Chapter 43.1

Jiang Rou hadn’t even eaten breakfast before rushing to school in the morning.

Her first class for that day was “Fundamentals of Traditional Chinese Medicine.”

The teacher for her class was a middle-aged man with a very kind face. He seemed to be quite talkative, as he started chatting with them the moment he entered the classroom.

First, he introduced himself, then he asked them why they were studying Traditional Chinese Medicine, and received a wide variety of answers.

In the end, he enthusiastically checked their pulses, making the whole class burst into laughter. It wasn’t until nearly the end of the class that he finally opened the textbook and read two chapters to them.

—o—o—

After class, Jiang Rou sat at her desk and began flipping through her book. She had only read a couple of lines when a classmate stood at the of their classroom door and shouted: “Jiang Rou, someone’s looking for you!”

Jiang Rou unconsciously raised her head and, under the curious gazes of her classmates, she went out of the classroom.

As soon as she stepped out, she saw Li Xiao standing by the staircase.

Li Xiao was holding An An in one arm and breakfast in the other.

Around them, several female students were gathered, they were smiling and teasing An An. “Baby? You’re so pretty.”

“Baby, what’s your name?”

Jiang Rou had left in such a rush that morning that she had only had time to get herself ready before running out the door—she couldn’t even say her goodbyes to An An.

Jiang Rou looked at An An—An An was wearing a pair of pants under her red dress, and on her feet were sandals. Li Xiao had even put socks on her, but they were thick winter socks.

She wondered how long it had taken him to find those socks, considering the summer socks were right in the small basket at the foot of the bed. ‘Couldn’t he see them?’

‘What was with that lopsided little pigtail on An An’s head? One side was high, the other low; one tight, the other loose. It was all thanks to her adorable face that she still looked cute.’

An An seemed uncomfortable being surrounded by so many people. She squirmed, turned her head, and hugged her father—showing the back of her head to the female students.

The female students laughed, linked arms, and walked away.

Li Xiao, being tall, had been watching the entrance to Jiang Rou’s classroom. The moment she came out, he spotted her and raised his hand to wave at her. “Over here.”

Jiang Rou jogged over. “Why did you come here?”

Li Xiao handed her the breakfast he was holding. “You didn’t eat this morning, so I brought you something.”

Jiang Rou looked at him gratefully and reached out to take it.

Upon hearing her mother’s voice, An An immediately turned her head and, with a pouty expression, reached out her arms, as if she wanted to be held.

Jiang Rou’s heart softened. She reached out to take her, but Li Xiao stopped her. “You eat first, I’ll hold her.”

Jiang Rou didn’t listen and took An An from his arms. “It’s fine, I can eat like this.”

Li Xiao had no choice but to hand An An over to her.

However, he quickly took the breakfast back from Jiang Rou’s hands to make it easier for her to hold the child and eat at the same time.

Li Xiao had bought four meat buns, two fried dough sticks, and a bag of soy milk.

Jiang Rou started with a meat bun. She took a bite, then held the other side up to An An’s mouth.

An An happily opened her mouth: “Ahh~” and took a tiny bite.

Jiang Rou turned to Li Xiao with a smile and asked, “Did you eat breakfast?”

Li Xiao’s eyes held a faint smile, and he nodded at her question. “I ate on the way.”

But Jiang Rou still handed him one of the buns. “There’s too much; I can’t finish it.”

Li Xiao accepted it and started eating.

When the bell rang for the next class, Jiang Rou hurriedly stuffed the last bite into her mouth.

Li Xiao reached out to take An An, but An An wasn’t having it—she insisted on staying with her mother.

Jiang Rou patted her head and coaxed softly: “Mommy will pick you up in the afternoon, okay? Then we’ll buy something yummy for An An.”

An An pouted her lips.

Jiang Rou slipped into the classroom just as the bell finished ringing.

After she sat down, the teacher still hadn’t arrived, and her deskmate, a curious girl, leaned over and asked, “Who was that just now? Your brother?”

She passed by the staircase after class on her way to the bathroom and saw him. She thought Jiang Rou’s “brother” was really handsome—it seemed like the whole Jiang family was attractive.

Jiang Rou smiled when she heard this, didn’t hide the truth at all. “That’s my husband and daughter. I almost got here late this morning, so I couldn’t eat. He came to bring me breakfast.”

Her classmate was completely stunned, sitting there with her mouth agape. “You… you’re married? Then…”

Jiang Rou noticed her classmate looked like she have more to say, so, Jiang Rou looked at her in confusion.

The girl quickly closed her mouth. She was too embarrassed to mention that a boy in the class next door had been asking around for Jiang Rou’s name—it seemed like he had an intention to pursue Jiang Rou.

That boy had announced it in the dorms, saying he had fallen in love with Jiang Rou at first sight during military training. Now, the news had spread all over the campus.

Jiang Rou was known for being beautiful, with fair skin.

The instructor often praised her, and everyone had an impression of her. Discussions about her were frequent between the two classes.

However, most of the attention went to Dong Mingming, who was rumored to come from a very wealthy family. It was said her father was a big boss, and the phone she used cost over ten thousand yuan.

“Nothing much, let’s get to class. The teacher’s here.”

“Oh.”

—o—o—

The first-year courses for Traditional Chinese Medicine were quite a lot, with a packed schedule, and there was homework to do after school.

Jiang Rou really couldn’t help but feel guilty for not having enough time to spend with An An.

An An, however, was very understanding. When her mother worked on her homework, An An would quietly sit on her lap, holding a pencil and scribbling on scrap paper without crying or making a fuss.

So, on Thursday, Jiang Rou asked Li Xiao: “Do you have time this Saturday? I want to take An An out to play.”

Li Xiao glanced at An An in Jiang Rou’s arms and nodded. “Sunday works. I’m planning to visit a snack factory with Zhou Jian on Saturday.”

Jiang Rou paused, setting down her pen. “You’re starting the factory already? I haven’t finished the drawings yet. I wanted to tweak them a bit more.”

In the past, she drew comics on a tablet, using pictures she found online for inspiration. But now, she had to come up with everything herself, and it didn’t go as smooth as in the past.

Li Xiao, however, thought her drawings were great. He couldn’t explain exactly what was good about them, but he was sure children would love them.

Li Xiao shook his head. “We’ll use a contract factory first, and once the business grows, we’ll set up our own. Lately, the shop’s been doing well, and the initial investment should be enough. Let’s produce a batch first and see how it goes.”

Though he wasn’t entirely confident, he had spent a long time preparing, and it wasn’t in his nature to keep holding back.

Jiang Rou nodded. “As long as you have a plan. If you’re busy on Sunday, I can take An An out by myself.”

Li Xiao didn’t agree. “I’ll have time.”

He planned to have Zhou Jian pick up the raw materials on Sunday.

—o—o—o—

On Sunday morning, Jiang Rou and Li Xiao stayed in bed for a while longer. As they watched the sun grow brighter outside, they finally had no choice but to get up. After washing up and getting dressed, the three of them left the house together.

They walked through G University and stopped by the cafeteria to buy breakfast, eating as they headed to the bus stop.

Li Xiao hadn’t driven; Zhou Jian had taken the van.

They brought An An to the city’s amusement park. G Province had built the park back in the 80s, and it had attractions like a Ferris wheel, a carousel, and bumper cars.

At this time, the bumper cars were the kind with antennas. An An sat on her mother’s lap, and when their car bumped into her father’s, she let out an excited scream, like a little maniac.

She didn’t want to leave after playing, so in the end, Li Xiao had to hoist her onto his shoulders and carry her away. Her cheeks were flushed red, though it was unclear whether it was from the heat or from playing too hard.

There were cold drinks for sale at the amusement park, and Jiang Rou started craving something, so she bought two ice creams.

An An saw them and wriggled, reaching out for one as well.

Li Xiao set her down from his shoulders, and Jiang Rou let her nibble on the tip of the ice cream. But the clever little one, once she got hold of it, refused to let go.

Jiang Rou couldn’t help but laugh and quickly took it back. “You can’t eat too much; you’ll get a stomach ache.”

An An turned her eyes to her Daddy, but Li Xiao solved the problem by finishing it in just two or three bites.

The ice cream was sweet, and as Li Xiao frowned slightly, he swallowed it down in one gulp.

Jiang Rou took a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped An An’s mouth clean. Then, noticing that there were some on Li Xiao’s face as well, she reached over and wiped it off for him.

Li Xiao didn’t move, he even bended down a little to make it easier for Jiang Rou to wipe it off.

They had lunch out, and afterward, they spotted a barbershop across the street. They decided to trim An An’s hair.

An An was quite fidgety, she was turning her head every time the barber moved the scissors.

In the end, Jiang Rou had to gently hold her head still so the haircut could be finished.

Following Jiang Rou’s request, the barber cut An An’s hair into a short bob with bangs just above her eyebrows. The style, combined with her chubby round face, made her look extra cute.

As they left the shop, Jiang Rou couldn’t resist hugging her and planting several kisses on her cheek.

After walking a few more steps, they spotted a boutique, so they headed inside with An An in her arms.

The shop had a lot of things—hairpins, hair ties, jewelry, even lipsticks—all at very affordable prices. A few girls were also browsing inside. Jiang Rou didn’t pay them much attention, heading straight to the hairpin section to choose one.

She eventually picked out a small butterfly clip and placed it near An An’s ear.

An An now knew how to show off, she turned her head back and forth in front of the mirror. She looked she was admiring herself.

Meanwhile, Li Xiao kept picking up random accessories and placing them on An An’s head. By the time he was done, her head was covered in mismatched items, and every single one of them looked awful.

Jiang Rou didn’t even know what to say to him.

Just as she was about to remove the gaudy flowers, someone suddenly tapped her shoulder. Jiang Rou turned around, puzzled.

The girl who tapped her was surprised. “It really is you! I was worried I had the wrong person.”

Jiang Rou recognized her, she was her classmate—Ning Xin, who had sat with her a few times.

Jiang Rou smiled, “Oh, it’s you! Are you out shopping too?”

“Yes.” Ning Xin responded.

The three roommates standing behind Ning Xin nodded at Jiang Rou as well, but their gazes shifting between Jiang Rou and Li Xiao.

“We went to the zoo this morning, hoping to see some pandas, but there weren’t any. All we saw were a few geese.”

Jiang Rou laughed at that and suggested to them that the amusement park was quite fun.

They didn’t chat for long. After exchanging a few more words, Jiang Rou said goodbye and headed to the checkout with An An in her arms.

After Jiang Rou left, one of the girls with short hair said: “That guy is really handsome. What’s their relationship?”

Ning Xin replied, “They’re married. Jiang Rou told me before, and that child is her daughter.”

“No way?”

The group was stunned, they couldn’t believe that Jiang Rou had gotten married so early.

Another girl with a ponytail hesitated before speaking up, “He looks kind of familiar, though.”

After saying that, she suddenly remembered something. She nudged the roommate who had a black-rimmed glasses next to her, she said, “Hey, doesn’t Jiang Rou’s husband look like the guy who sells noodles in University Town? Remember, after our military training ended, we went shopping there, and you even talked to him? Is it him?”

Wang Xiao’s face grew a bit unnatural after hearing the comment. “When did I ever go up to talk to him? I was just asking how they make the noodles; I just want to make sure if they’re healthy or not.”

Then, she added, “Honestly, how could Jiang Rou be with someone like that?”

Ning Xin frowned at her words. “You can’t say that. I think he’s pretty good.”

She recalled how, when they left the shop earlier, Li Xiao had reached out protectively behind Jiang Rou. Plus, there was that other time when he brought breakfast to Jiang Rou at school. Just because someone ran a street stall didn’t mean they deserved to be looked down upon.

—o—o—

After Jiang Rou and Li Xiao finished their shopping, they headed straight home.

They had spent the entire day with An An, and An An was particularly happy.

—o—o—

That evening, Jiang Rou still held An An as she accompanied Li Xiao to sell noodles. Li Xiao initially didn’t want her to go. “The University Town is full of students at night. You might run into your classmates.”

Jiang Rou was puzzled. “So what? If we run into them, maybe we’ll even bring in some customers.”

Seeing that she didn’t understand, Li Xiao couldn’t help but remind her: “Aren’t you worried about being mocked by your classmates?”

Jiang Rou frowned at him and replied firmly: “That kind of thinking is wrong. What’s there to mock? We’re earning money through honest work. We are not stealing or doing anything wrong. If someone will really mock us, it only means that there’s something wrong with their characters, not ours.”

Li Xiao had originally been trying to protect her pride but ended up getting a bit of a scolding instead.

He rubbed his nose and said, “Alright, let’s go together then.”

In truth, her words made him feel good. He knew that even after she got into college, she hadn’t looked down on him.

However, that night at the University Town food street, something unexpected happened. Two vendors got into an argument over space, and it eventually escalated into a fight, blocking the whole street.

Seeing that they had sold enough for the night, Li Xiao said, “Let’s call it a night and head home.”

“Sure.”

Zhou Jian agreed. He didn’t want to keep feeding the mosquitoes either.

As Jiang Rou carried An An in her arms, An An craned her neck to keep watching as they walked away, curiosity written all over her face.

Jiang Rou couldn’t help but laugh. “She’s so small, but her curiosity is huge.”

Li Xiao chuckled at that. “Not only is she curious, but she also learned how to curse.”

He then told her about something that had happened a few days ago. At his company, two new hires had gotten into an argument over selling houses, and someone had cursed, saying “dog poop.” An An overheard it and repeated “dog poop” for the entire morning.

Li Xiao had spent the whole afternoon trying to correct her, and only by the end of the day did she finally stop saying it.

“Usually, getting her to say ‘Daddy’ is harder than climbing a mountain.”

Jiang Rou laughed out loud when she heard that.

She hadn’t known any of this before.

She looked down at An An, An An gazed up at her with an innocent expression, as if she had done nothing wrong.

—o—o—o—