In a blink of an eye, it’s the weekend again. There are only three classes on Saturday morning, and school ends at around ten o’clock.
Chen Xingling drove Jia Shuangqin back to the north of the city, and even went around the end of the street to drop her off downstairs.
Jia Shuangyan smiled and thanked him: "I'm getting better and better at riding my bike. I don't fall down that often now. I hope I can ride my bike across the country by myself next week. Lingling, how about we ride to and from school together then?"
"Okay!" Chen Xingling asked, "Did you take down the bamboo pole on the back seat of your car? You have to keep your balance yourself so you don't fall easily."
Jia Shuangqi smiled bitterly: "I... I'm still afraid of falling. My cousin said that if I don't tie the bamboo pole, he will have to help hold me up, otherwise he's afraid I'll break my knees and elbows. He said he'll help hold me up for the next two days, and I should be fine after two more days of study."
"Spring is here, and the temperature has risen." Chen Xingling suggested: "Why don't you be patient and put on a big cotton jacket when you practice jumping, so that if you really fall, you don't have to worry about getting hurt. When I was learning jumping, I tied hay around my knees because I was afraid of accidentally breaking the skin."
Jia Shuangqi smiled sweetly and whispered, "My cousin prepared cotton wool for me early in the morning."
Chen Xingling couldn't help but tease, "Wow! Your cousin is really considerate! He has been accompanying you to practice since the first day you learned to ride a bicycle. He used a bamboo pole and a cotton wheel. He is really considerate!"
"Of course!" Jia Shuangqi blushed and whispered, "My cousin... is very good to me."
Chen Xingling glanced suspiciously at the blush on her face and asked, "Cousin? My aunt's child? Or my aunt's family's child?"
"My eldest aunt's family." Jia Shuangqi explained shyly: "He is four years older than me and now works in a towel factory. He also studied in Chongyi Middle School, but only studied up to junior high school. My aunt works in a towel factory, and my cousin also works there."
Chen Xingling rolled his eyes and asked in a low voice: "Your aunt's family? Do you like your cousin?"
"Oh!" Jia Shuangqi patted her shoulder and said coquettishly, "How did you know? I never told you at all!"
Chen Xingling: “…”? ?
Do I need to tell you this? It's obvious that you are trying to cover up your mistake!
Jia Shuangqi smiled shyly and lowered her voice: "My aunt said that she would arrange our marriage when I get into college. My aunt's house is in the next street, very close. My parents hope that I will go to Yucheng University, and my aunt and cousin hope so too... I don't have to live too far from home in the future, it may even be closer than Chongyi Middle School."
Chen Xingling: “…”!!!
Jia Shuangqi made a shushing gesture and blushed as he whispered, "I'm only telling you these words, and you must never tell anyone else. Neither can the students—no one can."
"No!" Chen Xingling held her hand in confusion and asked, "Is your aunt your father's biological sister? Are they related by blood?"
Jia Shuang was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes, my grandparents only gave birth to my aunt and my dad. My grandparents are both dead, but my aunt married nearby and comes to visit us almost every day."
Chen Xingling felt dizzy when he heard this and asked, "That cousin you keep talking about... is he your aunt's biological son? Not adopted?"
"Lingling!" Jia Shuangqi stared in surprise: "What are you talking about! Of course my cousin is my aunt's biological son. My aunt has three children in total. Two of my cousins are already married, and only my cousin is still unmarried."
Chen Xingling knew that in many places, cousins still got married. Some were aunt cousins, and some were aunt cousins. However, such close relatives were mostly found in remote and backward rural areas. It was unexpected that even educated people would marry close relatives!
"Xiao Shuang, you don't know that it's best not to marry within five generations, right? You've learned this and you should have read about it in the newspaper, right?"
Jia Shuang's face turned red and she shook her head shyly: "My aunt said she's not afraid, and my cousin also said it's okay. My dad said that everyone in our family is good-looking and healthy, and there are no genetic diseases, so there's no need to worry."
"But..." Chen Xingling couldn't help asking, "Have you decided? Will you get married after you get into college?"
Jia Shuangqi nodded gently: "By the end of the year at the latest. Originally, we were going to arrange the wedding at the beginning of the year, but my parents said it would affect my studies, so they said they would find an auspicious date to get engaged after I take the college entrance examination."
Chen Xingling hesitated to speak, wanting to persuade her to be more rational, but seeing her face and eyes full of love, he had to swallow the words back.
Jia Shuangyan waved goodbye and flew upstairs like a shy little butterfly.
…
At noon, Gu Qi took his son home for lunch.
Little Tiger jumped up the stairs and asked, "Dad, why don't we go to the cafeteria today?"
Gu Qi smiled and explained: "Mom doesn't have classes in the afternoon, so she asked us to go home for lunch. At around 3pm, your uncle will come to pick you up and take you to your grandparents' house."
"Wow!!!" Little Tiger was extremely excited: "I want it, I want it!"
When he reached the third floor, Gu Qi took out the key and opened the door.
At this time, the neighbor on the fifth floor came upstairs with a little girl of five or six years old and greeted Gu Qi enthusiastically.
Little Tiger shouted crisply: "Uncle! Sister Shanshan!"
The neighbors stared in surprise, looking at the chubby little guy.
"Little brother, you-you recognize me?"
Little Tiger held up his chubby head and explained, "Mom said that men older than Dad should be called 'Uncle', and men younger than Dad should be called 'Uncle'. Mom also said that except for old grandmothers, other women should be called 'Auntie'."
The neighbor exclaimed, "Wow!" and praised in surprise, "Xiao Gu, your son is so smart!"
Gu Qi smiled slightly, pushed the door open, and put the key back into his trouser pocket.
At this time, the neighbor pointed at the shy little girl next to him and asked: "What about her? Why do you call her 'sister'? Did you know each other in kindergarten?"
Little Tiger nodded obediently: "Yes! The teacher calls her 'Shanshan', so I call her 'Sister Shanshan'. She is not a big aunt, just a little girl. Little girls older than me, boys call her 'brother' and girls call her 'sister'."
"Oh my!" The neighbor gave a thumbs up and praised: "Xiao Gu, your son is amazing! He looks only three years old, right? So smart! This little mouth speaks very fluently! My Xiao Shan is six years old, but he doesn't speak as fluently as him!"
Gu Qi smiled politely and asked his neighbor if he wanted to come in for some water.
“No, no.” The neighbor explained, “My wife is busy today, so she asked me to pick up the child and take him to the cafeteria to eat. My wife has always taken care of the child, and I took her to the cafeteria only to realize that I didn’t bring a lunch box. So I had to rush upstairs to get it!”
Then he pushed the little girl towards Xiaohuzi.
"Xiao Shan, play with your little brother for a while. Daddy is running upstairs to find the lunch box. Just play here and don't run up and down with him!"
After saying this, he ran upstairs quickly.
Seeing this, Gu Qi smiled and invited the little girl into the house.
Unexpectedly, the little guy was very shy and kept shaking his head.
It was Xiao Huzi who was there again. He took Xiao Shan's hand and suggested, "Sister, there is a small hole over there. I'll show you."
So, the two little guys, one tall and one short, squatted by the wall, looked into the small hole, and whispered to each other in childish words.
Gu Qi went into the house first to change his shoes. He saw that the food was already on the table, but his wife was nowhere to be seen, so he walked towards the master bedroom.
"Xing'er, we're home."
Chen Xingling responded, and walked into the living room from the balcony holding clothes. Before he could say anything, he heard a baby crying suddenly outside!
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