Cloud Girl Chapter 4
While they were talking, Chen Yijing hid behind Chen Nanyi, only her two bright eyes peeking at Xu Xiaomeng.
Xu Xiaomeng, who is always a kind person, gave her a friendly smile when she saw this.
Chen Yijing dodged for a moment, but did not avoid eye contact.
Chen Yijing, who wasn't very bright, watched him talk to her fierce sister and didn't understand why. Then she felt that he was radiating a sad feeling. After thinking about it, she felt that it must be because her sister was too domineering, which was why everyone was afraid of her.
Chen Yijing felt sorry for Xu Xiaomeng's awkward appearance, but she just stood there obediently, afraid of angering Chen Nanyi, and dared not move.
But perhaps because Xu Xiaomeng's aura was too gentle and didn't have the same suppressive power as Chen Yiwen or Chen Nanyi, she felt that this person was on her side—so Chen Yijing actually stepped forward and took Xu Xiaomeng's hand.
Chen Nanyi was too late to stop her and could only watch helplessly as Chen Yijing grabbed Xu Xiaomeng's hand, lifted her face, and cried out, "Swing, swing, um, I want to swing..."
His face darkened, realizing that Chen Yijing must have remembered the rare time in the past when her father personally swung her on the swing, which was why she was so happy to see a man.
Xu Xiaomeng was clearly taken aback, not understanding what she was talking about. After a moment's thought, she realized what she meant, squatted down to be at eye level with her, and said with a smile, "You mean swinging on a swing?" She even gestured with her hands.
Chen Yijing nodded vigorously, then tugged at Xu Xiaomeng's sleeve to leave.
Xu Xiaomeng inexplicably snapped back to reality, as if she had finally rediscovered her familiar way of talking to people, or rather, as long as that person wasn't Chen Nanyi, whose heart would tremble at the mere sight of him.
Xu Xiaomeng then looked at Chen Nanyi with a sigh of relief, seeking her opinion with her eyes.
Chen Nanyi originally intended to go straight back, but seeing Chen Yijing's tear-filled eyes and remembering her initial reason for bringing her out, she inexplicably nodded, "Then I'll trouble you."
Xu Xiaomeng nodded slightly and took the lead in walking out of the pavilion.
Chen Nanyi deliberately took a step back and followed behind Xu Xiaomeng.
Even though she was at the back, she still felt a little uncomfortable walking with strangers.
Xu Xiaomeng, who is usually very observant and considerate, had her own thoughts and was not as thoughtful as she usually was towards others, failing to notice Chen Nanyi's backwardness.
Unlike her previous time with Chen Yiwen, when she was completely unmoved, Xu Xiaomeng's mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts, and she didn't know what to do.
He grew up with his mother and inherited her gentle and kind nature. Although he got along well with most people, he was able to ignore the fact that he grew up with the label of "illegitimate child" and was kind to others.
But when it comes to pursuing girls, especially such a cold girl, he is truly at a loss.
Without a father as a role model, and with his mother having passed away a few years earlier, no one had ever talked to him about these things.
This different mindset from how he treated friends compared to others left him at a loss—it was as if a voice in his head was telling him to find her, and he was just acting on that instinct.
That feeling was so overwhelming... Xu Xiaomeng thought to herself, and couldn't help but feel annoyed at her own awkwardness.
Little did they know, Chen Nanyi, who always prided herself on being carefree, wasn't exactly having an easy time either.
Because she had to take care of Chen Yijing, she was often alone.
Without a phone or internet, and with Chen Yijing knowing nothing—she felt almost like she was the only person in the world. She had been confused before, but eventually she got used to it.
This time, however, the person who called herself Xu Xiaomeng seemed very strange. She seemed to have something to say to her, but hesitated to speak, and kept looking back at her, as if she didn't think it was obvious, which made her feel uneasy.
In the past, Chen Nanyi would ignore such timid people, but this time she did not intend to ignore them.
So she glanced at him directly, trying to sound gentle, and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something you need?"
Xu Xiaomeng seemed startled, her whole body bristling as she hurriedly shook her head and waved her hands, replying "No, no," but she still couldn't utter another word.
Chen Nanyi immediately lost interest, nodded, and continued walking on her own.
Seeing this, Xu Xiaomeng sighed almost imperceptibly, and her expression became somewhat downcast.
They spent ten minutes getting to the edge of the college's playground and were surprised to see Grandma Yao from the community, who was still doing her morning exercises even during the Chinese New Year.
Chen Yijing pulled Xu Xiaomeng, who had already greeted Yao Yao, to play on the swings. Chen Nanyi then went to greet the old lady with a slight smile, "Happy New Year, Grandma Yao! You're here so early for your morning exercise!"
"Yes, Happy New Year. How have you been lately?" The older sister of the Yao family, who was being addressed as Grandma Yao, recognized her as the second daughter of the family that usually lived on Tu Luo Mountain. She nodded and gave a toothless smile.
"Why are you with Xiao Xu? Oh, right, where's your sister? Why didn't you come to the New Year's party again this year? ...Tsk tsk, you have no idea how lively the singing and dancing were with all the new college students this year!" She glanced behind Chen Nanyi a few times.
Chen Nanyi's usually calm face faltered slightly upon hearing this, her expression dimming somewhat, but she still smiled, "The company's quite busy, my sister went back first. Uh, there were some things to take care of during the New Year..."
Sister Yao waved her hand and laughed heartily, "Hey, I just don't like listening to you talk, always so slow and drawn-out. Your sister is so much better—don't be angry if I say that. Oh, by the way, didn't your sister say she's transferring back? That's great! I've always wanted to introduce her to someone, but it's inconvenient because she's living in another city. Look, if your sister finds a boyfriend here, it'll be easier for her to take care of you! Right? Isn't that wonderful!"
"So, when your sister comes back, you have to let me know, okay? I'll have to show her around. Let me tell you, there are a lot of young people in our community school, and they're all really good! Like that little Xu," Yao's sister patted Chen Nanyi's shoulder and gestured towards Xu Xiaomeng, who was having a great time playing with Chen Yijing.
"You don't know unless you go out often. Don't be fooled by his fair skin, kind demeanor, and seemingly innocent appearance. He looks like a rich young master who doesn't know anything and might even have a bad temper... But you don't know, it's a world of difference—his mother raised him alone from a young age, and he had no relatives to help him as he grew up. Yet, at the age of 14, he arranged his mother's funeral all by himself."
"Although his mother is a professor at Lu's Academy and lives a good life, she is often ridiculed because of her status... What's rare is that he hasn't gone astray, he's ambitious, and he's a kind-hearted person. He even helps this old woman carry water and fix things from time to time... He's 23 this year, only 3 years younger than your sister. It's said that marrying a woman three years older is like finding a gold brick! And he doesn't have a mother-in-law to serve, so maybe he can become a live-in son-in-law, and you sisters will have someone to rely on..."
Chen Nanyi followed Grandma Yao's gesture and looked towards him, only to see Xu Xiaomeng, who was playing with Chen Yijing, smiling brightly.
Perhaps some people are born to be pleasing to the eye and bring happiness to others—Xu Xiaomeng is one of them.
For a moment, Chen Nanyi was stunned, suddenly remembering the kind of housewife life she had longed for since childhood: leisurely and tranquil.
A strange, warm feeling rose in her heart, making her feel somewhat lightheaded.
But just as this feeling was about to spread, her mother's lifeless eyes flashed through her mind.
The hardships of her past life resurfaced in an instant, and her eyes returned to their cold indifference.
The widowed and lover of matchmaking, Sister Yao, continued her incessant chatter. Chen Nanyi was finding it hard to keep up and wanted to turn away, but remembering her lonely and pitiful background, she managed to hold back and kept her expression unchanged.
However, although her expression remained unchanged, there was something about her that made her very unhappy.
Because she understood the unspoken message—that she and Yi Jing would be a burden on Chen Yiwen's future life, not a sweet burden, but an unpleasant one, even though she herself knew this clearly, she just didn't want to face it.
She admitted that Chen Yiwen did a good job in some aspects, and that they both made significant concessions for Chen Yijing to a large extent.
For example, in the past, in order to save money so that they could have a secure life later—if they didn't have money to buy new clothes, they would take the initiative. Chen Yiwen wore her mother's old clothes, while she was taller, so she wore her father's old clothes. The money saved was used to buy new clothes for Chen Yijing, all of which were bright sun colors.
It's not about making a declaration or claiming to be noble; it's simply about cherishing this precious bond and the most precious blood ties we can't bear to part with in this world.
But when this emotion, which she had endured through long-term loneliness, was now told that it was a burden for Chen Yiwen, and now the backlash of that burden was indeed showing, and that in the future she would also suffer from the "defilement and disgust" of another stranger, and be pointed out nakedly by others, Chen Nanyi was unhappy.
She can't be described as someone who has a profound understanding of life, but she's definitely not an optimist either.
This is not to say that she was too cold-hearted, but rather because she had lived alone since her teenage years—she really didn't know how to deal with such an outgoing stranger.
Feeling somewhat uneasy, Chen Nanyi instinctively wanted to avoid Grandma Yao.
She really wanted to just turn around and leave.
However, a sudden cold face wouldn't work, so Chen Nanyi's expression stiffened for a moment, but she immediately smiled even more brightly, "Yes, okay, I will. Uh, Grandma Yao, then you continue your morning exercise. I remembered I have some things to take Yijing back first."
Sister Yao was talking animatedly about her "blind date plan" when Chen Nanyi interrupted her, but she wasn't angry. She immediately said, "Okay, then you take Yijing back first. It's been quite cold these past few days, and it's even colder on the mountain, so wear more clothes... Huh? Where's Yijing?" Sister Yao clicked her tongue and exclaimed in surprise.
Upon hearing this, Chen Nanyi suddenly turned around and discovered that the once lively swing set was now completely empty, with only an empty frame swaying there, shivering in vain.
Her mind went blank for a moment, and when she came to her senses, countless evil thoughts flashed through her mind. The usually calm woman was actually trembling.
She staggered toward the spot where they had just disappeared, but after looking around, she couldn't see a single person.
After that, Chen Nanyi ran around the flowerbed, calling out as she went, but she couldn't find a trace of anyone.
Chen Nanyi, who was panicking and at a loss, couldn't help but shed tears. Her palms were sweating and trembling, as if the string of her life had been pulled out in vain.
Sister Yao quickly reassured him, "No, Xu is a very good child. He's probably just playing somewhere else! We'll keep looking."
Chen Nanyi didn't listen to anything, her mind filled with endless possibilities of malice, until she heard something fall into the water with a "plop" sound, which brought her back to her senses and she ran over.
From a distance, she saw Chen Yijing lying by the fountain, trying to fish something out of the water, but losing her balance and falling back into the fountain in a horrifying way. Xu Xiaomeng stood there blankly, motionless!
Chen Nanyi's shock instantly turned into immense anger. She ran a few steps over and gave Xu Xiaomeng, who was standing there dumbfounded, a cold look. She was about to climb in and grab Chen Yijing, who was struggling in the fountain pool but getting further and further away.
Only then did Xu Xiaomeng react, quickly taking a long stride and bending down to scoop up the struggling Chen Yijing.
Winters in Tulo Mountain are not particularly harsh, but the climate at nearly 5 degrees north latitude is still quite challenging for a child with poor health.
Chen Nanyi lifted Chen Yijing, who was still clinging to the edge of the pond, down and glanced at her with cold eyes. Chen Yijing, who had been making a fuss, immediately stopped moving.
Without even glancing at Xu Xiaomeng standing to the side, Chen Nanyi picked up Chen Yijing and headed back the way they came—she was really afraid that she would catch a cold and something else might happen.
"Um, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it..." Xu Xiaomeng looked at Chen Nanyi with a guilty expression, and silently withdrew her hand that was about to reach out to take Chen Yijing's hand.
He really wanted to say that he didn't do it on purpose. He had just cut his hand while protecting Chen Yijing from falling off the swing. He saw that Chen Nanyi and Grandma Yao were chatting happily, so he thought he would wash his hand at the fountain before taking her back.
He just didn't expect that after he placed Chen Yijing behind the railing chair on the fountain, the little wooden stick she was playing with fell into the pool, and she actually tried to retrieve it and accidentally fell in...
Xu Xiaomeng watched Chen Nanyi's retreating figure, wanting to chase after her and explain, but she realized that Chen Nanyi had no intention of giving her that chance.
The disgust in her eyes was so obvious, just like the people who used to point fingers at him for being an illegitimate child, that it made his pupils dilate and dilate, as if he were being shaken by a shockwave, making him afraid to move forward.
Small Theater
Reporter: "If Mrs. Xu graduated from the Chinese Literature Department, could you please use an analogy to describe the quality of the cafeteria food?"
Chen Nanyi said, “The taste of happiness is always similar, but the taste of unhappiness is infinitely varied. For example, I bought a steamed bun and a water chestnut bun today. When I was eating the steamed bun, I found a stone in it. I thought to myself, ‘It’s okay, I still have the water chestnut bun!’ But guess what happened?” Chen Nanyi looked at the reporter.
The reporter appropriately revealed his thirst for knowledge.
Chen Nanyi, "I didn't expect it to be harder than a rock..."
Hoo hoo ha ha hehe
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