Gu Yuwei had been gone for quite a while before He Ze slowly returned, pushing his bicycle from the village entrance.
As soon as he entered, he saw Gao Cuiyun cooking in the courtyard. Her hair was a ss and her face was streaked with soot. He Ze lowered his head.
Xiao Yang and Little Chen were on the side, playing with their youngest sibling.
Seeing him co in, Xiao Yang happily ran over to him, a look of anticipation on his face. "Dad, you’re back! Did you buy candy?"
He Ze then rembered his promise from last night to buy Xiao Yang candy on his way back today.
"I’m sorry. Dad was so busy today he forgot. Tomorrow. I’ll definitely buy you so tomorrow, okay?"
Xiao Yang’s face fell, and he lowered his head, pouting. "That’s what you said yesterday."
Gao Cuiyun shouted at Xiao Yang, "All you think about is candy, day in and day out! Where would we get the spare money for that?"
Then she said to He Ze, "You must be hungry. Co and eat."
He Ze parked his bicycle and went to wash his hands.
As he passed Gao Cuiyun, she suddenly stopped him.
Gao Cuiyun leaned in close, sniffing at him insistently.
He Ze took a step back, his brow furrowed. "What are you sniffing at?"
Gao Cuiyun sniffed again. "That’s strange. What’s that scent on you? It’s fragrant... It slls like vanishing cream."
She wasn’t entirely sure, though. She had never used vanishing cream herself, only slled it on others. The only thing she had ever used was clam oil balm, and that was a long ti ago.
He Ze’s heart skipped a beat, and he shoved her away.
"Are you crazy? Why would I sll like vanishing cream? I probably just picked up the scent from soone at the factory."
As he spoke, He Ze hurried back into the house to change his clothes.
’That makes sense,’ Gao Cuiyun thought. He Ze worked at a textile factory, and there were plenty of female workers there. It would be normal for their scent to rub off on him.
He Ze, however, was riddled with guilt. He even sat across from Gao Cuiyun during dinner.
"Why are you sitting so far away?"
"It’s too hot. It’s cooler over here."
The June evening was indeed hot. Xue Xingzhou bought Zhang Qian a cold drink and walked her to her door.
Zhang Qian tilted her head. "Want to co in for a bit?"
Xue Xingzhou glanced at the front gate. "Maybe not. What if I give your dad a heart attack?"
Zhang Qian smiled. "I’ll tell him about us another day. Otherwise, we’re always sneaking around like we’re doing sothing we shouldn’t be."
"Okay."
Zhang Qian glanced left and right. Seeing no one, she leaned in toward Xue Xingzhou.
She whispered, "We’re about to part ways. Aren’t you going to do sothing?"
Xue Xingzhou looked down at her. The sight of her big, sparkling eyes made his heart race.
Xue Xingzhou kissed Zhang Qian on the forehead and then pulled back.
Zhang Qian pouted. "That’s it?" she asked, dissatisfied.
Xue Xingzhou chuckled. "What more did you have in mind?"
Zhang Qian grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him down, and pressed her lips against his.
"What do you think you’re doing?!"
A stern voice suddenly bood from nearby, startling Zhang Qian so much that she bit down on Xue Xingzhou’s lip.
"Hiss."
When they pulled apart, Zhang Qian saw that she had bitten Xue Xingzhou’s lip. It was bleeding.
"It’s bleeding." Zhang Qian reached out to touch his lip, but he caught her hand.
Following his gaze, she saw her father standing at the door, scowling at them with a basin of water in his hands.
Zhang Qian’s expression froze. She cautiously snuck a glance at Xue Xingzhou and saw that his expression was completely unfazed.
Guiltily, Zhang Qian called out, "Dad, what are you doing out here?"
Zhang Hongjie snorted. "If I hadn’t co out to empty this basin, I never would have known you two would dare to... in public!"
Zhang Hongjie was too embarrassed to even finish the sentence.
Zhang Qian pressed her lips together. "Dad, we were just... caught up in the mont..."
She couldn’t continue. It was, after all, in public, and she had been the one to initiate it.
"Get inside, both of you!"
With that, Zhang Hongjie turned and went back inside, not even bothering to empty the basin of water he’d brought out.
Zhang Qian whispered to Xue Xingzhou, "Don’t be scared. Just put all the bla on . Say I forced you."
Xue Xingzhou smiled and patted her on the head. "Let’s go in."
Huang Ying watched Zhang Hongjie go out to empty the water basin, only for him to return with it still full, a dark scowl on his face.
"What happened? Weren’t you going to empty the basin? Why’d you bring it back?"
Zhang Hongjie then rembered he hadn’t emptied the water. He sighed and set the basin down.
"Why don’t you ask your precious daughter what sort of ’good deeds’ she was up to at the front door?"
Huang Ying looked up to see Zhang Qian and Xue Xingzhou walking in together. Her daughter was winking at her frantically. Then she saw Xue Xingzhou’s lip—it was cut and stained with blood. Suddenly, she understood everything.
She smiled and said to Xue Xingzhou, "Xiao Xue, you’re here. Co on in."
Xue Xingzhou nodded to her. "Ma’am."
Huang Ying nodded. "Yes. Have you eaten?"
"I have."
Zhang Hongjie sat on the sofa. "Alright, talk. When did this start?"
Huang Ying looked at them, her curiosity piqued as well.
"Just a few days ago," Zhang Qian said.
Zhang Hongjie looked at Xue Xingzhou. "I’m asking you. Cat got your tongue?"
Huang Ying slapped Zhang Hongjie on the back. "Be nice."
Zhang Hongjie paused. "Xue Xingzhou, you tell . When did you and my daughter get together? And why did you hide it from ?"
"Master."
"Don’t you ’Master’ ."
The corner of Xue Xingzhou’s mouth twitched. He paused for a mont. "Captain Zhang, Zhang Qian and I decided to get together three days ago. I was planning to tell you at a more opportune ti."
Zhang Qian went and sat next to her father, hugging his arm and giving it a little shake. "Dad, you’re not playing fair. We’re just dating. Why are you making it sound like an interrogation? You can’t use your criminal-interrogation techniques on us. Besides," she added, "I’m the one who pursued him. It took a lot of work to win him over, so don’t you go scaring him away!"
Zhang Hongjie’s eyes went wide. "What? Xiao Xue, you’re a grown man, and you let my daughter chase after you? Does that seem right to you? And another thing, what’s so wrong with my daughter that you weren’t the one chasing her?"
Xue Xingzhou was speechless. "..."
’Captain Zhang, are you even listening to yourself? I think we’re getting a little off-topic here.’
Huang Ying stifled a laugh.
"Alright now, why are you giving Xiao Xue such a hard ti?" Huang Ying said. "He’s young and promising. Haven’t you always liked him? If he and our Qianqian really hit it off, he’ll be your son-in-law. Would you be unhappy with that?"
Zhang Hongjie thought for a mont, then shot another glance at Xue Xingzhou. "Hmph. Liking him is one thing. Wanting to marry my daughter is another thing entirely."
"Oh, for heaven’s sake, Dad! It’s the sa thing! Or do you want your daughter to stay single forever?"
Zhang Hongjie was taken aback. "When did I ever say I wanted you to be single forever? I just want to vet him a bit more. There are too many two-faced people these days."
"You’ve known Xue Xingzhou for a long ti now. How has your vetting process been going?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers