Chapter 45
After Xu Qiaoqing left, Guan Yuan sat on the bed staring fixedly at Zhao Shenggu. In this life, Zhao Shenggu had handsome features and a tall, slender figure. Although at only fifteen his face inevitably still looked a little boyish, his steady temperament was very appealing to girls. Seeing how Xu Qiaoqing had stared at him on the train without blinking, Guan Yuan felt a fire burning in his heart.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" Zhao Shenggu asked, puzzled, looking at the motionless Guan Yuan.
Guan Yuan pursed his lips. Although he knew Zhao Shenggu had no interest in that girl, he still could not help feeling unhappy. Now, seeing Zhao Shenggu ask, he said listlessly, "Brother, let's not see that Xu Qiao again."
Zhao Shenggu said with amusement, "Her name is Xu Qiaoqing."
"Hmph, you even remember her name so well. Do you have some idea about her?" Guan Yuan crossed his two short arms over his chest, trying hard to look fierce, but in Zhao Shenggu's eyes he looked adorable no matter what.
"What idea? You're just overthinking. Hurry up. I boiled hot water. Let's take a good bath. We still have proper business to handle tomorrow!"
He naturally would not miss the chance to be openly together with Zhao Shenggu. He immediately dropped the little spark in his heart and happily went to bathe with Zhao Shenggu.
The next day, before the two had even gotten out of bed, there was a knock at the door. Guan Yuan pulled the blanket over his head and shrank under it. Zhao Shenggu found it funny, touched his face, and then went to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, Xu Qiaoqing stood outside with a bright smile, carrying a large bag of steamed buns and soy milk.
"I guessed you two hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so I went specially to buy this. Try it and see if you like it." Without waiting for Zhao Shenggu to refuse, Xu Qiaoqing entered the room.
The moment Guan Yuan heard Xu Qiaoqing's voice, he sat bolt upright in bed. Seeing someone he disliked first thing in the morning made his mood even worse.
Zhao Shenggu had wanted to refuse, but he had not expected Xu Qiaoqing to move so fast. He had originally meant to say a few words of thanks to Xu Qiaoqing, but as soon as he saw Guan Yuan awake, he put everything else out of his mind.
He skillfully carried Guan Yuan to the bathroom to wash up.
Leaving Xu Qiaoqing standing outside alone. To be honest, Xu Qiaoqing was very surprised. On the train, she had already noticed that Zhao Shenggu was especially good to his younger brother. Whenever his younger brother made any move, Zhao Shenggu would quickly notice and immediately abandon the people or things around him to focus on his younger brother.
She had not expected him to spoil his younger brother to this extent — at his age, he still carried him to wash up!
After Zhao Shenggu and Guan Yuan finished tidying up and came out, Xu Qiaoqing had already laid out the steamed buns and soy milk. "Come eat quickly, or it'll get cold soon. This shop's steamed buns are an old established brand in Shanghai. They're hard to buy!"
"Sister Qing, thank you. Actually, you didn't need to go to so much trouble." Zhao Shenggu said politely to Xu Qiaoqing.
Hearing Zhao Shenggu call her 'Sister Qing,' Xu Qiaoqing's body visibly stiffened for a moment. Then she pretended to say casually, "Why call me Sister Qing? I'm only seventeen this year. Could you really be younger than me?"
Guan Yuan immediately cut in, "My brother won't even turn fifteen until the twelfth lunar month."
Xu Qiaoqing's mouth fell open in surprise. "You don't look it."
Guan Yuan took the opportunity to say, "Where we're from, men all marry wives younger than themselves." So don't even think about it. Go back wherever you came from.
No matter how cheerful Xu Qiaoqing was, she was still a girl. Hearing what Guan Yuan said, her face turned bright red with embarrassment. After saying a few words, she hurriedly took her leave.
Zhao Shenggu pinched Guan Yuan's nose helplessly. "Mischievous again."
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After Xu Qiaoqing left, Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu ate the steamed buns. After all, it was a kind gesture from someone, and besides, the buns were actually quite tasty.
After breakfast, the two headed out. This time they had no set goal—they just came to look around. The streets were crowded with people, and the sounds of vendors hawking their goods made it lively and bustling.
In his previous life, Guan Yuan had only lived until 1993. Later, as a wandering spirit, he had only seen the modernized city of Shanghai. This city, full of the characteristics of the era and brimming with vitality, was something he had never seen before.
So he and Zhao Shenggu looked at everything around them with the same curiosity.
When they reached a bus stop, many buses were lined up there. On their last trip to Harbin, they hadn't seen buses, so Zhao Shenggu was interested in them and paid the fare to get on.
They found a window seat and sat down. Guan Yuan was busy looking at the scenery on both sides and didn't notice the thoughtful look in Zhao Shenggu's eyes. The bus made almost a full loop around Shanghai, and in the end, the two got off at the same place they had boarded.
Although it was only a short time, Zhao Shenggu had already formed a general impression of Shanghai.
The two wandered around casually and discovered a large shopping mall not far away. Zhao Shenggu and Guan Yuan walked in with great interest. Once inside, they realized the mall was truly huge, with each section separated from the others.
The household section sold daily necessities. The cosmetics section and the ready-made clothing section were both surrounded by many "trendy" people.
Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu also went over to take a look. Guan Yuan noticed that the fabric of these clothes was still the same as before, but the styles had been updated somewhat. The most obvious change was that women's clothing had cinched waists and more structured shoulders. Wearing them made a woman's curves stand out more.
Besides that, the hottest-selling item was a kind of fake collar.
A fake collar was basically an imitation shirt—it had a collar on top, but the fabric below only reached the shoulders. Wearing this fake collar under a sweater made it look like a proper shirt was underneath.
Guan Yuan was amazed. The people of Shanghai were just too clever.
Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu also went to look at the cosmetics section. Face powder, vanishing cream, rouge, and hair oil were all laid out in a row on the counter. The packaging wasn't very fancy, but it had a strong flavor of the times.
The two walked around the mall one more time, getting a general understanding, and then left.
By the time they came out, it was already noon. Zhao Shenggu took Guan Yuan to eat.
They entered a restaurant that looked fairly busy. Soon someone came up to greet them politely, speaking Shanghainese first. Seeing that Zhao Shenggu and Guan Yuan didn't understand, the person quickly switched to Mandarin and apologized, then recommended a few of the restaurant's specialty dishes.
After the waiter walked away, Zhao Shenggu said to Guan Yuan, "Look at their attitude. None of those big restaurants in Harbin can compare."
Guan Yuan said, "Those in Harbin are all state-owned. They're used to acting high and mighty. It'll take a while for them to lower their attitude. I bet this restaurant is privately owned. Competition drives progress."
They hadn't talked for long before the dishes arrived.
Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu tasted them and both felt the flavors were too bland, and there was always a hint of sweetness. How could two northeastern men get used to that?
In the end, they took a few hurried bites and put down their chopsticks.
A manager in the dining hall saw that they had left so much food and quickly came over, asking politely, "Gentlemen, is the food not to your taste?"
Zhao Shenggu smiled. "We're from Harbin. We like strong flavors. It's just a matter of habit. Your food is still very good."
Hearing this, the manager breathed a sigh of relief. "Even if it's just a matter of habit, we still didn't take good care of you. To show our apology, we'll give you a 20% discount on this meal."
Zhao Shenggu and Guan Yuan didn't care about the money at all. "No need. It's just that my younger brother is still hungry. Could we borrow your kitchen? If you're busy, never mind."
Guan Yuan tugged at Zhao Shenggu. "Brother, no need." There were snacks in the space. At worst, they could eat some fruit to get through these few days.
But Zhao Shenggu disagreed. How could they keep eating like this for several days?
When the manager heard Zhao Shenggu's request, he looked at him in confusion. Zhao Shenggu quickly said, "I'll cook it myself. Don't worry, we'll pay."
Only then did the manager realize he had misunderstood. "No, it's not about money. Our kitchen is big enough, and there's an empty stove right now. Please follow me."
Zhao Shenggu and Guan Yuan followed the manager to the kitchen.
Since it was a restaurant, the facilities were complete. Before long, Zhao Shenggu had made three dishes and a soup. When the food was brought to the table, the other diners smelled the rich aroma and asked the manager if the restaurant had come out with new dishes and whether they could order them too. The manager had to explain quite a bit before calming those customers down.
When Zhao Shenggu and Guan Yuan were about to leave, the manager told them the restaurant was hiring a head chef and hoped Zhao Shenggu would take the job. But he also knew the chances were slim—after all, someone who could spend ten or so yuan on a single meal wouldn't think much of that kind of salary.
Zhao Shenggu naturally refused politely. "I'm from the north. My cooking tastes different from southerners'. Besides, I can only make a few dishes for my family. I can't do anything more than that."
After eating their fill, Guan Yuan started feeling sleepy. Seeing that he wanted to sleep, Zhao Shenggu decided not to keep shopping. They would go back and rest first.
But by the time they got back, Guan Yuan wasn't sleepy at all. Why? Because the person standing in front of their door waiting was none other than Xu Qiaoqing!
"Shenggu, since I'm older than you, I'll call you that." Xu Qiaoqing smiled at Zhao Shenggu.
Zhao Shenggu paused mid-step. Although he was only fifteen, there were plenty of people in the village who married at fifteen or sixteen. And because he could earn money, people had already been asking about him openly and secretly. So he wasn't oblivious to Xu Qiaoqing's intentions. To be honest, he did appreciate a straightforward girl like Xu Qiaoqing, but not in that way. More importantly, being around Xu Qiaoqing would make Guan Yuan unhappy. That alone made it impossible for Zhao Shenggu to continue any contact with Xu Qiaoqing.
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