"Big Brother Qin, thank you so much for your help when I was in trouble," An Hao said gratefully. She sent two hundred yuan, and although she didn’t say it, An Hao felt that he must know she needed capital for her business, so he specially gave her a bit more money.
"Is it enough?" Qin Jian asked, looking down at An Hao who was just as tall as his shoulder.
"It’s more than enough. I made quite a lot of money with it. I’ll pay you back in a moment," An Hao hastily said.
"No need." He had given the money to An Hao and had no intention of taking it back.
"But how can that be? I must repay you. I can’t take such a large sum of money from you. Besides, it’s not easy for you to earn money either..."
Qin Jian’s brow furrowed slightly. He hadn’t lent her the money to make her feel indebted or to make her anxious about repaying him.
He had just wanted to help her get through the immediate difficulty.
To make her life a little less hard, to give her more time to focus on her studies.
But An Hao did not see the expression on Qin Jian’s face and continued to express her gratitude: "Thanks to your money I was able to get through the tough times, Big Brother Qin, I’m very grateful to you. You truly provided help during my time of need..."
As she kept talking, she suddenly noticed that Qin Jian’s pace had quickened, putting some distance between them.
For some reason, watching his back, An Hao suddenly had a strange illusion.
Is this... anger? Or what...
An Hao followed behind Qin Jian all the way, jogging to the well.
It had just rained, and the stones around the well were very slippery. Just as An Hao carefully stepped onto the well platform, Qin Jian stopped her: "Wait for me under the tree, it’s too slippery here."
Hearing him say this, An Hao felt she couldn’t be of much help. She turned around to leave when her foot slipped, and she began to fall backward.
"Be careful." Qin Jian quickly supported the windlass with one hand and firmly caught An Hao’s wrist with the other, just barely preventing her from falling over and hitting the stone slabs.
After struggling for a few seconds, she steadied herself, her heart pounding wildly, and her face turned slightly pale: "That was close."
When he saw she was steady, Qin Jian let go of her wrist. That slippery feeling was like... like a shelled egg.
He thought to himself quietly, turned back around, and continued drawing water as if nothing had happened.
On the way back, Qin Jian didn’t talk much, and An Hao kept quiet too.
For a moment, she was a bit confused, not able to understand this guy’s mood.
When they reached her house, An Hao stopped and turned to Qin Jian, "I can carry it back myself."
After all, there were many gossips in the village, and if someone carelessly saw them, who knows what they might make up about the two of them?
The tongue, indeed, can kill, and spit can drown. There’s a reason behind those sayings.
Qin Jian paused in his steps, looked around and saw no one, insisting on carrying the water home for her.
An Hao composed her thoughts and then blocked Qin Jian’s way: "Big Brother Qin, maybe you shouldn’t go in. I’m afraid of what the villagers might say..."
"Talk nonsense?" Qin Jian looked down at her, his lips curved slightly, "What is there to fear? Isn’t it just neighbors helping each other out? Mutual support, who can find fault with that?"
Qin Jian insisted on pouring the water into her tank. Everyone in her house was still not awake, he silently put down the shoulder pole, and then walked out.
"Big Brother Qin..." An Hao quickly grabbed his sleeve, lowered her voice, and said, "Wait a moment."