Wen Qing stood by the window for a while, then reached out and drew the curtains before sitting on the bed.

The guesthouse was empty; there was no television or telephone, but there were a few expired newspapers. Wen Qing picked them up and glanced at them, but found nothing of interest. So she put the newspapers down and took out a book to read.

After watching for a while, she felt cold all over, so she took a hot shower, then crawled into bed and became sleepy.

She was woken up by knocking on the door the next morning. She put on her coat, pulled over the table and chairs that were propping up the door, and then opened the door.

"Did you sleep well?" Ji Yanjun asked.

"It's alright." Wen Qing was a little confused.

"If you're still sleepy, go sleep in the car for a bit, then get ready and let's go."

"Okay." Wen Qing was jolted awake by the gust of cold wind that Ji Yanjun brought in when he entered the room.

"Cold?" Ji Yanjun asked.

"It's not cold, I'll pack my things now," Wen Qing said.

"Okay." Ji Yanjun entered the cramped and simple bathroom, brushed his teeth and washed his face, and the sound of running water came from the bathroom.

Wen Qing felt a moment of disorientation. In her past life, she often heard sounds similar to those she was hearing now, even though he was still half asleep in the bathroom early in the morning.

"Wen Qing," Ji Yanjun called out, "Are you done?"

"Almost done." Wen Qing quickly packed up her books, went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, and then followed Ji Yanjun out of the guesthouse.

When Wen Qing left the guesthouse, she realized it was still dark. She glanced at Ji Yanjun's watch in the light; it was 4:30. Wen Qing breathed a sigh of relief; it was so early.

Ji Yanjun opened the car door and let her get in. After closing the door, he took two bottles of hot water from the front desk of the guesthouse and put them in the car. He handed the military overcoat to Wen Qing and said, "Wear this and sleep for a while longer."

Wen Qing took it and said, "Thank you." She soon fell asleep against the car seat.

When I woke up, the car was parked in front of a market, and it was already daylight.

Wen Qing looked around sleepily and saw Ji Yanjun buying steamed buns at a stall. He kept turning his head to look at her. After seeing that she was awake, Ji Yanjun walked over and knocked on the car window: "Get out and have breakfast, and move around a bit. We still have a long car ride ahead."

"Okay." Wen Qing took off her military overcoat, opened the car door, and as soon as she jumped out, her legs went numb. Ji Yanjun immediately put his arm around her and said, "Don't move yet, stand for a while to recover."

"Um."

"Can we go now?"

"That's fine."

Let's go.

"Um."

The two bought two baskets of steamed buns, a bowl of tofu pudding, and a bowl of porridge.

Ji Yanjun ate one and a half baskets of steamed buns and a bowl of tofu pudding.

Wen Qing ate half a basket of rice and a bowl of porridge.

After breakfast, the two spent some time at the market before getting back into the car and continuing their journey.

Ji Yanjun focused on driving, while Wen Qing took out a book to read as soon as she saw Lu Ping. The two got along well, or rather, they didn't get along at all, each doing their own thing.

At night, if you can stay in a guesthouse, you stay there; if not, you sleep in the car.

This went on for three days.

On the fourth day, it rained and there were no guesthouses available, and it was already dark.

"Let's find a place to park and rest," Wen Qing said. "It's easy to have an accident if you can't see the road clearly. Anyway, we'll be in Fucheng tomorrow. There's no rush."

"Okay." After saying that, Ji Yanjun pulled the car over to the side of the road, got out of the car with an umbrella, and said, "I'll go check if my clothes and shoes are wet."

Just as Wen Qing's hand touched the car door handle, Ji Yanjun said, "Don't get out, I'll just take a look."

Wen Qing eventually got down on her own.

"Why are you so disobedient?" Ji Yanjun walked around the front of the car and held an umbrella for her.

"I have no reason to listen to you, do I?" Wen Qing asked.

“Okay, you can see for yourself,” Ji Yanjun said.

Wen Qing walked around the truck bed to check the clothes and shoes, and only got into the truck after making sure that the clothes and shoes were not wet. Ji Yanjun followed her into the truck.

The two ate steamed buns with hot water and sat in the carriage, listening to the rain. It seemed that rainy days easily made people sad, and Ji Yanjun was no exception. He called out, "Wen Qing."

Wen Qing was looking out the right window when she responded with a soft "Mm".

Ji Yanjun put his hands behind his head, leaned back, pressing his hands against the back of his head, and said, "Are you living like yourself now?"

Wen Qing's eyes flickered slightly: "It looks like it."

Ji Yanjun paused for a moment, then said, "I know about what happened to my mom and the others."

Wen Qing remained silent.

Ji Yanjun remained silent for a while before speaking: "It's their fault. I didn't expect them to go so far."

Wen Qing closed his eyes and remained silent. He must have held the same view in his past life.

"That's not what my mom meant. Don't overthink it, and don't argue with her."

"Ningzhi is willful, don't take it to heart."

"You don't need to pay attention to Zhang Fangfang."

“”

Wen Qing suddenly felt very tired, then turned her head to look at Ji Yanjun, her eyes weary, and said, "Ji Yanjun, it's all in the past."

Ji Yanjun was taken aback: "We have already..."

"So what? What happened between us? If someone minds that I've had a boyfriend, am I supposed to never get married?"

Perhaps it was the rain, the incessant drizzle making everyone feel sticky and uncomfortable, desperately wanting to let loose. Wen Qing especially wanted to, and for a moment she seemed to be transported back to her past life, raising her voice to say, "I don't like your mother, I don't like your sister, and they dislike me even more! Your whole family makes me feel so tired and hopeless. I've sworn that I will never set foot in your Ji family again in this lifetime, don't you understand? Yes, I'm from the countryside, I have a bad temper, my family is poor, I'm not good enough for you, but because of that, do I have to keep putting up with your mistreatment? Do I have to die?"

"Qingqing".

"Ji Yanjun." Wen Qing slowly regained her composure, her eyes filled with a deep pain and resentment that Ji Yanjun couldn't understand but felt heartache for: "Ji Yanjun, things are fine now. Haven't these past four days been fine? We've each been living our own lives, occasionally crossing paths but treating each other politely, occasionally supporting each other. We've been good partners, haven't we?"

Ji Yanjun looked up at Wen Qing: "Do you really think so?"

"right."

Ji Yanjun remained silent.

Wen Qing said calmly, "Don't let your second uncle's words hold you back. You're in your twenties now, and you're the only son in your family. According to the customs of Wangcheng County, you should have gotten married long ago. However, you're successful in your career now, and you're handsome. If you want to get married, you can do so this year. Plenty of good girls are waiting for you."

"And you?" Ji Yanjun asked.

“I’m still young. I’ll take the college entrance exam next year. If I pass, I’ll go; if I don’t, I’ll continue my studies. I’ll find a partner after I get to college. If he’s not conservative, maybe I’ll get married during college.” Wen Qing smiled. “Otherwise, I can spend my whole life with Yishang.”

Ji Yanjun lowered his head and remained silent.

The carriage was quiet, with only the sound of raindrops pattering.

After a long silence, Ji Yanjun spoke again, his voice slow and hoarse: "Fine, I promise you, the marriage is off. Let's each go our separate ways."

Wen Qing leaned against the car window, and through the blurry glass, he saw tears welling up in his eyes: "Yes, thank you."

After that one sentence, the two fell silent.

Late at night, Wen Qing was fast asleep by the car window. Ji Yanjun took a blanket from the back seat, covered Wen Qing with it, gently laid her down, put a pillow under her head, tucked the blanket around her, and then put on his military overcoat and closed his eyes by the car window.

Just as he was starting to feel sleepy, images that were both strange and familiar appeared in his mind, all of them featuring Wen Qing.

"Yanjun, we're finally married."

"You tell me you like me, that's how it's always portrayed in movies. I really want to hear you say it."

"Ji Yanjun, if there is a next life, I will never love you again, nor will I marry you."

Ji Yanjun opened his eyes abruptly, feeling a sharp pain in his head. He turned to see Wen Qing curled up in her seat, emitting soft breathing sounds. He felt slightly relieved and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes to rest. This time, he didn't have those strange dreams, but he still didn't sleep soundly.

The next morning, Wen Qing looked at the blanket on her body and the pillow under her head, and smiled as she said to Ji Yanjun, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Ji Yanjun said frankly.

Wen Qing glanced at him and smiled knowingly.

Next, with only half a day's journey to Fucheng, Wen Qing put away her book and, as she approached her destination, got off the bus, found a public phone, and called Yao Shiling.

"Mom, I've arrived in Fucheng. I delivered the goods this afternoon, and I can go back to Nanzhou tomorrow!" Wen Qing said.

Upon receiving Wen Qing's call, Yao Shiling was overjoyed: "Come back quickly! Wen Qing's business has been exceptionally good these past few days. The clothes and shoes she just made sold out without her even taking a nap."

Wen Qing smiled.

"The New Year is coming soon. When you come back, Mom will cook you something delicious."

"good."

Still worried, Yao Shiling asked again, "How are things between you and Ji Yanjun?"

"Let's talk it out."

"You've talked it out? What did you say?"

"I'll tell you when I get back to Nanzhou. I'll contact my clients now."

“Okay, okay, you contact them, you contact them,” Yao Shiling said repeatedly.

After hanging up the phone, Wen Qing called Guo Jian's mobile phone.

Guo Jian was overjoyed when he received the call: "Wen Qing, the clothes have finally arrived! It's almost the end of the year, and clothes sell very well. Tell them to come quickly; I'll wait for them at the entrance of my clothing store."

"Okay." Wen Qing replied and hung up the phone. After paying the bill, she stepped out of the store and saw Ji Yanjun smoking with his head down. He glanced at Wen Qing and stubbed out his cigarette, asking, "Can we go now?"

"Okay, let's go straight to Guo Jian's shop."

"Okay, get in the car."

After the two got into the car, Ji Yanjun started the engine and drove straight to Guo Jian's clothing store. When Wen Qing saw Guo Jian's clothing store, she realized that he wanted five thousand sets of clothes. Guo Jian's store was not only very large, but his customer base included not only individual customers, but also more offline customers than Zhang Xiuying.

At the same time, Guo Jian was quite surprised to see Wen Qing: "Ms. Wen, did you come in person?" He had always thought that Ji Yanjun was alone or brought his company people to deliver the goods. He did not expect that it was the tall and thin Wen Qing who could withstand four or five days of travel. Guo Jian could not help but admire Wen Qing even more.

Wen Qing smiled and said, "I don't trust anyone else to handle President Guo's affairs."

This remark immediately made Guo Jian laugh.

Ji Yanjun smiled slightly upon hearing this.

"Young Master Wen, Brother Ji, come in, come in and let's talk!" Guo Jian warmly invited Wen Qing and Ji Yanjun.