Jian Yushu followed behind Aunt Zhang, walking toward the entrance of the small courtyard.
His arrival caused a stir among the outer edges of the crowd.
“Whoa, whose young man is that behind Sister Zhang? He’s really handsome!”
“Did you see his eyes? They’re different from ours—he looks like… a foreign guest.”
“His clothes, and that watch—I’ve never seen anything like them. Could he really be a foreigner?”
“Why not? Let me tell you, that watch looks familiar. The factory once organized a study session, and I saw it on TV. Foreigners on TV wore watches like that—something called ‘Lao… something Li.’”
“That makes sense. And look at the food he’s carrying—there’s foreign writing on it. You might not even find that in the Overseas Chinese store. Maybe it was brought directly from abroad.”
“But what is a foreigner doing in a place like ours? Who here could possibly know someone that impressive?”
Jian Yushu was long used to such discussions. His expression didn’t change at all, only a slight frown as he looked toward the courtyard entrance.
He was tall—just by looking over the sea of heads, he could clearly see what was happening there.
The girl who had once lain on the ground with a pale face was now flushed red with anger.
Those almond-shaped eyes that had once seemed lifeless were now frighteningly bright.
She stared fixedly at the people arguing noisily in front of her.
“Malicious?”
Having already lost all face, Hao Yajie stopped pretending altogether.
“I’m just telling the truth.”
Her gaze fell on the fruit candies and eggs Lin Qiqi had deliberately tried to hide, and she sneered.
“Lin Qiqi, it’s just this little bit of stuff, and you still put it inside the courtyard gate like it’s something special? A few eggs and a bag of candy—are they treasures?”
“Do you know why Ziping doesn’t want you anymore?”
“I can give him a Seagull watch—what can you give him?”
“Your crippled mother’s chamber pot?”
Even Meng Ziping couldn’t stand hearing that. He reached out and tugged at Hao Yajie’s sleeve.
If this went on, he feared Lin Qiqi wouldn’t just cry—given her personality, she might even try to end her life.
But that small gesture only provoked Hao Yajie further.
She shook off his hand and glared at him. “Am I wrong?”
“Didn’t you just eat a few meals at her house when you were little? She’s been clinging to that ever since.”
She turned again, glaring viciously at Lin Qiqi.
At that moment, Hao Yajie truly wished Lin Qiqi would die.
If she died, no one would compete with her for Meng Ziping anymore.
“Lin Qiqi, you don’t actually think I ever considered you a friend, do you?”
“But since we were classmates, seeing you in such a miserable state, I should help. How about…”
A malicious smile spread across her face. “I introduce you to someone?”
“I have a distant cousin. His family’s in good condition—his father is the deputy director of a machinery brick factory. If you marry him, won’t you have as many eggs and candies as you want? What do you think?”
Meng Ziping, who had been keeping his head down, looked up in shock.
“Your cousin is an idiot—how can you introduce him to Qiqi?!”
Though he had accepted Hao Yajie, he still didn’t want Lin Qiqi to be with someone else.
He had even imagined that after he got into university, earned money, and married Hao Yajie, he could keep Lin Qiqi as well.
If that day came, he wouldn’t be letting either of them down.
But now, the slightest sign of him siding with Lin Qiqi only fueled Hao Yajie’s anger further.
“So what if he’s stupid? At least he won’t starve!”
“What, Lin Qiqi, you still think you’re too good for him?”
“With your unlucky crippled mother and your poor family, what capable people could you possibly know?”
“Marrying into that kind of family is already climbing high. I’m kindly introducing him to you—don’t be ungrateful.”
As soon as Hao Yajie finished speaking, the crowd parted, and Aunt Zhang squeezed through first.
She hadn’t heard everything, but she knew Meng Ziping.
When he was young, he often ate at Xiao Jiang’s house, and even at hers. But after something happened to Xiao Jiang, he never came to visit once.
Now he had brought a new fiancée, not only insulting Qiqi but even trying to set her up with a fool.
He was trying to drive her to death!
Heartless bastard.
Aunt Zhang suddenly had an idea. She pushed Jian Yushu forward and said with a smile, “Qiqi, Xiao Jian is here to see you.”
Xiao Jian?
Everyone’s gaze fell on the tall man beside Aunt Zhang.
In the early spring weather, Jian Yushu wore a light pilot jacket, standing out among the crowd dressed in plain jackets.
Not to mention his face—distinct from others, with an unmistakably foreign air.
This man… came to see Lin Qiqi?
Even the nearly hysterical Hao Yajie froze.
How could Lin Qiqi possibly know someone like him?!
“Impossible… absolutely impossible…” she muttered, shaking her head.
Meng Ziping stared at Jian Yushu as he walked out of the crowd.
He stood out like a crane among chickens—excellent in every way.
And he had been looking at Lin Qiqi all along. What exactly was their relationship?
A deep sense of inferiority surged within Meng Ziping.
When he noticed the watch on Jian Yushu’s wrist, it reached its peak.
He quietly hid his own Seagull watch into his sleeve.
Then he shifted sideways, placing himself in front of Lin Qiqi, trying to block Jian Yushu’s line of sight.
Jian Yushu ignored both Meng Ziping and Hao Yajie.
He hadn’t intended to get involved.
But just now, Lin Qiqi had been bullied back and forth by the two of them.
Though her expression hadn’t changed much, he could see she had been clenching her teeth the whole time, enduring it.
Like a tree that could not be broken even in a raging storm.
For some reason, Jian Yushu’s heart softened.
He walked straight toward Lin Qiqi.
When he reached Meng Ziping, he looked down at him from above and said coldly, “Comrade, please step aside.”
Meng Ziping was just over 170 cm tall, while Jian Yushu was 185.
The difference was stark. He unconsciously stepped aside.
His face flushed red, wishing he could disappear into the ground.
Lin Qiqi was also stunned. Why was he here?
Last time, she had been lying on the ground and didn’t feel much, but now standing face to face, she realized just how tall this mixed-blood handsome man was.
Could he really be here to see her?
It wasn’t like they had any grudge before. He looked so big—surely he wouldn’t be that petty?
She tilted her head up, looking into his smoky blue eyes, and asked cautiously, “Why are you here?”
Jian Yushu held out a handkerchief.
“You used this for me last time. I’ve washed it—I came to return it.”
This is a handkerchief!
The onlookers’ eyes widened.
Usually, if a woman lent her handkerchief to a man, and the man washed it and returned it—
The next step was definitely to start a relationship!
Jian Yushu glanced at the cheap fruit candies on the ground, then at Hao Yajie and Meng Ziping.
He lifted the bag in his hand, filled with rare, high-end goods.
“Have you finished the candies I gave you last time?”
“Qiqi.”