Chapter 30 Like an elopement
Chapter Thirty: Like an Elopement
As night fell, Zhou Yunqi escorted Lin Su back to her family compound, instructing her not to argue with them and to go outside for a walk if she felt uncomfortable staying at home during the day.
Lin Su asked, "So what are you going to do tomorrow?"
Zhou Yunqi looked at her and smiled gently: "The organization has arrangements for tomorrow, so I probably won't be able to leave for even a day."
Lin Su understood; it was probably because the leader wanted to meet him and arrange for him to attend a memorial service or something. She obediently nodded and said, "Then I'll just wander around by myself tomorrow."
There are no secrets in the family compound. Almost all the old neighbors knew about her return to the city and recognized her.
While she was still downstairs, an auntie took her hand and said, "I never expected you to grow up to be so beautiful. Girls really do change a lot as they grow up."
The other aunties also rushed over as soon as they heard the news, asking questions here and there.
Someone asked, "Has Susu found a boyfriend yet?"
Lin Su shook her head: "Not yet."
"No? Didn't a handsome young man come looking for you? Wasn't that your boyfriend?"
"no."
"Really? If so, don't be shy. Auntie is just concerned about you."
Someone chimed in, "It seems like it really isn't true. They even went to Old Gu's house together. Aunt Li said he was also an educated youth and wanted to go back."
Everyone in the family compound is a gossip, so Lin Su had no need to hide anything and said, "He is the manager of our farm and also the manager of the sugar factory."
"That young man is really good; he's got potential."
Lin Su was surrounded and chatted with for half an hour, with everyone chiming in before finally letting her go home.
The atmosphere at home was the same as always. Lin Su had already eaten dinner, so she took her key, unlocked the door, and went into her room.
The stepmother couldn't help but say, "Could you please not lock your room?"
Lin Su said, "I don't like people going through my things."
“We won’t rummage through your things. Once you close this door, the room will feel even smaller.”
Lin Su locked the door to make things difficult for them, so she said, "Okay, I won't lock it, but give me the household registration book; I need to register my household there."
Seeing that she was finally about to win back some ground, Deng Jinfeng mumbled, "I don't remember where I put it. I'll look for it again later."
Around nine o'clock in the evening, Lin Su brought up the household registration book again.
Deng Jinfeng pretended to look for it: "I clearly remember putting it here before."
Lin Su wasn't in a hurry and said, "If we can't find it, that's fine. I'll go to the street office to report it lost and apply for a replacement. The original household registration book will be invalid. I have all the documents for moving out of the countryside and returning to the city. You also need to prepare your documents. If you don't have them, you might not be able to register your household."
Deng Jinfeng felt she had truly met her match. Suppressing her anger, she pulled out her household registration booklet and said, "Why are you saying so much? It's not like I can't find it."
Lin Su took the household registration booklet: "Thank you, I'll give it to you after I've finished processing it."
Deng Jinfeng, unwilling to give up, asked, "Now that you've settled your household registration, what are you planning to do?"
Lin Su said, "The college entrance exam."
"With grades that bad, how could you possibly get in?"
Lin Su laughed: "My grades are bad? I used to not have enough to eat, and I would give the meat to you guys. I didn't get enough nutrition and I was anemic. Of course, I couldn't concentrate on studying when I was in poor health."
Mentioning the past made Lin Su's blood boil, and she wanted to argue with them.
But remembering what Zhou Yunqi had told her, she didn't want to let it affect her mood, so she said coldly, "In short, I'll handle my own affairs. Don't bother me, or no one will have a peaceful life."
Deng Jinfeng said, "Good, good, good, you've really shown your temper in the countryside."
Lin Su found that even without arguing, her mood wasn't much better; the environment had such a huge impact on a person. She drew all positive energy from Zhou Yunqi, and even on the farm, she was very happy, but at home, she was surrounded by negative energy.
The next morning, she went out with her bag and wandered the streets all day.
Although the capital city was also gray and gloomy at this time, with not many tall buildings, she quite liked the feeling of ancient and modern buildings complementing each other, and Western-style buildings and hutongs coexisting in one space.
Even in the late 1970s, Beijing was still Beijing. You could still see some fashionable people on the streets, the department stores had a wider selection of goods, and some time-honored shops were still operating as state-owned enterprises.
She had lunch at a restaurant and then continued shopping.
Sitting on the bus, looking at the gray sky outside the window, Lin Su couldn't help but wonder what Zhou Yunqi was doing at this time.
Has he already finished dealing with his superiors, or is he discussing his current situation with his elders?
He doesn't like to complain in front of others; he only talks about the good side to his elders and superiors, such as how the sugar factory is developing smoothly and what his plans and prospects are.
As darkness fell, she returned home and saw her stepsister and stepmother seeing off a guest at the entrance of the residential compound. The guest was a young man wearing black-rimmed glasses, who looked honest and unassuming. Gu Xinjuan, however, had a sour face and seemed to dislike him.
Lin Su went straight into the family compound without meeting them.
The man was introduced to her stepsister by a relative, but her stepsister didn't like him. As a result, she threw a tantrum at her stepmother when she got back, and she felt even more resentful when she thought about the man who was close to Lin Su.
Her stepmother was also scolding her, and the house was noisy all night.
Unable to concentrate on her studies in this environment, Lin Su gradually felt that time was dragging on.
Zhou Yunqi probably had many people to meet and many things to resolve, so he didn't come to see her the following day, the sixth day of the first lunar month.
Fortunately, after starting work at the factory, Lin Su was able to register her household registration and apply for a new ID card. She felt that after being back for so long, she had finally accomplished something.
On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, the house was very quiet, with only Lin Su and her younger brother at home.
Lin Su saw that her half-brother was fairly well-behaved and had not yet discovered any selfish or lazy tendencies in him, so she gave him a dollar and told him to buy whatever he wanted.
A child will stick with whoever treats him well.
But the younger brother had only been out for a short while when he ran back, panting, and said, "Sis, someone is looking for you."
Lin Su sat at her desk and looked back at the door, where Zhou Yunqi's figure suddenly appeared.
Lin Su said happily, "You finally have time."
He said, "I've been busy the past two days, let me take you somewhere."
Seeing his mysterious look, Lin Su nodded: "Wait for me a moment, I'll get ready."
Zhou Yunqi looked around her cluttered room and asked, "Have you been reading these past few days?"
Lin Su went to get her bag, shaking her head and saying, "Actually, I can't concentrate. My mind is a mess, like a lump of paste."
He looked at her: "Is it too noisy at home?"
"Yes, they are all trivial matters, but they can be distracting."
He said knowingly, "Let's go, let's find a quiet place and pack your personal belongings."
Lin Su's eyes widened: "Huh?" He chuckled: "The leader took pity on me and arranged a dormitory for me. I cleaned the place up a bit yesterday."
No wonder he didn't come to see her yesterday. Lin Su said in disbelief, "But this is too fast."
"The leader said that special circumstances should be handled specially. There is a good high school nearby, so you can walk to school."
Lin Su really didn't want to stay in this house for even a minute longer. So she took her duffel bag and started stuffing it with her clothes, school supplies, and other things.
Just as he was about to get a toothbrush and towel, Zhou Yunqi said, "We don't need the toiletries anymore, let's go over there and buy new ones."
Lin Su obediently put the toothbrush back in its place. Seeing that something was wrong, her younger brother asked, "Sis, are you moving?"
Lin Su looked at the ten-year-old boy and said to him, "Your sister is going to high school and take the college entrance exam. She won't be staying at home as often anymore."
He asked, "So where do you live?"
“He’ll be staying in the house this older brother helped him find. He’ll come back to visit you when he has time. If they ask, just tell them that.”
The younger brother nodded: "Okay."
After packing her luggage, Lin Su left home with Zhou Yunqi.
The whole process took less than half an hour. Lin Su was already sitting on the back of his bicycle, with her luggage on her lap and her arms around his waist. It looked like they were eloping.
Even my mood has a kind of exhilarating feeling of eloping.
The branches of the trees along the street swayed gently in the wind. Looking up, tender green buds were already sprouting from the branches. Lin Su hugged his waist tightly and said, "Zhou Yunqi, spring is coming."
The man on the bicycle let out a soft "Ah," and said, "They'll come eventually."
After riding for about half an hour, Lin Su realized the route was wrong and asked, "Aren't we going to the compound?"
He said, "I don't think I said I lived in a compound."
Lin Su realized: "Is it the staff quarters of the company where your father last worked?"
"No, the logistics department found a house nearby that was quite suitable, so they assigned it to me."
Soon, the bicycles drove into an entrance. The gatekeeper, who was sitting in a chair, glanced at them and nodded.
The car stopped in front of a building. Lin Su got out of the car and looked at the buildings, which looked like they had just been built. These dormitories had their own kitchens and bathrooms, which was much more convenient than the Soviet-style buildings built in the 1950s and 60s. They also had heating. She couldn't help but be slightly surprised.
Noticing that there was no sign indicating which organization it belonged to at the entrance, Lin Su asked curiously, "Which organization's dormitory is this?"
Zhou Yunqi shrugged, indicating that he didn't know either. In recent years, some units have frequently changed or been abolished, but in short, they are state-owned.
Lin Su didn't ask any more questions. With Zhou Yunqi's help, she carried her luggage into a building and went up to the third floor.
Upon entering, she found a brand-new, large single room, divided into two smaller rooms. She first looked around the kitchen, then turned on the tap; icy water immediately rushed down…
Zhou Yunqi went into the inner room to put away his luggage, and Lin Su also went to take a look. Inside, there was an iron bed and a desk.
He said, "Yesterday I only bought simple furniture such as a bed, table, and chairs. I'll go pick out some other things later, including bed sheets and blankets."
Lin Su looked at him, bit her lip, and nodded desperately.
At that moment, Lin Su felt a mix of emotions, a bittersweet feeling welling up inside him. He leaned casually against the desk, his long legs touching the ground, and scoffed, "Don't be moved yet. If you live here and don't get into a good university, I'll beat you up."
Lin Su wrinkled her nose and snorted at him, "I'm sure I can get into a good university!"
He chuckled softly, turned to look out the window, and said in a low voice, "If anyone asks, just say she's my distant cousin. She's staying here temporarily because it's close to your school."
Cousin… Lin Su stared at his tense profile, speechless for a moment.
He turned back, met her eyes, and said mockingly, "But I doubt anyone will ask."
Lin Su pursed her lips, as if she had come to a realization, and nodded vigorously, "I understand, cousin."
Zhou Yunqi: "..."
She turned and took a couple of steps in the living room, then suddenly turned back and smiled happily at him: "Could I buy two potted plants, cousin?"
In that instant, the man pressed his fingers hard on the table, his knuckles turning white.
That address, as expected...
It was extremely jarring.
...
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