Just as Gou Dan was about to turn around and go back into the house, he caught a glimpse of a package on the ground.
"What is this? Why is it at my doorstep?" Gou Dan picked it up curiously, and before he even opened it, he smelled a rich aroma of meat.
"Wow, roast chicken!" Dog Egg opened the leaf and was pleasantly surprised to find that there was actually half a roast chicken inside.
Dog Egg excitedly ran into Xia Qingqing's room with a roast chicken in his arms, and handed it to Xia Qingqing like a treasure: "Sister, look, I found half a roast chicken at the door."
Xia Qingqing took the roast chicken and smelled it; a familiar aroma wafted over.
"Dog Egg, did you see who delivered the roast chicken?" Xia Qingqing asked her younger brother, puzzled.
"No, when I heard the knocking and went to check, there was no one at the door, only this half roast chicken."
Dog Egg thought for a moment with his little brain, then exclaimed in horror, "Sister, could it be a human trafficker? He wants to kidnap me with a roast chicken."
Xia Qingqing looked at Gou Dan with satisfaction. Her anti-abduction education had not been in vain. The little brat's first thought upon seeing meat was not to put it in his stomach, but to consider safety.
He patted Gou Dan's head approvingly: "You did a great job. In the future, when you encounter strange things like this, you should use your brain more."
Xia Qingqing tore off a small piece of chicken and put it in her mouth. The familiar taste exploded in her mouth; it was definitely Song Ze's cooking.
Seeing that Gou Dan was staring straight at her, Xia Qingqing smiled and tore off the chicken leg and handed it to him: "Eat it, I'm going out for a bit."
Xia Qingqing walked straight up the mountain and, sure enough, saw the person sitting there in a daze in the usual spot: "Song Ze".
Upon hearing this, Song Ze looked up in surprise, but after meeting Xia Qingqing's eyes, he immediately suppressed his smile and glanced at her indifferently: "What are you doing here?"
"Let's come and see a kind-hearted person who does good deeds anonymously."
"I received the roast chicken. It's as delicious as before. Thank you, Song Ze," Xia Qingqing said, poking his arm with her finger as she looked at the person whose back was turned to her.
"I didn't save it for you on purpose. I just couldn't finish it and didn't want to waste it," Song Ze said, his mouth as hard as a rock.
Xia Qingqing found his hypocritical expression amusing: "Okay, you left it for me because you couldn't finish it. You can leave it for me again next time you can't finish it."
Song Ze snorted in dissatisfaction: "Xia Qingqing, did you become friends with me just to eat my roast chicken?"
"Oh, you found out! You're not going to break up with me, are you?" Xia Qingqing covered her mouth, feigning surprise.
Her words actually softened Song Ze's expression, and a small smile appeared on his lips: "Hmph, I knew you were a heartless woman."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Anyone who didn't know better would think I took advantage of you and then abandoned you," Xia Qingqing rolled her eyes at Song Ze.
Song Ze nodded seriously: "Isn't that right? You said we were good friends, but these days you've been ignoring me."
"Please, you were the one who gave me the cold shoulder first, okay?" Xia Qingqing didn't expect Song Ze to turn the tables on her.
Song Ze was taken aback. Is that so?
"Every time I greet you, you either respond with sarcasm or turn away in a huff. Who can put up with your lousy temper?" Xia Qingqing complained incessantly.
Song Ze's face darkened. Although more than one person had said that he had a bad temper, he didn't like Xia Qingqing's assessment of him.
Song Ze suddenly grabbed Xia Qingqing's shoulders, looking at her earnestly with his dark eyes: "Then I apologize to you, please forgive me, okay? I will never do it again."
Song Ze's tone was unusually gentle, as he tried to salvage his image in Xia Qingqing's mind.
Xia Qingqing was forced to look Song Ze in the eye, her gaze lingering on his handsome face as she scanned his entire face from top to bottom.
This guy's face doesn't even have a single pore, and he has a man's mouth, and it's so red! It's infuriating.
"Are you going to forgive me or not?" Song Ze looked at Xia Qingqing, who was in a daze, and suddenly moved even closer.
Looking at the face so close to hers, Xia Qingqing's heart began to race for no reason, and her cheeks turned rosy.
She awkwardly reached out and forcefully pushed Song Ze away: "Forgive me, forgive me, okay?"
Song Ze didn't notice anything unusual about Xia Qingqing at all. When he heard her say that she was willing to make up with him, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but widen, and his eyes sparkled as he looked at Xia Qingqing.
——
During dinner, the people at the educated youth settlement noticed that Song Ze, who had been exuding a cold aura and keeping strangers at bay these past few days, now had a faint smile on his face.
You should know that even Qin Jiajia didn't dare to provoke Song Ze these past few days. When he's in a bad mood, he can be really sharp-tongued. No matter who you are, if you mess with him, he can make you cry.
Jiang Tao is usually easygoing, and seeing the smile on Song Ze's face, he completely forgot about Song Ze's irritability a few days ago.
She mustered up the courage to joke with Song Ze: "Song Ze, did you find some money today? Why are you so happy?"
Song Ze was in a good mood and didn't mind Jiang Tao joking with him. He smiled and said, "It's even more exciting than finding money."
"What is it? Tell me, it's better to share the joy than to keep it to yourself," Jiang Tao couldn't hide the gossip on his face.
Hearing this, everyone else looked at Song Ze with curiosity, especially Qin Jiajia, whose eyes were practically glued to Song Ze: "Brother Song Ze, I want to know too."
"Want to know?" Song Ze noticed everyone's gaze was on him and gave a wicked smile: "I'm not telling you."
Qin Jiajia pouted unhappily: "Brother Song Ze, you're so mean."
Jiang Hai saw that his younger brother seemed about to say something, so he tapped his bowl with his chopsticks and reminded him, "Hurry up and eat your food. Go back to your room and sleep early after you finish eating."
Jiang Hai looked at his silly younger brother and shook his head helplessly. Several months had passed, and he still didn't understand Song Ze's personality. He actually wanted to pry into other people's privacy. Did he think everyone was like him, wanting everyone to know what was going on?
Jiang Tao reluctantly slurped down a couple of mouthfuls of thin porridge. His curiosity had been piqued by Song Ze, and the feeling of this unsatisfied curiosity made him restless and unable to stop thinking about it.
The next morning, after getting up, Jiang Tao began to subconsciously pay attention to Song Ze's every move. He watched as Song Ze stuffed the whole bag of beef jerky that his family had sent him into his pocket and then went out.
Jiang Tao had just finished getting ready and, without waiting for his brother, followed directly behind Song Ze.
He originally thought Song Ze was going to work in the fields, but to his surprise, he found that Song Ze went straight up the mountain.
Jiang Tao stopped following Song Ze's footsteps and began to wonder: Was it wrong for him to follow someone like this?
But then he thought, since he's already here, it would be a shame not to see what Song Ze is doing. Song Ze is a grown man, surely he has something he can't show to others.
Jiang Tao successfully found an excuse for himself and quietly followed them.
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