Why it never ends

Chapter 1077 Qi Zhen

Hesta's sudden change aroused Stella's great interest. She couldn't help but turn around and try to find out the reason why Hesta suddenly became speechless.

Turan had already walked in carrying a huge backpack that was a head taller than her. Behind her, a girl who was even thinner than Gahodole followed closely in her footsteps.

Hesta's eyes passed over the two men and continued to stare at the night in the open space outside the house.

"Jane!" Turan called her, "What are you looking at? I'm here!"

Hesta came to his senses belatedly: "...Gong Rico said you have a friend--"

"This is Qizhen," Turan took a step back, grabbed the girl's shoulders with both hands, and pushed her forward half a step. "Her major is technical anthropology. We lived together in the first district."

Hesta lowered his eyes and focused on the unfamiliar face in front of him. This young girl named Qizhen looked only slightly taller than Si Lei. She wore sandals with wedge heels and a long skirt that reached her calves. She had curly hair that was neither long nor short, with the ends of her hair piled up into shallow dimples on her shoulders. A straw hat fell on her back, making her look like a tourist who had just returned from the beach.

"...Oh, welcome." Hesta's expression quickly returned to normal, "Anthropology?"

"Qizhen just finished her doctoral dissertation defense," Turan said. "She heard that I was coming to District 12, so she came with me. She can only stay here until autumn, and then she has to go back to District 1."

"Have you found a job?" Stella asked.

"I will be doing a postdoctoral study in the Department of Anthropology at Arendt University." Qizhen looked a little shy. "I have not decided what to do next..."

As soon as she opened her mouth, everyone around her looked over at the same time - Qizhen's voice had a childlike quality, so soft that it didn't sound like that of an adult.

Stella looked at Qizhen and raised her hand hesitantly: "...Can I ask your current age?"

"Ok?"

"Because just now Ms. Turan - is that Turan? - said that you just finished your doctoral defense, but you look like..."

"I'm already twenty-nine," Qizhen answered. As expected, this answer caused a burst of surprised gasps in the crowd. She laughed a few times in a somewhat awkward manner, "Does my voice sound too much like a child's?"

Rico put one hand on his waist: "I asked the same question at the station before..."

Then she turned to Qizhen and said, "You look like the youngest here—except for Shiyi and Qiqi."

Qi Zhen lowered his head and laughed, as if he had long been accustomed to such comments. On the other side, Turan had put down his backpack and walked to the beverage area to drink.

Everyone asked questions about the new guest. Under the urging of Turan and Rico, the pre-dinner cocktail party was coming to an end. Hesta quietly retreated to the window, her expression somewhat gloomy. At this moment, she could still feel a muscle twitching in her forehead, and every beat caused a dull pain. All the sounds seemed noisy at this moment, and all the conversations became boring. A mixed feeling of boredom, disappointment and slight annoyance was slowly rising, drowning out the original intense surprise and expectation. …

At the end of the party, Lai Lin pushed a plump woman into the middle of the crowd. She was the manor's chef, Santa, and all the meals tonight were prepared by Santa and her family. According to Lai Lin, Santa had been working here for nearly 20 years. In addition to managing the kitchen, she was also responsible for the main house.

Everyone at the table raised their glasses to thank Santa. The woman first covered her face in confusion, then burst into laughter. This laughter was familiar to Victoria and Zoe - this laughter came not only from the vibration of the throat, but also from the coordination, ups and downs, and resonance of the entire shoulder and chest... When this laughter broke out, everyone who heard it would be infected by her. This is how Manna laughs, and it seems that all women on the farm and in the mountains laugh this way.

Later, Hesta, as the host of tonight's banquet, gave a speech of thanks to Santa, which made Kovichik feel a little embarrassed. Santa was obviously not a proper cook, and her mottled dress showed that she was probably a shack dweller here. Kovichik saw at a glance that this was a cheap trick that Trion played to save money - he did not spend a lot of money to hire a chef from the third district like other manors, but picked a few women who knew a little about cooking from the farm, and let them learn cooking skills secretly and pretend to be real cooks.

...As a result, the butler Lai Lin hired by Hesta was not ashamed but proud to push them to the front. Kovicik watched the entire thank-you ceremony on pins and needles. He suddenly felt fortunate that there were no other nobles here tonight. If such a thing were to be spread out, it would be a complete loss of face.

……

Late at night, Victoria and others helped Turan and Qizhen clean up the room at the end of the corridor on the second floor. There happened to be a bunk bed in the room, so Turan and Qizhen decided to live together.

Eucalyptus left the room after a long absence and came out to greet the new guests. After a few clichéd opening remarks, she became the first person to notice that Qizhen was wearing a ring.

"We got engaged at the beginning of the year," Qizhen's eyes fell on her left middle finger. She raised the corner of her mouth and smiled, as if she didn't want to expand on it, "... Let's leave it like this for now."

Ende, who was sitting on the floor, looked up: "What is the difference between engagement and marriage?"

“Maybe it’s the equivalent of the Reserves and the Mercury Needle,” Zoe said, “The former is the reserve for the latter.”

"...Really?" Ende looked at Victoria with some suspicion.

Victoria shrugged. "Maybe more like a job trial period?"

"It may also be to make it easier to regret." Turan spread out the quilt on the bed, and then quickly fell into the soft bedding. She turned over several times, stretched her limbs, and looked at Qizhen sideways, "...Is that so?"

Qizhen laughed awkwardly and fiddled with her hair with both hands: "Oh my God, do we really have to talk about this?"

"Of course not," Turan looked at her, "but your fiancé is now living in Emanlia, and he might come to see you in a couple of days... Your current state - I don't quite understand, what is going on with you guys?"

"Ah?" Rico turned his head, "Your fiancé is also in District 12?"

"He said he was worried about me going to such a far place by myself, so he flew here in advance." Qizhen turned around and sorted out the small items on her bedside table. "I told him that this place is mostly occupied by female guests, so it's not convenient for him to come here - he won't come here suddenly, I promise."