The day Pei Ruoyun finally decided to leave home was when she saw her gambling-addicted biological father accept a man's betrothal gifts.
Three thousand yuan.
The other person was almost twenty years older than her.
So Pei Ruoyun ran away from home that very night, carrying only a small backpack containing a few hundred yuan she had stolen from home, and a few pieces of clothing.
She thought to herself, she doesn't want to be sold.
She doesn't need to marry a man and beg him for food and shelter.
She can provide for herself.
She was seventeen years old that year.
She traveled for three days and three nights on a green train, escaping to a place far, far away from home, where no one could find her.
She didn't even finish high school, so she had no education or academic qualifications. But luckily, she was pretty and had a good sense of aesthetics. She was quick-witted and not bad at talking, so her first job was selling clothes for people in a clothing wholesale market.
The wholesale market is a mixed bag, with all sorts of people. Pei Ruoyun probably uses up two liters of saliva every day to promote and bargain with customers.
It was here that she met Xu Lanzhi.
He came to buy a schoolbag and went to the store next door.
He was very tall and thin, wearing a light gray Oxford shirt, with thick black hair, fair skin, and light-colored eyes.
Pei Ruoyun summarized all his characteristics in a second, a skill she had honed while working here.
Perhaps it was because his demeanor clashed with the noisy environment, or perhaps it was because there were no customers in the store at that time, but Pei Ruoyun, standing at the store entrance, couldn't help but glance at him a few more times.
The voices coming from next door were also clearly audible.
He said he wanted to buy a schoolbag, something sturdy and durable.
The shopkeeper next door gave him a bag, he tried it on, and paid for it right away.
The whole process was very quick, without even a single word of haggling.
Pei Ruoyun knew the market price; the boss's quoted price was significantly inflated, clearly trying to rip him off.
But he didn't seem to realize it.
Pei Ruoyun thought to herself, "What a fool."
My gaze lingered on him for a few more seconds until he left.
After Xu Lanzhi left, the shop owner next door saw her looking in their direction and said to her happily, "See that? This kind of person is obviously a bookworm from university. He's got 'Come and rip me off' written all over his body. If you meet someone like this, you might as well rip him off."
Pei Ruoyun smiled politely but did not respond.
She never expected that she would meet Xu Lanzhi again later.
That day, she and her colleague went home after get off work, taking a detour that they didn't usually take. They passed a used bookstore, and the people next to the bookstore looked very familiar.
He was sitting by the bookstall, holding a book that looked very profound. The cover was something like "Rational Criticism".
He was still wearing a shirt, only a light blue one, but it was still very clean, and the line of his neck was very nice when he looked down at the book.
As if by some strange twist of fate, Pei Ruoyun stopped and squatted down to pick out a few books.
Suddenly, a voice rang out from above: "Hey? I think I've seen you before. Do you work at the clothing market?"
Pei Ruoyun was taken aback, looked up at him, and asked, "You remember me?"
Xu Lanzhi closed the book in her hand and nodded, "I have a better memory."
As if afraid she wouldn't believe him, or afraid she would overthink it, he added, "I can remember most of the contents of the books I usually read."
Pei Ruoyun responded with an "oh".
She wasn't too surprised, because he looked like someone who was doing very well in school.
Xu Lanzhi paused for a moment, then suddenly looked surprised and curious. "What did you mean by that? You remember me too?"
Pei Ruoyun: "."
She glanced away awkwardly, then realized she had let something slip.
Meeting Xu Lanzhi's probing gaze, she coughed lightly, then awkwardly explained, "You were taken advantage of that day, so I remember it quite well."
Xu Lanzhi was taken aback. "A sucker?"
Pei Ruoyun nodded, "Your bag is twice as expensive as others."
Upon hearing this, Xu Lanzhi smiled sheepishly.
He looked at her and said, "Now that you've told me, I'm not a sucker anymore. I'll know next time I buy."
Pei Ruoyun was stunned.
How come this person isn't angry at all when they hear they've been ripped off? They can even laugh!
But looking at his smile, she suddenly found herself unable to look away.
She was prickly at that time, full of fighting spirit for this world full of adventure and challenges, but also full of vigilance.
But for some reason, she seemed to be able to let her guard down in his presence.
Because it was the first time she had ever felt that kind of pure kindness in someone.
It's the kind of kindness that allows you to laugh it off even if you know you've been deceived, and to always think the best of things.
This person is different from everyone she has ever met.
Unlike the men she had seen since childhood who didn't treat women like human beings and would beat and scold them when they were drunk.
They are different from those who spend their days in the wholesale market scheming to rip off some sucker.
Pei Ruoyun knew he was cultured, and his way of speaking gave her a very comfortable feeling, like a piece of warm and smooth jade.
She had never met anyone like this before.
Later, after work, she would always deliberately take a detour to his used bookstore, buy one or two books, and chat with him for a while.
A week passed, and Xu Lanzhi suddenly asked her how she could read so quickly, and why she had to buy books every day.
Pei Ruoyun's heart skipped a beat, and her ears suddenly felt hot. For some reason, she didn't go there again for several days.
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