In the evening, Huang Qiaoqiao’s parents rushed over to the Yang Family home, apologizing profusely to Yang Changjin and his wife.
They didn’t hesitate to scold Huang Dayong harshly in front of everyone, saying that the two families were getting along well and were both very satisfied, but it was all because Huang Dayong befriended Gong Yuping and wanted to curry favor with the Gong Family that so much trouble was stirred up.
Yang Changjin and his wife, of course, comforted them nicely, saying that it was all in the past now, and as long as the two children liked each other, they as parents were happy.
Needless to say, Uncle had too much to drink again. Thɪs chapter is updated by Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
The eldest nephew had become someone to be proud of, finding such an impressive bride-to-be, which made the Yang Family the center of attention that day.
Add to that, Yang Hao’s marriage to Huang Qiaoqiao was settled once more, one can imagine how Yang Changjin felt.
Huang Qiaoqiao had yet to be married into the family and went back home with her parents and elder brother.
Yang Hao and Xiao Fei supported their drunken uncle back to his room to rest, while Yang Wen and Qin Yanyang helped Li Guiju clean up the kitchen.
Li Guiju and Yang Wen firmly ushered her out.
Qin Yanyang didn’t insist any further.
The nighttime in the countryside was very quiet, with the croaking of frogs and chirping of insects.
The sky was dotted with stars, and the moon hung high.
Qin Yanyang and Yang Fei sat in the courtyard, looking at the moon and counting the stars.
After Yang Wen finished tidying up and came out, she saw her eldest brother sitting with his sister-in-law in the courtyard and felt a bit speechless. She said, "Brother, you just had dinner; why don’t you take sister-in-law for a walk around the village?"
Yang Fei looked at Qin Yanyang and asked, "Do you want to take a walk?"
"Sure," Qin Yanyang said.
Coming out of the yard, Yang Fei was a bit confused and didn’t know which way to go.
It had been ten years since he had been back; the changes in the village were too great.
Where there used to be wooden houses and mud paths, now every household had brick and tile houses and roads.
Qin Yanyang seemed to see his embarrassment, pursed her lips with a smile, and said, "Let’s just walk around."
Yang Fei gave an awkward smile, figured out the direction, and then said, "Let’s go this way; it’s not far to the river, and it’s nice to walk by the river."
After walking for a few minutes, they indeed heard the sound of running water, and soon, a small river was barely visible under the illumination of the streetlights.
The weather had turned cool with the arrival of autumn, so there was no one bathing in the river.
Yang Fei recalled many things from his childhood and pointed to several places in the river, saying, "When I was a child, I almost spent every day of the summer bathing in the river with Yang Hao, often being chased by Uncle and Auntie with rattan sticks."
Qin Yanyang said with a smile, "Compared to kids in the countryside, children in big cities miss out on a lot of fun."
Yang Fei looked at her and asked, "How did you get by as a child? Tell me about it."
Qin Yanyang thought for a moment, shook her head, and said, "There’s not much to tell. As a child from a poor rural area, I endured a lot of hardship. Life gets a bit better as you grow up, which inevitably leads you to reflect on the past, and thus there is a lot to reminisce about.
Also, children in the countryside don’t have as much academic pressure; it’s more about releasing their nature, expressing themselves. When life’s pressures mount as an adult, you start to long for the carefree days of childhood.
Children from wealthy families, if they haven’t experienced financial decline, rarely have childhood memories to look back on when they grow up.
For us, from childhood, we have to learn various skills according to our parents’ and elders’ wishes, which sounds like it’s for our own good, but in truth, most of us were deprived of freedom from a young age and lived the way our parents wanted us to."
Yang Fei was hearing this perspective for the first time. He looked at Qin Yanyang and said, "So, you were also forced into various special classes, and that’s why you harbor grievances about your childhood?"
Qin Yanyang nodded with a smile, "Of course, although I’m quite satisfied with my life now, my childhood wasn’t very happy."
Yang Fei chuckled and said, "However unhappy you were, it must have been better than how I often went hungry as a child, right?"
Qin Yanyang, feeling sorry for him, looked at him and said, "Didn’t you say Uncle and Auntie treated you well?"
"They did treat me well, but we were really poor at that time, the food was not nutritious enough, with little oil and water. I could only eat two meals a day, and I was still hungry," Yang Fei explained.
Qin Yanyang felt pity for him and didn’t want to continue the topic, so she changed the subject, "I know you’re an orphan, but what happened to your parents? Can you tell me?"
Yang Fei shook his head and said, "I heard from the villagers that I was only a month old when my dad brought me back, and it wasn’t many days later that he died."
Qin Yanyang’s nose tingled.
She had investigated Yang Fei’s background before but only knew he was an orphan and was not clear about how his parents had died.
"Sorry, I..." Qin Yanyang felt a sting in the corners of her eyes.
Yang Fei shook his head with a smile, "It’s nothing, I’m used to it."
Qin Yanyang composed herself and said, "Then we should go to visit your dad’s grave."
Yang Fei nodded, "I was planning to go after dinner earlier, but then the incident with Yang Hao and Huang Qiaoqiao delayed me, I’ll go early tomorrow morning."
Qin Yanyang heard his implication and asked, "Don’t you want me to go?"
Yang Fei looked at her, "Would you like to go?"
Qin Yanyang bit her lip lightly and said, "Even as friends, it shouldn’t be a problem to pay a visit, right?"
Seeing her seemingly a bit angry, Yang Fei quickly said, "That’s not what I meant. I was just worried you might have some reservations. If you are willing to go, my dad’s spirit in heaven would be very happy to see such a beautiful and impressive daughter-in-law."
A smile crept onto the corners of Qin Yanyang’s mouth, that’s more like it.
When the two returned home, their aunt said to them, "Xiao Fei, Yanyang, your room has been prepared, with new sheets and quilts."
Upon hearing this, Yang Fei and Qin Yanyang were stunned at the same time, only then realizing an issue.
The uncle and aunt didn’t know that their relationship hadn’t progressed that far; they assumed the two were a couple, so it was natural for them to arrange for the two to sleep in the same room.
But the two of them hadn’t reached that stage yet.
Yang Fei couldn’t help but look towards Qin Yanyang, whose face had reddened slightly, but she replied to Li Guiju with a nonchalant grace, "Thank you, Auntie."
Yang Fei’s eyes bulged.
Does she want to sleep with me?
In that moment, the never-been-in-love, naive young man’s heart churned like a raging river, and he even had a grandson’s name picked out.
Yang Wen, squatting on the side, gave Yang Fei a vigorous wink, and secretly but emphatically made an encouraging cheering gesture.
Yang Fei suddenly realized that it was this girl who had been causing mischief behind the scenes.
Qin Yanyang naturally saw Yang Wen’s little antics as well. She found it amusing but didn’t expose her.
The last time they went camping, she and Yang Fei had slept in the same tent for one night. Now it was just sleeping in the same room—what was the big deal?
After showering, Yang Fei had also calmed down.
He understood Qin Yanyang. Though she seemed easy to talk to and able to consider things from other people’s perspectives, she was actually a very opinionated person.
The two of them hadn’t even kissed, so unification was simply impossible.
When Qin Yanyang finished showering and entered the room, closing the door behind her, Yang Fei said, "I can sleep on the floor."
Qin Yanyang smiled faintly, "Let’s just sleep on the bed. We managed in one tent before, so a bed this big shouldn’t be an issue."
Yang Fei could not have been more pleased by her response, nodding in agreement, "Alright then."
After turning off the lights to rest, they lay in bed, able to hear each other’s heartbeat, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
Unable to restrain himself, Yang Fei moved slightly and touched Qin Yanyang’s soft hand.
In the darkness, Qin Yanyang’s face blushed faintly, yet she did not struggle and said softly, "Let’s just leave it at this, don’t even think about anything else."
"Oh, I’m not thinking about anything else, also, what’s ’anything else’?"
Qin Yanyang’s face grew even redder, and she inwardly cursed.
To think she had still believed he was a simple and honest guy—turns out it was all an act.