Chapter 43

Having made up her mind, Xia Qingning turned around to go home, but as she raised her eyes, she saw a tall, white figure. She was surprised. Lu Jingzhe had come to watch the drama too?

He was angry because she didn’t buy him a popsicle, and now he was watching two women fight…

He usually acted aloof and cold, like someone you shouldn’t approach. Why was she finding his personality increasingly unpredictable?

At this point, Lu Jingzhe had already walked back into the courtyard. If he hadn’t seen Xia Qingning go over there, worried that her small frame might get hurt, he wouldn’t have been interested in watching two women argue.

Just as he was about to go inside, Lu Jingzhe turned his head and saw the bicycle parked in the corner. Thinking about how Xia Qingning had ridden in Wu Xiaodong’s car again today, his eyes dimmed.

Xia Qingning returned to her courtyard with a puzzled expression. She saw Lu Jingzhe pushing her bike out and looking at her. He said in a deep voice:

“Continue learning to ride.”

After the fall yesterday, Xia Qingning was still a little scared. She had planned to take a break for a couple of days. After all, she could ride in Wu Xiaodong’s car to and from work, there was no rush.

But who could tell her why Lu Jingzhe was more eager than her? It was as if he couldn’t wait for her to learn immediately.

Xia Qingning walked over, trying to negotiate with him:

“Can we rest for two days? Look, your hand is still injured.”

“What does my injured hand have to do with you learning to ride?” Lu Jingzhe asked.

It didn’t sound like a question, more like an interrogation.

Xia Qingning felt embarrassed. It was true that it didn’t have anything to do with it. But why was he so insistent on her learning so quickly? Was this the sense of urgency ingrained in soldiers? They not only held themselves to high standards, but also those around them.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be behind you, you won’t fall.” Seeing her hesitation, Lu Jingzhe comforted her, thinking that she was scared by the fall yesterday.

With words like that, Xia Qingning couldn’t slack off anymore. She took the bike from Lu Jingzhe’s hands and said with a smile:

“Then I’ll trouble you.”

But that smile looked more like a cry.

So, they practiced riding in the courtyard for almost an hour. As Lu Jingzhe promised, he stayed by her side, and Xia Qingning didn’t fall once. She was riding better and smoother.

He seemed to have a kind of magic about him, making people trust him and feel at ease. She let go of all her worries and fears, without any worries, so she could naturally achieve twice the results with half the effort.

As they were pushing the bike back, Lu Jingzhe said:

“You’re riding well today. At this rate, you can practice on the road tomorrow.”

Hearing his official training language, Xia Qingning suddenly burst into laughter. She looked at him and asked softly:

“Did you train your soldiers like this in the army?”

She smiled, her bright eyes shining with pearly white teeth. It was like the dazzling stars he saw when he was crawling on the grass during missions, so beautiful that his heart skipped a beat.

Noticing his unusual reaction, he immediately turned his head and said seriously:

“No.”

In the army, he would usually say: Faster! Get up! Do it again! Keep going…

But just now, he said: It’s fine, slower, look ahead, good…

Could they be the same?

Seeing his serious and earnest expression, Xia Qingning didn’t want to tease him anymore. She asked about his injury from yesterday with concern:

“How’s your hand?”

Lu Jingzhe didn’t show much emotion on his face, as if he had already forgotten about it. He replied in a low voice:

“Just a minor scrape, it’s fine.”

It was a huge scrape, Xia Qingning could see how painful it was, but he called it a minor scrape. Did soldiers have a lower pain tolerance? But everyone has the same nerve tissue.

Thinking about his scar on his back again, Xia Qingning felt that the person in front of her suddenly seemed taller and stronger.

They returned home, put the bike away, and Xia Qingning quickly went back to her room. She poured two bowls of water and handed a cup to Lu Jingzhe.

After learning to ride for so long, her throat felt like it was on fire.

After drinking a large bowl, she felt much better. She was about to put down the bowl when she heard Lu Jingzhe ask:

“Why haven’t I seen you drink malt extract these past two days?”

She hadn’t gotten used to the fact that this body needed to supplement its nutrition. After Lu Jingzhe reminded her, she remembered about the malt extract and immediately said:

“I’ll go make some now.”

In no time, she had made a bowl of malt extract.

“Drink a bowl every morning and evening, strictly on time and in the right amount.” Lu Jingzhe said as he watched her.

Xia Qingning felt the strictness of soldiers in Lu Jingzhe again. But this was good for her health, so she readily agreed, nodding obediently and smiling:

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

The beautiful little person in front of him, so obedient, so compliant, and her voice was soft and pleasant.

The words “I’ll listen to you,” each word seemed to have a small hook, each syllable tugging at his heartstrings.

Lu Jingzhe replied in a low voice, a little unnaturally, “Hm.” Then he walked out of the room. He had worked up a sweat, so he needed to go wash up.

Because she had just drunk a lot of water, she wasn’t in a hurry. Xia Qingning put the bowl of malt extract aside, thinking she would drink it when it cooled down.

The rich aroma of malt extract wafted out of the room. He Shanshan, who had been admiring her beautiful new dress in the mirror, smelled the aroma. She knew Xia Qingning was drinking malt extract again and couldn’t help but swallow.

She was jealous, but she imagined that one day, when she had money, she could buy a few cans whenever she wanted and keep them at home to eat slowly.

Xia Qingning, in the room, finished her malt extract and then found a pen and notebook to start drawing the clothes she wanted to make. In this era, unlike the future, people were not as tolerant of different styles of dress. Clothes that revealed arms and legs weren’t suitable.

The clothes she wanted to make had to be both beautiful and elegant. After thinking for a while, she drew several designs for beautiful dresses on the paper.

Then, she chose the light-colored white and blue fabrics from the ones she had bought, found a ruler and cardboard, and first made a pattern with the cardboard. Then she cut it out, placed the paper pattern on the fabric, traced the outline with a pen, and cut it out. When the fabric wasn’t wide enough, she would stitch two pieces together.

Actually, the hardest part of making clothes wasn’t sewing, but the initial calculations and pattern making. The styles Xia Qingning was making weren’t complicated, and she had been studying design for so many years, the cutting formulas were ingrained in her memory. So, she worked quickly, and soon she started sewing the fabric.

As the foot pedal of the sewing machine moved up and down, the needle and thread left regular marks on the fabric. Soon, the clothes took shape.

“Click, click, click, are you annoying?” At this moment, He Shanshan suddenly walked out of the room and shouted at Xia Qingning.