Everyone's been reborn, so who would bother finding a wife on their own?

Chapter 123 Awkwardness

The area before evening self-study is the liveliest time at the school gate.

Street vendors lined the sidewalk, selling fried noodles, pancakes, and fried skewers. The smoky aromas mingled together, making it hard to walk away.

Students were squatting by the roadside in twos and threes eating, while some were running into the school with bags in their hands, only to be stopped by the teachers on duty who checked their bags before letting them go.

Xiao Yunqing pulled Song Huan around the stalls.

She wanted to buy everything she saw, with a bag of fried noodles in her left hand, a bag of fried chicken strips in her right, and she even had Song Huan carry a serving of fried tofu.

Now I'm standing in front of the fried rice noodle sausage stall, staring at the sizzling sausage in the pot, my eyes shining.

That's enough.

Song Huan looked at the three or four bags in her hands, her head aching. "Lu Xu is on duty today, I don't want to get arrested."

Xiao Yunqing pouted, "Okay, okay."

Their eyes were still glued to the pot.

The woman selling rice starch sausage was middle-aged, wearing an apron and a mask, and using tongs to turn the sausage inside out.

Hearing them mention the name Lu Xu, which sounded familiar, I looked up and asked:

"Are you from Class 4 of the second year of high school?"

The two exchanged a glance.

Although Xiao Yunqing found it strange, she nodded, "Yes, Auntie, we are in Class Four."

The aunt's eyes crinkled slightly, and she pushed her mask up, so she must have been smiling.

My son is also in Class 4.

Xiao Yunqing was somewhat surprised and took half a step forward. "What's your son's name?"

When her son was mentioned, the aunt straightened her back a little.

After all, which child who gets into the top high school isn't the pride of their family?

"His name is Chen Xu, and he's very tall. But you probably don't know him; he's not very talkative."

What a coincidence! No, it's not.

Xiao Yunqing turned around and glanced at Song Huan, then smiled.

"Auntie, we know him. We were classmates before we were separated into different classes."

She pointed to Song Huan, "He also often plays ball with Chen Xu."

Song Huan took half a step forward and nodded.

Hello, Auntie.

The auntie pushed her mask up a little more, making her eyes squint into slits.

She took the two sausages out of the pot, put them in a bag, and handed it to her.

"Really? That's so lucky! Here, take this, Auntie will treat you."

Xiao Yunqing quickly waved her hand, "No need, no need, Auntie, we'll buy it ourselves."

"Take it, take it." The aunt stuffed the bag into her hands. "You're friends with Chen Xu, so don't be so polite."

Xiao Yunqing quickly took out some money from his pocket and stuffed it into her hand.

The aunt dodged, and the money fell to the ground. She bent down, picked it up, and stuffed it back into Xiao Yunqing's pocket.

"Stop giving it to me, stop giving it to me, or you'll make Auntie angry."

Xiao Yunqing was about to take another bite when the aunt turned around to greet other students.

She stood there, clutching the bag of starch sausage, looking somewhat bewildered.

Song Huan tugged at her sleeve, "Let's go, we're going to be late."

The two walked towards the school gate.

The teacher on duty stood at the door. Song Huan had already hidden the things she bought in her schoolbag. When the teacher saw that they were empty-handed, she waved and let them pass.

After entering the school, Xiao Yunqing couldn't wait to take out the starch sausage from Song Huan's schoolbag, took a bite, and found that the outer skin was crispy, the inside was tender, and the spices were sprinkled just right.

"Chen Xu's mother's cooking is quite delicious." She took another bite and said indistinctly.

Song Huan also took one, took a bite, and nodded.

"It really tastes good."

When they returned to the classroom, Zhao Qihang and Chen Xu were sitting and chatting.

Zhao Qihang gestured and explained how the ball should have been passed that afternoon. Chen Xu listened and nodded occasionally.

Song Huan and Xiao Yunqing entered through the front door and greeted each other.

Xiao Yunqing held up the starch sausage in her hand and walked up to Chen Xu.

"Chen Xu, is that your mom selling rice noodle rolls at the school gate?" She took a bite. "Why didn't you say so sooner? If you had, we would have gone to support her business."

Chen Xu's smile froze for a moment.

It was very short, like someone had pressed the pause button and then resumed.

But he didn't speak, his head was down, and his finger paused on the table.

Zhao Qihang was stunned, then turned to look at Xiao Yunqing, "Is his mother the one who sells rice noodle rolls?"

Xiao Yunqing didn't notice Chen Xu's expression and nodded, "Yes, Song Huan and I got our sausages from Auntie. Auntie is a very kind person."

Zhao Qihang patted Chen Xu on the shoulder with considerable force and a loud sound.

"Damn it, Chen Xu, you're so unfair!" He spoke loudly, his voice echoing throughout half the classroom. "You won't even say anything? No way, you have to pay me back a few skewers."

Chen Xu forced a smile, his lips twitching slightly.

"Okay, I'll bring it to you tomorrow."

Before Xiao Yunqing could say anything more, Song Huan grabbed her sleeve and pulled her away.

She was pulled to a seat, still holding the rice noodle sausage in her hand.

Why are you pulling me?

Song Huan sat down and lowered her voice.

"Stop talking, Chen Xu isn't happy."

Xiao Yunqing paused for a moment and glanced at Chen Xu.

He was looking down when Zhao Qihang said something beside him. He nodded gently, as if afraid that if he used too much force, it would break.

She turned back and frowned.

Why?

Zhou Shan turned around from the front row, lowering her voice.

"Perhaps he felt his mother's job was not respectable."

Song Huan didn't speak, but nodded.

Xiao Yunqing stared blankly at Chen Xu, who was forcing a smile and talking to Zhao Qihang beside her. For some reason, she felt uneasy.

……

When evening self-study ended, half of the lights in the corridor were already off.

Xiao Yunqing asked three questions, and Song Huan explained them four times. By the time Xiao Yunqing finally nodded, the entire floor was empty.

The two walked out, their footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.

The streetlights at the school gate were still on, illuminating the empty sidewalk.

Xiao Yunqing was still muttering about the problem, "No matter how I substitute the formula you mentioned, it doesn't work..."

Song Huan stopped.

"Don't speak."

Xiao Yunqing was stunned for a moment, then followed his gaze.

Across the street, the tricycle was still parked under the streetlight.

The iron pot has been put away, the stove has been wiped clean, and the oil shines brightly under the light.

Two people stood beside the car, one tall and one short.

The shorter one was wearing an apron, holding a pair of tongs in his hand, and looking down.

The taller one stood opposite, carrying a backpack, his shoulders tense.

It was Chen Xu and his mother.

"I told you not to sell things near the school gate!" Chen Xu's voice wasn't loud, but it was clearly heard on the empty street. "Do you know what my classmates think of me?"

The aunt didn't say anything, but placed the tongs on the stove very gently.

"It's not like I'm stopping you from doing business." Chen Xu's voice trembled slightly, like a tightly strung bow. "Can't you sell somewhere else? Why do you have to come to the school gate?"

The woman looked up; her apron was stained with oil, reflecting the light under the streetlight.

"Mom knows, she won't come anymore."

Her voice was flat, as if she were talking about something very ordinary.

After saying that, he bent down, picked up the plastic bag from the ground, and put it into the bicycle basket, moving very slowly.

Chen Xu stood there, gripping the strap of his schoolbag tightly.

His mouth moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't.

He turned and walked away quickly, his schoolbag bouncing on his back, disappearing into the alley.

The aunt stood next to the tricycle, watching the direction he went, and stood there for a while.

Then I hung up the clips, put the pot lid on, and pushed the cart away.

The tricycle creaked and groaned as its tires rolled over the ground, the sound fading into the distance.

Xiao Yunqing stood across the street, her hands clenched into fists.

"Auntie is so kind!" Her voice trembled. "Why does he...?"

She took a step forward.

Song Huan grabbed her wrist.

Don't go.

Xiao Yunqing turned to look at him, her eyes reddening, "But he..."

"That's their family matter," Song Huan said softly. "If you go over there now, Chen Xu will be even more embarrassed."

"But what he did was wrong!"

"He knows," Song Huan said, looking at her. "He knows it's wrong."

Xiao Yunqing was stunned for a moment.

Song Huan released his hand and put it back in his pocket.

"But some things, you know are wrong, and it's no use having others tell you; you have to figure it out yourself."

Xiao Yunqing stood there, looking across the street.

The streetlights were empty, the tricycle was gone, and only a small patch of water remained on the ground, glistening under the lights.

She didn't say anything.

The next day, that spot at the school gate was empty.

The third day was still empty.

The fourth day, the fifth day, a week passed, and the tricycle never appeared again.

Every time Xiao Yunqing passed by, she would glance in that direction, then turn back and continue walking.

On Friday evening, she took Song Huan for a walk around the neighborhood. They found it on a street a few hundred meters away.

There weren't many people on that street; half the shops were closed, and two of the streetlights were broken, making it dark and gloomy.

The tricycle was parked by the roadside, the stove was clean and tidy, and there were a few sausages in the pot, fried and left to dry, but no one was buying them.

The aunt sat on a small stool next to me, her head down, seemingly lost in thought.

Xiao Yunqing pulled Song Huan over.

"Auntie, two sticks, please."

The aunt looked up, paused for a moment when she saw it was the two of them, and then smiled.

Squeeze the mask up and squint your eyes.

"It's you guys."

She stood up, took two sausages from the pot, put them in a bag, and handed it over.

They moved quickly, as if afraid they would escape.

"Is Chen Xu a good student at school? Are his grades good?" she asked, looking at Xiao Yunqing intently.

Xiao Yunqing opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Song Huan took it and said, "That's good. You pay attention in class and hand in all your assignments."

The aunt smiled even more broadly, "That's good, that's good."

Xiao Yunqing took out some money from her pocket and stuffed it into the aunt's hand.

The auntie dodged slightly, saying, "It's free, it's free, Auntie will treat you."

Xiao Yunqing didn't say anything, threw the money on the stall, and ran off with Song Huan.

He ran more than ten meters before stopping, panting.

Two people stood by the roadside, biting into starch sausages in their hands.

Xiao Yunqing took a bite, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.

"Chen Xuzhen is a scoundrel."

Song Huan didn't say anything and ate slowly.

"Auntie is such a good person, why did he treat her like that?"

Song Huan stuffed the last bite into her mouth and threw the bamboo skewer into the trash can.

"He didn't want to either."

Xiao Yunqing turned to look at him.

"He's suffering more than anyone else," Song Huan said, "but he doesn't know what to do."

Xiao Yunqing didn't speak, looking down at the half-eaten sausage in her hand.

"Face is something that no guy can ignore," Song Huan said, hands in her pockets, looking at the empty street ahead.

Xiao Yunqing raised her head and looked at him.

The streetlight shone from behind him, casting a long shadow on the ground.

Song Huan's face was expressionless; she just stood there, looking ahead.

She suddenly remembered that night when Chen Xu stood across the street, gripping the strap of his schoolbag, his shoulders tense.

Perhaps he was also feeling very sad.

……

The data has been dropping very quickly lately. I hope everyone can give me more 5-star reviews and urge me to update more often, otherwise this book will really be doomed. *crying*

I'm adding an extra chapter tonight as a bonus. I hope you'll give it a five-star review and urge me to make it even better. Your support is really important for promoting the work.

A small step for the reader is a giant leap for the author!