Duan Pengyue shot him a glare. “Why shouldn’t she be angry with me?”
Lin Sheng opened his mouth, then turned and asked, “So have you figured out how to make her forgive you?”
Duan Pengyue didn’t respond. If he had figured it out, he wouldn’t be so troubled.
……
Early in the morning, Li Qinkuai followed Qin An to town.
She had thought Qin An was heading to the black market, but instead, Qin An led her directly to the doorstep of a household with their hunted game. Before long, someone opened the door and came out, exclaiming:
“Oh, cousin! What brings you here? Come in, come in!”
Once inside, money and goods were exchanged hand-to-hand.
The entire transaction took less than ten minutes.
Li Qinkuai hadn’t expected Qin An’s hunting and animal-selling business to have developed to this extent.
But it was just as well—at least this way, she wouldn’t be caught and reported for speculation.
Later, when she followed Duan Pengyue into the city, she could also learn from Qin An and sell the meat from her space in the same way.
Qin An tucked the money away and said to Li Qinkuai, “Come on, let’s go look at clothes for you.”
Li Qinkuai waved her off, clutching her stomach. “No rush. Let’s eat first. After walking so long, I’m starving.”
With that, she pulled Qin An to the state-run restaurant in town, took out ration coupons and money, and ordered two bowls of big meat noodles.
Qin An tried to insist on paying for herself, but Li Qinkuai shot her a glare and told her to keep her money, as her father’s illness would require plenty of expenses in the future.
The pork chop noodles arrived quickly, and the two finished eating before heading to the supply and marketing cooperative.
In those days, most people getting married bought fabric and had new clothes made at home, so the ready-made clothing options at the cooperative were limited.
There were red tops paired with blue half-skirts, differing only in fabric and top style. The tops came embroidered with phoenixes or mandarin ducks, or plain red with a large red flower pinned to them.
Li Qinkuai chose the plain red top with the large red flower, spending eight feet of fabric and twelve yuan. She also bought some candy before heading back.
Qin An helped carry the candy, asking unhappily, “If you go back to the city with that man, does that mean we won’t be able to see each other anymore?”
Li Qinkuai was her only friend, and she didn’t want to lose her.
“Of course not. I’ll come back when I have time,” Li Qinkuai said with a smile, not mentioning her plans for divorce.
Qin An was still unhappy. She knew very well that it would be troublesome for Li Qinkuai to return home once she married into the city.
Especially since Li Qinkuai was marrying into the capital—coming back would be even more difficult.
……
Li Qinkuai followed Qin An back to her doorstep, put away their things, ate lunch, and then went up the mountain with Qin An to hunt for wild game.
She spent the entire afternoon on the mountain, while Cheng Yun stayed home preparing for the wedding the day after.
Duan Pengyue didn’t show up in front of Li Qinkuai all day, and in the evening, she heard from Li Qinfen that he hadn’t gone to work—he had taken leave.
Li Qinkuai didn’t pay it any mind and didn’t ask about it.
It wasn’t until noon the next day, when Li Qinkuai came down the mountain and returned home, that she saw a crowd gathered at her doorstep.
Li Qinkuai looked at the people in confusion, then remembered what Duan Pengyue had said the night before last. Could he have actually gone to report her?
She quickly pushed through the crowd, calling out anxiously, “Mom! Dad!”
The next moment, she froze in place.
There, in the middle of the crowd, Li Dafu and Cheng Yun were proudly and triumphantly showing off a brand-new bicycle in the yard.
Duan Pengyue stood quietly to the side with a calm expression, his eyes lowered as if lost in thought. He only looked up when he heard her voice.
Li Qinkuai examined the items in the courtyard and realized they were the “Three Rotations and One Sound”—the most popular items of the time.
Had Duan Pengyue bought her the Three Rotations and One Sound??
“You’re back. I need to talk to you.”
Duan Pengyue approached her, reached out, and pulled her into a nearby room.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted your parents that night. I really didn’t mean to, and I never intended to threaten you by reporting them. I just wanted to remind you to ask your parents not to do such things.”
Li Qinkuai was still somewhat dazed, her eyes blank.
Outside the courtyard, the joyful voices of her parents and the admiring, flattering remarks of the villagers could be clearly heard.
What exactly was going on??
Duan Pengyue wanting to accuse her of the crime of hooliganism, and the Three Rotations and One Sound in the courtyard—neither of these things had happened in her previous life.
Could it be… could it be that she had already changed the outcome of her previous life?
“Are you listening to me, Li Qinkuai?”
Duan Pengyue’s urgent voice snapped Li Qinkuai back to reality.
“What is it?” she responded, now fully alert.
He repeated what he had just said, his tone sincere and his eyes filled with regret.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted your father that night, and I never intended to use it as a threat. I just wanted you to remind your father not to do such things in the future. I didn’t express myself clearly. Please don’t be angry with me, okay?”
When Li Qinkuai hadn’t come to see him yesterday, he panicked. He used his connections to acquire the Three Rotations and One Sound in just one day, all in the hope that she wouldn’t be angry and would forgive him.
So, he had gotten the Three Rotations and One Sound to apologize to her.
Li Qinkuai’s initially joyful heart suddenly grew heavy. “It’s fine. I’m not angry anymore. I’ll marry you, so don’t worry.”
Duan Pengyue immediately breathed a sigh of relief and was about to say something more when she waved her hand and said, “I’m a bit tired. I’m going back to my room to rest.”
With that, she turned and headed straight to her room without waiting for Duan Pengyue to respond.
Li Qinkuai felt like she was going crazy—happy that Duan Pengyue had bought her the Three Rotations and One Sound, yet upset that he had only done so to apologize.
On the other hand, she thought, the Three Rotations and One Sound were such expensive items. If she and Duan Pengyue were to divorce in the future, how would she ever repay him?
This Duan Pengyue was different from the one in her previous life—very different.
Most importantly, would she even be able to divorce Duan Pengyue now?
Li Qinkuai grew even more worried about her future life. The events of her previous life kept replaying in her mind, and compared to her current life, it all felt like a dream.
But which one was the dream?
“Qinkuai, what are you doing? Are you unhappy?”
At that moment, Cheng Yun pushed the door open and entered, walking to the bedside with a concerned expression.
Li Qinkuai quickly sat up and said, “No, I’m not unhappy.”
Cheng Yun sat down beside her, took her hand, and patted it gently. “Don’t lie to me. I can tell you haven’t been very happy these past few days. Tell me, what are you worried about?”
Li Qinkuai fell silent. She hadn’t realized her emotions were so obvious.
Cheng Yun sighed. “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. You’re grown up now and about to get married. Your father and I can’t be with you all the time, but I want to tell you that you have to look forward in life.”
“Life is lived with people, so don’t dwell on the past or reject the future. Living well in the present is the best arrangement.”
“No matter what happened before or what will happen later, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that people must look forward. There’s no obstacle that can’t be overcome.”
Li Qinkuai’s eyes stung. She lowered her head, sniffled, and couldn’t help but voice the turmoil in her heart.
“Mom, I think I made a mistake, but even if I could go back, I still couldn’t fix it. What should I do? I want to change. I really did wrong. If it weren’t for me, things wouldn’t have turned out this way, and I wouldn’t have dragged you all into this.”
Even if she could start over, she would still burden her family.
How useless.
Cheng Yun thought she was blaming herself over the hooliganism charge. No wonder she had been gloomy these past two days, without her usual cheerful, chattering smile.
Reaching out, she patted her shoulder. “Silly child, there’s no such thing as dragging anyone down. This is the best outcome now.”
“Don’t dwell on the past. It’s okay to make mistakes. Now that you realize it, there’s still a chance to make amends. Accept what happened before and live well in the present—that’s what’s right. Things aren’t set in stone either.”