Chapter 402: Polite Rejection
Chen Dongshuang walked around the yard, stretched herself a bit, and then went back inside to continue her work. Lu Donglin was alone there, hammering away at the cage.
Thinking about what Chen Dongshuang had just said, he paused, sighed, shook his head, and continued. He really didn't have a partner yet! Even if there had been some hints before, he had destroyed them all.
He had met Chen Wenqin several times recently, and after getting to know each other, he felt that it was not a good match.
At first, I thought this girl was bold and enthusiastic, quite interesting. She seemed enthusiastic and bold, but when she spoke to him, she had a certain girlish shyness. It was rare for a girl to muster the courage to tell me she wanted to date someone. So, let's get to know each other, and if it works out, we could take it a step further.
He had a cheerful personality, had always been so since childhood, and now, after experiencing the world and growing older, he had become more stable and mature, but his personality remained the same. As long as he wanted to, he could get along with everyone.
However, he is not brainless and has no bottom line.
After getting a little familiar with Chen Wenqin, he found that this girl was quite capable. She could step on the line as soon as she opened her mouth, and tested the edge of his baseline back and forth.
Chen Wenqin went to Huaizhuang to see him twice during the winter vacation.
The first time, he went to a fellow villager's house to buy some food and cooked a meal at the factory. Although they used to eat together as a group of grown men, now that he was with the girl, he wanted to cook for himself. After all, if the relationship really worked out, they would live together in the future.
His cooking skills were not very good, but this was his first time cooking for others.
None of his parents, brother, and sister-in-law had a chance to eat the meal he cooked.
However, Chen Wenqin didn't seem to like it. She fried some bacon and some cabbage, and only took a bite of each before putting down her chopsticks, saying that she wasn't hungry anyway and was full.
He came from the mountains and knew how precious food was. Neither his family nor the Wen family had ever had the problem of leaving food. But this meal that he had cooked with great care was just left over.
As he ate his second meal of leftovers, he thought back to his childhood, when his sister-in-law had just moved to the countryside. What was their standard of living back then? They'd eat grits and porridge one day and grits the next, and the occasional treat of refined grains was like New Year's Eve. But he'd never seen his sister-in-law dislike it, not even once.
The second time, when Chen Wenqin went to find him again, he did not open fire. Instead, he took people for a walk around the city and had Western food.
This time, Chen Wenqin put it down without tasting it again, and sat there with him for a long time.
But he wasn't full.
He was a country bumpkin who couldn't handle Western food. The taste of Western food made him sick. Not only that, the little food for the two of them cost him almost a month's living expenses.
Chen Wenqin asked him, "It's already the twelfth lunar month. When will you be able to return from Huaizhuang? It's so cold, squatting there is unbearable."
Lu Donglin said, "Even if you can't stand it, you have to endure it. It's nothing. You don't have to do anything. You just watch others work. When I was at home, I had to do this work every morning and evening. Now this is a blessing."
"So, is that factory yours or your brother's?"
"Of course it belongs to my brother. I just run errands for him. I don't have the talent to do this."
"Then why doesn't he come over and check on you himself? It's better for you to watch over him the whole time, right? Two people taking turns is better than just one person watching all the time?"
Lu Donglin looked up at her for a long time without saying anything.
Chen Wenqin felt a little uncomfortable being looked at by him: "Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"
Lu Donglin lowered his eyes, and when he looked up, he smiled: "It's not bad, it doesn't require any effort. He often comes here, but you just haven't met him. Besides, my sister-in-law is pregnant now, and it's not good for him to be here at night."
Seeing that he still had a smile on his face, Chen Wenqin didn't think about it any more and continued to ask him, "So, will you always follow your brother and run errands for him in the future? Have you ever thought about doing something on your own?"
Lu Donglin leaned back in his chair and looked at her, then said lazily, "Let's talk about it later! I think it's fine now." After that, he teased Chen Wenqin, "No, you're already thinking about my future now?" Isn't she thinking a little too far ahead?
Chen Wenqin said, "I'm serious about wanting to date you, so I can't just focus on the present, I have to think about the future." She liked Lu Donglin, and she hadn't told her family that they were dating, but her close classmates all knew about it. Girls whisper to each other, so they talk a lot.
Knowing that Lu Donglin was from the countryside and had come here with his brother to do business, and that he wasn't well educated, Chen Wenqin had no idea why she fell in love with him. Perhaps it was simply because he was handsome, and Chen Wenqin, a superficial person, was attracted by his appearance.
So a few young sisters gave her some advice.
"He's from the mountains, has no diploma, and no formal job. This won't work."
"That's right, Wenqin, if you just want to play around with him, then have fun with him. But if you really want a long-term relationship, you have to talk to him straight and find him a proper job. Otherwise, how can you tell your family about it? They won't agree. This person isn't like any other person that you can keep hidden forever."
Chen Wenqin kept these words in mind.
She expressed it in what she thought was a very tactful way, but the answer she got was obviously disappointing to her.
Lu Donglin seems to be very satisfied with his current life and has no plans to make any changes for the time being.
Lu Donglin asked her, "I've never really understood why you'd be interested in someone I want to date. You're not bad looking. Not only are there people your age in the compound, but your classmates at school are also incredibly talented. And how could you be interested in someone like me, who hasn't even graduated from elementary school?"
Chen Wenqin asked, "Isn't it a little hard to believe?" She herself sometimes found it hard to believe. Was it because Lu Donglin was good-looking that she was attracted to him? No, no matter how good-looking he was, he was just an ordinary person. Besides, she knew many good-looking gay men.
Maybe it's because I think his smile is so warm, a warm smile with a hint of ruffianism. He has a very clean and pure temperament. His eyes are very clear and bright, and his smile is filled with a subtle and fragmented light, like the warm sunshine in March, refreshing.
So, I was moved.
Lu Donglin nodded: "I can't believe it, I'm a little flattered!"
"I can't believe it myself." But who can say anything about love? If I like someone, I like them. Things are different now than they were before. If I like someone, I have to fight for it.
Lu Donglin asked her, "It's not enough for two people to just like each other. Especially when there's such a huge gap between us. Have you ever thought about whether your family would agree if you find someone with my conditions?"
Chen Wenqin pursed her lips for a moment before saying, "Marriage is free now. I'm looking for a partner who wants to spend my life with me. Whether my family agrees or not doesn't really matter."
Lu Donglin could hear from across the table that the man was not very confident.
He wanted to make his words clearer.
"This is how I am now. I don't have any plans for the future. I'll help my brother as long as I can. If I can't help, I'll have to go back to my hometown and farm in the mountains. My household registration is still there, so it's only a matter of time before I go back."
Chen Wenqin looked at him in disbelief after hearing this: "No, your brother's business is already successful now. Why don't you want to develop it here? Why do you want to go back to your hometown? Isn't the city good?"
"The city is good! But my parents are still in their hometown! They gave birth to the three of us, and my brother moved his household registration to the capital, so he's considered a city dweller. My sister passed the exam and got her household registration here, and then she married here, so it'll be hard for her to go back in the future. That's all I have left. If I end up staying here too, what will happen to them in the future? Should they take me over?"
"They were born and raised in the mountains and have lived there for most of their lives. Even if I had the ability to bring them here, they wouldn't come."
After saying that, he looked at Chen Wenqin and said, "So, if you want to date me, you have to think carefully about it. You may have to leave your hometown and go to the mountains with me. But you have a college degree at least. Even if you go back to your hometown, you can still find a job in the county town, but that will make you far away from home."
If you don't leave home, then you can only get divorced.
Chen Wenting sat there, unable to laugh anymore. She opened her mouth and took a long time to speak. "Why are you telling me all this? Don't you like me at all?"
"You're a very good girl." Lu Donglin's face was always smiling, making him look warm and a little bit ruffian, which made him particularly attractive. Chen Wenqin was attracted by his warmth and ruffianism. These two completely contradictory things appeared in one person, without any sense of disobedience. Instead, he caught her attention at first sight and could not be taken away, falling deeply in love with her.
"I really like you, otherwise I wouldn't want to spend some time with you and get to know each other better." However, this kind of liking is too shallow and cannot be compared with anyone else in the family.
It would be more accurate to say that I appreciate it rather than like it.
Girls of this age are always so lively. Girls who grew up in the compound are pampered and naturally bold and unrestrained, as bright as spring.
He didn't know what it felt like to fall in love at first sight. He only knew that love was something that was accumulated bit by bit through long-term interactions and the harmony of mutual support.
If two people have different concepts and lifestyles, and they have to compromise with each other to get along, then there will only be estrangement, and they will be pushed further and further apart. Where does the love come from?
Even if there was excitement and admiration when we first met, it would be completely erased bit by bit, just like him now.
Chen Wenqin took a deep breath, her eyes turned red, and she stood up while grabbing the pocket beside her: "I know what you mean. I won't bother you again." After that, she walked away with the pocket on her shoulder.
She is not stupid, and it is really obvious what Lu Donglin said.
She likes it, but she won't compromise just because of her love.
She wanted Lu Donglin to work harder and do better, so that she could get through the hurdle of her family. But Lu Donglin obviously had no such intentions. He still wanted to go back to his hometown, and even wanted to let her go as well.
If that place is a good place, can Wenwan come back after going there?
Forget it!
Lu Donglin was smashing things with a hammer while thinking about what happened in the western restaurant that day. As he thought about it, he sighed.
It’s not that he cares about the money spent on the Western meal, he just hopes that when I really find a partner one day, I can be a little bit like his sister-in-law, just a little bit.
He couldn't envy the relationship between his brother and sister-in-law, and not everyone could have that, but he still wanted to have a little bit of it.
When you meet amazing people in your youth, you will remember them for a lifetime, even if they have nothing to do with you.
Then, whenever she meets all kinds of people, she can't help but compare them, only to find that no one is even a fraction as good as her.
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