Xu Lai made stir-fried beef, dry-pot potato slices, and seaweed and egg drop soup for lunch today. While eating, the two puppies kept staring at them. Xu Lai found it amusing and said to them, "Don't rush, don't rush. We'll feed you after we finish eating."
After lunch, Xu Lai went to the village chief's house, intending to borrow a car from the village, but unfortunately, the car had already been borrowed by someone else.
Xu Lai scratched her head, her brows furrowed. She had been thinking about how to get to the county all the way. Taking a bus was not out of the question, but it would definitely be inconvenient for her to bring two small dogs.
Zhao Qingyun spotted her from a distance. Xu Lai seemed distracted, so he called out, "Xu Lai, what are you thinking about?"
Xu Lai looked up, searching for him. Zhao Qingyun chuckled and said, "This way, on the balcony upstairs."
She looked up, waved at him, and was about to continue walking home when Zhao Qingyun quickly went downstairs and stopped her before she entered the house.
Xu Lai slapped his hand away and said somewhat irritably, "Don't block my way, I have a lot of things to do right now."
Zhao Qingyun asked, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"
Xu Lai's eyes lit up, and she asked, "Are you going to work tomorrow?"
Zhao Qingyun shook her head: "No, tomorrow is the last day of my holiday."
She smiled and asked, "Could you lend me your car for a day?"
Zhao Qingyun readily agreed: "No problem, but I need to take my mom to the airport first tomorrow, she's going back to City B."
Xu Lai nodded. She could wait, as long as there was a car. She suddenly realized that he hadn't even asked her what she needed the car for.
Xu Lai explained, "I'm borrowing your car to take my puppy to get vaccinated. Is that acceptable to you?"
He laughed out loud, then said, "Xu Lai, remember this: I don't question the cause and effect of your actions."
Upon hearing his words, she felt as if an electric shock had passed through her body, from her brain straight to her heart.
From a young age, she always had to explain everything to adults, which led her to develop a habit of explaining things frequently, even though some things didn't need to be explained so much.
Considering her time, Zhao Qingyun suggested, "How about this, you can come with us. I'll take you to where you want to go first, and then take my mom. That way, it won't waste any time."
Xu Lai hesitated for a while, but finally agreed that it would indeed be more troublesome if he came back after dropping off Aunt Jiang.
After reaching an agreement, the two went home. Zhao Qingyun knocked on Yingqiu's bedroom door: "Mom, Xu Lai is coming with us tomorrow. Please bring less stuff, otherwise the dog cage won't fit."
Jiang Yingqiu opened the door directly and said with a teasing look, "You've really changed. Before, you wouldn't even let the cat in your house go into your room, but now the dog can get in your car."
Zhao Qingyun was too lazy to pay attention to her. He wouldn't mind if the cat didn't roll around on his bed and shed fur.
Jiang Yingqiu took out a jewelry box, handed it to him, and instructed, "Take this."
He opened it and found the bracelet that Ms. Yingqiu used to wear often. It was given to her by her grandmother when she first married his father.
Ms. Yingqiu instructed, "This was given to me by your grandmother. I'm not sure if it's a family heirloom of the Zhao family. I'll just give it to you for now. Once you're sure, give it to her."
Zhao Qingyun tried to push it back, but Jiang Yingqiu closed it and stuffed it into his hand: "Keep it here. I don't come back here often. When you two are together, I can only send my blessings online. I'll make a backup gift when you bring your daughter-in-law home."
He stuffed the jewelry box into the drawer, sensing that it wouldn't be taken out anytime soon.
Xu Lai's tulips have already started to bud, and it looks like they will be in full bloom in a few days.
As usual, she checked on the flowers that evening. The balcony door next door opened, and Zhao Qingyun came out with a cigarette in his mouth.
Xu Lai wondered why he always liked to smoke on the balcony.
Remembering that she hadn't set a time for tomorrow, she asked, "What time do we leave?"
Zhao Qingyun checked the flight information sent by Ms. Yingqiu. It was at 1 p.m., and he needed to arrive two hours early. He set a time: "How about 9 a.m.? I'll take you there first, and then go to the airport."
It would take more than an hour to drive from Heng County to H City. If they went directly to the airport via the highway, it would be much closer than starting from downtown Heng County. Xu Lai knew that he had taken a detour for her sake.
Xu Lai woke up around 7 a.m., got up and put on makeup. When heating up breakfast, she steamed a few extra shumai and some eggs.
She tidied herself up, changed into casual clothes, and tied her hair into a bun for a neat and tidy look.
When Xu Lai combed her hair, she could feel that it had grown a lot longer. The amount of hair was still as much as ever, but it was less than when she was in school. After all, she was a workaholic at the company every day, so it would be strange if she didn't lose hair.
Grandpa had already put the dog in the cage, which used to house the chickens. She had washed it clean last night so it wouldn't get his car dirty.
Zhao Qingyun's car was already parked at the door. Grandpa helped her put the cage in the car. Xu Lai instructed, "Grandpa, I've prepared all the dishes for lunch. Just cook them and eat them. Don't be stingy with the food. I'll check when I get back."
Grandpa and Grandma quickly agreed. Ms. Yingqiu hadn't arrived yet, so Xu Lai got in the car first to wait. Aunt Jiang was also there this time, and she specially sat in the back row.
Zhao Qingyun rested his elbow against the car window, already used to his mother's dawdling. In the past, if they agreed to go out at nine o'clock, she would definitely not get in the car until nine-thirty. He should have told her to give an earlier time.
Xu Lai opened the lunchbox and handed it over: "Would you like some?"
Zhao Qingyun took a shumai, said thank you, even though he had already eaten breakfast—toast—but he couldn't resist taking one anyway.
Xu Lai, peeling an egg, said, "You're too kind." Then, thinking of something, she asked, "Would you mind if I ate the egg?"
Zhao Qingyun looked at her with some confusion: "Why would you ask that?"
Xu Lai explained, "My friend, every time we eat together, if I eat boiled eggs, she wants to stay at least three meters away from me because she thinks the smell is awful."
Zhao Qingyun shook her head: "It's okay, I'll eat too."
Upon hearing his words, Xu Lai stopped eating the egg she was about to put in her mouth and handed it to him, saying, "You can have this one, I'll peel another one."
With one hand holding a shumai and the other a tissue, Zhao Qingyun had no free hands. He simply leaned forward, put the egg in his mouth, and swallowed it in a few gulps.
Seeing him eat like that, Xu Lai felt like she was choking. Sure enough, the next second, Zhao Qingyun started looking for water to drink.
She quickly unscrewed the bottle of mineral water, handed it to him, and said, "Eat slowly in the future, or you might choke."
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