Chapter 21 Searching for Her Among the Crowd
Chapter Twenty-One: Searching for Her Among the Crowd
Was he so flustered because he was worried about her personal safety?
Zhou Yunqi denied this.
This was different from the premonition I had on the day my mother had the accident, but I still felt an inexplicable worry, hoping that she had a reliable person by her side who could take good care of her.
Unfortunately, the person who came to inspect today was the city's leader in charge of production, so he had to stay and receive him.
He accompanied the leaders on a tour of the production workshop and gave a work report in the conference room, listening to the leaders' opinions.
Cashier Sister Cheng waited outside the door for a long time, not daring to rush in. Only after they finished their meeting and report, and saw the factory director and others come out, did she wink at Zhou Yunqi.
Sensing something was wrong, Zhou Yunqi asked, "What is it?"
Sister Cheng whispered, "Xiao Xu called and said there was a problem at the train station; he couldn't find Xiao Lin."
In an instant, Sister Cheng could clearly see that Director Zhou, who was usually calm and collected, had changed his expression.
But after a moment, he regained his composure, asked for some details, and said, "I understand, you can go ahead and get back to work."
After taking care of everything, Zhou Yunqi hurriedly went to the post office branch next to the train station to meet with Xu Yaodong.
When Xu Yaodong saw his boss, he almost burst into tears.
Zhou Yunqi said, "Don't rush, explain more clearly."
In the morning, Xu Yaodong arrived at the train station and found it very strange; there were almost no passengers, but a few management personnel were patrolling. After inquiring around, he learned that there was a gathering of educated youth at the provincial capital's train station, and all trains there had been suspended, so trains here were also suspended. Officials were maintaining order, and anyone suspicious was to be registered and investigated. However, when he asked, they said they hadn't found a girl named Lin Su.
"I had no choice but to call the factory to report the situation, and I also went to the department store and tried to find her through the public address system, but I couldn't find her." After explaining the situation, Xu Yaodong asked, "Could she have gone to the city because she couldn't buy a train ticket?"
Zhou Yunqi shook his head: "She's very well-behaved and won't wander off. She told me she'll only go to the train station and the department store. Unless there's a special reason, she won't go anywhere else."
"Where did she go? Surely she wasn't scammed or cheated?"
Zhou Yunqi glared at him: "Shut up."
Xu Yaodong had no choice but to change the subject: "By the way, boss, what kind of car did you take to get here?"
Zhou Yunqi glanced at the pedestrians on the street and said casually, "It's a car belonging to a city leader."
Xu Yaodong was taken aback: "The social engagement was canceled?"
"No, I asked the old factory director to meet with them on short notice, and the city leaders had their driver bring me here."
Seeing that his boss was relatively calm, Xu Yaodong's flustered mind also calmed down a bit, and he said, "The city leaders are quite understanding."
Zhou Yunqi said in a low voice, "We're selling face for the old man. Even though he's gone, he still retains some face."
Xu Yaodong: "Oh, that's great too. When I called just now, Sister Cheng said you would come over. I thought I misheard."
Zhou Yunqi stopped rambling, opened the jeep door, and instructed: "Go to the bus station across the street. If she's alright, she'll come over at 4:30 this afternoon to catch a bus back to the county. I'll go to the department store to look for her again and will meet her at 4:30."
Xu Yaodong nodded.
As the man drove to the department store in the city center, he increasingly regretted that he should have had Xu Yaodong accompany him from the beginning.
Despite harboring some worries, she firmly believed that she would be alright.
There are still so many days ahead, and this life will be very long. He still has so many things to say to her.
...
The city department store was larger than the one in the county, with three floors. Uplifting songs were playing over the loudspeaker, and the air was filled with the sweet smell of candy, the aroma of face cream, and various other indescribable scents...
Zhou Qiyun looked at the crowd of people dressed in blue and green, the main colors of the fabric. He remembered that she was wearing a plaid coat, had two black braids, and was carrying a green canvas backpack.
She was slender and tall, with fair skin, clear and bright eyes, and her lips were stained a beautiful red.
A quick glance revealed so many unfamiliar faces. Occasionally, a pretty young woman would come into view, but it was never her.
She was prettier than them.
At first, it was weak and pale, with little color, but after half a year of care, it became more and more radiant and beautiful, and when it smiled, there was a faint dimple at the corner of its mouth.
But she doesn't laugh much in front of him. Maybe it's because he's usually too serious and formal. When he's chatting with Xu Yaodong or other people, he often laughs and shows his dimples.
He frantically searched for that bright, sunny face in the crowd, his heart pounding faster and faster in his chest. But after walking through all three floors and scanning the clothing, shoes, candy and other counters, he still couldn't find her.
Anxiety and despair grew amidst the bustling crowd. Finally, the man glanced at his watch and left dejectedly.
Lin Su walked out of a rice noodle shop diagonally across the street from the department store. She glanced at the other side as usual and found that the Jeep parked there looked very familiar. However, she couldn't see the license plate number. She thought that all Jeeps looked like that, and Zhou Yunqi and Xu Yaodong would not be here since they worked at the sugar factory.
However, the next second, a man with his eyes lowered came into view.
Lin Su thought she was seeing things and rubbed her eyes, but the man was indeed Zhou Yunqi.
She exclaimed "Hey!" and waved, but the other person didn't see her at all, opened the car door, and got in.
Lin Su had no choice but to carry her luggage bag, which was filled with quite a few things, and planned to cross the road.
Cars were passing by on the road, obstructing her view, so she had to be careful. By the time she crossed the road, the car had already sped away. She was furious and unwilling to give up, so she followed the car for a long distance until it turned into the intersection ahead and disappeared from sight.
At that moment, she felt terrible.
It was even worse than not being able to buy a train ticket, being given the wrong directions and ending up at the wrong bus stop, and then having to ask around to find the right one.
Standing there with her bag in hand, feeling wronged, she sniffed and was about to leave when she was surprised to see that familiar figure appear around the corner. His bright eyes looked over, and after meeting her gaze, he quickened his pace.
Lin Su was overjoyed and ran towards him again with her bag. She ran up to him breathlessly, first grinning, and then simply threw herself into his arms.
Zhou Yunqi's heart pounded. He pulled her into his arms, pressing the back of her head against his chest. His strong heartbeat made her cheeks tingle.
Lin Su was taken aback by his initiative and pressed her face against his heart, momentarily stunned.
The pedestrians and vehicles passing by seemed to have all vanished, leaving only the two of them in the uniquely gray street scene of that era.
But this was, after all, a daytime street, and she dared not act rashly. She quickly left his embrace, only to find that his expression was somewhat strange. He was smiling, but his thin lips were pursed tightly, and his jawline was taut, as if he had regained something precious. Even the light in his eyes was tinged with compassion.
He spoke in a low voice, and the first thing he said was, "Why are you running? Aren't you afraid of falling?"
Lin Su was annoyed and snorted, "I chased after you for a long way and called your name so many times, but you didn't see me. I was so angry!"
He finally softened a bit: "It's my fault, I only saw it when I turned the corner."
"Get in the car first, Dongzi is still waiting for us." After saying that, he took her bag and led her to the car parked at the corner.
Once on the train, Lin Su learned the whole story and explained, "As soon as I got to the train station, I realized something was wrong. I asked around and left without daring to stay there."
She vaguely knew that things had been going wrong at the train station in the provincial capital recently, but she hadn't expected it to affect this place, let alone be so serious that the train station had to shut down. She knew that this matter would eventually be resolved and that there would be a good outcome, and that the educated youth would all return to the city, so she wasn't afraid and even thought she could browse around the department store a little longer.
But unexpectedly, something still went wrong.
After hearing the reason, he said, "Next time you ask for directions, ask a few more people, preferably a bus driver."
Lin Su replied softly, "I understand."
"So you didn't hear the mall's announcements about missing people?"
"No, after I got off the bus, I went to eat first. When you came to find me, I had been walking around for a long time and was a little hungry, so I ate a bowl of rice noodles across the street. I planned to take the shuttle bus after I finished eating."
Zhou Yunqi tapped his chin: "It's good that you're not hungry."
"But why did you come here? Did you hear that the educated youth were gathering at the provincial capital's train station and you're afraid something might happen here too?"
Zhou Yunqi shook his head: "I haven't heard any news about this, but I'm vaguely worried."
Lin Su was slightly surprised and looked at him.
"What's wrong?" He turned around and looked at him.
Lin Su said, "Your intuition is quite accurate."
Zhou Yunqi drove the car, his tone calm: "Always accurate."
Upon seeing Xu Yaodong, he practically stamped his feet and said, "I was terrified. I was worried that you would be arrested or that you would be cheated or tricked."
Lin Su smiled and took out a few candies from her bag, placing them in her palm: "Here are two candies to calm your nerves."
Xu Yaodong grinned, revealing his big white teeth, and took one.
"Not only was I scared, but the boss was also very worried."
Lin Su handed over the candy in her hand: "Then...would you like to have a candy too?"
He glanced at it, speechless, and simply said, "Get in the car quickly and go back."
...
After having dinner in the county town, I returned to the sugar factory, and it was already getting dark.
Zhou Yunqi said, "You all stay here for now, I'll go find the old factory director."
Lin Su asked curiously, "Is the old factory director here too?"
Xu Yaodong said, "He called the old factory director over to receive the leaders just in time to find you."
Lin Su's heart skipped a beat: "Won't that offend the boss?"
Xu Yaodong smiled and said, "Don't worry, with his father protecting him, that leader even had his driver take him to the city."
Lin Su: "...So prestigious."
“Sigh, I often think, if the eldest son’s father were still alive and had given him real help, and given his strong abilities, what a person he would have become.”
Lin Su said with absolute certainty, "Even if he's gone, he'll still do very well."
"I hope so."
As they were talking, the old factory director and Zhou Yunqi walked over together.
Lin Su greeted him politely, "Old Factory Director."
The old factory director sighed, "It's good that everyone is alright. Look at all the trouble we've caused today."
After saying that, he couldn't help but boast: "Luckily, I know a few leaders, otherwise I would have been in a real mess."
Xu Yaodong began to flatter him: "That's right, the old factory director is still as sharp as ever, he can still fight three hundred more rounds."
"You little rascal, you're always so glib."
Zhou Yunqi said, "Uncle Liu, let me take you home first. Thank you for your hard work today."
A few minutes later, the old factory director got out of the car. Lin Su watched his back and casually asked, "Old factory director, did you stop working at the factory after you took over as director?"
Zhou Yunqi said, "I worked as a consultant for six months."
Xu Yaodong chuckled and added, "I think he really wants to come back, he's just too embarrassed to ask."
Zhou Yunqi nodded: "It wouldn't be a bad idea to have him come and supervise the production."
After a long day of travel, I finally returned to the farm.
Lin Su took her bag out of the back seat, and Zhou Yunqi asked, "Did you get everything?"
"I've got them all."
Xu Yaodong had already gone far away. In the darkness, Lin Su looked at Zhou Yunqi and pursed her lips: "Then I'll go back to the dormitory first."
He instructed, "I don't know when the trains will return to normal. You should stay at the farm and rest for the next few days."
On the way back, Lin Su thought about many things. She looked at the handsome man, took a deep breath, and said, "But I want to spend the New Year here."
Anyway, if it drags on for a few more days, the policy will be released soon. After all this trouble, she doesn't want to go through any more...
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yunqi's eyes flickered slightly.
But he didn't respond immediately, which frustrated Lin Su: "Don't you want me to stay here and spend the New Year with you?"
“How could that be? I’m just worried that you won’t be able to leave.” His expression was grave. “Policies change in an instant; it’s not up to you or me to decide.”
Lin Su knew his concerns and could sense the unease hidden beneath his strong exterior, which was related to his past experiences. She lowered her eyes, then raised her head again, and said to him with a confident smile, "I think things will change for the better. We've had reform and opening up for a decade now, and the 'Down to the Countryside Movement' has been going on for ten years. It's about time it came to an end."
Gazing quietly at her bright smile, the man smiled with relief: "Yes, that's about right."
"Then it's settled. I'll go back to Beijing after the New Year."
Her face was full of joy as she picked up her bag and left, leaving Zhou Yunqi standing in the wind watching her cheerful figure.
The man exhaled deep breaths as he faced the long night.
How could we not welcome it? It's just that if things continue like this, it will get out of control sooner or later.
...
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Author's Note: I'm here! Happy holidays everyone! Double updates starting tomorrow!
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