Chapter 38: Choosing to live the life you want...
After having breakfast, Yu Kui went for a stroll in the orchard with her grandfather, running around looking at everything and picking a lot of fruit.
At noon, she made several yogurt bowls in the kitchen. When the neighborhood children came over to play, Yu Kui invited them to sit down on chairs and added fruit to their bowls according to their individual tastes.
"Sister Kui Kui, I want to eat strawberries." The little girl, swinging her legs, looked at Yu Kui with longing eyes full of anticipation.
“Okay,” Yu Kui stuffed a strawberry into her hand and handed her the bowl of yogurt. “Eat first, then we’ll go watch cartoons later.”
"Okay." The little boy next to me smiled happily, "My uncle came to see me at noon and brought me cake. I'll give it to Sister Kui Kui."
Yu Kui had heard about the uncle he mentioned; he was a young man who ran a bakery in town, and he was a very gentle person who liked to support the fruit farmers' business.
Yu Kui played with the children for a short while before their parents came to take them home for lunch.
"Uncle! Uncle!" The little boy opened the gate to the yard and ran eagerly toward the young man in a white shirt outside. He had an extremely handsome face and looked to be in his early twenties, but he was full of youthful energy, reminiscent of a gentle male supporting character in a comic book.
“Sister Kui Kui, this is my uncle,” the little boy turned to look at Yu Kui, “He came to see me today especially.”
"Hello," Yu Kui greeted the man.
"Hello, my name is Xu Xi. Thank you for taking care of him today."
"You're welcome," Yu Kui shook her head, "Dongdong and Ningning are both very well-behaved."
"Uncle, did you bring back a cake?" the little boy asked eagerly. "I want to give it to Sister Kui Kui."
"Of course I brought it," Xu Xi said with a faint smile, "Wait a moment, I'll go get the cake."
"No need," Yu declined politely, as she didn't have a particular fondness for sweets. "Lunch is almost here, you should go back first."
“It won’t make a difference,” Xu Xi said, her eyes, which were typically almond-shaped and seemed to sparkle with tiny lights when she looked at people. “You’ve already worked hard taking care of them today.”
Yu Kui couldn't refuse any longer, so she waited in the courtyard. Before long, Xu Xi brought over some cakes. "I didn't know what flavors you liked, so I brought some of everything."
Yu Kui looked at the plate in his hand, which was covered with fresh fruit cakes, including cherries, grapes, and mangoes. The presentation was exquisite and made her very hungry.
"Thank you." She hadn't interacted with the people in town before, but she had a good first impression of Xu Xi. "Did you make all of this yourself?"
“Not entirely,” Xu Xi said. “The shop also hired two helpers, who handle the usual preparations.”
"That's still amazing." Yu Kui didn't know how cakes were made, but she had a sense of awe for any job she wasn't good at.
"Are you back for summer vacation?" Xu Xi asked gently.
"Yes, I just finished the college entrance exam." Yu Kui put the cake back inside and gave him some fruit she had picked that morning. "I plan to stay here for a while."
"If you have time, you can visit the cake shop on Chunhua Street. I'll treat you to my newly developed desserts."
"good."
After watching Xu Xi leave, Yu Kui closed the door.
In the following days, Yu Kui heard that the lotus flowers in the nearby town had bloomed, so she took a motorcycle taxi to go out and have fun, taking pictures from time to time to send to her mother so that she would know that she was having a good time.
Sun Shuya also frequently sent photos to Yu Kui. She went to Xinjiang with her classmates. The sky there was high and clear, the sun was shining brightly, the rivers were crystal clear, and the grasslands were as green as a painting.
"I ate a lot of local specialties here that I had never tried before, and I also learned how to ride a horse and roast lamb. It's a real shame you didn't come."
Yu Kui replied with a smile, "Have fun and take lots of pictures of yourself."
"Okay, okay."
Sun Shuya said, "Are you still in contact with Xie Xingzhi? I asked him before if he wanted to come with us, but he ignored me. It's really speechless."
Yu Kui hadn't spoken to Xie Xingzhi in a long time, perhaps because he had seen her at her most disheveled, and Yu Kui's feelings towards him were somewhat complicated.
When she went on vacation with her parents, Xie Xingzhi also sent her messages, but Yu Kui's replies were always very polite. After Xie Xingzhi sensed this, he stopped bothering her.
The college entrance exam is over, he should be able to breathe a sigh of relief now.
Yu Kui walked around the lakeside embankment and was about to find a place to rest when a gentle voice came from behind her: "Is that Yu Kui?"
Yu Kui turned around and saw Xu Xi walking over from a farmhouse not far away, carrying a basket of beautiful lotus flowers, making him look as if he had stepped out of a painting.
Yu Kui subconsciously stood up, looking at Xu Xi's overly young face, unsure of how to address him.
"Just call me by my name," Xu Xi walked to her side and asked with a smile, "Did you come here specifically to have some fun?"
"Hmm." Although Yu Kui was very popular with her classmates at school, her social skills at other times were quite immature. "Are you here to buy goods?"
“Hmm,” Xu Xi said, his eyes still holding a faint smile, “The lotus season has arrived, and I’m currently researching lotus-themed desserts that are in season.”
He stood at a distance that was neither too close nor too far from Yu Kui, yet Yu Kui could smell a sweet fragrance emanating from him. It wasn't the scent of lotus flowers, but rather the natural aroma of desserts he carried.
“That’s great,” Yu Kui said, unsure how to continue the conversation. “If I have the chance, I’ll buy bread from your shop.”
“We can do it today,” Xu Xi said. “We have some new products today, would you like to come with me?”
He gazed quietly at Yu Kui, then extended an invitation with a smile.
After looking around the area for a while, Yu Kui hesitated for a moment before agreeing.
Xu Xi led her to the car in front of the farmhouse, saying, "Wait for me in the car, I still have some fruits and vegetables to get."
“I’ll come with you,” Yu Kui followed behind him. “Do you usually get your raw materials from around here?”
“It depends on what you need,” Xu Xi said with a smile, picking up several plastic bags. “If it’s fresh lotus flowers and lotus pods, I’ll come from around here. If it’s fruits and vegetables, I’ll go to my neighbor’s house. As long as the quality is good, it doesn’t matter where I get them.”
Yu Kui had heard her grandparents mention Xu Xi before. Xu Xi had bought fruit from her family before and was a very kind person. Yu Kui also had a good impression of Xu Xi.
"Why did you decide to open a cake shop in town?" Yu Kui felt that he was not the kind of person who had not been educated. Someone like him should have chosen to work hard in the city.
“You can understand that I don’t have much ambition,” Xu Xi put the things in the trunk, turned around and took the basket from Yu Kui’s hand. “I like a free and easy life, so I came back.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Kui not only didn't look down on him, but instead envied his carefree attitude.
"Choosing the life you want is a good thing."
Xu Xi looked at her face; she had fair skin, clear eyes, and a sincere tone.
Xu Xi chuckled softly, "You can choose the life you want in the future."
Thinking about the future, Yu Kui is filled with anticipation: "After I graduate from university, I want to do a job I love and live in a city I love."
“That’s good,” Xu Xi said. “Do you have a university you want to apply to?”
Yu Kui paused for a moment, then remained silent.
She had originally planned to apply to a local university and stay with her parents, but after reading that book, she was filled with conflicting emotions.
In the book, she and Qin You were admitted to the same university, while Tao Jiang was admitted to a school near them. In order to make things difficult for the two of them, she kept appearing in Qin You's life, until she was exposed and became a scorned figure in the school.
Yu Kui thought to herself that she would not take the entrance exam for the same university as Qin You again. She wanted to stay far away from the two of them and not get involved in anything that happened between them in the future.
"I plan to apply to Yanning University," she said softly, looking up.
When Xu Xi heard her mention Yanning University, he knew that her academic performance was excellent and that she was one of the best students.
“The fact that you chose to apply to Yanning University shows that your future is bright,” Xu Xi said with a smile. “Salute to the academic genius.”
“I’m not a genius,” Yu Kui said a little embarrassedly. “I’m just a student who listens attentively in class.”
"But that doesn't negate your intelligence and hard work, does it?"
Yu Kui: "......"
Xu Xi parked the car opposite the cake shop and led Yu Kui into the leisurely decorated cake shop. The clear glass windows allowed a clear view of the dazzling array of pastries inside, causing passersby to stop and admire them.
Despite being located in a small town, Xu Xi's cake shop is still very popular; people think of his shop whenever they want to order a cake.
Yu Kui searched for the cake shop's name online and discovered that it was a "celebrity shop" that people always ate at when passing through the town. No wonder Xu Xi needed to hire two helpers; he ran the cake shop very well.
"Find a seat first," Xu Xi led Yu Kui to a seat, "Take a look at the menu, is there anything else you'd like to eat?"
Yu Kui looked at the cute menu, which not only had pictures of each dessert but also the ingredients and corresponding drinks.
Yu Kui wasn't too picky about these things, and ordered two signature dishes, "Grape juice and taro mille-feuille, is that alright?"
“Of course,” Xu Xi said, “we also have freshly baked egg tarts, would you like some?”
"Two, please."
"Okay." Xu Xi turned and went into the kitchen. Yu Kui sat on the edge of the bed, watching the crowds coming and going outside, smelling the sweet baking aroma from the cake shop, and her mood relaxed without her realizing it.
She took out her earphones from her pocket and played a very gentle song, as if the terrifying scenes that had terrified her were gradually fading away.
Not long after, Xu Xi brought out the dessert, saying, "Try my cooking."
He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down opposite Yu Kui. "Whenever I have free time, I sit here and read a book. It calms me down, and I really like this feeling."
Yu Kui took the silver spoon and ate the lotus pudding prepared by Xu Xi first. It looked beautiful and tasted exceptionally refreshing.
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