Lin Xinyuan didn’t let Xiaohuang follow them, sending the little dog back halfway.
Shortly after leaving the house, she came to a sudden halt once they reached an alley.
“You guy, what on earth were you blathering about just now?”
She turned around, looking up to glare at the young man with a mix of shame and annoyance, yet she made no attempt to shake off Qin Nanfeng’s large, mischievous hand.
“I didn’t say much, just a normal answer.” Qin Nanfeng shrugged, looking quite innocent.
“…”
For a moment, Lin Xinyuan didn’t know how to talk back. After all, it seemed there really wasn’t anything wrong with what Qin Nanfeng had said.
So… why was she inexplicably angry? Was it just because that “stinky blonde” had explained a bit too much to her grandmother?
That would be a bit too unreasonable…
Thinking this, Lin Xinyuan forced down the shame and indignation in her heart. Then, as if thinking of something, she unconsciously bit her lower lip, her expression becoming conflicted and hesitant.
One look at the girl’s face and Qin Nanfeng guessed what she wanted to say. He wasn’t in a hurry to ask, simply watching her with a smile, waiting quietly.
Finally, after agonizing for a long time, Lin Xinyuan spoke: “Anyway… anyway, I don’t want to have children…”
Her voice was stuttered and her expression stiff, clearly bashful. These words were obviously too difficult for her to say out loud. “Don’t listen to my grandmother…”
As she spoke, the girl lowered her small head in embarrassment, staring at the tips of her shoes and swaying her body uneasily.
But while she said this on the surface, she was still conflicted inside.
Ugh… will saying this make this guy angry?
But she had heard that it hurts a lot when girls give birth. It wasn’t that she was afraid… okay… she was definitely afraid.
What Lin Xinyuan feared even more was that if she really went through that, what would happen if she became ugly?
Would he… not want her anymore?
The more Lin Xinyuan thought, the further her mind wandered into the realm of the absurd.
She knew these things were unlikely, but she just couldn’t control herself from dwelling on the possibilities…
“By saying that, does Xiaoyuan mean she’s willing to marry me next year?”
Qin Nanfeng’s voice now held no hint of teasing; instead, he sounded very serious. He gazed at her with a gentle look, his inner thoughts unknown.
Feeling that soft gaze—so different from his usual predatory stare—Lin Xinyuan actually felt a wave of peace.
Her fair face couldn’t help but flush red, but she didn’t speak. She simply shook the hand that Qin Nanfeng had been holding.
Qin Nanfeng understood immediately and obediently let go of her soft hand.
The moment he let go, before he could even react, Lin Xinyuan suddenly lunged forward, hugging his lean waist and rubbing her head against his chest.
He knew this was a subconscious behavior the girl used to express affection and shyness.
Since she hadn’t refuted his words, Lin Xinyuan’s meaning was already obvious…
At this thought, Qin Nanfeng’s hand gently rested on her back, patting her rhythmically as if soothing a child.
Lin Xinyuan’s mind went blank. Naturally, she could feel his movements, and the blush on her face deepened as she felt a bit annoyed.
Always treating me like a child, honestly…
The two hugged for an unknown amount of time before the young man’s voice slowly echoed in her ear again: “Xiaoyuan is the most important, so whether we have them or not doesn’t matter to me…”
Lin Xinyuan’s petite body trembled slightly.
“Mm… okay…”
It was still so, so far away…
Why was she thinking so much?
To think she actually said such “shameless” things to this guy… and he answered so seriously…
Really…
The phrase “she is the most important” echoed in her mind, and the corners of her mouth couldn’t stop turning upward.
The conflict in her heart seemed to fade away significantly…
By the time lunch arrived, Lin’s mother and the others had returned one after another.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, it was local custom to eat vegetarian.
Dried bean curd skin and vermicelli were soaked until soft, then stir-fried together.
Spinach was blanched and tossed with fresh-pressed peanut oil and light soy sauce, creating a dish of “Poached Spinach.”
Though there was no meat on the table, everyone ate with great relish.
At least for Lin Xinyuan, it was quite good…
The only thing that made her feel uneasy was Tang Yayun. During the meal, the girl kept stealing glances at her.
And that look was particularly strange…
She couldn’t quite describe the feeling. If she had to explain it… maybe like a husband who had been abandoned by his wife?
Yet it was tinged with a sort of excitement that left her utterly baffled.
During the post-meal free time, Lin Xinyuan went to question Tang Yayun.
As it turned out, the girl refused to talk. She merely scanned Lin Xinyuan’s legs with a subtle gaze and spoke in a peculiar tone.
“Sister Xiaoyuan must have slept very well last night.”
This attitude made Lin Xinyuan wonder if she had made Tang Yayun angry by rejecting her last night?
It felt quite sarcastic…
Lin Xinyuan couldn’t figure it out, so she stopped thinking about it, chalking it up to Tang Yayun’s usual quirks.
She always liked to say strange things…
In the blink of an eye, another day passed…
On the second day of the New Year, even at the theoretically hottest time around 2:00 PM, there was still no sun.
In the courtyard, the girl teased the little yellow dog, occasionally playing a game of fetch with it; it wasn’t boring at all.
The young man watched the interaction between the person and the dog from the side, a smile in his eyes and a faint trace of reminiscence swirling within…
At this moment, the space seemed to stand still, the air filled with warmth and harmony.
However, this atmosphere was quickly broken—
“Xiaoyuan, Brother-in-law, how about we go ‘Kiln Chicken’ (Yao Ji)?” Tang Chengmin had walked over at some point, smiling as he asked for their opinion.
As soon as he finished, the girl behind him poked her head out, her expression glowing.
“Yeah, yeah! Let’s go do it at our ‘base’!”
Tang Yayun looked expectant; she was the one who had suggested this to her “cheap” older brother.
She couldn’t help it; it had been a long time since they’d done this, and she was craving it.
Since they were so free right now, they might as well do it.
Speaking of which, when they were kids, her eldest brother often took her and Tang Chengmin to do this!
It was just that in recent years, her eldest brother had been in the army and rarely came home. He finally had home leave for the Spring Festival this year, only to run into that annoying situation…
Hearing them, Lin Xinyuan stopped scratching Xiaohuang’s white belly and looked back curiously: “Kiln Chicken?”
Lin Xinyuan certainly knew what it was; she had seen adults do it in the village when she was eight or nine years old…
Hearing the siblings bring it up now, she couldn’t help but feel interested.
“Yeah, has Sister Xiaoyuan never tried it? No way…” The girl was a bit surprised, seeing her cousin’s expression as if she were hearing about it for the first time.
“I suppose you could say that…” Lin Xinyuan nodded, then lowered her eyelashes.
After all, she hadn’t eaten it in a long time, let alone tried to make it herself…
And there had been no one to accompany her…
But… now things seemed completely different…
She had her cousins, and… him…
At this thought, the gloom that had started to settle on Lin Xinyuan’s face vanished instantly, her vision clearing up as if a fog had lifted.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked toward a certain guy nearby.
That “stinky blonde”…