Chapter 40
◎“If I fed you like that, would you feel disgusted?”◎
After lunch, everyone returned to the villa and entertained themselves. Some played games, some sang, and some even hugged girls and kissed on the sofa.
Zhong Qi loved playing cards, so he pulled Zhao Yue to sit down at the mahjong table and asked He Qingzhao if she wanted to play together.
He Qingzhao asked Cheng Jiamo, "Want to play?"
Cheng Jiamo shook her head: "I don't know how."
He Qingzhao laughed: "Are you really not sure, or are you just pretending?"
Cheng Jiamo was a little embarrassed: "I really don't know how. I've been studying all along and haven't had a chance to play."
He Qingzhao pressed her down onto the chair in front of the mahjong table, leaned close to her face, and said with a smile, "It's okay, I'll teach you."
Zhong Qi laughed and joked, "Come on, it's just for fun anyway, no need to feel pressured. Besides, are you worried that Lao He can't handle losing?"
He Qingzhao turned his face away, his thin lips brushing against her ear: "Let's play two rounds first, and if you don't like it, we can play something else."
Cheng Jiamo's ears itched from his rubbing, but she resisted the urge to dodge and said calmly, "Okay."
Zhao Yue quickly called out, "Brother Zong, we're one short for this mahjong game, you're the only one we need."
Zong Zhengping was on the phone. He gestured to Zhao Yue, and a few seconds later, he hung up and walked over.
Starting with Zhong Qi, he was the first to take a card, followed by Zhao Yue, and then Cheng Jiamo. However, when it was her turn, she had no idea that it was her turn; He Qingzhao had taken the card for her.
In the second round, Cheng Jiamo didn't need He Qingzhao's help and took the initiative to reach out and get it.
Four mahjong tiles, stacked in pairs, were too small for her to hold steady. Before she could even get them to her, they all scattered on the mahjong table with a clatter, and everyone could see them.
She blushed with embarrassment and laughed to make amends: "I've really never played this before, I don't know anything about it."
Zhong Qi and the others burst into laughter.
Zhao Yue smiled and said, "It's alright, it's alright, it's good that I'm a late bloomer."
Cheng Jiamo blushed with embarrassment and glared at He Qingzhao: "I told you I didn't know how, but you insisted I play. Now you've embarrassed yourself."
He Qingzhao arranged the cards for her and said in a doting tone, "It's because your hands are too small."
Cheng Jiamo looked at her own hands, then at the hands of the other three men at the mahjong table, and then at He Qingzhao's hands beside her. Compared to them, her hands were indeed small. But she felt that among girls, her hands weren't particularly small, nor were they particularly large; they were just average.
She picked up the cards again, but still couldn't hold them securely.
Seeing that her tiles were about to fall, He Qingzhao quickly held her hand, catching the mahjong tiles along with it, thus preventing them from falling out.
Zhong Qi and Zhao Yue, like a comedian, joked and teased each other again.
They laughed at Cheng Jiamo, so Cheng Jiamo pinched He Qingzhao's arm, and He Qingzhao grabbed a mahjong tile and smashed it against the bell, then started fighting with Zhao Yue.
Amidst laughter and conversation, Cheng Jiamo gradually became acquainted with Zhong Qi and the others.
He Qingzhao taught Jia Mo how to play cards step by step. After three rounds, she roughly knew how to play.
When Cheng Jiamo finished playing in the fourth round, He Qingzhao received an important phone call. Without her strategist, Cheng Jiamo had to fight alone.
By the time He Qingzhao returned after making the call, Cheng Jiamo had already lost twice. When He Qingzhao was there, she hadn't lost even once.
"I lost." She looked at He Qingzhao with a wronged expression.
He Qingzhao rubbed her head: "It's okay, you lost, you lost. Your man isn't short of money."
Zhong Qi rubbed his arm, looking sore, and forcefully threw out a "One of Bamboo" tile, slamming it heavily onto the mahjong table.
Sour chicken!
He Qingzhao: "Argument."
Zhong Qi slammed his hand on the table and jeered, "Captain Zhao, quickly show us your best investigative skills. Today, let's make Old He lose all his pants!"
Zhao Yue looked at Zong Zhengping: "This arduous task can only be entrusted to District Chief Zong."
Zong Zhengping ignored him, maintaining a cold and indifferent expression throughout.
After playing for more than an hour, Cheng Jiamo got up to go to the restroom. After using the restroom, she didn't rush back. She stood on the grass outside for a while. Just as she was about to go back, a girl walked over, smiled, and nodded at her. Cheng Jiamo politely returned the smile, and neither of them spoke.
When Cheng Jiamo returned to the card room, He Qingzhao had already won back all the money she had lost.
She stood behind He Qingzhao, naturally leaning on his back, her hands gripping his shoulders, watching him fight.
He Qingzhao reached out and pulled her: "Come over and keep fighting."
Cheng Jiamo quickly hugged his neck and snuggled against his back, saying coquettishly, "I don't want to fight anymore, you fight, and if you win, you'll buy me something delicious."
Zhong Qi slammed the cards on the table: "I'm not playing anymore, I'm not playing anymore. I've been stuffed with dog food while playing cards, I'm not in the mood to play."
It was just for fun, and nobody took it seriously.
So the three of them sat down at the mahjong table, smoked, and started talking about the chamber of commerce election.
Zong Zhengping, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly asked, "When are we going south?"
He Qingzhao didn't smoke, and pushed Cheng Jiamo away when they lit cigarettes.
As soon as Cheng Jiamo left, he lit a cigarette, but just held it in his hand as a formality and didn't smoke it much.
"Next month," he said. "I just got back last week."
Zong Zhengping said, "It's better to go later; things are in chaos over there right now."
Huo Junhou walked over and asked, "What kind of chaos is this?"
Zong Zhengping succinctly stated nine words: "Slum renovation, enrollment in nearby schools."
Zhong Qi flicked his cigarette ash and curled his lips in a mocking smile: "It's all old news."
Huo Junhou: "What is it? Tell me quickly."
Thirty years ago, Aoshen Group acquired a plot of land in Lancang District designated for public education. The land was originally farmland. Aoshen Group promised at the time that it would build a public school, taking from the people and using it for the people.
“Aoshen Group built a school and a relatively well-equipped residential area there. After that, they transferred the remaining land to other developers at a high price. Those developers fought over the land like wild dogs, grabbing a piece here and there. After they finished grabbing, they built their own and others built their own. They built dozens of residential areas of all sizes, some of which consisted of just one building. Now the area has become a chaotic and disorganized shantytown.”
"That school later merged into Lancang Middle School, one of the three most prestigious schools in the southern part of the city, and became the best private school in the southern part of the city. As for that messy neighborhood, it was separated from the Lancang District fifteen years ago and given to Linjiang District. However, Lancang Middle School, including the newly built Lancang Primary School, still belong to Lancang District."
“That shantytown is actually closer to Lancang Middle School and Lancang Primary School, only a few hundred meters away, but because it does not belong to Lancang District, students cannot attend school there. However, Linjiang District does not want to manage that shantytown either, and arbitrarily assigned a school to that shantytown, which is two kilometers away from the shantytown.”
“In the past, no one in that shantytown made a fuss. They all obediently followed the arrangements and went to school wherever they were told. But this year, something terrible happened. Three children were hit and killed by a truck on their way home from school. All three children died, and the three families took the children to the Linjiang District Government to demand an explanation.”
"That's not all. One of the families involved secretly organized a group of people to investigate the school's construction back then, and they actually found out. The chairman of Aoshen Group back then is now a standing director of Lancang Middle School. The people in the shantytown were completely enraged."
"In another family where the incident occurred, the man had divorced his wife two years ago. He only had one child, who was killed in a car accident. Taking advantage of a parent-teacher meeting at Lancang Elementary School, the man mingled with the crowd and set fire to the school, burning more than a dozen students to death. This matter has become a huge scandal, and the authorities have sent people to investigate."
After hearing this, Huo Junhou gasped, "Could it be related to the Rong family?"
He Qingzhao said in a calm tone, "The chairman of Aoshen Group back then, and now the permanent director of Lancang Middle School, is Rong Chen's cousin."
Huo Junhou: "Then the Rong family is finished."
Zhong Qi sneered: "It's not over yet. The title of 'King of the South' isn't for nothing. Rong Chen is ruthless. When it comes to interests, he doesn't care about family ties. He can even personally send his father and brother to jail, let alone his cousin. Forget about Tang Jingyao. He sent his uncle to jail for a woman. Rong Chen and Tang Jingyao are completely cut from the same cloth."
-
As dusk approached, a campfire was lit, and a group of men and women divided into three groups and sat in a circle around the fire.
He Qingzhao stopped restraining Cheng Jiamo and let her play by herself. He sat with Zhong Qi and the others, smoking and talking, glancing at her from time to time to make sure she was within his sight.
Zhong Qi chuckled and teased, "You're really raising a daughter like this."
He Qingzhao: "Don't talk nonsense."
After saying that, he glanced at Cheng Jiamo and saw her walking further and further away, so he shouted, "Baby, don't go too far."
Zhong Qi: "..."
If he weren't so cowardly, he would have smashed the cigarette butt in his hand into He Qingzhao's face.
Cheng Jiamo heard He Qingzhao's voice, glanced back, ignored him, and continued walking forward.
She loves autumn nights in the countryside and enjoys the atmosphere.
The sky wasn't completely dark yet; a wisp of sunset glow remained. The moon had already risen, and you could see both the sunset glow and the moonlight at the same time—it was exceptionally beautiful.
As she was walking, she suddenly encountered the girl who had nodded and smiled at her that afternoon.
The girl smiled at her again: "Hello."
Cheng Jiamo smiled and replied, "Hello."
The girl asked, "Which school do you go to?"
Cheng Jiamo paused for a moment, then remained silent. She hadn't expected the girl to ask so directly.
The girl smiled and said, "My name is Fan Xinglu, I'm from the Film Academy, what's yours?"
Cheng Jiaming was hesitating whether to go back when the girl's companion called out from a distance, "Fan Xinglu, what are you doing? Hurry up and leave."
Fan Xinglu waved to her: "I'm leaving now."
Cheng Jiamo opened her arms, took a deep breath, and slowly walked back.
She hadn't paid much attention to others before, but this time she took a few extra glances and noticed that Fan Xinglu was sitting on Huo Junhou's lap, while Huo Junhou was holding Fan Xinglu with one arm and rubbing another girl with the other.
Cheng Jiamo: "..."
He Qingzhao pressed Cheng Jiamo's face into his chest, not allowing her to look.
Cheng Jiamo didn't resist and let him hold her; she didn't want to look anyway.
They continued eating barbecue in the evening, but this time it wasn't them grilling it haphazardly anymore; it was done by a professional chef, and the main dish was whole roasted lamb.
Cheng Jiamo used her fork to pick up a piece of mutton that He Qingzhao had picked for her. Just as she was about to put it in her mouth, she looked up and saw a man across from her biting into a grilled sausage and feeding it to the girl next to him. The girl opened her mouth to take it, and the two of them each bit into one side, their oily mouths swallowing the sausage, getting closer and closer.
Suddenly feeling nauseous, Cheng Jiamo covered her mouth and hurriedly stood up. Ignoring the strange looks from the crowd, she ran to an open space and dry-heaved a few times.
Everyone: "..."
Zhao Yue blurted out, "Pregnant?"
He Qingzhao gave him a sharp look, then turned to chase after Cheng Jiamo.
Cheng Jiamo was disgusted and forced herself to hold it in.
He Qingzhao came to her side and asked in a low voice, "Are you disgusted?"
Cheng Jiamo looked at him with tears in her eyes: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I'm just not used to that kind of scene."
He Qingzhao felt heartbroken looking at the pitiful little girl.
He put his arm around Cheng Jiamo's waist, pulled her into his arms, and gently stroked her back with his large hand: "It's my fault. Knowing what they were like, I shouldn't have brought you here."
Cheng Jiamo buried herself in his arms, rubbing her face against his chest: "It's not your fault, it's just that I can't handle it."
He Qingzhao chuckled enigmatically, "Indeed."
Cheng Jiamo pouted, unhappy. She could say she was bad, but He Qingzhao couldn't say that, because it would make her uncomfortable.
He Qingzhao said goodbye to Huo Junhou, explaining that something came up, and left with Cheng Jiamo.
After returning home, Cheng Jiamo brushed her teeth carefully, then sucked on a mint before lying on the sofa to watch TV.
He Qingzhao, dressed in his pajamas, cooked noodles for her in the kitchen—simple yet delicious shrimp noodles.
"Wow, I didn't expect you to be such a good cook." Cheng Jiamo was very surprised.
He Qingzhao curled the corners of his mouth: "I know a few simple ones, but not any complicated ones."
Cheng Jiamo rested her chin on her hands, looking at him with adoration: "How can there be such a perfect man as you?"
He Qingzhao braced himself against the edge of the table with one hand and against her chair with the other, leaning closer to her: "Truth or dare?"
Cheng Jiamo smiled sweetly: "Of course."
He Qingzhao couldn't tell whether what she said was true or false, but that didn't stop him from being in a good mood.
He lowered his head and kissed her lips, asking, "If I fed you like that, would you feel disgusted?"
Cheng Jiamo: "What?"
He Qingzhao: "I'll feed you a grilled sausage."
Cheng Jiamo: "..."
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