43. She is no longer alone
"Xu Wenqiang, are you fucking crazy?"
Chen Yang cursed and was about to step forward to pull Chen Yang away, but Xu Wenqiang pointed the knife at him, "Chen Yang, if Yu Yong had touched you and bit you that night, what would you have done?"
"I--" Chen Yang couldn't imagine it, but he felt that he might be even crazier than Xu Wenqiang in front of him.
Yu Yong was so frightened that he didn't care about anything else. He just kept begging for mercy, "Xu Wenqiang, please let me go. I won't dare to do it again..."
"You really won't dare to do it again?" Xu Wenqiang gestured with a knife in front of Yu Yong. "Don't you know some powerful brothers and sisters?"
"I don't know them. I don't know any of them." Yu Yong shook his head faster than a rattle. "They stopped playing with me a long time ago."
"Yu Yong, if there is a next time..." Xu Wenqiang glanced under Yu Yong.
Yu Yong covered his crotch with his hands in fear. "There won't be a next time. I swear on the incense of our Yu family, which has been passed down from generation to generation, there won't be a next time."
Xu Wenqiang sneered and said, "Your family still has your father as its patron saint. So you don't have to swear, I don't believe it anyway. I'm just telling you that I will always carry this knife with me. If there is a next time, it's up to you to decide."
"There really won't be a next time." Yu Yong said in a tearful voice.
Looking at the crying Yu Yong, Xu Wenqiang sighed.
When Yu Yong first appeared at the farmers' market, his face was covered in snot and tears. He was thin and skinny, like an undergrown bean sprout.
When Xu Wenqiang, Su Xiaoshan, and Chen Yang were playing a game of chase in the bungalow area, they saw Yu Yong sitting at the door crying. Xu Wenqiang stopped and asked him why he was crying. He said he was hungry and his parents were busy moving and couldn't take care of him.
Xu Wenqiang gave him an egg that she had in her pocket that morning. He finished it quickly and asked if there was any more.
Xu Wenqiang was reluctant to give him the other one, so she shook her head.
Yu Yong was not full, so he started crying again.
Su Xiaoshan was annoyed and ignored him and left first.
Xu Wenqiang came up with an idea and asked Chen Yang to go home and get some braised food. Chen Yang was reluctant, but Xu Wenqiang promised to copy his homework, and he finally agreed.
Yu Yong wolfed down the braised food that Chen Yang brought him, and then he stopped crying.
From that day on, Yu Yong started playing with them.
I don’t know if it’s because they ate Chen Yang’s braised food when they first met, but Yu Yong and Chen Yang have always had a better relationship.
Later, Chen Yang and Xu Wenqiang had a falling out. Su Xiaoshan chose to remain neutral, Yu Yong chose Chen Yang, and Xu Wenqiang became a lonely person.
"Yu Yong, if I had given you both eggs when we first met, would we be different now?" Xu Wenqiang asked in a low voice.
Yu Yong looked at Xu Wenqiang blankly, as if he understood, but also as if he didn't. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, no words came out.
In the distance, there were a few barking dogs, as well as some high-pitched curses and laughter. A gust of wind blew, and a disgusting smell mixed with the smell of cigarettes and alcohol wafted out of the internet cafe. Xu Wenqiang almost vomited.
"I was just talking casually." Xu Wenqiang said, standing up.
But she squatted for too long and stood up too quickly. When she stood up, she felt a black screen in front of her eyes and her body shook.
"Be careful." Someone helped her.
Xu Wenqiang steadied herself and took a look. It was Xiao Cheng, the nosy Xiao Cheng.
Looking at Xiao Cheng's face, Xu Wenqiang, who was melancholy about the past, came to her senses. She seemed to be no longer alone.
"Are you okay?" Xiao Cheng asked her.
"I'm fine."
"I'm glad you're okay."
"Xiao Cheng, let's go home." Xu Wenqiang said.
Xiao Cheng nodded and said, "Okay."
Xu Wenqiang and Xiao Cheng came together and left together.
Chen Yang stayed where he was, silently watching their backs gradually disappear at the end of the street.
After leaving, neither Xu Wenqiang nor Xiao Cheng spoke.
After a while, Xu Wenqiang finally spoke: "Xiao Cheng, although it's boring to say thank you, I still have to say thank you for tonight."
Xiao Cheng said, "It's pointless to say you're not welcome, so I won't say anything."
"Well, that's enough." Xu Wenqiang said.
"However, I remember that last time you gave me a hug to express your gratitude. How do you plan to express your gratitude this time?" Xiao Cheng asked.
Xu Wenqiang's heart skipped a beat and her left foot slipped off the bicycle pedal. She pedaled a few times before getting back on the pedal.
"I'll think about this again."
Xiao Cheng glanced at her and continued, "I don't mind if you give me another hug. It's both simple and convenient."
Xu Wenqiang's feet slipped again, and this time even her body tilted.
"Let's not do that," Xu Wenqiang laughed. "You keep hugging me back and forth. There's no novelty or sincerity. Let's change one."
"How about you treat me to a bowl of wontons?" Xiao Cheng paused, looking at the roadside stall not far away and said, "I wonder if this would be considered both innovative and sincere?"
"Wontons?" Xu Wenqiang also stopped and felt a little hungry. "Of course, forget it. Let's go eat wontons."
The wonton stall was run by a middle-aged couple, and business wasn't usually that good, so they only had three tables. Even with three tables, two were empty, leaving the remaining table occupied by a middle-aged man in his forties.
The wontons were only stuffed with pork and green onions. Xu Wenqiang asked for a large bowl, but Xiao Cheng asked for a small one.
"You eat so little?" Xu Wenqiang asked.
"I'm afraid I'll make you broke." Xiao Cheng said. He wasn't actually hungry, but he thought she should eat something hot to warm her body and heart.
"Don't look down on me. I can still afford two bowls of wontons," said Xu Wenqiang.
"Don't worry, I will never look down on you no matter who I look down on," said Xiao Cheng.
When Xu Wenqiang heard this, she brought up the past. "When we first met, you kept asking me about mental arithmetic. What was that about?"
Xiao Cheng, who was wiping the table, glanced at Xu Wenqiang and asked, "Is this how you express your gratitude?"
Xu Wenqiang pursed her lips and stopped talking.
Xiao Cheng finished wiping his side of the table, then wiped Xu Wenqiang's side. After wiping the entire table, he said sternly, "Xu Wenqiang, I was sorry for you before."
Xu Wenqiang was a little flustered by Xiao Cheng's sudden sincerity, but she still said generously, "You don't have to apologize. I didn't take you seriously at that time, so we're even."
Xiao Cheng extended his hand, "Then it's a deal, we won't mention this again."
"Never mention it again." Xu Wenqiang thought Xiao Cheng was going to high-five her, but after she did, Xiao Cheng held her hand.
Xiao Cheng's hands were large and warm. Xu Wenqiang's heart began to beat violently when Xiao Cheng held her hand.
What is he going to say...
"Xu Wenqiang, remember to vote for me in tomorrow's class committee election!" Xiao Cheng said with a smile.
It turned out to be canvassing for votes...
"I'll think about it." Xu Wenqiang couldn't explain what she felt, but vaguely, she wanted to curse. Of course, the person she wanted to curse the most was herself. What was she thinking about?
"The wontons are here!" The stall owner couple each brought over a bowl of wontons.
Xiao Cheng and Xu Wenqiang let go of their hands.
In the steaming soup, there are plump wontons, seaweed and shrimp skin, and a handful of green chopped green onions, which makes people's appetites grow.
Xu Wenqiang was already hungry, so she picked up the spoon and started eating.
"Wait a moment." Xiao Cheng stopped her and scalded their chopsticks and spoons with hot water.
Xu Wenqiang muttered, "Eating at a roadside stall, and you're being so particular."
"Just because it's a street stall, we should be more particular." Xiao Cheng handed the hot chopsticks and spoon to Xu Wenqiang, "Go slowly, it's hot."
"I'm not afraid of the heat." Xu Wenqiang said, scooping out the largest wonton and putting it into her mouth.
"Oh, hot, hot, hot..."
Xiao Cheng smiled as he watched Xu Wenqiang jumping around on the ground due to being burned by the wontons.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com