“A male cat,” Chen Tianhe gritted his teeth and said with a complicated expression, “Sister Ying said that all the domestic male cats in this area have been neutered, so the father of Bubble’s child must be a stray cat. She and her people have been catching them outside for several days. As soon as they catch a stray male cat, they send it to the pet hospital to be neutered. More than a dozen have been neutered in the past few days.”
Xu Xingyan: "..."
Her first reaction was that she was speechless with frustration, but then she thought that Little Bubble was only a year and a half old and was already pregnant and going to be a cat mom, and the identity of the father was still unknown. She could understand the parents' frustration.
"Hey, it's time," Chen Tianhe glanced at the clock on the cashier's counter and saw that the hands pointed precisely to 11:11. He immediately pulled a crumpled little piece of paper out of his pocket, plopped down on the blanket, and caught the orange cat that was trying to sneak away, pulling it into his arms.
Bubble's cat face was filled with utter despair.
"What are you trying to do?" Xu Xingyan rubbed her temples. She had only been busy for a few days and hadn't come over to visit. Why couldn't she keep up with her neighbors' thought processes?
"Sister Ying instructed me to read 'The Ballad of the Peasant' eleven times to Bubble every day at 11:11, so that it would understand that being single is the source of happiness, that single cats are pearls, and that male cats are trash!"
"The common people, so simple and honest, carry cloth to trade for silk..."
Xu Xingyan: "..." My head hurts, goodbye.
...
[Xiaoyu: Miaomiao, Miaomiao, do you think I should order milk tea and fried chicken today?]
Lin Shengmiao, who was about to go to lunch, saw this message and replied without thinking: [No way, didn't you say yesterday that you'd gained too much weight during winter and needed to lose weight?]
Xiao Yu: ...Okay, I'll go ask Luo Jing again. You go to work. [smile.jpg]
Lin Shengmiao: [???]
[Xiaoyu: Today I suddenly developed a condition where I can only see the answers I want to see.]
"..." Lin Shengmiao was both amused and exasperated, and typed rapidly: 【I request one more chance to answer.】
[Xiaoyu: Okay, Miaomiao, do you think I should order milk tea and fried chicken today?]
[Miaomiao: Miaomiao received this. Which restaurant do you want to eat at? Send me the name and I'll order for you.]
Xiaoyu: I love you! Mum~
[Miaomiao: I love you [heart emoji]]
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Author's Note:
Please leave lots of comments!
Chapter 41 Luo Jing: I'm blind.
In early April, spring is in full bloom, and all things are coming back to life.
In the spring of Nancheng, peach blossoms are always a common sight. Locals love peach blossoms. Not only is there a peach blossom mountain and hundreds of acres of peach forest on the outskirts of the city, but when making urban plans, they also specially planted peach trees in many roadside green belts in the city.
Every year in March and April, the spring sun caresses the tender buds, and driving along the city streets, one can see bright and beautiful peach blossoms everywhere, making it a magnificent urban scene.
It is said that its inspiration came from the ancient poem about ten miles of peach blossoms. After all, the elegance of Jiangnan has always been inseparable from its fondness for peach blossoms, resulting in a series of famous poems and verses praising them.
This period is also the peak season for weddings in the southern part of the city. As the wedding car circles the city, the bride gazes longingly out the window, where a sea of tender green and soft red blossoms greets her. A warm breeze blows, the flower branches sway gently, and the fragrance fills the air. It is as if the peach blossoms of this twenty-mile stretch are beckoning her off, wishing her to be as radiant as in an ancient poem, and to have a harmonious and happy marriage.
Xu Xingyan leaned against the entrance of the flower shop, smiling as she watched wedding cars slowly drive by. The groom rolled down the car window, revealing a radiant face. He looked somewhat familiar, as if he were a resident of the neighborhood. He took out a handful of candy and distributed it to a group of children passing by, receiving a flurry of congratulatory voices. He was overjoyed, his eyes practically bulging with smiles.
Xu Xingyan softly offered her congratulations, raised her hand to catch a handful of sunlight, and was in a pleasant mood when she heard a loud banging on the table coming from the flower shop, completely ruining the peaceful and basking atmosphere of spring.
Zhang Ting was still fuming, saying angrily, "...Tell me, am I angry or not? How can I stand it!"
Xiao Tang was also indignant and echoed his sentiments repeatedly.
Only Xu Xingyan had a dull ache in her head.
Here's what happened—
This morning at nine o'clock, Xu Xingyan received a call from teacher Zhang Ting, asking her to come to the school. To be honest, Xu Xingyan was stunned at that moment, after all, this was the first time in her life that her parents had been called in.
She quickly packed her things and ran to school. After finding out what had happened, she learned that a male teacher, nearing fifty, had told the girls in his class to go home and cut their hair short, saying that... long hair would distract the boys behind them and prevent them from concentrating on their studies...
Not to mention Xu Xingyan, even the other parents of girls who were called to the school were speechless when they heard this reason.
Of course, this wasn't the reason Zhang Ting's parents were called in. She... was quite patient. She spent three or four days rallying more than a dozen female classmates who didn't want to cut their hair to block the principal's way. They said that the teacher's bald head was too unsightly and would distract them from their studies, so he had to get a hair transplant before he could come back to teach them.
The principal, unaware of the cause of the incident, was naturally furious and gave them a severe scolding. He was about to call the parents to the school, but the girls had already devised a plan. They first kept quiet and waited until all the parents had arrived before revealing the whole story in public, making the matter known to everyone and leaving no room for embellishment.
The scene... Xu Xingyan can only describe it with two words when she thinks back on it: lively!
Finally, after a morning of fussing and endless arguments, the matter ended with the teacher issuing a public apology and being reassigned to teach another grade.
The actual damage wasn't significant, but for a thirteen-year-old junior high school student to go this far, Zhang Ting's audacity and vengefulness are absolutely astonishing among her peers, and... she has a very low level of acceptance of authority and is full of rebellious spirit.
Judging from this small example, this girl will definitely be a troublesome person when she grows up.
Inside the house, Zhang Ting called out without any hesitation, "Sister Xingyan, the rice is ready, you can eat now."
This is the difference between Lin Shengmiao and Xu Xingyan. Lin Shengmiao would take Zhang Ting back to school after dinner, but as a former underachiever, Xu Xingyan deeply understood the pain of studying and attending classes, so she directly helped Zhang Ting get a full day off, earning Zhang Ting's deep gratitude.
Xu Xingyan shook her head slightly, responded, and walked into the room, no longer thinking about Zhang Ting's education. After all, it wasn't her business. Judging from the fact that Zhang Cheng and Pei Wei were "sent away on business" again, it was clear that this girl was quite afraid of her parents.
Last month, Lin Shengmiao returned to Nancheng and took Xu Xingyan to visit Pei Wei and her husband. They had a meal together. Zhang Cheng was quite enthusiastic, but Ms. Pei Wei was as indifferent as ever. After understanding the way the mother and daughter got along, Xu Xingyan respected the two elders but kept her distance.
But Zhang Ting, the little sister, has been coming over a lot lately, often coming to freeload meals and snacks, and calling her "Sister Xingyan" so sweetly.
"Come and try my cucumber salad. The seasoning is just right this time!" Xiao Tang said confidently as he carried the last plate to the table.
After nearly poisoning her boyfriend to the hospital, Ms. Tang finally learned her lesson and began to study cooking. Her most successful dish to date is cucumber salad.
Yes... it just means she has the highest success rate, not that she has completely mastered the dish.
Xu Xingyan ignored him and continued drinking her soup.
"Little Tingting, come and try my cooking, I guarantee it'll be delicious and super crispy."
Xiao Tangchao greeted Zhang Ting warmly and proactively. In her eyes, this was her boss's sister-in-law, a true member of the royal family. As the old saying goes, "A virtuous sister-in-law brings harmony to the family, while an unvirtuous sister-in-law brings chaos to the heart."
Xiao Tang felt that since she had received so much care from her boss, she had a responsibility to contribute to the harmony of her family.
As for why she's called the "younger sister-in-law" instead of the "younger sister-in-law," well... Tang wasn't really sure either, but... cough cough, looking at her boss's beautifully manicured nails, it would be hard for her not to know.
Zhang Ting paused, looking at the plate pushed in front of her and Xiao Tang's eager smile. She wasn't stupid. Even if she didn't know Xiao Tang's identity as a kitchen killer, she could probably understand just by looking at Xu Xingyan's evasive expression. However, she was still young and her personality was such that she was easily swayed by gentle persuasion, so she was too embarrassed to refuse this generous invitation.
"Then, then I'll have one piece." She slowly put her chopsticks into the plate, and her throat felt itchy as soon as she put her mouth in. But facing Xiao Tang's expectant eyes, she still forced herself to cough and said, "Not bad."
With a smile, Miss Tang went to get a bowl to serve herself rice, completely satisfied.
While she turned around, Xu Xingyan whispered in Zhang Ting's ear, "I'll take you to buy snacks later. There's a new cake shop that opened in the mall in the east of the city. I heard their cream puffs are really good..."
Zhang Ting's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously. The way she looked at Xu Xingyan was exactly the same as how she looked at her own sister. Oh, she loved this feeling of being bought off with a lot of money!
...
[Luo Jing: Yan Yan, is that professional book you asked me to find still in the store? I'll come pick it up around 2 PM this afternoon, and I'll also bring you two boxes of new tea.]
While washing the dishes, her phone vibrated. Since it was inconvenient for Xu Xingyan to type, she simply dried one hand and said via voice message, "I didn't leave it at the store. It's on the bookshelf at home. Go get it yourself. I'm going out for a while this afternoon. The house key is still in the usual place."
[Luo Jing: OK, then I'll just put the tea leaves in your fridge.]
Xu Xingyan smiled and said, "Okay."
...
Luo Jing pulled a key from under a flowerpot by the door, changed her shoes as if she knew the way, and went into the study. She searched through all the dozen or so bookshelves, but couldn't find the book she wanted. Puzzled, she sent Xu Xingyan another message—
[Luo Jing: Are you sure you want it on the bookshelf? I've looked everywhere and can't find it.]
Standing by the cake shop's cashier, Xu Xingyan glanced at Zhang Ting, who was carrying a tray and moving among the bread shelves. After thinking for a moment, she replied, "If she's not in the study, then she should be in the art studio. Go check over there; I remember it was on a wooden shelf the other day."
Luo Jing then went to the art studio. Compared to the study, the art studio was a bit messier, but it only had cabinets on two walls, one for storing artworks and the other for storing paints, clearly separated.
Sure enough, Luo Jing found the books she had been searching for on the second shelf where the artworks were displayed. She breathed a long sigh of relief and was about to pick them up when her long, wide sleeves knocked over a long wooden box next to her. The box rolled to the ground, spilling out four or five framed scroll paintings...
She quickly squatted down to pick it up, and after rolling up the unraveling scroll a couple of times, she exclaimed "Huh?", turned around, and faced her directly. Just one glance made her lips twitch.
This is a painting of a lady under the moon. The moon is full, so it must be for the Mid-Autumn Festival. The courtyard is decorated with carved beams and painted rafters. The lady sits on a swing, holding a white flower in her hand, which looks quite like a jasmine.
A limerick was casually written next to it.
The sparse trees in the courtyard rustled and fell.
Dots of white frost stand on the branches.
Another festive day for family reunion,
Chang'e appears in my dreams when the moon is up.
The inscription is dated Mid-Autumn Festival of the Jiawu year, which is eight years ago. Upon closer inspection, both the handwriting and the brushstrokes are indeed much more immature compared to Xu Xingyan's current level.
Looking at the face of the 'lady' in the painting, which looked exactly like Lin Shengmiao's face in high school, Luo Jing felt a vein throb on her forehead. The meaning of the poem and the painting were very clear: eight years ago, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, her dear sister dreamed of Lin Shengmiao in the middle of the night, tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep anymore, so she got out of bed and made this painting.
Luo Jing's shoulders trembled, and she rolled up the painting with a look of unbearable discomfort, putting it into the long box. Then, she curiously picked up another half-open painting, on which a few strokes outlined half of Lin Shengmiao's sleeping face, accompanied by the words: "I draw my wife's face at dawn, still wondering if she is in a dream."
Luo Jing: "..."
She never expected her sister to be so affectionate when she was in a relationship.
Humans are always susceptible to temptation, and Luo Jing reached out her eager hands to the next painting.
This was quite a shock; she was so frightened she almost threw herself out. This time, the painting didn't depict one person, but two... on the bed. Miss Xu's painting was so lifelike that Luo Jing immediately noticed the protagonist's luscious red lips and the red marks on her collarbone.
Miss Xu also added captions for everyone—
Wherever her lips touched, rouge marked her face. My dear Shengniang, do not be hasty, do not be afraid. The long night stretches on, and I will always express my longing.
Luo Jing: !!!
To be honest, Luo Jing isn't someone who can't drive; on the contrary, she's quite the expert. If it were drawn by one of her friends, she might have already enthusiastically filled in the blanks in her mind. But since it's her sister, she's not only terrified, but also... quite deflated, and probably won't be interested for a long time.
Now she really didn't dare to look at it anymore. She quickly gathered up the scattered paintings, put them back in the cabinet, erased the traces of the crime, and ran away as if fleeing.
More than an hour later...
Luo Jing updated her social media with a message containing only three words written through gritted teeth: "Vixen!"
The accompanying image is an animated version of Daji.
When his phone beeped, Yu Hang quickly picked it up. Upon seeing the message, he fell into a long silence, pondering whether he had recently encountered any unwanted romantic advances or had failed to properly reject someone, thus upsetting his girlfriend.
After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't come up with a solution. His hand hesitated to click "like," and he pondered in a confused yet calm manner—perhaps... he should apologize first?
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