“Qin Baozhu, wait for me!”
A breathless voice came from behind.
Qin Baozhu stopped and turned around, seeing Jiang Zhi running after her.
“I told you to wait for me at the elementary school gate. Why did you leave on your own? Do you even know the way?”
Heavens knew how anxious she’d been when she didn’t see Qin Baozhu at the school after parting with Deng Yuan.
Qin Baozhu replied calmly, “Aren’t I heading home right now?”
“That won’t do!”
Jiang Zhi choked for a second, but still insisted, “If you come out with me, then you have to go home with me!”
Qin Baozhu shot her a glance. She didn’t care much and answered perfunctorily, “Mm… fine. Done talking with your boyfriend?”
Jiang Zhi’s face flushed, and she coughed lightly. “Don’t tell Aunt Feng I met Deng Yuan, okay? And don’t tell Brother Zhou either!”
“Oh… okay,” Qin Baozhu replied flatly, clearly uninterested.
“I’ll help you carry that. What did you buy?”
Qin Baozhu handed her the bag. “Walnut pastries and salted egg yolk pastries. Want some?”
“No, they’re too greasy.”
The two walked slowly, holding the child’s hand.
After a while, Qin Baozhu suddenly asked, “Do you know Liang Xiyue?”
Jiang Zhi paused. “Teacher Liang? Why? Did you run into her?”
She thought about it—if Qin Baozhu walked home, she indeed would pass Liang Xiyue’s tailor shop.
Qin Baozhu nodded lightly. “Mm. It was a coincidence.”
“Did she say anything to you?”
Jiang Zhi had a good opinion of Liang Xiyue.
Maybe because no one in the Jiang family was educated, anyone who was scholarly or a teacher easily earned their admiration.
And she knew her brother Jiang Canran had always secretly liked Liang Xiyue.
“Oh… nothing much. She asked why I was wandering around with the child alone. I said I wasn’t alone.”
Qin Baozhu’s words made Jiang Zhi feel guilty.
It was her fault; thankfully nothing happened to Qin Baozhu—or else forget Brother Zhou being furious, even her own brother would give her an earful.
“What did you tell her?” Jiang Zhi asked carefully.
Qin Baozhu glanced at her. “I didn’t say you brought me out. Don’t worry.”
Unexpectedly, Qin Baozhu was quite tactful.
She wasn’t as fussy or hard to get along with as Liang Xiyue had described.
Maybe because Qin Baozhu had a pleasant attitude, Jiang Zhi didn’t find herself disliking her as much anymore. She even made excuses for her—someone raised in comfort wouldn’t know how to take care of others. And today she’d taken good care of Zhou Jingrui and hadn’t bought him junk food.
She was qualified to be a mother.
Jiang Zhi’s impression of her quietly improved.
Qin Baozhu asked again, “Is Liang Xiyue close to Zhou Fuguang?”
Jiang Zhi shook her head. “Not really. It’s just that many of your clothes were made by Teacher Liang’s mother at Brother Zhou’s request. After going back and forth, they got a bit familiar… Oh right, you don’t know. Teacher Liang’s mother is a famous seamstress in town. Her craftsmanship is amazing.”
Qin Baozhu lowered her eyes.
She understood.
So it was a one-sided crush.
No wonder the first time they met, Liang Xiyue had shown such hostility.
She’d been treated as a love rival.
Qin Baozhu pouted slightly.
Then she asked, “Do you like Liang Xiyue a lot?”
Jiang Zhi laughed. “Teacher Liang is the only college graduate in our town. For someone like me—a hopeless student—liking her is normal, right?”
Qin Baozhu said, “If nothing had happened to me, I would’ve graduated from college too.”
Jiang Zhi froze. “Huh? You got into college?”
“Of course.” Qin Baozhu bit her lollipop. “Qing University. You know it? I even got the admission letter. My mom didn’t want me going to the capital and wanted me to stay local, but I disagreed. We fought hard, and she couldn’t win.”
Jiang Zhi stared at her, stunned. “Baozhu… you’re joking, right?”
Qing University— even as a poor student, she knew the name.
A place even Liang Xiyue couldn’t dream of getting into… and she claimed she got in?
Qin Baozhu looked at her widened eyes, paused, then said, “Mm, just teasing you.”
It had been six years.
Her academic record probably wasn’t preserved.
If she wanted to study again, she’d have to return home first and talk with her parents.
First things first—she had to find a way home.
She bit down on the candy—crunch.
Halfway home, Qin Baozhu and Jiang Zhi ran into Aunt Feng, who had gone looking for them.
Aunt Feng had returned home earlier and found neither Qin Baozhu nor Jiang Zhi there. She was terrified.
After asking around, she heard they went strolling in town with the child.
She immediately went out to search.
All kinds of bad thoughts filled her mind, until she found them—carrying big and small bags, clearly returning from a shopping trip.
“Aunt Feng, you were looking for us?” Jiang Zhi greeted her with a silly grin.
Seeing that Qin Baozhu and Zhou Jingrui were unharmed, Aunt Feng finally breathed out. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going into town? I’ve been looking everywhere.”
Jiang Zhi stuck out her tongue. “Didn’t you go home for something? Besides, I was taking care of Baozhu and Jingrui. I know the area well—what’s there to worry about?”
But Aunt Feng was still shaken, afraid Qin Baozhu might run into thugs… or worse—afraid she might secretly hop on a bus and run away.
Zhou Fuguang had spent so much money hiring her to look after Qin Baozhu. If she lost her, how could she face him?
Looking at Jiang Zhi’s clueless smile, Aunt Feng’s face remained dark. In her eyes, this girl was unreliable. Ask her to take care of someone, and she ended up dragging people around town. Young girls—they were restless and irresponsible.
Aunt Feng’s cold face made Jiang Zhi’s smile freeze with embarrassment.
It was her fault. But being scolded publicly like this felt humiliating.
Unexpectedly, Qin Baozhu spoke up.
“It was boring at home. I just went out with Jiang Zhi to walk around. It’s not like I can stay indoors three hundred sixty-five days a year, right?”
Since Qin Baozhu said that, Aunt Feng couldn’t scold further.
She could only advise seriously, “Baozhu, you don’t know—there are many thugs outside, specifically targeting young women like you. I just don’t want you to be in danger.”
Qin Baozhu tugged the corner of her mouth.
Was she worried about danger? Or worried she’d slip away and escape?
Either way, Qin Baozhu understood very well—Aunt Feng had been hired by Zhou Fuguang to watch her.
They were on the same team.