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The two of them started arguing louder and louder. The old man who was developing photos in the room heard the commotion outside and came out of the inner room. He said to Xu Nian, who was standing alone at the side, "Are you here to take pictures?"
Xu Nian breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, someone interrupted them. Otherwise, if Xu Hongqi really said something he shouldn't have, he would be arrested and reprimanded at best, or tortured at worst. If even more unfortunate, he would be charged with spreading rumors and being a spy, and there would be no way to clear his name.
She smiled sincerely at the owner of the photo studio, "We're here to take pictures, me and my brother."
The old master nodded, turned to Qi Meiyue and said, "Have you helped them choose the background for their costumes?"
Only then did Qi Meiyue remember her essential job. When her master asked her this, she felt somewhat guilty and glanced at Xu Hongqi beside her.
Xu Hongqi was still thinking about the words "my brother" that Xu Nian had just said. What kind of brother was he? If he was a brother, he could only be one kind of brother... Seeing Qi Meiyue looking at him, the two of them looked at each other and seemed to be able to communicate through their eyes.
Xu Hongqi came to her rescue and said to the master, "We are Meiyue's friends. We came here for the photo shoot because she recommended us. We just met and exchanged a few words and haven't had time to choose a background yet."
The old master nodded, and looked at Qi Meiyue with obvious satisfaction. "Then you can take them to choose first. I will adjust the camera."
Xu Nian felt that she was wrong. She shouldn't have planned to have a lover relationship with Xu Hongqi. It would have been better to treat him as a friend. Look, how much he protected her.
Qi Meiyue spoke again in a much softer voice, saying to Xu Hongqi, "Come over here. See what kind of background you want. Recently, many people have chosen Tiananmen Square."
Xu Hongqi nodded, then went to pull Xu Nian, who was still standing there, and asked, "What's wrong? What are you thinking about? Come over and take a look."
She didn't know what she was thinking, so she snorted with a sidelong glance, then struggled a little harder to free herself from his clutching hands. Before Xu Hongqi could be surprised, she froze for a moment and then hurried over.
She walked over, and Xu Hongqi also walked over with a dark look in his eyes.
Qi Meiyue then showed Xu Hongqi the reduced-size image of the large background. "This is Tiananmen Square, this is the Badaling Great Wall, and yes, there's also Mount Tai, which many people like to use."
Xu Hongqi watched carefully as she said, and after a while he asked Xu Nian beside him, "Which one do you like?"
Xu Nian listened to his question and continued to look down at the picture. He simply replied, "I told you I'll give you a gift. You can choose."
No one spoke for a long time. Finally, Xu Hongqi spoke first, "Then let's use Tiananmen Square. For now, we'll use a fake background. After six months, we can go to the real Tiananmen Square together."
After hearing what he said, Xu Nian raised his head, as if he agreed to the proposal, and said "ah".
She didn't know if she was thinking too much, but she always felt that what Xu Hongqi said had two meanings. One was that he really went there to take pictures as a souvenir, and the other was that he wanted to go to university in Kyoto?
Xu Nian just thought she had figured it out when she heard Qi Meiyue say to her, "Xu Nian, are you quiet? I see you don't talk much."
What do you mean she doesn't talk much? It's obvious that no matter what topic she talks about, it's all about her!
"I'm quite outgoing, but seeing you guys reminiscing about the past, I felt embarrassed to interrupt. I just overheard a few words..." Xu Nian paused before continuing, "I heard you were getting married soon. Congratulations, Sister Meiyue."
Qi Meiyue didn't expect that she would say this. She looked well-behaved and obedient on the outside, but she was sharp-tongued when speaking. This was different from what she thought. She looked up at Xu Hongqi. She could tell Xu Hongqi that she wanted to get married, but she didn't want others to mention it to him.
Xu Hongqi suddenly said, "Let's take a picture first."
Qi Meiyue immediately turned her head and continued to communicate with him. The whole photo-taking process was like this, which made Xu Nian feel a little uncomfortable. She felt that this was a bad photo-taking experience and had the urge to never come again. In the end, she took six photos. Because she didn't know that taking photos required a ticket, the old master charged them a little more for Qi Meiyue's sake. The total cost was six yuan. This money was paid by Xu Nian, but she felt like she was asking for trouble.
The photos could not be developed immediately and had to be picked up in two days. The two of them put away the receipts. Xu Hongqi said goodbye to them and was about to leave, but was stopped by Qi Meiyue.
She beckoned to Xu Hongqi, and without waiting for him to come over, she walked up to Xu Hongqi, leaned close to his ear and spoke while covering her mouth with her hand.
"Hongqi, I don't want Jiang Fan to look down on me when I get married. My family definitely doesn't have any good dowry. If you have any, could you let me use them first?"
Then he said, "I have money, I will give it to you right away."
Xu Nian saw Xu Hongqi thinking for a moment and then said, "Although I don't agree, since you have already made up your mind, I won't say anything. What I can do is prepare the hot-selling items for you: a radio and a fan."
Xu Nian left after listening to it, and couldn't help curling her lips. She had never seen anything like this before. They were just whispering, so why were they talking so loudly? And Xu Hongqi had clearly promised her that he would stop during the New Year, so what was this now? Besides, their caring for each other should not bring trouble to others, so they should just lock it up.
"Why are you walking so fast?" Xu Hongqi said goodbye to Qi Meiyue, and seeing that Xu Nian was already not far away from him, he hurriedly caught up with him.
Xu Nian couldn't help but said, "Xu Hongqi, are you going to go back on your word? You promised me that you would stop before the New Year this year."
Xu Hongqi thought something was wrong, but when he heard this, he said, "I don't regret it, but it's not the New Year yet."
Xu Nian frowned, his voice filled with displeasure, "It's only been a month since the Chinese New Year, and didn't you tell me you'd disposed of all those tools and other things? Now you're preparing for a second job."
"Why are you so angry? You were fine just now." Xu Hongqi seemed puzzled.
She said one thing but he said another. She didn't believe he didn't understand what she was talking about. Xu Nian was too lazy to say more and said unhappily, "Whatever you want."
Xu Hongqi's face rarely showed an embarrassed expression. He said, "Niannian, you know..."
Xu Nian quickly retorted, "Yes, I know everything. You two were childhood sweethearts, and you've been through thick and thin together!"
This was the first time Xu Nian had done this. At that time, neither of them had thought that such a casual incident would cause a huge deviation in Xu Hongqi's life trajectory.
Xu Nian went back to sleep, and rushed to meet up with Xu Hongqi and Xu Fengkai early the next morning. This time, only the three of them went home. Xu Fengcheng's factory did not have a holiday, and he might have to work overtime. The Chinese New Year is the best time for weddings, and weddings require wood home decoration.
When Xu Nian returned home, she found that her home was even colder than the county. She really wanted to stay in bed all day, eating, drinking, defecating and urinating in bed. She didn't know if her heat was too weak, but it was no exaggeration to say that her feet would be icy cold within half an hour of her being out of bed.
As for Xu's mother, on the first day her daughter came back, she showed concern and care for her.
The next day after my daughter came back, I couldn't help laughing.
On the third day after my daughter came back, she was still hesitant to speak.
It's been six days since my daughter came back, and I can hardly remember how she was on the first day. She went from ignoring me to assigning me chores.
There is another important reason in recent years. Her sister-in-law, Xu Nian's aunt Xu Qingli, is coming back. The family is under the command of Xu's mother. They have to prepare food and do a thorough cleaning.
Xu Nian didn't know how many days she had been working. She squatted beside the firewood and stacked it with a look of despair, looking at Xu Hongqi with envy. Xu Hongqi didn't have to do so much work every day, and was not allowed to do it even if he wanted to.
It wasn't just because they weren't family and were too polite to Mr. and Mrs. Xu, but also because Tiedan, the second brother's son, followed the older and older kids in the village and said they wanted to go to the river to catch shrimps. Without telling the adults, they knocked several holes in the frozen river. Then the ice on the river cracked, and everyone else ran away, leaving the little brat Tiedan half submerged in the river. If Xu Hongqi hadn't seen it when he went to the village to sell tofu, their family would definitely not have survived the New Year.
Fortunately, the biggest price they paid now was that two "real men", one big and one small, caught a cold.
However, it was also because of this that Xu Nian took the initiative to break the ice with Xu Hongqi. When Xu Nian got angry about the topic of Xu Hongqi "returning to his old ways", she was originally in a cold war with him. But when this happened, the whole family was grateful, and Xu Nian was naturally grateful too.
Seeing Xu Hongqi's tears and snot streaming from his cold, yet he continued to show his kindness to her, made Xu Nian feel quite uncomfortable. If you think about it, Xu Hongqi is actually a kind and loyal person. He gave sincere advice to his childhood playmate, and when his advice didn't work, he didn't say anything else, but instead wanted to help. Such behavior should be encouraged by her.
But the prerequisite is that she is free in life.
Xu Hongqi found it funny to see her gloomy expression. She was unhappy and kept a cold face without saying a word to him during those days, which made him feel bitter. However, because it was his own fault, he could not persuade her and could only try to please her.
Now the roles were reversed, and the initiative was in Xu Hongqi's hands again. He rarely showed his childish attitude, standing far away from her, just watching Xu Nian work. Not only that, he also gave instructions, "Xu Nian's pile is crooked. If you put too much wood on it, it will fall down."
Xu Nian sighed for the hundred and eighth time. She had now blocked out Xu Hongqi's voice. After all, he had pointed out some unclear issues all morning. At first, she believed what he said, but after realizing several times that he was just teasing her on purpose, she ignored him.
January 16th, sunny.
It was a good day and the house was almost cleaned up. Xu's mother took out the various tickets she had saved for half a year from the wooden box and took her daughter and daughter-in-law to the county to buy supplies for the New Year.
Xu Nian goes to school in the county every day and feels cold when going shopping. But his two sisters-in-law are different. They work in the fields all year round and have no time or courage to go to the county to play. This year, his mother-in-law took them out shopping with money and tickets, and they were very excited.
Xu Nian huddled in the donkey cart, not daring to speak. It wasn't a question of whether it was dirt or not; it was the chilly wind that would cause diarrhea. Xu's mother half-hugged her daughter and whispered to her, "It's almost New Year's and it's going to snow. Why is Hongqi telling me now that she wants to go visit a friend in the county?"
Xu Nian didn't know how to respond to Xu's mother's words. Xu Hongqi wasn't going out to play at all. He had just recovered from a cold and was going to prepare some makeup for Qingmei...
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