Reborn and Struggling in the 1980s

Author: Crystal Jade Meat

This is a serialized work on Jinjiang Literature City... Please support the official version... All other versions are pirated...

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Ji Yanjun took out his cigarette case, pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. He reached into his pocket for a matchbox, but then suddenly remembered that this was Wen Qing's homeroom teacher's house. He paused, quickly took the cigarette out of his mouth, put it back in the cigarette case, and put it away.

"Young man, are you looking for Teacher Zhao?" An old man asked as he passed by.

Ji Yanjun quickly stood up: "Hello, sir, do you know where Teacher Zhao is?"

"Teacher Zhao has gone back to his hometown and can't come back today. He'll have to go back tomorrow."

"Do you know the off-campus addresses of her students?"

The old man chuckled and said, "How would I know? Tomorrow is Monday, and all the students are in class. It would be much easier for you to go directly to the school. You won't find anyone here."

Ji Yanjun was silent for a moment, then said, "Thank you, thank you, sir."

"You're welcome, you're welcome," the old man said with a smile as he left.

Ji Yanjun stood in front of his homeroom teacher, Teacher Zhao, rubbed his face, looked around, and then picked up the military green bag on the ground. He went to Nanzhou No. 1 Middle School for a walk, but found nothing. Then he went to his friend's place, picked up his car, and drove past Aunt Xiao's tailor shop. To his surprise, the sign for "Aunt Xiao's Tailor Shop" had changed to "Fengqing Garment Shop." He was taken aback and quickly stopped the car to ask.

“You’ve been making clothes at Fengqing for a long time,” Master Yan replied.

"What about Wen Qing?"

Master Yan glanced at Ji Yanjun, looked him up and down, and saw that Ji Yanjun was handsome, had an extraordinary temperament, and did not look like a bad person, so he replied, "Wen Qing is our boss."

"Your boss?" Ji Yanjun asked in surprise.

"Yes, this shop belongs to her."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yanjun couldn't help but smile, though he forced himself not to. His lips still curled slightly upwards as he asked, "Where is she?"

"He went to school." Master Yan made up his mind not to answer any further questions.

"Okay, thank you." Ji Yanjun smiled and then left.

Master Yan glanced at Ji Yanjun suspiciously, wondering if there was anything wrong with this man.

Ji Yanjun was in a good mood. He drove home and found the house empty. He opened his bedroom door, took a shower, found some clothes, and sat on the bed. He immediately saw the hair tie in the open military green bag. Just as he picked it up, he heard a commotion in the yard.

"Who opened the gate?"

"The car, this is Yanjun's car! Ah, Yanjun is back!"

Ji Yanjun hurriedly stuffed the hair tie into his bag, zipped it up tightly, and then walked out of the room.

As soon as they stepped out of the main room, they saw Ji Yousheng and Liang Wenhua hurrying in, their faces full of smiles, followed by Zhang Fangfang's uncle Shen Youbang and aunt Su Hongmei.

"Yanjun".

"Yanjun, you're finally back."

"Yanjun".

"Yanjun".

The four people called out to him like they were calling for a ghost, one after another. Ji Yanjun, without changing his expression, called out, "Dad, Mom, Aunt, Uncle, it's been a long time."

Before Ji Yousheng and Liang Wenhua could even ask Ji Yanjun anything, Su Hongmei started sobbing.

Ji Yanjun was taken aback and looked at Ji Yousheng, asking, "Dad, what's wrong with Auntie?"

Ji Yousheng sighed.

Liang Wenhua immediately said, "Wen Qing has been arrested and taken to the police station for harming Fang Fang."

Ji Yanjun's expression changed, and he blurted out, "How is Wen Qing?"

Ji Yousheng and the others were stunned. Why did Ji Yanjun listen to his words and arrest Zhang Fangfang, not Wen Qing...?

Liang Wenhua said fiercely, "What can she do? She's perfectly fine!"

Ji Yanjun's expression softened slightly.

Ji Yousheng was afraid that Ji Yanjun hadn't understood, so he explained, "Yanjun, Fangfang has been taken to the police station."

Su Hongmei burst into tears again at just the right moment: "Fang Fang has been taken to the police station."

Ji Yanjun frowned: "What's going on?"

“It’s all because of Wen Qing,” Liang Wenhua chimed in. “Wen Qing…”

"Mom, don't speak yet, let Dad speak." Ji Yanjun interrupted Liang Wenhua sternly. When Liang Wenhua talked about Wen Qing, ten out of ten sentences sounded the same.

Liang Wenhua was indignant, but since he was her son, she didn't say anything.

Following Su Hongmei's instructions, Ji Yousheng roughly recounted the events.

Ji Yanjun listened with a mixture of belief and skepticism.

Su Hongmei cried and said, "Fangfang just opened a clothing store, it didn't bother her at all, she just..."

“Exactly, it’s just a few clothes. There are plenty of identical items on the street, so what?” Liang Wenhua chimed in.

"Mom, if it were the other way around, and Wen Qing copied Fang Fang's clothes, would you still say it was Wen Qing's fault?" Ji Yanjun asked rhetorically.

Liang Wenhua was speechless.

Su Hongmei and Shen Youbang were taken aback. So Ji Yanjun was helping Wen Qing?

Su Hongmei immediately objected, crying and accusing Ji Yanjun: "Ji Yanjun, what do you mean? Are you speaking up for Wen Qing? If we both side with Wen Qing in every word, what about Fangfang? Fangfang has been so good to your family, and all that goodness for nothing?"

Seeing this, Liang Wenhua quickly grabbed Su Hongmei's arm and explained, "Aunt Fangfang, Yanjun didn't mean that, he..."

Su Hongmei flung Liang Wenhua's arm away and demanded, "If that's not what he meant, then what did he mean? From the very beginning, he ignored Fangfang and kept asking Wenqing questions. What could he possibly mean!" Su Hongmei turned to Ji Yanjun and said, "You still think of Wenqing as your betrothed? Let me tell you, Wenqing swore a solemn oath in front of everyone in the county that she would never marry you, even if it meant death!"

As soon as Su Hongmei finished speaking, Ji Yanjun immediately raised his eyes and looked sharply at Su Hongmei. Su Hongmei was startled and felt a sense of fear for no reason. She quickly pointed at Ji Yousheng and Liang Wenhua and said, "If you don't believe me, ask your father and your mother. Didn't Wen Qing say that she would rather die than marry you?"

Ji Yanjun turned to Ji Yousheng: "Dad, what did Wen Qing say?"

Ji Yousheng nodded: "She...she said it."

"Why?"

"because……"

"Because of Mom and Ningzhi?" Ji Yanjun asked in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible, completely unable to believe it.

“I also bear responsibility,” Ji Yousheng said.

Ji Yanjun took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, and his eyes suddenly reddened. He blinked a few times to regain his composure and asked, "Dad, what class is Ningzhi in in the second year of high school?"

“Class 2 of Grade 11,” Ji Yousheng said.

"Okay, I understand. I have something to take care of, I'll go take care of it first." Ji Yanjun turned around and went into the main room, picked up the military green bag from the room, and came out of the main room.

Ji Yousheng, Liang Wenhua, Su Hongmei, and Shen Youbang, who were in the courtyard, were startled.

"Yanjun, why are you leaving so soon after you just got back?" Ji Yousheng asked.

"Yanjun, where are you going?" Liang Wenhua asked.

Su Hongmei grabbed Ji Yanjun and asked, "Yanjun, what will happen to Fangfang if you leave? Fangfang is still at the police station. Are we going to let her stay there indefinitely?"

“Yanjun, Fangfang is still a young woman at the police station,” Shen Youbang said.

Ji Yanjun was pulled back by Su Hongmei, but he looked at Shen Youbang and said, "Uncle, this is a new society. The country has always promoted equality for all. You keep saying that it is Wen Qing's fault and that Zhang Fangfang is innocent. If it is true as you say, Wen Qing and Zhang Fangfang will be punished accordingly. We should trust the country."

"You mean you're not going to help Fang Fang?" Shen Youbang's face darkened.

Ji Yanjun said, "Uncle, since Zhang Fangfang is innocent, she will be fine. Don't worry, the country will not wrong her."

Shen Youbang and Su Hongmei were speechless. Didn't you think Fang Fang was innocent and Wen Qing was not at fault? Why did you need to pull strings?

Ji Yanjun pushed Su Hongmei's hand away, picked up his military green bag, and got into the car.

Su Hongmei plopped down on the ground, pounding her fists and bursting into tears: "Fangfang, you poured your heart and soul into that family, but in the end they turned their backs on you! Fangfang!"

Ji Yousheng looked embarrassed.

Feeling guilty, Liang Wenhua rushed to the car and clung to the door, saying, "Yanjun, Fangfang and you grew up together. She's a young woman in the police station. You should at least go and see her."

Ji Yanjun looked at Liang Wenhua's arm and said, "I will look into the situation."

Liang Wenhua was overjoyed and turned to Su Hongmei, saying, "Hongmei, don't cry, don't cry. Yanjun has agreed to go see Fangfang."

"Really?" Su Hongmei asked, stopping her crying.

Liang Wenhua nodded: "Yanjun has been like this since he was a child. He looks ruthless but he is actually very soft-hearted. Fangfang grew up with him. He can't just watch Fangfang go to the police station and do nothing."

Su Hongmei wiped away her tears and stopped crying.

Meanwhile, Ji Yanjun drove straight to Nanzhou No. 1 Middle School, circled around the school, found a house, rented it, put his luggage down, and then went to the police station on Nanzhou Pedestrian Street.

Many people at the police station began to leave work one after another.

Ji Yanjun registered familiarly, entered the office building corridor, stopped in front of a room, and knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice came from inside.

Ji Yanjun pushed open the door and entered, smiling: "Zhou Xu." Zhou Xu was the police officer from the pedestrian street earlier today; he was the only one in the office at the moment.

Zhou Xu looked up and exclaimed, "Hey, isn't this Yan Jun? What brings you here? Long time no see!"

Zhou Xu quickly stood up and shook hands politely with Ji Yanjun. In the early years when highway robbers and bandits ran rampant, Ji Yanjun had saved him, and thus a deep friendship was formed.

Ji Yanjun smiled and shook hands with him: "Long time no see."

Zhou Xu let go of his hand and quickly took the teacup to pour water for Ji Yanjun: "What's wrong? What brings you here?"

Ji Yanjun sat down on a stool and asked, "Zhou Xu, you dragged someone in from the pedestrian street today."

“Yes, a shop owner who sold counterfeit goods and deceived customers. Dozens of customers wanted to return the goods, about three hundred items. Now the shop owner has been arrested, claiming that he was framed.” As he spoke, Zhou Xu handed two teacups to Ji Yanjun.

Ji Yanjun reached out and took it: "Thank you."

"What's wrong? Did you catch your boyfriend?" Zhou Xu asked.

Ji Yanjun wanted to say, "The one who wasn't arrested was my partner," but after weighing the pros and cons, he didn't say it in the end. Instead, he only answered the question: "No. The one who was arrested was my neighbor."

"Your neighbor?" Zhou Xu asked in surprise, "Really?"

"We grew up together when we were little."

"So, you've come here to pull strings and get me to release her?" Zhou Xu asked.

Ji Yanjun put down his teacup and said, "No, you can handle this officially. I just need to understand the situation."

Zhou Xu laughed: "That's why we're such good friends. I like your unwavering principle. What, you don't understand?"

"I just got back from Xiacheng. My family asked me to come here to find out the real situation, just to find out the situation," Ji Yanjun told the truth. "I don't really believe what my family says."

"Okay, then I'll tell you about it."

Then Zhou Xu told Ji Yanjun the whole story.

Ji Yanjun frowned after hearing this. Sure enough, it was quite different from what his parents had said.

"Speaking of which, that young girl named Wen Qing is really talented; she even makes clothes with a touch of culture. To be honest, your neighbor copied Wen Qing's work. This 'copying' is not only despicable, but customers don't actually mind. What they mind is that Zhang Fangfang made substandard products and sold them to them."

Ji Yanjun remained silent.

“However…” Zhou Xu added.

"But what?"

"However, Zhang Fangfang insists that she did not sell inferior clothes and that Wen Qing and Zhang Xiuying framed her. Moreover, there are indeed a few suspicious points in the case."

Ji Yanjun was startled, but his face remained expressionless as he asked, "You mean if it really was a frame-up, Wen Qing had the ability to frame Zhang Fangfang, but Zhang Fangfang didn't have the ability to frame Wen Qing?"

“Yes! Yanjun, you’re really something.” Zhou Xu stroked his chin and said, “These two are indeed suspicious, and Zhang Xiuying is also a suspicious point, so I have to personally sort out this line of events tomorrow before I can convict her.”

“Can I go with you tomorrow?” Ji Yanjun said.

Zhou Xu was taken aback: "Of course it's okay. This isn't a serious matter like murder or arson, so of course it's okay. Besides, I'm doing this in plainclothes."

"Okay."

"It's settled then."

Ji Yanjun nodded and asked, "Want to go for a drink?"

"You're treating, big boss?"

Ji Yanjun smiled and said, "It's my treat."

"Should we go see your neighbor?" Zhou Xu asked.

Ji Yanjun laughed: "I'm not watching anymore. I trust you and I trust the country."

"You know how to talk, kid."

Ji Yanjun smiled.

After having a meal with Zhou Xu, Ji Yanjun took Zhou Xu home and then went back to his rented apartment.

Lying on the wooden board, all I could hear was that phrase:

"She would rather die than marry you."

"She would rather die than marry you."

"..."

Soon after, Wen Qing's beautiful image reappeared in my mind:

"I'll marry you."

"I'm willing to marry you."

"Yanjun, come over and do my hair, just a ponytail will do."

"Yanjun, do you like this lipstick? Do you like the color?"

"..."

Various sounds and images filled the room, and at the same time, some random images kept popping up. His head ached, and he slept fitfully all night.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, he estimated that it would be almost time to start his morning self-study at Nanzhou No. 1 Middle School, so he got up, changed his clothes, and headed towards the school.

Meanwhile, Wen Qing had already drunk some boiled water and gone downstairs. Stepping into the hazy morning light, she bought two steamed buns from across the street from the school, wrapped them in oil paper, and walked towards the school gate while taking a bite. When she looked up, she saw a tall figure standing at the gate.

Ji Yanjun.

She recognized him at a glance.

Ji Yanjun finally waited for Wen Qing and walked towards her.

Wen Qing didn't move.

"Is this what you're having for breakfast?" Ji Yanjun asked.

Wen Qing usually eats after finishing her morning self-study session, but she was too busy last night and forgot to eat, missing her mealtime. She also ran out of noodles at home, so she had to buy steamed buns to fill her stomach.

"Mmm." Wen Qing swallowed the bun in her mouth, wrapped it in oil paper, stuffed it into her schoolbag, and then asked, "You're back from Xia City?"

"Um."

Looking for Ning Zhi?

"No, I'm looking for you."

Wen Qing wasn't surprised at all that he had contacted her. She calmly looked up at him and asked, "What is it?"

The phrase "She would rather die than marry you" echoed in Ji Yanjun's mind again. He felt a pang in his heart, and his hands involuntarily went into his pockets, then came out again. He looked at Wen Qing, whose face was shrouded in a hazy gray, making her look even more beautiful, though she seemed to have lost some weight.

"How have you been lately?" Ji Yanjun asked.

"good."

Ji Yanjun spoke again, "I just got back yesterday."

"oh."

"I've been living on Zhongshan Road recently."

Wen Qing remained silent.

"I……"

Wen Qing interrupted him: "You came here because of Zhang Fangfang, right?"

"no."

Wen Qing pretended not to hear and said, "The police officer said yesterday that this matter is between Zhang Fangfang and the customer, and has nothing to do with me, so it's no use you coming to me." With that, Wen Qing slung her schoolbag over her shoulder and walked into the school.

Ji Yanjun turned to look at her retreating figure: "Is it really none of your business? If you're going to do it, why not do it cleanly?"

Wen Qing was taken aback, stopped in her tracks, and slowly turned to look at Ji Yanjun.