"Do you guys want to come over to my place for a meal? I can cook enough for the two of you as well."
Li Li and Mao Xiaomei were among her few close friends in high school. Both had heavy family burdens and were not native Capital City residents. They also had many siblings at home. When living at the school, they even hesitated to eat a full breakfast, and it was thanks to Qin Xiangnuan bringing them pastries to eat every day for the past half a year. Otherwise, who knows if the two of them might have starved and lost a few pounds.
Now that the exams had just ended, the school cafeteria was definitely crowded, and there wasn’t much good food to eat there. Although they were not so poor that they couldn’t afford meals, they had gotten used to being frugal, so, intentionally or not, they had started to be harsh on themselves.
When the two heard that they could go to Qin Xiangnuan’s house for a meal, they naturally agreed.
They knew Qin Xiangnuan lived nearby and it was only about a ten-minute walk to school. She also ran a pastry shop and worked hard every day. Sometimes, they wondered why Qin Xiangnuan had to sell pastries herself. They both didn’t dare to speculate carelessly and even thought Qin Xiangnuan was an orphan.
In fact, it was almost the case. In her previous life, Qin Xiangnuan was destined to be an orphan. In this life, although she had an older brother and a grandmother, they were no longer by her side; one was in military school, so it was as if she was living alone regardless.
As they arrived at the front door, she took out her keys and opened it, only to be greeted by loud barking. They could all hear a big dog’s barks.
As soon as the door opened, Li Li and Mao Xiaomei nearly screamed out loud as they saw a large husky dog pounce towards them.
But Qin Xiangnuan simply crouched down and hugged the big dog’s head, "Are you hungry?"
She smiled and pinched Conghua’s ears.
"Whine..." Conghua looked pitiful, wagging its tail, then rolled on the ground and scampered after Qin Xiangnuan. It didn’t even give a glance to the two humans behind her; they weren’t even worthy of the attention of this noble military dog.
"His name is Conghua, he’s our family dog," Qin Xiangnuan led Conghua into its own room to prevent it from scaring her two classmates.
"Xiang Nuan, you live here?" Li Li pointed incredulously at the small Siheyuan in front of her, "This is a Siheyuan, how expensive is this?"
"Yeah, it’s rented," Qin Xiangnuan made up a small excuse. She understood human nature quite well. The reason they had become friends was because Li Li and Mao Xiaomei thought that all three of them were of the same class, which meant they had common ground to talk about. But if they knew she not only owned a property in Capital City but also lived in such a big Siheyuan, and had an income of over a thousand money each month, that would be one thing—her hometown even brought in another thousand in rent each month.
Altogether, that was over two thousand money a month, a substantial sum here.
So, she had to tell such a little white lie; at least, it would make them feel more comfortable. After all, everyone’s heart is filled with comparisons—comparing studies, looks, family circumstances, even comparing brothers and sisters, and even the family pets are subject to comparison.
She poured hot water for the two girls, asking them to drink, while she went to the kitchen to get busy.
Li Li stood up, "Let me help you."
"Yeah, let’s help you," Mao Xiaomei also stood up, ready to roll up her sleeves to assist.
"There’s no need, I’ll do it myself," Qin Xiangnuan stopped them and smiled, "I bought all the vegetables this morning. I’ll make noodles for you to eat; it’s very simple and will be ready in a moment."