The male classmate still clamored, "You didn’t refuse the things I gave you, doesn’t that mean you’re considering dating me?"
The female classmate directly denied it, saying no.
She was just too embarrassed to refuse.
And so the male classmate misunderstood.
Du Ruo nodded slightly, this issue indeed needed to be thought through carefully.
In the past, upon encountering Comrade Fang, it was just a greeting and nothing more, without paying much attention to the effect on him, just that he looked refined, so why hadn’t he pursued his studies?
But since having surgery and staying in the hospital, things seemed to have changed.
She felt his attentiveness towards her.
Yet to really consider letting him become her boyfriend, she hadn’t actually given it much thought until now.
It was just that being alone in the hospital made her wish for someone to care for and be concerned about her.
At that time, she truly felt a bit lonely.
Seeing that Du Ruo seemed to be seriously considering the matter, Tian Li spoke up, "If you think there aren’t many candidates, you could find out more about him. It’s not so easy to find a good man. Like my cousin’s husband, initially, he went through a matchmaker to propose marriage, even guaranteeing that he would be good to my cousin, but his true colors showed just three months after the wedding."
Originally after the restoration of the college entrance examinations, my cousin had planned to participate.
But it was because her mother-in-law said, "You’re a mother; why would you participate in the college entrance exams? Do you think you can pass?"
Her husband also persuaded her, saying that they already had jobs and a child, so there was no need to dream of taking the exams. He said after all these years since graduating from high school, trying to study now would be futile.
As a result, one of her high school classmates, who had worse grades, worked hard and got admitted to a local university.
The very first group to graduate from college were about to finish their studies, and once they left school, they were assigned to various factories and units, where they could become junior leaders.
Comrade Fang might be older than them, but he didn’t give up on making progress and went on to night school.
It couldn’t compare to the universities they attended, but at least he had the will to improve.
He was not content with stagnation.
Shocked, Du Ruo asked, "Why didn’t your cousin go to college?"
Tian Li shrugged as she explained, "Because her husband was afraid she’d leave him if she got into college, worried that once she was a college student, she might look down on him."
Du Ruo had assumed it was a familial situation.
"Sister Yun and her partner are different; they are making progress together. It’s only selfish people who try to hold back their other half."
When Tian Li mentioned Yun Xiaoxiao, Du Ruo felt she had more to say, "My Sister Yun and her husband truly have a great relationship, but it’s mutual, not one-sided."
The next day, Du Ruo returned the insulated food container to the Courtyard House.
Grandma Fang, of course, wanted to keep her for a while longer.
"Xiao Du, stay for a meal. Shitou has bought lamb, and we’re having lamb today. It’s good to eat lamb in winter."
Du Ruo wanted to leave.
But she was held back by Mrs. Zhao.
"Stay and eat with us. After dinner, Xiao Yang can take you back to school. The winter in Capital City is truly too cold; some lamb will warm you up."
How many meals had she eaten here?
She was almost too embarrassed to come over anymore.
"We’ve stewed a big pot of lamb; it’s been simmering in the pot for quite a while now," Little Aunt Zhao was also there.
At her nephew’s place, they basically had meat every day.
The daughter-in-law had even suggested they stew meat for lunch as well.
In the village, they would only get to enjoy meat during the holidays.