"Jun Yue's question left her speechless.
She did not know if she liked Jiang Xu.
All she knew was that she felt very happy and relaxed when she was with him.
This was a feeling that she couldn't experience with anyone else.
But, she figured she probably didn't like him.
An Nuonuo couldn't articulate exactly what her feelings were.
But she nevertheless intended to put Jun Yue's mind at rest.
An Nuonuo nodded and said, "Yes, I like him very much."
In an instant, Jun Yue's mind was a blank.
Had his blossoming love already withered and died?
"I'm sorry, Brother Jun Yue, it's late; you should go home," she apologized.
An Nuonuo bowed deeply to Jun Yue, then ran back into her house.
Jun Yue staggered home, his demeanor desolate.
His silhouette seemed bleak against the quiet night.
The snowflakes were falling, the chilling north wind blew… No!
The next day.
An Nuonuo ran over to Jiang Xu's place early in the morning.
She didn't have to do anything at home now.
In order to make her feel better, Li Yuanjuan took on all the housework.
When An Nuonuo saw Jiang Xu, she avoided his gaze somewhat.
After all, she had told Jun Yue that she liked Jiang Xu the night before.
If Jiang Xu were to hear that, she wouldn't know how to face him.
"Come here, I've applied for a QQ account for you, 268xxxx22 (this is made up, don't add it), do you like this number?"
An Nuonuo leaned over the notebook to take a look.
It was a newly registered QQ account.
The avatar was a little rabbit, the nickname was--Sticky Rice Ball.
Jiang Xu felt that An Nuonuo's character didn't fit with some over-pompous, trendy nicknames.
Something simple was enough.
An Nuonuo liked this name.
She opened the friend list.
Jiang Xu had already added all their classmates, except for Li Honghong, Zhou Qingyue, and Cheng Fei, for her.
"This…" the young girl pointed at the first friend on the list with her fingertip, "Who's the 'Super Invincible Handsome Good Brother'?"
Jiang Xu smiled but didn't respond.
An Nuonuo: "??!!"
She stared at him, mouth agape: "You're so full of yourself."
Jiang Xu said, "The password is your birthday, have you remembered the account number?"
"Yes, I remember," she replied.
Only then did Jiang Xu close the notebook and unplug the phone line.
His home didn't have broadband at that time, so they weren't online usually.
They only went online when he needed to send his manuscripts to Lin Nan.
Fu Yanjie had also arrived, riding the electric tricycle from his house.
Ever since he made some money last time, this kid seemed to have realized that earning money made him happy.
His entire demeanor seemed incredibly excited: "Let's go, let's set out on our journey, crossing mountains and oceans..."
Jiang Xu kicked him: "Stop your nonsense, we're just small traders, not like a company going public."
Fu Yanjie chuckled: "What if it does happen in the future?"
The three of them went to the vegetable market.
Fu Yanjie had already talked to his father about this the night before.
His father was very supportive of it.
After all, it would make his son more independent.
He had even called several vendors that night.
He didn't ask them to sell things at a loss, just for a slightly cheaper price.
Of course, the vendors were willing to oblige.
So, by the time Jiang Xu and his friends arrived, they managed to buy the ingredients very quickly.
Pork was six yuan per jin, and the rest was ten to twenty percent cheaper than what he had bought the day before.
After buying the necessary ingredients, the three of them went back to Jiang Xu's house.
They had bought double the amount of food they had bought the day before.
Including Fu Yanjie, they were busy from nine in the morning until half-past eleven.
In total, they made one hundred and thirty-five lunch boxes.
There were some leftover ingredients, left for the afternoon session.
Today, Jiang Xu and An Nuonuo weren't going.
They hired a male classmate from their class for ten yuan a day to assist Fu Yanjie.
Then, Jiang Xu and An Nuonuo had their meals first.
An Nuonuo finished her meal first and tidied up the kitchen voluntarily.
Today, she tied her hair up, revealing her snow-white neck.
Regrettably, she didn't tie twin ponytails that could double her speed.
After Jiang Xu finished eating, he said to An Nuonuo, "Let's go, grab the woven bag, we'll continue picking mangoes at school."
"Okay."
The girl was thrilled.
She loved picking mangoes.
They got to school on an electric tricycle.
It was summer vacation, the place was deserted, with only an old gatekeeper.
Upon reaching the gate, the old man stood up, holding a dry cigarette in his mouth: "You can't enter the school now, go back."
He was very aware that kids of this age are full of spirit.
Coming to school at this time, they must be up to no good.
How could he, as a sacred gatekeeper, allow such things to happen?
Jiang Xu quickly handed over a pack of cigarettes he bought on the way: "Grandfather, we are here to pick mangoes at the back of the school. Please give us a pass."
"Hmm, go ahead."
The old man swiftly pocketed the cigarettes and looked away.
Jiang Xu immediately walked in with An Nuonuo.
The girl looked at Jiang Xu admiringly. "You're so clever."
To high school students, Jiang Xu's way of handling this situation seemed very cunning.
Most high school and some college students would probably choose to sneak in.
Jiang Xu: "You haven't seen my real skills yet."
An Nuonuo: "Ah?"
"Cough cough." Jiang Xu coughed, "I ask you a question.
A husband and wife were in the bridal chamber, but the wife happened to be on her period that day, her hands were injured, her foot was sprained, there was an IQ drop, she's as flat as a safety pin, and her mouth has ulcers.
So, what should the husband do at this time?"
"Ah?" The girl tilted her head and looked at Jiang Xu, a look of perplexity on her face.
She had no idea what Jiang Xu was talking about.
With a serious face, Jiang Xu said: "It doesn't matter if you don't understand now, I'll teach you hands-on later."
They filled four woven bags and then returned home.
After placing the items properly, Jiang Xu said to An Nuonuo: "Don't go back. Just stay here.
There is a guest room if you need to rest, and there are plenty of books in my room if you want to read."
"Then, I want to read."
"Hmm, let's go."
In Jiang Xu's room.
An Nuonuo took an English book and was reading it carefully.
English was her weak point, her progress was slow.
Jiang Xu opened his notebook and quickly got into the zone.
Occasionally looking at An Nuonuo who was attentively reading, Jiang Xu would reveal a faint smile.
The sun shone brightly, the birds were chirping, as long as I have you in my youth, it's enough.
Around one o'clock, Fu Yanjie came back.
All the lunch boxes were sold out.
In total, they sold one thousand and eighty.
After deducting the cost of ingredients of three hundred and ninety, and ten yuan for hiring a person, the total cost was exactly four hundred yuan.
An Nuonuo earned twenty-seven, Fu Yanjie earned ninety-four.
The rest was Jiang Xu's profit.
After deducting the cost of utilities, the net profit was around four hundred.
Unexpectedly high.
If they could sell the same quantity in the afternoon, they could earn roughly a thousand in a day.
Holding his remuneration, Fu Yanjie was very pleased: "Jiang Xu, I have a new idea."