At the exit of the alley, Li Qiao was stopped by two young men wearing duty badges on their sleeves.
"What are you doing? Answer honestly."
"Walking," Li Qiao replied.
"What are you doing here?"
"Buying books."
"Show me the receipt."
Li Qiao couldn't produce it; it was all on Qin Jin. "It's my first time in the city and I got lost before I could buy anything. Do you two big brothers know the way to the bookstore?"
She looked innocent, and her tone was gentle and humble.
Calling them "big brothers" relaxed their serious expressions a lot, and they even kindly pointed her in the right direction and told her not to run around before letting her go.
Li Qiao kept walking forward and soon encountered Qin Jin.
She ran over excitedly, "Did you come looking for me?"
"Who else would I be looking for?" Idiot!
"Where are Du Xinxin and the others?" Li Qiao asked.
"How should I know?"
Li Qiao was quite worried but before she could go back to look for them, Qin Jin stopped her, "They are not three-year-olds who can't find their way home."
"I'm afraid they might get caught."
"At most they'd have to write a reflection and get a verbal warning. What's there to fear?"
Reassured by his words, she went with him to the bus stop. They waited for less than ten minutes before they saw Du Xinxin and three others.
Du Xinxin breathed a sigh of relief, "I was afraid you were caught. Principal Han said if he didn't see you back in the village, he'd have someone inquire at the place where people are detained, to find out if you were there and to get you out."
Qin Jin scoffed, "You guys care about me as much as a wife does."
Du Xinxin and the others exchanged looks, nonplussed by his unreasonableness. They were clearly just worried.
The atmosphere around them grew tense.
Li Qiao wished she could smack the young man beside her; they clearly cared about him! To ease the awkwardness, she smiled and broke the ice, "Jin didn't mean that. But wow, not following the rules can have serious consequences, huh? Thank goodness we're all fine. Next time we buy books, let's stick to proper places. Oh, here comes the bus."
Everyone's attention turned to the minibus and the topic was casually dropped.
Back home safely, Li Qiao organized the daily goods she had bought and started working on the new exercise books she had purchased.
Someone came calling for Qin Jin, but for once, he didn't leave the house; instead, he leaned against the head of the bed, flipping through Li Qiao's books. She seemed so knowledgeable when discussing studies with others.
He wanted to see how she took notes and had such insights yet still managed not to get into university.
It made no sense.
The pages of the book had two types of handwriting: although both were neat, one was childish and clumsy, the other elegant and beautiful.
The inside page had the name Li Qiao, clearly belonging to the former style.
Was the beautiful writing done by an "educated youth"?
He stepped forward to verify her handwriting; it was elegant and neat.
His interest and curiosity grew somewhat.
Interesting, a person could actually produce two completely distinct styles of handwriting.
Suddenly, he heard a series of knocks and then Old Mrs. Qin shouting, "Qiaoqiao, look at the bride!"
Curious, Li Qiao put down her book and went outside. From a distance, she saw a crowd at the entrance of the village carrying something her way, with a man at the front riding a bicycle with a woman in front.
As the group drew closer, Li Qiao spotted Cai Hechuan, still dressed sharply, holding a pair of pillows.
Was he helping with bringing in the bride?
Hechuan also saw her and stretched out his hand to flick his hair with his head held high and chest puffed out.
Li Qiao was speechless; this man was really full of himself, always trying to show off his charm as if he thought he was so handsome.
Ridiculous.
Qin Jin snickered and cursed, "A peacock in a cesspool, so vain. Look at that hairdo, even a fly would have to do splits to get off it. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was the groom."
Old Mrs. Qin gently scolded, "Don't stir up trouble."
Qin Jin pouted, but his gaze fell on Li Qiao, who was looking at the bride at that time, dressed in bright red, clean and neat, looking quite delicate.
The groom, on the other hand, was too rough, dark, and old, like a fresh flower stuck in cow dung.
She definitely wasn't marrying willingly.
She couldn't bear to look anymore and turned around to go back into the yard.
Qin Jin thought that Hechuan's appearance had stirred up her emotions, his face immediately darkened a bit, and he was about to curse, but Li Qiao suddenly faced him and the two nearly bumped into each other.
Li Qiao chuckled, "You walk so quietly; I almost ran into you. By the way, come back to my mother's house with me, will you? Jinhua has injured herself, and as her sister who knows about it, it wouldn't seem right to keep quiet, don't you think?"
Although Lamei was his stepmother, she had financed his high school education.
If he neglected this, would she use it to speak ill of him to others?
Her voice was soft and sweet, with a smile in her eyes.
Qin Jin's refusal spun in his throat before he said, "Alright."
Li Qiao then consulted with Old Mrs. Qin and finally took two pounds of white sugar, got into Qin Jin's car, and soon arrived at her mother's house.
Lamei saw the white sugar in Li Qiao's hands, beaming with joy; that dead girl finally showed some conscience.
Li Qiao greeted his parents and chatted for a bit, confirming that Jinhua's ears were fine, then went into Jinhua's room and asked with concern, "Jinhua, feeling any better?"
Jinhua found out that Li Qiao and Qin Jin had come.
She hurriedly wrapped a scarf around her face, "Why did you come? Did Loser Qin call you?"
To change people's fixed impressions of Qin Jin, Li Qiao immediately responded, "Of course, he said he didn't realize how serious your injury was, and if he'd known, he would have looked for you last night. So we came here right after getting back from the county city."
Jinhua finally felt somewhat relieved, "What were all of you doing in the city?"
"Just hanging out." Li Qiao didn't elaborate to Jinhua.
"Didn't buy anything?" Jinhua was skeptical, "Or are you just reluctant to tell me because you're afraid I'll ask for something?"
Li Qiao secretly grimaced, her mind was indeed sharp. "Loser Qin gave me a red cashmere coat, it's too cold to wear it now, but if you want it, I can give it to you." It was too ugly to wear alone, and would just gather dust otherwise.
Jinhua's eyes lit up, just as she remembered, Li Qiao had a red coat. In a few days, Li Qiao would have to divorce Qin Jin prematurely. Qin Jin would also regret hitting her; by then, she might even propose to herself.
Thinking this, Jinhua retorted, "I don't want anything bought for you. I'm more curious where Loser Qin got the money from. Did he come into some windfall?" Could it be that Qin Jin was secretly dealing in antiques from this time?
She hadn't paid attention to Qin Jin in her past life and didn't know much about him.
She just knew that every time he visited relatives here, he never came empty-handed.
Unlike Hechuan, who even in the 21st century, would still bring just two pounds of sheep horn honey when visiting relatives.
Stingy as hell.
Li Qiao stated matter-of-factly, "I'm not sure; he didn't tell me. He's so fierce I don't dare ask, but he definitely would have told Grandma. Didn't steal or rob, maybe he found it."
Jinhua smirked to herself, Li Qiao was still as foolish; just picking up two or three hairs and calling it hair picking, a coat must cost dozens at least, right? How easy could that be to just find? "Is it speculating and profiteering then?"
"Don't make accusations without evidence," Li Qiao said sternly. She often hung out with the educated youths and knew the consequences of speculating and profiteering; it wasn't just creating disturbances and getting locked up for a day.
In severe cases, one might actually go to prison.
Jinhua was surprised; shouldn't Li Qiao be disgusted upon hearing this news? Why did she seem concerned? "Are you worried about him? You haven't fallen for him, have you?"
Li Qiao was disdainful, "Who would fall for him?" The first criterion for being her boyfriend was not to speak foul language, and he was always cursing.
Jinhua was relieved and started to bring up Hechuan again.