Chapter 34
The insole was burned and Wang Chunhua was gone.
Qin Yao and Chen Baozhen went to the second-floor balcony and temporarily resolved the matter. Chen Baozhen did not feel happy. She felt as if a huge stone was pressing on her chest. She felt depressed and could not laugh.
"Yaoyao, am I really that bad? She always compared me to Bai Qiuling next door and said I was not as good as her. Now this widow came to my house. She was the one who owed the money even though she had borrowed it. She always made it seem like I was intolerant and bullied her out of pity. If I really bullied her, I would ask her to pay me back!"
Chen Baozhen spoke angrily and incoherently. At this moment, she was extremely scared. Wang Chunhua gave Gao Jianguo a pair of insoles but said they were made for her deceased husband. She threw the insoles away, and if there was a fuss and outsiders found out, they would accuse her of insulting the deceased.
In China, the dead have always been respected. Even if Wang Chunhua did something unkind, she was pitiable and she was justified. Few people would criticize or ridicule a widow. However, the arrogant Chen Baozhen would become the target of public criticism.
"Since I came here, I have never hurt anyone, said bad things about people behind their backs, and never quarreled with others. Why do they all come to attack me and hate me?" Chen Baozhen felt wronged and angry, but she was powerless.
She is tall, nearly 1.7 meters tall, taller than the average man. She is taller than most of the sisters-in-law in the family compound. She has beautiful shoulder-length hair, a long face, and slightly slanted eyes, which makes her look difficult to get along with.
Chen Baozhen's character is much softer than her arrogant appearance. As a girl from the city, she has never suffered any hardship. Even if someone takes advantage of her, she will just frown and never argue or take it to heart.
So she felt that she had suffered a loss and she endured it as much as she could. Later on, these people came to "persecute" her.
The hot wind blew on Chen Baozhen's face, like torture in the desert. The hot wind rolled up the sand and cut her face, causing her pain and making her feel upset.
"Zhenzhen." Qin Yao opened her mouth and looked up at Chen Baozhen's profile. From an outsider's perspective, she knew why Chen Baozhen was unpopular in the compound. Compared with other sisters-in-law, she was too distant and could not fit in. She was a natural opposition.
Chen Baozhen felt that she had suffered a loss and had done her best by not taking the initiative to cause trouble for others; however, others thought that she was arrogant and looked down on them.
Wang Chunhua targeted Chen Baozhen and Gao Jianguo today because the couple were rich. Chen Baozhen was not popular in the compound, and few people would stand up for her when she made a fuss.
This is the truth, Qin Yao saw it very clearly, and she subconsciously wanted to persuade Chen Baozhen, help her analyze the problem, give her ideas, and tell her how to solve the problem.
But just when she was about to say it, Qin Yao saw Chen Baozhen's chin raised high, like a graceful and proud white swan, but the area around her eyes was red, the corners of her eyes were red, and her pupils were full of water.
Seeing this scene, her heart ached and she suddenly couldn't say the words in her mouth.
Chen Baozhen complained about these things to her "best" friend in the world. Was she trying to get a solution to the problem from her friend?
The words woven in my mind, these seemingly "rational analysis from a bystander's perspective, theoretically effective solutions and suggestions", are so cold and hard to express.
Qin Yao suddenly realized that these correct answers were very cold, just like the answers given by AI.
In 2024, before she traveled through time, artificial intelligence had begun to develop rapidly, and AI's logical algorithms became more and more powerful. Many people began to fear that AI would continue to develop and become smarter than humans themselves.
Ai has powerful computing capabilities, comprehensively analyzing the pros and cons and giving the optimal solution.
But she is not AI. Qin Yao is a living person and Chen Baozhen's best friend. Her primary responsibility as a friend is not to help her analyze the pros and cons or give her advice, but to comfort and accompany her.
Only people can truly empathize.
Qin Yao sensed that Chen Baozhen was very sad at the moment. If she put herself in her shoes, she felt that what Chen Baozhen needed more was the tolerance, understanding and comfort of good friends.
"Zhenzhen, you've done very well." Qin Yao softened her voice and hugged her, "None of this is your fault."
Chen Baozhen hugged her back, tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn't feel uncomfortable at all. The wind around them seemed to become gentler, blowing up the strands of hair by Qin Yao's ears and touching her chin.
All the grievances, anger and rage disappeared at this moment.
After the heavy rain, what arises in my heart is peace and secret joy.
The two of them sat on the balcony hand in hand, just like little girls of seven or eight years old on the street. Chen Baozhen said, "As long as you understand me, that's enough."
"I don't care about anyone else."
Qin Yao turned her head and smiled. She found that Chen Baozhen's face was like a little pear. After wiping away her tears, she smiled, which reminded her of the pear blossoms after the rain, clear and cold, but also with the warmth of spring.
Her heart was basking in the warm sunshine. It seemed as if she had done nothing and her words could not change the current situation. She was clearly comforting Chen Baozhen, but she felt that her heart was also filled.
Chen Baozhen made her feel valued and needed.
Make her feel that her existence itself is valuable.
This is the feeling that her parents could not give her in the past. Her parents made her feel that she was unwanted, dispensable at home, a tool of her parents, and a capital for showing off.
When she came here, Chen Baozhen and Gu Cheng, two people who had a very high favorability towards her, made her nourished by their favorability. The nourishment brought by the favorability system was physical comfort; and interacting with them was spiritual pleasure and satisfaction.
She seemed to understand that to love someone, one must learn to empathize.
"Yaoyao, I still have to think of a way. What if Wang Chunhua comes again next time? How should I get rid of her? Can you give me some advice?"
Qin Yao pulled her downstairs and said, "Come on, I'll take you to see the director of women's affairs."
The two of them left without letting the men follow them. Gu Cheng and Gao Jianguo stayed in the room and continued to stare at each other.
Gu Cheng leaned against the wall with his arms folded, feeling unhappy. He didn't have much free time, and his work schedule was squeezed again and again. He hoped to spend more time with Qin Yao.
Now two grown men are staying together, feeling depressed and aggrieved, but he is reluctant to leave, fearing that Qin Yao will be angry when she comes back and doesn't see him. Of course, it's better for the little fat girl to be angry, because being angry means she cares about him.
The real reason why he was reluctant to leave was that he wanted to see her again.
As long as I think about the chance to see her later, it's like hanging a carrot in front of a donkey, I can't let it go.
Gu Cheng couldn't stand steadily. He paced back and forth for a few minutes. When he passed by Gao Jianguo, he raised his leg and kicked him on the leg of the stool.
Gao Jianguo stumbled and almost lost his grip on the needle and thread. He sat up straight and asked in confusion, "Captain Gu, what are you doing?"
In his impression, Gu Cheng was a serious, solemn and indifferent officer with top grades in every aspect and few mood swings, which represented his calmness and composure.
Gu Cheng: “…”
He wanted to go crazy.
"Baozhen and the others will be back soon." Gao Jianguo lowered his head and continued to do his needlework, which required carefulness and patience.
Comrade Gao was married to Chen Baozhen and they often went home to see each other and slept in the same bed at night. He didn't feel sad at all to be away for such a short while, as there was still so much time at night...so he couldn't empathize with her.
A full man does not know the hunger of a hungry man.
Gu Cheng looked down at the watch on his wrist. Only five minutes had passed, but it felt like a year.
He glanced at Gao Jianguo. The more he looked at him, the more unhappy he became. He was unhappy with both the Gao couple. Why, go and bother your wife, you idiot! Don't let your wife bother my wife!
Well, she’s not my wife yet.
A cold probation period.
*
Qin Yao and Chen Baozhen met the director of the women's department. Her surname was Liao. She was a slightly plump woman with a kind smile, short hair, a round face and thick lips.
"Hello, Director Liao."
"It's Teacher Chen."
After a brief greeting, Chen Baozhen said, "Director Liao, I want to talk to you about Wang Chunhua's matter."
Director Liao's eyes flashed, and he immediately realized that this person was here to complain. "Comrade Wang... Hey, Teacher Chen, this has happened. No matter what happens, you should be more considerate of her."
"Yes, I understand her." Chen Baozhen continued: "I hope the organization can pay more attention to Wang Chunhua."
Director Liao was stunned.
Chen Baozhen said: "She borrowed 100 or 200 yuan from my family before, and I heard that she borrowed from several other families. We all know that her family is in financial difficulty, but where did all the money go?"
"Director Liao, you should pay more attention to her. What happened in her hometown that she needs so much money? Don't let some people with bad intentions take away her family and bully her and her widow."
"If Old Xu knew about this, he would be very disappointed."
Director Liao looked solemn and nodded: "I'll go check carefully to see what's going on."
After coming out from Director Liao, Chen Baozhen breathed a sigh of relief. She was curious about where Wang Chunhua’s money had gone. She didn't care about the money, but was curious about the truth.
Back at Gao's house, it was already late. Gu Cheng sent Qin Yao back to the hospital. The two walked out side by side. Qin Yao was still thinking about what happened on the balcony. She couldn't help but smile and share, "Captain Gu, Baozhen is so cute!"
The string in Gu Cheng's head suddenly broke, and his stomach was like a volcano erupting, and all the anger that he had suppressed came out.
Baozhen Baozhen, call her Baozhen, call him Captain Gu, and say she is cute, it’s none of his business.
"Baozhen is so cute." Thinking of the warmth of the hug just now, Qin Yao raised her hand and rubbed her chin. She tilted her head to look at Gu Cheng's face. The man's jaw line was smooth and incredibly handsome.
When he didn't show any expression, he looked so cold and capable. Qin Yao knew that beneath his cold appearance, he had a passionate heart, which could be seen from the three-line love poem he wrote.
Qin Yao used to be unable to guess what Gu Cheng was thinking, but now she wants to learn to think from his perspective. If she were Gu Cheng...
This stuffy man looks cold on the surface, but actually likes to be close to her, but he is very restrained outside and has an awkward personality. He is also stupid and really thinks that she likes Captain Gu.
If the mountain does not come to me, I will come to the mountain.
In the eyes of others, the two were dating. Qin Yao looked around and saw that there were no outsiders around. Holding hands was nothing, and touching or scratching his palm would be fine to express intimacy.
Qin Yao took two quick steps forward and reached out for the hand of the man next to her, but at this moment, even though they were about to touch each other, he stepped to the side, and the two of them were one meter apart, and Qin Yao's hand was empty.
Qin Yao: “!?”
Gu Cheng snorted silently, marched forward in neat steps, and had an invincible momentum.
Qin Yao glared at him. She was so angry. Could she feel the same way? What on earth is this guy thinking when he's so hot and cold?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
