Chapter 564: A Stirring of the Heart
Chapter 564: Chapter 564: A Stirring of the Heart
"Miss Susan!"
An excited voice called out from behind Su Qing and her friends.
Hearing this, Su Qing’s expression darkened slightly. That name, and that familiar voice... she knew instantly who was behind them.
She sighed internally. ’What a small world. I thought he was just a passing stranger on the cruise ship, but now I’m running into him again and again in Beijing.’
"Excuse me, I think you have the wrong person. There’s no one named Susan here," Li Huan and the others said politely as they turned to look at the young, blond-haired, blue-eyed foreign man behind them.
This young foreign man was none other than Yarn, who had stayed in the cabin next to Su Qing’s on the Jixiang.
Yarn felt a pang of disappointment when he saw Su Qing turn her head. This young woman wasn’t Susan. Her back looked just like hers, but her face was completely different.
Yarn sighed softly, feeling dejected. Perhaps his eyes had been playing tricks on him. For a moment, he’d thought the girl’s back was identical to Susan’s. Lately, Susan’s face and figure had been appearing constantly in his dreams. He knew he had fallen in love with the woman named Susan, but after they parted ways on the cruise, they hadn’t exchanged contact information. Even if he wanted to find her, he had no idea where to start looking.
Just now, when he saw this girl from behind, he was in a daze and truly believed he had seen Susan. Her back was just so similar—it looked exactly like Susan’s!
"My apologies, I mistook you for someone else," Yarn said apologetically.
"Your Mandarin is excellent," Ye Qingqing said with a smile, hearing his fluent Mandarin.
Yarn smiled. "I’m very fond of Hua Country’s culture, so I studied Mandarin. It’s actually not that fluent, but thank you for the compliment."
Yarn’s Mandarin carried a slight Xiangcheng accent, but for a foreigner these days, his proficiency was already considered quite high.
"It’s very good," Ye Qingqing said with a smile. She had a very good impression of this polite foreign man.
Yarn, out of politeness, smiled and nodded at Ye Qingqing. Ye Qingqing’s eyes lit up, and her own smile grew even more brilliant.
Yarn didn’t notice the change in Ye Qingqing’s expression. He looked at Su Qing and apologized again. "I’m sorry. I saw you from behind and thought you were a friend of mine. I apologize for bothering you."
Su Qing shook her head. "It’s all right."
Hearing Su Qing’s voice made Yarn even more disappointed. Her voice was different from Miss Susan’s, too. ’They really are two different people. How could I have been so mistaken just now?’
"Oh, Yarn, do you know these pretty ladies? Are they your friends? Introduce us!" Just then, Yarn’s friend walked over, draping an arm over Yarn’s shoulder with a brilliant smile. He looked at Su Qing and her friends, and his eyes lit up the moment he saw Su Qing. ’What a beautiful girl.’
Yarn quickly said, "I mistook them for someone else. I don’t know these young women."
"You were mistaken?" Yarn’s friend was a little surprised, then he smiled. "There’s a saying in Hua Country: ’To meet is to be fated.’ Even if it was a case of mistaken identity, it still means we were destined to meet. Why don’t we get to know each other?"
With that, Yarn’s friend smiled at Su Qing and the others. "Beautiful ladies, my name is Alton, and this is my friend, Yarn. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Might I have the honor of knowing your names?"
Ye Qingqing smiled and said, "A pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Yan, Mr. Alton."
Then, Ye Qingqing introduced her roommates to Alton.
Just then, the village chief came over and said to Yarn and Alton with a smile, "Gentlemen, this Jasmine Field is very large. Would you two like to continue looking around?"
The village chief was very welcoming to Yarn and his friend. The two foreigners had been referred by the tea factory and were very likely to establish a long-term partnership with the village. If they could secure a collaboration, it would be extremely beneficial for the village. After all, besides the Jasmine Field, they also had orchards, various mountain products, and nearly every household had weaving skills. If managed well, all of these could be turned into profit.
And today, these two young men were here to inspect the village for that very reason.
Seeing this, Su Qing said, "You two seem to have business to attend to, so we won’t disturb you any longer."
"That’s right," Chen Meizhen added. "You go ahead and take care of your work."
With that, the group moved to another spot to continue taking photos and admiring the flowers, dragging along a reluctant Ye Qingqing.
Once they were a good distance away, Chen Meizhen said to Ye Qingqing, "Qingqing, something’s up with you. You were smiling way too brightly at that foreigner, Yarn."
"Huh? Was I?" Ye Qingqing blushed. ’Was it that obvious?’
"Yes!" Su Qing and the others all nodded, looking at Ye Qingqing.
Ye Qingqing couldn’t help but touch her cheek, then she smiled. "I think... I might really like that guy, Yarn."
Ye Qingqing wasn’t the type to be shy or coy, and she was with her best friends, so she didn’t hide her feelings.
"What? Qingqing, don’t tell me it was love at first sight with that guy?" Sun Xiaowen’s eyes widened as she stared at Ye Qingqing in astonishment.
Ye Qingqing blinked a few times and nodded. "I think so."
Liu Juan put a hand to her forehead. "Qingqing, you just met him for the first time! You only know his name. How can you fall in love at first sight?"
"Yeah," Li Huan agreed, also finding it incredible.
Ye Qingqing laughed. "You can’t predict matters of the heart. Some people can grow up together and never develop feelings, while others meet just once and can never forget them."
Niu Wenying, who was usually quiet and rarely expressed her opinion when with her friends, spoke up with some disapproval. "Qingqing, I don’t think this is a good idea. Didn’t you hear him? That young man, Yarn, approached us because he mistook one of us for another girl. Think about it—what does it say about a man who remembers a girl’s back so clearly?"
Su Qing nodded as well. "Wenying has a point."
At the same time, Su Qing was grinding her teeth in frustration. ’I absolutely, one hundred percent, do not want to get involved with this Yarn guy!’
Ye Qingqing fell silent for a moment, then sighed. "You guys are right. If he hadn’t mistaken Su Qing’s back for someone else’s, he never would have approached us."
She sighed again. "It’s over, it’s over. Is my first-ever crush going to end in a Waterloo?"
Chen Meizhen laughed. "You just fell for his looks."
Ye Qingqing yelped, instantly casting her sorrow aside. She started chasing Chen Meizhen to tickle her. "Oh, so you’re making fun of me, are you?"
"Ahh, that tickles! Help me!"
For a moment, Ye Qingqing chased and Chen Meizhen dodged, laughing and playing around their friends. Their laughter carried far into the distance.