The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 100 - 99: A Bad Impression

"That’s Uncle Zheng. He’s a friend of my mom’s, but he’s not doing so well right now. My mom asked me to look after him, but he doesn’t appreciate it."

Speaking of which, Wang Shumin felt extremely frustrated. Every time her mom sent her something, she would remind her of this, but the man wouldn’t even give her the time of day. Besides, she couldn’t just keep running over to the cowsheds to see him. If someone saw her, who knows what they would say about her.

It was a classic case of getting the cold shoulder for her kindness.

Xue Yue and Xue Xingzhou exchanged a glance, both feeling a little suspicious of Li Wanqing’s motives.

Seeing them stay silent, Wang Shumin asked quizzically, "What’s wrong? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?"

Xue Yue shook her head. "It’s nothing. Do you know why he was sent here?"

Wang Shumin thought for a moment. "I think he was reported by someone. I heard Uncle Zheng spent time abroad before, but I’m not too clear on the details."

Zhang Qian didn’t know the full story and just found it a bit strange. ’Do they know the person in the cowsheds?’ she wondered.

Since this was Zhang Qian’s first visit as Xue Xingzhou’s girlfriend, Xue Yue planned to cook a few extra dishes for lunch, and Wang Shumin was invited to stay and eat as well.

Although Wang Shumin felt a bit awkward, she didn’t refuse, figuring she didn’t get many chances to spend time with the Xue siblings.

Knowing that Zhang Qian was Xue Xingzhou’s girlfriend, she was also a bit more enthusiastic.

Wang Shumin wasn’t a coy person, so she wasn’t hard to get along with. Since neither Zhang Qian nor Wang Shumin knew how to cook, the two of them watched the child while Xue Xingzhou and Xue Yue went to the kitchen to prepare the meal.

Xue Xingzhou was chopping vegetables, and Xue Yue glanced at her brother.

"Brother, what are your plans for you and Sister Zhang Qian?"

"What plans?"

Xue Yue frowned. "Plans to get married, of course."

Xue Xingzhou shot her a look. "I don’t have any plans for that at the moment. We’re just dating for now."

Xue Yue looked at him with disapproval. "How can you be like that? Dating without the intention of getting married is just playing around."

Xue Xingzhou chuckled. "You seem to know a lot about this. When did I say I’m not getting married? I just said we’re dating for now. Why are you twisting my words?"

"Hmph! It’s bound to happen sooner or later. Just look at your age! Honestly, I’m tearing my hair out for you and you’re not even bothered."

Xue Xingzhou looked her up and down. "And which palace is this eunuch from?"

Hearing this, Xue Yue flicked the vegetable water from her hands at him.

"Hey, look at that. Flying into a rage out of embarrassment. Tsk tsk," Xue Xingzhou joked.

Xue Yue flicked more water in his face.

"Hey, a gentleman uses his words, not his fists."

"I’m no gentleman, I’m a lady."

"Ladies can’t use their fists either. Sigh..."

In the courtyard, Zhang Qian and Wang Shumin could hear the siblings bickering in the kitchen.

Wang Shumin said with envy, "Those two siblings are so close."

"You and your brother aren’t close?"

Wang Shumin smiled and said, "We’re okay. We just don’t even see each other once a year. But I write to my brother, and he sends me money."

Zhang Qian nodded. "Isn’t that pretty good? Look at me. My brother and sister-in-law live in the provincial capital with their child and only come back once a year for the New Year. On top of that, my sister-in-law and I can’t stand each other, which has even made my brother resentful toward me."

Wang Shumin said in surprise, "Are sisters-in-law that scary? Good thing my brother isn’t married yet."

"Not all sisters-in-law are like that. I, for one, really like Xue Yue. If we become sisters-in-law in the future, I’ll dote on her like my own little sister. I wouldn’t be like my sister-in-law, who can’t stand it when my brother is nice to me."

Xue Yue really was wonderful. Wang Shumin felt that if she had a sister-in-law like her, she could be good to her too.

Wang Shumin went back after lunch.

Xue Xingzhou and Zhang Qian didn’t leave until the afternoon.

Xue Xingzhou gave Zhang Qian a ride on his bike. She sat on the back, her arms wrapped around his waist.

As she held on, her hands started to get restless. They slowly slipped through the gap in his shirt to feel Xue Xingzhou’s abs.

Xue Xingzhou glanced down.

His voice was deep. "Sit properly."

Zhang Qian nodded. "Mhm."

But her hands continued their mischief inside his shirt, caressing him until a fire ignited deep within him.

He suddenly squeezed the brakes and stopped.

Zhang Qian’s face bumped into Xue Xingzhou’s back with a muffled grunt.

Xue Xingzhou planted his feet on the ground and turned to look at her.

He saw Zhang Qian looking at him with a smile, the corners of her eyes tilted upward.

Xue Xingzhou’s throat bobbed. He pulled Zhang Qian off the bike and into his arms, lowering his head toward her red lips.

The moment their lips met, Zhang Qian’s eyes lit up. She stood on her tiptoes, her hands circling around Xue Xingzhou’s neck, holding him tight.

After a moment, Xue Xingzhou slowly let go. He considered that they were on a road. Although there weren’t many pedestrians on the rural dirt roads, someone could suddenly appear, which wouldn’t look good.

For a moment after they separated, Zhang Qian was still a bit dazed. Meeting Xue Xingzhou’s eyes, she wanted to move closer again.

"Not now. Someone might see."

Zhang Qian glanced around. It was broad daylight, and she blushed a little. She quickly released her hands from Xue Xingzhou’s neck and took a step back.

A hint of a smile was in Xue Xingzhou’s eyes. "Get on."

On the way back, Zhang Qian behaved herself, only tugging on the corner of Xue Xingzhou’s shirt and not doing anything else out of line.

"How about we go see a movie?" Zhang Qian suggested.

Since neither of them had to work today, Zhang Qian didn’t want to go home yet and wanted to spend a little more time with Xue Xingzhou.

"Okay."

The two arrived at the movie theater. As Xue Xingzhou went to buy tickets, he unexpectedly saw He Lang’s second brother standing up ahead with a woman. Their behavior was a bit intimate, and it looked like they were also buying tickets for a movie.

The woman looked familiar to Xue Xingzhou. He seemed to recall Xue Yue mentioning before that she was an educated youth.

Xue Xingzhou didn’t go up to them, just stared for a few moments.

After buying the tickets, Xue Xingzhou and Zhang Qian went inside.

There weren’t many movies to choose from at the theater these days. As soon as they entered, Xue Xingzhou saw He Ze and the woman sitting in one of the front rows. He Ze was twisting the cap off a bottle for her.

Zhang Qian noticed he was a bit distracted. "What are you looking at?"

Xue Xingzhou turned to her. "Nothing. Let’s sit. I forgot to buy drinks. Do you want something? I’ll go get it."

Zhang Qian shook her head. "I’m not thirsty."

The two of them sat in the back, and the movie began.

Zhang Qian glanced at Xue Xingzhou out of the corner of her eye. Seeing that he was just watching the movie intently, she reached out and took his hand.

Xue Xingzhou didn’t look at her, but squeezed her hand in return.

As they were leaving the theater, He Ze suddenly caught sight of Xue Xingzhou up ahead. His eyes flickered, and he pulled Gu Yuwei, who was with him, to a stop.

Gu Yuwei looked at He Ze. "What’s wrong?"

He Ze glanced ahead. Seeing that Xue Xingzhou wasn’t looking their way and was already walking away, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"It’s nothing."

Gu Yuwei glanced at the time. "It’s getting late. We should head back."

He Ze nodded. When the two of them reached the entrance to the village, Gu Yuwei hopped off the bicycle.

"Second Brother He, thank you for taking me to the movies. I’ll head back now," Gu Yuwei said, her face flushed.

He Ze glanced around and nodded. "Okay. Be careful on your way back."

"Okay."