NOVPUBChapter 154: Chapter 154 Shyness
Chapter 154 -154 Shyness
The old lady still wanted to chat with Bai Song and Bai Yue, which made Bai Xiao feel a bit uncomfortable, so she came back alone.
She saw An Zhiyuan standing at the door of the courtyard house, staring at her dumbfoundedly.
It was rare to see An Zhiyuan like this.
She reached to take the clothes off the clothesline, patted and shook them, and handed them to An Zhiyuan, “Here, I’ve washed them for you. You spilled liquor on them at noon, and I was worried your superiors would scold you when you went back, so I washed them while you were sleeping. They’re dry now, put them on!”
An Zhiyuan took them, feeling warmed by the gesture. It seemed Bai Xiao wasn’t heartless, at least she was nice to him.
He believed in reciprocity. As long as he treated Bai Xiao well, she wouldn’t be unaware of it. One day, he hoped she would willingly marry him.
“Thank you!” n𝚘𝚟𝚙u𝚋.co𝚖
“Thank me for what? You’ve helped me so many times. Washing a shirt hardly counts as help! You shouldn’t be too formal; if anyone should say thank you, it’s me.” Bai Xiao now truly felt at peace with An Zhiyuan. Frankly speaking, An Zhiyuan was a good man and so upright and trustworthy, much better than Fang Xiaoshan.
“It’s different. I’m a man; these are things I should do. If I can’t even protect my woman, what kind of man am I?” An Zhiyuan put on his uniform, smelling the faint scent of soap, feeling warmth in his heart.
“Right, actually, you don’t need to see me off the day after tomorrow. My brother will take me to school. The train ticket is already bought, so you can relax now! Also, could you write down your address for me? I’ll need to write to you so you don’t worry!” Bai Xiao was unexpectedly generous, leaving An Zhiyuan astonished.
What kind of miracle drug had she taken to suddenly treat him so well?
These were the words he wanted to say, and now Bai Xiao had said them all. If it weren’t for standing in the courtyard, he might have thought he was dreaming.
“What’s the matter? Not talking because it’s inconvenient? Is your place top secret or something?” Bai Xiao thought An Zhiyuan was having difficulties.
“No! Not at all! You better give me your school’s address. I’m about to be transferred, and I won’t be at my current place much longer, so leaving an address there is pointless!” An Zhiyuan explained, worried that Bai Xiao would think he was deliberately withholding his address. He knew gaining this young woman’s acceptance wasn’t easy.
Bai Xiao went inside to fetch paper and pen, then wrote down her school’s address, which was also her reporting address.
An Zhiyuan looked at the paper and smiled. Okay, the girl he fancied was part of the same system as him. He had initially thought the provincial capital Bai Xiao referred to was their local provincial capital, only to find out now it was far off the mark. Fortunately, he hadn’t yet submitted his transfer request—which was still in his desk drawer—or the misunderstanding would have been severe; you can’t transfer twice in a year, rules don’t permit it.
If it were across provinces, it wouldn’t be easy—it would require a report just to see each other.
“This university is a good one but it also has rigorous training. You’ll likely need to strengthen your physical fitness,” he commented, somewhat concerned. Bai Xiao looked delicate, and though he hadn’t participated in such training, he knew it was tougher than their new recruits’ training and had a high dropout rate—he wondered if Bai Xiao could withstand it.
Bai Xiao smiled, “No worries, I also think I need to seriously improve my physical fitness. At Aviation University, who knows, maybe one day I’ll even get to soar into the sky.” Actually, choosing this university was a fluke; she originally wanted to attend Medical University, but was twenty points short, so she filled in this university instead. Remarkably, her scores performed exceptionally well this time—it was probably fate.
Noticing the clothes on An Zhiyuan’s body, she imagined herself in a uniform too and couldn’t help feeling proud.
“I can’t take leave to come here these next few days. I’ll drive you and your brother to the county seat to catch the train the day after tomorrow. Be careful on the way.” An Zhiyuan couldn’t help but advise; after all, it was Bai Xiao’s first long trip, and his concern was justifiable.
Bai Xiao nodded, “Don’t worry!”
Li Haiping and Li Hai’an had just returned from the outside, having gone to collect pig fodder. To save grain for their family’s pigs, the brothers had spared no effort in figuring out how to feed the pigs well and keep them strong and robust. They frequently visited Wang Yan, helping him clean the pigsty and feed the pigs. Although they were not proficient in sweet talk, the two quietly worked hard for Wang Yan, which somewhat embarrassed old Wang.
These two lads were truly good kids.
However, old Wang wouldn’t simply reveal all his secrets. While Wang Yan wouldn’t instruct them explicitly in pig feeding or managing during his routine chores, he let them watch without avoiding them, which wasn’t really teaching but rather a matter of how much they could learn on their own.
Li Haiping was particularly talented and meticulous in his work, and he indeed had some skills. Having returned home, they applied what they had observed. The five piglets at home, since falling ill last time, had recovered and were growing lively and robust, recently having grown significantly larger.
The brothers were even more diligent.
“Uncle An, are you up?” The brothers naturally treated An Zhiyuan as their uncle by marriage.
Bai Xiao glared, while An Zhiyuan’s face was all smiles.
“You guys…”
An Zhiyuan cut her off, “I should be leaving now, it’s time for me to head back.” He winked at the two brothers, and Li Haiping and Li Hai’an quickly took their baskets to the backyard.
Bai Xiao was speechless, An Zhiyuan really did act the part of the uncle by marriage quite naturally.
“Wait a moment.”
Bai Xiao went to the kitchen, found a lunchbox—which was one An Zhiyuan had brought over, seemingly an extra of his own—and filled it with freshly heated dumplings. This type of aluminum lunchbox was something not commonly seen in the village homes, and many envied it.
She wrapped up a lunchbox full of dumplings and handed it over to him in a net bag.
“It’s getting late, you should eat these dumplings hot when you get back!”
An Zhiyuan took it, his deep gaze falling on Bai Xiao, whose cheeks blushed. She didn’t quite understand why she impulsively prepared these for An Zhiyuan, behaving just like a nagging wife sending her husband off to work.
This thought made her face even redder.
An Zhiyuan nodded, “I’ll come over first thing the day after tomorrow, wait for me!” He turned and left.
After An Zhiyuan left, Bai Song and Bai Yue returned.
As they walked in, they too were sighing, mainly because the old lady had changed so much, and everyone was a bit confused.
Bai Yue and Bai Xiao began packing her luggage, carefully bundling up her bedding. A green military-style carry bag, which Bai Song had insisted on using as Bai Xiao’s luggage to protect her from ridicule when she traveled, was packed with numerous items.
Luckily, Bai Song was traveling with her; otherwise, these things would have been too much for Bai Xiao to handle alone.
