Chapter 6

The moment the door opened, Lu Jingzhe was instantly stunned. He saw a woman who had just finished showering, bending over to button her clothes.

She was wearing only a shirt, her hair loosely tied in a bun, with a few strands of black hair falling down, scattered around her white, slender neck.

The shirt barely covered her hips, and her straight, long legs were exposed to Lu Jingzhe without any cover, white to the point of being dazzling.

Wet hair, white shirt, long legs, the scene was full of spring, making people infinitely imaginative.

Lu Jingzhe’s face instantly flushed.

Xia Qingning in the room hadn’t expected the door to open on its own. When their eyes met, she was clearly flustered, but she didn’t lose her composure and scream.

Lu Jingzhe, who had reacted, immediately took a step forward and closed the door.

Then, Xia Qingning in the room heard the sound of footsteps leaving, hurried and chaotic.

Xia Qingning lowered her head and continued to button her shirt. She didn’t feel too embarrassed.

She wasn’t completely naked. The clothes in this era were long, covering everything that needed to be covered. Besides, there were many people in the real world who wore shirts and shorts on the street.

What she didn’t expect was that Lu Jingzhe, who seemed to be aloof, was so innocent. He actually seemed to have fled in a panic just now.

After putting on her clothes, Xia Qingning picked out a light green skirt from the closet and put it on.

The skirt was very long, made of cotton, and almost reached her ankles. Paired with a white shirt, it was very fresh and elegant.

The original owner didn’t have many clothes in the closet. Besides two sets of dark blue work uniforms, she only had two or three sets of summer clothes. The dress she had just changed out of and the one she was wearing were the best ones.

There wasn’t anything valuable in the room either. The only skincare product was a box of clam oil.

Actually, the original owner worked at a state-owned factory and her salary wasn’t low. Every month, besides her salary of twenty-four yuan and five jiao, she also had six catties of grain coupons and three catties of oil coupons.

This money should have been enough for her to live a comfortable life, but she was easily influenced and indecisive. Wang Mingfang told her that she was young and couldn’t spend money recklessly, so she should save it first, and she believed her.

Every month, after receiving her salary, Wang Mingfang would take twenty yuan, leaving her with only four yuan and five jiao.

Xia Qingning calculated that over the past two years, she had saved almost five hundred yuan.

This money, supposedly saved for her, had actually gone into Wang Mingfang’s pocket.

Xia Qingning knew that even if she asked Wang Mingfang to give it back now, she would have countless excuses.

But it didn’t matter. Since it was the original owner’s money, Xia Qingning had a way to make Wang Mingfang spit it all out.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

At this time, there were a few knocks on the door. Xia Qingning walked over and opened the door to see Lu Jingzhe standing outside with his bag. She stepped aside to let him into the room.

After entering the room, Lu Jingzhe put his bag aside. He hesitated for a moment before apologizing for what had just happened:

“Just now… I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Xia Qingning replied softly, not blaming him.

Although he apologized for his recklessness, it didn’t mean he wasn’t angry about seeing Xia Qingning in his room. After a moment, he asked in a deep voice:

“Why are you staying in my room?”

His voice was clearly displeased.

It seemed that Lu Jingzhe didn’t know that after he left, Wang Mingfang moved into the Lu family’s house a year later, using the excuse of taking care of her granddaughter. Not long after, she shamelessly brought her daughter over as well.

There weren’t enough rooms in the house, so they partitioned off a room from the original living room. Now, the house was packed:

Lu Baichuan had one room, Lu Lidong’s family of three had one room, Wang Mingfang and Lu Xiaoxue had one room, Wang Mingfang’s daughter, He Shanshan, had one room, and there was one more room, Lu Jingzhe’s room, where Xia Qingning was staying.

“Well, all the rooms in the house are full.” Xia Qingning said. Then she explained the situation to him.

After hearing this, Lu Jingzhe’s expression became even worse. Xia Qingning was afraid that he would say “Get out” next.

After all, she had just witnessed his ruthless rebuttal of Wang Mingfang. His dislike for the original owner was probably no less than Wang Mingfang’s. It was normal for him to say something harsh.

But she didn’t want to move out now.

She had figured it out. Lu Jingzhe’s attitude towards her now directly affected this family, and even this courtyard’s attitude towards her.

If she was kicked out of the room, it would undoubtedly tell everyone that Lu Jingzhe didn’t want to acknowledge her identity.

In the future, Wang Mingfang and her children, as well as everyone in the courtyard who looked down on her, would probably be even less polite to her.

Lu Jingzhe’s silence made Xia Qingning very uneasy.

No! She couldn’t just sit back and wait for death. She had to find a way to stay. Just as her mind was racing, she suddenly heard Lu Jingzhe speak:

“How long has my father been on a business trip? When is he coming back?”

He didn’t dwell on the issue of her staying in his room, which put Xia Qingning at ease. She replied:

“He’s been gone for a few days. He said he would be gone for a week, so he should be back tomorrow or the day after.”

Lu Baichuan worked at a research institute and was usually busy. He also went on business trips occasionally.

After hearing this, Lu Jingzhe didn’t ask anything more. He looked at her and said:

“Clean out a closet for me. I’ll put my things in it.”

Xia Qingning was a little surprised. Was he accepting the fact that he was living with her?

She had originally thought that if he asked her to move out, she would play the victim and try to evoke his sympathy. Now, she didn’t need to do that.

“Oh, okay.” Xia Qingning said quickly, afraid that he would change his mind. She smiled at him: “I’ll clean it out for you now.”

Looking at her busy little figure, Lu Jingzhe suddenly felt an indescribable feeling.

She seemed to be very different from four years ago, not just in appearance, but more in the feeling she gave off.

Before, she always kept her head down and looked very dejected. Now, although she still looked fragile, she didn’t show any fear. She was more natural in her speech and actions.

Especially that smile just now, for a moment, he felt that she wasn’t so annoying anymore.

Xia Qingning was completely unaware of Lu Jingzhe’s inner changes. She focused on her work and quickly cleaned out a closet. She looked at Lu Jingzhe and said:

“You can put your things here.”

While Lu Jingzhe was organizing his luggage, Xia Qingning carried the water from the wooden basin outside to pour it out. Then, she washed her hair with the remaining water in the thermos outside. She felt much more comfortable.

When she went back into the room to find a towel to dry her hair, Lu Jingzhe had already packed his luggage.

Because he wasn’t used to being in a room with a woman, Lu Jingzhe was about to go out, but his gaze fell on Xia Qingning, who had just entered.

She was leaning against the headboard, brushing her wet hair to one side. Her white, slender fingers were running through her hair.

She was small, with her back to him, her head tilted, revealing a delicate and beautiful face.

She just sat there quietly, the setting sun shining through the window, falling on her, making her beautiful beyond compare.

For a moment, Lu Jingzhe was a little dazed. Was this really the ugly girl from four years ago?

After a moment, he walked out of the room. He didn’t know why, but the room made his heart race and his breathing become labored.

As soon as Lu Jingzhe reached the living room, he heard the “ding-a-ling-ling” sound of a bicycle bell. Then, a woman in her twenties jumped off the bike and pushed it into the courtyard.

The woman was wearing a bright magenta jacket, with bangs and carefully permed hair tied with two yellow hair ties on either side of her ears. She was also wearing a popular scarf around her neck.

This woman was Wang Mingfang’s daughter, He Shanshan. She had good features, but her skin was a bit dark. She always liked to wear bright clothes and dressed herself up in a flamboyant way, giving people a feeling of being both fashionable and rustic.

But she had a large chest and a large butt, which met the standards of this era for being “fertile.” So, many people came to her house to propose marriage, but she had high standards. She not only required the man to have a good family background, a good job, but also to be good-looking.

So, although she was introduced to many men, she liked few. She was already in her twenties.

She entered the courtyard, put her bike aside, and skillfully took a small comb and a small mirror from her pocket. While she was fixing her hair, which had been blown about by the wind, she walked towards the house.

As soon as she stepped into the house, she saw Lu Jingzhe sitting on the side. She was stunned for a moment, then her face suddenly turned red, but the smile on her lips couldn’t be suppressed.

Yesterday, her mother had said that someone had introduced a new man to her and that he would come to their house to meet her in a couple of days. She didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

And she didn’t expect him to be so handsome, and he was wearing a military uniform. She fell for him at first sight.