Not only Lu Yuyao—Jiang Ling also found it unbelievable.
She blinked while watching Xiao Tongqi continue to whisper in the woman’s ear.
‘Is Lotus City really this small?’
It was small enough that she would actually run into Xiao Tongqi in New Village.
Fortunately, the owner of this wooden house was Xiao Tongqi’s aunt.
Otherwise, if the situation had escalated, she might have gone to complain to Dong Hui, which would have been even more embarrassing for the two of them.
Seeing that they were classmates and noting that Jiang Ling and Lu Yuyao had good attitudes about admitting their mistake, the woman stopped pursuing the matter.
However, she still grumbled for them to be careful.
Jiang Ling also learned from Xiao Tongqi that the woman’s name was Xiao Tao.
Jiang Ling couldn’t help but feel surprised.
Xiao Tao… the name was very sweet, but the person seemed quite serious.
Seeing her surprised expression, Xiao Tongqi guessed what she was thinking and laughed.
She then lowered her voice and whispered in Jiang Ling’s ear, “Right? I also think my aunt has a fiery temper, but she doesn’t even notice it herself.”
Xiao Tao didn’t hear their whispering.
She hung the rope back onto the wooden stake, tying it even tighter this time with a dead knot.
Lu Yuyao stood to the side, listening to the two of them whisper.
Watching Xiao Tongqi’s hand draped over Jiang Ling’s shoulder, her eyes flickered.
She felt that the relationship between Xiao Tongqi and Jiang Ling seemed unusual.
“What are you standing around for? Come inside and sit for a while.”
After securing the small boat, Xiao Tao turned and saw the three of them still standing on the shore.
She looked at Xiao Tongqi and tossed her the keys, signaling for her to open the door to the wooden house.
“By the way, so you guys are from New Village.”
After Xiao Tongqi opened the door and entered, Jiang Ling and Lu Yuyao followed out of curiosity, looking around the room.
Xiao Tongqi looked at Lu Yuyao and asked with a smile, “I haven’t asked yet, what’s your sister’s name?”
Before Jiang Ling could speak, Lu Yuyao beat her to it.
“Lu Yuyao. I’m her cousin.”
Jiang Ling looked at Lu Yuyao, but Lu Yuyao turned her head away with a soft huff.
Jiang Ling scratched her head, surprised that Lu Yuyao had explained herself so quickly this time.
The layout of the wooden house was simple, with almost nothing inside.
Aside from a bed, there was only a table in the middle and a few chairs.
Xiao Tongqi turned on the light, and the room instantly brightened up significantly.
Jiang Ling had assumed the wooden house didn’t have electricity.
“Have a seat. I’ll pour you some water.”
“So, you’re the cousin.”
Xiao Tongqi signaled for the two of them to sit down.
She went to the water dispenser inside to fill two cups with warm water, handed them over, and then sat down next to Jiang Ling.
“I haven’t heard you mention it before. Which part of New Village is your house in?”
Jiang Ling looked at Lu Yuyao, feeling it was better for Lu Yuyao to explain this kind of thing.
Since Lu Yuyao was familiar with the area, she soon began chatting with Xiao Tongqi.
Jiang Ling couldn’t contribute much to the conversation, so she just held her teacup and took small sips, listening to the two of them talk about the history of New Village.
It turned out that Xiao Tongqi and her aunt weren’t originally from New Village.
They were from the neighboring Xiao Village.
Xiao Village, as the name implied, was mostly populated by people with the surname Xiao.
This pond and the wooden house had been contracted by their family a long time ago.
After returning home, Xiao Tongqi had wanted to visit the pond, only to run into Lu Yuyao and Jiang Ling.
Xiao Tongqi also learned from their conversation that Lu Yuyao was the granddaughter of Dong Hui and Lu Linzhou.
Her mouth dropped open in shock, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at Lu Yuyao.
The Legendary Figure that the elders in her family constantly mentioned was actually her classmate’s cousin’s grandfather?
However, Xiao Tongqi didn’t know much about the legendary deeds of Lu Linzhou that the elders spoke of.
She only asked excitedly, “Then your family must be very rich, right? Can I…”
Before she could finish, Xiao Tao, who had finished her work and come inside, landed a punch on the top of Xiao Tongqi’s head.
She spoke with a tone of disappointment, “What nonsense are you talking about now? That’s no way to carry on a conversation.”
“I’m sorry, my niece is just like this. She’s missing a few brain cells.”
“How can you say that about your own niece?”
Xiao Tongqi protested, clutching her head with a resentful look in her eyes.
Xiao Tao smiled apologetically at the two of them.
Lu Yuyao waved her hand to show it was fine.
She had realized that Xiao Tongqi was simply a “funny girl” type and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiao Tao had also overheard their conversation.
Knowing that Lu Yuyao was the granddaughter of the Lu Family, her tone carried a bit more respect.
Lu Linzhou had a huge influence in this area; it could be said that he was the person who changed the fate of New Village and the surrounding villages.
In this area, whenever Lu Linzhou was mentioned, people usually spoke of him with praise.
“Next time if you want to go rowing, remember to let us know. Let Qiqi watch over you. She’s a good swimmer and can help if anything happens.”
Xiao Tao patted Xiao Tongqi’s head again, her tone affirming Xiao Tongqi’s swimming skills.
It seemed Xiao Tao didn’t really mind them using the boat; she was just worried about their safety.
Jiang Ling instinctively looked at Xiao Tongqi, but she didn’t see any resentment at being treated like a tool.
Instead, her face was full of pride.
Jiang Ling’s lips twitched as she smiled and agreed, wondering just how good Xiao Tongqi’s swimming had to be for Xiao Tao to be so confident.
As they chatted, the topic was somehow steered toward their school.
Xiao Tao seemed very interested in Xiao Tongqi’s performance at school and kept asking questions.
However, her expression was mischievous.
Looking at Xiao Tongqi, who was nervously blinking at her, Jiang Ling felt that if she told the truth, Xiao Tongqi would receive quite a few “rewards” when she got home.
Lu Yuyao also learned a lot about Jiang Ling’s life in class.
Her beautiful eyes flickered, appearing very interested.
For example, The Rumor…
Although Lu Yuyao had known about it for a long time, she still couldn’t stop laughing when Xiao Tongqi described Jiang Ling’s reaction when she first heard it.
“What rumor?”
Xiao Tao had just answered a phone call.
When she returned, she saw Lu Yuyao covering her mouth and giggling.
Having only heard the words “The Rumor,” she asked curiously.
Jiang Ling coughed twice, finally stopping Xiao Tongqi from continuing.
She then changed the subject.
It was better not to discuss such things in front of an elder.
***
In Hang City, inside Fang Chenxi’s bedroom.
Sunlight spilled into the room, turning everything golden and draping a layer of golden gauze over Fang Chenxi herself.
Fang Chenxi sat at her vanity.
The girl in the mirror had skin like cream and bright eyes with white teeth.
Even with simple styling, she was excessively beautiful, yet there was a sense of confusion in her eyes.
Fang Chenxi sighed and turned her head, no longer staring at her reflection.
She moved to the window instead.
The sunlight outside was particularly dazzling.
Her dark brows furrowed slightly as she pulled the sheer curtain halfway across to feel more comfortable.
She had a dinner party later that her parents had strongly insisted she attend, which was why she had rushed back to Hang City this morning.
Fang Chenxi put some effort into her appearance to avoid “losing face” for them.
At this time in her past life, she had stubbornly refused this dinner and accompanied Lu Yuyao back to New Village.
While in New Village, Jiang Ling had caused no small amount of trouble for her.
For instance, Jiang Ling had tried to secretly push her into the pond and other such wicked things, all of which she had secretly neutralized.
In fact, she had turned the tables and thrown Jiang Ling into the pond instead, leaving her looking like a drowned rat, utterly pathetic.
At that time, her relationship with Lu Yuyao was gradually warming up…
‘at least, that was how it seemed to her.’
Unlike before, Fang Chenxi had realized something.
In her past life, her relationship with her parents was extremely strained, and she was always acting against them.
If she compromised just a little and let her parents understand her changes, would they change their attitude toward her?
Fang Chenxi wasn’t sure, but in this life, there weren’t as many constraints.
She felt she could give it a try.