Jiang Xiangyang's brows furrowed instantly, his small voice filled with doubt.
"What classmate? My mom was just saying yesterday that Zhouzhou's teacher is an old man who teaches her to draw alone behind closed doors. How come a classmate suddenly appears? Is he a boy or a girl? Can he even understand what Zhouzhou is saying?"
Zhou Qiqi smiled, her eyes crinkling.
"Let me think... that child's surname is Zhuo... Zhuo something..."
She had only seen him once before, during the exam, and the other two times she went to paint, Shen Huaichuan had taken her there. She couldn't remember him for a moment, and it took her a lot of effort to recall.
"Zhuo Guangming! Yes! That's his name! I remember he was a rather well-behaved, fair-skinned boy. Both of them could draw, so I guess they communicated through drawing? I don't know..."
Before he could finish speaking, little Jiang Xiangyang had already dashed off like a gust of wind.
"This child..."
Zhou Qiqi watched his retreating figure and chuckled, then cursed.
Seeing Xiangyang go to call her, she ignored him, put the enamel plate on the dining table, and went to make a pot of caramel sauce.
Jiang Xiangyang didn't knock at all; he pushed open the wooden door to Shen Duzhou's room with a "bang," and the door slammed against the wall with a "thud."
Shen Duzhou was drawing at his small desk when he heard the noise. His pen paused, but he didn't turn around. He just moved the drawing paper closer to himself.
"Zhouzhou! Stop drawing!"
Jiang Xiangyang lunged forward and grabbed her arm.
"What's the point of drawing all day? Hurry up and try some popcorn, see which flavor you like best!"
Shen Duzhou ignored him, carefully rolled up the drawing paper and stuffed it into the sketchbook, then got up and went to wash his hands in front of the washbasin stand.
She washed her hands very carefully, swirling her fingertips in the soapy water and scrubbing even the crevices under her fingernails.
After she dried her hands and sat down at the table, she slowly picked up the popcorn.
The enamel plates were piled with popcorn coated in orange, dark purple, and light yellow sugar flakes, and Jiang Xiangyang was gesturing with his hands beside them.
"How is it? How is it? Which one tastes the best? I think the orange flavor is the sweetest, but this dark purple one, the plum flavor, is sour, like drinking plum juice, it's also delicious! Help me choose! If you pick one, Aunt Zhou will make a separate pot for me!"
Shen Duzhou's slender fingers twirled among the three flavors of popcorn, but finally pointed to one that was covered in light yellow sugar granules.
Jiang Xiangyang's eyes widened in disappointment.
"Pineapple flavor? Why did you choose this?"
He grabbed one and popped it into his mouth, chewing it with a crunching sound.
"Although I've never eaten fresh pineapple, I've tried canned pineapple. This popcorn doesn't taste like it at all! It's neither sweet nor sour, and the flavor is so bland, it's like chewing cotton!"
Chen Duzhou chewed slowly, his cheeks puffing out.
She raised her eyes, her eyelashes casting a small shadow under her eyelids, and her lips moved silently.
"Pineapple flavor, delicious."
"Xiangyang! Have you chosen your flavor yet?"
Zhou Qiqi poked her head out of the kitchen, her apron still covered in caramel sauce. "The last batch just came out, I have to coat it with sugar granules right away!"
Jiang Xiangyang stared at the plate and muttered to himself, "Oranges...preserved plums..."
He frowned again, looking troubled, and only after Zhou Qiqi urged him a second time did he purse his lips and say, "Pineapple flavor, I guess!"
Doesn't this kid dislike pineapple flavor?
Zhou Qiqi blinked in confusion and leaned out to look.
Jiang Xiangyang was standing right next to Chen Duzhou, grinning like a trumpet flower.
"Zhouzhou, look, I've already chosen your favorite flavor, so can you draw me a picture too? We play together every day, and you've never drawn me a picture before! You can't be biased!"
As he spoke, he held the popcorn to Chen Duzhou's mouth, the sugar crumbs and mud splattering together on his fingertips.
"I won't draw it."
Shen Duzhou shook his head, looking at Jiang Xiangyang's hand with some disdain, and then backed away.
She didn't take the popcorn from Jiang Xiangyang's hand. Instead, she picked up a piece from the plate, put it in her mouth, and chewed it slowly, her eyes fixed on the flowers by the wall, not looking at him at all.
"Zhouzhou~ Zhouzhou~ Good Zhouzhou~"
Jiang Xiangyang shook her arm anxiously, his little face scrunched up like a bun, "Just say yes!"
However, no matter how much he pleaded, Chen Duzhou wouldn't budge.
Just as he was about to burst into tears, Deng Cuixiang entered the room carrying a cloth bag. Upon seeing the scene, she shook her head.
Why are you bothering Zhouzhou again, you silly child?
She reached out and pulled Jiang Xiangyang back a little.
"Look at the mud spots on your sleeves! Zhouzhou is wearing such a pretty pink dress today. If you get mud on it, I'll beat you up!"
Shen Duzhou was indeed dressed brightly today. It was a new dress made by Zhou Qiqi in the past few days. The pink dress had a small peach blossom embroidered on the neckline and white trim on the cuffs, which made her face look even whiter.
Zhou Qiqi popped the last batch of popcorn, brought it out in a large enamel basin, and asked with a smile.
"What's wrong? What are you saying?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Zhu Yingying standing behind Deng Cuixiang, so she quickly asked her first.
"You called Yingying over too? Why did it take so long?"
Deng Cuixiang tucked the wet strands of hair from Zhu Yingying's ear behind her ear.
"Yingying was working out so hard at home! She completely forgot the time. I had to call her before she realized what was happening. She washed her face and changed her clothes before coming over!"
Seeing that her forehead and neck were covered in sweat, Zhou Qiqi quickly handed her a dry towel.
"Unbelievable! Yingying, it turns out that even though we go for runs regularly, it's not enough, and you're secretly doing extra training at home!"
"Oh, Qiqi, don't make fun of me. I didn't want to exercise either, if it weren't for..."
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com