◎ Not a Misunderstanding ◎

Her sister’s meaning was that it was okay to touch the things on the table now.

Qi Yulian quickly hid the New Year gifts given by Educated Youth Song inside the kitchen cabinet. Qi Taoming could not hold back and leaned over next to his sister to take a look at what was inside.

Qi Taosheng also wanted to look, but as the older brother, he held back to maintain a steady image.

The siblings did not dare to take things out and look closely, afraid someone might suddenly come in. From Qi Yuzhen’s angle, all she could see was the dark corner of the kitchen cabinet that her siblings were peering into.

They clearly could not see much, yet their eyes were filled with longing.

No matter how the younger siblings looked, after Qi Yuzhen finished cutting the dried tofu skin, she went to the courtyard to say a few words to Educated Youth Song.

It was not appropriate to leave the guest alone in the courtyard. She had taken her time cutting the tofu skin just now, mainly because she was thinking about how to respond to Educated Youth Song’s kindness. She had already thought of a few ways to respond.

“I understand your good intentions, but we really cannot accept those things. Otherwise, take everything else back and just leave the rice cakes.”

At least keeping the rice cakes would be acceptable.

Right now, she hopes that her mother will return soon. She did not want to deal with Educated Youth Song and wished for her mother to handle it.

Educated Youth Song was not stubborn and changed his phrasing, “Then you can keep them for me. When I want to eat them, I’ll ask you for them. If someone in your family likes them and eats them, it’s fine too.”

“Even if I agree to keep them for you, you definitely won’t come ask for them later. I’m too rigid. I’d keep them until they spoil without letting anyone eat them. Isn’t that a waste?” She admitted that she was rigid.

When dealing with people she did not want to get too close to, she really was rigid and inflexible.

Educated Youth Song’s words might fool children, but they could not fool her.

“Then let’s wait until Aunt Yuan comes back and see how she handles it. If she doesn’t accept them, I’ll take them back.” Realizing he could not persuade her, Song Xunzhou decided to leave it to Yuzhen’s mother to decide.

“All right, then I won’t care about it anymore… You should stop saying things that are easy to misunderstand in the future.” She did not understand why Educated Youth Song had suddenly become so blunt.

He clearly seemed like the smartest and most well-mannered among the Educated Youths.

“It’s not a misunderstanding.”

Qi Yuzhen: …

Once again, she was speechless and did not know how to respond to Educated Youth Song. She could only pretend not to understand and returned to the kitchen.

Yuan Xiucai came home a little after three in the afternoon. After hearing from her children that Educated Youth Song had brought some good things, she did not refuse and accepted them.

Qi Yuzhen felt a bit pressured and asked her mother not to accept them. Their family could not repay the favor.

“There’s no big problem accepting gifts during the New Year. If it were from another Educated Youth, I would reject it, but Educated Youth Song is fine. His family background is good, and he’s steady. Since he moved into the team, he hasn’t caused any trouble.” Yuan Xiucai believed that Educated Youth Song’s character was trustworthy.

Some things did not need to be overthought.

Educated Youth Song had also given things to the accountant’s family, and the whole production team knew. No one said anything about it. Everyone could only be envious.

Seeing her mother’s attitude, Qi Yuzhen felt it was better not to say more to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. “Mom, he brought some rice cakes. He might not have had any himself. Before stir-frying the dishes, I’ll fry some and make brown sugar rice cakes for him.”

That could count as returning a small part of the gift.

“Okay.”

With her mother’s approval, Qi Yuzhen went to cut a piece of rice cake and fry it in the pan. Once the brown sugar rice cake was ready, she put it in a bowl, brought a pair of chopsticks, and delivered it to Educated Youth Song, who was working in the courtyard.

Since Educated Youth Song spoke frankly, she might as well speak even more directly. “I wasn’t deliberately avoiding you before. We are neither relatives nor close friends. Being too close can easily cause misunderstandings. To avoid suspicion, don’t send things to my house again. If you do, I’ll start to dislike you.”

“Okay.” Song Xunzhou swallowed the rice cake and responded.

His reaction was very calm. Qi Yuzhen began to doubt, “Can you fully understand what I’m saying? I used some dialect just now. Maybe you didn’t understand my meaning clearly.”

“I understand that you don’t want to be involved with me. Liking you is my own business. You can pretend not to know and just continue as before.” Song Xunzhou said the words “like you” directly, and his tone was no different from usual.

So gentle that it made one think there was something wrong with their ears, that they had misheard.

Qi Yuzhen knew there was nothing wrong with her ears. He really had said he liked her. “You’re being too sly like this. In the future, I won’t wait for you to come near. As soon as I see you from afar, I’ll take a detour.”

If her younger sister heard the tone in which she spoke, she would think her sister was flirting with Educated Youth Song.

Her sister still did not know how to get properly angry, as always.

Qi Yuzhen felt troubled by Song Xunzhou’s liking.

Seeing that Educated Youth Song was not eating the rice cake anymore, she insisted that he finish it. After he finished, she wanted to wash the bowl and chopsticks.

Song Xunzhou finished the rice cake first, then asked her why.

She knew what he was asking. “Educated Youth Song, you understand more principles than I do. You should know we’re not suitable. Your conditions are much better than mine. You can find a better girl.”

“Do you have someone you like?”

She did not answer this question. As long as she said she had someone she liked, she should be able to avoid his affection. But saying she did might bring a lot of trouble afterward. “You must be thirsty. I’ll get you a bowl of water.”

Finding an excuse, Qi Yuzhen hurried back to the kitchen.

“Sister, what secret were you whispering with Educated Youth Song? You took so long to come back.” Qi Yulian teased her sister.

Qi Yuzhen’s expression did not change. “I just told Educated Youth Song not to bring things to our house again. We’re not relatives, and if Educated Youth An finds out, who knows what she might think. Mom, you too, how could you accept them? We now owe him a favor for nothing.”

Educated Youth An, I’m sorry, but I have to use you as a shield for now.

“Being relatives isn’t impossible either.” Yuan Xiucai knew that her daughter looked gentle on the outside but was actually someone with her own ideas, so she only muttered this one sentence.

Qi Yuzhen immediately got annoyed. “Mom!”

Yuan Xiucai replied, “I got it.”

Seeing her mother no longer speak, Qi Yuzhen went to bring water to Educated Youth Song.

Qi Yulian leaned close to her mother and asked in a low voice, “Mom, did you agree to let Sister marry Educated Youth Song? I agree to this marriage!”

She was just like a fence-sitter. Now she had completely taken Educated Youth Song’s side.

Yuan Xiucai said, “Don’t speak carelessly. When did I agree to anything? But, looking around, only Educated Youth Song seems to be a match for your sister.”

“If they get married, will Educated Youth Song live in our house? Then Sister won’t have to move away.”

“Who knows when the Educated Youths will return home. Don’t think about these things. If your sister is unwilling, it’s useless no matter what we say. Go do your chores now. If you keep dawdling, you won’t even get to eat the New Year’s Eve dinner.”

…

Around five o’clock, An Lin and Xue Guoshu came over for dinner.

They had agreed beforehand to come at five in the afternoon. Song Xunzhou was a special case. He had voluntarily come earlier to help.

Dinner was arranged at two tables. Qi Yuzhen sat with the three Educated Youths, and Qi Hongjun, Yuan Xiucai, and the three children sat at the other table.

This arrangement made the Educated Youths feel more at ease. Both tables had the same dishes. Since they had contributed money and grain, it was not considered favoritism.

The four-person square table had one person on each side. To Qi Yuzhen’s left was An Lin, to her right was Song Xunzhou, and directly across from her sat Xue Guoshu.

Song Xunzhou did not speak during the meal. An Lin and Xue Guoshu chatted a bit, complimenting the food, but did not say much else.

After finishing the meal, the three of them left together. Qi Yuzhen stayed home to help clean up.

After dinner, several relatives came to the house and stayed in the kitchen chatting with her parents. Her two younger brothers went out to play, and Qi Yuzhen stayed in the room with her sister.

Qi Yulian kept regretting being in the room, regretting that she did not find a chance in the afternoon to grab some candy or stuff a packet of biscuits in her pocket.

Now that the things Educated Youth Song gave had been locked away by their mother, it was completely impossible for her to sneak anything anymore.

Regret, such deep regret!

Qi Yuzhen occasionally responded with a few words.

“Sister, do you want to go out for a walk? It’s New Year’s Eve. Are we going to sleep this early?” Qi Yulian had not even brushed her teeth or washed her face, hoping she could still get something to eat.

Qi Yuzhen had washed up after cleaning the dishes and had nothing else to do now. She was taking off her cotton-padded coat, preparing to go to bed, but hearing her sister’s words, her hands paused. “Then I’ll go with you. Where do you want to go? The market?”

“I want to stroll around the market. I got a dime as New Year’s money today.”

One dime was not a small amount for a child who had not finished primary school. Qi Yuzhen did not lecture her sister, buttoned up her coat again and, before going out, informed her parents. Once they stepped outside the main gate, she finally spoke and asked her sister to accompany her somewhere.

She did not say who they were going to see, but once she heard the destination was the Educated Youths’ dormitory, Qi Yulian’s first thought was that her sister was going to find Educated Youth Song.

“Sister, don’t take it to heart. Mom already decided to accept the gift. She’s the adult. She’s eaten more salt than we’ve eaten rice. She understands human relationships better than we do. She won’t just marry you off because Educated Youth Song gave us something.”

Her younger sister’s guess was right. She really was going to find Educated Youth Song. Qi Yuzhen still insisted, “Don’t randomly accept things from others. If someone gives you something, ask Mom and Dad whether you can accept it. Only if they say yes, then you can take it.”

You should not have the intention to harm others, but you must remain guarded against others.

Qi Yulian said, “I’m not a two-year-old child. I’m already twelve. I understand a lot of things.”

“You’re not a two-year-old child. You’re a twelve-year-old child.”