The Kindhearted Girl Gets a Wife 39

Chapter 39

Her legs hadn’t felt much while she was squatting, but when she suddenly stood up, she felt her tailbone go soft. Pei Yunle supported herself on the muddy stone steps, her whole body like a freshly cooked noodle.

Chen Qingtang was walking on the main road, crowded with people. Pei Yunle couldn’t even squeeze through, let alone catch up.

Pei Yunle looked up and saw that Chen Qingtang would reach the next corner. She darted to a small stall on the side, followed the stone steps under the eaves, and entered a small path.

Chen Qingtang was carrying a not-so-light bag of vegetables and meat when a dark shadow suddenly fell from the sky, startling her into standing still.

Pei Yunle jumped down from a high platform on the side. Her calves were shocked by the hard surface, and her whole body trembled involuntarily.

She had almost jogged to catch up to Chen Qingtang. Before she could catch her breath, she was already panting.

“You—” Pei Yunle’s chest heaved. Then she waved her hand and bent over. “No, wait for me to catch my breath first.”

Chen Qingtang: …

But Chen Qingtang didn’t wait. She turned on her heel and was about to walk past her.

Seeing this, Pei Yunle’s heart stopped beating, and she stopped panting. She straightened her back and, with a single leap, blocked Chen Qingtang’s path.

The path under her feet was only wide enough for one person. Next to her was a long, stinking gutter, and beside her was a rough stone wall that seemed to have no end. And in front of her was Pei Yunle.

Chen Qingtang tightened her grip on the plastic bag, her knuckles turning a little white.

Pei Yunle waited for her to make a move, from hoping for a hug to longing for her to hold her hand.

The red plastic bag twisted and turned in her fingers, squeezing Chen Qingtang’s hand. Her five fingers completely lost their color, turning a bloodless pale.

Pei Yunle touched her face, a smile on her lips. “Six months and fifteen days. Do you not recognize me, or have you forgotten me?”

A long silence spread between the two of them. Pei Yunle couldn’t stand this torture. She walked forward and hugged Chen Qingtang. Her body still had the familiar and pleasant scent. This instantly brought back all of Pei Yunle’s memories with Chen Qingtang, every sticky night.

Something seemed to be stuck in her throat, like countless bitter bubbles frantically gathering and then bursting, and a sob flowed out.

Before Pei Yunle could suppress her discomfort, the person in her arms broke free from the embrace that had not yet warmed up.

Chen Qingtang placed the vegetables on the stone platform, the corners of her eyes burning with a red that was the same as the sky. She quickly signed a series of hand gestures.

Pei Yunle had only learned some simple ones before. Looking at the complex and rapid hand gestures, she didn’t understand for a moment. But she could feel an emotion from this powerful gesture.

Chen Qingtang was angry.

Although she didn’t know why.

Before a dazed look could appear on Pei Yunle’s face, the grievance in her heart welled up first, so quickly that her eyes hadn’t even had time to accumulate tears.

Something warm, itchy, and wet slid down her face. She raised her hand and wiped her face again, then wiped away the teardrops on her eyelashes, afraid of not being able to see the person in front of her clearly, just like the countless times in her dreams.

Her voice was scraped out of her throat, bitter and astringent. “I miss you so much.”

Chen Qingtang’s emotions had probably passed. She took out her phone from her bag, typed and deleted, deleted and typed, over and over several times, before Pei Yunle could see the message—

“Why did you come back?”

Pei Yunle’s lips parted and closed, and she said in a low voice, “I’ve already answered.”

Chen Qingtang was taken aback and changed the subject. “So you came back because of me?”

Pei Yunle blinked, her wet eyes full of confusion.

Chen Qingtang lowered her eyes. It was like this again. She didn’t know why Pei Yunle had decided to break up with her, but the reason she had agreed was unforgettable. She didn’t want Pei Yunle to compromise for her again and again, to be forced to live a hard life. As long as Pei Yunle stood here, those two videos would keep playing in her mind.

At that time, she hadn’t asked Pei Yunle the reason for the breakup. She had felt that it was unnecessary. It was already a blessing to be able to part on good terms.

Even when she heard the other person propose to break up, Chen Qingtang had even felt very lucky. They were so in sync even in this kind of thing.

But Pei Yunle had come back, wearing a white coat and holding a questionnaire. Everything revealed that she had found a job here. But without her, Pei Yunle would never have set foot in Pingshun again in her life.

At the thought of this, Chen Qingtang felt miserable. Every breath was painful. She looked at the sky, trying to see if there were any sharp ice crystals hidden in it.

She suddenly bent over, feeling a physiological urge to vomit.

This sudden change caught Pei Yunle off guard. She supported Chen Qingtang’s back. “What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

A blue vein protruded from Chen Qingtang’s neck, and her face turned an unnatural red. Then she brushed off Pei Yunle’s hand.

The words on the screen seemed to be floating. Chen Qingtang shook her head. The warmth on her lower back still lingered, seeping through the fabric and touching her skin.

“I’m going home to eat. You can do as you please.”

Pei Yunle felt like she had been abandoned, just standing there waiting for her owner to turn back and claim her.

Although there was more loneliness, she was still more happy to see Chen Qingtang again.

She wiped her face, rubbing away the stiffness from crying. The small hole under her lip had already healed, but a faint mark could still be seen.

Pei Yunle didn’t know how she dared. Her calm reason was completely suppressed by her crazy emotions. Her mind had completely stopped working.

One hand grabbed Chen Qingtang’s wrist. The protruding wrist bone was very prominent in her palm. Pei Yunle didn’t dare to rub or touch it.

“Then I’ll go home with you to eat.”

Chen Qingtang turned her head, her small face full of surprise.

Pei Yunle deliberately ignored her expression. “Didn’t you say I could do as I please? I just want to go to your house to eat.”

That unrestrained face was getting closer and closer. Chen Qingtang quickly turned her head away.

Pei Yunle had indeed “grown” a lot, for example, her thick skin at this moment. This mentality was unparalleled.

She looked down at the pork ribs in Chen Qingtang’s hand. “Are we going?”

Chen Qingtang broke free from Pei Yunle’s intimacy. What was the use of saying no? Her legs were on someone else’s body. Could she break them?

Besides, she couldn’t bear to.

Chen Qingtang felt that she was extremely contradictory. If she had had a big fight and said some hurtful words when they broke up, like in a TV drama, then she wouldn’t be so uncomfortable now.

She hated that she couldn’t love, and she hated that she couldn’t let go.

Her thoughts occupied her entire mind. To completely end her wild thoughts, she began to move her feet, little by little, out of this small alley.

Pei Yunle followed behind her, like the first time she had come to Pingshun, just quietly following.

Finally, they came out of the alley. She had consumed a lot of energy just now, so Chen Qingtang walked a little slower. Pei Yunle had long legs, so she was naturally half a step faster than her.

Chen Qingtang could finally look at Pei Yunle openly, without having to use her peripheral vision to observe her changes.

Her pink hair had been completely dyed back to black, and there were no more colorful small clips on it. Her plain, fair face was also completely free of black and gray makeup. Her clothes were no longer strange and unique, but just a white coat that was so white it had no second color.

As an outsider would see it, the strange Pei Yunle had finally come to her senses and, after a year, had painstakingly become a “normal person.”

Even if she were thrown into a crowd, she would not be found at a glance. She was no longer prominent.

Chen Qingtang suddenly felt a little sad.

…

A blue sign hung on the wall—No. 95, Dong’an Road.

Chen Qingtang pushed open the door and went straight to the kitchen.

Pei Yunle stood at the door. What came into view was a damp floor. She followed the guidance of the cobblestones and walked in. Grandma Liu was not there.

Her flowers had also withered all over the ground, leaving only the bare branches in the flowerpots. Only the aloe vera in the corner remained evergreen.

Nothing in the courtyard had changed. The small square table was already in the center, and small stools were piled next to it.

It was as if nothing had happened this year, as if she and Chen Qingtang had just come home from the market.

Pei Yunle didn’t even know how she had walked this way. She felt like she was floating.

She moved a stool and sat down. There was also a front yard at her home in Anyang, with both real and fake flowers. It was a fake spring all year round. Pei Yunle didn’t like to look at it and would always draw the curtains. The house would be dim, and then she would start to miss the small courtyard in front of her.

The days were really hard. Every time it rained, she would think of Chen Qingtang. And it just so happened that it rained a lot in the south.

There was no movement in the kitchen, it was quiet.

Pei Yunle walked into the kitchen and saw Chen Qingtang pouring the pork ribs into a basin. She seemed to be dissatisfied with the size of the ribs the butcher had chopped. She looked down, her brows furrowed.

Chen Qingtang was still thin, but Pei Yunle could see that she was a little fatter than before.

“Do you need help?” She walked over and stood by the stove.

Chen Qingtang didn’t pay attention to her, just put the pork ribs in the pot and prepared the scallions, ginger, and garlic.

Pei Yunle picked up a piece of muddy ginger. “Should I peel it first?”

Chen Qingtang finished washing the scallions and arranged them neatly. The kitchen knife chopped down on them, and a pungent smell immediately filled the air.

She took the ginger from Pei Yunle’s hand and threw it into the sink.

“You feel sorry for me and don’t want me to work?” Pei Yunle looked at Chen Qingtang with a playful smile.

Chen Qingtang dipped her fingers in water and wrote, “Guests don’t work.”

Pei Yunle’s smile instantly froze, and then slowly fell. She had actually been holding in a question all the way, which finally turned into a painful accusation against herself.

Some things had already passed for a long time. When she wanted to bring them up again, she didn’t know how to start.

She absolutely did not want to say to Chen Qingtang, “I’m doing everything for you.”

What was that? It sounded so disgusting.

So Pei Yunle was helpless. The mouth she had just mustered up the courage to open was forced to close again.

Pei Yunle felt that she was a born pessimist, but some things would always force her to be an optimist.

For example, at this moment, she could only say to herself that there was still a long way to go.

If she couldn’t do anything, just looking at Chen Qingtang like this was not bad. Pei Yunle became optimistic again, feeling that she was a winner no matter what.

Her words began to be mixed with laughter again. “So can the host tell the guest today’s menu?”

Chen Qingtang didn’t understand why this person was asking a question that could be seen at a glance. Although she was confused, she still pointed to the pork ribs in the pot for Pei Yunle.