Chapter 88: Whoever Goes Back on Their Word Is a Little Puppy

The store clerk, seeing him pull out money without hesitation, asked enviously, “I guess you and your partner are in a free love relationship, right? How nice.”

“Nowadays, young people mostly get to experience free love. Couples who come to our store to buy necklaces look so sweet together. It’s really heartwarming and makes people envious!”

Free… love?

Jiang Cheng packed the item carefully and hid it, still thinking about the term.

He had been secretly anticipating the moment his little wife would be surprised.

“Ahem, well… Pear, let me help you put it on,” the man casually suggested.

“It’s too dark in here. You can’t see clearly, it’d be hard to put on.”

The small box containing the silver necklace wasn’t heavy; Summer Li held it in her hand, unsure of what to do.

She thought for a moment, then asked, “How much did you spend on it?”

Jiang Cheng scratched his head. “…I forgot.”

Summer Li looked up at him, about to say something else.

Suddenly, the man’s large hand gently covered her mouth, interrupting her.

“Pear, do you like it? Whether you do or not… it’s still yours.”

“I… I heard the people at the store say that those in free love buy this sort of thing,” she murmured.

The man’s ears turned pink with embarrassment, but his expression was serious.

“Just because others say free love is a good thing and many people envy it… how about we try it too?”

Summer Li’s face was still covered by his hand, her eyes wide and surprised.

“I…”

Before she could finish her words, the man stepped closer, holding her mouth more firmly.

His sharp gaze dropped to meet hers: “If you don’t speak, then I’ll take that as a yes.”

Summer Li: …

Just as she was about to launch a violent counterattack, the man quickly dashed away.

He hurriedly shouted from a distance, “Pear, we agreed, right? Whoever goes back on their word is a little puppy!”

Summer Li ran a few steps, tightly clutching the box with the necklace inside but didn’t chase him.

The door slammed shut.

A moment later, his voice came from behind the door.

“Darling, go take the entrance exam if you want. I won’t stop you. Wherever you go, I’ll follow.”

After a brief pause, he muttered to himself, “The little wife’s legs are short, so she can’t run fast, and the dog can’t escape. She can’t shake me off.”

Summer Li: …

Unable to hold back any longer, she threw open the door. “You’re the one with short legs! Your whole family has short legs!!!”

The man jumped in surprise, embarrassed, and hurriedly covered his head while quickly running off.

As he ran, he mumbled to himself, “I’m actually tall… where am I short?”

“Hehe, Pear looks so cute when she’s angry…”

“But why is she angry?”

“I didn’t say anything untrue…”

---

The next day, Summer Li officially returned to school and resumed her student life.

The original owner had dropped out of school, and now Summer Li was joining temporarily, just in time to return to the original class.

The timing was a little awkward. Half the semester had passed, and winter vacation was coming up. When school resumed after the break, the new semester would only last a few months before the pre-exams.

The pre-exams would be followed by the official college entrance exams just a month later.

So, the teachers who knew about Summer Li’s return to school didn’t have high expectations for her.

However, those who still wanted to give it a shot could try to join the exam this year. If it didn’t work, they could repeat the year. It could be practice for the future.

Each of them served themselves a portion of rice, found a table, and sat facing each other.

Duan Mianhua, who was so straightforward, still knew to consider her feelings. She carefully asked, “Did your uncle and aunt try to force you to marry again? But now that you’re back to studying, I guess you’ve worked things out with them?”

When the original owner dropped out of school, Duan Mianhua had some idea of her family situation.

Xia Li: “It’s settled. From now on, each family will go their separate ways without interfering with each other.”

“Ah? You broke off with them?” Duan Mianhua was shocked first, then smiled. “Has it been two years since we last saw you, and you’ve become so firm? Well done!”

“But relatives like your uncle and aunt, it’s better to break off early. They give you a meal, but what they’re really thinking is to suck your blood in return.”

As she spoke, a shadow of darkness flashed through her eyes, but she quickly changed the subject and smiled again.

“Li, it’s so good you’re back to studying. At least now we have half a year left, and we can be together again!”

She wanted to say more, but Xia Li wasn’t one to ask directly either.

She picked up her rice, nodded, and smiled lightly. “Let’s study together.”

The workload in senior year was heavy, and in the following days, Xia Li quickly adapted to the class’s pace.

English and Chinese were no challenge for her, and her math foundation was also strong, so her main focus was on the science subjects.

Every day, she would leave early and return late, shuttling between school and home, almost like a well-oiled gear. Time flew by.

The only thing she found hard to adjust to was the meals.

Every lunch, she ate with Duan Mianhua in the school cafeteria. Long hours of desk work consumed a lot of energy, but the cafeteria food didn’t satisfy her foodie cravings. It was mostly just enough to fill her stomach.

Not long after, Xia Li looked in the mirror and was shocked!

She had seemingly lost a bit of weight.

She pinched the flesh on her face.

Wow, it even felt thinner!

When the weekend came, she was determined to treat herself well, maybe by killing a chicken and a duck.

That afternoon, after school, Xia Li took the donkey cart back home as usual.

She wore a thick coat, sitting tightly wrapped in the cart. A soft, off-white knitted scarf covered her neck and half of her face, keeping her ears warm, so it wasn’t as cold.

She was thinking about going to the soup stall the next weekend and maybe buying some snacks from the market to bring back to school to put on her desk.

Studying was tough, and sometimes even after breakfast, just two lessons would leave her starving. She could only wait for the break and drag Duan Mianhua through the cold wind to the small shop to buy two pieces of Shaqima to eat. She was almost sick of it.

The donkey cart moved slowly, faster than a bicycle but not by much.

When they were nearing the village entrance, the sound of a motorcycle roared from afar.

It grew closer and stopped right in front of the cart, blocking the road.

Xia Li looked up in confusion.

A young man in a leather jacket, with slicked-back hair, rode up on the motorcycle. He looked quite cool. Could it be Zhou Zhengbin?

When Zhou Zhengbin saw her, he grinned, his smile cold yet mischievous. With a husky voice, he said, “Here.”

Xia Li furrowed her brows slowly.

Who?

She glanced behind her, confirming he was speaking to her.

With an air of arrogance, he blocked her cart as if they were familiar with each other.

What was going on?

Did he think he was some kind of village boss?

She hadn’t expected Zhou Zhengbin to suddenly appear.

If it were Zhao Xueling showing off her love in front of her, or seeking attention, she might have forgotten about him completely by now.

Zhou Zhengbin straddled his motorcycle, gripping the handlebars, his long leg propped up, looking cool.

Nowadays, even riding a bicycle in the village was a big deal, let alone a roaring motorcycle.

Behind him, a few of his buddies followed, and when they saw the pretty girl on the cart, they started to make fun of her.

“Yo, this girl has a canvas bag slung across her shoulder, her black ponytail tied high, her scarf showing half her snowy white face. She has delicate and lively features.”

“Looks like she’s just a pure student girl!”

They were all surprised that Zhou Zhengbin liked this type.

The young punks laughed with hidden meaning.

Only one of them, a thin boy, suddenly felt that the girl on the cart looked familiar.

Could it be? How did he know any pretty girl who studied…

Wait a minute.

The more he stared at her, the more familiar she seemed.

His brother nudged him hard and laughed, showing off his yellow teeth, “Never seen a girl before? Your eyes are about to pop out! This is the girl that Brother Bin likes. You sure have guts!”

The old man driving the donkey cart saw the young punks and felt a bit intimidated.

He asked, “Miss, is there something wrong? Should we keep going? The donkey’s got to go back to eat its feed.”

Xia Li, who had only glanced at Zhou Zhengbin earlier, didn’t look at him again.

She adjusted her scarf and quickly said, “Uncle, let’s go. I don’t know them.”

“Alright.”

The light cart quickly swerved around the motorcycle and continued ahead.

Zhou Zhengbin’s expression darkened.

“Wait…”

He turned to follow them, but just as he did, the donkey’s rear kicked up, throwing mud and dust at him, which blew into his slicked-back hair.

“…”

The little punks were stunned.

They almost burst out laughing.

Of course, they kept it in, or else the wind might blow the dirt into their mouths.

“Brother Bin, that girl is being ungrateful. Let me grab her for you!” One of them, eager to save the situation and Brother Bin’s pride, volunteered like a lackey.

It was just unfortunate that Zhou Zhengbin was riding a motorcycle.

If it were his usual bicycle, it would have been easy to chase after the cart and pull her back.

But the motorcycle was too bulky for the bumpy road.

Zhou Zhengbin twisted the throttle and revved the engine, finally managing to turn the motorcycle around. He sped up, his face now as gloomy as lead clouds in winter.

He soon cut across and blocked the donkey cart again. The donkey got startled and stumbled, causing Xia Li to jerk back, startled.

She frowned deeply at Zhou Zhengbin, not hiding her displeasure.

What was this guy’s problem? What did he want by suddenly blocking her path?

Could it have something to do with Zhao Xueling, or even his nephew, Zhou Xiaoman?

Really bad luck.

Zhou Zhengbin didn’t miss her cold expression. Even though he had blocked the cart, he wasn’t angry; he still wore that mischievous grin, his hoarse voice cold as he said:

“Come here, my car.”