The angrier Zhu Queqi thought about it, the more furious she became—so furious that she actually woke herself up from sleep.
The moment she opened her eyes, she suddenly remembered she was still on the bus. A cold sweat instantly broke out across her back.
She had actually fallen asleep on the bus?!
These days there were plenty of thieves outside. If you weren’t careful, you could be robbed clean without even noticing.
Just as panic set in, she remembered that Gu Ansheng had been looking after her bag the entire way. When they parted at the bus stop earlier, he had taken it with him directly. The only thing of value left on her now was the cup of soy milk that Gu Ansheng had bought for her.
Zhu Queqi finally relaxed.
The bus continued to sway and rattle for a while before it finally reached her stop.
“Beep—”
The arrival chime sounded.
The sunlight outside the window was still glaring, and the soy milk in her hand was still faintly warm. Looking at the droplets of condensation forming on the bottle, she sighed softly.
After getting off the bus, Zhu Queqi dragged her exhausted body through a narrow alley. After weaving through several twists and turns, she finally reached the residential area.
Her home was in one of the old tube-shaped apartment buildings.
Panting heavily, she climbed the stairs. After what felt like ages, she finally reached her door just before collapsing from exhaustion.
It was probably not even two in the afternoon yet. There shouldn’t be anyone home.
After all, it wasn’t the weekend or any special holiday. Those who worked were at work, and those who studied were at school. Along the way she had only seen a few elderly men and women sitting under the shade of trees downstairs, enjoying the cool air.
Even so, Zhu Queqi still knocked on the door out of habit.
After waiting for a moment and confirming that no one was home, she reached into her pocket to take out the key.
She couldn’t help muttering to herself: In her previous life she hadn’t fallen asleep on the bus… hopefully the key hadn’t been stolen.
Fortunately, the key was still there.
She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Looking around, the house was still the same as always.
Zhu Queqi walked to her room and pushed open the door.
Sure enough—her once decent room had been turned into a storage space for random junk.
Although she was exhausted, she forced herself to keep moving. Gritting her teeth, she first moved everything off the bed and stacked it against the wall. After a quick cleaning, she found clean bedding and replaced the old sheets.
Once she was done, Zhu Queqi rushed to the bathroom and took a quick shower. Then she dug out a set of clean but old clothes and made do with them for the time being.
Her face and body finally felt refreshed.
Just as she was about to lie down and rest for a while, her stomach began to growl loudly in protest.
She endured it for a moment—but in the end, she couldn’t.
Accepting her fate, she walked into the kitchen to look for something to eat, just to fill her stomach.
Luckily there were some steamed buns left on the stove. They were probably leftovers from breakfast. She didn’t even bother reheating them—she simply grabbed one and stuffed it into her mouth.
She was truly starving.
Still, the plain white bun became more and more tasteless the longer she chewed.
Not only was it nowhere near as good as the food she ate after marrying Gu Ansheng in her previous life—even the food she had eaten during the years she was sent to the countryside had been better than this!
After filling her stomach, Zhu Queqi’s thoughts began to wander again.
Before long, her mind circled back to Gu Ansheng.
Honestly, she had never understood it.
How on earth had Gu Ansheng fallen for her?
Gu Ansheng had a handsome, refined face—the kind that would catch people’s attention at first glance.
Back then at the educated youth station, countless female youths had secretly stolen glances at him. Even the local villagers would occasionally send matchmakers to introduce potential partners to him.
You had to know that in those days, villagers generally looked down on educated youths like them.
But it wasn’t just his looks.
His mind was exceptionally sharp as well.
No matter how difficult a problem was, once it reached his hands, it somehow became easy to resolve.
In her previous life, after they got married, the two of them had planned to take the college entrance examination together. She devoted herself entirely to studying, doing nothing else and staying at home to prepare.
In the end, she failed.
Meanwhile, he—who had been so busy he barely had time to touch the ground—actually got admitted.
Not only that, he became the top science scorer of that year.
Comparing people really could make one furious.
And Gu Ansheng’s family background was even more impressive.
Everyone in his family—including his relatives—worked in government positions. Even the least prominent ones still held jobs in banks or schools.
They lived in a large traditional courtyard house. Such a big place, yet only their family of five lived there, along with Wang Ma.
Wang Ma was said to be a distant relative who had come to help out, but in reality she was simply a hired housekeeper who received a monthly salary.
On top of that, Gu Ansheng had been a late-born child and the youngest in the family.
Naturally, his parents spoiled him endlessly.
At home he could practically have anything he wanted.
All things considered, calling Gu Ansheng a favored son of heaven would not be an exaggeration.
But when she thought about herself…
Her father was a henpecked husband, and her mother favored sons over daughters.
Although her situation wasn’t as tragic as the pitiful girls in operas, she had still done plenty of labor at home growing up. If she had been more capable, they might have worked her like a donkey.
Compared with her younger brother, the difference was like heaven and earth.
And she herself was somewhat sensitive and delicate. As a child, she often hid under the blanket and cried.
Because of this, Zhu Queqi had never been particularly close with her parents.
Her family’s conditions weren’t bad compared with others in this tube-shaped apartment building.
But compared with Gu Ansheng’s family…
The gap was enormous.
Before she was sent down to the countryside, her family of four lived crowded together in a tube-style apartment of just over ten square meters. The tiny space had been forcibly divided into three small rooms: one for her parents, one for her, and one for her younger brother. Her room was the smallest, located at the far end with only a tiny window. In the summer it became unbearably hot, like a steaming cage.
Zhu Queqi’s parents were both employed workers, and their combined income was actually not bad. But her mother had long made it clear that all the money they earned was being saved for her younger brother’s future marriage—she shouldn’t expect to receive a single cent. Fortunately, Zhu Queqi herself turned out well. As she grew older, her looks became more and more beautiful, inheriting the best features from both parents. Her father had small eyes but a very straight, prominent nose, which she inherited. Her mother had beautiful eyes, so Zhu Queqi took after her as well—double eyelids and peach-blossom eyes.
When she was little, neighbors often joked whenever they saw her. They would say things like, “The eldest daughter of the Zhu family—if this were the time of emperors, she’d definitely be chosen to enter the palace and become a consort.” There were countless remarks like that.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this face that when she later went to the countryside and met Gu Ansheng, he took a liking to her at first sight. He said so himself—when he saw her for the very first time, his heart immediately began to wander.