274: 269 Stealing half a day of leisure from life 274: 269 Stealing half a day of leisure from life “What are you laughing at?”
As they stepped outside the building, Li Shuru caught a glimpse of someone’s mouth curving upwards, as if they were secretly amused.
“Nothing, just that the weather is so nice today.”
Jiang Chen quickly straightened his face and looked up at the cloudless sky, exhaling.
A new year, a new outlook.
The weather for this New Year’s holiday couldn’t have been more perfect.
“Shall we find a place to rest for a while?”
Jiang Chen then asked, concerned.
Li Shuru shook her head, “No need.”
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
Jiang Chen sought confirmation.
He still felt his legs were a bit weak and his back ached.
Could it truly be as the old saying goes, no land is too tough to plow, only oxen that tire to death?
He took another careful look at Li Shuru’s complexion.
Tsk.
Even more radiant and stunning than before, her charm was captivating,
If her aura had already far surpassed her peers before, now she seemed even more mature, not at all like an undergraduate student.
At such a young age, she was already so charming.
What would happen when she grew older, when she truly became a wife and a mother?
The future seemed promising.
“Can you quit fussing over me?”
Li Shuru was embarrassed and annoyed.
Seeing that she really didn’t seem to be out of sorts, Jiang Chen fell silent.
Although this neighborhood was somewhat old, its facilities were still fairly complete.
There were fitness equipments for the elderly and play apparatuses for children, though most of them were covered in rust and in need of upkeep.
Early in the morning, many middle-aged and elderly people had already started their exercises.
The two approached the fitness area, where Jiang Chen, unfazed by the potential embarrassment, took a deep breath, grabbed a horizontal bar, and did fifteen pull-ups in one go.
And his form was meticulous, absolutely standard.
This was extraordinarily strong among the generally frail contemporary youth.
Even in the military, such a score would be above the passing line.
“Young man, you’re in good shape!”
The surrounding group of exercisers cheered him on.
Jiang Chen let go of the bar, jumped down, and glanced at Li Shuru playfully, nearly making her laugh, though she managed to hold it back.
“What are you looking at!
It’s just pull-ups, what’s there to be proud of!
Don’t know who got cornered and was almost pushed off the building!”
Jiang Chen felt a little embarrassed, gave a modest smile to the supportive elders, then clapped his hands, and confidently explained, “No matter how high your Kung Fu, a knife is mightier.
She had a knife, and a wise man does not fight when the odds are against him.
That’s wisdom.”
“That’s just an excuse.”
Li Shuru stepped onto an available treadmill.
Jiang Chen followed.
“Did you clean the room?
Didn’t Aunty Xue notice anything?”
“Now you start to worry?”
Li Shuru held onto the rails, her strides moving back and forth, her emotions gradually calming down.
Worry wasn’t quite the right word.
Since Xue Mingqin had taken the initiative to put them together, it indicated she wouldn’t mind certain things, but if the elders truly knew, it would certainly still be somewhat embarrassing.
Although his skin was indeed a bit thicker than most, Jiang Chen was not without shame.
“How about I go to a hotel tonight?”
“What, you pull up your pants and you don’t want to own up, is that it?”
Li Shuru gave him a sidelong glance.
“That’s not what I meant, it’s just that if I stay, Aunty Xue will surely have us sleep together again, and then, with dry wood and a fiery flame…”
“Who’s doing any burning with you?!”
Li Shuru lowered her voice fiercely, narrowing her eyes, “Can’t you control yourself?”
“If I could control myself, wouldn’t that mean, you’re not charming enough?”
Having crossed that final step, indeed, a qualitative change had occurred.
Certain topics were no longer so bashfully constrained.
If a couple were always so respectful of each other, how dull and boring that would be.
Li Shuru was at a loss for words.
“You have to control yourself, because if you go to a hotel, my mom will definitely get all sorts of ideas, and might even say it was my doing, and cause trouble for me.”
Jiang Chen sighed.
“Then I’ll just sleep on the floor tonight.”
Li Shuru couldn’t help but laugh.
“Are you born in the year of the donkey?
Can’t you just…
get tired?”
After hesitating for a bit, she still uttered the last word “tired.”
Men and women are different.
Don’t men need to rest in this regard?
Jiang Chen stepped onto the treadmill, leaning on the handrail, and sighed.
“Haven’t you learned a poem that goes, ‘Happy to die beneath peony flowers, a romantic ghost I shall be’?”
Li Shuru spat, and for some reason, she felt a hint of joy inside.
“Anyway, not today, if you don’t rest, I have to.”
Jiang Chen looked surprised.
Perhaps this was telepathy, she seemed to know what he was thinking before he even spoke.
“Do you men only care about your own pleasure without worrying if it hurts us women?”
Jiang Chen was stunned.
“Didn’t you say you were fine?”
“Just because I said I’m fine, does that mean I am?
Do you think I should show a delicate state in front of my mom?
See if she wouldn’t chase you out with a broom!”
Jiang Chen didn’t argue with her about whether Xue Mingqin would really chase someone with a broom, but his eyes still held a trace of skepticism.
If I’m being honest.
From getting up in the morning until now, Li Shuru’s behavior had been completely normal, and he hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
Li Shuru stopped, standing on the stepper, her brow furrowed, no longer in a playful mood.
“Do you think I’m not a…”
“Not what?”
Jiang Chen hadn’t quite caught on.
Li Shuru’s demeanor became even more solemn, her voice filled with urgency, and she couldn’t care about feeling embarrassed anymore.
“Do you think I’m not a virgin?”
Jiang Chen was stunned.
“Lots of us dance students are like this, often tearing…
if you don’t believe me, you can ask Si Yi and the others, they’re all the same!”
“…”
This girl.
What is she talking about?
I never doubted this issue in the first place.
I’m not an ignorant fledgling like Bai Zheli, why wouldn’t I understand such things?
Some aspects of chastity don’t necessarily have to be proven with blood.
Last night, I deeply felt the rumors of the art school’s Goddess’s promiscuous private life, and her unknown, pure side behind closed doors.
Seeing the girl’s eyes begin to well up with tears, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but laugh and cry, quickly saying, “Why would I ask them, I’m not uneducated.”
This statement no doubt means I’m not that ignorant.
Then he winked at Li Shuru.
“Besides, last night, I got to verify it firsthand, why would I need to go ask anyone for proof?”
“You really…”
The grand Goddess of Eastern University, at this moment, was actually troubled over such a naive and ridiculous question.
But it is understandable.
After all, concern leads to chaos.
And in today’s society, even if it’s rife with material desires, some men still have serious complexes about certain issues.
This kind of question could directly affect their status in someone’s heart.
“I believe you.”
Jiang Chen’s smile was warm and sincere as he stroked her hair.
It was only then that Li Shuru, who had even begun to wildly think about getting medical proof, gradually calmed down.
“Rui Rui!”
An annoyed voice called out, interrupting the tenderness between the young couple.
They both turned their heads to look.
They saw Xue Gui and his family walking along the cobblestone path.
Aunt Zou Luoxia furrowed her brows, looking very serious.