As soon as these words were spoken,
the tears welled up in Xiaojun's eyes over there.
Aunt Wang, standing at the courtyard gate, sighed, "What a pity!" Then she rushed up quickly from the gate and coaxed softly, "Xiaojun, don't cry. Come to grandma's house. Grandma will cook mung bean soup for you."
Then she turned to Luo Yingshu and said, "It's an adult's matter. Why do you pick on a child?"
Luo Yingshu also knew that she had spoken too harshly. Her face looked a bit uncomfortable, but she was too proud to apologize to a child. Seeing Li Chuchu following Aunt Wang, she thought Li Chuchu had come to watch her make a fool of herself.
Her face darkened. She dragged Xiaohu into the house.
The door was slammed shut with a "bang".
A few leaves on the trees in the courtyard were shaken off.
Li Chuchu: ……?
What had she done to offend Luo Yingshu?
Aunt Wang took Xiaojun to her own house. She took out the cooked mung bean soup from the well and scooped a spoonful for Xiaojun.
Uncle Wang happened to be there. Seeing Xiaojun's red - rimmed eyes, he asked, "What's going on?"
Aunt Wang told Uncle Wang what she had seen at the gate.
Uncle Wang clicked his tongue twice but didn't say much.
After Xiaojun finished the mung bean soup, he wiped his tears, thanked Aunt Wang obediently, and then went back with his test paper.
Uncle Wang sat down at the table and sighed, "Alas, the grudges between adults have involved innocent children. Luo Yingshu was wrong in doing this. But Ge Hong is also at fault. She wants to save the money for the two children's tutoring classes and is afraid that the children will be left behind."
Aunt Wang rolled her eyes at him and said, "Wasn't this matter brought up at the dinner table? Liu Xiaocheng promised so nicely himself. Isn't Ge Hong just believing his words for a moment? Do you know who Chuchu and I met outside today?"
Uncle Wang was stunned. How did it come to this?
"Who did you meet?"
Aunt Wang suddenly got excited and described the scene she had seen in great detail, "You don't know. Liu Xiaocheng and that woman were sucking on an ice - cream on the roadside. They didn't know what was proper at all!"
Li Chuchu tried hard not to laugh.
Aunt Wang was quite eloquent when describing such things.
Uncle Wang looked skeptical, "It can't be... Liu Xiaocheng is such a nice boy..." "Bullshit! The quietest dogs bite the hardest! I think there's not a single good man among you!"
Aunt Wang interrupted him firmly. Uncle Wang could only shut up meekly.
He knew it.
If he dared to say a single word, this woman would have a hundred things to say to him.
He couldn't win an argument with her.
Aunt Wang continued, "Look, it was clearly Liu Xiaocheng who promised to do this. With just a few words, he played the good guy. The speaker might not mean it, but the listener takes it to heart. As a result, he left such a mess for Luo Yingshu to deal with. If he had any sense, he shouldn't have promised in the first place! This matter could have been laughed off."
Aunt Wang scolded Liu Xiaocheng for being a jerk in a low voice so that the neighbors next door couldn't hear.
Uncle Wang didn't say a word. He thought to himself that what was said at the dinner table couldn't be taken seriously.
But then he thought,
the old woman was right. The speaker might not mean it, but the listener takes it to heart. Even if you're drunk, you can't talk nonsense, or you'll cause trouble for yourself and your family.
Suddenly, he remembered, "By the way, have you told Luo Yingshu about this?"
"Hey, what should I tell her? She has eyes only for Liu Xiaocheng. Will she listen to an old woman like me?"
Uncle Wang nodded repeatedly, "That's right. It's better not to say. This is someone else's family matter. We can't interfere."
Aunt Wang raised her eyebrows proudly, "Do I need you to tell me that?"
"By the way, have you had dinner? Chuchu invited me to a big hotel for hot pot today. I brought some mutton for you. Try it quickly."
Uncle Wang laughed, "I was wondering what you were carrying back. Why did you bring the food back when Chuchu invited you to dinner?"
Aunt Wang glared at him, "I said you hadn't eaten it. Chuchu specially asked me to bring it back for you to try."
As soon as the mutton was opened, it smelled really good.
The smell of sesame paste mixed with scallions and mutton filled the whole room.
Uncle Wang scratched his head embarrassedly and smiled at Chuchu. He wasn't good at expressing himself, so he could only show his kindness in this way.
Li Chuchu had been getting along with them for a long time and could completely understand.
Uncle Wang picked up a piece of mutton with chopsticks, dipped it in the sesame paste in the small box beside it, and put it into his mouth. He chewed it a few times, and the delicious smell almost made him faint.
"This is really delicious. It must be expensive, right?"
"Sure it is. The meal cost more than ten yuan. Your portion alone must cost three or four yuan."
Uncle Wang was shocked, "Hey, it's so expensive! Such good food shouldn't be wasted." He changed from gobbling to chewing slowly.
Aunt Wang laughed at him, saying he was like Bajie eating the ginseng fruit.
...
The familiar sound of a bicycle bell came from outside.
Aunt Wang looked out and said, "Hey, is it Shen Yanshan coming back? Chuchu, go and have a look."
Hearing Shen Yanshan's name,
Li Chuchu's heart skipped a beat. She answered and rushed out quickly.
In the dimly lit courtyard, a tall and slender figure was bending down to lock the bike under the tree.
Hearing the footsteps,
he turned his head and saw Li Chuchu popping out of the neighbor's house. She was like a little kitten peeping out of the house.
She was so cute.
Shen Yanshan smiled as he locked the bike and stood there, waving at the "little kitten". Li Chuchu turned to say goodbye to Aunt Wang and then skipped towards Shen Yanshan.
"Why are you coming back so late?"
"I had a dinner party today. I chatted with them for a while, so I was delayed."
Shen Yanshan looked at Li Chuchu and couldn't take his eyes off her. Even in the night when it was hard to see clearly, her fair face and delicate facial features were still beautiful.
"Let's go. Go into the house first."
Shen Yanshan naturally grabbed Li Chuchu's hand. His fingers slipped firmly between hers and held her hand tightly.
Li Chuchu went into the house and turned on the light. The room suddenly became bright.
Shen Yanshan threw his briefcase on the table and slumped into the rocking chair by the screen window.
He didn't let go of Li Chuchu's hand,
so Li Chuchu fell into his arms.
"Hey!"
"Don't move. Let me hug you."
After a busy day outside, the tense nerve finally relaxed. A sense of comfort seeped out from every bone in his body.
It made Shen Yanshan feel as if he was soaking in a warm pool and didn't want to get out.
Li Chuchu lay on him. She finally managed to get up, but Shen Yanshan reached out his arm and pressed her back on him.
His body rose and fell with his breathing. The heat came through every inch of the fabric that was in contact. Shen Yanshan seemed to have an especially high body temperature. Li Chuchu was sweating slightly from the heat, but he still didn't want to let go.
"Shen Yanshan, let... let go a little."