1979: My fiancée is a goddess

On October 8th, after several days of continuous rain in Shanghai, the clouds finally parted and the rain stopped.

The sky was a grayish-blue, with a refreshing, damp feel that came after the rain.

At the entrance of a cadre compound.

"Huh huh huh~~"

A young woman carrying a dark canvas bag, wearing a black knee-length wool coat, and a red scarf around her neck walked from the street corner.

Her hands gripped the straps of her schoolbag around her waist, and she skipped along, humming a clear and lively tune, her black ponytail bouncing behind her head.

"Tuk-tuk!"

Reaching the entrance, the girl went to the window of the guardhouse and tapped with her finger.

"Yuqing is back?"

The gatekeeper was sitting in the security room smoking and drinking tea when he caught sight of the girl who suddenly appeared in front of him. He was startled and shrank back a little before smiling and greeting her.

"Uncle Qin, it's Friday today, school's closed. Have you eaten yet?"

Cao Yuqing waved and greeted him with a smile.

"Not yet, I just steamed some buns and mantou. It's cold outside, so you should go home and eat. I saw your mom buy meat today, she's definitely going to cook something delicious!"

Grandpa Qin waved his hand with a smile.

"Alright, I'll be going now, sir. You go ahead with your work."

Cao Yuqing's clear and lively deer eyes lit up. She waved twice outside the glass window and ran away as fast as she could.

"Hey! Yuqing's back?"

"Where are you going? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Along the way, she encountered many familiar uncles and aunts, to whom she only responded casually. She stopped at her doorstep, panting heavily, her fair face flushed from the rush of blood to her chest.

Upon entering the house, the living room is illuminated by an electric light surrounded by green enamel lamps, revealing a typical room in a cadre family's home from the 1980s.

There was a shoe insole at the entrance, next to which was a shoe cabinet painted red and about half a person's height. In the middle of the living room was a coffee table covered with a glass plate and newspapers, and opposite it was a television covered with a white openwork patterned cloth cover.

The sounds of stir-frying and the clanging of spatulas came from the kitchen across the street.

"Mom! I'm back!"

Cao Yuqing changed into cloth slippers at the door and walked into the living room, the old, peeling wooden floorboards creaking softly under her feet.

"You're back? Go wash your hands and change into some clean clothes. Dinner's ready."

The curtain at the kitchen door was lifted, and the mother, wearing a white sweater and a plaid apron, poked her head out and called out.

"Okay, where's my grandma?"

As Cao Yuqing asked the question, she put her schoolbag on the coffee table and took out a book.

"Your grandma is resting in her room. Why are you looking for her? Don't come back and start bothering her...you brat!"

Before her mother could finish speaking, she saw Cao Yuqing carrying books and running into the room. She cursed impatiently and went back to cooking.

Meanwhile, Cao Yuqing arrived at her grandmother's door and knocked.

"Please come in."

A strong, warm voice, full of energy and showing no signs of age, rang out.

Cao Yuqing pushed open the door.

In the dimly lit room, an elderly woman with a fur shawl draped over her legs and wearing a light gray sweater stood upright and sat gracefully at her desk, writing something in front of the desk lamp.

"No matter how you look at it, Grandma is as elegant and intellectual as ever."

Looking at the figure not far away, Cao Yuqing couldn't help but sigh, "Why didn't my mother inherit my grandmother's good qualities?"

In her childhood memories, her maternal grandmother was always an elegant, composed, and intellectual young lady.

According to my mother, my maternal grandmother was indeed from a prominent family in Shanghai, and was said to be the eldest daughter of the family.

Born into a privileged family and pampered from a young age, she even studied in England when she was young. In that era, she was definitely a top-notch talent, impeccable in every aspect.

Of course, the story that follows is set in the war-torn Republic of China era, a time when the decline of families was very common.

Later, thanks to his outstanding knowledge and abilities, he joined the Party. Along the way, he served as a government cadre and leader, worked in the countryside, and was a professor and vice president at a university. He has now been retired for two years.

"You little brat, you're talking about your mother behind her back again. Come in here."

The old woman heard her granddaughter's mutterings clearly, chuckled softly, and turned to greet her.

"Hehe! I'm not afraid of her, and besides, I have you, Grandma!"

Cao Yuqing closed the door with a smile and went inside. She snuggled up to her grandmother, hugged her arm affectionately, and said in a coquettish tone.

"Little girl, you've been clever and shrewd since you were little."

The old woman chuckled, staring blankly at the young, delicate, and beautiful face before her, radiating youthful energy.

"Oh, by the way, Grandma, I brought you a book back. It's the recently published issue of Harvest magazine. I have to tell you, this issue of Harvest is incredibly popular."

All the students in our school are watching it, and even the teachers, professors, and the principal are watching it.

I heard from a senior classmate who interned at a magazine that this issue sold more than 300,000 copies in just seven or eight days.

It's because this issue features a work by teacher Cheng Kaiyan that it's so popular!
I queued at the bookstore for several days before I finally managed to buy it!

Cao Yuqing proudly displayed a book she had been carrying. The cover bore the words "Harvest" in large characters, and it was covered with colorful illustrations depicting autumn scenes: golden wheat fields, bright red fruits, birds, and falling leaves...

Grandma loves reading, so she often brings books back for her.

"Is she that amazing? Cheng Kaiyan... I'd better take a good look at her."

The old woman raised an eyebrow in surprise and reached out to take it.

The young man's works were initially recommended to her by her granddaughter. The content and ideas were very good, and she read all of his works without missing a single one.

With weekly sales of over 300,000 copies, that's around 1.2 to 1.3 million copies a month, which is almost double the average sales of "Harvest" magazine.

This is too exaggerated.

The old woman knew in her heart that such terrifying sales figures must be attributed to Comrade Cheng Kaiyan.

This young man has won five major literary awards this year, shaking the domestic literary world. In addition, there was his charitable donation a few months ago, and he has released a new work after almost a year...

All these factors combined have led to the current grand occasion.

With her mind racing, the old woman subconsciously opened a book.

The first work was by Cheng Kaiyan.

Atonement

Two large characters came into view, and the old woman lowered her head to read them.

She saw Shanghai in the Republican era, Jiang Mingzheng, the son of a housekeeper, and Cao Yanan, the eldest daughter of the Cao family. She saw the two childhood sweethearts, studying abroad, being forced to separate, and then being caught up in the war...

There was a bang.

The old woman looked at the familiar words and the familiar plot of the book, but her mind went completely blank.

Facial images and memories, long since blurred, flashed before my eyes from the deepest part of my heart.

It was on a bridge. She was wearing a dark green cheongsam, holding an oil-paper umbrella, and standing next to a tall and handsome young man.

In my memory, what impressed me most about him was his deep, dark eyes.

Before she knew it, her eyes and nose had become red and sore.

"Jiang Mingzheng, Mingzheng... Junming! I've finally found you!"

She murmured a name in her heart that she hadn't uttered for decades.

She longed to see that person again, to touch his face again; he must be very old now.
Let's see how he's been doing all these years.
Cao Yuqing, who was lying on the bed taking a nap, suddenly noticed her grandmother's unusual behavior. She sat up abruptly and asked anxiously, "Grandma, what's wrong? What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing, the story is very touching..."

The old woman raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, her voice hoarse and choked with emotion as she said, "Oh, I see."

Cao Yuqing breathed a sigh of relief, took out a handkerchief and handed it over, "The emotions in Teacher Cheng Kaiyan's works are very sincere and touching, it's normal that you can't handle it."

"Ah."

The old woman nodded gently, gazing at the words in the book as she wrote:

My dear, our fate is not yet over...

She had a vague certainty in her heart that this story was definitely related to her and him.

"Hmm... Junming, our fate is indeed not over."

The old woman murmured to herself.

……

"time to eat!"

After an unknown amount of time, shouts came from outside.

After composing herself, the old woman returned to her usual calm and intellectual demeanor and took her granddaughter out for a meal.

A family of four sat at a square table in the living room for a meal.

"Mom, why are your eyes red?"

The daughter, Cao Weirui, served the rice and brought it over. Noticing her mother's unusual behavior, she asked with concern.

"It's alright, Grandma was just engrossed in reading and was so moved that she cried."

The granddaughter picked up a piece of pork rib and explained with a smile.

"Mom, you're getting old, you need to control your emotions, I'm afraid your heart condition will flare up again."

Cao Weirui breathed a sigh of relief, gave her some instructions, and then glared at her daughter, "You too, you give all sorts of books to your grandma to read."

"Oh my, this is Cheng Kaiyan's latest work, 'Atonement.' Haven't you heard of the great writer, the talented scholar, and the philanthropist? Mom, you're so old-fashioned!"

Cao Yuqing pursed her lips speechlessly and muttered under her breath.

"Cheng Kaiyan? That's indeed very famous. My colleagues and superiors at work are all watching her. Wei Rui, don't be angry. This young man's work is quite remarkable. Even Mr. Ba Jin was moved to tears by it."

At this moment, the middle-aged man who had been silent for a long time spoke up.

This is clearly Cao Yuqing's father, Cao Weirui's husband, and the old woman's son-in-law.

Son-in-law who lives with his wife's family.

Therefore, Cao Yuqing's surname was Cao.

"So you think you're always right?"

Cao Weirui glared at her husband, who quickly shrank back.

Then the woman burst out laughing again.

As the old woman watched her daughter and son-in-law's loving relationship, she felt a moment of daze, and her thoughts drifted back to the past.

I remember that we were so loving together.

"Huh? Mom, what are you spacing out for? Eat your food. It's cold outside, and it'll get cold and it'll be bad for your stomach."

After a while, Cao Weirui noticed her mother's unusual behavior and asked with concern.

"No, it's nothing."

The old woman gently shook her head and lowered her head to eat.

Not only was the old lady in a bad mood, but the lively atmosphere of everyone's meal also dimmed.

A few minutes later, the old lady suddenly looked up, glanced at everyone, and said, "There's something I want to tell you all."

"What is it?"

The other three all looked over.

“Luxuriant…”

Looking into her daughter's familiar, deep, dark eyes, and thinking of the male protagonist's fate in the story, the old woman felt an indescribable panic and distress.

Probably not.

"I might have some leads regarding Wei Rui's father's whereabouts..."

"My dad?" "Grandpa? Do I have a grandpa?"

Cao Weirui and her daughter Cao Yuqing spoke at the same time.

"Yes, it should be related to this book. To be precise, Comrade Cheng Kaiyan should know something about the author of this book."

The old lady picked up the copy of "Harvest" beside her, turned to the page on "Atonement," and spoke in a deep voice.

"what?!"

Upon hearing this, the whole family stood up and stared intently at the book.

……

"I see……"

After listening to her mother's story, Cao Weirui nodded listlessly, her face seemingly calm, but her lips were trembling uncontrollably.

She had pressed her mother for details, but the answer she received was that her mother had gone to a very, very far place. When she pressed for more information, her mother would shake her head.

The absence of her father during her childhood had caused her to bury that title deep in her heart.

Now, more than forty years later, I have learned that I actually did have a father.

And finally, I know the truth of the matter.

When the Japanese invaded Shanghai that year, my father and mother were just young people in their early twenties.

The two were separated during the war; the father served in the army and went to the battlefield to defend his country.

The mother went to a safe city in the rear to seek refuge, but while taking care of herself, she anxiously awaited news from the front lines, only to belatedly discover that she was pregnant.
The defeat in the Battle of Shanghai, the hasty retreat, and the fierce attack by the Japanese invaders led to the fall of many cities, resulting in a life of fleeing and fighting.

The two completely lost contact and went their separate ways.

……

At the dinner table, the family was already stunned by the truth revealed by the old lady.

"I've long since stopped blaming him, but what if it were him... what would you do?"

Cao Weirui looked at her mother and asked in a trembling voice.

"All these years, it's all just to fulfill a wish. I've lived on this vague hope all these years."

The old lady sighed and said softly, "Just like Cao Yanan in the novel, she lived her life as a lighthouse, stubbornly and silently shining, guiding him alone on his journey home..."

She didn't say the rest of her words, but a sentence suddenly came to everyone's mind—

Even though she didn't know whether the ship had already sunk to the bottom of the dark sea.

The family remained silent for a long time before finally nodding.

"We all support you in your search for your father!"

"Ah."

The old lady finally showed a relieved and satisfied smile.

"But can you be sure that Comrade Cheng Kaiyan knows his whereabouts based solely on the plot of a single work?"
Even Comrade Cheng Kaiyan isn't easy to find, is he? As for my father, that's like finding a needle in a haystack, isn't it?

The daughter, Cao Weirui, had little hope of finding her father.

"Let me look for it first, I'll use the rest of my life to do so..."

The old lady smiled and turned to look out the window. (End of Chapter)