Chapter 43 : Hickey

Liang Qingqing sat under the porch, propping up her chin. Her messy long hair had been neatly braided into two pigtails that hung down her chest. Apart from the flush on her cheeks and her slightly swollen lips, there was nothing suggestive about her appearance.

After watching her for a while, and seeing that she continued to ignore him, Fan Yanxing touched his nose and, finding that the courtyard was empty, walked towards her. Before he got close, she stood up to leave, so he quickly lowered his voice and called out, “Qingqing!”

Hearing his call, Liang Qingqing glanced around to make sure no one was around, then sighed in relief. However, she couldn’t leave now and had to sit back down. She gave Fan Yanxing an irritated look and snapped, “We agreed to keep some distance!”

Before the new youth camp site is renovated, Fan Yanxing would be staying with the Liang family. If they announced their relationship now, not only would they be awkward, but the Liang family would also feel uncomfortable. Moreover, if the gossipy villagers found out, who knows how they would twist things?

Liang Qingqing could imagine how unpleasant the rumors might be. Although neither of them cared much about gossip, everyone wants a good reputation. She nodded slightly.

“I know.” Fan Yanxing hadn’t forgotten about this. He sat down on a wooden chair a step or two away from her and changed the subject, “Still mad?”

This made Liang Qingqing even angrier. After their intimate moment at noon, she had turned to tidy up the table. To her surprise, Fan Yanxing had left a hickey on the spot between her shoulder blades and had the nerve to call it a “seal.”

She instinctively reached up to touch the spot on her neck, feeling a warm flush at the memory. She quickly pulled her hand back, biting her lower lip. Before she could say anything, she heard his soft voice, “Don’t worry, it’s not visible.”

“Is this a question of whether it can be seen or not?” Liang Qingqing frowned deeply, her cheeks flushed even redder with anger.

“Should I have you leave a mark on me?” He slightly turned his body to reveal his broad back, speaking with a tender seriousness that didn’t seem like a joke. “I asked you to leave a mark before, but you didn’t want to…”

As he said this, Liang Qingqing could sense a hint of grievance in his voice.

“Are you feeling aggrieved?”

Liang Qingqing’s finely drawn brows arched in disbelief. She didn’t expect Fan Yanxing to be so shameless. Feeling both embarrassed and angry, she was about to curse him out when he quickly shifted the topic, “Tomorrow, Junqiang will accompany me to Taoshan. I’ll be free on the next day off. How about we go watch a movie then?”

“Watch a movie?” Liang Qingqing caught the main point, her eyes lighting up. She had never seen a movie from this era and was naturally very interested.

Seeing that her attention was completely diverted and she had forgotten about scolding him, Fan Yanxing’s smile grew even wider. He nodded and said, “Yes, let’s go watch a movie at the county cinema. Didn’t I promise to take you to the city last time? Don’t you remember?”

Liang Qingqing certainly remembered. That time at the entrance of the youth village, she had been plotting step by step to win Fan Yanxing over and create opportunities for them to be alone together. So, she had playfully “forced” him to accept her invitation.

Who would have thought that before she could even go to the country seat, he had already been won over by her.

But she didn’t expect that he still remembered and had even arranged the outing. Such thoughtfulness had saved her a lot of trouble.

“Since you’re taking me to the movies, I won’t hold it against you,” Liang Qingqing said, glancing at Fan Yanxing with a slight smile, but her expression quickly turned serious, “But don’t do this again.”

Fan Yanxing nodded vigorously, chuckling, “Alright. Thank you, Comrade Liang, for your magnanimity. I won’t argue with you.”

They exchanged a look and couldn’t help but smile.

Standing by the kitchen stove, Ma Xiuzhi had witnessed the entire exchange. Although she couldn’t hear their conversation, their expressions made it clear that they had a great relationship. Their smiles and little arguments seemed very natural.

It seemed that during their time together at the hospital, Qingqing and Comrade Fan had become very good friends.

Ma Xiuzhi thoughtfully withdrew her gaze and continued to stir the shredded potatoes in the pan, her grip on the spatula tightening as she remembered the recent village gossip. After dinner, she would definitely pull Qingqing aside to talk about it.

—

After dinner, Liang Qingqing was about to take Songzi to paint, but Ma Xiuzhi called her to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy salt.

“Once your little aunt comes back, we’ll go paint together,” Ma Xiuzhi said, patting Songzi’s head. Songzi nodded obediently.

The mother and daughter set off with the salt container, and Liang Qingqing naturally linked her arm with Ma Xiuzhi’s, smiling as she said, “It’s good that it’s not raining, the ground is much easier to walk on.”

She didn’t want to experience the feeling of mud sticking to her shoes and dirty water flooding over her ankles again.

“Indeed. The day before yesterday, the team leader even arranged for someone to clear the roads,” Ma Xiuzhi said, turning her head to look at Liang Qingqing’s small face, her own lips curling up into a smile.

The two had been walking for a while when they happened to run into a few aunts from their village. Normally, they would just exchange polite nods and move on, but unexpectedly, one of them stopped them.

“Xiuzhi, where are you two going?”

“To the supply and marketing cooperative,” Ma Xiuzhi answered with a smile, holding up the salt container.

The woman nodded but then looked at Liang Qingqing’s face with a curious expression, saying, “Haven’t seen Qingqing for a while. Did she come back today? You have never taken care of anyone before. It must have been tough for her lately, right?”

Ma Xiuzhi’s face immediately fell. She was about to step forward to argue, but Liang Qingqing, standing beside her, held her back. Liang Qingqing’s smile remained, even deepening with an enchanting charm.

“Aunt Tian, you’re joking. It’s natural for comrades to help each other. Even if it’s tough, it’s no big deal. If it helps lighten the load for the village, I feel content.”

Liang Qingqing’s untroubled demeanor made the troublemakers uneasy. Her smile showed no sign of embarrassment, making them feel uncomfortable.

“Hehe, that’s true,” one of the aunts laughed dryly before changing the subject. “Is that mouth-to-mouth rescue method of yours real? We’ve never seen it before.”

Seeing the hostility, Liang Qingqing’s emotions faded entirely. She pretended to be surprised, covering her lips with a high-pitched tone, “Mouth-to-mouth and CPR are basic first aid techniques. Aunties, haven’t you seen them before?”

Before they could reply, Liang Qingqing seemed to have a sudden realization. She took a deep breath and, with a tone that was half-smiling, half-mocking, said, “Oh, my memory! You aunties haven’t had any education, have you? When the village held literacy classes back then, you didn’t want to attend. It’s normal if you haven’t seen them.”

After saying this, she looked at them with a touch of sympathy, shaking her head as she said to Ma Xiuzhi, “Mom, let’s go. If we’re late, the cooperative might close.”

Faced with a challenging response, the aunts were furious, their chests heaving with anger. However, since they were from the same village, they didn’t dare say anything too harsh in front of them. Only after the two had walked away did they start to sneer and sarcastically remark, “What first aid techniques? I think it’s just Liang Qingqing’s excuse. Shameless!”

“Daring to kiss a man in front of so many people, what man would want to marry such a girl? I’ll keep a close eye on my Da Hu. You should remind your sons too, so they don’t get bewitched by her.”

“That’s right. Her reputation was never good. I heard she changed her ways recently, but she’s still the same. No wonder she’s not married at eighteen or nineteen. She deserves it!”

These voices were not too loud, but loud enough for Ma Xiuzhi and Liang Qingqing to hear them. Ma Xiuzhi, enraged, turned around, rolled up her sleeves, and loudly shouted at them, “You talk behind people’s backs and don’t fear bad luck. If you have the guts, say it to our faces!”

Recent memories of Ma Xiuzhi fighting with Ding Aixia were still vivid. Moreover, after the incident, the village head had issued a ban on fighting in the village. No one dared to get physical, so the aunts, having vented their frustration, hurriedly dispersed, each returning to their homes.

“Pah.” After spitting contemptuously at their retreating figures, Ma Xiuzhi quickly turned to grab Liang Qingqing’s hand, worried she might be upset by the remarks. She comforted her, “Qingqing, they’re just barking nonsense. Don’t take it to heart.”

Liang Qingqing, touched, fluttered her long eyelashes and immediately grasped Ma Xiuzhi’s hand, smiling gently, “It’s so nice to have you, Mom. Don’t worry, I won’t let their words bother me.”

Seeing that Liang Qingqing didn’t seem to be putting on a brave face, Ma Xiuzhi relaxed a bit. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke in a lowered voice, “Actually, this is something I wanted to talk to you about. Lately, the village has been buzzing with gossip just like what we heard.”

Ma Xiuzhi furrowed her brows and asked the question that had been weighing on her mind, “Why did you go out to rescue someone at that time? It was so late at night, and you left without a word. You don’t know how worried I and your sister-in-law were when we found out you were missing!”

Upon hearing this, Liang Qingqing felt a pang of unease, realizing the conversation she had been dreading had arrived.

“I… I don’t know. I couldn’t sleep, and all I could think about was that Comrade Fan was still buried under the rubble. He had helped me so many times, and if he were to die just like that, I couldn’t live with myself. I wanted to go and see the situation.”

Liang Qingqing knew she couldn’t brush this off, so she told a story that was half true and half fabricated. Moreover, her relationship with Fan Yanxing would eventually be made public, so giving Ma Xiuzhi a heads-up now was a good idea. It would be better to prepare her in advance than to shock her later.

“Why didn’t you take me with you? It was so dark, you’re really brave!”

Ma Xiuzhi glared at Liang Qingqing in reproach, her confusion easing significantly. The answer was quite close to what she had guessed. After all, they had only learned about Fan Yanxing’s accident during the day, and Liang Qingqing sneaked out at night. The timeline matched, so it wasn’t hard to guess.

“If I had told you, you definitely wouldn’t have let me go…” Liang Qingqing mumbled softly, leaving Ma Xiuzhi at a loss for words.

Liang Qingqing was right. Given the dangerous and complex situation, and the heavy rain, Ma Xiuzhi wouldn’t have let her daughter take such a risk.