Chapter 27, Section 27. Are you two dating? ...
Xia Chan was slightly taken aback by his words, and the next second she blurted out, "Are you crazy?"
"It's true." Shen Zhoudu's eyes were serious and solemn.
A few days ago, Xia Chan once again helped Huang Mao by delivering tables to A Jiang's bar. Chen Zhoudu was worried that she would have a similar incident to Zhang Guozhong's last one, so he insisted on going with her.
When they arrived at the bar, Ajiang wasn't there. The singer who had performed there last time had also quit, supposedly to participate in some kind of talent show. While unloading the goods, Chen Zhoudu noticed a recruitment poster at the entrance advertising part-time singers.
Xia Chan's expression also turned serious, even slightly solemn.
“Chenzhoudu, I know you might be having some difficulties right now, but it's not to the point where you need to go out and take on part-time jobs. What time is it now? There are only a little over a hundred days left until the college entrance exam. You can't be distracted. If you really get affected by these things and fail... Even though you're not taking the exam here, if Lao Liu, Lao Niu, and your family find out, they'll probably kill me!”
“I just feel that if you can do it, then so can I.” He sighed softly. “Besides, didn’t you promise me before that once you took my money, you would treat me as one of your own?”
Although Siyi's surgery was successful, Grandma's most important task now is to raise money to repay the debt. Although the neighbors have not been pressuring them, neither Grandma nor Xia Chan are the type to owe others anything, especially since Siyi will need another surgery later.
Although they hadn't mentioned these things to him, he could sense the pressure they were under lately. Even Huang Mao had been taking on more work lately. He knew that even if he went out to help, it would be a drop in the ocean, but every little bit of effort counts.
"It's precisely because I consider you an integral part of this organization that I can't let you go!" Xia Chan's chest heaved slightly, as if she were getting a little anxious. "Everyone in this academy has their own responsibilities, and your primary task, Chen Zhoudu, is to study!"
“Xia Chan, I’m not a pampered young master.” Chen Zhoudu sighed again, his gaze still calm and deep as he looked at her. “Besides, didn’t you say that I sing pretty well? I do really like singing and I love music. If I could do what I love and earn some money, it would make me very happy. Studying all day is too boring, and I really want to find a way out.”
Xia Chan paused for a moment, her lips pursed, her gaze seemingly struggling, but she finally steeled herself and insisted, "Impossible."
By the afternoon, Xia Chan had completely stopped talking to Shen Zhoudu. The two seemed to be caught in an invisible tug-of-war. Wherever Xia Chan went, Shen Zhoudu followed, but Xia Chan ignored him the whole time.
In the evening, Xia Chan, tired from studying, went downstairs for afternoon tea as usual. Just as she was leaving, Chen Zhoudu also came out, and the two happened to meet face to face.
Xia Chan paused for a moment, and Chen Zhoudu also paused slightly.
Xia Chan gave him a cold look and went straight downstairs.
She went downstairs to the refrigerator and took a carton of yogurt to soak oatmeal, and Chen Zhoudu followed suit and also took a carton of yogurt.
He followed her around, doing whatever she did.
She poured the oatmeal into the yogurt container and stirred it vigorously with a spoon, and he also poured in a spoonful of oatmeal and stirred it silently and gently.
Although he didn't say a word, his presence was undeniable.
Xia Chan paused for a moment, reminding herself to stay calm, ignore him, and not even glance at him before turning around and going upstairs to her room.
The same method was used the next day.
The next afternoon, Xia Chan was so exhausted by the silent back-and-forth of the ferry crossing that she offered to help out at the timber factory in Huangmao County.
Huang Mao would occasionally go to the Qingxian Timber Yard, an hour's drive from Qingshui, to select timber for Master Qi. Now, in the depths of winter, there are fewer taxis in Qingshui Town, only a few scheduled buses that travel through the surrounding towns and counties, running every hour and picking up passengers at a few designated locations.
Xia Chan boarded the bus at the stop closest to Shanfeng Lane, and soon after, at the next stop, Chenzhou Ferry, she also boarded.
Xia Chan paused slightly, tossed her backpack onto the seat next to her, and turned to look out the window. Chen Zhoudu silently sat down in the seat behind her.
The timber factory in Qing County was very large, and the roads were quite winding. After Xia Chan arrived at the location, she called Huang Mao, and soon Huang Mao came running to pick her up.
"Sis! Over here!"
Xia Chan took two steps forward to greet him, and Huang Mao was overjoyed, never expecting that Xia Chan would be willing to help him. He was excitedly chattering when he saw a figure in a white down jacket following Xia Chan not far behind, like a ghost, which startled Huang Mao.
Holy crap!
He realized it was Chenzhoudu, and then punched him in the chest, saying, "What are you doing here?"
Xia Chan grabbed the blond-haired man and turned to leave, saying, "Ignore him!"
"...What's going on?"
Huang Mao didn't understand. The lumberyard was crowded and diverse, with workers carrying huge logs constantly passing by. After a few steps, Chen Zhoudu was left behind by their pace.
Xia Chan just kept walking forward with big strides.
The blond-haired guy glanced around twice, vaguely guessing what was going on, and excitedly asked gossipy, "Sis, are you two having a fight?"
Xia Chan pursed her lips and remained silent.
He got even more excited, grinning and rubbing his hands together, then cautiously asked, "Sis... are you two dating?"
Xia Chan was startled. She turned and glared at him for a moment, then slapped him on the back of the head. "What are you thinking about all day, you little brat!"
The blond-haired boy cried out in pain, clutching his head and feeling wronged. "Sis... are you kidding me! I may call you 'sis,' but I'm two years older than you, okay? If we're talking about a brat, you're the one..."
Xia Chan paused slightly. He had been calling her "sister" for so long that he had forgotten that she was actually two years older than him, but he still retorted, "Your IQ is two years old."
"..."
But Huang Mao glanced at the sunken ferry in the distance and still suggested, "But sis, if you were with him... I think it would be pretty good. Although I've always been a little annoyed by him, I do admit that he's a little bit more handsome, a little bit taller, a little bit more educated than me, and his family is rich..."
"Money, money, money! All you ever think about is money!" Xia Chan, seemingly thoroughly annoyed, gave him a good whack on the head. "All you ever talk about is money. Is money your ancestor?"
The blond-haired guy groaned and clutched his head, unable to take it anymore. "No... what did he do to you, or what did money do to you...?"
Xia Chan was busy at the lumberyard until sunset that day. When she went out, she remembered the sunken ferry that had not been seen since, and looked around.
Perhaps... he was too bored and left first?
She pursed her lips, her expression blank, and boarded the last scheduled bus at the entrance of the lumber mill.
In Tongcheng, it gets dark early in winter, and public transportation, including buses and scheduled shuttle buses, also stops running early. The last bus stops running at 5:30 pm, and if you miss it, you have to find a way to get home on your own.
Xia Chan found a spot by the window and sat next to Huang Mao. When she turned to look out the window, her breath left a layer of white mist on the windowpane.
The bus moved slowly forward in the sunset, the whole carriage as noisy and crowded as a sardine can. Xia Chan leaned against the window, bored, listening to Huang Mao tell some not-so-funny jokes.
In a flash, the blond-haired guy seemed to notice something, and suddenly pointed to a spot outside her window and chuckled, "Hey, look at this guy, riding a bicycle here in the dead of winter, trying to outrun a bus. Can two wheels catch up with eight wheels? Seriously... idiot—Holy crap?!"
But then, as if he suddenly saw something clearly, he quickly leaned over and pressed his eyes almost against the glass to take a closer look.
Xia Chan frowned and glanced at his movements, which were almost pressed against her legs. She also looked out the window impatiently. Through the misty window, she vaguely saw something and was shocked – that “idiot” was none other than Chen Zhoudu.
He was chasing the car.
In the dead of winter, he somehow got his hands on a 28-inch truck and was chasing after a car?!
"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit..."
Huang Mao was almost dumbfounded. Not only was it freezing cold, but Qing Shui had also experienced several snowfalls in the past two days. The snow had been compacted and was as slippery as ice, making it difficult for even four-wheeled or eight-wheeled vehicles to drive on, let alone two-wheeled vehicles.
But he rode very fast, and sometimes when a bus shoved him to the side, he would wobble precariously in an S-shape like a tightrope, making everyone who watched it jump out of their skin.
Xia Chan's temples suddenly throbbed, and she stood up, shouting to the driver, "Driver! Stop the car!"
By now, the passengers near the windows were all curiously peering out. The driver, somewhat reluctantly, said, "We haven't arrived yet; stopping now means no refund!"
"I know, stop the car!"
The car stopped by the roadside, and Xia Chan and Huang Mao immediately ran out, the biting cold air hitting them in the face. Chen Zhoudu, which had been left behind, also braked to a stop not far away, but slipped and fell on the ice.
“Sink the boat across—!” Xia Chan shouted sharply.
He looked up and saw her, smiled, and endured the pain to stand up. However, he didn't immediately help himself to the car. Instead, he walked a few steps toward her.
Xia Chan ran to him and carefully examined him to make sure he was alright. Then, with cold, angry eyes, she slapped him across the chest. "Are you sick?! Are you out of your mind?! Do you know how dangerous that was?!"
Shen Zhoudu stumbled backward as she pulled, his eyes bright and a smile playing on his lips as he stared intently at her.
He rode for a long time without any warm protection. His hands were frozen red like solid ice, and his cheeks and nose were also red. He had also slightly rubbed his right cheek when he fell, and his down jacket was soaked with snow. He looked extremely disheveled and shivering from the cold, but his eyes were unusually bright, and they were even clearer and cleaner than stars because of the thick fog in the world and the air he was breathing.
Xia Chan was still breathing out thick fog of anger, but when she met his eyes, she couldn't say anything more. She paused and was about to unzip her large down jacket when Chen Zhoudu gently squeezed her hand to stop her.
His hands were truly like ice cubes; the moment she touched them, her heart turned cold.
He smiled stiffly and trembled as he opened his hand, revealing something in his palm as if to surprise her.
A small wooden cicada was in his palm.
The cicada carving wasn't very good; the lines were uneven, and there were still barbs that hadn't been polished off. But the shape of a cicada in summer was already clearly visible. Lying quietly in his hand, it looked like a leaf trembling slightly in the summer breeze.
Xia Chan's heart pounded wildly as she looked at the cicada, and her gaze towards him was filled with astonishment. After a moment, Chen Za took a deep breath and whispered, "The sunken boat will ferry you across..."
“I saw a master woodcarver at the lumber mill… and learned this from him.” Chen Zhoudu coughed lightly, his voice trembling slightly from the cold. “You were gone when I came out… The security guard said you had just boarded the bus, so I borrowed the master’s bicycle and came after you.”
"..." Her feelings became even more complicated in an instant. For some reason, it felt like a crack had been opened in the depths of her heart, and she felt a dull, aching sensation.
Huang Mao stood about ten steps away, secretly glancing at them before coughing lightly and turning his head away.
She looked at him for a long time with mixed feelings, then looked at the cicada in his palm. Finally, she slowly reached out and held the wooden cicada in her hand, but couldn't help but punch him hard.
Chenzhoudu laughed.
Xia Chan failed.
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Author's Note: Thank you "Fifteenth Floor" for the landmine! [Sprinkling flowers]
Happy holidays! [Let me see...]
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