Chapter 81 : I Miss Him

When Huang Yali spoke, everyone immediately fell silent. Noticing something was wrong, she furrowed her brow and anxiously asked, “What’s going on? What happened?”

“It’s that Hu Peiyun!” Before Liang Qingqing could speak, Zhou Lilan, who was visibly upset, jumped in and quickly explained everything to Huang Yali.

After hearing the full story, Huang Yali gasped, clenched her fists and was about to turn around to confront Hu Peiyun when Liang Qingqing put a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s leave it as it is for now. Making a big fuss might end up hurting us more than it helps.”

“But…” Huang Yali wanted to say more but she understood the reasoning and swallowed her anger. She felt increasingly guilty, her eyes reddening as she looked at Liang Qingqing and said in a choked voice, “It’s all my fault for causing you trouble.”

“What are you saying? This has nothing to do with you. Even if it weren’t for you, she would still have targeted me.”

Liang Qingqing was very clear on this. When Hu Peiyun saw her at noon, she immediately called her by name with a look of discontent, clearly holding a grudge because she had known about her promotion to the provincial broadcasting bureau. Even if she hadn’t become friends with Huang Yali, she would still have been targeted.

Hu Peiyun harbored malice towards anyone she thought might surpass her.

“Let’s wait for her to make a mistake and then strike decisively.” Liang Qingqing noticed that Huang Yali’s expression hadn’t eased and deliberately made a funny face to cheer her up.

Seeing this, Huang Yali forced a smile, but she was still troubled, her eyes fixed on Hu Peiyun with a desire to get rid of her. It was fine to target her, but not her friends!

The training lasted for a week, improving every newscaster’s skills from pronunciation practice to handling different emotions in texts. Every day, passing by the broadcasting bureau, one could hear the synchronized readings coming from inside the walls.

On this day, after finally getting a half-day off, those who lived nearby went home, while those further away stayed in the dorms or visited the city. Liang Qingqing, along with Huang Yali, went to have a meal at Feng Jie’s house.

Before leaving, Liang Qingqing remembered something and turned back to ask Zhang Xiaoyue, who was resting in the dormitory, to direct any visitors to Feng Jie’s house if anyone came looking for her. After Zhang Xiaoyue agreed and took the address note, Liang Qingqing felt reassured and left with Huang Yali.

“Oh, are you afraid your partner might be disappointed?” Huang Yali teased Liang Qingqing with a wink. Liang Qingqing, slightly blushing from the teasing, cleared her throat and retorted, “No way. I’m just worried about my family coming to find me.”

“Really? I don’t believe it.”

“What don’t you believe?” Li Qingfeng, who had been waiting downstairs, heard their voices from afar and came up smiling.

Huang Yali quickly filled her in on what had just happened, “She’s a bit shy, so don’t be too hard on her if she gets upset later.”

“Yali, Sister Feng!” Liang Qingqing, feeling her ears and cheeks flush, stamped her foot and turned to walk ahead.

“Alright, alright, let’s not talk about it anymore.” Huang Yali and Li Qingfeng caught up with Liang Qingqing. She smiled and linked arms with them, changing the topic, “So, what are we having to eat today?”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got good food and drinks.”

Sister Feng house was a bit of a distance from the broadcasting bureau. The three chatted and laughed along the way, so the journey didn’t feel dull at all. Before they knew it, they had reached the entrance of the alley, where a few young children were watching ants move around under a large tree.

“Xiuer, has your dad come home yet?” Li Qingfeng quickly lifted a little girl who was squatting on the ground. The girl had two pigtails and a round, chubby face with big eyes, looking extremely cute.

“Yes, he has.” Xiuer blinked her big eyes, smiling as she answered and reached out to grab Li Qingfeng’s hair.

Li Qingfeng, smiling, avoided Xiuer’s tiny hands, “Do you want to play here, or do you want to go home with Mom and play with your two older sisters?”

Xiuer seemed to notice the two older sisters following her mother for the first time. Her eyes brightened as she first stared at Liang Qingqing and then at Huang Yali. Suddenly shy, she buried her face in Li Qingfeng’s arms.

“Xiuer doesn’t recognize your older sister?” Huang Yali took a couple of steps forward and poked Xiuer’s chubby cheek with her index finger.

Upon hearing such an accusation, Xiuer, who was small but clever, wrapped her tiny arms around Huang Yali’s, showing a few small teeth as she sweetly said, “Sister Yali.”

“Oh.” Huang Yali was charmed and feeling delighted, picked Xiuer up and then walked over to Liang Qingqing, saying, “This is your Sister Qingqing.”

Liang Qingqing pulled a large White Rabbit milk candy from her pocket, smiling warmly as she held it out to Xiuer, “Here, have some candy.”

Xiuer instinctively looked at Li Qingfeng. Seeing her nod, she hesitantly reached out her plump little hand and took the candy from Liang Qingqing. In a sweet, childish voice, she said, “Thank you, Sister Qingqing.”

This adorable child reminded Liang Qingqing of her little nephew at home. She couldn’t help but pat Xiuer’s little head, smiling gently. Her eyes sparkled like spring flowers as she replied softly, “No need to thank me.”

“Let’s head inside.”

Sister Feng’s house was at the very end of the alley. It was a single-story bungalow with a small yard. Though not very large, the yard had been thoughtfully utilized to create a little vegetable garden that was lush and vibrant.

As they entered the yard, a man emerged from the house. He was dressed in a gray top and black pants, with short hair and glasses. He was of medium height and appeared refined and somewhat shy. Despite it being his own home, he seemed more restrained and nervous than the guests.

“Hello, I’m Yang Maolin, the spouse of Comrade Li Qingfeng.” Yang Maolin nervously squeezed his palms, and after introducing himself, he seemed unsure of what to do next. He glanced at Li Qingfeng, who shot him a look, prompting him to remember to invite the guests inside.

“I’ll get you some tea,” he said, and then quickly turned and headed into the kitchen.

This exasperated Li Qingfeng, who shot him several annoyed glances.

“Don’t mind him. My husband is just like that. It’s quite difficult for him to handle so many guests at once.” Li Qingfeng led the group into the house, all the while complaining.

But despite the complaints, her face was full of smiles.

Liang Qingqing and Huang Yali exchanged a glance and saw the same understanding in each other’s eyes, so they both chose to remain tactful and silent.

The living room was furnished with several tables and a large round table. Against the wall stood a tall cabinet with a radio on top. In a nearby corner, there was a sewing machine covered with a cloth to keep off the dust.

It seemed that Sister Feng’s family was living quite comfortably in the county.

Liang Qingqing glanced around casually and then withdrew her gaze, instead focusing on the little Xiuer nearby. The little girl, probably not used to seeing unfamiliar faces, kept sneaking glances at her with wide, fluttering eyes, as if trying to capture her soul.

“She likes pretty older sisters,” Li Qingfeng remarked, noticing the same thing. “Yali was like that the first time she came to my house.”

“But now she’s forgotten her old love for the new one,” Huang Yali said, pretending to be heartbroken, holding her chest and frowning.

Liang Qingqing, however, deliberately teased Xiuer, “Xiuer, do you like me more, or do you like Sister Yali more?”

Xiuer looked around, unsure and then smiled, “I like both.”

“Hahaha, this little girl is quite smart. Come, let Sister give you a kiss,” Huang Yali said as she hugged Xiuer and planted a kiss on her soft, tender cheek.

At that moment, Yang Maolin came over with tea, “These are the annual gifts from the office. Try them out.”

“Thank you, Brother-in-law,” Liang Qingqing and Huang Yali said in unison.

“Enjoy yourselves. The radio is over there, so feel free to turn it on if you want to listen. Your brother-in-law and I will go prepare the meal,” Li Qingfeng said. Noticing their intent, she quickly added, “Today, you must try my cooking. Don’t just sit around, I’m leaving Xiuer in your care.”

“Okay, we’ll make sure to take good care of her.” Huang Yali waved Xiuer’s hand at Li Qingfeng and watched them leave. She then whispered to Liang Qingqing, “I just want to marry someone who loves me like Sister Feng does. No in-laws around, just the couple with their child, living so comfortably.”

“Me too.”

Liang Qingqing nodded in agreement. Her thoughts involuntarily drifted to Fan Yanxing and the unresolved feelings left her feeling quite agitated.

She thought that if they met, she would definitely complain to Fan Yanxing about why he didn’t find an opportunity and it wasn’t a big deal.

With that in mind, Liang Qingqing lowered her eyelashes and looked at her wrist, where she applied a bit of snow flower cream every day. The cream had a faint fragrance, and she used it as perfume.

It was a gift from him.

“Hey, when are you and your partner getting married? Are his parents easy to get along with?” Huang Yali’s question interrupted Liang Qingqing’s train of thought. She looked up, shook her head, and said honestly, “He’s a sent-down youth, and his parents are in the capital city. We haven’t met them yet.”

“Ah? Haven’t you even talked on the phone?” Huang Yali asked, surprised.

Liang Qingqing nodded, “We haven’t discussed marriage in detail yet. He said we should wait until the housing situation is sorted out before…”

“Your partner isn’t using that as an excuse to delay things, is he? Qingqing, don’t be fooled. You can’t completely trust what men say,” Huang Yali couldn’t help but raise her voice, not noticing the tall figure that had appeared outside the yard.

“I have a cousin who was deceived by a man. He promised that after graduating from the Workers’, Peasants’, and Soldiers’ University, he would come back and get things settled. He kept delaying and wouldn’t let her meet his family…”

“Both sides are respectable people working in public institutions. Isn’t it disgusting when such things happen?”