Lu Yun had not expected to meet He Chengan so soon. He Chengan was looking at Lu Yun, and Lu Yun was staring at him as well. His appearance gradually overlapped with the image of him she had seen in her dreams.
She took a step back, putting some distance between herself and He Chengan.
When she had been reading the novel, He Chengan had been the character Lu Yun could never get over. Now, Lu Yun had become the supporting female character whom He Chengan loved. For a moment, she had no idea what she should do, and she had not figured out what she wanted to do either.
He Chengan took a tin of cold cream from his pocket and stuffed it into Lu Yun’s hand.
“This time, don’t let me find out that you gave this to someone else again.”
A while ago, He Chengan had heard Lu Yun talking with her friends while eating in the cafeteria. She had mentioned that she wanted this particular cold cream, but it was only available in the provincial capital. He had made a trip there to buy it for her, then bought a few other random things at the department store and brought them all back to Lu Yun.
Lu Yun had accepted everything, but later he had seen that skirt on Lu Yun’s cousin. Since she had given the skirt away, she had probably given the other things away too. Fortunately, He Chengan knew Lu Yun well enough to have bought an extra tin of cold cream.
Lu Yun watched He Chengan’s retreating figure and thought about the original plot. Unable to hold herself back, she called out to him.
“He Chengan, I don’t hate you. Thank you for the cold cream.”
He Chengan stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her.
Under the setting sun, Lu Yun wore a pure white dress as she walked through the alley. Her shadow stretched long behind her, while a gentle breeze lifted a few strands of her hair.
That evening, Lu Yun’s cousin came over. From the excitement written all over her face, Lu Yun could tell without asking that the blind date had probably gone well. Given the customs of the time, they would probably discuss the bride price and dowry after a while, then set a wedding date and begin preparing for the wedding.
Lu Yun’s cousin was named Li Ling. At that moment, her face was flushed with excitement, while Li Ling’s mother kept talking about the man’s family background and appearance, praising him as though he were the most outstanding man in the world.
All four members of the Lu family watched and listened to her, and of course, Lu Yun was among them.
After Lu Yun had transmigrated here, besides having parents who loved each other dearly, she had also gained an older brother who was several years older than her. He was currently working at a factory as well.
Li Ling was so embarrassed that she hooked her arm through Lu Yun’s and went with her into Lu Yun’s room. She then took out Lu Yun’s dress and said, “When I took your dress home, I found the cold cream and handkerchief inside too. I originally wanted to bring them back to you right away, but I was in such a hurry to go on my blind date that day, so I left them at home first. After I came back, I washed your dress too. It only dried this evening, so I came over after that.”
Lu Yun asked, “Did you run into He Chengan on the day of your blind date?”
Li Ling said, “Cousin, how did you know? We went to the state owned restaurant to meet each other. The restaurant had glass windows, and when I looked up, I saw He Chengan. He seemed to be staring at the dress I was wearing. I even wondered if he had mistaken me for you.”
As she spoke, Li Ling looked rather pleased with herself. Everyone knew that Lu Yun was naturally beautiful, and Li Ling’s figure happened to resemble hers somewhat. Being mistaken for Lu Yun, especially by He Chengan, naturally made her happy.
Li Ling continued, “However, He Chengan looked like he had a bad temper.
When he realized it was me, he frowned as if I owed him money. He scared me so much. The man I was meeting seemed startled too, but he still stood up and went outside to ask He Chengan whether he knew his girlfriend. That was when the two of us quickly confirmed our relationship. Now that I think about it, do you think He Chengan counts as half a matchmaker for me and my boyfriend?”
Lu Yun looked at the dress Li Ling had washed and returned to her and thought that she really ought to thank this dress.
Outside, everyone had still been talking about Li Ling’s blind date, but before long, the conversation shifted to Lu Yun’s own marriage prospects.
As soon as that topic came up, Zhang Meili began talking about how worried she was.
Li Ling’s smile faded as well.
“Cousin, look at you. If I had even half your looks, I would be the one choosing during blind dates. At the very least, I would find someone who had already bought his own apartment. I think Chen Zhiqiang simply has no taste. And his family is just as awful. Every one of them acts as though they are better than everyone else. So what if Chen Zhiqiang went to college and became a deputy director at the factory? What’s so impressive about that? If you really married into that family, who knows how they would mistreat you.”
Lu Yun patted Li Ling on the shoulder. The girl was so young, yet her insight was remarkably sharp. It really was mistreatment. When Lu Yun had been reading the novel, she had never thought of using that word, but Li Ling’s description was far too accurate.
The supporting female character, no, wasn’t she mistreated by the Chen family until her personality changed completely, eventually leading her to divorce Chen Zhiqiang?
The novel had said that after the supporting female character married into the Chen family, the entire household had been thrown into constant chaos.
Lu Yun did not believe that she alone could have caused the Chen family so much trouble. She loved Chen Zhiqiang, so it would already have been enough for her to try desperately to please his family. Clearly, the Chen family must have done something, but the novel had never explained it clearly.
Lu Yun said, “You’re right.”
Li Ling looked delighted.
“Cousin, you’ve finally thought things through? That’s great!”
Lu Yun had transmigrated at a very good time. The main story of the novel had not even begun yet. If there was anything she was dissatisfied about, it was probably that her pursuit of Chen Zhiqiang had already become common knowledge.
The people at the Cotton Cloth Factory knew about it, and quite a few people in the alley where she lived knew about it too. She had even once declared that she would never marry anyone except Chen Zhiqiang in this lifetime.
Lying under the covers, Lu Yun was so embarrassed that she could have dug a fantasy castle into the floor with her toes. She turned over, got up, and pushed open the window to let in some air. When that still did not feel cool enough, she picked up the palm leaf fan beside her and began fanning herself.
Although the palm leaf fan was not as exquisite as the fans Lu Yun had used before, it was simple and plain. More importantly, it really was cool when she used it to fan herself.
At some point, Lu Yun became so sleepy that she did not even realize how she had fallen asleep face down on the bed.
The next day, Lu Yun had to go to work at the Cotton Cloth Factory. After getting used to life here, she was no longer like she had been immediately after transmigrating, when she would simply climb out of bed without thinking.
The Lu family was getting ready to eat breakfast when Zhang Meili looked at her.
“You child, why didn’t you close the window last night? Your father saw it early this morning and closed it for you. The mosquitoes must have bitten you last night.”
Lu Yun touched her face and nodded.
They had. One had even bitten her right on the face.
Before leaving for work, Lu Yun looked at herself in the mirror. She had to admit that the spot where the mosquito had bitten her actually looked rather cute. It was slightly below her cheek, although this particular kind of cuteness came with an itchy mosquito bite.
Lu Yun put the mirror down with an expressionless face, picked up her bag, and left.
Watching Lu Yun’s back, Zhang Meili sighed with worry.
“Look at her. Once she has work, she would gladly spend an entire morning dressing herself up just so she can go see Chen Zhiqiang. I really don’t understand what is wrong with Chen Zhiqiang. How could he not like a daughter as beautiful as ours? If it were anyone else, they would be so happy they could fly into the sky.”
The more Zhang Meili thought about it, the angrier she became. She put her hands on her hips.
“He really is blind. That entire Chen family is blind. What kind of people are they?”
He Chengan had not slept at all the previous night. He was still filled with energy, as though he could not use it all up. He did not dare keep going to the alley where Lu Yun lived, so he waited near the Cotton Cloth Factory instead.
When he saw Lu Yun riding her bicycle over, even He Chengan did not know how long he had been waiting there.
He Chengan rode after Lu Yun and soon caught up with her. The two bicycles traveled side by side.
After glancing at Lu Yun, He Chengan slowed down again.
When Lu Yun saw He Chengan again, she was much calmer this time. What she had not expected was that the novel had begun with the supporting female character divorcing the male lead. Many of the things that had happened before that were only mentioned through memories or described by other people. For example, He Chengan’s friends had recalled how, before Lu Yun married, He Chengan would look for every possible opportunity to meet her. After Lu Yun married, he would only watch her from a distance. They had even said that if Lu Yun wanted the stars in the sky, He Chengan would probably find a way to pluck them down for her.
So it would have been strange if He Chengan did not look for opportunities to meet her.
Taking advantage of his long arms, He Chengan reached into the bicycle basket and placed the lunchbox inside Lu Yun’s basket.
He said, “You said you don’t hate me, so you can’t refuse to eat this braised pork today.”
Lu Yun stopped, and He Chengan stopped with her. When Lu Yun looked up, she saw that He Chengan was still smiling, but his thin lips were pressed tightly together. Thinking about what had happened in the novel, Lu Yun could not help feeling softhearted toward him.
Lu Yun explained, “I didn’t give the cold cream or the dress to my cousin.”
He Chengan was slightly stunned. He looked at Lu Yun with an unusually serious expression.
Lu Yun told him about what had happened with Li Ling, but she left out the fact that she had not known the dress came from He Chengan. After all, the system only helped Lu Yun understand the situation around her. It would not explain every single detail to her.
Lu Yun had actually wondered before why, if the system was powerful enough to make her transmigrate, it could not restore her memories.
However, she knew that there was no point asking about such things. The system would never answer. At most, it would say something like, “You will understand in the future.”
Looking at the lunchbox in her bicycle basket and remembering the way He Chengan had looked just now, Lu Yun continued riding her bicycle into the Cotton Cloth Factory.
Lu Yun worked in the office of the Cotton Cloth Factory. Her job was not particularly important. Most of it involved handling various trivial matters required by the factory, such as making tables and statistics, as well as recording various conditions in the cotton cloth production workshops. All of these tasks were very simple for Lu Yun, and she could handle them easily.
However, Lu Yun was not foolish enough to finish all her work in one morning. She simply worked at the same pace as everyone else.
At noon, the factory had a cafeteria where the workers could eat. Those who brought their own lunch could also ask for it to be sent to the cafeteria ahead of time so it could be heated, then eaten there.
The system had already told Lu Yun about the most basic relationships around her. For example, she knew who she was currently closest to in the office and had a general understanding of her relationships with the people there.
For instance, Lu Yun was quite close to an older woman in the office who was six or seven years older than her. Everyone called her Sister Sun.
At lunchtime, many workers came to the Cotton Cloth Factory cafeteria to eat, while others came to collect food and take it home. People crowded together, and the lines became very long.
Sister Sun said, “Fortunately, we brought our own food. If we had come here to line up for a meal, who knows how long we would have had to wait?
I’m already hungry. Hurry, there is an empty table ahead.”
Lu Yun was the beauty of the Cotton Cloth Factory. The moment she entered the cafeteria, quite a few people looked her way. Combined with her famous declaration that she would never marry anyone except Chen Zhiqiang, she was truly a well known figure in the Cotton Cloth Factory.
For a moment, Lu Yun felt her scalp go numb. Fortunately, she had walked the red carpet before, so she was no longer embarrassed by being watched. Otherwise, she probably would not have been able to eat this meal at all.
After sitting down across from Sister Sun, Lu Yun opened the lunchbox He Chengan had given her. The moment she opened it, she froze. She had not expected He Chengan to pack so many dishes for her. There were stir fried pork with green peppers, meatballs, braised fish, and stir fried vegetables. It was a good balance of meat and vegetables.
It was not only Lu Yun who was surprised. Even Sister Sun swallowed as she looked at the food. Lu Yun’s meal was simply too lavish.
Lu Yun smiled and put some of each dish into Sister Sun’s bowl.
“Try everything.”
To avoid wasting the food, Lu Yun ate until she was almost uncomfortably full. He Chengan had simply packed far too much food. The taste was also genuinely excellent, especially the savory stir fried pork. The texture was rich when she bit into it, and the sauce coating the outside was delicious.
The meatballs were soft and tender, the braised fish was fresh and flavorful, and the stir fried vegetables were light, making them perfect for eating together with the other dishes.
That afternoon, Sister Sun treated Lu Yun especially well. After all, people tended to be kinder after eating someone else’s food. She even helped Lu Yun finish some of the work she had not completed.
The entire afternoon was exceptionally peaceful in the office. Lu Yun listened to everyone talking about family matters. Blind dates and marriages were the most common topics. However, everyone knew about Lu Yun’s former declaration, so unless someone deliberately wanted to provoke her, they avoided mentioning her whenever those subjects came up.
That allowed Lu Yun to enjoy some peace and quiet. She certainly did not want to end up like another unmarried young woman in the office, who had been teased until her face turned bright red.
Pushing her bicycle out of the Cotton Cloth Factory, Lu Yun walked among the crowd. Many people were discussing what they would cook for dinner.
Most of them were already married and had a family to support. Others were making plans to watch a movie together or go out after work, and most of those people were single.
Lu Yun moved slowly. She was not very skilled at riding a bicycle, and there were too many people around at that moment, so she could only start riding after leaving the Cotton Cloth Factory.
Once she finally reached a less crowded place, Lu Yun began riding forward. Unexpectedly, she ran into He Chengan, who had been waiting for her again.
This time, the two of them once again rode side by side, and He Chengan tossed another package into Lu Yun’s bicycle basket.
The moment Lu Yun saw him, her heart softened. Looking at him made her think of his ending with the supporting female character in the novel. She could not even bear to watch his bright eyes gradually become dim.
She asked, “What is it?”
He Chengan did his best to control his excitement.
“Mosquito repellent and mosquito coils. The mosquito coils smell a little strong, so light one when you get home and put it out before you go to sleep. As for the mosquito repellent, spray some on yourself.”
A mosquito bite would not itch much as long as she did not scratch it. Lu Yun had almost forgotten about being bitten during the entire day. She had not expected to run into He Chengan after work and receive mosquito repellent and mosquito coils from him.
Lu Yun said, “The mosquito repellent doesn’t smell good.”
After saying that, she sped up. She still did not forget to call back, “Don’t follow me anymore. There are so many people around looking at us.”