Just as Qin Jiajia's fingernails were about to touch Zhang Jianguo, Zhang Jianguo grabbed her hand and threw her away.
This was entirely a subconscious reaction of his body. Zhang Jianguo looked somewhat annoyed. How could he have hit a woman? Just as he was about to apologize, he saw Xia Qingqing covering her mouth and secretly laughing.
"Qingqing, come here quickly, I saved a seat for you," Zhang Jianguo immediately waved happily to Xia Qingqing.
"Hey, I'm here. Thanks, Brother Jianguo," Xia Qingqing said nimbly as she climbed onto the oxcart and took the last empty seat.
Seeing Qin Jiajia fall to the ground, Liu Xiaoying asked anxiously, "Jiajia, are you alright?"
Qin Jiajia looked at her chapped hands, then at the country bumpkin who had given the remaining space to Xia Qingqing, a village girl, and could no longer bear it.
He shouted loudly, "Hey, you country bumpkin, how dare you hit me! I'm calling the police to arrest you!"
Upon hearing this, the aunties who had been sitting on the oxcart watching the show couldn't hold back any longer. It was perfectly normal for country folk to have some quarrels; why would they call the police at the drop of a hat?
They all chimed in with their criticisms of Qin Jiajia, then urged Old Ding to set off.
Qin Jiajia stood there awkwardly, looking at Xia Qingqing's back with a hint of resentment.
Liu Xiaoying asked cautiously, "Jiajia, are we still going to the county?"
"What if they don't pick up my package?" Qin Jiajia said somewhat angrily.
Liu Xiaoying's expression was also not good: "But it takes more than two hours to walk to the county without resting. Can you walk that far?"
Qin Jiajia certainly couldn't, but thinking of Song Ze who had already set off for the county, she gritted her teeth and said, "I can go. Brother Song Ze is still waiting for me in the county."
The oxcart moved slowly along the road, and the gossipy aunties couldn't hold back any longer. They winked and asked, "Jianguo, what's your relationship with Qingqing? Is it...?" They even gave each other a thumbs up.
Zhang Jianguo glanced at Xia Qingqing and saw that she was shyly lowering her head. He quickly made up an excuse and said, "Uncle Heping heard me say yesterday that I was going to the county and asked me to save a spot for Qingqing."
Xia Qingqing nodded repeatedly: "That's right, that's right, my dad asked him for help."
"Oh, so it was Hongyan's husband who asked you for help. I thought you and Qingqing were really going to be a couple," the aunt scoffed.
Finding that there was nothing to talk about with these two, they immediately started chatting with the other aunties about the arrogant Qin Zhiqing from earlier.
"Hey, do you guys think that Qin educated youth's family is super rich? They don't even glance at money that falls on the ground."
Another aunt immediately chimed in, "Yes, if my daughter were this wasteful, I'd definitely have to step in and take action."
"Hey, you've got a good idea. Qin Zhiqing is so beautiful, how could you possibly give birth to her?"
Everyone burst into laughter, which relieved Zhang Jianguo and Xia Qingqing, who were originally the center of gossip. They dared not speak again on the oxcart, for fear of being teased by the aunties again.
Once they arrived in the county, the women dispersed, and Zhang Jianguo felt relieved enough to talk to Xia Qingqing.
"Qingqing, is there anywhere you want to go?"
"Just take a look around," Xia Qingqing said absentmindedly, as she pondered how to make things clear with Zhang Jianguo.
The two walked slowly along the street, with Zhang Jianguo trying to find topics to talk about.
Song Ze, who had just come out of the post office, looked at the two familiar figures and his eyes instantly turned cold. He tightened his grip on the package, trying hard to suppress the urge to go forward.
What can he do up there? Is he just trying to curry favor with Xia Qingqing? That woman is a liar. She promised to be his friend, but then she turned her back on him.
Xia Qingqing and Zhang Jianguo slowly walked to a less crowded place.
"Hey, Jianguo, there's something I want to talk to you about."
Zhang Jianguo was taken aback for a moment: "What is it? Qingqing, just tell me."
"Well, I think we might not be a good match. I don't have any plans to get married right now," Xia Qingqing said, lowering her head and not daring to look at Zhang Jianguo's reaction.
She did something wrong; she clearly had no intention of developing a relationship with the other person, but she still agreed to her mother's request to meet them.
On one hand, her mother, Zhang Hongyan, was pressuring her too much. On the other hand, she felt that as long as she and Zhang Jianguo didn't end up together, her mother probably wouldn't be able to find a man more outstanding than Zhang Jianguo in a short period of time. So she could use this as an excuse to avoid her mother's pressure to get married.
Once the college entrance examination resumes in a little over a year, she will be able to soar freely in the sky after being admitted to university.
Zhang Jianguo froze after hearing Xia Qingqing's words, but to avoid embarrassing her, he forced a smile:
"It's okay, this is perfect. I don't have any plans to get married right now. It's just that my mom is pressuring me too much. Even if you hadn't said anything, I was planning to make things clear to you later anyway."
"Really? That's great! Then when we get home, we'll each tell our families that we didn't click. What do you say?" Xia Qingqing looked at Zhang Jianguo with surprise, her previous embarrassment instantly disappearing.
She knew it; Zhang Jianguo might not even be interested in her, and it turned out to be true.
Looking at the girl's bright smile, Zhang Jianguo felt a pang of bitterness, but since Qingqing didn't like him, he couldn't force her.
"Okay, let's do it your way. It's still early, let's go to the state-run restaurant for a meal, and we can catch Uncle Ding's oxcart just in time."
"Okay, I'll treat you. I haven't treated you to a meal since you saved me," Xia Qingqing said with a smile.
Zhang Jianguo didn't argue with Xia Qingqing; he just planned to pay first later.
The two strolled slowly toward the state-run restaurant, Xia Qingqing's steps noticeably lighter than before.
"Brother Jianguo, have you ever eaten at this state-run restaurant? I've tried their steamed buns, and they're absolutely delicious."
While waiting for his food at the state-run restaurant, Song Ze never expected that even though he had already decided to break off his friendship with Xia Qingqing, he would run into the two of them everywhere he went. Wasn't this just deliberately making him uncomfortable?
It wasn't lunchtime yet, and the state-run restaurant was empty. As soon as Xia Qingqing and Zhang Jian entered, they saw Song Ze sitting there all alone.
Zhang Jianguo, thinking that everyone was part of the same brigade, took the initiative to greet him: "Comrade Song, you're here to eat at the state-run restaurant too?"
"Nonsense, what's the point of coming to a state-run restaurant if you don't eat?" Song Ze coldly looked at the two people standing side by side, his voice as cold as a knife.
Zhang Jianguo's expression instantly turned somewhat unpleasant; he had kindly greeted someone, only to be met with a retort.
"I misspoke. Comrade Song, please have a good meal."
“There are empty seats over there, Qingqing, let’s sit there,” Zhang Jianguo said, pointing to an empty seat in the corner.
Xia Qingqing glanced at Song Ze, and seeing his sour face, she didn't intend to make a fool of herself.
Only after Xia Qingqing left did Song Ze show a look of grievance on his face.
"Brother Song Ze, I knew you'd be here!" Qin Jiajia's delighted voice rang out from the doorway.
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