When Shen Xiaoyue walked in, she saw her dear cousin clutching the perfectly mended clothes, ready to rush out.  

She immediately stopped her with feigned delight: “Xiaoxing! Thank you! It’s all thanks to you for fixing these clothes for me.”  

Shen Xing forced a smile—no one was going to steal her credit.  

“Xiaoyue, I’ll take them to Xie Ning myself.”  

Shen Xiaoyue pretended to hesitate. “To Xie Ning? Why? That doesn’t seem right. Giving *my* clothes to Xie Ning might lead to misunderstandings.”  

“*What?!* Your clothes?”  

Shen Xing nearly lost control of her expression, gritting her teeth to barely keep her emotions in check.  

The girl in front of her innocently shrugged. “Yeah, whose else would they be?”  

“Did I not mention it earlier? Sorry, Xiaoxing, maybe I really didn’t notice.”  

Shen Xiaoyue’s large eyes gave the illusion of sincerity when she stared at someone, as if she genuinely hadn’t meant anything by it.  

Even Shen Xing wavered for a moment—maybe she really hadn’t said it. Maybe Shen Xing had just assumed it was Xie Ning’s clothes in her hurry and hadn’t confirmed it with her.  

Wait, no—*anyone* would’ve misunderstood in that situation!  

Shen Xing almost fell for her act!  

Fuming, she was about to argue when Shen Xiaoyue, completely indifferent to her thoughts, happily took her clothes back to her bed.  

Ah, what a wonderful day.  

…

The weather in midsummer was as unpredictable as a child’s mood—changing in the blink of an eye.  

Just two days ago, the sun had been scorching, but today, the sky was dark and heavy, accompanied by howling winds and pouring rain.  

Luckily, the rain came and went quickly, though the weather still wasn’t suitable for farm work.  

With all three sons at home today, Wu Qingyun started a fire to cook noodles.  

Thinking this was a rare day off, she generously cracked a few fresh eggs into the pot, whisking them into a fluffy scramble. Then, she plucked some green onions from the yard, chopped them up, and sprinkled them over the noodles. Soon, a fragrant pot of egg and scallion noodles was ready.  

Lu Ping’an caught a whiff of the aroma and trotted over, sniffing eagerly like a puppy. His stomach growled loudly as he whined, “Ma, is it done yet? I’m starving.”  

Wu Qingyun couldn’t help but laugh at his impatience. She found it endearing—after all, no cook could resist someone eagerly anticipating their food.  

Lu Guodong also hurried back, draped in a heavy straw raincoat that had him sweating buckets.  

He took off the raincoat and shook off the water. Wu Qingyun scolded him half-heartedly, “You’re gonna be the death of me, splashing water everywhere!”  

Lu Guodong grinned sheepishly and obediently admitted fault. “Don’t be mad, I’ll clean it up later.”  

“Why’d you rush back? Couldn’t you have eaten at the educated youth point first?”  

“One less person means more food for them. It’s not like we don’t have food at home. Besides, nothing at the educated youth point tastes as good as your cooking.”  

Wu Qingyun laughed and said he was too good at sweet-talking for a man his age.  

Lu Ping’an’s ears perked up. Over the past few days, he’d checked the back mountain, but someone had already raided all the lower-hanging bird nests, leaving him empty-handed. The matter of returning the favor had been delayed again and again.  

He slurped a mouthful of steaming noodles, thinking to himself—*Ma did cook a lot today. Maybe I should bring her some?*  

Not for any particular reason, of course. He just didn’t like owing people. He loved milk candy, and since it was a rare treat only available in the county town, he wouldn’t say no to more, even if they still had some at home.  

Just as Wu Qingyun was about to tell Lu Ping’an to eat more—she’d made plenty today—she turned around to find only an empty bowl on the table. The boy himself was nowhere to be seen.  

“This kid, running off even in the rain.”

Watching Lu’s father cleaning up the water he had just splashed, Wu Qingyun shook her head and decided to scoop him a bowl of noodles—after all, noodles left soaking in the pot for too long wouldn’t taste good.  

But when she lifted the lid, *damn it!* Who had scooped out all the egg florets, leaving only plain noodles in the pot?  

The thief had kindly left behind a few chopped scallions, making the scene look even more pitiful.  

There was no doubt—it had to be that brat who’d run off earlier!  

Whatever. Wu Qingyun decided to pretend she hadn’t noticed and act as if this was just a bowl of plain noodles.  

After all, she and the boys had already eaten. If anyone was to blame, it was Lu Guodong for coming back so late.  

…

By the time Lu Ping’an stepped outside, the heavy rain had just stopped. He wandered around the educated youth point with a bucket of noodles in hand, second-guessing himself.  

*Was this too impulsive?* Returning a favor didn’t mean he had to rush like this, right?  

And who knew what Shen Xiaoyue would think if she saw him like this.  

Maybe he should just go back. Come to think of it, his father probably hadn’t eaten yet.  

Lu Ping’an was tall and lean, his arm muscles well-defined. The dark strands of hair falling over his forehead gave him a youthful handsomeness, and even the simple white undershirt he wore looked crisp and refreshing on him.  

The air inside was stuffy from the gloomy weather, so Shen Xiaoyue decided to take a walk outside.  

That’s when she spotted Lu Ping’an standing at the entrance, holding something.  

She hadn’t seen him in days and had been dying to—she just hadn’t found a good excuse. If he didn’t come to her soon, she’d have to resort to her old method of ambushing him in the mountains again.  

Assuming that Lu, the party secretary, had forgotten something and sent his son to fetch it, Shen Xiaoyue glanced around. Seeing no one nearby, she dashed over from behind, intending to grab his hand. But worried she might startle him, she quickly braked and settled for pinching the hem of his shirt with two fingers instead.  

“Lu Ping’an, did you come to see me?”  

Lu Ping’an had noticed her the moment she started running toward him—her lively energy was unmistakable, like a little firecracker going off.  

He had actually been about to leave, but now that they’d bumped into each other, he wasn’t sure how to react.  

In the brief moment he hesitated, Shen Xiaoyue had already deftly latched onto him.  

Helpless, Lu Ping’an looked down into a small, upturned face beaming at him, gazing with such focus it was as if he was the only person in her world.  

The storm had just passed, and a sliver of sunlight broke through the clouds, casting a soft glow on Shen Xiaoyue’s face. The light caught the fine down on her cheeks, making her look unbearably cute.  

“No, I came to find my dad,” Lu Ping’an denied outright. Now that he thought about it, returning a favor with a bucket of noodles was way too strange and intimate—it wasn’t an appropriate reason at all.  

“Oh…”  

The girl wasn’t discouraged.  

“Then, can you come find me next time?”  

She seemed to have no concept of restraint, boldly extending invitations in her own way.  

An innocent country boy like Lu Ping’an had never experienced anything like this. Her directness left him flustered.  

His ears felt like they were burning.  

Lu Ping’an cleared his throat. He figured he should make things clear with Shen Xiaoyue.  

They weren’t suited for each other. At least one person in a household needed to be hardworking, and Shen Xiaoyue—