"Money?" Qu Ling was taken aback for a moment, then took out her wallet from her jacket pocket. "How much do you need? Is two thousand enough?"
"Enough! Absolutely enough!" Su Zhenzhen took the money with a beaming smile, her whole being radiant. "Oh ho ho, my groceries for this month are covered!"
"Hey! Big sister, how can you just take other people's money like that?" I hurriedly grabbed her hand and said anxiously.
"What do you mean 'other people'? Is Qu Ling someone else?" Su Zhenzhen slapped my hand away and laughed, "We're family! Qu Ling, I'm leaving now. You and Yuanyuan can come to my house to see the baby when you have time. She really likes you and always talks about wanting to play with you."
"Okay, I'll definitely go see her." Qu Ling smiled as she put her empty wallet back into her pocket.
"Yuanyuan, I'm leaving! Remember to keep what happened today a secret!" Su Zhenzhen tucked the money in her pocket and ran away, leaving me standing awkwardly next to Qu Ling.
"I...I'll pay you back," I finally murmured after a long pause.
"Okay, remember to pay me interest. I charge exorbitant interest rates." Qu Ling reached out and patted my head, laughing as she spoke.
"Huh? You really want to charge me interest?" His unexpected answer left me staring up at him in disbelief.
"Yes." He nodded seriously.
"Fine...okay!" I gritted my teeth and agreed. I never expected him to charge me interest! Shouldn't he have generously said, "This little bit of money is nothing, Yuanyuan, don't worry about it?" And I would have righteously and solemnly declared, "Dean, please don't do this! Let's keep things separate. Of course I'll pay you back the money I borrowed!" In the end, none of the lines I had prepared were used; he still wanted to charge me interest. I was seething with resentment, and could only tilt my head and say, "I'll pay you back tomorrow! How about 10% interest?"
Qu Ling smiled slightly, turned around noncommittally, and said, "I didn't say I wanted money as a reward. What kind of reward I want is up to me."
The winter wind was cold, and as I watched Qu Ling's retreating figure, I shivered in the cold wind.
***
I didn't pay back the money I borrowed from Qu Ling the next day.
Before the winter break, the design students had a week-long plein air painting class. The teacher who was originally scheduled to lead the students on the plein air painting trip with Dingding suddenly got acute appendicitis and was hospitalized and unable to get out of bed. So, the task of leading the group fell to me.
Early the next morning, I carried my turtle-shell-shaped luggage and, together with Dingding, led a carload of teenagers to Xidi and Hongcun in southern Anhui.
Author's Note: Classmates~~~ I'm finally back!!
It was such a difficult trip back from Meili Snow Mountain! Yuanyuan almost became a permanent crater!
Hugs everyone!!! I miss you all so much!!!
Newlywed life was chaotic; I made a lot of blunders and was completely overwhelmed. If you want to know more, I'll write about it in Yuanyuan's story later. So, I will definitely write about Yuanyuan and Qu Ling getting married!
I've been really busy lately and haven't had any large blocks of time to write anything. Please understand. I also haven't had time to reply to comments. Things will get better soon, so please don't worry!
Thank you so much, little bird, for making my friends closer while I was traveling! Dear little bird, I'll definitely treat you to a meal!!
Please don't mind the short update schedule, I just haven't had enough time. It'll get better later~~ I'll make it up to you all~~
Things should be back to normal next week.
Next update, Sunday
The fish roe that almost got buried forever in Meili Snow Mountain climbed down~~~
ˇSu Yuanyuan's Journey (Part 2)ˇ
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I don't know which department head came up with this terrible idea, sending a bunch of students to the mountains for sketching in the dead of winter. Although the scenery in southern Anhui is beautiful and pleasant, the damp, drizzling air in winter makes it impossible to appreciate even the best scenery once you leave the house. Besides, Dingding and I also had to take care of that bunch of troublesome older kids.
On the first day, after arriving in Xidi and taking a long-distance bus for more than eight hours along mountain roads, I was dizzy, nauseous, and had tinnitus. Not only could I not help Dingding, but I also had to be supported by several students to get into the village. The child supporting me looked very familiar, so I mustered my strength and asked him, "Have we met somewhere else before?"
The child's face flushed red, and after a long while, he murmured, "Teacher Su... that time in the infirmary..."
Oh—so it was him who called me the fat teacher!
I coughed awkwardly twice and said, "I'm heavier, you're making me feel bad."
"Not tired! Not tired! Teacher, you're not heavy at all!" the boy hurriedly replied. That flattery was so fake!
Because our accommodation was in Hongcun, we had a late lunch in Xidi at 3 PM, and then headed to Hongcun. The mountain roads were slippery from the rain, and the car moved as slowly as a crawl. During the series of sharp 180-degree turns, I vomited so much that I almost brought up bile.
We finally arrived at Hongcun. Dingding dropped me off under the eaves of some random house at the village entrance and went to arrange accommodations for the students. Because we were staying in the village, we couldn't all stay together; we had to squeeze a few students into one house and a few into another. By the time she finished arranging the students, I was already frozen stiff under the damp, cold eaves.
"Yuanyuan! Don't sleep! Sleep when we get to our accommodation!" Dingding supported me, who was as limp as a feather, panting heavily. Although I was as limp as a feather, in terms of weight, all the willow catkins that fell in spring probably wouldn't be as heavy as one of my legs.
We arrived at Old Zhang's house, where we were staying, feeling groggy. Dingding and I both collapsed onto the long bench in the main room.
"Yuanyuan... Ugh, I, I'm talking to you!" Dingding pinched me, panting, "You really should lose some weight! You just look round, but you're so heavy when you carry you!"
I lay on the bench with a pout, not saying a word, and pinched her back.
In southern Anhui, families keep braziers in winter. A brazier is essentially a stool shaped like a wooden bucket with a basin of burning charcoal underneath. The bucket is half solid and half hollow. Sitting on the hollow side is like sitting on the charcoal brazier, which is very warm. Once it gets too hot, one can move to the solid side of the bucket, where the charcoal is still warm, but the wooden board makes it much gentler.
After dinner, Uncle Zhang lit a brazier for me and Dingding each. We sat on the braziers, holding freshly brewed hot tea, to warm ourselves.
The flowers and trees in the small courtyard outside the door had long since fallen, and the night rain brought an indescribable chill. I sat on the open side of the brazier, warming myself for a while before my bottom became unbearably hot, so I moved to the solid side. After sitting on the solid side for a while, I still felt it wasn't warm enough, so I moved back to the open side. I kept switching between solid and open sides like this, and Dingding, watching me fidget, finally couldn't stand it anymore and dragged me back to the room to sleep.
I may seem carefree and easygoing on the surface, but I'm actually quite particular about small things. For example, whenever I travel, I always bring my own sleeping bag and pillow. If I have to sleep under a hotel blanket or use someone else's pillow, I definitely won't get a sleep. That's why my luggage is always much heavier than other people's.
While making the bed, Dingding laughed at me for being fussy. After I put the sleeping bag away and carried the brazier into the room to heat it up, I realized that I had forgotten to bring the most important thing: my pillow.
"Ah—I forgot my rose-shaped pillow!" I cried, pounding the bed with a long face. Without my own pillow, I definitely wouldn't sleep well all night. If it were just a day or two, I could manage, but this time I'm going to be here for a week. How am I supposed to live?
"You're just being fussy! I don't believe you can't sleep without your own pillow!" Dingding scolded me, but she still tidied the bed for me, folded the cotton coat she had taken off and spread it on the headboard, saying, "My cotton coat is soft enough, you can make do with it. This place is a million miles away from home, even if I send it to you, it will be several days later."
"Dingding..." I went around behind Dingding and put my arm around her waist. "You're the best to me! Don't marry Dayong, marry me instead!"
"Pfft—" Dingding laughed, propping herself up on the bed. "I'd love to marry you! But you'd have to become a man first!"
"Hmph, I don't want to become a man! Men are all too complicated, I don't know what they're thinking!" I huffed and plopped down on the sleeping bag.
Ding Ding looked at her for a couple of seconds, then asked in a low voice, "Yuan Yuan, there's something I'm not sure I should ask, but I feel like you've been acting a little different lately."
"I... how am I different?" I turned my face toward the window guiltily.
"Stop pretending! You're obviously preoccupied!" Dingding sat down next to me, poked my cheek with her index finger, and said, "Don't want to talk about it? Fine! Go to sleep!"
"I..." Dingding said it was alright, but the things I had been holding back started itching to get to my throat. "Dingding, how do you know that Dayong genuinely likes you as a person and not for any other reason?"