"The food Nuonuo made was so delicious. Maybe I should ask your aunt and uncle if I could live here with you,"
"You... If you keep teasing me... I'll ignore you." An Nuonuo, while digging into her meal, glared at Jiang Xu.
But she didn't carry any force behind her words.
Far from being a deterrent, her words only made him want to tease her more.
It was akin to those villains in the short clips years later, their fists shaking with excitement.
Fu Yanjie kept his head low, eating to his heart's content, ignoring the flirtatious banter of the two.
After finishing his meal, he resumed his work.
He found out he kind of liked the feeling of making money.
An Nuonuo did the dishes, while Jiang Xu cut some fruits and prepared some drinks.
Then they started packing the clothes that Fu Yanjie had processed.
The workload was even greater than yesterday.
However, Fu Yanjie's speed had improved quite a lot compared to yesterday.
They managed to finish ten minutes earlier.
"Ugh, I'm dead tired." Fu Yanjie lay on the floor, moaning weakly, "Jiang Xu, hurry up and give daddy a shoulder massage."
"You've worked hard."
Jiang Xu smiled and massaged his right arm, even applying a bit of ointment to it as well.
After a short rest, Jiang Xu decided to send Fu Yanjie home first.
He said to An Nuonuo, "Stay here, wait for me to send him home, then I'll take you home."
"Oh, okay." An Nuonuo understood, nodding.
Jiang Xu saw through her intention in an instant, "When I come back, if I don't see you, you're on your own."
An Nuonuo glared at him, pouting.
Originally, she didn't want to make things difficult for Jiang Xu.
But since he said so, An Nuonuo didn't dare to leave on her own accord.
In her boredom,
She picked up the broom and cleaned the room, wiping the tables clean.
"Creak!"
Juat at this moment, the door was opened.
An Nuonuo thought it was Jiang Xu who had come back.
But when she turned to look, she was dumbstruck.
Standing outside were Jiang Shan and Chen Yue.
Chen Yue rubbed her eyes, "Did I walk too fast and start seeing things?"
She stepped back out.
Then came in again.
After confirming it really was An Nuonuo, her smile was so bright it could light up an entire city.
"Oh my, Nuonuo, why are you here? Where's Jiang Xu?"
"Auntie... Uncle..." An Nuonuo was bewildered, "It's not what you think."
It was late at night and she was in their house. To make matters worse, Jiang Xu's parents had caught her here.
Jumping into the Yellow River wouldn't clean her of the misunderstanding.
Especially the way Chen Yue was looking at her, it was full of insinuation.
Even a fool would know what she was thinking.
Chen Yue took An Nuonuo's hand and said gently, "Oh my, Nuonuo, you are so virtuous.
But still, you should focus more on your studies, be patient about other things."
"Auntie, it's really not what you think." An Nuonuo was on the verge of tears.
Jiang Shan noticed the pile of clothes in the living room and asked what was going on, giving An Nuonuo a chance to explain.
After hearing An Nuonuo's explanation, Chen Yue looked disappointed, "So that's what it was. Jiang Xu really is useless."
Jiang Shan: "..."
An Nuonuo: "..."
Jiang Xu came back.
"Mom, Dad, why did you come back so early today?"
"Yes." Jiang Shan nodded, "The business wasn't good today, hurry and send Nuonuo home, you can't do this anymore.
Her parents might get worried."
"Alright, I understand."
Watching the two walking away, Chen Yue sighed, "My son does have good taste. Nuonuo is such a virtuous girl.
When they start university, they could already have a child, and I can help take care of it."
"Hmm." Jiang Shan agreed, "Four years in university, one child every two years, would be perfectly timed."
"Oh, come on!"
Jiang Xu sneezed, feeling somewhat clueless.
The next afternoon, Jiang Xu deliberately took a leave for the last class.
His family had a tricycle.
He loaded all the clothes on it and took them to the school entrance.
He put up a sign, too.
It read: "Limited sale, each piece is unique, cannot be duplicated."
Then he laid out the clothes.
Before long, the class was over.
Jiang Xu cleared his throat and began to shout, "Don't miss it as you walk by.
"The factory is closed, the boss fled... clothes that were originally several hundred yuan, are now only twenty yuan..."
As soon as he shouted, he immediately attracted a lot of classmates over.
A girl in the crowd had taken a liking to a shirt with a kitten on it and asked if he could lower the price.
Jiang Xu noticed a boy standing next to her.
He was all too familiar with the look in the boy's eyes.
He smelled a sycophant.
So instead of answering her, he turned to the boy and said, "Hey mate, want to buy two?
These kitten and puppy prints are a set. Once, a couple bought them, and they ended up together not long after."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the boy handed him a fifty yuan note.
The boy picked up the two pieces of clothing and laughed stupidly there.
Jiang Xu: "..."
Then another girl asked, "Is every piece really one of a kind?"
Many at this age sought to be unique.
Jiang Xu nodded, "Absolutely, Fu Yanjie and I never deceive."
"Okay, I'll take one of Cardcaptor Sakura."
An Nuonuo and Fu Yanjie also came over and started selling with him.
An Nuonuo was responsible for collecting money while Jiang Xu and Fu Yanjie, who were socially anxious, were in charge of the shouting.
"Hey, what are they doing over there? It's quite lively. Let's go check it out."
Li Honghong and Zhou Qingyue came out pushing their bicycles and saw a crowd at the school entrance.
"I have no idea," Zhou Qingyue shook her head, "I'm not going."
She had just submitted a manuscript to the Story Club yesterday and now wanted to go home and read.
"Oh come on, let's go check it out first, why rush home so early?"
In the end, Zhou Qingyue couldn't resist her and had to park and lock her bicycle on the side and squeezed into the crowd.
Then Zhou Qingyue was stunned.
"Is he...selling clothes?"
At this age, most people would be too embarrassed to set up a stall.
Zhou Qingyue also saw An Nuonuo, who was at the back of Jiang Xu taking care of the change and collecting money.
It gave off a vibe of a couple working together.
This made Zhou Qingyue feel very uncomfortable.
A surge of nameless anger was brewing, but there was nowhere to vent it.
"That couple is actually selling clothes." Li Honghong said with a gloomy face,
"They're so unambitious, they will definitely not get into a good university in the future, let's go, there's nothing to see."
With that, she tried to pull at Zhou Qingyue.
But Zhou Qingyue wouldn't move.
Her gaze was fixed on a shirt with a rural scene painted on it, displayed on the stall.
She liked it very much.
Gently, she shook off Li Honghong's hand.
She took a step forward, standing in front of Jiang Xu, "Can I have that one?"
"Sure, twenty yuan, thank you."
Jiang Xu skillfully picked up the shirt and handed it to Zhou Qingyue, his smile radiant.
But it was coupled with a touch of estrangement.
Although he seemed close, he was actually miles away.
Zhou Qingyue felt a pang in her heart.
She stood there, stunned.
He...he treated her just like a stranger.
Was she to lose this boy who once dearly loved her...forever?