"Oh dear, this is a long story!"
Lei Yuhua grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away in a flurry of activity.
"Let's go, let's go home! I'll tell you all about it on the way! We've uncovered a big secret on our trip to the village!"
She remembered something and changed her mind.
"Oh, no, let's go to the phone booth first and call my mom back. She's probably still waiting at the village committee's phone booth right now. You can say a few words to them while you're at it."
Lei Ming stumbled as she pulled him, but his eyes remained fixed on the round figure at the entrance of the clinic.
Yuan Xiaoyuan clearly sensed his gaze, but deliberately turned her head away, leaving him with a cold back of her head, while her hands continued to move, clinking the glass bottles and jars together.
Lei Ming opened his mouth, but his throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton. He wanted to shout but didn't dare, and sweat beaded on his forehead from the anxiety.
Lei Yuhua is a very astute person; she could tell at a glance that something was wrong with her younger brother.
She followed Lei Ming's gaze and looked at Xiao Yuan, raising an eyebrow.
"What's wrong? Do you know that nurse? Do you need to see her for something?"
Lei Ming was taken aback by her question and subconsciously shook his head, "No, no, I don't know him. I came to find you, sister, let's go."
As soon as he said it, he felt awkward and unsure of himself.
At the entrance of the clinic, Yuan Xiaoyuan's figure visibly stiffened for a moment, then she quickly walked into the house without looking back, her back revealing an indescribable sense of loss.
Lei Ming felt a pang in his heart. He wanted to chase after her to explain, but Lei Yuhua held his arm firmly.
Lei Yuhua had no idea what he was thinking, and without saying a word, she dragged him away.
There were few people on the dirt road, only the sound of the siblings' footsteps. Lei Yuhua kept talking, recounting all the thrilling events and entanglements she had experienced in Xujia Village over the past few days, like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.
When she was told that Zhou Qiqi was actually her own cousin, she still found it unbelievable.
Lei Ming was initially somewhat absent-minded, but upon hearing this, his attention gradually returned, and he remarked with emotion:
"So that's how it is. I told you before that your aunt would regret it, and it really came true..."
"That's right! So who can say for sure about fate in this world?"
Lei Yuhua sighed, then suddenly remembered something and turned to ask:
"By the way, what brings you back to the military dependents' area? Is everything alright at work? Or..."
Zhou Shuhua practically raised Lei Ming like her own son, and Lei Yuhua, who grew up with him, knew him very well.
This kid usually refuses to come back no matter how much we beg or urge him, but he showed up on his own today. There's definitely something fishy going on.
A hint of unease flashed across Lei Ming's face as he mumbled, "No...nothing's wrong."
Lei Yuhua narrowed her eyes, a hint of warning in them.
"Don't tell me I'm right, you're really after Qiqi, aren't you? Qiqi is very happy now. I'm warning you, don't get any funny ideas, or my mom will be the first to punish you!"
"What did you say, sis?"
Lei Ming's face flushed red, and he hurriedly explained, "I didn't come to see Zhou Qiqi! I don't even know when she'll be back!"
Just as they reached the door of the phone booth, Lei Yuhua, while taking out her phone receipt, glanced at him sideways. A woman's intuition struck her, and she suddenly lowered her voice:
"So...you're not dating someone, are you? Is your boyfriend...that nurse Xiaoyuan from earlier?"
The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed; the awkwardness between the two of them just now was quite interesting.
Upon hearing this, Lei Ming reacted as if he had been electrocuted, waving his hands repeatedly:
"No, no! Sis, don't talk nonsense!"
Just then, the call seemed to go through, and he quickly shut up, signaling to his sister to make the call.
As expected, it was Zhou Shuhua on the other end of the phone. She anxiously asked Zhou Qiqi if she had arrived home safely, if the journey was smooth, and if she had suffered any further grievances. Her words were full of concern.
Lei Yuhua smiled and agreed, briefly recounting the farce that Li Hongjuan had just caused, emphasizing how Zhou Qiqi had won a great victory and how she had brilliantly and skillfully maintained order.
Lei Ming listened intently, still harboring a habitual sense of anticipation.
In the past, when making these family phone calls, my aunt would always ask him how he was doing, whether he had eaten, and chat for a while.
But Zhou Shuhua didn't ask him a single question until the call ended.
He felt a strange emptiness in his heart, a little uneasy, and couldn't help but mutter to himself:
"Sis, Auntie...didn't ask me anything?"
Lei Yuhua put down the phone, looked at his somewhat disappointed expression, and chuckled.
"Silly boy! My mom used to treat you like her uncle, she wanted to give you her whole heart and was very strict with you. Now that your uncle has found a home and has a niece, her heart is completely devoted to Qiqi. She doesn't care about you anymore."
Lei Ming was taken aback at first, then his eyes suddenly lit up.
For more than a decade, his aunt's concern for him was so tight that it was almost impenetrable. She scrutinized and nitpicked everything and everyone around him, especially girls, which made him feel quite suffocated.
His friends suffered a lot, especially the girls.
Now... is this liberation?
"real?"
He could hardly believe it.
"Of course it's true! You're free now!"
Lei Yuhua patted him on the shoulder and teased him.
"I'm free..."
Lei Ming murmured to himself, unable to suppress the upward curve of his lips.
The next second, as if suddenly remembering something, he jumped up abruptly.
"Sis, you go home first! I need to go back to the clinic!"
Before the words were even finished, the person had already dashed out like a gust of wind and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
