Chapter 37

Just then, He Shanshan came out to get some water. As she passed Xia Qingning’s room, she glanced inside and saw Xia Qingning hugging Lu Jingzhe.

Lu Jingzhe was standing there, Xia Qingning’s arms wrapped around him, her body leaning against him, the atmosphere incredibly intimate.

He Shanshan’s face flushed instantly. She quickly walked past and went back to her room, her heart still racing. No wonder Lu Jingzhe had slept with her as soon as he came back, it was because she had taken the initiative to throw herself at him.

It seemed that all men were the same. Even if they didn’t like you before, if a woman took the initiative, they would surrender.

She couldn’t help but think, if she had been the one sleeping on Lu Jingzhe’s bed, then Lu Jingzhe would be hers now.

Such a high-quality man, what a waste on Xia Qingning!

In the future, if she met a good man, she would also have to be more proactive!

At this moment, both people in the room were stunned, one surprised, one terrified. Xia Qingning, who reacted first, immediately straightened up and took two steps back.

Realizing what she had just done, Xia Qingning’s face turned pale. She quickly waved her hands at him and said:

“I… you… don’t misunderstand, I didn’t want to take advantage of you, I just saw something on your head and wanted to take it off.”

She quickly handed him the piece of grass she had taken off his head to prove her innocence.

Lu Jingzhe had never been kissed and hugged by anyone before, and he was still in shock.

He didn’t know what was wrong with him. When she hugged him, it was as if he was frozen, and he didn’t even try to resist.

Normally, with his skills, she wouldn’t even have a chance to get close to him, let alone touch him.

There seemed to be only one explanation: he wasn’t on guard against her.

The fact that he, a man who was always on high alert, wasn’t on guard against her, made him realize at that moment that he felt different about her.

Once he understood this, all his previous unusual behavior made sense.

Seeing Lu Jingzhe’s cold expression and silence, Xia Qingning felt increasingly insecure. She didn’t want him to dislike her. After all, he was her protector and benefactor, and she couldn’t offend him.

To save face, Xia Qingning looked at him seriously and said:

“That, that was just an accident. Don’t worry, I definitely don’t have those feelings for you.”

Lu Jingzhe, who had just realized his feelings for her, didn’t expect to hear her say so quickly that she didn’t have feelings for him, and she said it so confidently. He couldn’t help but ask:

“Then who do you have feelings for? Your little…”

“Ah?” Seeing him suddenly stop talking, Xia Qingning didn’t understand what he meant and looked at him with confusion.

“Nothing.” Lu Jingzhe calmed down. He didn’t say the words “little brother Xiaodong” in the end. After a moment, he turned around, closed the cabinet, and said to Xia Qingning with his back to her:

“Go out first.”

Xia Qingning felt relieved and nodded repeatedly. Then she said:

“If you need anything, just call me.” She didn’t stay any longer and ran out.

Until dinner was over, the two of them didn’t spend any time alone. Xia Qingning wanted to stay away from him and avoid making him angry.

Lu Jingzhe was angry that she was deliberately avoiding him and ignoring him.

When it was time to sleep, Xia Qingning was more obedient than usual. She didn’t say a word, wrapped herself in her blanket, and slept quietly on one side.

Seeing that she wasn’t willing to talk, Lu Jingzhe naturally didn’t speak first either. They both slept quietly until dawn.

Xia Qingning got up first in the morning. She tied her hair, washed up, and went back to her room. She took the cloth coupons and money from the cabinet and put them in her bag. She had already made an appointment with Maimiao to go to the department store after work yesterday.

At this time, Lu Jingzhe also got up and got ready. Seeing Xia Qingning with her bag ready to leave, he hesitated for a moment and said:

“I’ll drive you.”

Xia Qingning didn’t expect Lu Jingzhe to drive her. She quickly shook her head and refused:

“No need, no need.”

He had just been injured saving her yesterday, and his elbow was still hurt. How could she let him drive her? What if he exerted himself and the wound opened up again?

Seeing her so eager to refuse, Lu Jingzhe became a little unhappy and frowned.

“Just stay home and rest, I don’t need to drive you.” Xia Qingning said. Afraid that he would say he would drive her again, she quickly waved her hand at him and walked out of the room quickly.

Lu Jingzhe, who had been unceremoniously rejected, looked very unhappy. He stood there for a moment, then walked out.

When he got to the courtyard, he was about to get the bike that was parked in the corner, but he heard a familiar voice softly calling “Xiaodong.” He frowned, looked up, and saw Xia Qingning smiling and skillfully getting on the back of Wu Xiaodong’s bicycle.

She didn’t want him to drive her, so she was going to ride with Wu Xiaodong!

Lu Jingzhe looked at their backs as they rode away, his expression unclear. After a moment, he turned and went back into the house.

At this time, He Shanshan was holding Wang Mingfang’s hand and begging:

“Mom, just give me another twenty yuan, didn’t we agree that you would buy me a red dress last time?”

“Last time, we said we would buy it for you when Xia Qingning got paid, but look at her now, she’s not paying her wages anymore, and she even took back the money from the past two years. Shanshan, you have so many clothes, let’s not buy it for now.” Wang Mingfang said with difficulty.

Thinking about Xia Qingning taking away all that money made her angry and heartbroken.

“Those are all old clothes, that red dress looks really good, I just want to make a good impression on the man for tomorrow’s blind date.” He Shanshan continued, shaking her mother’s arm.

“You also said that their family is very rich, if we get together this time, I’ll have more money to support you in the future.”

A dress for twenty yuan was really expensive. Although Wang Mingfang had always loved He Shanshan, she was now earning less and had to be more frugal, so she tried to persuade He Shanshan again:

“Shanshan, look, you’ve only worn these clothes a few times, they look good…”

“Mom.” He Shanshan interrupted her, her voice choked with tears:

“This is my life’s biggest event, woohoo… Look at how Xia Qingning is bullying me now, isn’t it just because she has Lu Jingzhe backing her up? If I end up marrying someone worse than her, what kind of life will you and I have? Woohoo…”

Seeing her daughter crying so pitifully, Wang Mingfang hesitated for a moment, then took two ten-yuan bills from her pocket and handed them to He Shanshan:

“Okay, Shanshan, don’t cry anymore, take it and buy it.” Then she reminded her:

“After you buy this one, you can’t buy any more for the next two months.”

Seeing that Wang Mingfang was willing to give her money, He Shanshan immediately stopped crying and reached out to take it:

“Mom, don’t worry, I will definitely dress up beautifully tomorrow, and I promise to help you get that rich son-in-law.”