Chapter 2

At the critical moment, Xue Yunkai grabbed the man’s wrist and shouted coldly, “That’s enough. I’ll give you an explanation for what happened. You two go outside first!” Seeing that he was angry, Ning Qian’s father and older brother didn’t dare say another word. After all, Xue Yunkai was their superior. He had an excellent reputation and commanded considerable respect. Even the factory director treated him with a certain amount of deference. How could they possibly afford to offend him? The two men could only throw Ning Qian a parting warning—“We’ll deal with you when we get home”—before dragging Ning Lan away reluctantly. Xue Yunkai gave Ning Qian a cold look. “Wait for me at the factory gate later.” Still soaking wet, Ning Qian went to the changing room and changed into the protective work clothes she wore on the job. There were two rows of metal lockers in the changing room, one for each employee to store their personal belongings. They were similar to the employee lockers used in later generations. The factory operated on a four-team, three-shift system, with each shift lasting eight hours. Today, she was working the afternoon shift, from four in the afternoon until midnight. She must have been tricked into drinking alcohol by Ning Lan after her shift. While she was groggy, Ning Lan had pushed her into the men’s bathhouse. She had been far too trusting in the past and had never been wary of her younger sister, Ning Lan. That was why Ning Lan had been able to succeed so easily. Ning Qian hurried to the factory gate and found Xue Yunkai waiting there, just as he had said he would. Under the streetlamp, Xue Yunkai stood tall and straight in a white shirt and military-style trousers. There was no indication that he had a limp. A cigarette was held between his slender fingers as he took several deep drags. After blowing out a few rings of smoke, he rubbed his brow hard. It was obvious that he was in a terrible mood. The interplay of light and shadow accentuated his already deep features, making him look even more handsome. Ning Qian tightened her grip on the man’s jacket inside the plastic bag. Thinking about what had happened in the bathhouse, she couldn’t help feeling a faint warmth in her heart. But soon, memories of the betrayal she had suffered in her previous life came rushing back, instantly bringing her to her senses. Ning Qian, don’t be foolish. Wasn’t everything you suffered before enough? Do you really want to go through it all over again in this life? Zhou Jianan had treated her well at first in her previous life, but hadn’t he cheated on her eventually? So in this life, she only wanted to live for herself. She would focus on building her career and never trust another man again! At that moment, she felt a little guilty. She had deliberately spoken ambiguously earlier because she wanted to turn Ning Lan’s scheme against her. Had Xue Yunkai seen through it? “Director Xue.” She walked over and greeted him awkwardly. The man took several more deep drags of his cigarette before throwing it to the ground and stamping it out. He spoke casually. “It’s getting late, and there aren’t many taxis around. Let’s walk home together.” In the mountain city during the 1980s, taxis commonly used Suzuki Alto cars, which locals called “tuo’er cars.” There weren’t many of them, though, and the fares were expensive. So if factory workers missed the factory shuttle, they usually walked home. It was only a little over half an hour on foot from here to her home, which was perfectly normal for that era. “Okay.” Ning Qian nodded. She silently prayed that he wouldn’t bring up what had happened earlier. Otherwise, things would be far too awkward. Although Ning Lan had orchestrated the whole incident, the embarrassment had been very real. Especially the moment when this man had fallen on top of her. Just thinking about it made her face burn. “Tell me. Why didn’t you explain yourself earlier? Nothing actually happened between us, did it?” Under the dim streetlights, the man suddenly stopped and looked at her coldly with his deep eyes. Ning Qian could sense that he was struggling to suppress his anger. She gripped the strap of her canvas shoulder bag, inexplicably feeling nervous. Of course, most of that nervousness came from guilt. In order to escape the scumbag from her previous life, she had no choice but to drag this man into the situation. After a moment of hesitation, she finally gathered her courage and looked up at him. “The reason I didn’t want to explain too much is because I think you’re a good person. I thought… maybe marrying you and simply letting this misunderstanding turn into something real wouldn’t be so bad.” Xue Yunkai was an intelligent man. It was better to tell him the truth. Of course, she left out the part about being reborn and wanting to escape Zhou Jianan. After saying this, she deliberately lowered her head shyly. The man froze. He hadn’t expected the young woman to be so straightforward, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to respond. After hesitating for a few seconds, he finally spoke coldly. “I’m sorry. No matter what you’re thinking, you and I are impossible.” The girl was willing to marry him despite his injured leg. The only explanation he could think of was that she was interested in his position as a workshop supervisor. Originally, he had been quite satisfied with the marriage his family had arranged for him. He never expected something like this to happen today! Although he couldn’t determine which of the two sisters had arranged the incident, he had gone on a few dates with Ning Lan before and had always thought she was innocent and straightforward. She didn’t seem like someone who would do something so outrageous. But this older sister had behaved so boldly in the bathhouse just now. That made things much harder to say. Ning Qian had already expected to be rejected, but hearing the words from his own mouth still made things a little awkward. She gave an embarrassed smile. “It’s fine. If you’re not willing, then forget it.” She pressed her lips together, feeling somewhat frustrated. Ugh. They still had such a long way to walk together. What was she supposed to do? Then an idea suddenly struck her. She grinned and said, “Director Xue, I suddenly feel like going for a run. I’ll go ahead first, okay?” After turning the corner, Ning Qian finally slowed her pace. Just as she relaxed, a dark figure suddenly rushed out of the bushes beside her and pressed a dagger against her neck! “Don’t move, or I won’t hold back!” Ning Qian’s face turned slightly pale. If the man hadn’t been holding a dagger, she wouldn’t have been nearly as frightened. After all, she had learned some self-defense techniques before. “Big Brother, calm down. You want money, right? I have some in my bag. Take it all.” Her philosophy in life was simple: If something could be solved with money, then it wasn’t really a big problem. “Oh? You’re really willing to give me money?” The robber seemed almost bewildered. People in this era treated money like their lives. He hadn’t expected this young woman to be so cooperative. Ning Qian did her best to keep her voice natural. “Of course. I’m guessing you must be going through some kind of hardship. I believe you’re not actually a bad person…” She had only said it casually. Unexpectedly, the robber became emotional. “Ma’am, how did you know I was in trouble? My hometown was hit by a flood and we lost the entire harvest. I really had no other choice, so I resorted to this…” His voice was even slightly choked with emotion. Ning Qian was stunned. Could she have run into an overly dramatic actor? Still, she felt it was best to let him keep talking. That would buy her some time. Xue Yunkai should be catching up soon. Although he had a slight limp, he had been a soldier, after all, and he looked very strong. He should have no trouble dealing with this guy. Ning Qian continued coaxing him. “That’s really touching. I’m so sorry about what happened to you. Big Brother, how about this? I can help you find a proper job. Then you won’t have to risk your life doing this anymore. After all, robbery is dangerous, and the income isn’t even stable. Don’t you agree?” “You can help me find a job? But jobs are hard to come by these days! Besides, I’m from the countryside. Nobody is willing to hire someone like me…” The robber became extremely excited. He felt as though he had finally met a genuinely kind person. Ning Qian continued to persuade him. “That’s right. Our steel factory is currently hiring temporary workers. You should be able to get in. You’re strong and willing to work hard, so I think you’d be a good fit…” After all, anyone who stayed up this late instead of sleeping and came out to rob people on the road could probably be considered hardworking. “Exactly! I’m incredibly strong. I’ll have no problem doing manual labor. By the way, ma’am, your factory…” Before he could finish, the robber suddenly let out a scream of pain. Crack! His wrist twisted with a sharp snap, and he collapsed to the ground!