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Chapter 551: Chapter 357: Can you carve one for me? _2
Aunt greeted her immediately and served her half a crab, "Qing’e, you’re too thin, eat more."
Shen Qing’e thanked her, "Mm, I understand."
Aunt said, "You’re too polite, child."
She really liked Qing’e, since Qing’e’s sister was her own daughter-in-law, establishing such a relationship.
Moreover, Qing’e was both good-looking and sensible, smart and quick-witted. Sometimes, when she was doing chores like making dumplings, Qing’e would sensibly come over to help and chat with her.
Aunt naturally liked such a girl and wished she would stay longer.
Jiang Junlong, having eaten his fill, spoke up, "Mom, I’m going to see Brother Ning tomorrow, so no need to prepare lunch for me." 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
After hearing this, Aunt questioned, "You’re not going to sneak out to surf the internet, are you?"
"Don’t believe me? Ask Brother Ning, and ask Qing’e too," Jiang Junlong used them as a shield.
Shen Qing’e timely said, "I’ll be going over too and won’t let him surf the Internet."
Aunt still hesitated. At this moment, Uncle Jiang Qitian, after a sip of wine, said, "Why are you so strict with him?"
Aunt’s face turned, a storm brewing over the dinner table.
Jiang Junlong didn’t know what else to say.
Eventually, Aunt agreed to let him go out, and Jiang Junlong breathed a sigh of relief. Was sneaking some fun really that difficult?
After the meal, Shen Qing’e helped to clear the dishes, insisting on washing them despite Aunt’s repeated objections.
Afterward, she returned to her bedroom, which had a south-facing window, neither too large nor too small, and she found it quite comfortable to live in alone.
Two posters were pinned on the wall, making the small room cozy, yet there was always a feeling of detachment.
Because, this was not her own home.
Although Shen Qing’e was staying at her sister’s home, and on the surface, things were harmonious and Aunt treated her well, she ultimately was not a part of this family.
She longed to have a house like this in the city that was truly hers.
Sadly, her parents were just unremarkable workers among the many laboring on the coast.
To afford such a house, she would have to save for many, many years without spending on anything else.
Shen Qing’e sat at the desk, turned on the lamp, and began working on a test paper.
Coming from a small town, she had initially struggled to keep up with the city students unless she worked hard.
She picked up her pen, but, for some reason, she could not calm her mind.
What Shen Qing’e didn’t understand was that, previously, Jiang Ning’s grades weren’t much better than hers, yet after arriving at Fourth Middle School, he had quickly excelled.
She gazed at Jiang Ning’s distant figure, unable to catch up no matter what.
At this thought, she remembered that she was going to meet Jiang Ning with Jiang Junlong tomorrow.
She had a faint hope, but also felt pessimistic.
’He probably won’t welcome me, will he?’ Shen Qing’e thought.
Originally, her relationship with Jiang Ning had deteriorated too hastily, simply because he had gone against her will so she had started giving him the cold shoulder, deliberately ignoring him until Jiang Ning moved out to rent a place.
When the school term started, not only had she not wanted to speak with Jiang Ning, she had actually despised him for his impulsive behavior, thinking he must have become debauched.
Eventually, they became strangers.
With mixed feelings, Shen Qing’e couldn’t focus on the test paper at all. She went to her bed, picked up her phone, opened Kuwo Music, and played a song.
Then she started browsing her class group chat. Seeing Lu Qiqi and Yu Wen chatting, Shen Qing’e had no desire to join.
Noticing there was a notification, she went ahead and checked the social feed, where many classmates had posted updates. She scrolled down until she saw a new post by Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning rarely posted, but today he had, unusually, uploaded two images of a lifelike white jade rabbit surrounded by carving tools, chisels, rulers, and polishing blocks.
The white jade rabbit looked exquisite—the lines were smooth and the color pure and flawless.
Shen Qing’e fell in love with it at first sight. Through the photo, she could even feel the soft, gentle, and delicate jade; touching it, she was sure, would be irresistible.
The status update read: "First time carving a small animal, feels pretty good."
Jiang Ning didn’t have many friends, but whenever he posted, many showed support by liking the post, the count reaching dozens.
Chen Siyu: "More than pretty good, it’s beautiful!"
Chen Siqing: "Seconded."
Wang Longlong: "Brother Ning is so talented!"
Dan Kaiquan: "Did you carve this yourself? Or did you buy it?"
Geng Lu replied to Dan Kaiquan: "I provided the design, and Jiang Ning did the carving, how could it be fake?"
Below was a string of comments from other classmates.
Shen Qing’e looked at them one by one, then she focused her eyes on the little rabbit in the picture.
She was born in the year of the rabbit, and this white jade rabbit was really suitable for her...
If it were before...
She had stared at it for a long time when her finger, without paying attention, accidentally clicked into Jiang Ning’s space.
Shen Qing’e woke up with a start, almost frightened out of her soul.
Since their cold war, she had never visited Jiang Ning’s space.
Previously, she and Jiang Ning not only liked and left comments in each other’s space but also liked each other’s business cards every day.
But later, all of that ceased to exist, as if liking meant admitting defeat.
"What should I do?" In her panic, Shen Qing’e thought of Yellow Diamond—by activating Yellow Diamond, she could delete her visit history.
She wasn’t a prestigious Yellow Diamond user, after all, Yellow Diamond was 10 yuan a month.
Now, with no other choice, Shen Qing’e painfully spent 10 yuan to activate Yellow Diamond for a month and quickly deleted her visit history.
After resolving the issue, Shen Qing’e finally relaxed and pondered for a moment,
"Yellow Diamond can’t just be opened for nothing."
The next second, she activated the invisible browsing feature and tapped into Jiang Ning’s space, browsing his posts and message board twice over.
...
"Geng Lu sent a message, "Jiang Ning, the rabbit looks nice, is it for Xue Yuantong?"
Jiang Ning replied, "Sort of."
"My zodiac is the tiger. I’ll send you a design and money for the jade, can you carve a little tiger for me?" Geng Lu really wanted the little rabbit she saw.
Jiang Ning responded, "Are you sure about the little tiger? I can carve it, but Bai Yuxia just asked me to carve a little tiger. It might be repetitive."
Hearing this, Geng Lu felt slightly displeased with Bai Yuxia getting ahead, especially because she had taken her little tiger.
But as long as it was carved by Jiang Ning personally, she still really wanted one. Just as she was about to confirm,
Jiang Ning said, "A little tiger might not suit you."
Upon reading this message, Geng Lu felt disappointed for a moment.
Jiang Ning then sent another message, "I have another animal to recommend."
"What animal?" Geng Lu asked.
"Bear."
In Geng Lu’s mind popped up cartoonish versions of bears, and she asked, "A big bear or a little bear?"
Jiang Ning thought for a moment and said, "Mini version of a big bear."
Geng Lu blushed behind the screen, her eyes softening, ’Is he doing this on purpose?’
...
Jiang Ning and Geng Lu finalized the animal to be carved. He found a gold rope, threaded it with a dark green jade bead, and decorated the end with a red bead, connecting it to the white jade rabbit.
Xue Yuantong proudly wore it on her wrist, receiving lots of praise.
Just as Aunt Gu entered from the doorway, she rushed up to her, "Mom, look! The little rabbit Jiang Ning carved, isn’t it awesome?"
"He made it especially for me!"
Xue Yuantong showed off non-stop.
Aunt Gu couldn’t help but recall last year when her daughter had received a jade pendant and had similarly boasted non-stop.
She saw the white jade rabbit on her daughter’s wrist and was slightly surprised, it truly looked lovely.
After her daughter had boasted for a while and her excitement had worn off, Aunt Gu finally said,
"Jiang Ning is so good to you, making you a little rabbit, and you, when it comes to doing his laundry, you slack off, and it’s not clean at all!"
Hearing this, Xue Yuantong knew she was caught, and her happy expression vanished significantly.
During their last argument, which she did not win, she plotted to get back at Jiang Ning by cunningly using petty tactics, but she hadn’t expected...
She looked at Jiang Ning with resentment, "You actually complained to my mom."
It was like agreeing to a fair, unarmed duel with Jiang Ning, yet he had shown up with a rolling pin, and she stood no chance against him.
Aunt Gu pointed out her mistake, "The complaint about you is justified. You might be angry, but the laundry should still be clean."
"I suppose you just briefly dipped it in water and immediately took it out." Aunt Gu, experienced, knew her daughter’s character well.
After a pause of two seconds, Xue Yuantong said, "The clothes didn’t even touch the water; I just hung them out to dry immediately."
