Chapter 60 : Do I still have a chance?

That evening, He Tingyue arrived on time to pick up Jiang Yu for dinner.

By the time Jiang Yu got there, the food was already prepared.

Just as He Feiyan had said, He Tingyue was quite a good cook. The table was filled with dishes, and aside from one cold dish, the rest were all made by him.

He Feiyan leaned in to whisper to Jiang Yu, “See? My brother is impressive. You’re not losing out.”

Jiang Yu playfully retorted, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Hey, my brother has been single for so many years. If you’re not interested, that would be really sad for him,” He Feiyan pretended to sigh dramatically.

Ignoring her, Jiang Yu focused on the food.

With three adults and two kids, they had six dishes and a soup.

There was chicken, fish, and braised pork.

More than half of the dishes were meat.

“Do you usually eat like this?”

This was quite a feast.

He Feiyan shook her head. “Not at all! Even if we had money, we wouldn’t have enough tickets.”

He Tingyue was the only one in the family earning money, and they were allocated food tickets from the factory. They were considered lucky, getting to eat meat several times a month.

But most of the time, He Tingyue didn’t have time to cook and just got food from the cafeteria.

The cafeteria food was not only lacking in flavor but also quite unappetizing.

“In the past, my brother would go hunting with friends, we had even more meat back then.”

But after something happened to one of his friends, he stopped going hunting.

Jiang Yu listened with interest. “How do you hunt? With a gun?”

She remembered that there were hunters in Nanghe Village, and they often had a hunting rifle at home.

“You can use a gun or a bow and arrow,” He Tingyue replied, adding a piece of juicy braised pork to her plate.

At that moment, with their stomachs empty, it was hard not to crave the meat.

Noticing that the two kids in his family hardly went for the meat, He Tingyue pointed it out.

“We have mountains where I live too. I’ve picked wild chickens up there before.”

He Feiyan exclaimed, “Really? Jiang Yu, you’re so lucky! You should take us to explore sometime.”

“Sure, but I can’t hunt. However, there are plenty of wild fruits and vegetables up there, and in spring, there are bamboo shoots too.”

Fresh spring bamboo shoots stewed with meat are both delicious and tender.

But at home, Jiang Yu rarely got to eat meat.

Meat was reserved for Jiang Hao, daughters weren’t allowed to touch it.

After finishing the meal, He Tingyue offered to take her home.

Since it was already dark outside, Jiang Yu didn’t refuse.

However, feeling a bit stuffed, she wanted to take a walk outside.

He Tingyue pushed his bike along with her until they reached her building.

“Thanks for walking me home. I’ll head inside now, be safe on your way back.”

He Tingyue looked at her and handed her his flashlight.

“Take this.”

Jiang Yu held the flashlight, still warm from his hand, her fingers tightening around it slightly.

“What about you?” she asked.

“Don’t worry about me. You go up first,” he replied.

Jiang Yu hesitated for a moment but ultimately pushed the flashlight back to him.

“Why don’t you come up with me?”

He Tingyue glanced down for a moment, then nodded.

“Okay, let’s go.”

In the narrow, dark stairway, all that could be heard were their footsteps and the faint sounds of their breathing.

When they reached her door, it was time to say goodbye again.

Jiang Yu took out her keys, and in a daze, she heard the man behind her ask.

“Jiang Yu.”

“Mm?” She instinctively turned back.

“Do I still have a chance?”

They were so close that Jiang Yu could almost feel his warmth.

Dazed, she answered without thinking, and only after he left did she realize what she had said.

“Let’s wait and see.”

Whether it was a yes or a no, saying “let’s wait and see” felt vague.

Leaning against the door, the cool night air helped dispel the warmth on her face.

Suddenly, she rushed to the window and tiptoed to look down, just in time to see the silhouette of the man riding away on his bike.

Jiang Yu bit her lip and couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“He’s already gone, and you’re still watching,” said Yao Xiangling, stepping out of the house.

Jiang Yu jumped in surprise. “Auntie, you’re still awake?”

“I can’t sleep if you’re not home,” Yao Xiangling scolded gently.

Even though she knew He Tingyue was a gentleman and wouldn’t do anything inappropriate, she still worried.

—

At the same time, the He family was restless after dinner.

He Feiyan was waiting for He Tingyue to come back, curious about how things went between him and Jiang Yu.

He Zhengdong and He Lilan, however, were preoccupied with their own thoughts.

Neither of them had any affection for Jiang Yu, their feelings were more about a sense of crisis.

Unlike He Feiyan, they were adopted children who had understood hardship from a young age.

Their father had died, their mother had left, and their grandparents had abused them alongside their uncle.

Later, He Tingyue had taken them in, honoring their father’s last wishes and changing their last names.

Those days of abuse were deeply etched in their memories, as if engraved into their bones and impossible to erase.

They were afraid their new sister-in-law might not like them and would send them away again.

“Brother, do you think the eldest brother will abandon us?”

He Zhengdong bit his lip. “I don’t know, he shouldn’t, right?”

He Lilan whispered, “What if she doesn’t like us?”

He Zhengdong replied, “Then we’ll try to please her be good, eat less, and do more chores.”

He Lilan pouted. “We did that in the old house, and grandparents still hit us.”

“Enough of that, the elder brother is back.”

He heard He Tingyue’s footsteps.

He Feiyan also heard and rushed out immediately.

“Eldest brother, how did it go?”

“How did what go?”

He Feiyan tilted her head at him. “You and Jiang Yu! Did she agree to date you?”

He Tingyue replied, “No.”

He Feiyan’s face instantly fell, such a good opportunity had been missed.

“What did you do?”

He Tingyue ignored her, though he felt quite good.

Jiang Yu hadn’t agreed, but she hadn’t outright rejected him either.

In fact, from her attitude, he felt that he still had a chance.

“Mind your own business and go to bed,” he said, lightly pushing her head.

But He Feiyan reached out to him. “I’ll invite her to a movie another day. I’ll pay.”

In the past, she would never have dared to ask him for money so confidently.

Without hesitation, He Tingyue generously pulled out a big bill and handed it to her, along with a meat ticket.

“After the movie, let’s eat at the state-run restaurant.”

He Feiyan began to feel a little envious, clearly favoring romance over family.

“Got it.”

The next day, when she asked Jiang Yu if she was free, she heard her say, “I might not be able to tomorrow, I have a blind date with Xie Fei fei’s cousin.”

He Feiyan exclaimed, “What?!”

Her eyes widened in shock. “Is Xie Fei fei’s cousin back?”

“Yes, they’ve already started blind dating,” Jiang Yu nodded.

He Feiyan was taken aback. “Isn’t he only dating you?”

“Not really, I think I’m the third one,” Jiang Yu said, counting on her fingers.