Chapter 2: Returning to 1983
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Qin Cuifen felt Sheng Ning’s gaze from inside the car and turned to look at her strangely. Many years had passed since they last saw each other, and Sheng Ning had aged so much that she was barely recognizable. Qin Cuifen found her vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t recall where she had seen her before.
Just as Qin Cuifen turned around, Sheng Ning caught sight of the man sitting next to her.
Shen Jianguo?
This realization made Sheng Ning’s vision go dark. She was terminally ill and had abandoned treatment. At this point, she was just lingering on. She couldn’t handle any shocks.
“Shen Jianguo, I’m sorry!” Cao apologized, then got in the car and started the engine. The car left with a roar, and Sheng Ning collapsed to the ground in despair.
Another black Jeep was following behind that car, and it suddenly braked. A tall, imposing middle-aged man got out from the front passenger seat.
Seeing him get out of the car, the driver cried in alarm, “Chief Xu!”
The middle-aged man picked Sheng Ning up off the ground, and his sharp brows furrowed when he saw how pale she looked.
Sheng Ning was on her last breath, and she opened her eyes with great effort. When she saw clearly who the person holding her was, her pupils suddenly widened.
Xu Qigang?
“You’re Sheng Ning, aren’t you?” Xu Qigang said. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”
Sheng Ning felt a boundless misery in her heart. Shen Jianguo didn’t recognize her. Qin Cuifen didn’t recognize her, either. In the end, it was Xu Qigang, whom she had broken off an engagement with, who recognized her.
Xu Qigang carried her into the car with a complex expression on his face. The other middle-aged man, who was sitting in the backseat, moved to the front passenger seat.
“Head to the hospital.”
“Yes, Chief Xu.”
They turned around and drove toward the People’s Hospital.
“Qigang, it’s rare to see you be so kind.”
“She is Sheng Ning!” Xu Qigang sighed.
The eyes of the man in the front passenger seat widened in shock. He pointed in the direction they were headed toward before and asked, “Sheng Ning? Then Shen Jianguo…
“Shen Jianguo didn’t recognize her!” Xu Qigang finished. After thinking about her for so many years, Shen Jianguo didn’t even recognize her.
In the winter of 2016, Sheng Ning took her last breath in the arms of the man she once let slip away.
1The assembly hall was noisy, and everyone around her was dressed in 80’s clothing. Sheng Ning blinked and saw a giant assembly hall that was completely filled, and for a moment she couldn’t tell what day it was. She remembered she had terminal cancer and had died in Xu Qigang’s arms. How did she suddenly end up here?
Suddenly, she saw large words written on a banner in the assembly hall: “1983 Mid-Autumn Festival Evening Party.”
The words struck Sheng Ning like lightning. She… she returned to 1983?
Sheng Ning stood in shock in the aisle of the assembly hall. The audience at the evening party was made up of outstanding comrades of the General Union, and many laborers blushed when they saw her. They lowered their heads and were too embarrassed to continue looking, but their hearts itched for another glance.
Eighteen-year-old Sheng Ning had not yet experienced all the frustrations, obstacles, and tortures she suffered in her previous life. She was like a budding rose, delicate and tender. Her beauty was brilliant, and her naïve expression roused everyone’s affection.
The assembly hall was very large, and countless comrade laborers were secretly eyeing this girl who had suddenly popped out of nowhere. Xu Qigang was sitting in the crowd, and he also saw Sheng Ning. His bold, sharp brows were tightly knitted, and he felt an inexplicable anger.
1The person next to him nudged him with an elbow and asked, “What’s wrong? Do you know her?”
Xu Qigang shook his head. He didn’t know her. She just seemed familiar.