Xia Qingqing watched Song Ze's fleeing figure and inexplicably found him somewhat adorable.

She actually said that it wouldn't be a problem to date, but unfortunately Song Ze ran away too fast, and he disappeared before she could even say anything.

Song Ze, who ran all the way back to the educated youth settlement, had no idea what he had missed.

He caught his breath, panting, "That was close, I almost got rejected."

Song Ze mentally gave himself a thumbs up for his cleverness. As long as Qingqing didn't reject him outright, he would still have a chance to continue pursuing her.

He ran away because he didn't want Xia Qingqing to reject him, but he never thought that Xia Qingqing might agree to him.

After recovering, Song Ze suddenly remembered something, pulled out a small, exquisite key from his clothes, and opened the large box next to the bed.

The box was filled with Song Ze's clothes, and at the bottom of the box was a small box.

Song Ze took out the small box, and when he opened it, it was full of banknotes.

There were four rolls of "Great Unity" bills, each roll containing 100 bills, and some loose change totaled two or three hundred yuan. At the bottom was a savings book.

The savings book was an inheritance left to Song Ze by his mother. Part of the cash was earned by Song Ze himself, and the other part was money he had taken from his father in the countryside, which could be considered as payment for them ripping him off when he went to the countryside.

They were both his father's sons, so it was impossible for the stepmother's son to enjoy a life of luxury in the city while he, the son of the first wife, had to suffer in the countryside. When it came to compensation, Song Ze was ruthless.

Originally, Song Ze planned to spend some money to buy Xia Qingqing a job at the factory.

However, when they were chatting by the river, Song Ze realized that Xia Qingqing genuinely didn't want to go to the factory, and wasn't just being polite.

So he planned to give Xia Qingqing the money directly. With the money in hand, Qingqing probably wouldn't be in a hurry to go to the fields to earn work points.

As Song Ze was thinking, he took out a roll of 100-yuan notes and a bunch of receipts from the box. Just as he was about to close the box, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a roll of loose change placed alone in the corner and froze.

'This is the 50 yuan that Xia Qingqing gave him before.'

Song Ze felt a little annoyed. If he had known he would fall in love with Qingqing, he would never have asked her for a thank-you fee and money for medicine.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Jiang Hai's voice rang out: "Song Ze, are you in there?"

"They've arrived."

Song Ze quickly closed the box, locked it again, and then got up to unlock the latch.

"Why lock the door in broad daylight? I wonder if they're doing something sneaky," Jiang Tao complained loudly as he entered the room.

He now has a lot of grievances against Song Ze, but after being taught a lesson by Jiang Hai, he doesn't dare to cause trouble anymore, only occasionally unable to resist saying some sarcastic things.

Jiang Hai glared at his younger brother as he started acting crazy again.

Jiang Tao looked at his brother with some resentment: "I didn't say anything. He locked the door himself in broad daylight, and now I can't even say anything?"

"Everyone has their own private matters, but you're always making a fuss over nothing," Jiang Hai scolded his younger brother again.

She then secretly glanced at Song Ze's face and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that he wasn't angry.

Song Ze stared coldly at Jiang Tao, making Jiang Tao shiver inexplicably. Then, feeling ashamed of his reaction, Jiang Tao angrily glared back at Song Ze.

After everyone left, Jiang Hai angrily slapped his younger brother on the head: "Why can't you control your mouth? Why do you always talk so sarcasticly about others? If it weren't for Song Ze's magnanimity in not arguing with you, would this educated youth compound ever have a peaceful day?"

Jiang Hai was already tired enough from work, and he couldn't understand why his younger brother always had the energy to mess around.

Jiang Tao was scolded by his brother again, and he pouted unhappily: "I just don't like him. What's so great about him? He looks down on people all the time."

"You don't like him, isn't it because the girl you like likes him?" Jiang Hai didn't tolerate him and directly exposed his little thoughts.

Jiang Tao's face immediately turned red: "I didn't, brother, don't talk nonsense."

Seeing his younger brother's lovesick expression, Jiang Hai sighed helplessly: "Stop daydreaming. Even if Qin Zhiqing doesn't like Song Ze, it's not your turn."

"What makes you say that?" Jiang Tao looked at his brother defiantly. "Are you even my brother? You look down on me so much?"

Jiang Hai looked at his younger brother with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot: "Look at Qin Zhiqing's clothes, which are never the same, and the packages and remittances she sends every month. You can tell that her family must be rich and powerful. What do you have to offer her?"

Jiang Tao instantly felt as if his heart had been stabbed twice by his brother, and he hung his head and stopped talking.

Reality is always so harsh. Jiang Hai hopes his younger brother can face reality sooner rather than later. A princess is destined to marry a prince, not a commoner.

——

In a moment of impulsiveness, Song Ze arrived at Xia Qingqing's doorstep with a roll of money in his pocket, but then his mind started to waver.

Xia Qingqing was cooking porridge in the kitchen when she heard a knock on the door. She found it strange; who could be coming at this hour?

Upon opening the door, Xia Qingqing was immediately confronted with Song Ze's handsome face. She said somewhat awkwardly, "Why are you here? Didn't you just say you had something to do?"

Song Ze smiled ingratiatingly at her: "I have something for you."

Xia Qingqing looked at Song Ze with a puzzled expression. Just as she was about to say something, Song Ze interrupted her, saying, "Let's go inside and talk."

"Alright," Xia Qingqing led Song Ze into the main room and poured him a glass of cold water.

Song Ze was thirsty, so he drank a glass of water in one gulp, then took out the roll of 100-yuan bills from his pocket and nervously handed it to Xia Qingqing: "This is for you."

Xia Qingqing looked at Song Ze with some confusion when she saw the roll of bills worth at least several hundred yuan and a stack of various kinds of receipts: "Why are you giving me so many money and receipts?"

Song Ze lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly, not daring to look Xia Qingqing in the eye.

“This is for you. If you don’t want to work in the county town, then don’t go. But working in the fields is really hard. With this money, you won’t have to work so hard.”

Song Ze's fair skin visibly turned red, and Xia Qingqing, seeing him in this 'shy' state for the first time, couldn't resist teasing him.

"Song Ze, what is your relationship with me? Are you a friend? Have you ever seen anyone give so much money to a friend?"

Song Ze's face instantly lit up with a fiery red glow: "Um... that's me."

I talked for a long time, but I still couldn't explain what my current identity is.

Xia Qingqing burst into laughter, her clear voice echoing throughout the main room: "Alright, I'll give you one last chance. Is there anything you want to say to me, hmm?"

Song Ze raised his head in disbelief, staring intently at Xia Qingqing: "Qingqing, is this what I mean?"