Chapter 69

What was the matchmaker doing at Maimiao’s house? Was she also going to arrange a marriage for her?

He Shanshan thought this, a smug smile curling her lips. Didn’t that stinky girl just mock her? Now she wanted to see what kind of person the matchmaker would introduce to her.

No matter who it was, she would make it embarrassing for her, make her stop laughing.

If the man was ugly, she could rightfully mock her, “A turtle and a tortoise, a toad and a toad.”

If the man was handsome and had a good family background, He Shanshan’s eyes rolled around, and a bad idea immediately came to mind:

She would snatch him away and make him the laughingstock of the whole courtyard.

In terms of appearance, she had never taken Maimiao seriously. Even though she could dress up now and looked better, she thought it was just a superficial change.

Maimiao didn’t know that the matchmaker had gone to her house because she was facing the door. She only saw He Shanshan scolding her and then laughing, so she was naturally unhappy.

Thinking about how He Shanshan had attacked her with her appearance last time and made her cry, now that she could dress up and looked better, she had gained confidence and wouldn’t be bullied by her words like last time. She said disdainfully, “He Shanshan, you’re always saying this one is ugly, that one is ugly. A truly beautiful person wouldn’t talk about beauty and ugliness. Like Qingning, she’s much prettier than you. Why doesn’t she belittle this one and that one like you? Even if you’re beautiful, if your heart is bad, no one will like you.”

Hearing this, Xia Qingning couldn’t help but want to applaud her. She always felt that dressing up well was just to make herself happier and more confident, not to compare herself to others or to please others.

Of course, she had a purpose in dressing up Maimiao, but she was just creating an opportunity for that man to notice her. Whether they could end up together depended on their character and personality.

“Ugly is ugly, and you’re talking a lot of nonsense, trying to defend yourself. Hmph…” He Shanshan snorted disdainfully. “How about this, I am prettier than you. The man who doesn’t like me definitely won’t like you. Haha… Go ahead and be jealous.”

No matter how open-minded Maimiao was, she was still angry after hearing those belittling words. She glared at He Shanshan angrily and wanted to continue arguing with her, but Xia Qingning pulled her back, gesturing for her to stop the pointless verbal fight. She said seriously, “Don’t listen to her. Who knows who will be jealous of whom in the future.”

Oh, how arrogant He Shanshan’s attitude was now, the more painful the slap in the face would be later!

At that moment, Li Qiulian’s voice suddenly came from outside:

“Maimiao, come home.”

Maimiao turned around and saw her mother. Thinking that she was calling her home to cook, she said, “I’ll come back later to cook, it’s not time yet.”

Li Qiulian wanted to say something, but she hesitated a little. After a while, she said, “Someone is at home, they have something to tell you.”

Xia Qingning heard this and guessed that the matchmaker must have gone to her house. Otherwise, Li Qiulian wouldn’t have come to find her specifically. She patted Maimiao’s shoulder and said, “Go back quickly. Maybe it’s good news.”

“Hmph, good news?” He Shanshan said sarcastically, “What good news could she have? Even if it’s good news, it’s not for her.”

She had decided that she would make Maimiao, that stinky girl, embarrassed this time.

Seeing Li Qiulian waiting outside, Maimiao didn’t bother with He Shanshan anymore. She told Xia Qingning that she would come back to play with her later and then turned around and left.

After Maimiao left, He Shanshan glared at Xia Qingning with resentment. Now that Lu Jingzhe was back, she couldn’t openly cause trouble for Xia Qingning. She turned around and left, her butt swaying.

When Xia Qingning returned to her room, she found that Lu Jingzhe had already gone out. He must have gone to the bathhouse to take a bath. She really wanted to sleep now, but she hadn’t changed clothes or taken a bath, and she felt uncomfortable.

She thought for a moment and decided to go out and boil some hot water to take a bath first.

The coal stove took a long time to boil water. After waiting for a while, the water finally boiled. She washed her hair first, then carried the water into the room. She took out a wooden basin, poured the water in, closed the door, and started taking off her clothes.

After taking a bath, she finally felt comfortable. The original owner didn’t buy underwear and used traditional belly bands. She found one with an embroidered lotus pattern and put it on. She had just tied the strings on both sides when the door to the room suddenly opened.

The latch was already loose. After Lu Jingzhe pushed it hard last time, it became even looser. It must have slipped down just now, so when Lu Jingzhe pushed it, the door opened by itself.

He saw the girl in front of him with her back to him. Her slightly damp hair was scattered around her slender neck. Her smooth back lines outlined her graceful figure. The slightly protruding shoulder blades and her slender waist, which could be grasped with one hand, were all beautiful. The white porcelain-like waist was tied with a thin red string, which was incredibly tempting.

This room filled with alluring beauty made even Lu Jingzhe, who was usually calm, blush. He said “sorry” and quickly closed the door, leaving quickly.

It happened so suddenly that Xia Qingning didn’t react until Lu Jingzhe was gone. She didn’t feel ashamed or anything. She had only shown her back.

But after all, they weren’t a real couple. To avoid such embarrassment from happening again, after putting on her clothes, she found a rope and tied one end to the bed frame and the other end to a nail next to the window. Then she took a thin sheet from the cabinet and hung it on the rope.

She quickly created a private space, making it easier to change clothes and so on.

She had just finished bathing, and her body was still warm. The room was also very stuffy, so she opened the window. When she opened the door, she saw Lu Jingzhe coming back. He was holding a hammer and some nails. He quickly fixed the broken latch.

Perhaps they felt awkward, and both of them tacitly didn’t mention the glimpse of beauty they had just witnessed.

But when Lu Jingzhe’s gaze fell on the curtain that Xia Qingning had made, it froze for a moment. This was clearly an indication of avoidance. His eyes darkened, and for some reason, he felt a strange sense of loss.

“Are you free this weekend?” Lu Jingzhe suppressed his emotions, breaking the awkward silence and asking.

Xia Qingning guessed that he must have something to tell her. She replied truthfully, “I am.”

Lu Jingzhe hesitated for a moment and said, “Let’s go to the department store then. Help me pick out some clothes, and then we’ll go to the western suburbs.”

After Lu Jingzhe finished speaking, he realized that his tone sounded like he was giving an order. Thinking that Xia Qingning wasn’t his servant, he added two words uncomfortably, “Okay?”

“Okay, okay.” He was being so polite that Xia Qingning felt a little uncomfortable, but she was still puzzled. Who was he going to see? And why did he need to take her with him?

As they were talking, a rough male voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard. The voice was filled with undisguised joy and urgency, “Mom, Mom…”

Xia Qingning looked in the direction of the voice and saw Lu Lidong and Yao Hongmei entering the courtyard one after the other. Both of them had happy expressions on their faces.

She already had a guess, and sure enough, the next second, she heard Lu Lidong say happily to Wang Mingfang, who was coming out to greet them, “Mom, Hongmei is pregnant.”

Hearing this, Xia Qingning curled her lips. Soon, she would be able to clear the original owner’s name of “climbing into bed.” Wang Mingfang and her sons’ good days were coming to an end.