Just as Kang Xiaoqiao was kicking the tree, a familiar and charming voice suddenly came into her ears.
"If you don't watch the program, why are you here making things difficult for this tree?"
After that, Kang Xiaoqiao retracted her foot. Then, she slowly squinted her eyes and said listlessly, "It's an eyesore--"
"Why are you here? Aren't you going to watch the show?"
Then, Kang Xiaoqiao turned around and saw a handsome man with a heavy Confucian aura looking at her with a smile.
This man was none other than Tao Zhengze, who had not appeared for a long time. He casually handed her half of a sunflower seed that had just ripened and said with a smile, "This is not bad. It's quite delicious. Try It."
Kang Xiaoqiao looked at the half of a crescent-shaped sunflower head in his hand. There were neat flower seeds arranged on it. She brushed away the flower seeds on it, then picked one and put it into her mouth. The fruit was crisp and slightly sweet. Yes, it was the taste of her childhood.
Kang Xiaoqiao ate a few more, then smiled and said, "Thank you. Not bad, it's quite delicious."
Tao Zhengze smiled and said, "Look, this is more like you. Do you want to walk together?"
Kang Xiaoqiao nodded and gave him a smile.
There was a road between the ministry and the family courtyard. There were many big trees on both sides of the road. Now that everyone was watching the performance, the road was very cold.
From afar, there were only the two of them. One was tall and the other was short. The man was dressed in a military uniform. The woman was wearing a long skirt and a jacket. She held the crescent-shaped sunflower head in her hand. She ate as she walked and chatted. The scene was very harmonious.
"I have a cousin in the arts team. She likes to eat raw melon seeds and begged me to get some for her. I didn't expect to meet you here."
Kang Xiaoqiao, who was still eating melon seeds, suddenly stopped when she heard that. She said with an embarrassed expression, "Er... you let me eat all of this. What about your cousin?"
Tao Zhengze smiled and said, "It's fine. I'll just get it done for her. There's no rush. They're leaving tomorrow. There's still the bonfire party tonight."
After Kang Xiaoqiao ate the melon seeds in her mouth, she smiled embarrassedly and said, "I'm really sorry to have troubled you."
Tao Zhengze said gently, "You're welcome."
"It's just that you--"
Kang Xiaoqiao sighed and said, "Me? It's nothing. I'm just making things difficult for myself."
"Oh? Why would I make things difficult for yourself?" Tao Zhengze asked curiously.
Kang Xiaoqiao smiled self-deprecatingly. "Tell me, you've always hated a person and hated such a person to the core. In the end, one day, you actually turned into someone like her. Isn't that ridiculous?"
Tao Zhengze was silent for a long time. Seeing that he did not answer, Kang Xiaoqiao sighed dejectedly and said, "It's ridiculous, right?"
She looked like a blooming flower that had withered in an instant. Tao Zhengze looked at her steadily. Today, she was even more beautiful. She wore light and delicate makeup and wore a very elegant and amiable dress.
She was clearly a young girl, but she was full of worries.
Tao Zhengze reached out and patted her shoulder. He looked into the distance and said, "This is not a ridiculous thing. It's a sad thing."
"But it's also a helpless and sad thing."
Kang Xiaoqiao turned to look at him. Tao Zhengze smiled and said, "In fact, this is not a strange thing. Most people will eventually find a person they hate in themselves."
"The deeper the hatred, the larger the area of similar shadows they find. Some are passive. If you don't do it, others will push you to do it, or do it for you, while some are active."
"I don't know which one you are, but hatred and disgust can make a person change beyond recognition and forget their original appearance."
"So, what we need to do is to guard our hearts and not be affected by these things."
Then, he patted Kang Xiaoqiao's shoulder and said, "You are still a little girl. How can you have such troubles?"
In Tao Zhengze's opinion, a little girl like Kang Xiaoqiao should be wearing beautiful clothes every day, thinking about what to eat, or enjoying flowers and tea. If she was a little girl from the countryside, she would be bitter and have to do farm work every day.
On the other hand, Kang Xiaoqiao was dressed so beautifully and cleanly. Her delicate hands, which were munching on melon seeds, were like fine white jade. She did not look like a person who worked.
Therefore, even if this young lady was depressed, her worries were only trivial matters.
Kang Xiaoqiao carefully thought about Tao Zhengze's words. There was no discrimination or resentment in his words. He said it so calmly and naturally, as if it was a normal thing.
How much training did he have to go through to be so open-minded?
Kang Xiaoqiao looked at the elegant and wise Tao zhengze beside her. His eyes were not big, but they were filled with wisdom and confidence. There was no hostility on him. He gave off a feeling of spring breeze and was naturally harmonious. He really did not look like a soldier--
Kang Xiaoqiao sighed in her heart. He was indeed much more mature as he was older. He was not like Lu Yichen--
Eh, why did she think of him again?
Kang Xiaoqiao could not help but frown. However, Tao Zhengze's words made her heart twist into a ball. There was an outlet for her to vent. Yes, this was not her doing to begin with. This was the original owner's doing. She had just suffered an unexpected disaster.
Why should she punish herself with the mistakes of others? She was just a pitiful mistress. However, whether it was really a mistress or not, she had yet to ask.
In the end, she was just wallowing in self-pity. The more she lived, the worse she became.
After thinking through all this, Kang Xiaoqiao felt much more relaxed. She smiled at Tao Zhengze, who was walking beside her, and said, "Thank you!"
Tao Zhengze saw all of Kang Xiaoqiao's expressions. Seeing that she was relaxed, he could not help but smile warmly and said, "What's there to thank? It's just a few words."
As expected, a little girl's worries were so easily dispelled.
When Kang Xiaoqiao heard this, she laughed and raised the crescent moon sunflower in her hand. "I said, thank you for giving me this. It's very delicious--"
"Oh, right, this is for you. It's a mooncake that I made myself. Take it back and try it."
"I'll be home soon. Thank you for sending me home. I won't keep you any longer. Goodbye. Oh, right, happy Mid-Autumn Festival--"
After saying that, she placed a few pieces of mooncakes wrapped in a handkerchief in her small backpack into the other party's hands. Then, she waved the sunflower and left. She looked relaxed and brimming with youthful vigor.
Kang Xiaoqiao had a small bag, which was shaped like a small rectangle. When she went out, she would hang it on her body. It was filled with daily necessities and money. Just in case, there were a few extra pieces of mooncakes made today, which happened to benefit Tao Zhengze.