Early the next morning, Zhu Queqi arrived at the neighborhood office with eyes swollen like walnuts, looking listless and exhausted.
Seeing her in such a miserable state, the staff member treated her much more kindly than in her previous life. After hearing that she had come to look for a job, they not only didn’t brush her off, but instead politely told her to come back the day after tomorrow to report for work.
Just like that, in a rather muddled way, the problem of her job was solved.
But when she thought about how, starting the day after tomorrow, she would be carrying a broom and sweeping the streets—and would never again be able to wander around idly like she did today—Zhu Queqi suddenly felt even more dispirited.
Shaking her head to suppress the gloomy thoughts, she had originally planned to go straight home. But instead, she turned around and walked toward the nearest department store.
There wasn’t any money in her pocket anyway, so she only intended to browse.
As she passed a men’s clothing shop, a plaid shirt hanging outside suddenly caught her eye. Her steps stopped involuntarily—
She had thought of Gu Ansheng.
Gu Ansheng never wore flashy or colorful clothes. In all the time she had known him, the thing she had seen him wear most often was a white shirt. Even though he was a man, his clothes were always washed spotlessly clean.
Standing at the shop entrance, Zhu Queqi stared at the shirt, lost in thought.
Inside the store, the sales clerk noticed someone lingering at the doorway and thought a customer had arrived, so she quickly came out.
Today Zhu Queqi was still wearing the same goose-yellow dress from yesterday, along with the same pair of white flats. The only difference was that she had tied her hair up with a red ribbon.
She looked just like a lively young girl with money to spend.
Seeing her outfit, the clerk thought there might be a sale. Clearing her throat, she approached with a warm smile.
“Comrade, looking to buy clothes? How about this shirt? It sells very well here—very popular!”
Hearing the voice, Zhu Queqi snapped back to her senses. The tips of her ears instantly turned hot.
She hurriedly waved her hands in embarrassment.
“No, no, that’s alright. I was just looking. Thank you.”
After saying that, she almost fled the place, walking away quickly. Behind her, the clerk rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath,
“Looking for so long without buying anything—how annoying…”
Why did she think of Gu Ansheng again?
She needed to forget him!
Forget him! Forget him!! Forget him!!!
Frowning, Zhu Queqi shook her head hard, her expression complicated as she walked home.
That evening, Zhu Queqi timed things carefully and finished cooking dinner. Without waiting for her parents to return home to eat together, she hurriedly ate a few bites by herself. After washing up quickly, she went back to her room.
Perhaps because she had walked so much during the day, she lay on the bed on her side with her head resting on her arm. Before long, her eyelids drooped, and she fell asleep.
What one thinks about during the day appears in dreams at night.
In her dream, Zhu Queqi returned to the time shortly after she had come back to the city in her previous life. Gu Ansheng had just bought a bicycle and had excitedly ridden over to see her.
From far away, he saw her struggling to push a garbage cart up a slope. Her own father was sitting by the roadside watching, not even bothering to help.
Her father had been sent by her mother to bring her food—mainly because they were worried she would spend money outside before earning any.
Although it was supposed to be delivering food, it was really just a box of plain rice with a few spoonfuls of extremely salty pickled radish.
When Gu Ansheng saw this, his heart ached terribly.
He jumped off his bicycle, parked it by the roadside, and rushed over to her in a few quick steps, taking the cart from her hands.
He had never imagined that her job would be this exhausting.
Even during the years when they were sent to the countryside, as long as he was around, he never let her suffer. He never allowed her to work in the fields like the other educated youths. Whenever something heavy needed to be carried, he would rush to do it himself.
Who could have imagined that after returning to the city, she would actually be living worse than when she was in the countryside?
As Gu Ansheng pushed the garbage cart, he thought it over and decided they should hurry and get married.
If Zhu Queqi married him soon, she wouldn’t have to do this street-sweeping job anymore. In fact, she wouldn’t need to work at all. She could just stay at home and focus on studying for the college entrance exam.
If she passed, she could go to university. If she didn’t pass but wanted to try again, she could continue preparing.
And if she didn’t want to take the exam again, she could simply stay at home and live comfortably as Mrs. Gu.
Suddenly, Zhu Queqi opened her eyes.
She had woken from the dream.
Reaching up to touch the corner of her eye, she realized she had been crying.
At that moment, she understood something with absolute clarity—
She didn’t want to sweep the streets.
No. That wasn’t right.
What she truly didn’t want… was to separate from Gu Ansheng.
Once she understood this, early the next morning—before the sky was even light—Zhu Queqi quickly climbed out of bed.
After hurriedly washing up, she began getting dressed and doing her hair. She rummaged through her belongings for a long time before finally deciding on an outfit.
She chose a white blouse with a doll collar for the top, paired with a light blue twill skirt and a pair of brown low-heeled sandals.
She tied her hair into a ponytail and cleverly added the silk scarf that Gu Ansheng had given her.
After finishing, she checked herself in the mirror again and again. Only after confirming that there was nothing more to add did she finally leave the house, satisfied.
In truth, Zhu Queqi was naturally beautiful. Her figure was slender and graceful, with gentle curves. Even if she wrapped herself in a piece of cloth, she would still look good.
She ran all the way to the bus stop, breathing heavily, and finally managed to catch the first bus.
After what felt like a long, bumpy ride, she finally reached her destination.
When she got off the bus, perhaps because she hadn’t eaten breakfast, her legs suddenly felt weak. After standing still for a few minutes, she relied on the memories from her previous life and easily found Gu Ansheng’s house.
His home was located in a good neighborhood, so she didn’t have to walk far before arriving.
Taking several deep breaths, Zhu Queqi prepared herself mentally before stepping inside.
But the moment she entered the courtyard, she heard cheerful voices coming from the main house—along with the lively laughter of women.
The sound was like a tiny needle, gently pricking her heart.