had come out with Yang Qin were all seated at one table. After several rounds of drinks, Yang Qin spoke slowly, “I plan to take on the old station project.”
“Brother, didn’t you say before that the old station project pays slowly…”
It did pay slowly, but it had prospects. Originally, he only wanted to earn some money, enough to treat his grandmother’s illness.
But now, he glanced toward the sweet soup shop and quietly withdrew his gaze. “If you want to come with me, pack your things. If not, I’ll find you other jobs.”
If he completed the old station renovation, he would have his own project. Starting a family and establishing a career…
They drank until after ten before dispersing. Boss Wen of the sweet soup shop was closing up. By the time they finished, the first-floor door of the shop was already shut. The second-floor light was still on, but Yang Qin did not have the chance to ask her for an answer today.
He did not leave with them. Instead, he stood across the street from the sweet soup shop, smoking. From time to time, he glanced at the lit window on the second floor. At eleven, the light upstairs finally went out.
He touched his pocket. Inside was the ointment he had bought at the hospital before being taken in, which he never had the chance to give her.
Her lips seemed to have healed. The way she looked at him now carried distance and indifference. That confrontation upstairs that day seemed as if it had never happened. The two of them had returned to being strangers.
He had already said what he needed to say, yet she showed no reaction.
He still needed to go to the county hospital.
Xiao Xin was asleep. Xiao Xin’s mother was also asleep in the ward. The other patients were asleep as well, and the lights were dim.
Yang Qin walked in quietly, placed a kraft paper envelope under Xiao Xin’s blanket, and then left silently.
The next day, when Xiao Xin woke up and felt the envelope in his hand, he was stunned. Xiao Xin’s mother snatched it over and asked, “What is this? Why is there so much… money?”
Xiao Xin immediately said, “It must be from Brother Qin. I heard he’s fine now.”
As Xiao Xin’s mother counted the money, her expression gradually relaxed.
But Xiao Xin said, “Mom, we can’t take this money. This is what Brother Qin saved to treat Grandma Yang. Even if we want compensation, it should come from Liu Jun.”
At this, Xiao Xin’s mother’s eyes immediately reddened. “If we don’t take this money, how will our family live? Your sister’s school fees, the debts your father left before he died. Xiao Xin, I don’t want to take it either, but tell me, how can we live without money?”
Xiao Xin fell silent. At such a young age, his face showed deep exhaustion.
Yang Qin spent two days visiting the small boss he had been drinking with before, trying to discuss cooperation. Knowing about what had happened to Yang Qin, the small boss hesitated. Previously, he truly wanted to work with him.
But now, Yang Qin’s situation is unclear. Even if he had been cleared of guilt, if he took on projects, the small boss would not feel at ease.
Yang Qin was perceptive. How could he not see the hesitation? He chuckled lightly. “It’s fine, Brother. Don’t make it difficult for yourself.”
“Brother, it’s not that I… You’ve got skills. You can take jobs anywhere. Even if you leave Langcheng, you’ll still have great prospects.”
This was a reminder. In Yang Qin’s current situation, staying in Langcheng was not as good as going elsewhere to develop.
Yang Qin smiled but said nothing.
He had never thought of leaving for another place. His grandmother was still in the small fishing village. And there was also Wen Quhua…
It was not yet a dead end. He had already given all his money to Xiao Xin’s family and was left with nothing. Now that the cooperation with the small boss had fallen through, he returned to his temporary residence.
On the morning he left the construction site, he had asked a coworker to help him rent a single room, ten yuan a month.
The conditions were not very good, but he did not mind. He could make do.
Lying in the empty room with only a bed, he thought that he did not mind hardship. But in his current situation, if he went to ask Wen Quhua those questions again, it would be shameless.
Money. Career.
Without these two things, pursuing her would be nothing more than harassment.
She lived a refined and comfortable life. It was obvious she came from a good background. No matter how much he was moved, he could not shamelessly chase her now.
It was not the right time.
He thought again of what the lawyer had said, about knowing one’s place.
How could he not know his place? That was why from the very beginning he did not dare get too close to her. Every day, he reminded himself to rein it in and stop thinking about it.
After that day, Wen Quhua did not see Yang Qin again. The words he had not finished saying that day remained unknown to her.
She had come to complete a task, not to fall in love. Very quickly, she put Yang Qin out of her mind.
He Youdao had turned himself in, and Yang Qin was fine. She had accomplished a major task and decided to reward herself.
“Boss Wen, if you’re going out of town, what about your shop?”
Wen Quhua smiled and stuffed a new sun hat into Aunt Lu’s hands. “I’ll just close it for a few days. Also, I’ll need your help to find someone to look after the shop. When I come back, I’ll teach them. After that, the shop won’t need me to be here all the time.”
Finding someone was not difficult. There were plenty of young girls in Langcheng looking for work. Aunt Lu simply felt that Wen Quhua was too carefree. Her business was doing quite well. Many people in Langcheng came to her shop to try Hong Kong-style sweet soups, yet she wanted to hire someone to run it. Would that not reduce her earnings?
But then again, she did not seem short of money. Running a shop seemed like a game to her.
“Alright, I’ll help you look around.”
Wen Quhua nodded and then returned to the shop.
Summer was approaching, and Wen Quhua could not stand the heat. Recently, her mood has become somewhat irritable. No matter how good a fan was, it could not compare to an air conditioner.
This was the first year after her rebirth. The blazing summer of 1988 pulled her back to when she had just graduated at twenty-one, still free and naive.
In her previous life, she had not come to Langcheng this year. She had gone to her maternal grandparents’ home in Beijing. Her grandmother, grandfather, and uncle’s family all lived in Beijing. After something happened to her in her previous life, she shut herself away and rarely had the chance to visit her grandparents again. Later, when they passed away, she did not even get to see them one last time.
So now that Yang Qin had temporarily passed this hurdle, she wanted to take the time to go to Beijing.
Wen Quhua acted immediately. She packed a suitcase and hung a “Temporarily Closed” sign on her sweet soup shop.
Langcheng Station had already been demolished for reconstruction, so train services had stopped. She had to first take a bus to the provincial capital, which was troublesome. On top of that, she disliked the heat. Her whole body felt sticky, and she fanned herself with a small handheld fan.
“Brother, isn’t that Boss Wen?” Yang Tian had sharp eyes and pointed at Wen Quhua, who was about to board the bus.
Seeing her carrying a suitcase, Yang Tian was somewhat surprised. “Is Boss Wen leaving Langcheng?”
The man beside him said nothing, his gaze fixed darkly in Wen Quhua’s direction.
She carried the suitcase with some difficulty, and the people behind her were deliberately pushing forward.
Yang Tian was about to curse when he saw Yang Qin beside him step forward toward her. “Hey, Brother, aren’t we taking that bus…”
Wen Quhua was getting annoyed. The crowd was packed. She had not even boarded yet, and the people below were already pushing.
Just as she was about to lose her temper, she felt the suitcase in her hand being lifted slightly. A pair of hands blocked the people behind her, and a low voice said, “Get on.”
Hmm?
After Wen Quhua got on, the man behind her blocked the others, escorted her to an empty seat, and placed her suitcase by her legs, perfectly preventing anyone who sat beside her from bumping into her.
Wen Quhua stared blankly at his face, unable to understand how she had run into him again.
When Yang Tian caught up, Yang Qin directly pulled him to sit in the empty seat behind Wen Quhua. Yang Tian sensed something and tactfully greeted Boss Wen with a smile.
“What a coincidence, Boss Wen. Are you going to the provincial capital? Brother Qin and I are also going there to discuss business.”
Discuss business?
Yang Qin cast him a faint glance.
Wen Quhua did not care much. The bus smelled unpleasant to her, and she kept covering her nose with her fan.
Soon, a middle-aged man’s eyes lit up. He hurriedly sat in the empty seat beside her.
Yang Qin immediately frowned.
Yang Tian finally understood. His brother would rather take the wrong route just to escort the beauty along the way.
He leaned closer to Yang Qin and whispered, “Brother, since you’ve already taken a detour, why not sit beside Boss Wen? You could build some rapport.”
“Get lost.” Yang Qin pushed his head away and closed his eyes to rest.
They were heading to Huaicheng. Taking this bus only meant transferring once more and arriving an hour later at night. It was not a big deal.
But he had been busy until midnight last night and just wanted to catch some sleep.
Unfortunately, before he could fall asleep, he heard the pig in the front seat eagerly striking up a conversation with Wen Quhua.
“Miss, where are you from? What are you going to the provincial capital for?”
“Miss, why are you traveling alone? How can your family be at ease? If I had such a beautiful wife, I wouldn’t feel safe letting you go out alone.”
Wen Quhua’s small face stiffened. She ignored him, but he kept asking question after question, even smiling smugly.
“Quite a temper!” he said, looking at her indulgently, and even tried to kick away the suitcase between them.
Just as Wen Quhua could no longer endure it, Yang Qin suddenly opened his eyes, stood up, and said coldly to the middle-aged man, “Get up. Change seats.”
“Why should I switch with you?” The man glared at him, only to meet a pair of cold, sharp eyes.
Yang Qin did not have a good temper. When he put on a stern face, he was intimidating, especially with the anger in his eyes. His gaze carried a fierce hostility.
He placed a hand on the man’s shoulder and applied slight force. The man’s face twisted in pain, and he was forced to stand up. Yang Qin immediately pushed him into the seat behind.
Yang Tian cooperated, pressing down on the man’s legs as he tried to struggle. “Calm down, brother.” He pointed toward the back of Wen Quhua’s head. “She’s my brother’s, got it?”
Only then did the middle-aged man realize they knew each other, and his expression turned awkward.
Yang Qin sat down beside Wen Quhua. He was tall, and with the suitcase under the seat, he could not stretch his legs, so they extended into the aisle.
The ticket seller at the front shouted, “The one in the back, pull your legs in. More people are getting on later.”
Yang Qin’s face stiffened.
Wen Quhua, sitting by the window, could not help but laugh.
He had helped her out, and she was not ungrateful. She moved the suitcase closer to her legs and said softly, “Move over a bit.”
“No need. I don’t want to crowd you.”
“It’s not that crowded.” Wen Quhua did not want the ticket seller to remind them again. She tapped his leg lightly with her fan, signaling him to move inward.
Yang Qin had no choice but to pull his legs in, which naturally brushed against hers.
Wen Quhua pretended to look out the window, fanning herself to make the air more bearable.
Yang Qin’s gaze unconsciously fell on her slender hands and the small fan she held. It was as delicate as she was.
In truth, he wanted to tell her that when going out, she should not dress up so…
But it was a girl’s nature to love beauty. She was especially refined. There was no need for her to deliberately make herself look plain for others.
From time to time, her fan also sent a small breeze his way. Once the bus was full, it finally set off.
Surrounded by the faint fragrance beside him, Yang Qin closed his eyes.
Just then, Wen Quhua turned slightly and glanced at him unintentionally. With his eyes closed, he was not as sharp as usual. His well-defined features and neat short hair gave him a clean, crisp look. He was a rare type.
The men she usually saw in Hong Kong were either elites or fashionable and stylish. Many people nowadays wear flared jeans or floral shirts.
As for him, a black short-sleeved shirt and black pants, simple and plain. But with his tall frame and long legs, his good physique made even ordinary clothes carry a strong masculine charm.
It was the first time Wen Quhua noticed this kind of masculinity.
She had always liked gentle and refined types, men in white shirts with a mild temperament and scholarly air.
But this man… to be honest, his sharpness was too strong. His presence was overwhelming. When she was around him, she often felt his aggressiveness and found it hard to handle.
Yet he liked her. She could feel it.
He had appeared suddenly and now sat beside her, protecting her from the outside.
Wen Quhua turned her head away, the corners of her lips curling slightly under her fan.
Only after she shifted her gaze did his body relax a little.
She thought he had fallen asleep, but when she had been staring at him just now, Yang Qin showed no reaction on the surface, though inside he felt restless and unsettled.
The two-hour ride from Langcheng to the provincial capital passed with passengers getting on and off. He kept his eyes closed the entire time, guarding her side without moving.
She thought he was deeply asleep. But when the middle-aged man got up to get off and stumbled in the aisle as he passed him—
The man cursed as he got up, turning back to glare at him. But upon meeting Yang Qin’s suddenly opened eyes, he immediately lost his nerve and left the bus in embarrassment.
Wen Quhua found it even more amusing. A smile curved her lips, and when he turned his head, he caught sight of the small dimple on her cheek.
They were about to arrive at the provincial capital terminal.
At last, he spoke. “Where are you going?”
Wen Quhua did not look at him. She replied softly, “Beijing.”