Chapter 002: Return to 1983

Qin Cuifen inside the car felt Sheng Ning's gaze and turned her head, looking at her strangely. They hadn't seen each other in decades, and Sheng Ning had aged so much that she was unrecognizable. Qin Cuifen only felt that she looked familiar but couldn't recall where she had seen her before.

Just as Qin Cuifen turned her head, Sheng Ning happened to see the man sitting next to her.

Shen Jianguo?

"Mr. Shen, I'm sorry," Xiao Cao apologized to Shen Jianguo, then got into the car and started the engine.

The sudden news made Sheng Ning's vision go black. She was terminally ill and had already given up on treatment.

Now, she was just dragging herself along in agony, unable to withstand any shocks.

The car roared away, and Sheng Ning collapsed in despair. Following behind the car was another black jeep.

The jeep made a sudden stop, and a tall, imposing middle-aged man jumped out of the front passenger seat.

"Captain Xu!" the driver screamed in panic when he saw him get out of the car.

The middle-aged man picked up the collapsed Sheng Ning and, upon seeing her face, furrowed his thick eyebrows.

Sheng Ning was already at death's door. She struggled to open her eyes, and when she saw the man holding her, her pupils suddenly dilated.

Was it Xu Qigang?

"Are you Sheng Ning?" Xu Qigang said, "I'll take you to the hospital."

An endless sorrow welled up inside Sheng Ning. Shen Jianguo didn't recognize her, and Qin Cuifen didn't either. In the end, it was the man she had once broken off an engagement with, Xu Qigang, who recognized her!

With a complicated expression, Xu Qigang carried her into the car. Another middle-aged man who had been sitting in the back seat moved to the passenger seat.

"To the hospital."

"Yes, Captain Xu."

They turned the car around and headed towards the People's Hospital.

"Qigang, it's rare to see you so kind-hearted."

"She is Sheng Ning!" Xu Qigang sighed.

The man in the passenger seat's eyes widened in shock, pointing in the direction they had come from. "Sheng Ning? Then just now, Shen Jianguo..."

"Jianguo didn't recognize her!" After all these years of longing, he didn't recognize her.

In the winter of 2016, Sheng Ning breathed her last in the arms of the man she once missed out on.

The grand auditorium was bustling with people, all dressed in attire from the 80s. Sheng Ning blinked, looking at the packed auditorium, momentarily unsure of where or when she was.

She remembered she had terminal cancer and died in Xu Qigang's arms. But how did she end up here just by blinking?

Suddenly, she saw a large banner in the auditorium that read, "Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival of 1983." The words hit her like a thunderbolt, leaving her dizzy and disoriented.

Had... had she returned to 1983?

Sheng Ning stood bewildered in the aisle of the auditorium. The exemplary comrades of the General Union were there to watch the Mid-Autumn Festival gala. Many workers saw her and showed shy expressions, lowering their heads because they felt too embarrassed to keep looking but couldn't resist the urge to sneak a peek.

At eighteen, Sheng Ning hadn't yet experienced the hardships, difficulties, and torment that awaited her. She was like a budding rose, delicate and tender, as if she could burst into bloom at any moment.

She was stunningly beautiful, and her naive gaze was irresistibly endearing.

The auditorium was large, and many workers were secretly observing this girl who had suddenly appeared.

Sitting among the crowd, Xu Qigang also saw Sheng Ning. His dark, thick eyebrows were tightly knit, and a wave of inexplicable anger flashed through his heart.

The person next to him nudged him lightly with an elbow and teased, "What's the matter? Do you know her?"

Xu Qigang shook his head; he didn't know her, but she seemed familiar.