It was already noon when we got back to the county town.

Yu Jihong went straight to the store, not wanting to miss any opportunity to do business.

The new house was ready, and she and Fang Yu moved in. They didn't invite any relatives or friends; they just asked a fortune teller at the alley entrance to choose an auspicious day to move in.

Living in her own house brings peace of mind, but occasionally, Yu Jihong feels a little regretful.

When she left home in the morning, the sun was shining brightly on the balcony and living room, making it warm and cozy. She longed to stay home for a while, have a cup of hot tea, and enjoy a moment of leisure, but she had to mind the shop and make money.

“It’s okay,” she told herself. “All the hard work now is for a better life in the future. Once I pay off the mortgage and save some money, I’ll have plenty of time to enjoy life.”

As usual, Fang Yu would come to the store after school and go home with her after the store closed in the evening. The mother and daughter lived a peaceful and stable life.

That day, Yu Jihong had just seen a customer off and was hanging the clothes the customer had tried on back on the hanger when a slightly hesitant voice came from the doorway, "Jihong!"

Yu Jihong's movements suddenly stopped. The voice was both familiar and unfamiliar, like a needle that unexpectedly pierced her long-buried memories.

Yu Jihong paused for a moment, then slowly turned around. Standing in the doorway was a man in his forties, wearing a light blue shirt and carrying a briefcase. His hair was neatly combed, though a few strands of white had appeared at his temples. Although he was slightly overweight, the resemblance to his former self remained in his features. It was Lian Wuliang.

Nineteen years have passed.

Yu Jihong's heart suddenly raced, as if it were about to leap out of her chest.

She looked at Li Lianwuliang, her throat tightening, a thousand words stuck in her chest, yet she couldn't utter a single one. It wasn't excitement, but a mixture of grievance, anger, and disappointment that overwhelmed her like a tidal wave.

She thought she had long forgotten, but when this person actually appeared in front of her, those suppressed emotions surged up again.

Yu Jihong gripped the clothes hanger tightly.

Lian Wuliang rubbed his hands together, walked into the shop somewhat awkwardly, looked around, and finally fixed his gaze on her. "I... I came here on a business trip, and I went to the village to ask around, and that's how I found out you run a shop here. How have you been these past few years?"

"Business trip? By the way?" Yu Jihong caught those two words, and the last glimmer of hope in her heart vanished. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, put down the clothes hanger, and said coldly, "It's fine. Is there something wrong?"

"Back then...back then my family forced me to marry someone else, I had no choice." Lian Wuliang's voice was a little hoarse, and his eyes held a trace of guilt. "I've always thought of you, but I..."

"Helpless?" Yu Jihong interrupted him, a mocking smile playing on her lips, but her eyes involuntarily reddened. "Don't you have hands and feet? If you really wanted to find me, you could have done so back then. Now you can take advantage of a business trip to find me. You don't know where I am, but if you wanted to come, you could have asked around. If you knew where I was back then, why didn't you come then?"

Lian Wuliang's face flushed crimson, his eyes darting away, unable to meet her gaze. "I heard about what happened afterward. Is our daughter mine? She's mine, isn't she? If I had known we had a child, I would have come back no matter what. I... I..."

"Knowing you're pregnant, you'll come back. So I'm not worth your coming back, right? Don't try to upset me. Just leave." Yu Jihong pointed to the door.

“Jihong, I will make it up to you and our daughter. I wouldn’t have come if I hadn’t been thinking of you. I was on a business trip to the city this time, but I made a special trip to see you.” Lian Wuliang continued to argue, “From now on, I will apply to come over whenever I have a business trip here, just to see you and our daughter.”

Yu Jihong sneered, "I suppose you have a wife and children now, right?"

Lian Wuliang looked at the ground, his face twitching slightly. "This, this is not important. What's important is that I want to make it up to you."

"This isn't important?" Yu Jihong said as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. "I really feel sorry for your current wife and children."

Lian Wuliang realized he had said the wrong thing. “I will make it up to you and your daughter. I come here to be with you and your daughter whenever I’m on a business trip. I know you are alone now, and I know that the person you remarried is… is… You have suffered so much all these years.”

Yu Jihong tilted her head back and blinked, trying to force back the tears that were about to spill, but the tears still welled up uncontrollably. She glared at Lian Wuliang and shouted, "What do you care who I married? He is the best man in the world to me!"

"Yes, yes, he is the best person for you. I will try my best to apply for a job here so I can spend more time with you and our daughter."

Yu Jihong glanced at him disdainfully. "Ha, you've got a good idea. One home there, one home here, is that it?"

"No, Jihong, I have to make it up to you and our daughter!"

You've already said everything you could to save face.

At this moment, a customer came in to look at clothes. Yu Jihong glanced at Lian Wuliang, who tactfully went outside to wait.

He stood across from the store, looking at the "Jihong Clothing Store" sign, his fingertips stroking the handle of his briefcase. Nineteen years had passed, and Yu Jihong was much calmer than he remembered. The lively spirit of a young girl in her eyes now turned into a cold and aloof demeanor that kept him at arm's length.

Lian Wuliang's thoughts drifted back to the summer of 1980. Back then, there were opportunities for promotion after completing practical training. After submitting his sericulture technology practice report, he was full of ambition, thinking that once he was promoted and allocated a house by his work unit, he would go back to the village and bring Yu Jihong over.

But reality dealt him a heavy blow. When the list came out, Xiao Cen, who had submitted his report at the same time and was doing practical work in another place, was promoted, but he wasn't.

Later he learned that Xiao Cen's uncle was a leader in the Agricultural Bureau. At that moment, he realized that ability alone was not enough. He huddled in the dormitory of his work unit, feeling a profound sense of powerlessness for the first time.

Just when he was feeling down, Sister Wang from the office gave him an "opportunity" and introduced him to Deputy Director Xue's daughter.

"Xiao Lian, Xue's father has real power. If you get together with her, you'll never have to worry about not having opportunities in the future. Deputy Director Xue also thinks highly of you. Others don't even have this chance. You'd better seize it."

He had met Deputy Director Xue's daughter; she was short and dark-skinned, and far less bright and spirited than Yu Jihong.

Lian Wuliang was caught in a dilemma. Yu Jihong was unemployed and would have to rely on him to support her, offering no help to his career. On the other hand, Xiao Xue had a job as a cashier in a state-owned factory, and with a word from her father, she could skip the arduous process of gaining seniority.

Lian Wuliang tossed and turned in his dormitory all night, tossing and turning, torn between Yu Jihong's smile that carried the fragrance of silkworm cocoons and the promising future within his grasp.

In the end, he gritted his teeth. What men fight for is their future. With status and money, what is there to be afraid of not getting?

He married Deputy Director Xue's daughter, and thanks to his father-in-law's connections, he did indeed have more opportunities for advancement than others.

At first, he often thought about Yu Jihong, and sometimes when he was in bed with his wife, he would even think of Yu Jihong's snow-white body...