On a not-so-wide concrete road, a Land Rover drove extremely smoothly. Villagers on both sides saw the Land Rover and shrank back to the outside of the concrete road, letting the vehicle pass. These villagers might not recognize what kind of car it was, but they could feel that the person riding in it must be extraordinary.
For Donghe Village, if it wasn't for the village-to-village project, this narrow concrete road wouldn't even exist.
The Land Rover stopped about a hundred meters away from Donghe Village. The driver was very careful and parked the car on a raised piece of wasteland beside the concrete road.
After parking, the driver quickly got out and opened the rear door, and two young girls stepped out of the back seat.
The first to get out was a girl in a blue floral dress with her hair casually tied up and resting on her shoulders. Her below-the-knee dress further accentuated her slender figure and fair complexion.
She simply stood by the roadside, yet she seemed to have blended into the entire countryside as if she had stepped out from a painting, ethereal and otherworldly.
The girl who followed wore blue jeans and a white butterfly shirt. Her slightly faded jeans accentuated her slender waist and pert buttocks, and the short hair added to her youthful vigor. Were it not for her lips which were a bit thin, she would have been an absolute head-turner. Nevertheless, she was an extremely beautiful young girl.
The short-haired girl who got out second glanced at the roadside girl in the blue dress's stunning face, a flicker of almost imperceptible jealousy crossing her eyes.
"Ji Yun, is this Donghe Village?" the girl in the blue dress asked, looking at the disorderly, unplanned huts and some standalone houses in the distance.
The short-haired girl named Ji Yun laughed, "Of course, it's definitely right. I've been here before. Let's go, Mu Wan, I'll take you to Ning Xiaocheng's house. Oh, you can see it from here too. Do you see the thatched cottage at the very eastern corner? That's Ning Xiaocheng's house."
Tian Muwan followed the direction Ji Yun pointed and when she saw a low thatched cottage, her brow immediately furrowed. This village didn't look rich, but it was rare to see houses with earthen bases; even the poorest homes had tiled roofs. She wasn't frowning because Ning Xiaocheng's house had an earthen base but because it seemed too generous of him, considering his family's poverty.
"Mu Wan, let's go over and take a look," Ji Yun suggested upon seeing Tian Muwan's frown.
Tian Muwan nodded and turned to the driver to say, "Uncle Meng, you can just wait for us here."
"Yes," the driver responded very respectfully.
...
From a distance, the thatched cottage had some semblance of appearance, but as Tian Muwan got closer, she realized just how dilapidated the dwelling was. Two broken wooden doors were locked with a bicycle chain, and pushing them slightly would reveal a large gap, big enough for a slim person to squeeze through. Through such a large gap, one could clearly see the inside of the house.
If standing at a distance hadn't made it clear how poor this family was, now that Mu Wan stood at the doorway of this house, she realized just how impoverished they were. Aside from a few shabby farm tools, there was only an old small wooden table, and the kitchen was just a clay stove built in a corner.
"Is this Ning Xiaocheng's house?" Tian Muwan's voice trembled as she asked again.
Ji Yun nodded, "Yes, he also has a younger sister, but she is probably working in the fields right now. Ning Xiaocheng's school fees are said to be provided by her. I've been here once; shall I take you to see his sister?"
Tian Muwan seemed not to have heard Ji Yun's words; her mind was filled with the image of Ning Xiaocheng's sincere and natural smile. And his words, 'I'll treat you to a meal today,' echoed in her thoughts.
If it were not for Ning Xiaocheng, Tian Muwan would never go to such a dingy restaurant. Because she feared that going to a better restaurant would be too expensive for Ning Xiaocheng to afford. For a man, not being able to pay for a meal with a woman was an extremely embarrassing predicament. Since she was with Ning Xiaocheng, she didn't want him to lose face.
But she never imagined Ning Xiaocheng's home would be this destitute, and that he even had a sister at home working the fields to support his education.
A surge of anger rose in her heart at the thought of his letting his sister toil away at home while he spent money so frivolously. Beneath Ning Xiaocheng's sunny smile, there lay such a shameless heart.
Remembering her time with Ning Xiaocheng, his genuine feelings and care for her made Tian Muwan feel a wrenching pain in her chest. She didn't want the man she liked to be such a selfish person. A man like that to his own sister, how could he be any better to her in the future? Everything that had happened seemed a sham.
"Let's go back, I don't want to see anymore," Tian Muwan responded to Ji Yun's suggestion, feeling suddenly dispirited.
At that moment, she felt a profound sadness but wasn't sure whether it was for Ning Xiaocheng or for herself. She almost couldn't believe the person she liked could be like this. It wasn't until now that she understood why her family opposed her relationship with Ning Xiaocheng, or perhaps she was indeed mistaken.
...
In the midst of the grey, dusty haze, Ning Xiaocheng quickened his pace and dashed out. Behind him, the concrete mixer continued to scream hysterically.
Though covered in a layer of dust and mud, Ning Xiaocheng was in high spirits. Today was the day he would receive his pay, and he had made an arrangement with Foreman Fei that he could take most of his wages after finishing work for the day.
Foreman Fei was quite decent to the newcomers. In fact, today wasn't the usual payday, but Ning Xiaocheng still received thirteen hundred yuan. Most of this money came from skipping classes and working on the construction site over the weekends.
Clutching the money, Ning Xiaocheng almost rushed back to school. He then quickly showered in cold water at the washroom, changed into a clean set of clothes, and dashed out of the school again.
He was going to visit his little sister, Ning Ruolan. In this world, his younger sister Ning Ruolan was his only kin. Ruolan was two years younger than him but much more intelligent. Not only did she attend a better school, but she was also a year ahead of him academically, despite his being a junior in college.
The only thing that made him feel like an older brother was that he could take care of Ruolan's living expenses and tuition fees.
"Brother..."
As soon as Ning Xiaocheng got off the bus, a girl standing at the entrance of Jiangzhou Foreign Language Institute called out excitedly and rushed towards him.
"Ruolan, how did you know I would come today?" Ning Xiaocheng was surprised to see his sister waiting at the school gate and asked curiously.
"I was actually planning to visit you. Before I went, I called Uncle Fei and found out you had taken your wages and left, so I guessed you would come here. Wait, didn't you wash your face when you showered..." Ning Ruolan chattered incessantly, her joy evident like that of a little bird upon seeing her brother Ning Xiaocheng.
As she spoke, Ruolan took out a handkerchief and wiped away the dust below Ning Xiaocheng's nostrils that he had missed. Just like Ning Xiaocheng, she didn't notice a Land Rover passing by.
"That's Ning Xiaocheng..." Ji Yun said it the moment she realized Tian Muwan had also seen Ning Xiaocheng.
Tian Muwan didn't say a word. Watching Ruolan affectionately touching Ning Xiaocheng's face, her whole heart felt as if it had been split open. Even though she was extremely disappointed with Ning Xiaocheng, she never expected the Ning Xiaocheng who relied on his sister's education to be so extravagant and even juggling two women at once.
And this girl being affectionate with Ning Xiaocheng was by no means inferior to her, with long hair over her shoulders, wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt that accentuated her figure not a bit less than hers. Her fair face beamed a summer sun-like brilliant smile only when facing Ning Xiaocheng.
"Mu Wan, should we go and ask?" Ji Yun looked at Tian Muwan, whose face had turned somewhat pale, and asked.
Tian Muwan shook her head, then leaned powerlessly against the back seat, not saying another word. Some things cannot be forgotten just by claiming to do so. For two years, all her joy and happiness came from Ning Xiaocheng. With only two years together, she had experienced a happiness she hadn't known for more than a decade. She had felt countless moments of touching loyalty, always believing that it was Ning Cheng who interpreted love for her.
But today, she discovered that Ning Xiaocheng was not as she imagined, wrapped in a layer of hypocrisy, even losing the most basic principle. She wished to say that all these were false, but she knew they were true because she saw it with her own eyes.
"Take this." Ning Xiaocheng, unaware that Tian Muwan had seen him, was still happily handing over a thousand yuan to Ning Ruolan.
Ning Ruolan pushed Ning Xiaocheng's hand back, "Brother, I'm about to graduate and I have enough money. Don't you have a girlfriend? You should buy something for her."
Ning Xiaocheng didn't mind at all and insisted on giving the money to Ning Ruolan again, "I still have some. Besides, Mu Wan's family is very wealthy; she's not with me for my money. When you graduate, I'll take you to meet Mu Wan, I haven't mentioned you to her yet."
"Alright." Ning Ruolan did not refuse this time; she understood her brother's intention. He didn't mention her because he didn't want Mu Wan secretly spending money on her.
She never thought that her brother, Ning Xiaocheng, wasn't good enough for anyone; any outstanding woman in the world was within his league. But she knew that any woman who loved her brother must recognize his worth.
Seeing Ruolan accept the money, Ning Xiaocheng took out a snowflake-shaped hairpin and handed it to her, saying, "I got this for you, too. I bought two, one for you and another for Mu Wan."
(Lao Wu's new book Door of Creation has started to serialize. If you like Lao Wu's books, friends, please cast a recommendation vote and help us collect Door of Creation. Every recommendation vote and collection is eagerly needed right now. After a hiatus of nearly half a month, Lao Wu is ready to battle in the literary world again, and no one can stop our progress!!!
Another piece of good news for friends, our Door of Creation will be different from previous books. In sync with the plot progress, there will be accompanying scene illustrations and character portraits. The first scene will be released tomorrow night in Lao Wu's official WeChat (eslw26). Stay tuned!)