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Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Ugly Beyond Recognition
After the incident where Tong Yao splashed water, Li Nuanchun and Chen Yanmei stopped communicating altogether. Now, whenever Chen Yanmei spotted her, she wouldn’t acknowledge her and instead would roll her eyes, pick up Baodan, and walk back into her room. This was all because Li Nuanchun had sided with Tong Yao that day.
Li Nuanchun understood the situation perfectly, and she didn’t hold any grudges toward Chen Yanmei. If Chen Yanmei wanted to ignore her, then so be it. It would save her the trouble of having Yanmei and her child rummage through her room like they were starving mice, turning everything upside down and pulling out any food set aside.
These days, every family lived frugally. Chen Yanmei was the exception, eating whatever she found while scavenging, even things people were reluctant to eat themselves. This applied not only to her child, who didn’t know any better, but also to Yanmei herself.
No matter how much was there, it would never be enough for Chen Yanmei’s bottomless pit of a mouth.
"Shoot! Sister-in-law, I’m thankful for your warning. I wouldn’t have suspected it otherwise. But let me set the record straight, anyone spreading such rumors will get a slap from me. Our Ahchen is so handsome, even if I were blind, I would never be attracted to the likes of Jia Qing! He’s as ugly as my second elder brother and is unbearable to look at even with an eye condition."
Tong Yao didn’t slight Jia Qing on purpose. When comparing Si Chen’s and Jia Qing’s looks or demeanor, it was like comparing heaven and earth. There was no match at all. In Tong Yao’s eyes, Jia Qing was like a dung beetle in the gutter, disgusting to think about and even worse to see.
Li Nuanchun flinched at Tong Yao’s comment about slapping someone. If anyone else had said it, she would have assumed it was just an empty threat. But coming from Tong Yao, it carried a certain weight to it. Hearing her belittle Jia Qing made her twitch at the corners of her mouth.
Undeniably, when it came to belittling people, no one in the compound was a match for Tong Yao. Li Nuanchun worried about an association with her, so she promised to clear her name quickly.
"Little sister, I’ve only discussed this matter with you. I haven’t spoken about it with anyone else. I’m just unsure if anyone else noticed him. He did hang around the gate of the residential compound for an entire morning."
Tong Yao laughed, "I know you’re not the kind of person to spread rumors, sister-in-law. I wasn’t accusing you."
Li Nuanchun sighed in relief. She noted that it was almost two in the afternoon, and quickly said, "Little sister, I need to go downstairs to pick some vegetables. You look flushed from the heat, you should stay in and cool off with the fan. Don’t get a heatstroke."
After sending Li Nuanchun off, Tong Yao exhaled in relief. She closed the door and couldn’t help cursing Jia Qing in her heart. He doesn’t even look at himself in the mirror to see how he appears, yet he dares to show up at the residential compound? It was as if a pig wearing an onion on its nose was trying to pretend to be an elephant.
If Jia Qing dared to show up once, he probably wouldn’t give up so easily. Sooner or later, Si Chen would find out about it. Tong Yao was torn; should she tell Si Chen proactively about these matters tonight? But after some thought, she decided it was best to tell him so he could be prepared and deal with unexpected encounters with Jia Qing if needed.
Jia Qing was a scoundrel who was capable of throwing dirt on her to stir up their relationship.
That night, Tong Yao cooked two dishes and a soup before Si Chen got off work. She had planned to tell him about Jia Qing during dinner, making it sound as casual as normal talk, but before she could bring it up, Si Chen spoke first.
"I have to go to Kyoto the day after tomorrow. Do you want to come with me? That way you can visit our parents at the same time."
Tong Yao’s eyes sparkled, "How long will you be gone?" If it were only a few days, it wouldn’t hurt for her to go.
Si Chen pursed his lips, "Ten days."
At the mention of ten days, Tong Yao’s face fell, "Ten days is too long. I will be busy making arrangements for the tea shop’s permit and I can’t afford to be away for that long. Otherwise, the shop’s opening would have to be postponed."
She rubbed her face, then added sorrowfully, "Besides, our parents would worry if they saw me looking like this. They might think you’ve been abusing me."
She had been initially excited about the idea of returning to Kyoto, but after pondering, she realized that now was not the best time. In the 80s, the sanitary conditions of train carriages were quite unsatisfactory. To describe it as messy was an understatement. Unless they could book a ticket for a sleeping car. However, those were usually booked in advance, or favoritism needed to be practiced to get them.
The plan to leave in two days meant that arranging tickets now would be impossible. Furthermore, a ten-day absence was too long. If she decided to return early, it would probably trigger concerns from both Tong Yaohui and Si Chen. She better focus on the tea shop’s business before considering other plans!
Once she had earned enough money, she could buy a car, which would make travel much more convenient.
Seeing that she had decided against it, Si Chen did not try to persuade her any further, "Look around tomorrow and see if there’s anything our parents might like to eat. I’ll take it with me when I visit them."
Once he was in Kyoto, he would surely make time to visit his in-laws, no matter how busy he was.
"Alright." Tong Yao’s fluffy little head bobbed obediently in response. Due to the heat, she had tied up her hair into a bun, leaving her slender, pale neck exposed. A hint of emotion flickered in Si Chen’s eyes, but he quickly looked away.
Unfortunately, Tong Yao was so preoccupied that she didn’t notice the change in Si Chen’s expression. Otherwise, she would certainly marvel at the rare sight. Si Chen planned to go to Kyoto. If she brought up Jia Qing now, Si Chen would lose his peace of mind.
Forget it, she would tell him after he returned.
No sooner had her train of thought ended, when Si Chen said, "Tomorrow, I’ll be working the night shift and won’t be back to sleep. I’ll come back the day after in the morning to change my clothes, and then leave for Kyoto."
"Oh!" Tong Yao replied absent-mindedly.
Si Chen looked at her, "Something on your mind?"
Before he left Li City, Si Chen’s mind was clear and unperturbed. Apart from worrying about Lin Fengying’s health, he had never felt any longing or attachment before. These two words were always strangers to him. But this time, even though he hadn’t left yet, he found himself reluctant to go.
The trip to Kyoto was planned in such a rush, and indeed it was not suitable to bring Tong Yao along. Even if she did go, he wouldn’t have much time to spend with her. However, he had no idea why he had asked her to accompany him, perhaps impulsively. And when Tong Yao declined, he felt disappointed.
Now as he saw her reply carelessly to his news of working overnight, he couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated. However, his self-control over such emotions was strong, and that’s why he didn’t show anything unusual to Tong Yao.
"Huh?" Tong Yao came back to her senses, blinked her eyes, and lied with a laugh, "No, not at all! I was just thinking about what I should buy for my parents."
Her eyes were blinking rapidly, a sign that she was lying. Si Chen, however, didn’t call her out, "Dad likes tea, and the tea leaves produced in Li City are quite good. Mom likes sweets, so you could buy some pastries."
His casual remark ended up solving a tough problem for her unexpectedly. It seemed like Si Chen really took good care of her parents. Tong Yao was genuinely pleased this time, and replied cheerfully, "Alright, I’ll buy those tomorrow."
Suddenly, Tong Yao’s eyes lit up, "Oh! I bought you a suit. Try it on after dinner and see if it fits."
