“Is something the matter?” Song Zhinian lowered his head and continued working, his tone cold and indifferent. There was no trace of warmth at all nothing that suggested they had ever been intimate.
Qiao Yuwei swallowed nervously and forced herself to speak.
“I… I want to borrow some money from you.”
Hearing this, he suddenly stopped writing and looked up at her.
“Borrow money?”
Seeing her tense expression, he let out a cold snort.
“Right. That shirt wasn’t cheap. Of course you need pants to match it.”
Qiao Yuwei’s heart sank. As expected, this man’s imagination always ran wild.
“It’s not like that! It has nothing to do with him! It’s my cousin. Her husband was beaten and is now lying in the hospital. They urgently need hospital fees two hundred, no, three hundred yuan…”
She spoke quickly, explaining Qiao Zhaodi’s situation in detail. Thinking about post-recovery nutrition needs, she even deliberately added an extra hundred.
As she spoke, she lightly grabbed his arm, pleading.
“I don’t have enough money. Can you… can you lend it to me first? I promise I’ll pay you back.”
He pulled his hand away in disgust.
“Qiao Yuwei, impressive. You’re getting better at making things up now. Even invented a cousin? How creative. You’re from Hong Kong City, and you’ve been married for a year never once mentioned a cousin here. And your money? It’s all from me. What, getting smart now? Using my money to repay me?”
“I…” She was momentarily speechless.
He wasn’t wrong. Every month he gave part of his allowance 70 yuan in an envelope to the original owner. But the original owner spent it all before mid-month chasing Dr. Lin. After that, she shamelessly went to the neighbors’ homes in the compound to get food. Out of respect for Song Zhinian, the wives never confronted her directly.
In recent months, she had been going too often, and the wives couldn’t stand it anymore, so they jointly complained. In the end, he raised her allowance from 70 to 80 yuan, but it still didn’t help.
“No.”
His refusal was immediate and emotionless.
Qiao Yuwei froze, thinking of her cousin’s swollen, tearful eyes and the sleeping baby on her back.
She hurried forward.
“Please! Song Zhinian, I’m serious this time. If you don’t believe me, I’ll write you an IOU.”
Without a word, he opened the drawer beside him and threw a stack of papers onto the desk.
On them were messy notes: “Qiao Yuwei borrowed 50 yuan,” “Qiao Yuwei borrowed 30…” and so on.
It was clearly the original owner’s handwriting.
“Pay these back first before you think about writing another.”
Qiao Yuwei was speechless. Could the original owner get any worse?
“I really need this money. I promise I’ll return it within this month. If I can’t…”
She paused and lowered her voice.
“If I can’t, you can do whatever you want…”
“If you can’t,” he interrupted coldly, “then immediately sign the divorce agreement. From then on, we go our separate ways and have nothing to do with each other.”
This marriage had never been voluntary. Her actions had long exhausted all his patience and tolerance. If he hadn’t gotten drunk and ended up in the wrong room that night, doing what he did, they would have already been divorced.
Qiao Yuwei had expected this. Her expression remained calm.
“Alright. I agree.”
The 1980s were the era of reform and opening up. Opportunities were everywhere. Although average wages were only a few dozen yuan, making money wasn’t difficult if you knew the right path.
More importantly, she came from the future her mind held countless ideas and knowledge beyond this era. Earning 300 yuan a month was not impossible.
Her straightforward agreement surprised him a little. He frowned, trying to find any trace of deception on her face.
“What are you plotting?”
Qiao Yuwei stepped closer to him.
“I am.”
A faint, fresh scent drifted into his nose. He subconsciously looked up and met her face at close distance. Her eyelashes were long, fluttering like two small fans, lively and bright.
Song Zhinian’s heart skipped a beat, as if something had struck it. He quickly looked away in panic.
Noticing his reaction, Qiao Yuwei’s smile deepened.
“Song Zhinian, if I really pay you back within a month, does that mean I can also do whatever I want?”
Her voice was slightly playful, eyes sparkling as she looked at him, as if expecting something.
He felt uneasy under her gaze. His ears quietly turned red, though he pretended to be calm.
“There won’t be such a day. If you really pay it back, then fine do whatever you want.”
Qiao Yuwei’s eyes lit up.
“Deal. Don’t regret it.”
She looked him up and down openly and boldly. In her mind, countless images had already started flooding in…
Her cheeks grew slightly warm.
Song Zhinian felt increasingly uncomfortable under her gaze, especially with that “suspicious” smile on her face. But thinking she couldn’t possibly repay it, he secretly relaxed.
He suddenly stood up, grabbed his coat from the back of the chair, and said in a low voice:
“Let’s go. Get the money at home.”
Without waiting for her reaction, he strode out first.
Back at home, Qiao Yuwei pushed the door open but the house was empty. Qiao Zhaodi was nowhere to be seen.
She froze for a moment and quickly searched the house, but still couldn’t find her cousin.
Song Zhinian’s eyes filled with disgust.
He knew it. This woman was lying again.
Fine. If she really couldn’t repay this time, he could justifiably divorce her and finally be rid of this woman full of nonsense.
“Zhaodi?” she called out. No response.
Song Zhinian ignored her and went straight to the room to get the money.
On the table, she saw a pile of loose cash small denominations, one jiao, two jiao, a few yuan notes. Altogether, only about seven or eight yuan.
Beside it was a note:
“Yuwei, thank you for your kindness. I know life in the compound isn’t easy for you. Take this money. I really can’t help you more. I’ve left. Don’t worry about me.”
Her fingers trembled as she picked up the note.
She could roughly guess what had happened. When she went to the army compound to find Song Zhinian, her cousin must have heard the gossip from others.
Since childhood, she had treated the original owner like her own sister how could she let her be dragged into such trouble? So she secretly left the money and went away alone.
Realizing she hadn’t gone far, Qiao Yuwei hurriedly ran out.
She chased all the way outside the compound before finally spotting that familiar figure.
Qiao Zhaodi was carrying the baby on her back, holding a worn-out bundle. Passing by the bus stop, she paused, gently patted the baby’s bottom, and then continued walking toward the direction of the city without stopping.