Chapter 83 : Hair Ties

After letting the malt milk cool slightly, Liang Qingqing picked up the cup and took a couple of sips. The milky-white liquid had a subtle sweetness as it entered her mouth.

Before she had finished the bowl of malt milk, the aroma of food wafted from the kitchen. Before long, Li Qingfeng and Yang Maolin each carried several dishes to the table in the living room.

There were dishes like stir-fried beef with chili, spicy chicken, pork leg stew with yellow beans, tomato scrambled eggs, and stir-fried oil wheat vegetables…

Each dish was served in large porcelain bowls, and there was a big pot of white rice in the corner. The spread looked appealing and delicious, making one wish they could swallow their tongue just by looking at it.

Ordinary families don’t have such a lavish spread for New Year’s! Sister Feng really went all out this time!

The beef was tender and flavorful, enhanced by the spiciness of the chili, which opened up the appetite even more. The spicy chicken was vibrant and fragrant, while the tomato scrambled eggs had a striking color contrast, looking glossy and full. The oil wheat vegetables provided a refreshing balance, and finishing the meal with a bowl of soup would warm the stomach thoroughly.

Everyone’s stomachs were round and full after the meal, and even after setting down their chopsticks, they were left wanting more.

“Sister Feng, if you opened a restaurant, you’d definitely make a fortune,” Liang Qingqing said, licking her lips and genuinely admiring the cooking.

To her surprise, this comment nearly made everyone jump out of their seats. Li Qingfeng quickly made a shushing gesture, then stood up and glanced outside the door a few times. When she didn’t see anyone, she sighed in relief and turned back, nervously patting her chest.

“Qingqing, you’re too bold! You can’t talk like that. Speculation and hoarding are illegal!”

Realizing their reaction, Liang Qingqing remembered the peculiarities of the current era. Unlike in later times, business dealings and selling goods for profit were not allowed now. By saying that, she had put herself and Sister Feng in a risky position. If someone heard and reported them, they could end up in serious trouble, even if it was just being called in for a chat.

Liang Qingqing smacked her lips in frustration. “Look at my mouth, I almost got into trouble.”

“Qingqing was just trying to compliment Sister Feng’s cooking. Actually, I agree with her,” Huang Yali said, lowering her voice as if sharing a secret. “I think even the chefs at state-run restaurants don’t cook as well as you.”

Li Qingfeng’s expression softened a bit, her face turning red from the praise, but her eyes were full of confidence. “I learned from my mother. She’s the real expert. When she worked as a cook at the landlord’s house, she could make all kinds of dishes that foreigners liked.”

The mood lightened again, and everyone chatted as time passed. Fan Yanxing, sitting in his chair, tapped his fingers on his pants and frequently glanced at Liang Qingqing. However, she was deeply engaged in conversation with Huang Yali and Li Qingfeng and didn’t spare him a glance.

It was Li Qingfeng, with her experience, who noticed Fan Yanxing’s unease. She cleared her throat and suggested, “How about we go for a walk outside? There’s a river nearby with willows on both sides. It’s usually quiet and perfect for a leisurely stroll to aid digestion.”

“Shall we go together then?” Liang Qingqing thought the suggestion was quite good. Having been running between the broadcasting station and the dormitory these days, she felt like she was about to get moldy. This was a perfect chance to relax, so she nodded in agreement without hesitation.

“Sure…”

Huang Yali hadn’t finished her sentence when she suddenly felt a pinch on her thigh under the table. Wincing in pain, she instinctively cut off her sentence and looked at Li Qingfeng beside her, puzzled about why she was pinched.

Li Qingfeng, fearing Huang Yali might mess things up at this crucial moment, gave her a frantic look. Huang Yali’s usually slow-witted mind suddenly clicked, and she understood the hint. So, she quickly changed her tune, saying, “I need to go home to get something later, so I won’t be going.”

Li Qingfeng breathed a silent sigh of relief and quickly added, “Xiu’er needs to take a nap every afternoon, and I need to take her to a friend’s house for something. So, we’ll skip the walk too.”

With consecutive refusals, especially since Li Qingfeng was the one who initially suggested the outing, Liang Qingqing wasn’t foolish and immediately sensed something was off. Noticing Huang Yali’s unnatural demeanor, the combined clues quickly revealed the answer in her mind.

Realizing her mistake, Liang Qingqing glanced at Fan Yanxing beside her, who had been looking at her eagerly, almost like a stone waiting for his wife. As soon as she looked over, their gazes met.

Feeling guilty under the weight of his suppressed frustration and expectation, Liang Qingqing quickly averted her gaze, unable to hold his stare. She unconsciously raised her hand to touch her nose.

She had genuinely forgotten that Fan Yanxing’s leave was intended for them to have more time alone together, which is why he had suggested a walk with everyone. Even Sister Feng and Yali remembered Fan Yanxing’s intentions, but she, as his girlfriend, had forgotten.

What a blunder.

Her heart racing, Liang Qingqing’s gaze flickered as she followed everyone’s lead and said, “Okay then, you all are busy, so we’ll head out first.”

“Alright, I’ll see you off,” Li Qingfeng said, seeing that Liang Qingqing had finally figured things out. A smile spread across her lips as she hugged Xiu’er and accompanied them to the gate. She waved goodbye and watched until they disappeared around the corner before turning back inside.

Meanwhile, Liang Qingqing took a quick glance at Fan Yanxing, relieved to see no significant change in his expression. Before she could open a new topic, she heard him softly say, “Qingqing, don’t you want to be alone with me?”

At his words, Liang Qingqing’s heart raced even faster. She hurriedly countered, “What are you talking about? I was just being polite with Sister Feng and the others. I didn’t really want to go for a walk.”

Her attempt at lying made her eyes widen as if to appear more convincing, but she didn’t realize that the more she tried to look earnest, the more suspicious it seemed.

Fan Yanxing gave her a knowing glance, raising one eyebrow with a half-smile. “Is that so?”

“Of course!” she replied, her voice rising in pitch. Almost biting her tongue in her haste, she quickly pointed to a nearby alley and asked, “Is this the alley Sister Feng mentioned? We should go through here, then turn left and keep walking to get to the river, right?”

“Yeah, that should be it.” Watching her flustered state, Fan Yanxing smirked, reached out and gently pulled her into the alley.

The alley was very quiet, with no one in sight on either side.

While Liang Qingqing was still chattering about the route to the river, she didn’t notice that Fan Yanxing had stopped walking. He bent down and leaned close to her ear, speaking in a low voice, “Qingqing, your voice gets really loud when you lie. Remember to keep it down next time.”

Liang Qingqing was startled and immediately understood his meaning. The heat and flush from her ears spread all over her body.

She turned her head away, embarrassed and angry, and grabbed his face, giving it a few playful pinches before huffing, “If you know, keep it to yourself. Why say it out loud?”

Fan Yanxing’s face turned red from her pinches, but he wasn’t angry at all. Instead, he laughed even more heartily and said solemnly, “I’m just giving you a friendly reminder.”

Just as Liang Qingqing was about to retort, he suddenly looked alarmed, reached out, and patted her behind, saying in a flustered voice, “Someone’s coming!”

Startled, Liang Qingqing immediately released his face and instinctively stepped behind him. She glanced around quickly but saw no one. As she anxiously looked around, a soft chuckle came from above her.

It was at this moment that she realized he was just trying to scare her. She stamped her foot in frustration and unable to hold back, pinched his earlobe.

“Fan Yanxing, you’re such a trickster!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Fan Yanxing begged repeatedly, wrapping his arms around Liang Qingqing’s waist. He quickly turned his head and planted a kiss on her cheek. Then, as if performing a magic trick, he pulled out a colorful bundle of hair ties from his pocket, which caught her eye immediately.

“What’s this?” Liang Qingqing wiped the saliva from her cheek and, intrigued by the bundle of hair ties, forgot her irritation. She reached out, took the hair ties from him, and examined them closely.

There were a dozen or so hair ties in the bundle, each uniquely styled and similar in novelty to the ones Huang Yali had given her before. They were attractive and not at all tacky, even described as exquisite.

“I remembered you liked the ones Yali gave you last time, so I asked a friend to bring some back from Shanghai,” Fan Yanxing said, recalling how Liang Qingqing’s eyes had lit up when she received the hair ties from Huang Yali. He now watched her closely, eager to see her reaction.

“You bought these just for me?”

Though it was phrased as a question, Liang Qingqing’s tone was full of certainty.

Looking up at Fan Yanxing, her heart felt like it was exploding with a tingling sensation. She sniffled, suddenly feeling on the verge of tears. She hadn’t expected him to remember such a small detail for so long and to specially get the hair ties from Shanghai for her.

His thoughtfulness was beyond her expectations.

Liang Qingqing’s reaction also caught Fan Yanxing off guard. Seeing her eyes redden, he felt at a loss. His movements became clumsy from his eagerness as he anxiously used his fingertip to wipe away the two tears that had escaped from the corners of her eyes.

“Why are you crying?”

“I’m not crying!”

The first two words came out louder than she intended. Midway through, she remembered what Fan Yanxing had said and lowered her voice. However, the sobbing in her tone had already betrayed her true feelings.

“Okay, not crying,” Fan Yanxing responded with a patience that seemed to have no limits. He continued soothingly, “If you don’t like them, I’ll ask someone to get new ones. Don’t upset yourself.”

He thought she was crying because he upset her!

What a silly fool!

Liang Qingqing was almost speechless. She rolled her eyes at Fan Yanxing, turned, and walked ahead. As she walked, she selected two of the most attractive hair ties from the bag, one to wear on her wrist and the other to hold in her hand. She examined them with satisfaction, pleased with how well they matched, before turning her attention back to the man following her.

In a stern tone, she ordered, “Stretch out your hand.”

Fan Yanxing obeyed without asking questions, extending his hand. Instead of the expected slap, he felt a cool sensation on his wrist.

Looking down, he saw it was a hair tie a black ribbon with a pink moon decoration.

The small moon, with its slightly bulging veins, was glaringly pink and seemed mismatched but he liked it very much.