After buying the gold lock, they planned to go on a picnic while the weather was nice.
For this outing, Xu Ruantang invited Qiu Liang and Sister Juan. They usually spend all their time in the shop, so it was nice to occasionally go out with them.
Especially for someone like Sister Juan, it's even more important to keep a cheerful mood.
Who knew that on that day, in addition to Qiu Liang, Sister Juan, Xu Ruantang, and Li Shuhe, Li Shuyang brought a female classmate, and Xu Hanli insisted on coming along as well.
In the end, I simply took the old lady and godmother, along with the baby, and went.
A place near the mountains and water in the outskirts of Beijing was not far from them, and the group set off in a grand procession.
Li Shuyang also knew Xu Ruantang, the female classmate he brought; she was the female student he had helped at the entrance of Xifo Temple Market last time.
When Liang Xuemei saw Xu Ruantang, she greeted him warmly, "Comrade Xu, I am Liang Xuemei, do you remember me?"
Xu Ruantang nodded. "Yes, we've met before. Hello."
She remained outwardly calm, but inwardly she was already planning to find an opportunity to speak privately with Liang Xuemei later, and to tell her not to go around telling everyone that she could paint.
It turns out the world is so small; Liang Xuemei actually knows Li Shuyang, and they seem to have a good relationship.
Li Shuhe held Xu Ruantang's right arm, while Liang Xuemei stood to Xu Ruantang's left.
If it weren't for her injured arm, she would be sandwiched between two attackers right now.
"Xuemei, what's your relationship with Li Shuyang?" Xu Ruantang asked tentatively.
If someone brings someone on a picnic, and only brings one girl, they're probably a couple.
That would be even worse. Couples talk about everything, and sooner or later Li Shuyang would probably find out that she can draw.
Li Shuyang followed behind them. Before Liang Xuemei could speak, he said anxiously, "Liang Xuemei is my junior sister."
Xu Ruantang breathed a sigh of relief, but not completely.
The group arrived at a place with a river and decided to stay there for a while.
Xu Hanli and Li Shuyang brought a lot of things when they arrived, and they prioritized arranging for the elderly and infirm. After setting out the stools they brought, the old lady and her godmother sat down first.
They spread out a field blanket on the grass and took out drinking water and the fruit they had brought.
Qiu Liang pushed Ma Lijuan, and the old lady called them over to sit together.
Perhaps because they shared a similar plight, the godmother held Ma Lijuan's hand, and the three of them chatted quite congenially.
Ma Lijuan is a very gentle person, and she is the type that elders like the most.
Qiu Liang silently took out small bread rolls, mung bean cakes, and red bean cakes from his backpack, and even brought small cakes.
He took several water jugs filled with plum juice and mung bean smoothies.
Once it's set up like this, the camping atmosphere is instantly created.
Li Shuyang called Liang Xuemei over mainly because the environment was perfect for sketching, making it ideal as a unique teaching opportunity.
Liang Xuemei set up her easel and tools, and then began to paint very seriously.
Li Shuyang also drew half of the portrait before painting the first one.
Li Shuhe asked Xu Hanli for a military blanket, spread it out under the dappled sunlight, and lay down on it with Xu Ruantang.
Xu Ruantang lay down on the sunny side.
"Ruan Ruan, move a little over here, aren't you afraid of getting a tan?"
"I'm not afraid, I just want to bask in the sun and get some calcium."
These long-lost days of leisurely lying in the sun brought tears to her eyes.
Xu Ruantang suddenly remembered the sentence she had just said: "Every year on Xiaobao's birthday, I will buy him some gold."
A bittersweet ache rose in her heart.
"Ruan Ruan, what do you like about Chen Ji?" Li Shuhe asked, her eyes half-closed and her expression relaxed.
Looking at the green above her head, Xu Ruantang felt that she was being subtly insulted. After thinking for a long time, she said, "I can't quite put my finger on it. Is it because he's handsome? Tall? Has a good physique? Or has a good personality?"
Li Shuhe plucked a blade of grass, put it in her mouth, and said somewhat indistinctly, "What you said before was fairly objective, but I don't agree with the last point. What's so good about Chen Ji's personality?"
When girls get together, their conversations inevitably turn to love.
Even in this day and age, this is no exception.
Xu Ruantang didn't hesitate this time. "His personality is really good. He's very considerate and thoughtful. He always knows your most embarrassing and awkward needs and helps you resolve them quietly and in the most considerate way."
"Although he doesn't talk much, he's not cold-hearted; in fact, he's warmer than most people."
"He also knows how to respect women. For example, when I wanted to work or become self-employed, he always supported me and never said a bad word about it."
For example, he can see the hardships women face and understands how to empathize.
That's why someone would say something like, "Even someone who keeps picking up sesame seeds will get tired over time."
He will also tell you, "You did a great job, I'm proud of you," when everyone is questioning you and only looking at the results.
In short, the more you get to know Chen Ji, the more admirable qualities you find, to the point that you can overlook his cold exterior.
Xu Ruantang chuckled and also plucked a blade of grass and put it in her mouth.
As they say, a man's charm comes from a woman's imagination.
When a woman falls for a man, she will automatically focus on his good qualities and ignore his flaws.
No matter how good Chen Ji is, what does it have to do with her?
Li Shuhe was stunned by Xu Ruantang's words and couldn't refute them for a moment.
She sighed, "Wow! I didn't know Chen Ji had so many good qualities!"
"more than."
The male voice from the side startled the two of them. They turned around and saw Xu Hanli lying not far from them.
"Xu Hanli, why are you still eavesdropping?" Li Shuhe grabbed a handful of grass and threw it at Xu Hanli.
Xu Hanli surprisingly did not resist, but continued, "When I was in school, I was always isolated by the other kids in the compound because I was fair-skinned."
He seemed lost in his memories, a smile unconsciously playing on his lips. "I was so young back then, I didn't dare tell my family. They would even scare me while I was in the bathroom and try to rip my clothes off."
“I couldn’t fight so many people by myself, and I always ended up with bruises all over my body. If I wasn’t afraid of being discovered by my teachers and family, they would definitely have hit me in the face.”
Xu Ruantang and Li Shuhe turned their heads and looked at Xu Hanli.
He was indeed very fair-skinned. Even after so many years in the army, he still had a pale complexion, and his face was so tender it looked like you could pinch water out of it.
If this guy looked like that in later generations, he'd definitely be considered a cute, puppy-like type.
Xu Ruantang couldn't help but think of the first time she met Xu Hanli, when she mistakenly thought he had feelings for Chen Ji.
"Later, they beat me up in the toilet, and Chen Ji happened to see it," Xu Hanli continued.
"Sister-in-law, you may not know, but we all grew up in the compound. Back then, before we joined the army, we fought with brute force."
“There were only two of us, Chen Ji and I. I was beaten for a long time and couldn’t move at all. Most people would be scared when they saw this! But Chen Ji wasn’t afraid at all. He stood in front of me, blocking me, and fought them all by himself.”
Xu Hanli, a man of steel, had tears welling up in his eyes. "Someone brought a knife. The scar on Chen Ji's hand was from that time. Such a long gash, blood everywhere!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
