Chapter 41

Xia Qingning turned and walked into the house, completely oblivious to Lu Jingzhe’s displeasure. She continued to unpack the things she had bought.

Seeing Lu Jingzhe sitting silently beside her, recalling his attitude towards Wu Xiaodong these past two days, Xia Qingning hesitated and asked:

“Um, do you dislike Xiaodong?”

“You’re just realizing this now? He’s always grinning and joking around, not serious at all.” Lu Jingzhe said coldly, his face stern.

Xia Qingning, after listening, thought that Lu Jingzhe had some misunderstanding about Wu Xiaodong. She quickly explained:

“No, Xiaodong is a good person. He’s serious about his work, very considerate, and often helps others.”

Lu Jingzhe frowned slightly, listening silently as Xia Qingning praised Wu Xiaodong earnestly. Then he looked up at her and asked:

“You think he’s good?”

Seeing his unhappy expression, Xia Qingning guessed that he might have had some kind of conflict with Wu Xiaodong in the past, which was why he didn’t like him. She hesitated for a moment before saying sincerely:

“Yeah, Xiaodong is really a good guy.”

Hearing this, Lu Jingzhe felt even worse, but he still maintained his composure. He didn’t speak, silently watching Xia Qingning finish unpacking her things. He noticed that there was still a popsicle on the table.

“So, she didn’t forget and saved one for herself.” Lu Jingzhe thought, his anger subsiding a bit. But the next second, he saw Xia Qingning pick up the popsicle, tear off the wrapper, hesitate for a moment, and then put it in her mouth.

Lu Jingzhe’s expression froze for a moment. Then, he suddenly stood up from his chair, his face dark, and strode out.

Xia Qingning was a little confused. She thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out why he was suddenly angry.

She looked down at the popsicle in her hand. Could it be because she didn’t buy him one?

She had hesitated earlier, wondering if she should buy one for him. But seeing how aloof and dignified he usually was, she guessed he wouldn’t like to eat these things. Plus, she had already taken a bite when she bought them, so it wasn’t good to give him any.

After a moment, Xia Qingning walked out of the house. Not long after, she came back with two popsicles.

What if he was angry because she didn’t buy him one?

Although Xia Qingning knew this was highly unlikely, he was her benefactor now, and she couldn’t offend him. She would give him one later, and if he didn’t want it, then so be it.

The door wasn’t closed. Out of courtesy, Xia Qingning knocked before going in.

Lu Jingzhe was sitting at the table, reading the book he hadn’t finished earlier.

Xia Qingning hesitated for a moment, then handed him both popsicles, softly asking:

“Do you want one?” Then she added, “I don’t know what flavor you like, so I bought both.”

Lu Jingzhe, who was angry a second ago, was instantly calmed by the two popsicles Xia Qingning handed him. So, she had bought one for him too, and two of them, she must have put them aside when she was unpacking.

“I like both.” Lu Jingzhe said, reaching out to take them.

Hearing him say that, Xia Qingning was surprised. He actually liked to eat them! Thank goodness she went back and bought some!

“Qingning, are you home?” Maimiao’s voice came from outside.

“Yes.” Xia Qingning replied. She glanced at Lu Jingzhe, gesturing that she would be back in a moment, and then walked out of the room.

Lu Jingzhe, who had made himself angry and then calmed himself down, looked at the popsicles in his hand. One for Wu Xiaodong, and two for him.

Well, he had gained!

Maimiao saw Xia Qingning come out of the room, her eyes darted around, and she deliberately peeked inside, asking:

“Is Jingzhe in the room?”

“Yes.” Xia Qingning didn’t understand. “Are you looking for him?”

“Of course not.” Maimiao covered her mouth and laughed meaningfully. “I just don’t want to come at a bad time and interrupt your… you know.”

“What you know?” Xia Qingning looked confused.

Maimiao poked her head, laughing even harder: “Pretending!”

Xia Qingning realized, her face turning a little unnatural, but she didn’t deny it. She just changed the subject and asked:

“What did you want?”

“Here.” Maimiao held up the bag in her hand. “I forgot to give you your clothes.”

Xia Qingning took the clothes from her and said, “I’ll alter them for you, come get them tomorrow afternoon.”

“Okay.” Maimiao nodded. Then, as if she had thought of something, she leaned towards Xia Qingning’s ear and asked:

“I heard from my mom that He Shanshan is going on a blind date tomorrow. The guy is a technician, his family is quite wealthy, and he’s an only child.”

“Really?” Xia Qingning was a little confused. She hadn’t heard Wang Mingfang or He Shanshan mention this.

“You don’t know?” Maimiao was surprised. After all, she had heard about it, but Xia Qingning, who lived under the same roof as He Shanshan, didn’t know. After a moment, she seemed to understand something and said, “She must be afraid that the guy will see you and compare you to her, and then he won’t like her. That’s why she’s deliberately hiding it from you.” Then, as if seeking confirmation, she looked at Xia Qingning and continued to ask:

“Did she ask you not to come back too early tomorrow?”

“No, she didn’t.” Xia Qingning said truthfully.

“I think she’s taking this blind date very seriously. She even went out and bought that red dress.” Maimiao said this, and she became indignant again. “Thinking about how smug she was today makes me angry. It’s just a dress, it’s a bit more expensive, what’s so great about it? She even mocked you for not being able to afford a dress and only buying scraps.”

Lu Jingzhe, who was about to go out to wash his hands, just happened to hear Maimiao’s words. He had been a little curious when he saw Xia Qingning come back with a pile of scraps. Was she trying to save money by buying those?

Thinking about her being mocked, Lu Jingzhe unconsciously frowned slightly.

Xia Qingning didn’t notice Lu Jingzhe. Her eyes were fixed on Maimiao’s face. The girl opposite her had her lips pouted, her cheeks puffed up with anger. Xia Qingning suddenly found her funny and a little cute. She comforted her:

“Okay, don’t be angry.” She raised the bag in her hand. “I’ll alter this dress for you, it’ll definitely be prettier than the one she’s wearing!”

Maimiao wasn’t comforted. She still said indignantly:

“I’m not angry for myself, I’m angry that she said that to you.” Then she looked at the pile of scraps that Xia Qingning had already organized and was still confused. She asked:

“Can you really make beautiful clothes out of these scraps?”

“Of course.” Xia Qingning was full of confidence. She hadn’t studied fashion design for all those years for nothing. Her title as a genius designer wasn’t given to her for no reason.

“My specialty is turning trash into treasure.” Xia Qingning said with a confident smile.

Her delicate and small face, her smooth and fair skin, her bright eyes and pearly white teeth, her charming and lovely appearance, like a blooming peach blossom, made Maimiao stunned. She couldn’t help but praise:

“Qingning, you’re so beautiful!” Then she said with a hint of regret, “It’s such a pity… you didn’t buy that georgette dress…” She forgot the name for a moment and tilted her head, trying to remember.

“Georgette.” Xia Qingning saw that she was struggling and reminded her.

“Right, right, georgette.” Maimiao suddenly realized. She continued, “It’s a pity it was so expensive, otherwise, you could have bought it and worn it. You wouldn’t need to dress up to be better than He Shanshan.”

Xia Qingning smiled. She didn’t have any strong feelings about the georgette dress.

They chatted for a while longer, and Maimiao stood up and said:

“I’ll go back and cook dinner. I’ll come back tomorrow to get the dress.” Then she waved goodbye to Xia Qingning and left with a light step.

After Maimiao left, Lu Jingzhe walked out of the room. His gaze fell on the pile of fabrics in the corner. Although the fabrics had been carefully organized, it was obvious that they weren’t in proper sizes. There were large pieces, small pieces, long pieces, and short pieces.

After a moment, Lu Jingzhe shifted his gaze and walked out.