Liu Aihong was somewhat stunned and asked her in a murmur, "Is it really like that?"
"And your voice, it sounds so nice."
Yang PeiMin remained silent, "As long as you like it."
"Now I finally understand why your man is so good to you."
Yang PeiMin looked at her, waiting for the follow-up, wondering what insights she had.
Suddenly, Liu Aihong leaned in close, staring at the skin on her face, examining it again and again, "You might have a fairer complexion than others, but you look frail and like someone who isn’t easy to breed. Logically, your man shouldn’t fancy someone like you. But after hearing what you said just now, I get it – you have your wits about you, and that’s how you keep your man so devoted."
Yang PeiMin’s mouth twitched, after talking for so long, was that all she took away from the conversation?
She waved her hand weakly, "Alright, as long as you’ve got the picture."
Liu Aihong stood up, sweeping her hand magnificently and declared, "Great, since I have your success story as a benchmark, I’ve made my decision. I won’t go flaunting myself in front of Mr. Hao anymore, I’ll switch to writing letters."
Yang PeiMin looked up at her with a light sigh of relief, glad to have ended the conversation. She had just realized how tiring talking to someone could be.
After delivering her proclamation, Liu Aihong turned back to her, "Mr. Yang, I’ll take you as a friend from now on. I won’t call you ’Mr. Yang’ anymore, but ’sister-in-law’ instead, and you should stop calling me ’Mr. Liu’. Everyone uses first names. If I have anything to discuss, I’ll come talk to you. And if you’re free, come over to my place for a meal, we’ve got plenty of food at home, don’t be shy."
Yang PeiMin also stood up, smiling and nodding. In some ways, this girl was quite adorable, with a simple mind untroubled by complexities.
"I won’t trouble you by coming over to your place; getting married changes things. If there’s anything, whether it’s happy or not, you can always come and chat with me. You know where I live, it’s not far."
Liu Aihong nodded, patted Yang PeiMin on the shoulder, "That’s settled then. Your class is about to begin and I wouldn’t want Mr. Hao to see me and think I’m here for him again, that would be embarrassing. Oh, right, keep an eye out for Mr. Ou for me too, and let me know if you notice anything odd."
Yang PeiMin laughed and nodding in response.
But just as Liu Aihong had taken a few steps, she turned back and asked, "Sister-in-law, another question, what do you apply on your face?"
Yang PeiMin couldn’t help but smile, "You’ve come to the right person; I do have some tricks. I’ll bring some for you tomorrow."
Liu Aihong smiled, her eyes curving, nodding repeatedly, yet she seemed a bit shy as she said, "I know that everyone values a strong body, but being fairer does look nicer. City girls seem fairer than us rural folk, and people can’t help but give an extra glance when walking on the street. I guess everyone thinks that looking fairer is more attractive."
"It doesn’t really matter to me, but Mr. Hao likes it that way too..."
It was only after Yang PeiMin promised to bring her skincare products that she finally left, looking back three steps at a time.
Who knows what she was looking at – could it be hard for her to leave?
Yang PeiMin shook her head and turned to walk to the school. The students had started arriving for classes one after another.
And indeed, just as Liu Aihong had said, she no longer came to the school to pester Mr. Hao.
It was Pan Lei who first noticed this change and brought it up, "Hasn’t it been quiet these past few days?" She said it with a teasing tone, so everyone knew what she was referring to.
"Indeed, Mr. Liu hasn’t come by."
"Mr. Hao, did you do some ideological work on her?"
Hao Qinghui couldn’t agree more; nobody understood it better than him. He couldn’t help but relax his furrowed brows, shaking his head with a smile as he denied it.
Sister Huang, with her wealth of experience, was always cautious, and the same applied to this matter. "Don’t celebrate too early, everyone. We’ll need to observe for a few more days before drawing conclusions."
"Teacher Huang is right, we shouldn’t underestimate the situation..."
Yang Peimin couldn’t help but want to laugh.
They clearly still had their doubts about the effectiveness of the previous discussion she had with Liu Aihong.
But it didn’t affect her good mood.
Life continued as usual with her routine between school and home.
That day upon returning home, she saw that Yang Peijun had come over.
"Third Brother, what brings you here?" she asked, knowing that without anything important, he would not come himself. Even though it wasn’t the busy farming season, there were still tasks like sowing and forest work—how could he have the time to wander around?
With a smile, Yang Peijun said, "Nothing much. We killed a chicken at home today and invited you to come over for a meal."
Yang Peimin looked at him skeptically for a moment, but seeing nothing amiss on his face, she was somewhat reassured. It wasn’t beyond Zhang Minghua to invite her back home for meat.
"Okay, wait for me," she said. "I’ll go in and let my father-in-law and mother-in-law know."
When she told the elderly couple, she wasn’t so blunt, simply mentioning that her family missed her and wanted her to come home for a meal. Since the next day was a rest day and she didn’t have to go to school, she could also stay over for the night.
The elderly couple had no objections, and Chen Guizhi even insisted she take some things with her.
Yang Peimin repeatedly said it wasn’t necessary, but Chen Guizhi gave her a stern look and taught her, "Being married is different from being unmarried. Going back without bringing anything, your parents won’t mind, but your brothers and sisters-in-law might take offense. It’s a matter of courtesy that can’t be neglected."
Taking the lesson to heart, Yang Peimin nodded, "Thank you, Mother, for teaching me. What should I bring?" She hadn’t quite adjusted to her new role.
Chen Guizhi picked out ten eggs for her, a packet of sugar, and added two yards of fabric, wrapping them up for her to take back.
Yang Peijun had also ridden his bicycle over and offered her a ride on the back.
Yang Peimin instead wanted to ride her own bike; it was more convenient for getting around anytime and didn’t impose on anyone.
Yang Peijun rolled his eyes at her, "You’ll still need me to take you back later. Pedaling yourself is just a waste of energy."
"Let it be a waste then, it’s like exercising. How about we have a race, brother?" she suggested.
Yang Peijun glanced at her and nodded with restraint, "Just get ready to eat the dust from my bike."
Then, well, in the end, a girl’s physical strength really couldn’t compare to a man’s. Yang Peijun, that guy, showed no brotherly compassion and nearly left her behind in the dust. She gave up trying to catch up and just pedaled leisurely on her own.
It wasn’t even six o’clock and the sky wasn’t dark yet. Three horse-drawn carts approached, each crowded with people who looked lively and displayed educated speech and easy postures. The carts quickly passed her by.
Yang Peijun stopped his bike ahead and waited for her. Seeing his sister’s gaze lingering on the passing carts, he couldn’t help but say, "What’s so interesting? Don’t you have that in your village? These are all people who’ve been rehabilitated... Times have changed now..."