An Moxue and Wu Sicheng were eating cold noodles at a restaurant near the West Gate. Knowing that she was back, her friends had already chased after her to her house, but unfortunately, they found no one there.
Li Aidang waited for Chu Dongmei for a while, but An Moxue didn't reply. She said angrily to Chu Dongmei, "It's alright, didn't we leave a letter? If she doesn't come looking for us tomorrow, I'll just take my clothes and move in. This house is big enough, there's room. When we meet, I'll definitely interrogate her properly. What has she been busy with all these years? She even has to go through the trouble of replying to a letter, all she does is send things. Do you think we're the kind of people who lack such small things?"
Chu Dongmei rolled her eyes with disdain. "You're not so bad. Why don't you eat the things Mo Xue mails to you? You have a good husband who can satisfy your every craving. I can't. I'm lacking. I'm far from it. I'm just waiting for Mo Xue's charity to improve my meals!"
"You traitor! I knew I shouldn't have asked you to come. I should have just asked Jiajia!" The two said, then ran off playfully, Chu Dongmei in front and Li Aidang behind.
"Come on, Jiajia doesn't have time for you. She's being pressured by Aunt Guo to go on blind dates! She's in the middle of a terrible situation! It's only because I'm bored that I can spare the time to help you find Mo Xue. She's heartless too, I don't know what she's been up to, she didn't even contact us right away when she got back."
"Absolutely, we absolutely cannot let her off the hook when we meet her."
The sound faded into the distance, and the two people disappeared at the alley entrance.
The next day, An Moxue drove back to the compound. However, the parents of several of her friends had all moved due to promotions, but now lived further away from the compound. She hadn't contacted them before, so she didn't know. It was only after meeting Wen Tao last time that she found out, as he had given her the detailed new address.
Childhood playmates parted ways in 1968, but reunited in the summer of 1977.
When Chu Dongmei, Li Aidang, and Guo Zhijia saw An Moxue, they hugged each other and cried bitterly.
"How could you be so heartless back then? You moved out of the compound without telling us, and you went to the countryside without telling us. How have you managed all these years all by yourself?" Guo Zhijia went to a remote mountain village in the south back then. If An Moxue hadn't written letters reminding her to be careful and wary of the locals and educated youth, she might have fallen into one trap after another. Who knows what she would be like now? She wouldn't have been able to wait for the resumption of the college entrance examination and return to Beijing.
An Moxue grinned dramatically, pleading with Guo Zhijia, "Okay, Jiajia, hit me gently, it hurts." Guo Zhijia burst into laughter through her tears, then slapped her shoulder hard, saying, "Come on, you've been practicing martial arts with Uncle An since you were little. Don't think that just because you act quiet and elegant, you're a lady."
"I am a lady, okay? I am very ladylike." An Moxue smiled coyly, which made everyone else laugh.
An Moxue breathed a sigh of relief, "Alright, thank goodness you've stopped crying. It's been so long since we last met, and you start crying as soon as we see each other. I really can't handle it! Is Ai Guo home? Let's call him, and also Brother Wentao. It's my treat, let's go eat."
"What's wrong? You've been back for so long and haven't even contacted us. I think you're a typical example of someone who forgets his friends after seeing a pretty face." Li Aidang scolded An Moxue arrogantly, already picking up the pastries An Moxue had brought and eating them.
An Moxue reached out to snatch the pastries from her hand, "Give them to me, stop teasing me while eating my food."
Li Aidang nimbly dodged An Moxue's hand and said, "Didn't you give this to my parents? I'm eating my parents' food, so what?"
"You always have so much to say when it comes to food," Guo Zhijia complained.
"That's right, she puts all her pride into food, especially when it comes to finding a partner. It's true what they say, like attracts like, they spoil her rotten." An Moxue thought of Li Aidang's husband and asked, "Aidang, how's your Jiang Wenhua? How's he doing? And my little niece?"
Li Aidang beamed with happiness as she spoke of her husband and daughter, "He and our daughter are in the army! They're doing great!"
"So, you came back all by yourself again?" An Moxue asked incredulously, though she wanted to laugh.
Li Aidang said matter-of-factly, "What else can I do? Xiaodoudou prefers to be with her father. She can't live without him, and there's nothing I can do about it! So I came back alone."
Chu Dongmei said, "Among us, Ai Dang is the most carefree, only good at eating, and she is also the happiest."
"Alright, let's go! Let's find Ai Guo. Who's going to call Brother Wen Tao?" An Moxue said, already walking out.
"I'll go," Chu Dongmei said, raising her hand in agreement.
An Moxue said, "Remember to call your sister-in-law along. We'll meet up at Aiguojia in a bit."
"I understand," Chu Dongmei said, and then left.
As the three walked out, Ai Dang didn't forget to ask An Moxue, "Where's your boyfriend? Why didn't you bring him today?"
“I was forced to do manual labor for you, buying timber, bricks, and tiles for the house repairs,” An Moxue confessed truthfully.
"Could it be that he's hiding people because he's afraid we'll bully him?" Ai Dang sized up An Moxue, his eyes darting around, wondering what he was up to now.
“I’ll treat you to a nice meal this time, and then have him treat you to a separate meal another day, wouldn’t that be better? If the two of us had come together today, wouldn’t you have missed out on a chance to have a big meal?” An Moxue teased with a smile.
Ai Dang vehemently refuted, "No way, am I that kind of person?"
“You are.” An Moxue and Guo Zhijia spoke at the same time, their tacit understanding was perfect.
"Fine, I guess all my feelings for you have been wasted. Nobody understands. I just wanted to see if your guy was reliable or not."
An Moxue and Guo Zhijia exchanged a glance, both suppressing their laughter, and let her talk to herself.
After going downstairs, the group headed towards Ai's country. Before they had gone far, they heard a familiar, long-lost voice.
"Dongmei, are you telling the truth? Moxue really came?"
"You're here. Otherwise, could I have gone to call Wentao? I ran into you before I could even call Wentao. Where have you been?"
"No, nothing! Just strolling around."
Li Aidang laughed gleefully, "Believe it or not, Ai Guo definitely didn't do anything good! He might have been unintentionally ruined by Dongmei. Listen to him, he's even stammering when he speaks."
An Moxue and Guo Zhijia nodded in agreement.
As soon as she turned the corner, An Moxue ran into a thin, dark-skinned young man who immediately exclaimed, "Damn it! An Moxue, you're not human!"
An Moxue chased after him and gave him a thorough beating, making Ai Guo run away with his head in his hands, crying, "I was wrong! Moxue! I was wrong! Please stop hitting me! What I meant was, you're getting more and more beautiful, so beautiful you don't seem like you belong in this world, so beautiful you don't seem human, you're like a fairy!"
An Moxue stopped what she was doing, threatening, "Weren't you insulting me?"
"No, no," Ai Guo vehemently denied.
The others watched as Ai Guo was chased and beaten by An Moxue, occasionally offering their comments; their expressions of watching the show were incredibly genuine.
When Wentao and his wife arrived, they saw Ai Guo begging for mercy and simply laughed and cursed, "Serves you right!"
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