Chapter 33: Relics of the Old Times
In fact, before asking this question, Xu Sirui hadn't had any such suspicions, because the characters on the sign looked completely different from her own. Her handwriting was like that of an elementary school student just beginning to practice calligraphy, with straight, even strokes, while the characters on the sign were crooked and trembling, like a knot of earthworms.
But what happened tonight suddenly made him start to believe——
Perhaps his former principal is not the only person in the world who uses kindness to market.
Perhaps there really are people like Zhu Yingning, like relics from a bygone era, cast into the 21st century, faithfully practicing the virtues of a gentleman, heeding the ancient, if somewhat naive, motto of "doing good deeds anonymously." If she had been injured but hadn't considered demanding compensation from the boy's parents, nor had she sought credit for it, then it seemed reasonable that she would protect his pride, feign ignorance of his trap, and quietly write a warning sign in a different handwriting than usual.
She is such a nosy person anyway, isn't she?
After hearing his question, she indeed let out a soft "ah" and looked into his eyes, neither admitting nor denying.
"You wrote this with your left hand?" he asked.
This time she chuckled softly and admitted, "I thought you wouldn't be able to recognize my handwriting if I wrote with my left hand."
"I really can't recognize it," he commented bluntly. "The handwriting is ugly to begin with, and it's even uglier when written with your left hand. I thought it was written by some old man who didn't even graduate from elementary school."
“…”
The smile on her face disappeared instantly. She glared at him, stretched out her finger, and with a snap, she closed the gap in the pile of clothes like a window.
Xu Sirui himself laughed for a long time with great joy.
**
Although he stayed up late that night and was injured, Zhu Yingning still woke up on time according to his biological clock when he heard the rooster crowing.
She had only slept for over an hour, and felt dizzy and her eyelids were heavy. After turning over with a plank-like movement, she sat in the quilt with a blank face and was dazed for a while.
She waited until she felt less dizzy before sliding off the bed. She found that Xu Sirui's slippers were not on the floor. Looking to the right, her bed was also empty.
The sun rises from the west?
Although they both go to school at the same time, she needs to cook and feed the pigs and chickens in the morning, so she usually gets up earlier than him.
Zhu Yingning didn't think much about it, just thinking that he got up early because he couldn't sleep well after getting up last night.
When she walked out of the house, she saw Xu Sirui squatting outside brushing his teeth as expected. She took her cup and squatted next to him.
Xu Sirui was always particular about self-cleaning, meticulously following the seven-step handwashing method and spending half a day brushing his teeth, inside and out. Zhu Yingning wasn't as particular; she brushed quickly, not just for the time, but also for the frequency. In 2010, electric toothbrushes weren't yet commonplace, so Xu Sirui would have been astounded by how she could brush her teeth as often as an electric toothbrush without causing bleeding gums.
After quickly finishing the fight, she washed her face hastily, and went to the kitchen without even wiping off the water droplets on her face.
Just as she was about to squat down to light the fire, Xu Sirui came over, stood behind her and cleared his throat.
Zhu Yingning thought he was thirsty and said without turning around, "I'm boiling some water."
“…”
He found it difficult to let her understand his underlying meaning through subtle expressions, so he stretched out his hand and said openly, "Give it to me."
"What do you want?"
"lighter."
She still didn't understand what he wanted to do and her face was full of confusion, but she still obediently handed the lighter to him.
Xu Sirui signaled her with his eyes to move aside, and he squatted in front of the stove in her place. He aimed at a thick wooden stick near the stove, and with a click, he pressed the lighter.
The action is cool, but...
Not lit.
He moved the lighter several times, his thumb almost burned by the flame, but the piece of wood remained intact.
He looked a little embarrassed and tried hard to maintain a calm expression. He rummaged around in the stove with his left hand for a while, picked out a shorter piece of firewood, and pressed the lighter again at the sharp corner.
The flames licked the wood for a long time, but nothing happened.
Zhu Yingning finally understood what he was going to do and chuckled softly behind him.
Her smile was very light, very faint, without any hint of ridicule, but Xu Sirui's cheeks still flushed uncontrollably. He tried to suppress it, but turned around and gave her an angry look, asking angrily, "What are you laughing at?"
"nothing."
She slowly retracted her smile, leaned forward, picked up a piece of cardboard from the stove that hadn't been burned clean the last time she started the fire, and said softly, "Light this first."
Xu Sirui did as he was told.
The cardboard quickly caught fire, and the flames devoured it inch by inch at a speed visible to the naked eye. He pinched a corner of the cardboard and, following her instructions, threw it into the pile of sticks.
This time the sparks flickered, and finally managed to cling to the firewood.
Xu Sirui breathed a sigh of relief unconsciously. However, before he could blow out the air from his mouth completely, a hand appeared in front of him. She stretched out her hand to block his lips and reminded him: "Don't blow too hard. The fire hasn't burned completely yet. Be careful not to blow it out."
The connection between Zhu Yingning's fingers and palms was covered with thin calluses. Unlike the delicate skin of the wealthy in the city, these hands were the hands of the working class. The calluses had a slightly rough texture, like a blunt scraper. In her hasty movements, she didn't control the distance well, and her palm accidentally brushed against his lips.
His lumbar spine suddenly felt numb, as if he had been struck by a thin electric current.
She didn't notice this little incident at all. Seeing that he didn't move, she calmly withdrew her hand, picked up the pipe on the stove, and said, "You can use this pipe to blow gently at the flame first."
"Ah?" Xu Sirui came back to his senses a little late.
Seeing his confused expression, she had to repeat herself.
He then said "oh" softly, pursed his lips, took the tube from her hand, and tried it as she said.
The flames burned brighter and brighter.
When the fire was almost lit, Xu Sirui stood up, clumsily set up the soup pot, and started steaming buns.
He had no idea how much water to put in the steamed buns, what size steaming rack to use, or how long to wait, so Zhu Yingning had to stand by and guide him.
After steaming the buns, I have to start preparing pig feed and chicken feed.
When he first came here, he fed livestock once. The preparation was not difficult, but when he carried the bucket to the pigpen to feed the pigs, Xu Sirui couldn't help but doubt his life.
After feeding the livestock for the first time, he had sworn never to set foot in the pigpen or chicken coop again, even if someone held a knife to his neck. Even Yang Ji, who had seen countless playboys, thought he was hopelessly lazy and gave up trying to persuade him to change his ways. But now, without anyone forcing him, he actually took the initiative to carry the pig feed and go in to feed the pigs.
...Is he really not sick?
Turning around and seeing Zhu Yingning's touched expression, he shuddered involuntarily. Before she could say something like "Xu Sirui, I knew you were a good person," he interrupted her: "Stop, don't say anything."
"Why?"
"No reason, you're not allowed to praise me anyway." He glared at her, "I'm only helping you temporarily. I'm crazy. Once you're healed, I won't bother with you anymore."
"oh."
She blinked.
**
Xu Sirui didn't know that some things will always happen again and again. It was not until he had done housework for a week that he suddenly remembered Xu Zhengkang's teachings a long time ago.
Before they had money to hire a nanny - that is, before the company started, Xu Zhengkang was always responsible for the housework.
Xu Sirui was only five years old at that time. Xu Zhengkang often complained to him half-seriously, saying that when he and Zhou Tianlan were newly married, in order to leave a good impression on his mother-in-law, he always rushed to do the housework: "I rushed so much, and now I'm done with all the housework in my life. The beginning determines life and death, Xu Sirui, remember, you must never be too nice to a woman in the future." Then Zhou Tianlan would laugh so hard that she would shake with laughter, hit his arm, and pretend to pinch his mouth.
Xu Sirui naturally thought this was a flirtation between his parents. It was not until he got up early to cook and feed the pigs for a week in a row, and formed a conditioned reflex of knowing whether the pigs were hungry or thirsty when he heard them squealing, that he suddenly realized that Xu Zhengkang's words that decided life and death at the beginning could be extended to any relationship.
For example, now he looks very much like Zhu Yingning's servant.
Of course, she wouldn't exploit him or enslave him with words or actions like a wicked slave owner, but Xu Sirui felt that Zhu Yingning was even more hateful than a slave owner because she would always look him in the eye and say sincerely, "Xu Sirui, thank you so much for today," just when he was exhausted and decided to go on strike the next day.
Then, out of an inexplicable pressure and guilt, I couldn't bring myself to say I wanted to go on strike.
After a few days, Yang Ji burst into tears over his transformation: "I can't believe it, it's unbelievable. We've been recording four or five episodes of this variety show, and you've finally become a bit more human."
“…”
In order to commend his character, and also because the study materials sent by Zhou Tianlan had arrived at the post office and needed someone to pick them up, Yang Ji allocated him 20 yuan in pocket money and asked him to go to town on the weekend.
Twenty yuan, in the past, even if it fell on the roadside, Xu Sirui would not bother to bend down to pick it up, but now twenty yuan is undoubtedly a huge sum of money in his eyes.
With this "huge sum of money" in his pocket, he and the two photographers once again boarded the ox cart to the town.
The first time is stranger, the second time is familiar. This time when he came to the town, Xu Sirui made plans in advance and planned to use the money to get a haircut at the hair salon.
His hair has grown a lot longer, especially his bangs, which poke his eyes from time to time, which is quite uncomfortable.
After arriving at the destination, Zhu Yingning tied up the ox cart as usual, and the photographer repeatedly warned them not to disappear again.
"We didn't get any footage last time we came to town. If we don't get any this time, you two will have to pay for breach of contract."
When he heard that he had to pay the penalty for breach of contract, Zhu Yingning immediately nodded like pounding garlic and raised his right hand to swear that he would never run away.
After saying that, he was about to go to the hair salon when a strange ringing sound came from the street ahead.
Ancient and melodious.
Xu Sirui looked in the direction of the sound and saw a fortune teller who had only been seen in costume dramas coming towards them from the other end of the street. He had a pair of sunglasses on his nose and was wearing a coarse cloth gown. He carried a flag with "Zhou Yi" written on it on his left shoulder and was shaking a bell with his right hand. A mangy pug was following behind him, and he was walking with his head shaking, as if he was drunk.
Zhu Yingning frowned and muttered softly: "Again..."
"Who is it? Do you know him?" Xu Sirui became very curious.
"A liar." She sighed and whispered to him, "Just wait, he'll come over soon and tell you that you're in danger of bloodshed."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com