Gu Xinyi, who was already furious, exploded upon hearing Gao Hongyuan's words. She flung his hand away and shouted, "Are you implying that I'm blind and brainless? If I'm so bad, why did you even bother with me? Go find your sister Tian Mi. After all, she came to this countryside to suffer because of you."
"Gu Xinyi, what are you saying? If someone hears you say that, what will happen to Tian Mi's reputation?"
"And I've explained this to you many times already. I've always considered Tian Mi my younger sister. Our two families have had a very good relationship since my grandfather's generation. But just because you don't like her, I've already been very careful not to have any contact with her. What more do you want me to do?"
Seeing Gu Xinyi being so unreasonable, it would be a lie to say that Gao Hongyuan wasn't disappointed, so his tone of voice became unpleasant.
"Why are you calling me that? You treat her like a younger sister, but she doesn't treat you like a older brother. And what about Tian Mi's reputation? Does that mean Wan Qiu's reputation doesn't matter? Is it appropriate for a grown man like you to talk to her like that? What do you mean by 'she goes weak in the face of a man'? I think that's more appropriate for Tian Mi."
Although Gao Hongyuan didn't have romantic feelings for Tian Mi, they had grown up together since childhood, and their families had been friends for many years. Before leaving, he had promised Tian's grandparents that he would take care of Tian Mi.
But because he was afraid of upsetting Gu Xinyi, he didn't dare to have any contact with Tian Mi unless necessary. He had seen how many times the little girl had secretly cried because of his attitude, but for the sake of the woman in front of him, he always hardened his heart and pretended not to see it.
Thinking about all he had done for her, only to get this result, Gao Hongyuan's already limited patience ran out completely. He left with a "nonsense" and turned to leave.
Gu Xinyi was a pampered young lady who had never been treated like this before. She stormed back to the educated youth compound and, without saying a word, grabbed Gao Hongyuan, who had just entered the room, and made him take away his and Wang Zhi's food rations. She also said that she would no longer eat with them.
In a fit of anger, Gao Hongyuan didn't say a word, but went straight to get the two people's rations and went back to his room.
But neither he nor Wang Zhi, two grown men, knew how to cook.
Zhang Tingting happened to see him carrying food back from Gu Xinyi's place. The clever Zhang Tingting didn't need to ask; she could roughly guess what had happened just by looking at the expressions on their faces.
When he got back, he pulled Tian Mi, who had been sullen for the past few days, aside and said, "Mi Mi, I just saw Brother Gao taking all the food rations back from Gu Xinyi's place. It seems like the two of them had a falling out."
"Honey, I was thinking that Brother Gao and Brother Wang, both grown men, can't cook. Why don't we have them cook with us? My cooking skills aren't as good as Gu Xinyi's, but they're still better than those two men. What do you think?"
Tian Mi, who had been sitting listlessly on the kang (a heated brick bed) in a daze, perked up instantly upon hearing this. She jumped off the kang, slipped on her shoes, and was about to run outside.
Zhang Tingting, of course, knew her friend well. She quickly grabbed Tian Mi and asked with a look of exasperation, "What are you doing?"
Tian Mi, who was being held back, was a little confused and anxious. She tried to shake off Zhang Tingting's hand and said with dissatisfaction, "Hey, why are you holding me? Didn't you say that Brother Hongyuan and that woman had a falling out? So I have to hurry up and comfort Brother Hongyuan."
"Is Mimi stupid? Brother Gao is in a bad mood right now. Do you think you'll just go over there to comfort him or make him hate you?"
Thinking about Gao Hongyuan's recent attitude towards her, Tian Mi sat back down on the kang (a heated brick bed) feeling dejected, looking sullen.
"Then what do you suggest I do? I've chased him all this way for him, but look at his attitude towards me! Tingting, didn't you say that as long as I chased him, Hongyuan would soften and be with me? But why does his attitude towards me seem worse than before?"
Looking at the blisters on her hands, Tian Mi really regretted her impulsive decision to sign up for the rural service program.
Zhang Tingting encouraged Tian Mi to go to the countryside only because Tian Mi's family was well-off. If she dragged Tian Mi to the countryside with her, her life there would be better.
As for Zhang Tingting's statement that Tian Mi would eventually win Gao Hongyuan over, it was just her trying to coax him.
You have to understand that they are best friends who grew up together. Tian Mi has been chasing after Gao Hongyuan since she was ten years old, saying that she wanted to be his wife. If Gao Hongyuan had even a little bit of interest, they would have been together long ago. Why did they have to wait until today?
However, Zhang Tingting wouldn't say this to Tian Mi. While inwardly cursing Tian Mi for being stupid, she smiled and comforted her, "Mi Mi, actually I think Brother Gao just doesn't want you to suffer in this countryside with him, so he wants to force you to go back this way. Think about it, if he really didn't care about you, why would he help us carry water and gather firewood every day? I don't have any relationship with him. He wouldn't do all this because of me, would he?"
The well at the educated youth settlement was in the front yard and was quite deep, making it difficult for the female educated youth to fetch water.
In the past, everyone ate together, so the task of fetching water was done by the male educated youth in turns.
However, the few female educated youths in the backyard who were cooking alone had to figure out their own way.
Dong Weibing always helped Chen Shuning fetch water, and Chen Shuning would occasionally smuggle some water from his space for use, so fetching water every two days was enough.
Zhong Lingling has a boyfriend, so she doesn't need to ask anyone for help. Yang Wanqiu also has Zhao Qianjin, a suitor, to help her. As for Gu Xinyi, Gao Hongyuan naturally takes care of fetching water and gathering firewood.
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