Chapter 92 Clarifying Misunderstandings

"Hey, hey, what do you want to say?"

Ma Yulan was pulled aside by Shi Yue with a puzzled look on her face. She was upset because today's matchmaking plan had failed again, so her expression was naturally not very good when she spoke.

Shi Yue glanced at Ma Yulan, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Auntie Ma, don't rush into matchmaking. I don't think Jiang Ling and Yang Zhiqiang seem to be that interested."

Ma Yulan's eyes widened: "What? You said..."

Glancing at Jiang Ling and Yang Zhiqiang nearby, Ma Yulan didn't shout anything. Instead, she pulled Shi Yue closer and whispered, "Why are you saying that all of a sudden? Do you know something?"

Shi Yue told Ma Yulan about all the strange things he had observed at the zoo today. Ma Yulan also felt something was wrong when she heard it. According to what Shi Yue said, the atmosphere between Yang Zhiqiang and Jiang Ling was not that of a couple.

Shi Yue: "So I think, Aunt Ma, maybe we've misunderstood each other. Maybe Yang Zhiqiang and Jiang Ling just get along well?"

Ma Yulan frowned and said nothing.

"well--"

After a while, she let out a long sigh. You know, Old Lady Yang was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling because Yang Zhiqiang was no longer a bachelor. If she knew that all her happiness was in vain, she would feel so sad.

Shi Yue saw that Ma Yulan's face was not looking good, so he quickly said, "Auntie Ma, please don't worry. I'm not sure if what I said is right yet. I'm just guessing. How about we observe it for a while longer?"

Ma Yulan thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Well, let's wait and see what's going on between them."

Shi Yue: "Okay."

Ma Yulan: "I'll also talk to Lao Yang. Don't let her get too happy. If they find out that they don't have any feelings for each other, Lao Yang won't be too upset."

After saying that, she turned around and looked at Yang Zhiqiang and Jiang Ling, then turned into the Yang family with a worried look on her face.

Yang Zhiqiang asked in confusion, "Hey, Shi Yue, what did you say to Aunt Ma? She doesn't look very happy."

Shi Yue glanced at Yang Zhiqiang and thought, how dare you, the culprit, ask me this?

Yang Zhiqiang was even more confused when Shi Yue glanced at him: "Hey, Shi Yue, tell me, what's wrong?"

Shi Yue was too lazy to talk nonsense with him. He just waved his hand and said, "It's okay. It's not a big deal. Don't ask."

He held Shi Qiushui's hand and said, "I'm going to take my daughter home first."

After saying that, he took Shi Qiushui and walked towards his home. Yang Zhiqiang was still muttering to Jiang Ling: "Hey, no, what's wrong with Shi Yue? He's so weird..."

Jiang Ling: "I don't know, maybe Brother Shi and Aunt Ma have some secret..."

Yang Zhiqiang: "Secret? What secret can't you tell us?"

Jiang Ling: "I don't know, but I feel like everyone in our hospital is really a little weird lately."

Yang Zhiqiang touched his chin and said, "If you put it that way, it seems a little bit. I feel it too. Everyone is acting weird..."

Jiang Ling stared and said, "Brother Yang, you felt it too? I thought it was just my illusion!"

Yang Zhiqiang shook his head: "No, it's not your illusion. I have also felt that the people in the compound have been a little strange recently, especially when the two of us walk together. The expressions of these people in the compound are very strange. Sometimes they even whisper behind our backs, and I don't know what they are whispering about."

Jiang Ling: "Yes, I feel the same way."

She frowned and said, "Brother Yang, what do you think they mean?"

"What do they mean? What do they mean?" Yang Zhiqiang muttered to himself for a while, then suddenly thought of something. He clapped his hands and said, "I know. They must be suspecting that we're dating!"

Jiang Ling opened her mouth wide, looking incredulous and said, "Dating? Who's dating who?"

She pointed at herself and said, "You and me? Are we going to be together?"

Yang Zhiqiang nodded deeply.

Jiang Ling laughed out loud as if she had heard a funny joke: "That's impossible! How could they think we're dating? We're clearly, clearly..."

She recalled how she and Yang Zhiqiang had been getting along during this period, and suddenly she was speechless. She knew that she and Yang Zhiqiang had no such intentions, so she didn't feel anything wrong when getting along with Yang Zhiqiang. But from an outsider's perspective, she and Yang Zhiqiang were indeed a little too close.

Yang Zhiqiang also realized this belatedly. He hurriedly apologized to Jiang Ling, saying, "Oh, this is embarrassing. This is really embarrassing. Jiang Ling, I'm so sorry. I didn't pay attention to this before. Now there is a misunderstanding. I'm so sorry."

It's okay for him to be misunderstood as being in love by everyone. After all, he's a grown man and has nothing to lose. He can just explain it out when the time comes. The problem is Jiang Ling. If this kind of thing gets out, she, as a girl, will definitely be affected.

Yang Zhiqiang quickly assured: "Well, Jiang Ling, don't worry, I will definitely explain this matter to them clearly. Wait a moment, I will call everyone in the courtyard out and explain it to them. Do you think it's okay?"

Jiang Ling blushed. After all, she was a girl, and she felt embarrassed when encountering such a thing. She said softly, "Brother Yang, no, there's no need to call everyone out to talk about this. Just mention it tomorrow when you're free. Otherwise, people will easily overthink it."

Just for this matter, they specially called everyone out with great fanfare. If they are not careful, it may backfire and everyone may think they have done something wrong!

Yang Zhiqiang thought about it and nodded: "Yes, yes, Jiang Ling, you are right, then let's do as you say."

Jiang Ling: "Well, let's find time to tell everyone tomorrow."

Yang Zhiqiang: "Yeah, okay."

Jiang Ling: "Then..."

After realizing that others might misunderstand that they were in a relationship, Jiang Ling always felt awkward when she was with Yang Zhiqiang.

Yang Zhiqiang was also very uncomfortable. He scratched the back of his head and said, "Uh, do you have anything else to say?"

Jiang Ling drooped her eyelids: "No, nothing happened."

Yang Zhiqiang: "Ah, that's fine."

Jiang Ling: "Then, then I'll go back."

Yang Zhiqiang: "You go back."

Jiang Ling nodded and walked towards the main room in small steps. However, she had not gone far when Yang Zhiqiang called her again.

"etc!"

Jiang Ling turned her head and said, "Brother Yang, do you have anything else to say?"

Yang Zhiqiang: "Well, I want to ask you, do you still need me to take you there tomorrow?"

He didn't care, it didn't matter whether he sent Jiang Ling off or not, but he was afraid that Jiang Ling would want to avoid suspicion.

Jiang Ling thought for a moment and said, "Let's keep it the same as before."

The same logic applies to the previous one. She took Yang Zhiqiang's ride to work every day, and suddenly one day she stopped taking it. Everyone would definitely think more about it.

Yang Zhiqiang: "Okay, I'll come see you tomorrow as usual."

Jiang Ling: "Yeah."

--

The next morning, because it was Monday, everyone in the yard got up early.

Like every busy morning before, everyone washed up, had breakfast, and prepared for work. Shi Yue and Shi Qiu Shui got up late this morning because they stayed up late watching TV last night. They usually went to the breakfast stall to have breakfast at 7:15, but today it was already 7:30 and they hadn't left the house yet.

Yang Zhiqiang, who ran his own business next door, had already put on his motorcycle helmet and was ready to go to the store when Shi Yue came out with his daughter.

Shi Yue also knew that it was a little late to go out today, so he hurriedly pushed Shi Qiu Shui out of the house with one hand and locked the door with the key with the other hand.

Yang Zhiqiang, who had gone out earlier than him and did not lock the door, had already strode to the door of Ma Yulan's house.

Ma Yulan's door was open, and Yang Zhiqiang called out from outside: "Jiang Ling, Jiang Ling, she's gone to work!"

“Here I come!”

Jiang Ling's clear voice came from the Ma family's house. Not long after, Jiang Ling came out trotting.

Jiang Ling: "Okay, let's go."

Yang Zhiqiang: "Well, I'll push the cart."

The two of them walked side by side towards the gate of the compound. When everyone in the compound saw this scene, they winked and smirked.

Ma Yulan's eldest daughter-in-law, Deng Xia, who was also going to work, saw this scene and poked her husband's waist sourly, whispering: "Look at others, they send their partners to work every day. What about you? When will you send me to work?"

Niu Xiaodong scratched his head and said, "Wife, isn't it convenient for us to go to work?"

Deng Xia pinched the soft flesh around his waist and said, "If it's not on your way, can't you just give me a ride? Would it kill me if you got up earlier and made time to give me a ride?"

Niu Xiaodong: "It hurts, my wife hurts..."

"Why doesn't it hurt you to death?" Deng Xia said harshly, but she still loosened her hand.

They both spoke in a low voice, but even so, Yang Zhiqiang and Jiang Ling could still hear them clearly.

When Jiang Ling heard Deng Xia say the word "boyfriend", her face turned red and she stopped.

Yang Zhiqiang looked at her face, which was as red as a monkey's butt, and said, "Well, how about I explain it to everyone right now?"

"Right now?" Jiang Ling thought for a moment and nodded, "Right now is not a bad time."

When Yang Zhiqiang heard this, he turned his head decisively. He smiled and said to Deng Xia, "Sister Xia, you and my brother Xiaodong have a good relationship, don't you?"

Deng Xia blurted out without paying attention: "Oh, what's good about it? We've been married for several years, and the relationship is not as good as that of a young couple like you and Jiang Ling..."

As soon as she said this, she felt bad.

Although they all thought that Yang Zhiqiang and Jiang Ling were in love, they had not admitted it after all, so they could talk about it privately, but it was inappropriate to make such a joke in front of the two people.

Ma Yulan behind her also felt bad.

She said she always felt like she had forgotten something. It turned out that she had forgotten to tell her family about the matter between Yang Zhiqiang and Jiang Ling. She knew that Yang Zhiqiang and Jiang Ling might not be in a romantic relationship as everyone had thought before, but her family didn't know about it, so Deng Xia joked about it.

If Yang Zhiqiang and Jiang Ling were really going to be together, Deng Xia's joke would at most make them feel embarrassed for a while, and it wouldn't be a big deal. But if Yang Zhiqiang didn't have that kind of intention towards Jiang Ling, how embarrassing it would be!

Ma Yulan stared at Yang Zhiqiang and saw that there was no trace of embarrassment on his face. She was just wondering why, when she heard Yang Zhiqiang speak.

"Sister Xia, stop joking. How can I be a couple with Sister Jiang Ling? We are not a couple at all. We are just a brother and sister. Sister Jiang Ling, don't you agree?"

Jiang Ling nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, Brother Yang and I are brother and sister."

When the two of them said this, everyone in the yard was dumbfounded.

Yang Zhiqiang acted as if he didn't notice everyone's surprised expressions and said half-jokingly, "Please stop joking like that. I, Jiang Ling, am a young and beautiful young lady. I'm already a 30-year-old man and I'm not worthy of her."

Although Yang Zhiqiang's words sounded like a joke, everyone could hear the seriousness in his tone.

Ma Yulan was the first to react. Because of the precautions given by Shiyue yesterday, she was quite accepting of the fact that Yang Zhiqiang and Jiang Ling were not dating.

She said with a smile: "Hey, Zhiqiang, don't talk nonsense. If I were you, I would say that you are also a very good guy. There is no such thing as being worthy or not worthy."

Yang Zhiqiang also smiled and said, "Oh, Aunt Ma, you are too kind to me. But you know what, compliments are just nice to hear. I feel so happy when I hear them."

Ma Yulan: "You, you..."

Yang Zhiqiang waved his hand: "Okay, Aunt Ma, I won't chat with you all for now. I have to take my sister Jiang Ling to work. After she takes her there, I should go to work too."

Yang Zhiqiang's words reminded everyone in the hospital.

"Oh, yes, it's time for me to go to work too!"

"Let's go quickly, or we'll be late!"

"Hey, Lao Li, wait for me, I'll go with you!"

Everyone hurried out, and Shi Yue also hurriedly took his daughter out. He also had to take his daughter to the martial arts gym, so he had to speed up his pace.

Shi Yue was racing against time to send his children to school, while Li Xiuying and Yao Dazui behind him were racing against time to gossip. They were whispering to each other as they hurried towards the machinery factory.

Li Xiuying: "Old Yao, what do you mean by Yang Zhiqiang? He calls Jiang Ling "sister," but they're not dating, are they?"

Yao Dazui: "From what Yang Zhiqiang said, there definitely isn't one."

Li Xiuying was puzzled: "No, what's going on between them? Why did they suddenly stop being together?"

Yao Dazui glanced at her and said, "What you said is too easy to cause misunderstandings. You suddenly stopped being a partner. It's as if they had been dating for a while and broke up."

Li Xiuying slapped her mouth and said, "My fault, my fault. I said the wrong thing."

She put her hand down and asked, "No, Lao Yao, don't pick on me first. I'm asking you, what's going on between them?"

Yao Dazui said, "What else could it be? I think we made a mistake. They probably didn't have any intention of getting together. It's just that their personalities are compatible with each other and they get along well. But we came here and misunderstood that they were going to get together."

She tutted and said, "I think this is inappropriate for us. It would be better if we didn't speculate blindly in private. Now this matter is so embarrassing."

Li Xiuying: "You're right... Jiang Ling is a little girl who doesn't know anyone here. Yang Zhiqiang is kind enough to help her. We just speculate that the two of them are really not suitable..."

She felt somewhat guilty, but when she changed her mind, her eyes lit up again.

She said, "Hey, Lao Yao, since it's already like this, why don't we try to bring them together?"

Yao Dazui: "To match Yang Zhiqiang and Jiang Ling? I don't think that's appropriate."

Li Xiuying nodded. "Why wouldn't it be suitable? Didn't Old Ma originally tell us he wanted to bring them together? Didn't you agree then? Besides, I think they get along really well. They have similar personalities and they have so much in common. They're a perfect match."

Yao Dazui frowned. "That was then, and this is now. Rumors about them are everywhere. If you try to bring them together now, wouldn't that be forcing a woman of good character into prostitution?"

Li Xiuying: "Old Yao, if you don't know how to use idioms, don't use them randomly. What's with 'forcing a woman of good character into prostitution'? It makes me sound like that, that or something..."

Yao Dazui: "Okay, okay, I was wrong. But I'm sure you understand what I mean, right?"

Li Xiuying nodded: "I understand what you mean."

Yao Dazui: "As long as you understand."

She paused and said, "And you heard it just now, right? Yang Zhiqiang and the others both said they were brother and sister. If they had any intentions like that, they definitely wouldn't say that."

Li Xiuying disagreed with this statement. She murmured quietly, "That's not necessarily true. Maybe they just said it casually to avoid suspicion."

Yao Dazui: "Hey, why are you so stubborn?"

Li Xiuying pouted and kept silent. She refused to accept Yao Dazui's assessment of her as stubborn.

Yao Dazui said, "Li Xiuying, I'm telling you, no matter what you think, don't do anything behind my back. It's not easy for Jiang Ling, a little girl, to come here alone from another place and get scammed by a liar..."

Li Xiuying: "Hey, I know. I'm not Gao Cuifen, I definitely won't mess things up."

She thought for a moment and said, "I plan to go back tonight and go with Lao Ma to sound out Jiang Ling. If she says she really has no feelings for Zhiqiang, then forget it. Do you think this will work?"

Yao Dazui: "Well, that's about right."

Li Xiuying: "Alright, that's enough. Let's go quickly. We'll be late for work soon."

"Hey, it really is true, hurry up and go..."

The people working in the courtyard hurried away. Ma Yulan, who had taken a leave and still didn't have to go to work, wandered into the Yang family's house. Li Juan had just finished serving Old Lady Yang dinner and came out with the used bowls. Seeing Ma Yulan come in, she smiled and greeted her, "Auntie Ma, you're here?"

Ma Yulan: "Ah, Juan'er, did you just finish eating?"

Li Juan: "No, I finished eating a long time ago. This is Aunt Yang's bowl. She just finished eating."

Ma Yulan: "Oh, I see. Well, I'll go talk to Lao Yang."

Li Juan: "Then go ahead."

Ma Yulan nodded and walked towards Old Lady Yang's room. Old Lady Yang was sitting on the bed with a worried look on her face. When she saw Ma Yulan come in, she sighed deeply.

"Hey, Lao Ma, take a seat. Sit wherever you like."

Ma Yulan asked knowingly, "What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"

Old Lady Yang: "How can I feel good when I have a son like Zhiqiang who is still single at the age of 30?"

She said with a bitter face, "I thought he was going to date Jiang Ling, and I was so happy and excited. I thought my unlucky son would finally not be single anymore. But in the end, my joy was in vain. Do you think my unlucky son is just a loss to me?"

Ma Yulan: "Well, this whole thing with Lao Yang is my fault. If I hadn't started it, it wouldn't have happened..."

Old Lady Yang: "Why should I blame you? If I have to blame someone, I should blame that useless Yang Zhiqiang. He can't even find a partner!"

Ma Yulan: "Hey, Lao Yang, don't say that. Zhiqiang is such a good guy. He has a promising future and a successful career. He is filial to his elders and is caring. He is not bad looking either. If our second daughter hadn't been married off, I would have wanted her to marry him."

Old Lady Yang: "You only say nice things. Zhiqiang is so old, he's already thirty!"

Ma Yulan: "Old Yang, you are out of date, aren't you? Don't you know that nowadays people say that men are in their prime at 31, that 30 is the best time for men. And now it's popular to build a career first and then start a family. Men like Zhiqiang who have a successful career are the most sought after by girls. That's only if Zhiqiang doesn't want to find one. If he wanted to, he would definitely find one easily."

She came here today just to persuade Old Lady Yang, and of course she only said nice things. When Old Lady Yang heard this, her expression did improve a little, but she was still worried.

Old Lady Yang frowned. "But the problem now is that he doesn't want to find one. What's going on with him? Why doesn't he want to find a partner? Other children don't have this problem either."

Now Ma Yulan was a little speechless. She couldn't understand why Yang Zhiqiang didn't want to find a partner.

Ma Yulan: "Why don't you ask him and see what he really thinks?"

Old Mrs. Yang frowned and said, "I'm just afraid he won't want to tell me."

It is actually more appropriate for the father to talk about this kind of thing, but the problem is that Yang Zhiqiang's father has not passed away for many years, and she is the only one left at home, so she is the only one who can ask.

Ma Yulan: "Whether he is willing to talk or not, you should ask him first."

Old Lady Yang thought about it and nodded: "Well, you are right. I will ask him when he comes back in the evening."

Ma Yulan: "Just talk to him nicely, don't rush him. No matter what the matter is, it will definitely make sense if you talk nicely."

Old Lady Yang: "Yes, I know. Thank you, Old Ma."

Ma Yulan patted Old Lady Yang on the shoulder and said, "Well, we've been neighbors for so many years, and you still say that."

Old Lady Yang: "Okay, let's not talk about it. By the way, Lao Ma, come and see if the insoles I made a few days ago are suitable. I made this for you, size 38, right?"

She had originally made this insole to thank Ma Yulan for her matchmaking. After all, without Ma Yulan, Jiang Ling wouldn't have been able to live in their courtyard, nor would she have known Yang Zhiqiang. Although Yang Zhiqiang and Jiang Ling didn't end up together, the insole was already made, and there was no point in keeping it, so she decided to give it to Ma Yulan.

"Made it for me?" Ma Yulan: "Oh, let me see it. Oh, this is because you have good skills. Look at how delicate the embroidery is. I feel embarrassed to accept it."

Old Lady Yang: "What's there to be embarrassed about? I made this especially for you. Please accept it."

"Okay, then I'll take it."