After Wen Qingyu walked away for quite a while, Yan Jin’er finally reacted. She felt extremely frustrated with herself—how could her heart become so uncontrollable every time she encountered him?
Was it really love at first sight? Or perhaps there was more of a “looks-based impulse” involved.
In her previous life, Yan Jin’er had never been in a relationship, nor had she ever experienced the feeling of being attracted to a man. She did not even know whether what she felt now could be called liking someone.
However, thinking back to Wen Qingyu’s expression, when they bumped into each other he had not immediately pushed her away. Judging from the way he looked at her, he probably also had some favorable impression of her. Yan Jin’er thought uncertainly, the corners of her lips lifting slightly as an involuntary sweetness appeared in her eyes.
Seeing the bicycle beside her, she quickly got on to try it. Fortunately, she had ridden a bicycle before. She slowly rode around the courtyard in circles.
“Oh my, Jin-girl, did your new dad even buy you a bicycle!” The one standing at the gate was none other than Aunt Zhang from next door. Her eyes were filled with envy and jealousy as she looked at Yan Jin’er’s bicycle.
Startled by Aunt Zhang’s voice, Yan Jin’er almost fell off with the bike. Luckily, she reacted quickly enough and steadied herself with her foot.
“Aunt Zhang, scaring people like that is dangerous. What do you need?” Yan Jin’er said irritably, still not fully recovered.
“I was just surprised when I saw the bicycle. I didn’t expect your dad to actually buy one for you.” Aunt Zhang’s eyes flickered away a little. She was also afraid that if Yan Jin’er fell because of her, she might be held responsible.
At this time, being able to afford a bicycle already meant a top-class household. A bicycle in this era was equivalent to a BMW in later generations—extremely expensive. Even having money was not enough; one also needed a bicycle ticket to buy it.
So when Aunt Zhang saw that Yan Jin’er’s family had two bicycles, she was both envious and jealous. Her own family could not even afford one, yet Old Song had actually bought one for his cheap daughter.
Aunt Zhang’s eyes rolled slightly as she thought to herself. If Yan Jin’er married her son, then wouldn’t both the job and the bicycle belong to her family? But she would still need to see whether Yan Jin’er was worthy of her son.
“Yes, my dad treats me very well. Why, doesn’t your family?” Yan Jin’er deliberately looked surprised, noticing Aunt Zhang’s scheming expression.
Aunt Zhang was instantly choked by the response. Her face turned red with embarrassment. Thinking of her plan, she quickly pretended nothing had happened and put on an elder-like tone as if lecturing a younger generation.
“Girls should be gentle, respectful, and obedient. Only then, when you marry into another family, can you take care of your husband and respect your parents-in-law.”
Yan Jin’er was speechless. Clearly, this was aimed at her. How she lived had nothing to do with Aunt Zhang. Why should she marry into a family that would restrict her so much? Being a pampered daughter at home was clearly much better.
“I’m still young, and my parents think I’m doing just fine. So there’s no need for Aunt Zhang to worry about me.” She could already tell that Aunt Zhang wanted a daughter-in-law she could control. Yan Jin’er had no intention of being such a “foolish bargain.”
“Oh right, Aunt Zhang, it’s already noon. I need to cook, so I won’t chat with you anymore.” Yan Jin’er dashed toward the door, and before Aunt Zhang could say anything she disliked, she slammed the door shut with a loud bang and even locked it.
Aunt Zhang could only watch helplessly as the door closed. She stepped back in shock and almost fell herself. Furious, she wanted to bang on the door but did not dare to. In the end, she could only curse under her breath as she left, thinking that once Yan Jin’er married into her family in the future, she would definitely “teach her properly.”
Yan Jin’er, on the other hand, felt instantly happy thinking that Aunt Zhang was upset. The only regret was that she felt her performance in the verbal sparring today was not good enough—her words were not sharp enough, and her momentum was lacking.
Next time, she must perform better.
If Aunt Zhang knew that Yan Jin’er was thinking this way, she would probably become even more furious.
After the incident with Aunt Zhang, Yan Jin’er quickly forgot about Wen Qingyu. A man was not a necessity anyway—if one did not work out, there would always be another.
She leisurely cooked herself a bowl of egg noodles. There was no helping it; this was the only dish she was relatively good at. The rest were barely edible at best, so she could only make do.
After eating, Yan Jin’er thought that such a good day off spent staying at home seemed like a waste of youth. Every inch of time was worth every inch of gold—no, this was too wasteful.