Jiang Shuya felt a little uncomfortable with his behavior, but then thought that it was just his lifestyle and she couldn't really argue with him.
"Why are you eating so fast? There's still so much left. Don't rush, eat slowly."
He pointed to the chicken wings, chicken nuggets, fries, and hamburger in front of him, slowly picked up a fry, coated it with ketchup, and handed it over, continuing in a gentle voice: "Eating too fast is bad for your spleen and stomach. A lot of air entering the body along with food can cause intestinal colic and indigestion. Over time, it can easily lead to gastroenteritis."
She was like this from a young age. From the time she could remember, her mother made her do a lot of farm work. When weeding, she couldn't lift the hoe, so her mother made her pull the weeds by hand. When her mother sprayed pesticides in the fields, her mother made her fetch water from the river. She couldn't lift it, so her mother put a large bucket at the edge of the field and made her carry it halfway in a small bucket and pour it into the large bucket so that her mother could collect water for spraying pesticides. During the busy farming season, when harvesting rice and wheat, she was always given tasks. If she didn't finish, she wouldn't get any food. When it was finally time to eat, her mother would urge her to eat quickly and not spend too much time eating. At that time, there was never enough work to do at home. After school, she would cut pig feed and herd ducks, which caused her to not finish her homework many times. She was criticized by her teacher and punished by standing in the corner. For a long time, she doubted whether she was really her mother's biological child. After several years of hardship, her mother kept telling her, "You are the eldest child in the family. It is your duty to help with farm work. This is your fate."
Until one day, when she was twelve years old, her father was laid off from the factory, and her mother went with him to the provincial capital to do small business. All the family's land was given to her uncle's family to farm. She was relieved and happy. She no longer had to harvest wheat or rice. Because there were snakes in the wheat fields, and the rice leaves were like thorny vines, they scratched many thin, long, bloody cuts on her arms. The pain caused her to have an allergic and itchy skin for a long time.
After entering junior high school, she lived in a boarding school. Her parents only came home once a year for the Spring Festival. She wasn't worried and focused on her studies. She had more time to learn and read, wanting to catch up on what she had missed. She worked three times harder than others, and her grades improved rapidly. Three years later, she was admitted to the best high school in the city center and became a role model for her younger siblings. After graduating from junior high school, her mother originally planned for her to work in a factory in town, like her older cousins, to help support the family. However, she didn't expect to receive the admission notice personally delivered by her teacher. After the teacher's persuasion, her grandparents' support, and the mediation of relatives, they finally agreed to let her attend high school in the county town.
Seeing her deep in thought, Lin Moxiao thought he had said something wrong: "What are you thinking about?"
She came to her senses and thought for a moment: "I wasn't thinking about anything, but I suddenly thought of my cousin. I've always envied her since I was little. My aunt and uncle, as well as my two older sisters, doted on her and gave her the best of everything. I envied my cousin for buying her the most fashionable clothes, pretty hair accessories, and exquisite dolls. She has always been able to freely choose what she wants."
"Aren't your parents good to you?"
Lin Moxiao asked back, and Jiang Shuya smiled helplessly, not wanting to say more.
“My mother loves me very much. She only has one son and gives me the best education and companionship. My maternal grandparents also love me very much. They never treat me like a child.”
Lin Moxiao's face was filled with reminiscence as she spoke.
Do you contact them often? Do you visit them frequently?
Jiang Shuya asked these questions naturally because her parents wouldn't call her unless it was something important. If it weren't for the fact that her family was building a house a few months ago and she took the initiative to visit them, her parents wouldn't contact her for a year or two, let alone show any concern for her. Even if she went to visit them, it was mostly just for show because they were always busy.
She didn't rest on holidays, only taking two days off during the Spring Festival. When she was pregnant with Tangtang, Huang Minghao didn't pay much attention to her and was indifferent to her. Over time, she became taciturn and depressed. She tried calling her mother a few times, but the person on the other end of the line was always urging her urgently. Before she could say two words, she knew her mother would hang up. She could hear her mother talking to the cargo owner on the other end. After a few times of this, Jiang Shuya stopped calling. When she was feeling down, she could only pick up her only hobby: reading.
Lin Moxiao hesitated for a moment before answering, a kind of indescribable sadness in her eyes, and she simply said, "We rarely keep in touch anymore."
After a few bites of the hamburger, Jiang Shuya couldn't eat anymore. That's just how she is; when she's hungry, she wolfs down her food, and she's always the first one to fill her stomach. Looking at how much was left, she couldn't help but complain, "You're wasting so much food. You can't even finish it, yet you ordered so much."
"You're the one talking to me! You didn't even finish one hamburger. I ordered a set meal, two portions. Look, I've almost finished mine. The rest is yours."
After saying that, he picked up the hamburger in front of him and finished it in a few bites, completely losing his previous refined and elegant demeanor. He then stuffed the last few fries into his mouth, took a few big gulps of his drink, and put it on the table: "Mine's done, how about yours?"
Jiang Shuya was stunned by his series of actions. What the hell was this? Was he trying to act all refined?
She was talking while holding a hamburger, stuffing it into her mouth in a few bites. She choked a few times because she ate too fast and almost choked to death. Lin Moxiao quickly came over and patted her back to help her catch her breath. He leaned close to the back of her neck and smelled a warm, light fragrance emanating from her. Her fair and slender neck exuded a natural floral scent, which intoxicated and captivated him. He liked this fragrance. He took a deep breath and smelled it again, but he couldn't identify what kind of fragrance it was. He had seen too many perfumes. He had accompanied his ex-girlfriends to many shopping malls and bought all kinds of perfumes, but he had never seen this one.
She was so choked that she couldn't catch her breath, and it took her a while to recover.
"Eat more slowly next time. Your throat is quite narrow, so don't force it in. It's bad for your esophagus," he advised gently.
Seeing the remaining chicken wings and fries in the set meal in front of her, she put them all into a paper bag and said, "I'll pack up the rest."
"Don't save it for tomorrow; leftovers are unhealthy," he gently reminded us.
"If I get hungry later, can I eat something then?"
Jiang Shuya nodded to Lin Moxiao and smiled.
After leaving the mall, the two drove for fifteen minutes to the Jiangsu Provincial Grand Theatre, a magnificent and solemn building.
Jiang Shuya hadn't expected the Grand Theater to be so nearby, and couldn't help but exclaim, "I had no idea that there was such a sacred place in our Hexi area. This has truly broadened my horizons."
Upon entering the grand theater, a prominent poster at the entrance displayed the program and performers for tonight's performance. Seeing over twenty songs, all composed by the same person, Yu Shuwan, Jiang Shuya wondered who she was. She couldn't recall ever attending a concert in her past life, so she naturally hadn't paid attention to those songs.
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