“Were you born on National Day?” Shen Dongmei asked. Although she felt it was unlikely, she couldn’t help being curious.
“Yes, I was born on the night of National Day. My birthday is easy to remember, right? The whole country celebrating together,” Tang Jin replied with a cheerful grin, completely unaware of Shen Dongmei’s unusual reaction.
What a coincidence. Not only did they look alike, they were also born in the same year, month, and day?
But her sister’s baby had died shortly after birth. It couldn’t possibly have come back to life… Could it? How strange. Could such a coincidence really exist in this world?
“Tang Jin, we’re only a month apart. I was born in November,” Fu Wenjing said. At the moment, she had no idea that her mother’s mind was already racing with countless thoughts. She simply felt that she and Tang Jin were strangely destined to meet.
“Then we’re the same age. Are you in your final year of high school, or already a college freshman?” Tang Jin thought that at eighteen or nineteen, and with such a well-off family, she must either be a senior in high school or a first-year college student.
“Oh, don’t even mention it. The scores haven’t come out yet, but my dad already asked around. I didn’t reach the undergraduate cutoff line, so I’m planning to repeat the year,” Fu Wenjing said with frustration when talking about her grades.
Repeat the year?
Tang Jin suddenly remembered that she also needed to take the college entrance exam next year.
“I’m planning to take the university entrance exam next year too. But I don’t have a student record here, so I’ll probably take the exam as an external candidate.”
Tang Jin didn’t really want to attend school anyway. She only wanted the diploma. After bragging so much the other day, she had no choice now—she had to take the exam.
“You’re taking it too? Then let’s do it together! Why don’t you come to my school? My uncle is the principal,” Fu Wenjing said warmly. She felt an instant connection with Tang Jin and really wanted to be friends with her.
“That wouldn’t be good. I still need to run my business and make money. I can’t go to school every day.”
Tang Jin had no intention of giving up her business just to take the university exam. In her previous life, she had already graduated with a master’s degree.
“That’s not a problem. You only need to show up for exams. Last semester, two students in our class were rarely at school. They only came during exams,” Fu Wenjing said enthusiastically.
Seeing how unusually enthusiastic Wenjing was, even Shen Dongmei found it strange. The girl was lively, but she had high standards and usually didn’t pay much attention to ordinary people. Yet she liked Tang Jin so much—it almost felt like they were sisters related by blood.
Blood relatives?
Impossible. How could that be? Her sister’s baby had died shortly after birth. After that, her sister had been depressed for years and even suffered from depression for a while. Several times she had nearly taken her own life. Only after becoming pregnant with twins later did she slowly recover.
Ah… thinking about it only brought tears.
“So that’s allowed? Living off campus?” Tang Jin asked.
If she could live off campus and not attend classes regularly, the value of a university admission through the normal entrance exam would still be quite high.
“Of course it’s allowed. It’s just one sentence from my uncle,” Fu Wenjing said proudly. Her uncle loved her dearly.
“Then take me to your school sometime so I can register a student record. From now on, I’ll cover all the clothes for you and your mom—completely free.”
Tang Jin hated owing people favors.
“Sounds good. It’s settled then. I’ll talk to my uncle first and let you know when it’s arranged,” Fu Wenjing said happily when she heard that Tang Jin would supply all her new clothes in the future.
“Alright. This is the phone number of my godmother’s house. If you need me, call this number. Or you can come directly to the military district family compound to find me.
I’m really good at cooking. If you come over, I’ll make something delicious for you—guaranteed something you’ve never tasted before. Once you try it, you’ll get addicted to the best food ever.”
Tang Jin also liked this girl who was about the same age as her. The two of them seemed to hit it off instantly.
“Really? Then I won’t hold back. I’ll come find you in a couple of days.”
“Sure, no problem.”
After chatting a bit more, Tang Jin finally said goodbye.
Walking down the street, Tang Jin felt that today had been quite productive. She had found a lead on high-end customers, her plan to repeat the exam year was about to be solved, and now all that remained was finding a storefront.
She walked around the most bustling area, but didn’t see any shops for rent or transfer. Maybe in this era people still believed that good wine needs no bush—a good business would succeed even in a hidden alley.
Settling for the next best thing was fine too. Tang Jin turned right at a crossroads and walked down another street.
There was indeed a place for rent here, but it was a bit small.
Tang Jin felt that she needed at least three storefronts connected together.
She walked further ahead but still didn’t find anything suitable, so she turned back and started walking in the opposite direction.
Not long after, she unexpectedly ran into Yang Lifan on the street.
“What a coincidence, Tang Jin! Shopping alone?” Yang Lifan looked at Tang Jin the way a mouse looked at rice—his face full of delighted excitement.
“Oh, it’s you, Brother Yang. I’m looking for a storefront. I want to open a high-end clothing shop.”
Tang Jin didn’t hide anything. After all, their agreement only involved the design rights for a few pieces of clothing.
Besides, most of the clothes from the Fanghua Garment Factory were sent to wholesale markets across different regions and weren’t sold retail.
Nankun City didn’t even have a wholesale market. Even the Nankun Department Store got its goods from that state-owned garment factory.
So her business wouldn’t really conflict with the factory’s.
“Have you found a suitable place yet? If not, I can help,” Yang Lifan said immediately. To him, this seemed like a small matter, and he was confident he could help Tang Jin.
“Not yet. Do you know anywhere that’s available for transfer?”
“Come with me. I came today to deal with exactly this.”
Tang Jin was completely confused.
Deal with this? What did he mean? Did he somehow know she needed to rent a shop?
Before she could figure it out, Yang Lifan’s long legs had already carried him far ahead. Tang Jin hurriedly jogged to catch up.
Following him, they returned to the most bustling street.
Soon Yang Lifan walked straight into an optical shop. Tang Jin quickly followed, full of confusion. Was he here to buy glasses?
The shop owner saw that the young landlord had arrived and immediately jumped up from his stool to greet him.
With a flattering smile, he said, “Young Master Yang, you’re here. Could you give us a few more days?”
“Uncle Li, it’s not that I won’t give you a chance. Your rent has been overdue for a year already. Your shop isn’t unprofitable,
but your gambling son is a bottomless pit. All the money you earn goes straight into his gambling. At this rate, I’ll never see my rent.”
“I’ll make him change. He’ll change, I promise,” Old Man Li said helplessly.
Even he didn’t dare hope that his useless son would ever truly reform. Did he dig up someone’s ancestral grave in a previous life to deserve giving birth to such a disaster?
“Uncle Li, I sympathize with you. But we’re businessmen—we know when to cut our losses. How about this: I’ll forget about the rent for the past year. But you must clear out within three days,” Yang Lifan said, issuing his final ultimatum.
Old Man Li knew he was in the wrong. Not only could he not pay the year’s rent, he was also buried in debt to relatives.
He knew this optical shop wouldn’t last much longer.
His relatives had been pressing him for repayment these past few days. They would probably come smash up the shop soon anyway.
“Alright… I’ll pack up in the next couple of days,” Old Man Li said, looking like a wilted eggplant. His face darkened immediately.
Tang Jin finally understood what was going on. Although she felt a little sympathy for the old man, there was nothing she could do to help.