Chapter 118

Chu Xia was so stunned that she hadn't reacted yet, when she suddenly heard someone talking in the yard.

When she came to her senses in shock, she found that her heartbeat was about to jump out of her chest. She pushed Lin Xiaohan away in panic and ran out of the room, like a thief.

Stand outside the room for a while and adjust your breathing.

Unable to suppress her heartbeat, she walked straight into the room and said, "I'll go to the front to help."

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the main room.

The people talking in the yard were Xu Lihua and Jiang Shan.

Jiang Shan was walking out of the second door carrying her luggage bag, and Xu Lihua followed behind her.

The two of them were talking loudly just now because they had some dispute.

The reason is that school has not started yet, but Jiang Shan insists on going back to school today, and it is already evening, so she wants to take the evening train.

Chuxia had no intention of listening to what they said.

She went down the stairs, across the yard, out the second door and went straight into the restaurant.

After entering the restaurant and walking to the counter, she said to Wu Xuemei, "Mom, let me pay the bill."

Wu Xuemei was stunned for a moment when she saw her, then she smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go do something else."

As she was leaving, she hesitated again and asked, "Where's Xiaolin?"

Chu Xia smiled and replied to her: "He will be here soon."

Although Chu Xia was acting very naturally, Wu Xuemei couldn't help laughing again.

Chu Xia saw her smiling strangely and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Wu Xuemei turned around and whispered to her, "What's wrong with you? Your face is as red as a tomato."

Chu Xia: “…”

After Wu Xuemei's reminder, Chuxia belatedly felt the heat on her cheeks.

Then, before she could say anything else to explain or cover up, she suddenly saw Lin Xiaohan coming out from behind the screen, and the heat on her face instantly rose another degree.

Wu Xuemei didn't say anything else and smiled as she went on to do other things.

After Lin Xiaohan came in, he didn't come towards Chu Xia, but went straight to help greet the guests.

After work, we closed the shop in the evening.

When Lin Xiaohan was about to leave, he went to Chu Xia and asked, "Will you send me off?"

Before Chuxia could answer, Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei, who were about to clean up, turned around and looked over.

The two of them had sneaky expressions and eyes full of gossip, as if they cared more than Lin Xiaohan.

Chu Xia: “…”

Wu Xuemei smiled and said, "You don't need to be busy right now, Xia Xia, go and see Xiao Lin off."

Chuxia had no choice but to say "oh" and go to the front yard with Lin Xiaohan to push the cart.

After coming out of the gate and walking outside the restaurant, Lin Xiaohan greeted Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei again.

Pushing the bicycle out along the alley.

Lin Xiaohan looked at Chu Xia and asked, "Can we start the probation period now?"

Hearing this, Chu Xia turned and looked at him.

She naturally recalled that on the night before the college entrance examination, she told him at the entrance of the alley that he had passed her probation period, and from that day on, they became serious friends.

She glanced at Lin Xiaohan, then looked away and whispered, "I'll think about it."

Considering the entrance to the alley, he turned out of the alley and stopped, then said, "Then... go back and apply."

Lin Xiaohan couldn't help laughing.

He looked at Chu Xia for a while and nodded, "Okay."

Chu Xia looked at him and said, "I'll tell you in advance that dating and getting married is different from being ordinary friends. The inspection is also different. I have very high requirements for my partner."

Lin Xiaohan nodded again: "It should be, after all, we are going to spend our whole lives together."

Chu Xia: “…”

Her heart couldn't help but beat again.

Then she tensed up and said, "Then drive slowly. Goodbye."

After saying that, he turned around and walked into the alley.

After returning, I helped clean up the restaurant.

Because there were so many people, the cleaning was completed quickly. We turned off the lights, locked the door, and returned to the inner courtyard.

Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei still went to the room to count money and do the accounts.

Chuxia did not go with them. She washed up, turned off the lights, lay down on the bed and prepared to sleep.

When I turned off the lights and lay in the darkness, I didn't feel sleepy at all.

She lay there relaxing for a while, and the scene of Lin Xiaohan kissing her in the evening suddenly popped up in her mind.

As soon as I thought of it, the heat on my face exploded instantly.

Chuxia hurriedly pulled up the quilt and buried her entire face in it.

As a result, I felt even hotter under the quilt.

Although she had blindly liked Han Ting for many years, she had never really had a relationship with a man, and her experience in this regard was completely blank.

Although she and Han Ting got married in the original novel, that was only what she learned from the novel and she had no personal experience. She was just a spectator of things that didn't happen to her.

So even though she tried hard to act calm.

There is no way I can be truly calm inside.

When I think of it, I can't help blushing and my heart beating fast.

When I helped out in the restaurant at night, every time I accidentally met Lin Xiaohan's eyes, I couldn't help blushing and my heart beating fast.

I feel so stuffy that I can hardly breathe.

Chuxia pulled off the quilt, let out a sigh and thought - she was finished.

She was so nervous after being kissed by him. She was so pathetic.

After exhaling this breath, Chuxia thought again.

No, she had to keep steady and not just fall into it.

She had to stay sane, stay sane, she had to stay sane.

***

This evening in early summer, I tossed and turned in bed until late at night before falling asleep.

The next morning, I slept until the restaurant opened, washed up, and went to the front to have breakfast.

Because the restaurant had just opened and it was not yet time for lunch, no one had come to eat yet and all the tables were empty. Chuxia directly brought breakfast and sat down at the table closest to the kitchen.

Just after she sat down and took two bites of the bun, Lin Xiaohan suddenly sat down opposite her.

Before Chu Xia could say anything, Lin Xiaohan reached out and placed a folded piece of paper in front of her.

Chuxia glanced at him and reached out to open the paper.

As soon as I opened it, I saw five big words in the middle: [Love Application]

The first line below has seven characters at the top of the page: [Dear Comrade Xia Xia:]

After reading the first line, I felt a little embarrassed to continue reading.

Just then, three more guests came in, ordering food and drinks, so she quickly picked up the paper, folded it, and hurriedly put it into her pocket.

Lin Xiaohan stood up to greet the three guests who had just come in.

Chuxia quickly finished her breakfast, got up and took the dishes into the kitchen to wash.

After washing the dishes, I came out and saw a woman in a flowery cotton jacket coming in through the door curtain.

Wu Xuemei greeted her politely and asked her if she wanted to eat.

The woman smiled and said, "Someone came to me to propose marriage. Excuse me, this is Courtyard No. 8, right? Is there a family with the surname Han living in the back yard?"

Wu Xuemei reacted and said quickly, "Yes, the Han family lives in the east room."

The woman said thank you and went out again.

Chu Xia and Wu Xuemei looked at each other and said nothing.

The customer who had just ordered the food at that table said, "Hey, the third son of the Han family is looking for a partner again?"

Divorce is a rare thing these days, and Wang Cuiying has talked about it outside a lot, so many people near and far know about Han Ting's affairs, and they can all say a few words about it when it is mentioned.

Wu Xuemei continued, "If we ask a matchmaker to arrange a marriage, then that should be the case."

Another guest added, "The third child of his family just got divorced a year ago. It may be difficult for him to find a new partner now."

The third customer continued: "It depends on the conditions. If the conditions are good, it will be easy to find a partner."

Speaking of this good condition, the first guest who spoke suddenly looked at Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan and asked, "You two are college students. Now that you have graduated and been assigned jobs, are you going to get married soon? When the time comes, give us some wedding candy so that we can share in your joy."

Chuxia choked when asked.

But there is really nothing wrong with asking this question.

After all, over the years, she and Lin Xiaohan have been a couple in the eyes of these people.

Wu Xuemei smiled and said, "If we have a wedding, we will definitely let everyone have wedding candy."

The guest flattered him and said, "You two are so lucky. Your daughter is so promising, and your son-in-law is also so promising. In the future, your family will all be cadres!"

Wu Xuemei couldn't hide the smile on her face.

Chu Xia still didn't say anything, and subconsciously glanced at Lin Xiaohan, who was also looking at her.

They looked at each other for no more than two seconds.

Chu Xia quickly looked away and suppressed her heartbeat.

***

The east room of the inner courtyard.

Wang Cuiying poured hot water on the table, then sat down and talked to Matchmaker Yang about Han Ting's marriage.

Matchmaker Yang learned about Han Ting's situation from Wang Cuiying, and also listened to Wang Cuiying's complaints about her ex-daughter-in-law, and heard all the past grievances of his family.

After listening to this, Yang the matchmaker said seriously, "If you are looking for a second marriage, it will be a bit difficult to find a second marriage."

Wang Cuiying said, "Why is it so hard for a man to find a wife for his second marriage? He doesn't have any children, but people with children still find wives. Our San'er is good-looking and capable, so it will be easy for him to find a wife."

Matchmaker Yang nodded and asked, "What kind of person are you looking for?"

If she really wants to find someone like that, according to Wang Cuiying's innermost thoughts, if Han Ting can find someone better than Chu Xia, then she will feel really comfortable and proud.

Exhale.

The biggest knot in her heart was that she couldn't make Chuxia her daughter-in-law.

And this knot can only be untied by finding someone better than early summer.

But she also knew that there were few people in the whole city with such conditions as Chu Xia.

A college student from a prestigious university will be reporting to a public institution as a cadre in a few days. He has such a nice and big yard at home, and he runs a restaurant that brings in so much money every day.

In addition, she is beautiful, has a good personality and temper, and is especially good at living.

If she let the matchmaker look for someone like this, she would probably scold her.

So Wang Cuiying said, "Although our San'er is a second marriage, he is no different from a first marriage. He is young and mischievous, so we still have to find a first-married girl. Of course, it is better to be pretty, tall, and have a good family background. It is best if she has a stable job. Most importantly, she must have a good personality and temper, be down-to-earth and not make trouble, and know how to live. Otherwise, no matter how good the family is, it will not be enough to ruin it."

Anyway, she felt that even if she just picked someone with her eyes closed, her San'er would still be better than Su Yun.

After listening to this, Matchmaker Yang smiled and nodded.

Then she looked at Wang Cuiying and said, "Okay, I'll try my best to find one for you."

She felt that she couldn't come here in vain, and she still wanted to get this done, so she said tactfully: "But when it comes to marriage, you choose others, and others choose you. Your son's conditions are naturally good, but he also lacks a particularly good aspect. For example, if he had a decent job, he would not have to worry about it at all. Now it may be a little difficult to find someone like you said, and the conditions are slightly worse. Can you accept it?"

Wang Cuiying immediately said after hearing this: "Our San'er doesn't have a proper job, but he usually earns a lot of money. Marriage and living still depend on spending money, what do you think?"

Matchmaker Yang heard that Wang Cuiying was looking for someone with such good conditions.

So she smiled and nodded again, and didn't say anything more.

She stood up and said, "Okay, I'll go look for someone suitable for you, and I'll come back and tell you when I find one."

Wang Cuiying saw her out and said, "Please be more careful."

Wang Cuiying politely escorted Yang the matchmaker to the second gate.

Matchmaker Yang smiled as she walked out of the second door, then out of the main door. When she passed the area of ​​Courtyard No. 8, she stopped smiling and muttered, "Why don't you go to the temple and ask for a fairy?"

***

As written on the registration card.

Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan reported to the unit on the 16th day of the first lunar month.

After eating Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and celebrating the New Year, it is time to go back to work.

In order to celebrate the Lantern Festival and to let Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan have a good meal at home before reporting to work, Tang's Restaurant was only open half a day today.

After closing at four o'clock in the afternoon, the three young people went home for the holiday.

Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei brought Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan to cook their own dinner at home. In addition to making Yuanxiao (Chinese rice dumplings), they also made dumplings and cooked a table full of dishes.

After finishing their work, the four of them sat down in the main room and prepared to eat.

Every time in such an atmosphere, Lin Xiaohan could understand more deeply what kind of emotion it was when he often missed home in the early summer when he was working in the countryside.

I don't care much about eating at home.

Chuxia sat down at the table and reached out to grab a piece of fried sausage.

She took it to her mouth and took a bite. It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, so she said to Lin Xiaohan: "My dad makes this the most delicious, you should try it."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaohan did not reach for the plate like she did.

He naturally reached out and took the piece from Chu Xia, put it to his mouth, took a bite, then nodded and said, "Mm, it's delicious."

Chu Xia looked at him in confusion, blinked and said nothing.

Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei looked at them and smiled. Then Tang Haikuan suddenly remembered something and said, "Xiao Lin, do you want to drink? I'm happy today. How about we drink tonight?"

Tang Haikuan had already brought it up, so it was obvious that he wanted to drink, so Lin Xiaohan naturally didn't refuse.

Seeing that Lin Xiaohan readily agreed, Tang Haikuan went to get a bottle of wine, opened the bottle cap with a smile and said, "I haven't drunk much in a long time since I opened a restaurant at home."

I used to have colleagues in the factory, and we would occasionally have dinner and drinks together.

Since Tang Haikuan wanted to drink, Lin Xiaohan drank with him.

Chu Xia and Wu Xuemei did not drink with them, but just chatted with them.

But because I didn't drink, I gradually couldn't keep up with the pace and rhythm of their conversation.

Because after they got a little drunk, the topic started to drift away.

Then Tang Haikuan and Lin Xiaohan drank and talked, while Chu Xia and Wu Xuemei watched and laughed beside them.

Of course, they also reminded them to hold back and not drink too much.

Despite these reminders, the two still looked a little drunk in the end.

After Tang Haikuan got drunk, he patted Lin Xiaohan on the shoulder and said, "Xiao Lin, since the first time you came to our house to pay New Year's greetings, Xia Xia's mother and I have been attracted to you from the bottom of our hearts. If you were not still in school at that time, we would have let you get married directly! Now I have two grandchildren!"

Seeing Tang Haikuan start to talk nonsense, Chuxia hurriedly pulled him: "Dad! You've had too much to drink!"

Tang Hai waved his hand, "I'm not drunk!"

After that, he patted Lin Xiaohan's shoulder and said earnestly: "Xiao Lin, uncle knows that you are a miserable child. It's not easy for you to grow up. You have suffered a lot of hardships and grievances..."

When Chu Xia heard this, she wanted to go up and cover Tang Haikuan’s mouth.

But just as she was about to stand up, Lin Xiaohan pulled her down to sit down.

Lin Xiaohan held her arm, looked at her and asked, "Are you jealous that your uncle is so nice to me?"

Chu Xia: “…”

I'm jealous of you!

Wu Xuemei ignored everyone and just stood there with her head down and her hands covering her eyes, laughing.

Tang Haikuan pulled Lin Xiaohan back and continued to speak passionately: "But the past is the past, history cannot be changed! So let's not talk about history today, let's talk about the future! In the future! Xia Xia's father is your father, Xia Xia's mother is your mother, Xia Xia's home is your home! Uncle said this sincerely, do you believe it or not?"

Lin Xiaohan directly held Tang Haikuan's hand, looked at Tang Haikuan and said very solemnly: "Uncle, I believe everything you said. In the future, Xia Xia and I will definitely be filial to you and Auntie."

I am really impressed.

I don’t care about the beginning of summer.

She simply raised her hands and blocked her ears with her fingers.

Tang Haikuan and Lin Xiaohan talked to each other heart to heart for more than half an hour before they finished their meal.

When they were getting ready to leave, Lin Xiaohan and Tang Haikuan lingered for more than ten minutes.

Chuxia finally pulled him to the front yard and breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that he had drunk so much, although it was unknown how drunk he was, he seemed to be walking quite steadily, but Chuxia did not let him ride a bicycle.

She pulled him out the door and asked him, "Do you still remember the way home?"

Lin Xiaohan looked at her and smiled and said, "I'm not drunk. I'm not drunk."

Chuxia gave him a thumbs up.

Yes, you’ve been talking nonsense all night, and you’re not drunk, you’re awesome.

Because he had drunk a little too much, Chu Xia didn't send him out of the alley and let him walk by himself.

She was afraid that he would get drunk and sleepy on the way, so she just lay down on the side of the road all night.

We walked out of the alley and continued walking forward with him.

Seeing that he was a little shaky, Chu Xia reached out to hold his arm, looked at him and said, "I remember you said your home is not far from mine, where is it? I'll take you home."

Lin Xiaohan did not answer, but suddenly looked at Chu Xia and said, "Let's go see the lanterns."

Chu Xia: “…”

Drinking some wine makes things romantic.

It just so happened that Tianxian Temple was relatively close to Dengshikou, so Chuxia took Lin Xiaohan there.

Things are different now than before. In the 1970s, the city was dead silent at night. Now there are night markets every night unless it is a festival, and it becomes even more lively during the festival.

Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan watched the lanterns together at Dengshikou.

Lin Xiaohan also bought a big lantern for Chuxia.

After watching the lanterns, Chu Xia asked him again: "Do you want to go home now?"

Lin Xiaohan looked sober yet not sober, looked at Chu Xia and said, "I don't want to, let's go to the guesthouse."

Chu Xia stared at him in a daze.

Then she took him to a nearby guesthouse and booked a room.

Perhaps it was because of the alcohol that Lin Xiaohan looked more drunk than before.

Chuxia helped him into the room, let him sit on the bed, and poured him some hot water.

Lin Xiaohan's eyes were hazy as he stared at Chuxia busying around.

Chuxia brought the cup to him. He took two sips and put it on the bedside table.

Chuxia let Lin Xiaohan drink the water and did not leave.

She sat down next to him and asked the question she had been thinking about all the way: "Have you never lived at home?"

Lin Xiaohan looked at Chu Xia and smiled. After a moment of silence, he said, "The day after I came back from the countryside, I went back to that so-called home. When I got home, I found that they had thrown away all my things and turned my room into a table tennis room for their beloved son. I smashed the table tennis table and never went back to live there again."

Seeing him say such words with a smile, Chuxia's heart suddenly swelled up, and she felt suffocated and blocked.

After staring at Lin Xiaohan for a while, she asked again, "So, when you were in night school, you took my car home every night, and that was all nonsense?"

Lin Xiaohan looked at Chuxia and smiled again.

Chu Xia saw that he was still smiling, so she raised her hand and hit him.

Lin Xiaohan grabbed her hand, held it in his palm, looked at her and said, "We lived in the factory at that time."

So, at that time he specifically sent her home from night school and walked back to the factory himself.

Chuxia stared at him and fell silent again. She couldn't help but feel more and more sour and swollen in her heart, and her eyes also felt sore and swollen.

Without asking Chu Xia any more questions, Lin Xiaohan held Chu Xia's hand, looked at her and said, "I don't want to like you at all, but you insisted on provoking me. When I suddenly asked you to keep a distance from me in the countryside, it was not because you saw me wearing pants, but because I found that I couldn't control myself. I also knew that you didn't like me at that time, and I don't think you would like someone like me. No one would like someone like me. I have been a disgusting person since I was a child..."

Hearing him say this, Chu Xia suddenly raised her head and kissed him on the corner of his mouth.

Lin Xiaohan was suddenly stunned, and his eyes, which were originally hazy, turned darker.

He subconsciously tightened the hand that was holding Chu Xia's and rubbed it in his palm.

After a moment, he softened his brows and smiled, and continued, "I always thought that it would be best if you stayed away from me, but after returning to the city and not being able to see you, every day has been very uncomfortable. I thought I would get used to it after a while, and it would pass, and it would be no big deal, but then you appeared in front of me again... and ignored me..."

There was some emotion in his last sentence, and Chu Xia couldn't help but laugh.

She looked at him and said, "Who told you not to recognize me outside the bookstore?"

Lin Xiaohan looked at Chu Xia and his expression became more relaxed.

He looked at Chu Xia again and asked, "Do you still remember when we went to the county town together to complete the enrollment procedures after the enrollment was over?"

Chu Xia didn't know what he was going to ask specifically, so she nodded and said, "The donkey cart suddenly rushed down the slope, and I was scared at the time. In a hurry, I hugged you tightly, and I ended up making you very angry. Your face and ears turned red with anger."

Lin Xiaohan: "Is that red from anger?"

Chu Xia argued with him, "Why not? You pushed me away very roughly at that time, and I was afraid that you would hit me."

Lin Xiaohan was too lazy to argue with her anymore.

He asked again: "What did you ask me during lunch?"

Chu Xia thought hard, and then answered: "I asked you if you were lacking love, and you said to me rudely, you want to love me?"

Lin Xiaohan looked at Chu Xia, and his tone suddenly became serious: "Do you want to love me?"

Chu Xia was stunned for a moment, and blinked at him.

There was a moment's silence.

She nodded at him and said, "Yeah."