Wen Qing froze, rooted to the spot with his back to the door, unable to see what was happening. He only heard Ji Ningzhi burst into tears: "Brother!"

Ji Yanjun!

Wen Qing's breath hitched, and she was unable to move no matter what she did. Her mind was filled with a rumbling sound as memories of her past life came flooding back.

The statements of Ji Ningzhi, Liang Wenhua, and Zhang Fangfang:

"Brother, Wen Qing yelled at me first!"

"Yanjun, a poor, uneducated, and ignorant country girl like Wen Qing is not good enough for our family. It's better for her to get a divorce sooner rather than later."

"Yanjun, it was my fault. I shouldn't have provoked Wen Qing. It's not wrong for Wen Qing to get angry at me. It's all my fault."

"..."

And Ji Yanjun's attitude:

"Wen Qing, stop making a scene, Ning Zhi is still young..."

"Mom just says it."

"Wen Qing, don't take your anger out on outsiders."

"..."

Even after she passed away from illness, he held her in his arms and said, "Wen Qing, Wen Qing, I'm sorry..."

Wen Qing closed her eyes, which felt sore and swollen. The rumbling in her brain subsided, and all she could hear was Ji Ningzhi's aggrieved crying and her excessive accusations. She forcefully suppressed her emotions and told herself that she was no longer the Wen Qing from her previous life.

"Brother, you have to stand up for me!" Ji Ningzhi sobbed.

To take the lead?

Wen Qing chuckled, turned around, looked at the door, and gazed at Ji Yanjun. Ji Yanjun was still as handsome as in her previous life, with a chiseled face and a calm and reserved temperament. He was perfect in every way, except that he didn't love her.

However, Wen Qing has come to terms with it. The most important thing for her in this life is to be true to her family, and that's enough. Whether in her past life or this life, she doesn't owe Ji Yanjun a single penny.

“Wen Qing,” Ji Yanjun said at this moment.

Wen Qing asked calmly, "What is it?"

"Is what Ning Zhi said true?" Ji Yanjun asked.

Unlike in her previous life, when she argued and fought with Ji Ningzhi, causing chaos, Wen Qing calmly replied, "That's right."

Ji Yanjun raised an eyebrow and asked, "How much?"

Wen Qing replied as usual: "Twenty-five yuan."

"She's talking nonsense!" Ji Ningzhi shouted. "She clearly said it was twenty yuan just now, brother, she's trying to scam me."

“That’s right, I’m trying to extort you. You can choose not to pay, and I’ll ask Zhang Yuling to pay.” Wen Qing was no longer the Wen Qing who would make a fuss over nothing and act arrogantly no matter what she was right about. Instead, she was now reasonable and based on evidence.

This impressed Zhang Fangfang, who was standing nearby; Wen Qing had truly changed.

Ji Ningzhi was taken aback by Wen Qing's candor and was momentarily speechless with anger, her face turning bright red.

The other customers in the store gasped. The dress was too expensive. At the same time, thinking about Ji Ningzhi's unreasonable behavior earlier, they felt relieved. After all, they knew Aunt Xiao and Wen Qing's character and they had never tried to extort them. This time, Ji Ningzhi started the trouble first, so she deserved to be tricked by Wen Qing.

I just don't know if Ji Yanjun will give me the money?

Just then, someone in the store suddenly let out a small gasp.

The others hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

"I remember now."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Why does Wen Qing look so familiar?"

Why?

Then the man whispered, "Wen Qing is Ji Yanjun's fiancée!"

"What?" Everyone was shocked.

"That's right, she's his fiancée. Last year, around last year, Ji Yanjun had a car accident while driving a transport truck. The person who was with him saved his life. That person seems to be Wen Qing's second uncle. Before he died, her second uncle entrusted Ji Yanjun to him, and Ji Yanjun agreed, saying that he would marry Wen Qing when she turned eighteen."

Everyone was startled again: "What's going on now?"

"The Ji family looks down on Wen Qing because they say she's from the countryside. A few days ago, they heard that the woman wanted to cancel the wedding, and the Ji family was overjoyed."

"Tsk tsk, no wonder Ji Ningzhi is so sarcastic towards Wen Qing, she looks down on Wen Qing."

"How could they possibly be interested in Wen Qing? The Ji family is a family with tens of thousands of yuan."

"..."

The women whispered among themselves and quickly pieced together the story of Wen Qing and Ji Yanjun.

"I remember Wen Qing used to wait for Ji Yanjun's car at the crossroads. Back then, I didn't know her name was Wen Qing. I just thought she was pretty. I never imagined she was the Wen Qing I know now."

"Now that you mention it, I think I've also seen Ji Yanjun having dinner with her."

"I've seen the movie."

"We held hands."

"So you're saying they've all been in relationships?"

"They've definitely dated."

"So what's the situation now...?"

"can't read."

"..."

A group of people chattered amongst themselves, each revealing a little bit, and they basically dug up almost everything about Wen Qing and Ji Yanjun's past. Now, it's anyone's guess what will happen to these two next.

"Did you make the clothes?" Ji Yanjun asked after a moment.

“Yes,” Wen Qing replied.

“Okay.” Ji Yanjun said, taking out his wallet and pulling out two blue ten-yuan bills and one yellow five-yuan bill.

"Brother, we can't give it to her!" Ji Ningzhi shouted from the side.

When Wen Qing saw Ji Yanjun take out money, she turned around and started packing the floral cotton dress and striped sandals into a cloth bag. She walked over and handed them to Ji Yanjun, while also taking the twenty-five yuan from him.

"There's still four yuan left for the deposit!" Ji Ningzhi called out at the opportune moment.

Wen Qing looked at Ji Ningzhi expressionlessly and asked, "Should we return the deposit that Zhang Yuling gave us to you?" Of course, it should be returned to Zhang Yuling.

Ji Ningzhi was humiliated by Wen Qing again. She was most afraid of people saying that she had no money or that she was not pretty. She was about to retort.

Ji Yanjun asked, "Can we go now?"

Zhang Fangfang, who had been silent, stepped forward and pulled Ji Ningzhi, saying gently, "Ningzhi, let's go, or your brother will get angry."

Ji Ningzhi secretly glanced at Ji Yanjun and saw that he had a sullen face, so she immediately dared not make a fuss anymore.

Ji Yanjun went to Aunt Xiao's tailor shop first.

Ji Ningzhi and Zhang Fangfang followed. When they reached the door, Ji Ningzhi turned back and made a face at Wen Qing, as if to say, "See? My brother doesn't even acknowledge you!" Then she turned her head away triumphantly.

The customers, who had been expecting a good show, were now completely bewildered.

"You're leaving already?"

"You were already dating, how could you just leave like that?"

"That's right."

"..."

Everyone's eyes were on Wen Qing, even Aunt Xiao looked at her. Aunt Xiao was close to the guests, so she heard what they were saying. She didn't expect that Wen Qing and Ji Yanjun had this kind of relationship. Thinking about a girl like Ji Yanjun, it would actually be better if they didn't have this relationship. Wen Qing is beautiful and can make money. What makes her unworthy of Ji Yanjun?

Aunt Xiao felt indignant for Wen Qing, but Wen Qing seemed to be laughing. Aunt Xiao asked, "Wen Qing, what are you laughing at?"

"Twenty-five yuan." Wen Qing handed the money to Aunt Xiao and said, "Aunt Xiao, here, keep it. I'll start making the clothes now. Write down all the measurements."

"Okay, okay, okay." Aunt Xiao nodded, but was puzzled. Did Wen Qing no longer have feelings for Ji Yanjun? Aunt Xiao couldn't understand, but based on her experience and Ji Yanjun's behavior, Wen Qing and Ji Yanjun were definitely not over.

"Aunt Xiao, the red thread on the sewing machine is gone." Wen Qing's voice brought Aunt Xiao back to her senses, and Aunt Xiao quickly replied, "Okay, I'll go get it."

After Ji Ningzhi's antics, a lot of work piled up in the morning, so for the next two hours, Aunt Xiao didn't stop, Wen Qing didn't stop, and even the sewing machine didn't stop.

The morning passed in Aunt Xiao's tailor shop amidst the clatter of sewing machines and conversations with customers.

Aunt Xiao's tailor shop didn't quiet down until lunchtime.

Although Yao Shiling brought food for Wen Qing, Aunt Xiao still sold chicken and meat, cooked a large plate of it, and insisted on pouring it into Wen Qing's white porcelain jar. Wen Qing couldn't refuse.

Half of the white porcelain jar was filled with chicken pieces and chunks of meat with a good balance of lean and fat. Wen Qing remembered how much her younger brother Wen Peng craved it, so she couldn't bear to eat it and saved it to take home for her two younger brothers.

Just as Wen Qing put the white porcelain jar on the lid, Aunt Xiao came out from backstage and handed Wen Qing a handful of small bills.

Wen Qing was startled: "Aunt Xiao, what's wrong...?"

"I said the shoes are on you, I'll just ask for three cents."

Wen Qing glanced at the small bills, which amounted to about eight or nine yuan: "Aunt Xiao, this is too much."

"Not much, not much," Aunt Xiao said with a smile. "If it weren't for you, I might have lost money. This dress is sixteen yuan, and the shoes are nine yuan. I'll take three mao, and you take eight yuan and seven jiao."

"Aunt Xiao, this is really too much."

"Not much, not much, take it quickly. Women still need to have some money. With money, you won't be looked down upon, and you'll have more confidence when you speak." Aunt Xiao forced the money into Wen Qing's hand: "From now on, you can use my sewing machine as you please. You don't need to sew those shoe uppers by hand."

Wen Qing understood the implication in Aunt Xiao's words and was deeply moved. She immediately nodded and said, "Okay, thank you, Aunt Xiao," and accepted the eight yuan and seventy cents.

Aunt Xiao then smiled and said, "Let's work hard from now on and earn more money."

"We must earn more," Wen Qing said with a smile.

As the two were talking, a middle-aged woman came to the shop entrance, looked around, and asked, "Xiao Yun, is Xiao Yun here? Oh dear, I can't read, what does it say on the sign above the shop?"

"Xiao Yun, is Xiao Yun here?" the woman called again.

"You called me." Aunt Xiao hurried to the door and greeted her with a smile, "Sister Sun, what brings you here? Come in and sit down."

"Xiao Yun, it really is Xiao Yun! I've finally found you. Xiao Yun, your mother-in-law asked me to pass on a message to you, saying that your son is sick and you should hurry back to the village to see him."

"What illness?" Aunt Xiao asked in surprise, "Aren't you perfectly fine?"

Upon hearing this, Wen Qing stood up and walked to the door.

Sister Sun said, "I don't know what's wrong with her, but she's lying in bed and can't get up. Your mother-in-law is crying at home."

Aunt Xiao stumbled and almost fell.

Wen Qing quickly helped her up: "Aunt Xiao, Aunt Xiao, don't panic. Take your son to the hospital for a check-up first, see what's wrong, and get the right treatment."

"Yes, yes, yes, don't panic," Aunt Xiao said repeatedly, but she had already lost her composure.