Chapter 27 All that glitters is not gold; all that rots is cotton.
In the early morning, when Lin Shengmiao drew back the curtains and let the sunlight stream onto the soft bed, Xu Xingyan was on the phone in the living room. Her voice, clear and melodious, carried into the bedroom.
"...You only said you wouldn't accept red envelopes, but you didn't say you wouldn't accept gifts... It's really not expensive, it was embroidered by a familiar master craftsman, but the time was too short and it's not very fine..."
On the other end of the phone were Meng Yue and Tao Yu, who had just discovered the gift box. Lin Shengmiao had witnessed how Xu Xingyan had secretly stuffed it into their wardrobe, and after listening to a little bit, she understood. She couldn't help but recall everything from yesterday, gently smelling the flowers by her bedside, and smiled faintly with her eyes lowered.
Miss Xu's wedding gift was a pair of hand-embroidered cloth bags. She drew the designs herself and then asked an embroidery master to work on them overnight. Each bag was embroidered with an exquisite gold hairpin, one on the left and one on the right. When put together, they form a complete hairpin, symbolizing a love stronger than gold.
The most precious thing is not the gift itself, but the ingenuity and blessing it conveys.
The phone call in the living room gradually faded away. Lin Shengmiao looked at the sky outside the window. The sun was still shining, and the breeze was still blowing, but she felt that something was different.
This morning doesn't represent the start of a busy day, but rather a beautiful, leisurely time where two people can listen to music and eat breakfast together.
"I made some shrimp porridge, but it's not ready yet. Have a fried egg to tide you over first."
While drawing a big heart with ketchup next to the fried egg, Xu Xingyan added cherry tomatoes and freshly picked mint leaves, and said in the most ordinary tone, "Let's go to your place to move our luggage after breakfast. It just so happens that your lease on the guesthouse is about to expire."
"Cough cough cough," Lin Shengmiao, who was drinking milk, accidentally choked.
Xu Xingyan's eyes narrowed immediately. "You promised me last night! Are you going back on your word?!"
"I cough cough, I didn't go back on my word cough..." Lin Shengmiao said with a wronged expression, "I really choked, well... how about we go again this afternoon, after the flower shop closes."
"It's alright, Xiao Tang is here," Xu Xingyan said with her sweet smile. Without hesitation, she increased the workload for her employees. Xiao Tang had gained weight recently and really should exercise more to lose some weight.
...
"You've come at the perfect time. I just sent my daughter a box of dates, and I can't eat them all by myself. Why don't you pack some up and take them back with you?" the guesthouse owner said warmly. They still had several days' rent left, but they had no intention of leaving.
"No need, it's not easy for us to carry it here either," Lin Shengmiao said, dragging a suitcase down the stairs.
Behind her was Xu Xingyan, who was carrying a cardboard box. She smiled and said, "Big sister, your daughter is very filial to you."
The proprietress's eyes curved into crescents. "This girl has been sensible and considerate since she was little. She always thinks of me."
Seeing the two girls struggling, she suddenly said, "I have a small cart here. I'll find it for you. Otherwise, this cart is parked on the other side of the road, and you'll have to carry it over on foot, which is quite a long way."
"Thank you so much..." Xu Xingyan leaned weakly against the wall, blinked, and said in a playful tone, "I'm feeling a bit weak right now."
"Oh, it's just something I did on the spur of the moment," the proprietress said, very easy to talk to.
After the landlady went back inside to look for the trolley, Lin Shengmiao put his suitcase away, walked over and took her hand, saying, "Sit down for a while, I can do it myself."
"I'm not tired!" Xu Xingyan hooked her little finger with hers and chuckled, "I'm very happy."
Lin Shengmiao leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. Their figures intertwined, like two close dewdrops on a leaf in the early morning, gradually merging in the sunlight.
...
While waiting at the traffic light, Xu Xingyan received another phone call from her aunt.
"Hello... what? Have you checked the security footage? Have you searched the entire area? Don't worry, I'm coming right away..."
Lin Shengmiao immediately asked, "What happened?"
“My dog, Dahuang, is missing,” Xu Xingyan said, frowning. “It’s a country dog that my aunt raised.”
She pressed her forehead anxiously and said, "It's so fat, and a bit silly. It can't even beat a big goose. I hope it won't be stolen."
Her description was so specific that Lin Shengmiao became worried and immediately adjusted the navigation, getting on the highway.
In the passenger seat, Xu Xingyan pulled up the surveillance footage from her aunt's yard and watched repeatedly the scene of the big yellow dog sneaking out of the gate. Because the old lady lived alone and was unwilling to move, for safety reasons, both Xu Xingyan and Mr. Xu's phones could be connected to the old lady's surveillance footage to prevent any accidents.
Xu Xingyan watched helplessly as the silly dog, wagging its tail, clumsily squeezed through the loosely closed iron gate under the cover of the grapevines in the corner of the yard, successfully escaping.
Moreover, the time indicated that it was 2 a.m., and the round dog's eyes glowed faintly under the surveillance camera.
She let out a heavy sigh, thinking that given her aunt's temper, if this simpleton was lucky enough not to be turned into dog meat hotpot, he would still have one of his legs broken when he came back.
As soon as the car drove into the yard, the old lady came over, her eyebrows and eyes drooping, her voice filled with worry: "We've searched the whole village, but we just can't find her."
"What should we do? In its current state, if it runs away, it will either starve to death or get caught and arrested..."
Despite her usual disdain, Auntie still adored Dahuang and was so anxious she was practically pulling her hair out. She didn't even notice Lin Shengmiao following behind Xu Xingyan.
Even when the other person greeted him, it took him a moment to process it before he finally came to his senses and said, "Hello... who are you?"
Xu Xingyan said, "She is me..."
"I'm Xingyan's friend!" Lin Shengmiao quickly interrupted her, seeing that the old lady was already very upset because of losing her dog, and didn't want to upset her at this time.
He then suggested, "Why don't we get a drone to fly over and see if we're stuck somewhere? I remember Chen Shengxuan did some aerial photography for a while. Why don't we give him a call and ask if it's convenient for him to come over?"
“Oh right,” Xu Xingyan slapped her forehead, “No need to look for Chen Shengxuan, Yao Yan has drones, he happens to live nearby, it’s only a forty-minute drive away.”
Xu Xingyan finished her call with Yao Yan, who readily agreed. Meanwhile, the old lady had a solution and was no longer so anxious. She even had the mood to stroke Xiaobai's slender neck and, with a hint of belittling, lecture her: "Our Xiaobai is the best behaved, never causing Grandma any trouble. Never learn from that scoundrel..."
The big white goose rubbed against the old lady's sleeve, behaving as obediently as could be, and was especially endearing.
While waiting for Yao Yan, Xu Xingyan explained to Lin Shengmiao that the dog, Dahuang, was brought to her home a few years ago because President Xu felt it was unsafe for her to live alone as a young woman. She specifically asked a knowledgeable friend to take a look at it. Later, Xu Xingyan didn't have the energy to walk the dog every day, and she had too many books at home, so she sent it to the old lady's place.
Looking at the old lady not far away, who was being affectionate with Xiaobai, Lin Shengmiao suspected that the dog had run away from home in anger because it couldn't compete with the big white goose for affection.
As it turns out... she thought too much about Dahuang's backbone.
"Xingyan, come and take a look. Is that your dog in this ditch?" Yao Yan stood on the edge of the field and shouted back at them.
Xu Xingyan quickly ran over, peered at the screen for a long time, and said decisively, "That's it!"
Such a plump and succulent dog, yet so stupid as to get stuck in a tiny ditch—this is a one-of-a-kind dog.
Yao Yan chuckled. "There's a dog standing on top of this pit. Could it be its girlfriend? Are they on a date? By the way, is your dog neutered?"
Xu Xingyan smiled: "Soon."
I'll take it to the vet to get it shaved when I get back!
Because it rained late last night, the fields were muddy, and there was only a pair of rain boots in Xu Xingyan's size in the trunk, Lin Shengmiao was asked to stay in the car.
On the way to rescue the dog, Yao Yan led the way, first complaining that the dog really knew how to find places to hide, and then suddenly asked, "What's going on between you two?"
Xu Xingyan stopped, leaning against a tree trunk. She smiled, freed one hand to take out her phone, and quickly and confidently sent Lin Shengmiao's photo, along with a screenshot of last night's family group chat, to a small group chat she shared with Yao Yan, Bai Yun, and a few other friends. She did so with a calm and nonchalant air, as if she were 'never looking back at the explosion'.
Then, with a hint of helplessness, he said, "What kind of eyes do you all have? They're so sharp."
“…You guys never even tried to cover it up,” Yao Yan complained as he opened his phone.
Xu Xingyan shrugged upon hearing this, "Perhaps."
After reading the group messages, Yao Yan put his phone back in his pocket, turned around and gave her a thumbs up.
...
My great-aunt was overjoyed to see Big Yellow running off the car from afar and rushed over to greet him.
Upon closer inspection, seeing its body covered in yellow mud, I immediately stopped in my tracks. As the big yellow dog lunged at me with a howl, I nimbly dodged and retreated several steps, breaking the big yellow dog's heart.
“It’s trapped in a pit that’s almost two meters deep. It’s probably frozen pretty badly. Let’s feed it something first, and then we can give it a bath once it’s warmed up,” Xu Xingyan said.
Unfortunately, the dog that had been waiting outside the pit with Da Huang ran away as soon as it saw people, so we couldn't figure out its gender, and we don't know if Da Huang has found a mate yet.
My great-aunt found a glove before taking Big Yellow to eat. While feeding him, she scolded him, "Now you know how tough it is out there, right? I've told you a thousand times not to run around, but you never listened! Would I ever hurt you? Now look what you've done, you've learned your lesson. Tell me, didn't you bring this on yourself?"
Lin Shengmiao squatted on the ground, silently observing Da Huang's disheveled eating habits.
From any perspective, it is an excellent dog with outstanding appearance. When Mr. Xu's friend chose it, he must have really put his heart into it.
He has a pleasing appearance, is not aggressive, has triangular eyes, a large nose, straight teeth, and erect ears...
Lin Shengmiao remembered that when she was a child, her neighbor's grandfather also had a dog like this. Once, when the dog's leash got stuck on a tree stump outside, it dug out half of the stump and brought it home to add firewood.
And this one in front of us...
Looking into Da Huang's silly and adorable eyes, Lin Shengmiao realized for the first time that the phrase "all that glitters is not gold" applies not only to humans but also to dogs.
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Author's Note:
Lin Shengmiao: This dog is so stupid.
Chapter 28 Undoubtedly
"Thank you for your hard work today. These are all free-range eggs from our own farm. Take some home and eat them."
Yao Yan refused earnestly, saying, "No need, you can keep it for Xingyan."
It's a 40-minute drive back, and if the car breaks, I'll have to wash it. Besides, eggs can be bought anywhere, so there's really no need to go through all that trouble.
“I left some for Yan Yan, these are all for you,” the aunt said without further ado, opening the car door and putting him in the passenger seat.
Yao Yan exclaimed, "You...you're too kind."
"Just keep it," Xu Xingyan said with a smile after watching for a while. "It's a token of my aunt's affection. Every time Luo Jing came over, she would bring back a big bag of it."
The value of the village's free-range eggs lies not in their price, but in the sentiment that the elderly have painstakingly saved, one egg at a time.
"Drive slowly on your way back. I'll treat you to dinner next week," Xu Xingyan said with a wave and a smile.
Yao Yan held up his hand and gave an 'OK' sign.
"Are you staying for dinner?" The aunt turned to look at the two of them and asked with some anticipation.
"No..."
Just as Xu Xingyan was about to say that they still needed to go back to move, Lin Shengmiao's phone rang. After answering it for a short while, he handed the phone to her with a strange expression.
"Luo Jing is looking for you. She said she can't get through to your phone."
"Sis, my phone died, that's when I realized..." Xu Xingyan said as she took the phone.
"ah?"
The tone changed at the end of his sentence, and his expression became serious.
Lin Shengmiao and her aunt looked at her, wondering what had happened.
"We're in Jiugan Village... Okay, I understand, don't worry... I'm fine, I'll go to the nearby quarantine site for a nucleic acid test later..."
After calming Luo Jing down and hanging up the phone, Xu Xingyan looked at Lin Shengmiao and said with a wry smile, "Two positive cases have been found in the community, and it has been sealed off. Only entry is allowed, no exit."