NOVPUB
Chapter 137: Chapter 137: Si Boyi’s Heart Is Moved
"Brother Boyi."
As Si Boyi walked to the crossroads outside the village and was about to turn around, he was stopped by Zhang Lijuan who popped out from the side of the road.
"Wha, what’s up?" Seeing it was Zhang Lijuan, Si Boyi was taken aback and stuttered a bit. After they had grown up, they seldom had much contact. Even though their families were neighbors, Zhang Lijuan had never called him in such a way before.
His face turned uncontrollably red, and he couldn’t hold her gaze.
"Brother Boyi, I heard you’re going to the city and I was worried you’d be hungry on the way, so I brought you some food for the road."
Zhang Lijuan took the grilled corn stick from behind her and glanced at Si Boyi. She instantly lowered her head again and looked at her toes. Her shy and girlish demeanor bewildered Si Boyi.
"For, for me?"
Zhang Lijuan giggled slightly, "Silly, I said it’s for your journey. If it’s not for you, who else could it be for? There’s no stranger here!"
"Why are you giving me a grilled corn stick?" Si Boyi’s heart pounded with excitement and curiosity. An unspeakable emotion set his face on fire. In his heart, a little excitement and a little shyness, but above all, curiosity.
When they were young, he and Zhang Lijuan had played together. As they grew older and reached adolescence, the concept of gender differences came in, he lost touch with Zhang Lijuan. He later heard that Zhang Lijuan had a crush on his elder brother and came to see him a few times at home. However, since his brother didn’t care about Zhang Lijuan, and he himself rarely stayed at home, Zhang Lijuan’s visits decreased gradually. Even if she occasionally came, she usually chatted with Si Xiaohui in their house and seldom spoke to him.
They wouldn’t even greet each other when they met.
Her sudden kindness to him inevitably seemed strange.
"I just wanted to give you something to eat." Zhang Lijuan glanced at him again with eyes like autumn water and faked a stern tone, "I’ve been holding it for a long time, my hand’s stiff. Is it because you refuse my food and dislike accepting it?"
"No, no." Si Boyi belatedly accepted the grilled corn stick, only to find that his palms were a little sweaty from nervousness. "Th, thank you."
"What are you thanking me for?! We’ve known each other since childhood, and we’re neighbors. Thanking me sounds so formal."
"Yes, it does seem a bit formal." Si Boyi laughed awkwardly and gave Zhang Lijuan a stiff smile.
"Dopey." Zhang Lijuan chuckled, her lips tightly closed.
This laughter caught Si Boyi off guard. He sneaked a glance at Zhang Lijuan and his heart leaped from his chest. He had lived more than twenty years, and this was the first time any girl other than his sister had flirted with him, called him Brother Boyi, and given him something.
For the honest and introverted Si Boyi, who lacked luck with women, this event was extremely exhilarating. Not only was his face burning hot, his whole body felt like it was about to catch fire.
"Brother Boyi, please don’t worry about going to the city for work! Don’t worry too much about your mother-in-law, I’ll visit her often and take care of her." Zhang Lijuan continued to fidget in front of Si Boyi, her arms kept stirring forward, and her chin was nearly hitting her chest, not to mention her squirming movements. She clearly looked like a spring maiden in love.
"Lijuan..." Si Boyi also understood something from her words. Although he was caught off guard and didn’t know how to respond, his forehead was already covered in a layer of sweat. He barely managed to get out, "Lijuan, I am a country bumpkin who doesn’t know how to talk. Please don’t be offended. I, I’m grateful for the grilled corn stick. I, I’m very happy..."
As he said the last sentence, the tips of Si Boyi’s tongue stiffened with excitement. For those who didn’t know, they might have thought he’d drunk a kilogram of hard liquor.
Since he was young, Si Boyi had always felt a bit of an inferiority complex, especially compared to his elder brother. He felt himself to be wretched, good for nothing but farming.
This is why when Lin Fengying wanted to marry Tong Yao to his elder brother, he felt a little uncomfortable, but told himself that he wasn’t good enough for her.
As he got rejected time and time again in matchmaking sessions, Si Boyi felt worse about himself. He set aside thoughts of a relationship, and focused on earning money instead. He absolutely did not anticipate Zhang Lijuan, suddenly being so nice to him, even promising to help take care of his mother.
This hit Si Boyi right in his soft spot.
"Brother Boyi, you don’t have to say anything. I’m doing this of my own free will. I don’t expect anything in return. You just focus on working well in the city. If you would like, when I have time, I can come to visit you in the city..."
"I do." Before Zhang Lijuan had finished her sentence, Si Boyi interrupted, "Lijuan, I do."
As for what exactly he agreed to, both of them understood implicitly.
For Si Boyi, who had never been in love, this feeling is simply fascinating. He continually found himself wanting to stand closer and closer to Zhang Lijuan.
Zhang Lijuan chuckles, and coquettishly says, "I haven’t even finished speaking yet, what are you agreeing to?"
Si Boyi’s face turned red, "whatever you say, I agree."
Zhang Lijuan hummed cutely, "I thought you were an honest man, but now it seems that you’re not. You’re such a smooth talker."
Si Boyi hurriedly explained, "I, I didn’t." He swore to the heavens, he hadn’t even so much as held a girl’s hand outside of his sister. How could he be a smooth talker? He was just expressing his true feelings.
Each stand matches a chair. Si Boyi never desired to marry a beautiful city girl like his brother. Others looked down on him, and he couldn’t afford them. All he wanted was to marry a practical person and live an honest life. Zhang Lijuan was his neighbor, and they understood each other well. She was currently not disgusted by his poverty, and even promised to help take care of his mother. This kind of woman was hard to find nowadays.
"Alright, I was just teasing you. Look how anxious you are. You better hurry to the city! I snuck out, if I don’t go back soon my mother will start to worry."
As Zhang Lijuan turned to leave, Si Boyi couldn’t bear to part with her and stopped her. He took some money from his pocket, counted out five yuan, and handed it to her.
"Lijuan, buy whatever you like to eat in the town."
Zhang Lijuan didn’t expect Si Boyi to start giving her money to spend so soon. She originally wanted to remain demure and refuse, but for someone who had never received a large sum of money, the five yuan was too tempting. After hesitating for a while, she took the money, kissed Si Boyi’s cheek, and ran off.
Her mother had said that Si Boyi was an easy man to take advantage of, but before she had not believed it. Yet now, it seemed to be true. Originally, she just wanted to make a good impression in front of Si Boyi. She hadn’t expected Si Boyi to express his interest in her right away and even give her money. All of this had been unexpected.
But it was good for now. She decided to string Si Boyi along for the time being. If he truly made something of himself, they could be together. If he didn’t, she could still manage to break up with him, and in the meantime nobody else knew about their relationship. It was a win-win for her, and she even had money to spend.
Si Boyi stood in place for about five minutes before finally snapping back to reality. With a silly grin, he touched the place where Zhang Lijuan had kissed him and headed towards the city.
