Xue Fu experienced what it meant to feel both alive and dead.
Where did Gu Chong learn so many tricks?
She wanted to protest that all men are indeed lustful at heart!
Gu Chong gently wiped away her red and wet eyes, softly coaxing her, saying not to cry, that it was alright, and that he wouldn't touch her anymore.
Xue Fu glared at him pitifully, her eyes filled with a tender, lingering blush, utterly devoid of any power.
"snort."
She absolutely will not believe it.
If she believes what a man says at this point, she's a puppy.
·
The days went by.
The winds of opening up and reform blew down from above.
It swept across the country in a flurry of activity.
Xue Fu wasn't greatly affected at school, but her mother, Ji Yazhi, and Gu Chong started to get restless.
Both of them had their own ideas.
Ji Yazhi has always cherished the achievements she has made in modern times, including her company and shops.
If you can succeed once, you can do it again if you work hard.
Ji Yazhi began to think about starting her own business.
She didn't resign immediately, but observed the market situation for quite some time.
She found that the conditions were not right.
Ji Yazhi now works in the auto repair industry, but in the late 1970s and early 1980s, cars were a rarity.
There is no market for it.
But this is also an opportunity.
We gave her more time to prepare, to save up capital, and to overcome the obstacles in those processes.
Ji Yazhi threw herself into her career with great enthusiasm. Every day after get off work, she would read books about mechanical repair. Xue Fu felt that her mother was working even harder than she was studying for her final exams.
The same applies to Gu Chong's side.
Many cars are brought to the auto repair shop for repairs, but because the repair costs are too high, they are scrapped instead.
These cars were just taking up space and becoming junk at the factory, so they were sold off as scrap at a low price.
Meanwhile, a few skilled repairmen at the auto repair shop secretly bought back these scrapped cars and worked overtime after get off work to repair them.
After some fiddling around, several vehicles were actually repaired and are now drivable and on the road.
Gu Chong was one of the people involved.
These men all had their own plans, and after meeting and discussing them twice, they decided to go all out and do it together.
They all know how to drive, so they use these vehicles to pick up jobs and deliveries. Although the vehicles are a bit old, they can still form a small transport team.
Initially, they only took jobs on their days off, and those jobs were all around Haicheng, within a distance of about 100 kilometers.
But after doing this for a month or two, I clearly earned much more than I did in the factory, and it was also more flexible.
After some thought, they all quit their jobs and focused on this line of work.
Xue Fu watched as Gu Chong became increasingly busy, and the numbers in the savings account he gave her kept increasing every month.
He's really good at making money. And it's also incredibly hard work, as you can clearly see.
Several times when Xue Fu met him, she noticed that the man was secretly turning his face away, trying to quietly avoid her gaze.
But his bloodshot eyes, the result of staying up all night, and the bloodshot veins covering the whites of his eyes, couldn't fool her.
Xue Fu knew the reason why he was working so hard.
I know who he did it for.
She couldn't say those hypocritical, sanctimonious things like suggesting he change jobs.
All she could do was have a pot of warm food waiting for him when he came home, give him a hug, and say, "You've worked hard."
Gu Chong really works hard, very hard to create a better life.
Xue Fu both liked and felt sorry for him.
Fortunately, the effort was not in vain, and the sweat and toil finally paid off.
This era is one of constant change and transformation.
As her four years of university came to an end, on the eve of her department's graduation ceremony, Xue Fu was still a little dazed as she held the commemorative badge for her graduation from the Department of Journalism.
At this moment, I felt that time had suddenly flown by.
"Afu, happy graduation."
Gu Chong held a bouquet of flowers in his hand, which he had planted in his yard in his spare time.
He was very busy the past two years, so busy that he was completely absorbed in his work. Starting this year, he has become a little more relaxed and can now have one or two days off each week.
He bought a small house with a yard near the Xue family's residence. Together with Gu Fei, they cleaned the yard thoroughly and even started a flower garden.
Gu Chong now has the appearance of a more mature man. Although he still has few expressions and a cold temperament, his every move is calm and composed, making it even more difficult to guess his thoughts.
Xue Fu spent every day with him, so she didn't feel that he had changed much.
But only occasionally, in a fleeting moment, did she notice that his eyes were deeper and more tolerant than before. Xue Fu thought that time had indeed left its mark on them.
"We are finally liberated."
Xue Fu sighed.
She's really not cut out for academia. Her father even asked her if she wanted to pursue further studies.
It just so happens that one of his colleagues was recently rehired by the university and is now recruiting.
Xue Fu decisively shook her head and refused; the graduation thesis alone was already giving her a headache. She was better suited for employment.
"My uncle said he's making sweet and sour pork ribs tonight, and he also bought two rounds of firecrackers to set off tomorrow."
Gu Chong led her home.
"Firecrackers? Haha, here we go again."
Xue Fu couldn't help but chuckle. She remembered that when she got into university, she did the same thing, setting off firecrackers for several days in a row, and almost got a complaint from the uncles and aunts on the first floor.
"Uncle is very happy."
"And you, have you prepared my graduation gift?"
Xue Fu turned her head to look at him, her bright eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Her graduation was a big deal; she'd been talking about it for a long time.
"Do you want it demolished right now?"
Gu Chong reached into his pocket, as if he was about to take out a gift, but Xue Fu quickly grabbed his hand to stop him from taking it out.
Xue Fu pursed her lips and shook her head: "No! We'll tear it down tomorrow! Tearing it down now would be so unceremonial."
Gu Chong chuckled, nodded, took his hand out of his pocket, and grasped hers in return: "I'll give it to you tomorrow."
Xue Fu was a little smug and gave a soft "hmm".
She wanted to see what this straight man, Gu, would prepare.
The graduation ceremony at Haicheng University was not particularly grand.
However, because they were the first graduating class after the resumption of the college entrance examination, the school specially suspended classes for two days so that they could say goodbye to the school and their teachers.
The journalism department has advantages that other departments do not have.
Their department has cameras and photography equipment.
Several other departments came to their department to use their equipment for taking photos.
On graduation day, everyone in the department came to the large classroom to listen to the department head give the final speech to the graduates.
She even got up an hour earlier this morning to wash her hair, put on light makeup, and tidy herself up before leaving the house.
Xue Fu was wearing a shirt uniform today, with a graduate badge pinned to her left chest. Compared to when she enrolled four years ago, she looked much more mature.
The baby fat on her face has gradually disappeared over the years, and her girlish beauty has matured into a captivating and alluring charm.
Gu Chong looked through the window in the corridor and saw Xue Fu sitting prettily in her seat. Every time he saw her, his heart would flutter.
He clasped his hands together, squeezing the box in his palm even tighter.
Listening to the commotion inside, the department head on the stage had already begun his closing remarks. Many people in the audience were moved and wiped away their tears.
Gu Chong had good eyesight and saw Xue Fu's wet, red eyes as she wiped away her tears and spoke to the classmate next to her.
Just by looking at her, Gu Chong could imagine that she was currently making a soft, nasal sound, in a tone that was both delicate and pitiful.
"Xiao Gu, is Rongrong about to come out?"
Xue Mingcheng and Ji Yazhi were standing a little further back, so they couldn't see the classroom clearly. Each of them was holding a bouquet of flowers, which they had picked from Gu Chong's yard that morning, and the petals were still covered in dew.
"It'll be over soon."
Ji Yazhi exclaimed, "Time flies!"
"Xiao Gu, what are your thoughts?"
Before Xue Fu came out, Xue Mingcheng pulled Gu Chong aside for a chat.
Xue Mingcheng and Gu Chong had discussed this matter many times before.
Every time, the answer I got was: "I'll listen to Afu."
This time was no exception: "I'm fine with anything, it depends on what Afu thinks. I'll listen to her."
He said that, but Gu Chong couldn't help but feel anxious and restless.
He remembers it more clearly than anyone else.
Xue Fu's twenty-second birthday had already passed two months prior.
She is now twenty-two years old.
She has reached the age she mentioned before, the age when she could get married.
Of course he wants to get married.
I want to build a family with her and become her true legal partner, lover, and family member.
"Mom and Dad! Gu Chong! Xiao Fei, you're here too!"
Xue Fu's voice was full of excitement and slightly hoarse, and her eyes were slightly red, like a rabbit's eyes.
Finally, it was over, and she came out of the classroom.
As she walked up to them, Xue Fu wrinkled her nose, looking somewhat sullen: "Suddenly I feel so lost, four years have just ended like this."
She discovered that four years could pass so quickly.
She couldn't bear to part with it.
Xue Mingcheng couldn't bear to see her like this, so he teased her: "Didn't you say last month that you wanted to graduate early and didn't want to write a thesis? If you can't bear to give it up, Dad recommends that you go to Uncle Zhou's place for further studies."
These words jolted Xue Fu awake, instantly pulling her out of her sadness.
She sighed, noticing the faint tears welling up in her parents' eyes, and reached out to hug them one by one.
"Forget it, graduation is great, right?"
"I'll earn money in the future and buy you nice things."
She's just starting a new phase of her life.
With all her loved ones by her side, what is there for her to be sad about?
Xue Fu finally raised her eyebrows and smiled, gazing at the people she loved.
"Where's my gift?"
Gu Chong stayed with her the whole time, and Xue Fu still remembered the gift.
When her parents took Xiaofei to visit Haicheng University, she spread her hands and asked for it.
"this."
She then realized that he had actually been clutching a small box in his hand the whole time.
There was no fancy packaging on the outside, just a small, plain black cardboard box.
Xue Fu couldn't guess what was inside.
She glanced at him for a second, then took it, her voice slightly raised at the end: "Then I'll take it apart?"
"Um."
Gu Chong swallowed hard, his hands clenched behind his back, his gaze fixed intently on her every move.
"Huh?"
After Xue Fu saw what was in the box, her eyes widened, and she looked up at him intently before realizing what was inside and exclaiming in surprise, "Wow!"
"You..." she said with a helpless smile.
The money he gave us was way too much hard currency.
Giving him gold bars... It's amazing that this straight man could come up with such a gift.
Xue Fu took a deep breath and grabbed the gold bar in her hand the next second. It was the first time she had ever touched such a large gold bar.
"Don't you like it?" Gu Chong looked at her with his dark eyes, as if he would pout and look aggrieved if she didn't like it.
"Of course I like it! Who wouldn't like it?"
Xue Fu coaxed him, "You're so good at giving gifts. I love them so much! You're so kind! Keep it up!"
What's it like to have a partner who gives you gold bars?
All Xue Fu could say was, "It's so cool, so incredibly cool!"
As Xue Fu was twirling the gold bars in her hands, she glanced at Gu Chong's expression and noticed a rare look of hesitation on his face.
Is there something you want to tell me?
Xue Fu stopped what she was doing and looked at him intently, patiently waiting for him to speak.
“Afu…”
Gu Chong swallowed, lowered his eyes, and focused his gaze on her.
His hands, clasped behind his back, were slightly open, his palms sweating with nervousness.
His voice trembled almost imperceptibly: "What do you think of me?"
Xue Fu replied seriously, "I think you're very good. Very good."
"Then...would you marry me?"
He finally spoke, saying what he had wanted to say to her for years.
Xue Fu stared at him blankly, never expecting him to propose to her at this moment.
She was taken aback for a moment, then was filled with joy.
She could clearly sense that he was feeling uneasy.
Gu Chong rarely does things he's not sure about.
But now he can't be at all at ease.
He considered countless possible scenarios.
But just thinking about the possibility of being rejected by her made him feel so miserable and bitter that he wanted to die.
Xue Fu couldn't bear to see him looking so insecure.
She sighed softly, and following her heart, Xue Fu waved her hand under his nose, her slender white fingers spreading out.
"So, where's your ring?"
Gu Chong's eyes suddenly lit up, his dark pupils sparkling, and he became energetic and excited: "Afu!"
He had already prepared the ring.
Gu Chong thought that even though he had experienced suffering in his childhood, fate still favored him.
The moment the ring was slipped on, Xue Fu heard him say—
"Thank you."
"I love you."
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