Chapter 3: Play

　　

　　Zhang Qiao understood.

　　The house they live in now was the one Grandpa Jiang bought for Jiang Wentao and Du Ruo as their wedding house, and the cost of decorating it was paid for by Du Ruo’s dowry.

　　Du Ruo died of cancer after Jiang Yining took the college entrance examination. Before her death, she was worried about her daughter’s future and forced Jiang Wentao to transfer the house to Jiang Yining’s name.

　　Ever since Jiang Wentao remarried, the Jiang family has been involved in a lot of trouble because of this house.

　　Jiang Yining felt suffocated when she thought of how Zhao Hong pretended to be kind in front of her.

　　She said, “If my aunt hadn’t told me to be cautious, I might have agreed when Zhao Hong asked me to transfer the house when I was in sophomore year.”

　　”Since I refused to transfer the house, Zhao Hong stopped pretending and started making all kinds of sarcasm towards me. She used the excuse that the family was in financial difficulty and asked me to work part-time to earn a living, but her daughter didn’t need that.

　　”After graduation, they said there weren’t enough rooms at home, so my dad asked me to move out. Zhao Jiajia and Jiang Yiyang each had a bedroom, so there was no place for me in that house.”

　　Jiang Yining couldn’t stop feeling depressed, “There’s a saying that’s true, if there’s a stepmother, there’s a stepfather.”

　　Zhang Qiao saw tears welling up in Jiang Yining’s eyes, so she raised her hand and gently touched her hair to comfort her silently.

　　She knew that Jiang Yining had been holding these words in her heart for a long time, and she had to let them out, otherwise it would become a disease if she suppressed it for too long.

　　Jiang Yining wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with her fingertips. “Zhao Hong is still thinking about my salary. She really wants everything.”

　　After saying these words, Jiang Yining felt relieved. “No more talking, let’s eat first. Nothing is more important than eating.”

　　Seeing that she had an appetite, Zhang Qiao smiled and said, “Yes, fill your stomach first.”

　　After dinner, Jiang Yining took on the task of washing dishes and cleaning up, and the two watched TV together again.

　　There was still sadness in Jiang Yining’s eyes. Zhang Qiao had known Jiang Yining for more than 20 years and knew that she must have something to say.

　　In the eyes of outsiders, Jiang Yining is beautiful, hardworking, gentle and sensible, and has always been a good child in the eyes of adults.

　　But Zhang Qiao knew that Jiang Yining was forced to be sensible. She also had a bad habit of keeping all her bad emotions in her heart and not speaking them out easily.

　　Zhang Qiao touched her.

　　Jiang Yining came back to his senses from his daze, “What’s wrong?”

　　”What are you thinking about? Tell me, what else haven’t you told me today?”

　　Jiang Yining shook his head, then nodded.

　　After a moment’s silence, Zhang Qiao heard Jiang Yining’s words which sounded calm but were actually full of turbulence.

　　”I met He Chi today.”

　　Zhang Qiao paused while drinking water and asked, “When?”

　　Jiang Yining sighed softly, “When I was on a blind date.”

　　She couldn’t calm down. The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she felt. “He was also surprised at the time. He must have wondered how I could have fallen so low as to go on a blind date with a man like this.”

　　Zhang Qiao knew that Jiang Yining had been secretly in love with He Chi for eight years, and had remained true to her original intention and had never been in a relationship.

　　She only knew the man’s name but had never seen him. Jiang Yining had a photo hidden but didn’t let her see it.

　　Zhang Qiao has always been curious about what He Chi looks like and how he could make Jiang Yining like him for so many years and have no interest in other men.

　　”Didn’t your teacher tell you about He Chi’s return?”

　　Jiang Yining shook his head. “Teacher He and Teacher Lin were busy with the senior high school graduates during the summer vacation. I didn’t want to disturb them, so I didn’t go to see them.”

　　She thought of the bar He Chi mentioned. Zhang Qiao loved to play, so she might know it, so she asked, “Qiaoqiao, have you heard of Shiyou? It’s the name of a bar.”

　　”My colleague mentioned the bar he opened half a year ago. I heard that business is booming. Why are you suddenly interested in bars?”

　　Jiang Yining didn’t know what she was thinking. After a while, Zhang Qiao heard her gentle voice, “That’s the bar opened by He Chi.”

　　Zhang Qiao became interested, “Does that mean he will stay in Lincheng from now on?”

　　Jiang Yining smiled and said, “How would I know? But according to his personality, he won’t stay in one place forever.”

　　After all, He Chi said in the afternoon that he opened the bar just for “fun”, and I don’t know if it was just a temporary interest of his.

　　Jiang Yining couldn’t help but think of He Chi’s appearance in her mind. His sudden appearance caused ripples in her stagnant life.

　　Zhang Qiao broke off an orange, ate a slice, and passed the whole thing to Jiang Yining, “It’s too sour.”

　　Jiang Yining likes sour food. Seeing that she didn’t answer, Zhang Qiao turned around and looked at her, “Are you still thinking about He Chi?”

　　After she said that, Jiang Yining’s cheeks became slightly hot, but she did not deny it.

　　Zhang Qiao didn’t play the game of secret crush, she advised, “If you like him, just chase him. Do you want me to help you find out if he is single?”

　　Jiang Yining took the orange from Zhang Qiao’s hand and started eating it. It was not sour at all and was even slightly sweet.

　　She quickly rejected Zhang Qiao’s proposal, “No, it’s not that easy.”

　　Jiang Yining was worried, and she said slowly, “If I tear open this window paper, and He Chi doesn’t have this intention towards me, I will be embarrassed to visit Teacher Lin in the future.”

　　It would be very awkward to meet He Chi again, and she would have no reason to like him anymore.

　　Zhang Qiao encouraged her, “Why do you have to worry? Look at your pretty face and beautiful figure. Which man wouldn’t like you?”

　　Jiang Yining didn’t quite agree, “If it’s just such a superficial liking, I don’t care.”

　　Miss Zhang, an expert in love affairs, said based on her experience, “Men are visual animals. They will first like your appearance before they are willing to understand you deeply.”

　　”He doesn’t like you now, so you should find a way to make him like you.”

　　There were too many things going on that day, and Jiang Yining was confused at the moment. She didn’t respond to Zhang Qiao’s words, but stood up and said, “I’m tired, I want to take a shower and go to bed first.”

　　Zhang Qiao waved her hand and said, “Go ahead, don’t think about anything tonight and have a good sleep.”

　　Jiang Yining nodded and went back to the bedroom to get her pajamas.

　　There is no bathroom in the second bedroom. Jiang Yining usually uses the bathroom outside, while Zhang Qiao uses the one in the master bedroom.

　　After taking a shower, Zhang Qiao was still watching TV series, so Jiang Yining went back to his room to sleep.

　　While lying in bed, Jiang Yining suffered from insomnia. He tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. All he could think of was He Chi and Zhang Qiao’s words.

　　”Then you should find a way to make him like you.”

　　Jiang Yining knew that He Chi was single.

　　Teacher Lin complained to her more than once that He Chi insisted on being single and refused to get married, and she also secretly suspected that her son didn’t like women.

　　Finally, there was really no other way, so Teacher Lin asked Teacher He to ask He Chi why he didn’t want to have a relationship. Only then did he find out that He Chi, on the one hand, liked freedom and didn’t want the constraints of marriage, and on the other hand, he hadn’t met a girl that suited his eyes.

　　Zhang Qiao got up in the middle of the night and went to the living room to get some water to drink.

　　Jiang Yining walked quietly behind her and called out, “Qiaoqiao.”

　　Zhang Qiao was startled and all the water she had just drunk sprayed out.

　　She turned around and saw Jiang Yining wearing a champagne-colored satin halter dress with long hair draped over her shoulders. She was looking at her with an innocent face.

　　”My dear, how come you walk without making any sound? Luckily you’re not wearing a red nightgown, or I would have had a heart attack from you.”

　　Jiang Yining couldn’t sleep so she went to the balcony to get some fresh air. She smiled apologetically and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.”

　　Zhang Qiao poured another glass of water and looked Jiang Yining up and down. She had fair skin and the V-neck design revealed her delicate collarbone.

　　Jiang Yining is very suitable for this style of skirt, gentle and pure, but also with a bit of “desire”.

　　”Why are you not sleeping at night, still thinking about what happened during the day?”

　　”No.” Jiang Yining thought for a moment and asked, “Are you free tomorrow night?”

　　Zhang Qiao thought about tomorrow’s work schedule and estimated that she would not have to work overtime. “I’m free, what’s the matter?”

　　”Go to the bar with me.”