48: Chapter 30 Romance 48: Chapter 30 Romance After finishing the peach, Lin Xiaoguai felt a bit sleepy, so Jiang Xiaomei stayed with her in the room for a while.
When she woke up, she found Shen Chi sitting by the bed.
She rubbed her eyes and said, “You’re here, where’s Xiaomei?”
“She’s outside washing her face.” Seeing that her first concern upon waking was for someone else, Shen Chi felt somewhat displeased, though he didn’t show it.
“Why did you come so early?” She glanced at the clock next to her which showed it was only three o’clock and asked with some confusion.
Shen Chi helped her up, “If I’d come later, I would have missed the bus.”
Lin Xiaoguai nodded her head, grabbed the cup of cool boiled water from beside the bed and started drinking.
Whether in her previous life or this one, she had always had the habit of drinking something upon waking up.
Xiaomei really knew her well.
“Xiao Guai, you’re up.” Jiang Xiaomei smiled joyfully at Lin Xiaoguai and then gave a timid smile to Shen Chi.
She always felt that this man was not very friendly toward her.
But she was used to this kind of hostility; back in school, the classmates would never dare to say anything to her face but would always talk behind her back about how ugly and stupid she was, and that she was not worthy to be friends with the pretty and smart Xiao Guai.
So, Jiang Xiaomei, being thick-skinned, didn’t really care about Shen Chi’s disdain.
Lin Xiaoguai washed the used cup, washed her face, and then sat down with Jiang Xiaomei.
“Where are Uncle and Aunt?”
“Mom has gone to pick soybeans, and Dad has gone to the rooftop to cool off.”
Jiang Xiaomei’s house was a bungalow, a rare type in today’s countryside, and the rooftop was very cool.
“Are you not going to school now?” Lin Xiaoguai asked.
Jiang Xiaomei shook her head, looking a bit downcast, “I don’t know anyone in the class, and aside from you, no one wants to be my friend.
There’s no point in going.” What she didn’t say was that the classmates excluded and mocked her.
However, even without her saying it, Lin Xiaoguai could imagine.
She thought for a moment and said, “Then you shouldn’t go anymore.
Keep your school registration, just show up for exams.
Come over to my house in the meantime, and I’ll help you with your studies.”
If she remembered correctly, in her previous life she had always tutored Xiaomei, who, though not very clever, had a solid foundation.
With a bit more effort, even if she couldn’t get into a university, she could at least make it into a community college.
“No need, no need.” Jiang Xiaomei waved her hands repeatedly; she didn’t want to impose on her friend.
“Just listen to me, your presence would also give me another person to talk to.”
Shen Chi was about to speak when he heard this and swallowed back his words.
He knew that when he was not at home and Xiuxiu was at school, Wanwan, Grandpa, and Grandma had nothing in common to talk about.
“Then I will really go.” Jiang Xiaomei actually wanted to go too; seeing Xiao Guai speak seriously and Shen Chi showing no displeasure, she agreed.
She thought, maybe she would just bring more stuff over so Xiao Guai’s great-grandma wouldn’t get upset.
“And don’t forget to bring your textbooks,” Lin Xiaoguai reminded.
After saying goodbye to Uncle and Aunt Jiang, Lin Xiaoguai left under Jiang Xiaomei’s watchful eyes.
“You and this Jiang Xiaomei are very close?” On the bus, Shen Chi asked curiously.
Not waiting for Lin Xiaoguai to answer, he continued, “I thought your friends would be of the same kind.”
“We are,” Lin Xiaoguai replied frankly.
Back then, both Lin Xiaoguai and Jiang Xiaomei were innocent and kind children.
She had already been changed by reality, but Xiaomei was still the same.
How she envied and felt fortunate.
Shen Chi’s expression turned a bit strange, and seeing it, Lin Xiaoguai felt an involuntary surge of annoyance.
“She may not be pretty, but she is very clean,” she hinted.
Shen Chi’s expression suddenly changed, his gaze quickly darkening.
Was he unclean in her eyes?
Lin Xiaoguai immediately regretted what she had said, but she wasn’t planning to apologize.
Getting off the bus, both were silent, with Shen Chi trailing a step behind Lin Xiaoguai as they walked home without a word.
They were just around the corner from their house when Shen Chi suddenly grabbed Lin Xiaoguai’s hand.
“Clarify what you just said,” his voice was low but carried an undeniable sense of danger.
Lin Xiaoguai raised an eyebrow, somewhat angrily, “Clarify what?”
“Clarify your dissatisfaction with me,” Shen Chi said, looking her directly in the eye.
Perhaps due to being pregnant, Lin Xiaoguai’s patience had greatly diminished, leading her to bluntly voice her thoughts, “I hate your endless probing, your self-righteousness, as if you have everything under control, even calculating to win over my feelings… It truly disgusts me.”
By the end, her expression had turned icy.