Chapter 565: We Meet Again
Chapter 565: Chapter 565: We Meet Again
Su Qing’s laughter drifted over faintly, and Yarn and Alton naturally heard it.
Alton gently tugged Yarn back, letting them fall a few steps behind the village chief. He whispered to Yarn, "Yarn, I hear there’s a small inn in this village. Why don’t we stay here for a couple of days? It’d be a perfect chance to really check out the village. What do you say?"
Yarn looked at Alton, a little surprised. "Didn’t you say you couldn’t stand staying in villages and wanted to hurry back to the city this afternoon?"
"Heh, I’ve changed my mind," Alton said with a grin. He had filed away the fact that Ye Qingqing mentioned they were students on a trip, staying at the local inn. That’s when he got the idea to stay for a couple of days.
Yarn glanced at Alton, his brow furrowing. "This isn’t about those girls we just saw, is it?"
Alton just smiled, not denying it. "Oh, right, I forgot to ask. Who’s this Miss Susan? Which family is she from? You still haven’t sorted things out with the Walker Family, you know. Angela made it clear she won’t marry anyone but you. If you weren’t trying to dodge Angela, you wouldn’t have volunteered to come all the way out to Hua Country to build a factory."
"Why are you so concerned with my business?" Yarn said, glancing at Alton coolly. Without realizing it, his thoughts returned to the sight of Su Qing’s back. ’It’s just too similar. Now that I think about it, that girl’s back is a perfect match for Miss Susan’s.’
As he thought this, Yarn instinctively turned to look toward Su Qing’s group again, just in time to see her back. A jolt went through him. ’It’s almost identical! I’m not seeing things. Her back is just so unbelievably similar!’
"Hey, what are you looking at?" Alton followed Yarn’s gaze and saw Su Qing and her friends. He raised an eyebrow. "I’ve got to ask, Yarn. Don’t tell me you’ve taken a liking to one of them and just used that ’mistaken identity’ bit as an excuse to chat her up, did you?"
Before Yarn could say a word, Alton shot him a thumbs-up. "Nice move. I never knew you had such good taste, my friend."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Feeling flustered, Yarn shot Alton an impatient glare and quickened his pace to catch up with the village chief.
"Hey, Yarn, not so fast! It’s settled then," Alton said, hurrying to catch up and clap Yarn on the shoulder. "We’re staying in the village tonight."
Yarn: ...
Su Qing and her friends took pictures in the Jasmine Field, then went to an orchard to photograph the apple and pear blossoms. Afterward, Su Qing led the group to a valley near the village where she caught two rabbits and a pheasant and gathered some mushrooms. Instead of returning to the inn, the girls roasted the rabbits and pheasant right there in the valley.
Chen Meizhen bit into a roasted rabbit leg, a look of pure bliss on her face. "Thank goodness we have Su Qing. Otherwise, none of us would have a clue how to catch rabbits and pheasants. Ah, the meat on these little critters is just so delicious."
Sun Xiaowen nodded. "I know, right? Even though I’m from Yun Province and go into the mountains with my family sometimes, I can’t catch any of this stuff. Even my older brother can’t catch these wild rabbits and pheasants without setting traps. They’re all just so ridiculously fast. Su Qing is the incredible one—she can actually hunt with a single small stone."
Su Qing just smiled. "I’m just a little stronger than most, and I was lucky enough to meet an old man who was willing to teach me some basic fighting skills."
This was always Su Qing’s explanation for her skills. After all, Li Wan hadn’t been by her side during those years, and the Old Su Family had been completely indifferent to her. As long as she did her chores, they never paid any attention to what else she did. To them, it was enough that she was alive and able to work.
"My Qingqing is the best," Li Huan said with a proud, smug grin.
"Your Qingqing is our Qingqing now, too," Ye Qingqing said to Li Huan, raising an eyebrow with a smile.
"Qingqing is mine."
"She’s ours, too!"
In no time, the girls were laughing and playfully arguing over who Su Qing belonged to. It had become a running gag in their dorm, room 206. Su Qing just smiled, not interfering. She leisurely tore off a chicken wing and started eating, her mind drifting to her encounter with Yarn.
’I never would have imagined that Yarn would find my back so familiar. This is just... I don’t even know what to say. You can change your face, you can change your voice, but how are you supposed to change the shape of your back? It’s not like I know the Bone Shrinking Technique!’
However, an even bigger surprise was in store for Su Qing.
When Su Qing and her friends returned from the valley, they saw Yarn and his friend, Alton, in the inn’s courtyard.
At that moment, Yarn and Alton were chatting and laughing with Song Yufang in the courtyard. Zhao Xiaohui, however, was nowhere to be seen.
There were ten girls in Su Qing’s class in total. Besides the seven from her dorm room, there were Song Yufang, Zhao Xiaohui, and another girl named Cheng Fang. However, Cheng Fang was sick and had taken leave to recover at home, so she hadn’t joined them on the trip to Qiyun Village.
Seeing Su Qing and her friends return, both Yarn and Alton were delighted. Alton immediately waved them over. "Hey, beautiful ladies, we meet again!"
Liu Juan asked in surprise, "What are you two doing here?"
"We’re staying here, too," Alton said with a grin. He then placed a hand dramatically over his heart. "Oh, beautiful ladies, don’t tell me you’re not happy to have us here?"
Alton’s exaggerated expression made all the girls roll their eyes internally. Chen Meizhen let out a dry laugh. "This is an inn. Of course you can stay here if you want."
In truth, the girls were worried about Ye Qingqing. She had developed a huge crush on Yarn that morning, and they had only just managed to talk her down. They were afraid that if she spent more time around him, those feelings would resurface. After all, Yarn was clearly still hung up on a girl named Susan. Falling for a man like that was a surefire way to get hurt, and they didn’t want to see their good friend go through that.
Song Yufang had been enjoying her conversation with Yarn, but the moment she saw Su Qing’s group enter the courtyard, she faltered. Feeling intimidated by Su Qing, she instantly lost her enthusiasm for chatting, mumbled that she had something to do, and hurried back to her room.
Seeing Song Yufang come back, Zhao Xiaohui asked, puzzled, "Why are you back so soon? I thought you wanted to chat with those two foreigners and practice your English?"
Song Yufang sighed softly and said in an aggrieved tone, "Su Qing and her friends are back. I saw that Mr. Yarn and his friend seem pretty familiar with them. You know about the rift between me and Su Qing and her sister. It felt awkward for me to stay out there, so I came back."
As soon as Zhao Xiaohui heard this, she glanced into the courtyard. Sure enough, she saw Yarn and Alton talking with Su Qing’s group. She immediately grew indignant. "They’re so overbearing! Pushing you out so blatantly like that. Aren’t they afraid of making a fool of themselves in front of the foreigners?"