After Lu Yun returned home, she looked at the closed window in her room, went inside, and lit the mosquito coil. After all, she did not want to continue being bitten by mosquitoes. She also looked at the bottle of mosquito repellent and sprayed some on herself.
She sniffed and found that the mosquito repellent actually smelled quite nice.
It was hot in summer. After working all day and riding her bicycle home, Lu Yun was already sweating. Fortunately, the Lu family’s house was fairly spacious, and everyone kept things clean, so they had an extra room that could be used for bathing. Whenever relatives came to stay, however, they had to squeeze into Lu Yun’s older brother’s small room. Lu Yun’s older brother did not mind at all.
He wanted to stay clean too. Whenever he sweated, he wanted to come home and take a shower right away instead of going to the public bathhouse.
Lu Yun took a porcelain basin decorated with mandarin ducks and put her towel, soap, and shampoo inside. Everything was simple. There were not as many varieties as there would be later, at least not in this small county.
Lu Yun was not picky, however. As long as she had something to use and could wash herself clean, that was enough.
She took a clean set of clothes and went to take a shower.
Most women in love always wanted someone to confide their feelings in, especially when they had just started a relationship. Although Li Ling had met her boyfriend through a blind date and they were already planning to get engaged, Lu Yun considered this equivalent to just establishing their relationship and beginning to date. Girls at this stage were especially particular about such things.
When Li Ling saw Lu Yun come out after her shower, drying her hair with a towel, she hurried over.
“Cousin, he asked me to go see a movie with him. I’m a little nervous. If we go to the movies together and he tries to kiss me, should I let him? I heard that a lot of people go to the movies…”
Li Ling’s face turned red before she could finish.
Lu Yun had no way to answer this question because she had never been in love either.
After graduating, Lu Yun had immediately started working as a food blogger. She had been busy with work, did not meet many people, and also enjoyed staying at home, so she rarely encountered anyone suitable for dating. Moreover, because her own parents had divorced and later remarried and had children with other people, Lu Yun had always been especially cautious about relationships and marriage.
That night, Li Ling stayed at Lu Yun’s house. The two of them slept in the same bed. It was a little hot because it was summer, but neither of them minded. Each of them held a palm leaf fan and fanned herself. Because Lu Yun had used soap to bathe, she could still smell the faint fragrance of soap. It smelled quite nice.
They went to bed early, but they could still hear a couple arguing outside the courtyard.
Li Ling asked, “Cousin, do you really like Chen Zhiqiang that much?”
Lu Yun was silent for a while. When she had read the novel, she had felt that the supporting female character genuinely liked Chen Zhiqiang. Otherwise, a beautiful factory beauty from a family that was not particularly wealthy but at least did not hold her back would have had no reason to insist on marrying Chen Zhiqiang.
Perhaps later she still had some feelings for him but was unwilling to accept how things had turned out. In the end, when she watched He Chengan being sent to prison, she was filled with regret.
Whether or not she could recover her memories, Lu Yun would never marry Chen Zhiqiang. As for He Chengan, she would never allow him to go to prison for her again.
Lu Yun said, “I don’t like him anymore.”
After saying that, she turned over and prepared to sleep.
Li Ling stammered, “You, you don’t like him anymore? Why? Didn’t you say you would never marry anyone except him?”
Lu Yun said, “Marriage is not just a matter between two people. I’ve thought it through. I…”
When she reached this point, Lu Yun organized her words. She did not deny that she had once loved him. Instead, she said, “I really did like him before. I liked him so much that I could say I would never marry anyone except him. But I don’t think we are suitable for each other, and his family doesn’t like me either. Didn’t you say it yourself? If I married into that family, who knows how the Chen family would mistreat me?”
Li Ling smiled happily.
“It’s good that you don’t like him anymore. In the future, the man you marry will definitely be better than Chen Zhiqiang.”
As the night grew deeper, the courtyard gradually became quiet.
Lu Yun and Li Ling lay on the bed. At first, they still played around and chatted, but Li Ling soon fell asleep. Lying beside her, Lu Yun realized that she seemed to have developed an even stronger sense of belonging here.
After working for five days, Lu Yun felt that even though she could slack off a little at work, it was still too exhausting compared with the freedom she had enjoyed before transmigrating. She wished she could spend the entire weekend lying at home until the end of time.
There was simply no comparison. Before, Lu Yun had thought that participating in various events as a food blogger was troublesome. Now she felt that being a food blogger was actually much more suitable for her than sitting in an office.
After the sun went down and the weather outside was no longer so hot, Lu Yun took some money and rode the bus to a bookstore.
A man not far away saw Lu Yun enter the bookstore. After memorizing the location, he hurried away. He did not care how hot it was. The moment he started running, sweat poured down his face.
The bookstore was naturally not as large as the big bookstores Lu Yun had visited before, especially since this was a county in the 1980s. The bookstore was rather small, but there were still some books available.
There simply were not many.
Lu Yun bought every cooking related book she could find.
After paying, she carried her net bag and walked out of the bookstore.
Li Ling waved her arm vigorously when she saw Lu Yun.
“Cousin, Cousin!”
Lu Yun looked over. Li Ling was standing beside a fairly decent looking man. Lu Yun immediately had a general idea of who he was. He was probably Li Ling’s blind date.
Lu Yun took another look at him. He was not particularly tall or handsome, but his features were neat and proper. He looked like someone who was hardworking and dependable, yet he did not seem like the type of man who would be so quiet that not a word could be dragged out of him. After marriage, he also did not look like someone who would simply watch while Li Ling was bullied.
However, he was certainly not as extraordinary as Li Ling’s mother had described him.
Li Ling stuffed two movie tickets into Lu Yun’s hand.
“Cousin, my boyfriend’s father sprained his ankle, so I have to accompany him home. These movie tickets are for you. If we don’t use them, they will just go to waste, which would be such a shame.”
Without having time to explain anything else to Lu Yun, Li Ling pulled her boyfriend along and hurried toward the bus stop.
After watching the two of them board the bus, Lu Yun looked down at the two movie tickets Li Ling had given her.
It was a romance movie, and the screening began at five ten. Lu Yun wore a simple and somewhat old fashioned watch on her wrist. Since she had to work, it was inconvenient not to have a watch.
It was now five oh three, leaving seven minutes before the movie started.
Lu Yun went to the front of the cinema and thought about finding someone to sell the tickets to. However, even by five oh eight, she still had not managed to sell them. She did not know whether nobody was interested in this movie or everyone who wanted to see it had already gone inside.
Perhaps the county was simply too small, or perhaps Lu Yun and He Chengan really were destined to meet. She actually saw He Chengan outside the cinema.
When He Chengan approached, he saw the two movie tickets in Lu Yun’s hand. He had never been inside a cinema, but he knew that young men and women nowadays liked coming to cinemas for dates. They also liked buying soda and popcorn there.
He Chengan had bought tickets before because he had wanted to invite Lu Yun, but Lu Yun had not even looked at the tickets. She had simply walked past him.
He pressed his lips tightly together, but before he could say anything, Lu Yun stuffed the movie tickets into his hand.
Lu Yun said, “My cousin gave me these two tickets, but I couldn’t sell them. Come in and watch the movie with me. Otherwise, they will just go to waste.”
She turned and walked ahead.
Once again, Lu Yun sighed inwardly. He really was the male supporting character she had never been able to get over. She truly could not stand seeing him sad. When she had read the novel, she had already wanted to comfort him. Now that she herself had become the supporting female character who could not give him what he wanted, she felt even less able to bear seeing him hurt.
He Chengan felt as though he were dreaming. By the time he came back to his senses, Lu Yun had already walked quite a distance ahead.
He hurriedly ran to buy soda and popcorn for Lu Yun. He even asked for the largest portion of popcorn.
The saleswoman watched the man grab the soda and popcorn and hurriedly turn around. She quickly called out, “Comrade, your change! Don’t run away! Take your change first!”
After watching He Chengan catch up with Lu Yun, the saleswoman could not help remembering the days when she and her own boyfriend had been deeply in love. She felt rather nostalgic.
Her boyfriend had not been like this young man, though. Just look at him.
Anyone who did not know better might think his wife was about to fly away.
Before transmigrating, Lu Yun usually only watched movies during the Spring Festival period. She rarely went to cinemas otherwise. However, she was quite curious when she entered this cinema from the 1980s.
Once she went inside, though, she found it rather uninteresting.
The movie had already started. Unlike modern cinemas where everyone could choose from different kinds of seats, this cinema only had long benches, each with a seat number attached.
The cinema was also darker than modern cinemas.
As Lu Yun walked forward, she looked at the seat number on the movie ticket. She turned around to call He Chengan, but because the aisle was somewhat crowded and He Chengan was following closely behind her, she ended up almost falling into his arms.
Standing there, Lu Yun could hear He Chengan’s strong heartbeat pounding in his chest. The air around them seemed to become warmer.
Lu Yun quickly calmed down.
She said, “Our seats are just ahead.”
He Chengan gave a quiet hum. When Lu Yun could not see him, he raised a hand and touched his ear. It felt slightly hot.
………
Since the movie Li Ling and her boyfriend had planned to watch together was obviously a romance movie, Lu Yun had already looked at the ticket before coming inside. At first, she watched with great interest. The orange flavored soda was delicious, and the popcorn was good too.
However, as the movie continued, there were simply too many kissing scenes.
The entire cinema was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere, and Lu Yun even saw people kissing.
She felt as though she were sitting on pins and needles.
After leaving the cinema, Lu Yun breathed in the fresh air and finally felt much more comfortable.
She was still holding the soda she had not finished. After standing outside the cinema and drinking the rest, she became so full that she felt uncomfortable. She then handed the bottle to He Chengan and asked him to return it.
He Chengan looked like someone who was difficult to approach, but he did everything Lu Yun told him to do. He did not ask questions, argue, or object.
His appearance was also exactly the kind that many young girls liked at the time. Several girls secretly looked at him while he was there. The moment He Chengan returned to Lu Yun’s side, however, they all gave up on their thoughts.
Standing together, Lu Yun and He Chengan looked like a perfect match. No matter how one looked at them, their appearances seemed especially well suited to each other.
He Chengan glanced at the restaurant nearby, then looked at Lu Yun, who was watching the bus stop.
He said, “I’ll take you home.”
Lu Yun would have to take the bus home anyway, and it happened to be the busiest time. She was already dreading being squeezed into a crowded bus in the summer heat.
Still, she did not want to walk home. If she walked home at this time, the Lu family would probably already be eating dinner by the time she arrived.
However, once she boarded the bus with He Chengan, he immediately found a seat for her. He stood beside her, making sure nobody around her crowded her.
Lu Yun looked up and saw the tall man standing steadily beside her while carrying the bag of books she had bought. His brows were slightly furrowed, and he looked serious.
Lu Yun felt that he was even more handsome than the novel had described.
Lu Yun said, “I’ll carry the books.”
He Chengan shook his head. Hearing Lu Yun take the initiative to speak to him, he replied happily, “No need. They aren’t heavy.”
The Lu family had vegetable noodles for dinner that evening, served in large bowls.
All four members of the Lu family had stable jobs, and they had their own home in the county. Their lives were quite comfortable.
Zhang Meili said, “If you don’t come back soon, the noodles will get soggy. Hurry inside and eat.”
Lu Yun stood in the courtyard and turned on the faucet to wash her hands.
She actually wanted to take a shower before eating, but if she took a shower first, Zhang Meili would probably lose her temper by the time she came out.
Lu Yun said, “Coming, coming.”
Lu Yun carried the bag of books inside. Everyone in the Lu family looked at her.
Although Lu Yun was currently working in an office at the Cotton Cloth Factory, she did not intend to remain there forever. The novel had later mentioned that the Cotton Cloth Factory where Lu Yun worked did not go bankrupt, but its performance was poor. Lu Yun’s salary gradually became lower, and she continued merely going through the motions. The novel had even hinted that the factory might eventually close down.
Therefore, Lu Yun had already made plans for her future.
Lu Yun said, “I’ve recently become interested in cooking, so I bought some cooking books to read.”
Zhang Meili and Lu Dong exchanged a glance but said nothing.
Lu Dong only focused on eating. His entire face was almost buried in his bowl of noodles.
Zhang Meili’s cooking was quite good. The leafy green vegetables in the noodles were fresh. However, Lu Yun had already drunk soda and eaten popcorn before coming home, so she could not eat much.
Before even starting, she gave most of her bowl to Zhang Meili. She then sat down, drank a few mouthfuls of the noodle soup, and began eating the noodles.
By the time Lu Yun returned to her room, she was so full that her stomach hurt a little.
Because of Lu Yun, Zhang Meili could not sleep that night. She said to her husband, Lu Dong, “Our family’s circumstances are pretty good. Ah Yun is our daughter, and she was beautiful from the moment she was born. We spoiled her while she was growing up, so why is she suddenly planning to learn how to cook? It must be that Chen Zhiqiang’s mother said something to her. If not, then it must have been that troublesome aunt of Chen Zhiqiang’s.”
She continued, “Look at Li Ling. I heard that she accompanied her boyfriend on that trip today, and his family likes her even more now. They are even planning to have the wedding during National Day. If it weren’t for Chen Zhiqiang, Lu Yun would be at the perfect age to seriously consider marriage. Why wouldn’t I find her a family with simple relationships and a man who knows how to treat his wife well?”
Lu Dong asked, “Chen Zhiqiang went out of town on a business trip. He should be coming back soon, right?”
Zhang Meili’s tone became even more unpleasant.
“Exactly. He’ll be back in the next few days.”
Li Ling often came over to Lu Yun’s place. One morning, she arrived before Lu Yun had even woken up, carrying a large bundle. Lu Yun had no idea what was inside.
Li Ling said, “Cousin, guess who I ran into on my way here just now?”
Before Lu Yun could answer, she continued, “I ran into He Chengan. I don’t know why, but he was especially nice to me when he saw me. He even apologized to me about what happened during my blind date last time.”
After saying that, she put the large bundle down beside her.
“He asked me to bring this to you, and he also told me to help you install it.”
Lu Yun could not help remembering what her friend had once said. The male supporting character was truly pitiful. He really loved the female supporting character in the novel, yet he had never received the affection he wanted. He gave the female supporting character all the affection he had and everything he wanted to give her.
So it was not strange that He Chengan kept sending her various things.
The first time Lu Yun met He Chengan, he had even misunderstood that she had given the dress and cold cream he had sent her to Li Ling. He had asked Lu Yun whether she hated him so much.
But what he was truly angry about was not that Lu Yun had given the things to Li Ling. What upset him was that the cold cream was something Lu Yun herself had wanted.
When Lu Yun opened the package, she discovered that it was actually a mosquito net. It even had pink lace around the edges.
Even judged by the standards Lu Yun had before transmigrating, this mosquito net was fashionable and beautiful.
Li Ling was excited.
“I saw one like this in the provincial capital before. There were only a few in the department store, and I couldn’t get one even though I tried. Later, when I asked about the price, I thought that even if I had managed to get one, I definitely wouldn’t have bought it. It was too expensive. How did he think of giving you a mosquito net?”
Lu Yun touched the mosquito bite on her cheek, which had already faded, and said nothing.
He Chengan had thought the smell of the mosquito coils was too strong. Lu Yun had also said that she did not like the smell of the mosquito repellent.
She had thought the matter was over.
She had never expected He Chengan to actually go and buy her a mosquito net.
Meanwhile, Li Ling had already begun installing it.
After the happy weekend ended, Lu Yun returned to her leisurely workdays at the office.
Slacking off by herself was not particularly interesting to Lu Yun, but slacking off together with her coworkers was another matter entirely.
Listening to them talk about all sorts of family matters was basically like watching gossip for Lu Yun.
As they talked, however, everyone suddenly looked at Lu Yun and laughed softly.
“Chen Zhiqiang is coming back to the factory this afternoon.”
“You didn’t notice? Our factory beauty even dressed up especially today.
She’s so beautiful she could blind you.”
Lu Yun really had not dressed up deliberately. She could only say that her appearance was simply too striking. Even if she casually washed her face and combed her hair, she looked as though she had carefully dressed herself up.
Faced with everyone’s teasing, Lu Yun awkwardly said, “I was foolish before. It’s rather embarrassing.”
Everyone listened to Lu Yun’s words and seemed to smell some interesting gossip.