"Yanjun..."
"Wen Qing..."
"Come back..."
Liang Wenhua shouts this every day, and everyone in Wangcheng County knows that Liang Wenhua only knows these three sentences.
That day, Ji Yousheng pushed Liang Wenhua in a wheelchair for a walk on the street.
Liang Wenhua continued to shout that.
Ji Yousheng pushed it slowly.
After the two left, the neighbors on the street already knew everything about Wen Qing and Ji Yanjun, and they all said, "They've been dead for so long, calling back their souls is useless, and even if their souls were brought back, they wouldn't have bodies left."
"Sigh, yes, if only we had known then what we know now."
"Sigh, I only hope that in the next life, Wen Qing and Ji Yanjun can be together. They are two poor children."
"Next life? Will there be no Liang Wenhua stirring up trouble in the next life? Will Wen Qing not get stomach cancer in the next life? Maybe in the next life Liang Wenhua will still force Wen Qing to say that he will never enter the Ji family. In the end, won't the result be the same?"
"Yes! It's better if there's no next life!"
"Listen, listen, Liang Wenhua is calling for her son again. What's the use of that!"
"..."
Every word of these words reached Ji Yanjun's ears. He looked at these people quietly, but they could not see him, because he was now a wisp of a soul.
That day, as he leaned against Wen Qing's tombstone, at the end of his life, he saw Wen Qing, white-haired and frail, coming to meet him. Without hesitation, he took her hand and followed her. He was truly happy then, truly happy to see her with white hair, the way he had always dreamed of seeing her.
Look at the wrinkles creeping onto her face.
Time has turned her hair gray.
She slowed her pace.
All of this shows that she is no longer suffering from stomach cancer, and she is experiencing the same old aging process as everyone else.
He was really happy.
But as he happily followed her, she suddenly disappeared. He could no longer find her. He searched for a long time but still couldn't find her. He inexplicably ended up here.
Just then, a truck sped by, bringing a strong gust of wind that easily blew Ji Yanjun away. When he opened his eyes again, it was pitch black all around, so dark that he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face.
"Qingqing!" Ji Yanjun called out.
"Qingqing!"
"Qingqing!"
No matter how he shouted, there was still no sound around him. The darkness seemed to be boundless. He could not find an exit. There was no warmth, no wind, only darkness, endless darkness, and he was all alone.
one day,
Two days,
One year,
Two years, or a hundred years... or even longer...
"Qingqing, Qingqing..." he would call out often, as if only the word "Qingqing" could keep him going.
He didn't remember how long he stayed in that dark space, and he lost all sense of time, until one day he heard a clear and melodious voice.
"Yanjun, Yanjun, Yanjun..."
"Qingqing, Qingqing..." he called softly.
"It's me, hehe, it's Qingqing. Yanjun, wake up, it's time to eat."
"Qingqing!" Ji Yanjun suddenly opened his eyes. A beam of intense light made him immediately close his eyes uncomfortably, but the moment he saw the light, he seemed to see Wen Qing. Wen Qing, his Qingqing, was it Qingqing?
He couldn't believe it; his heart and hands were trembling. He was afraid he was dreaming again. In fact, he had been in the dark for so long that he had forgotten what light looked like. It shouldn't be a dream. He steadied himself for a while, then slowly, gently, and softly opened his eyes. As his eyes gradually adjusted to the light, Wen Qing's beautiful features became clearer.
"Qingqing?" Ji Yanjun asked.
When Wen Qing smiled, her face was fair and tender, with a touch of baby fat. Her eyes were bright and sparkling, and her lips were full and rosy. She looked energetic and vibrant, completely unlike the thin and tired woman he remembered.
"Are you so sleepy you don't recognize me?" Wen Qing said excitedly.
Ji Yanjun stared straight at her.
"Get up, it's time to eat." Wen Qing affectionately took his hand and tried to help him get out of bed.
Ji Yanjun felt a jolt in his heart, and his body became unusually stiff.
Wen Qing was taken aback and looked at Ji Yanjun with a puzzled expression.
Ji Yanjun stared straight at Wen Qing; her hands were warm, soft, and truly real.
"Yanjun, do you know that Ningzhi and I had a fight?" Wen Qing said, bowing her head as if admitting her mistake, but she didn't let go of his hand.
Ji Yanjun stared at her intently; it had been far too long since he had seen her.
Suddenly, Wen Qing raised her head again: "She went too far. She always seems to dislike me. I didn't provoke her, so why did she have the right to speak to me so sarcastically? That's why I... made her cry." Wen Qing continued, "There were so many people watching. She started the trouble and insulted me first, but I didn't cry. I said a few words to her and she cried. It's not my fault!"
"Qingqing," Ji Yanjun called softly.
Wen Qing looked at Ji Yanjun, about to continue explaining, when Ji Yanjun suddenly stood up, pulled her into a tight embrace, and held her tightly.
"Yanjun, why didn't you scold me?" Wen Qing asked in confusion. Usually, Ji Yanjun disliked her arguing with Ji Ningzhi and Liang Wenhua, and would always tell her to tone down her temper.
At this moment, Ji Yanjun didn't say anything to her. Instead, he greedily inhaled the faint fragrance emanating from her. Even though she was truly in his arms, he still felt like he was dreaming. He reached out and pinched his thigh hard, and it hurt.
"Yanjun, what's wrong with you?" Wen Qing couldn't understand what was wrong with Ji Yanjun. He went to deliver goods a week ago and only came back today. After she got the news, she immediately ran to find him. He was sleeping, so she waited next to him until it was time for dinner. She then called him to get up. Why did he hug her as soon as he got up? But she was very happy that he hugged her.
"Qingqing, I miss you," Ji Yanjun said.
Wen Qing was taken aback, then overjoyed: "Really?"
"Um."
Wen Qing, both happy and shy, lowered her head and nestled in his arms, whispering, "I miss you too, I miss you every day."
"Oh my god, it's burning my eyes!" Just then, Gangzi came in and called for dinner. He covered his eyes and peeked through his fingers at Wen Qing and Ji Yanjun hugging each other.
Wen Qing immediately jumped away.
Ji Yanjun felt his arms go empty, and then stared blankly at Gangzi.
Gangzi said with a grin, "What are you doing in broad daylight?"
Wen Qing blushed and said, "Do whatever you want."
"Oh, little Wenqing, you can even blush."
"I blush when I'm happy!"
Gangzi covered his mouth and chuckled.
Wen Qing's face turned even redder: "Gangzi, what are you laughing at? I don't believe that when you have a wife in the future, you two won't be hugging each other!"
"Does Xiao Wenqing mean she's Yanjun's wife?"
That's not what I meant at all!
"What does that mean?" Gangzi asked with a mischievous smile.
Before Wen Qing could retort, Ji Yanjun put his arm around her shoulder and said, "Gangzi, don't bully Qingqing."
“Yes, you can’t bully me!” Wen Qing said.
“Alright, you two are of one mind and have the numbers, so I’ll call it a day. Let’s go eat!” Gangzi said.
Wen Qing smiled.
Ji Yanjun's gaze remained fixed on her.
The three of them went to the company cafeteria. Ji Yanjun held Wen Qing's hand, looked around, and made sure that this was his company cafeteria, that his company had not been in trouble, and that he had indeed returned here.
"Yanjun, don't hold my hand, everyone's watching." Wen Qing pulled her hand away.
Ji Yanjun was still somewhat dazed.
"Yanjun, you just got back from driving. I'll take care of you today. I'll get you some vegetables and some greens. You sit with me." Gangzi said, "I'll serve you two."
"Gangzi, let me help you." Wen Qing turned around to get the food.
Ji Yanjun grabbed her arm: "Don't go."
"Why?" Wen Qing asked, turning around.
"Sit down and keep me company."
Wen Qing was overjoyed and immediately nodded, "Okay."
As soon as the two sat down, Ji Yanjun stared at Wen Qing, making her feel uneasy. Finally, she couldn't help but ask, "Yanjun, why are you staring at me? Don't you want to be with me anymore? Are you upset that Ningzhi and I argued?"
“No.” Ji Yanjun stared straight at Wen Qing, as if afraid she would disappear.
"Then why do you keep staring at me?"
"Qingqing, let's get married right away," Ji Yanjun said.
Wen Qing was taken aback, and after a long while, she finally spoke: "But your mother, no, but your aunt said to wait a few months before talking about it..."
"So, are you willing to marry me now?" Ji Yanjun asked.
"I do!" Wen Qing answered without hesitation, then lowered her head and smiled happily.
Ji Yanjun's eyes involuntarily reddened, and he lowered his head to calm himself down.
Wen Qing was very happy, and the whole meal was very enjoyable.
Ji Yanjun had forgotten how many lifetimes he had spent without seeing Wen Qing so lively. After dinner, he felt somewhat at ease. After telling his colleagues at the company, he took Wen Qing home.
Wen Qing chattered incessantly the whole way.
Ji Yanjun seemed to have heard enough and kept encouraging her to talk, but as they walked to the entrance of the grain station and approached the Ji family's house, Wen Qing's enthusiasm for talking clearly waned.
Wen Qing suddenly said, "Yan Jun, let's part ways here. I'm going home. Bye-bye." Wen Qing said this with a smile.
Ji Yanjun was taken aback. He hadn't realized the meaning behind Wen Qing's words before, but now he discovered that Wen Qing didn't actually want to join the Ji family and knew in her heart that the Ji family didn't like her, yet she was persistently in love with him.
While Ji Yanjun was lost in thought, Wen Qing had already walked towards the main road.
Ji Yanjun snapped out of his daze and found Wen Qing gone. He chased after her.
Wen Qing walked along the dirt road reluctantly, kicking the pebbles under her feet with her head down. She couldn't help but turn around to look back, to see if Ji Yanjun was still there. But as soon as she turned around, Ji Yanjun ran over.
Wen Qing was overjoyed: "Yan Jun."
“I’ll go back to Shuiwan Village with you, as we agreed, to get married.”
Wen Qing was surprised.
"Come on, let's buy some things first." Ji Yanjun pulled Wen Qing's hand: "Let's go home right away and get the household registration book and marriage certificate."
Wen Qing was in a daze ever since Ji Yanjun woke up. After buying some things, the two headed towards Shuiwan Village.
Wen Qing was both delighted and afraid.
She was delighted that Ji Yanjun was willing to come to Shuiwan Village, but she was also afraid that her family was too poor and that Ji Yanjun would look down on her.
Several times she tried to stop Ji Yanjun, but he just smiled and said, "It's okay."
As it turned out, Ji Yanjun not only didn't look down on them, but was also very polite to Yao Shiling, Wen Liang, and Wen Peng. This made Wen Qing feel much more relaxed and open-minded.
Ji Yanjun didn't stay at the Wen family's house for long because Yao Shiling, Wen Liang, and Wen Peng were all indifferent to him. Wen Qing tried to liven things up a few times, but apart from Ji Yanjun giving some response, Yao Shiling treated him calmly.
Ji Yanjun said he wanted to get their marriage certificate with Wen Qing later, but Yao Shiling said Wen Qing was still young and they should wait.
Ji Yanjun said that his family would come to propose marriage tomorrow, but Yao Shiling said to wait a little longer.
Ji Yanjun said he would pick up the Wen family tomorrow and have a simple meal at the Ji family home, but Yao Shiling said she was busy in the fields and had to cut grass for the New Year, so she didn't have time.
Just as Ji Yanjun was about to say, "Auntie, I'll be going now. I'll see you again tomorrow..." before he could finish, Yao Shiling quickly interrupted, "Be careful on the road. I won't see you off."
Ji Yanjun nodded, forcing himself to be polite.
Wen Qing was furious, but she held back her anger because Ji Yanjun was there. With a stern face, she saw Ji Yanjun off to the main road. Seeing many villagers from Shuiwan Village craning their necks to look in their direction, Ji Yanjun refrained from pinching Wen Qing's cheek and asked gently, "What's wrong?"
"My mom doesn't like me, so she doesn't like you."
Ji Yanjun was stunned. It turned out that in the first life, she didn't want to go home because she thought Yao Shiling didn't like her. But she didn't know that Yao Shiling thought the Ji family was a pit of fire and didn't want her to jump in, which was a sign of her love for her. The reason he knew this was because every time Yao Shiling appeared, it was either because Wen Qing had a miscarriage or because Wen Qing was sick and Yao Shiling came to take care of her. After Wen Qing passed away, Yao Shiling never said a word to him, so he knew.
In his second life, Wen Qing also suddenly realized the truth, but at this time, Wen Qing still did not understand.
"She likes you a lot," Ji Yanjun said. "Try listening to her, telling her what's on your mind, and see if she likes you back."
"I don't want to talk to her," Wen Qing said, looking down.
"So it's you who's rejecting her," Ji Yanjun said gently. "It's not that she doesn't like you, right?"
Wen Qing didn't speak. That was just her personality. If others were a little tough, she would be five times tougher. She had to stand her ground and fight. When her fiery temper flared up, she would cause a huge uproar. But if others were a little gentler or kinder to her, she would immediately listen to their advice and be very obedient. So after a while, she nodded and said, "Then I'll give it a try."
Ji Yanjun smiled faintly: "Okay, I'll pick you up tomorrow, and we'll go to my house for dinner to meet my parents."
Wen Qing immediately nodded: "Okay."
"Go back now," Ji Yanjun said.
"You go first, then I'll go," Wen Qing said.
“You go first, I’ll watch you get home before I leave,” Ji Yanjun said.
"Rock, paper, scissors?" Wen Qing looked at Ji Yanjun, her eyes bright and alert.
Ji Yanjun gazed at it greedily and nodded: "Okay."
"Rock, Paper, Scissors".
Wen Qing chose rock, and Ji Yanjun chose paper. Ji Yanjun wanted to hold her small hand, but fearing gossip, he looked at Wen Qing and said, "Go back, and don't look back at me." A young woman looking back at a man every few steps would be talked about by the villagers. Wen Qing had suffered too much gossip, and he felt sorry for her. He couldn't let her suffer even a little bit in this lifetime.
"Okay." Wen Qing agreed, and sure enough, when she arrived at the Wen family's courtyard, she didn't look back. But as soon as she entered the courtyard, she immediately leaned over the fence and secretly peeked at the dirt road.
Ji Yanjun noticed her glance, but instead of exposing her, he smiled faintly, a smile that seemed to express gratitude to heaven. Then he turned and walked along the dirt road, and couldn't help but turn back to look at the mass grave, where only his second uncle's grave was.
He silently said in his heart, "Second Uncle, don't worry, I will love Qingqing well for the rest of my life."
Ji Yanjun walked towards the county town, his steps steady and slow, as if he were experiencing a rebirth. Just before reaching the town, fearing it was all a dream, he turned back to Shuiwan Village. Seeing that Wen Qing's grave was indeed not there, and that the Wen family had lit kerosene lamps, and even saw Wen Qing's slender figure, he finally felt relieved and returned to the Ji family home.
After returning to the Ji family home, he looked around at Ji Yousheng, Liang Wenhua, and Ji Ningzhi before saying, "Dad, Mom, Wen Qing is coming over for dinner tomorrow."
“Okay, I’ll go buy more groceries tomorrow morning,” Ji Yousheng said.
“There are still vegetables at home,” Liang Wenhua said. At this moment, Liang Wenhua was still the same noble and elegant Liang Wenhua who thought herself superior to others.
“Sister Fangfang will come tomorrow too,” Ji Ningzhi said.
"Then Yousheng, you should go and buy more," Liang Wenhua said.
Ji Yanjun laughed. He was so stupid in his past life. He couldn't even tell that they disliked Wen Qing so obviously, and he even thought that Wen Qing was also at fault. Ji Yanjun paused for a moment and said, "Ning Zhi, don't let Fang Fang come over tomorrow."
"Why?" Liang Wenhua asked.
"It's not appropriate for outsiders to be present when the family is eating together," Ji Yanjun said.
“If Wen Qing, an outsider, can come, why can’t Sister Fang Fang come?” Ji Ningzhi said.
Ji Yanjun suppressed his anger: "Ning Zhi, let me tell you clearly, your future sister-in-law is none other than Wen Qing!"
Ji Ningzhi and Liang Wenhua were taken aback; they had never heard Ji Yanjun speak so harshly before.
Ji Yousheng quickly tried to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, stop talking and let's eat quickly, or it'll get cold."
"I'm full!" Ji Yanjun put down his chopsticks and said before leaving the table, "Dad, buy more vegetables tomorrow morning. Oh, and Wen Qing likes fish and potatoes, so don't forget to buy those too."
"Okay," Ji Yousheng replied.
Ji Yanjun walked through the main hall and entered his own room.
"Mom, what's wrong with brother?" Ji Ningzhi asked, puzzled. "Did he take the wrong medicine?"
“It must be Wen Qing’s doing again. Your brother used to be very well-behaved,” Liang Wenhua said.
"Alright, alright, let's eat," Ji Yousheng urged.
Ji Yanjun entered his room and looked at the furnishings: checkered sheets and duvet covers, red and blue embroidered slippers, lipstick, hair tie… all of these belonged to Wen Qing, his Qingqing. He walked to the table, picked up the hair tie, and put it to his lips: “Qingqing…”
He saw Wen Qing, ate with her, and held her hand. Wen Qing was still so young, and she wasn't sick yet... It wasn't too late.
But he was afraid it was all a dream. He dared not sleep, dared not close his eyes. He was afraid that if he closed his eyes, he would return to that boundless darkness. He lay in bed all night, holding Wen Qing's things, with his eyes open, until dawn.
As soon as it was light, he got up, took a shower, changed his clothes, and rode his bicycle to Shuiwan Village. He rode very fast and saw Wen Qing wearing a floral dress and with her hair tied in a high ponytail, waiting slenderly and beautifully on the dirt road. He breathed a sigh of relief; he had seen her again.
He longed to go up and hug her, to kiss her, but he couldn't do those things in this era.
“Yanjun,” Wen Qing said with a smile.
"Have you been waiting long?" Ji Yanjun asked.
"No." Wen Qing walked towards Ji Yanjun.
Ji Yanjun pushed the cart toward Shuiwan Village.
Wen Qing stopped him and asked, "Why are you still coming into the village?"
"Tell your aunt."
"I already said that," Wen Qing said guiltily.
"I'll say it again."
"Don't go."
"Why?"
Wen Qing remained silent.
"Did you argue with your mother again?" Ji Yanjun asked.
Wen Qing said unhappily, "She won't let me wear this dress!"
"You said she showed her legs?"
"Um."
"Then change into pants."
“No! I’ve been working on this dress for a long time, and this is the first time I’m wearing it to show you,” Wen Qing said.
Ji Yanjun smiled gently and said, "I saw it, it looks great. I don't want anyone else to see it. From now on, just wear it for me, okay?"
Wen Qing couldn't resist Ji Yanjun's gentleness, so she immediately nodded.
"Then go back and change into pants, and braid your hair into two pigtails. I'll go tell Auntie, and then we'll go to the county town, okay?"
Why wear pants and braids?
Ji Yanjun patiently said, "My parents are quite conservative, so they'll like you even more if they see you like this."
"Oh well."
"Um."
Actually, if you talk to Wen Qing properly, you'll find that he's not that bad. It's just that in his first life, he was too busy and his family was in constant turmoil, so he lost patience with everyone and therefore felt most sorry for Wen Qing.
So, Ji Yanjun and Wen Qing went back to the Wen family courtyard again. Wen Qing changed her pants and came out with two braids that were placed in front of her chest.
Ji Yanjun fawned over Yao Shiling for a while longer. After seeing Wen Qing's attire, Yao Shiling glanced at Ji Yanjun but said nothing.
Instead, he slipped three yuan to Wen Qing and whispered, "Go buy something. It's never a bad thing to give a small gift."
Wen Qing was slightly taken aback, a warm feeling flowing through her heart. Just as Ji Yanjun said, her mother actually liked her quite a bit.
After saying goodbye to Yao Shiling, Wen Liang, and Wen Peng, Ji Yanjun took Wen Qing onto the dirt road. The dirt road was almost deserted, but there were many people in Shuiwan Village. Because Ji Yanjun had appeared for two consecutive days and seemed to care a lot about Wen Qing, and was riding a bicycle, the neighbors' unpleasant comments about Wen Qing had softened, and their opinion of Yao Shiling had also changed slightly. After all, the Ji family seemed to care about Wen Qing quite a bit.
Wen Qing sat on the back of Ji Yanjun's bicycle and asked, "Yanjun, do I look good dressed like this?"
"nice."
"What's so good about it?"
"He's even better looking than a movie star," Ji Yanjun said.
Wen Qing laughed, playing with her two braids, overjoyed. When no one was around, she reached out and hugged Ji Yanjun's strong waist. Ji Yanjun was taken aback, and instead of laughing, his nose tingled. He wanted to ask her if she was living like him, or if she was pandering to him, but what came out of his mouth was: "Qingqing, do you want to go to school?"
"I want to," Wen Qing blurted out, but then suddenly changed her mind: "No." She didn't have the money, and if she spent Ji Yanjun's money, Liang Wenhua and Ji Ningzhi would look down on her even more. They might even say that her Wen family was only after the Ji family's money. She didn't want that; she just liked Ji Yanjun.
"Qingqing, tell me the truth." Ji Yanjun slowly stopped the car: "Do you want to go to school?"
Wen Qing got out of the car without saying a word.
Ji Yanjun turned to look at her: "I'll pay for your schooling, okay?"
Wen Qing shook her head: "Not good."
If it weren't for Wen Qing's outstanding college entrance exam scores in his previous life, he would have truly believed that Wen Qing simply didn't want to go to school, only wanted to stay at home, and didn't want to show his face in public. At this moment, he wanted to know the answer, so he asked, "Why?"
Wen Qing lowered her head and said, "There's no reason, I just don't want to go."
"If you were earning your own money, would you still be willing to continue your studies?" Ji Yanjun said, "To be honest."
"willing."
Ji Yanjun immediately understood, his heart aching. He reached out and touched the back of Wen Qing's head, pulling her close to him. He pressed his face against hers, slowly closing his eyes. Qingqing, the Qingqing of the first life, the Qingqing of the second life, and the Qingqing of this life—all of them had made him love and cherish her so much. His long, thick eyelashes trembled slightly, releasing a few drops of water. He whispered, "Then earn your own money, continue your studies, pay for your brother's tuition, give Mom a comfortable life, and live like yourself, okay? Okay?"
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