Chapter 32

Zhao Cuilan deliberately dragged out the ending of the word “yo,” her sarcastic tone full of disdain for people from the countryside.

She continued:

“This crippled country bumpkin is quite self-aware, he always leaves after dropping off the things. Unlike my country relatives, they bring some salted vegetables and still expect a meal. Oh, the way they eat, it’s as if the air in the city is fragrant.”

Her words were truly hurtful, laced with sarcasm. Xia Qingning frowned and stared at her coldly. Suddenly, she strode forward, stopping in front of Zhao Cuilan, her gaze fixed on her.

“You, what do you want?” Zhao Cuilan was startled by Xia Qingning’s sudden action and took a step back. She had witnessed Xia Qingning’s strength these past two days and was afraid that she would do something to embarrass her.

Seeing her scared expression, Xia Qingning’s lips curled into a smile, pretending to be confused and asking:

“Auntie Zhao, what are you afraid of?” Then she continued nonchalantly:

“I just wanted to see if you city people have an extra eye and mouth compared to us country folk.”

Wu Xiaodong immediately understood and also leaned closer to Zhao Cuilan, looking at her carefully. He said:

“Let me see too.” After looking for a while, he looked confused and said:

“It seems like you don’t have any extra.” Then he suddenly changed his tone:

“Then why is Auntie Zhao so high and mighty, and your mouth so foul?”

The old man at the phone booth couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke up:

“Auntie Zhao, how can you say that? If you go back two generations, who isn’t from the countryside? You’re the same, right? Otherwise, how would you have country relatives?”

“I…” Zhao Cuilan was speechless for a moment, unable to find words to retort. After a long pause, she weakly said:

“Who’s high and mighty? Who has a foul mouth?”

Xia Qingning ignored her, bent down, and offered a handful of loquats to the old man:

“Thank you for watching over the loquats, grandpa. Please have some.”

Then she took a handful and put it in Wu Xiaodong’s pocket:

“Xiaodong, you eat some too.”

Zhao Cuilan watched Xia Qingning give loquats to the two of them. At this moment, she no longer disliked the country produce. She stretched her neck, looking at the basket of loquats with a hint of meaning and said:

“These loquats look quite good, but I wonder if they taste good.”

Xia Qingning understood the implication in her words, but she stood unmoved, not intending to give her any.

At this time, Wu Xiaodong had already peeled a loquat, revealing the yellow flesh, thick and juicy, with a fresh, sweet aroma, incredibly tempting.

The fifteen-year-old boy still had a child’s heart. He deliberately ate it slowly in front of Zhao Cuilan, then said:

“Auntie Zhao, I tried it for you, it’s delicious, juicy, and very sweet.”

“Oh, is it?” Zhao Cuilan swallowed her saliva, looked at Xia Qingning, her eyes shining with anticipation.

Xia Qingning seemed to understand what she meant and smiled at her, then picked up a handful of loquats.

Zhao Cuilan happily reached out to take them, but Xia Qingning glanced at her, turned around, and put the loquats down. Then she suddenly picked up the basket, said to Zhao Cuilan:

“Oh, I forgot, Auntie Zhao is a city person, you probably wouldn’t like this country stuff, I won’t give you any.”

Without looking at her again, she picked up the basket and got on Wu Xiaodong’s bicycle. Soon, Wu Xiaodong rode away.

Zhao Cuilan, who had been tricked, glared at them as they left, her heart filled with anger, but she couldn’t find any words to retort. Just as she was fuming, the old man who had eaten the loquats “lacked awareness” and added:

“Well, you know what, these country loquats are really sweet.”

At that moment, Zhao Cuilan’s face turned green with anger.

Xia Qingning felt a sense of satisfaction after reprimanding Zhao Cuilan. As they were approaching the courtyard, she thought for a moment and said to Wu Xiaodong:

“Xiaodong, are you free? Can you teach me how to ride a bike?”

He Shanshan’s words earlier really angered her. Wasn’t it just because she couldn’t ride a bike? She passed all the tests for her driver’s license on the first try, could a bicycle be harder than driving?

However, bicycles in this era were much taller and heavier than the shared bikes of the present day, and they also had a horizontal bar in the middle, making it inconvenient to get on and off, which added to the difficulty of learning.

If she didn’t have anyone to teach her, she would learn slowly and it would be dangerous, so she asked Wu Xiaodong if he would be willing to teach her.

Having Wu Xiaodong teach her wouldn’t cause any gossip, after all, he was just a teenager, and they were riding in the courtyard, so people outside wouldn’t see them.

“Of course, I’ll definitely teach you.” Wu Xiaodong answered confidently.

Hearing him say that, Xia Qingning also gained more confidence and replied:

“Then I’ll trouble you, I’ll pay you a coaching fee.”

It would be natural to pay someone for their time and effort in teaching her how to ride a bike.

“Sister Qingning, why do you keep mentioning that, do you think I would take your money?” Wu Xiaodong asked.

“It’s fine, I have money now.” Xia Qingning said proudly, looking very wealthy.

Wu Xiaodong thought for a moment and said with a chuckle:

“Then how about two popsicles a week, we’ll go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy them.”

He Shanshan was very upset about what happened earlier. Afraid of being caught again, she stopped after passing the alley and pushed her bike home quietly.

When she returned to her courtyard and saw that no one was around, she finally felt relieved.

She carefully placed the bike back where it was, and was about to turn around when she suddenly heard a cold voice behind her:

“What are you doing?”

He Shanshan was already feeling guilty, and the sudden voice made her almost scream.

She turned around and saw Lu Jingzhe standing there with a cold expression, his amber eyes devoid of warmth.

“I…” He Shanshan, who had been caught red-handed again, was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

She wasn’t afraid when facing Xia Qingning earlier, but now it was Lu Jingzhe. He was someone who didn’t even care about her mother, Wang Mingfang, and dared to reprimand her, how could she not be scared?

He Shanshan hesitated for a long time before she timidly said:

“I saw the bike was there, no one was riding it when I left this morning, so I…”

“No one was riding it?” Lu Jingzhe frowned, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Seeing that he seemed more concerned about this question, He Shanshan quickly said:

“Yes, no one was riding it, I saw it was just sitting there…”

Lu Jingzhe heard this and suddenly looked past He Shanshan towards the entrance of the courtyard.

He saw Xia Qingning sitting on the back of Wu Xiaodong’s bike, holding a basket of loquats in her arms, the two of them talking and smiling.

Lu Jingzhe’s face visibly turned cold.