1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 270 How can life be the same no matter who you live with? (Bonus chapter for 1164 monthly votes)

Zhou Yan and Xia Yao walked side by side toward the department store on the street.

Bicycle parking is free, but you have to pay the old man to watch your bike.

No need to look?
This is a brand new, nearly new bicycle worth 200 yuan, used for grocery shopping and personal use!
If you park haphazardly, thieves will show you what it means to be "gone without a trace."

Saving where necessary and spending where appropriate is Zhou Yan's guiding principle.

Xia Yao followed Zhou Yan, half a step behind him, glancing up at him every now and then, a smile spreading across her lips, making her exceptionally radiant and beautiful.

Her gaze fell on his hands, broad and slender, with clear palm lines and obvious calluses on his fingertips, marks left from years of handling kitchen knives. It was those calluses that had made her itch to touch them earlier, and she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

Even though he's the same age as her, the calluses on his hands are so thick. He must work very hard.
He just took my hand because he was worried she would fall.
still is……

Xia Yao's face turned red again.

Although she took his hand first, it was because the movie was about to start and they were in a hurry.

He... should be able to understand, right?

"Are you still hot?" Zhou Yan paused, turned around, looked at her flushed cheeks, and asked gently.

Lost in thought, Xia Yao bumped her head into his chest.

It was so sturdy and hard that it made her feel a little dizzy.

Is it the pectoral muscles?

He looks quite thin, but he's a man after all.

Zhou Yan reached out and steadied the swaying Xia Yao, feeling both apologetic and amused. "Are you alright?"

"No...it's nothing, I was just thinking about something." Xia Yao put her hand to her forehead, took a half step back, and gently fanned her even redder and hotter face. "It is a little hot."

"Wait for me a moment," Zhou Yan said, and quickly walked to the convenience store next to her. A moment later, she came out with two open bottles of Tianfu Cola. She handed one of them to her: "Drink this. The spicy hot pot at noon was a bit salty. You must be thirsty."

"Thank you." Xia Yao took the cola and took a sip through the straw.

The icy-cold cola instantly revitalized my parched throat and calmed the heat on my face and in my heart.

Coke in winter is so sweet.

"Are you feeling better?" Zhou Yan looked at her. The girl's face was no longer red, and she had regained her usual graceful demeanor.

Xia Yao smiled and nodded: "Yes, they must be thirsty. Let's go, we should head back after we sell our stuff. I bet they'll be leaving the Sichuan opera show soon."

“Okay.” Zhou Yan nodded, and the two of them, holding their Cokes, walked and talked as they entered the department store.

Xia Yao bought some art supplies. He had a lot of work to do lately, and the art supplies were being used up very quickly.

Fortunately, the director had already given her a note, which allowed her to get reimbursed by the finance department for any work-related expenses, provided she presented the receipt.

Otherwise, with her meager internship salary, she would really have to pay for her own job.

After Xia Yao finished selecting her art supplies, she went to pay. Zhou Yan, who had been browsing around by himself, came over to help her carry her things, and held out his hand to her, saying, "Here's something for you."

"What?" Xia Yao smiled and held out her hand.

Zhou Yan placed his hand on her palm and released it; it was a loose, colorful hair tie.

Xia Yao's eyes lit up, a mixture of surprise and delight: "Why did you decide to give me a hair tie?"

“Last time you tied Zhou Momo’s hair up, and then I noticed that all the hair ties you used were black. I guess you must have run out of the colored hair ties for her,” Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"Thank you, I've really run out of my colored hair ties. These hair ties are so pretty." Xia Yao looked at the hair ties in her hand, a smile playing on her lips.

He's so observant; he even noticed the color of her hair tie.

Is this what it feels like to be noticed?

It's a bit special, and a bit heartwarming.

Zhou Yan's lips curled up slightly. Would she be this happy to receive a hair tie that cost only one cent?

She should have chosen the one that cost 50 cents over there, but that hair tie was a bit too flashy and probably didn't suit her.

Xia Yao put the hair tie into her small bag, zipped it up, and followed Zhou Yan toward the department store entrance.

The smile on my face was impossible to hide; what a wonderful day!

I rode my bike back to East Street and saw Zhao Tieying and Meng Anhe standing in a row on the dock, each holding a string of candied hawthorns, watching the boats come and go.

"Mom!" Zhou Yan called out.

Zhao Tieying turned around, saw the two of them, and said with a smile, "You're back. Let's go back too."

"Brother! Sister Yao Yao!" Zhou Momo ran over with a candied hawthorn, held it up and offered it to Xia Yao, "Sister Yao Yao, try this candied hawthorn~~ It's so sweet! I only ate the top one."

"Okay, I'll try it." Xia Yao bent down, bit into a hawthorn with her pearly teeth, and with a soft crunch, the sugar shell broke, and she bit off the whole hawthorn, holding it in her mouth with her eyes crinkling with laughter.

"Brother, you should try some too~" Zhou Momo held up the candied hawthorn and handed it to Zhou Yan.

"I won't eat it, or you won't have any left." Zhou Yan shook his head with a smile. The little guy was really generous; this string only had five candied hawthorns.

"Eat up~~ It's my treat! It's sweet and sour, so delicious!" The little guy stood on tiptoe, trying to hold the candied hawthorn higher.

"Okay, I'll eat it." Zhou Yan held onto the handlebars, bent down, and took a bite of a hawthorn. The crisp, sweet sugar shell contained a sweet and sour hawthorn, which was indeed quite good.

Xia Yao looked at Zhou Yan, her cheeks puffed out, her expression somewhat subtle. Did they... count as eating the same candied hawthorn skewer?
When Deng Hong first returned to the mountain city, she and Ma Xingye went on a date and ate the same candied hawthorn. Deng Hong was so excited when she got back to her dormitory that she was still excited for a long time.

"Why did you take so long?" Meng Anhe walked over, glanced at the art supplies piled up in the bicycle basket, and asked casually.

"We passed by a movie theater, so we went to see a movie. 'Life' was showing," Xia Yao explained.

"Going to see a movie? That's good." Uncle Lin looked at Zhou Yan with a smile. This kid has finally figured things out; he's watching a movie instead of Sichuan opera.

"Life is out? I've been looking forward to this movie for so long." Meng Anhe turned to look at Lin Zhiqiang. "Old Lin, when are we going to see it?"

Lin Zhiqiang thought for a moment and said, "How about next weekend? You have to go to Chengdu first thing tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Meng Anhe nodded, then looked at Xia Yao and asked, "How did the photos turn out? Are they good?"

"It's alright..." Xia Yao felt a little guilty; she hadn't been watching very carefully.

"It's quite faithful to the original, after all, the screenwriter is Lu Yao, and the actors' acting skills are also good, it's just..." Zhou Yan chimed in.

"What is it?" Meng Anhe pressed.

"I think you could invite a close friend to go see it; it would make the discussion more interesting," Zhou Yan suggested.

Meng Anhe understood Zhou Yan's meaning and immediately laughed, saying with a smile, "Are you worried that I'll get angry with Lao Lin after reading this?"

"I think cinemas should set up a mediation room at the entrance during screenings to prevent couples from taking their anger home, which is not good for family harmony." Zhou Yanshen agreed, noting that there were more than just one or two couples arguing at the cinema entrance today.

Old Lin understood immediately and nodded, saying, "Anhe, why don't you and Wanling go see it when you have some free time? The cinemas in Rongcheng are much better. I might have to go to a meeting next weekend."

“If you have a problem, I’ll criticize you even if you don’t watch the movie.” Meng Anhe glared at him.

"How dare I!" Lin Zhiqiang waved his hands repeatedly.

Xia Yao smiled broadly, Zhou Yan's words were truly interesting.

Zhao Tieying smiled with satisfaction. This kid is actually somewhat reliable.

The group rode their bikes toward Suji. Xia Yao grabbed Zhou Yan's clothes. The road was a bit bumpy, and when they had to avoid a tractor, they rode over a pothole, which made her instinctively hug Zhou Yan's waist.

Zhou Yan felt a pair of slender hands suddenly hug his waist, and a soft mass pressed against his back.

It's soft, and it feels hot even through the clothes.

You can even feel it swaying and deforming slightly as it bounces.

She looked tall and slender, but was much more attractive than he had imagined.

No, he hadn't thought of that...

His back stiffened involuntarily, and he dared not move. His feet were on the pedals, seemingly being operated by the mechanic, as if afraid that any movement he made would appear too frivolous.

Xia Yao instinctively wrapped her arms around Zhou Yan's waist to prevent herself from being thrown off.

His waist was thinner than she had imagined. His cotton coat was open, and he was only wearing a vest underneath. His clearly defined abdominal muscles were a little rough to the touch.

She touched it as if possessed, and it was as hard as a washboard.

And it's so hot!

His body felt like a ball of fire.

It's so warm to hold.

After a moment of stunned silence, she suddenly realized that she was hugging Zhou Yan, with half of her body pressed tightly against him, and quickly let go.

However, the road was quite bumpy, and after swaying a couple of times, she was so startled that she quickly reached out and hugged Zhou Yan's waist.

"Hold on tight, don't fall." Zhou Yan pressed her hand down, genuinely worried that she might fall due to her startled state.

The ground was covered in pebbles; if she scraped or bumped into them, she would get a scar. If she injured her hand, her internship would be ruined.

Xia Yao dared not move, so she moved her body back a little to create some distance, but her hands were still gently wrapped around Zhou Yan's waist.

This makes me feel so safe.

Zhou Yan pulled his hand back, held onto the handlebars, and tried to ride on a smooth surface.

With Zhou Momo sitting in front and Xia Yao sitting behind, he felt a strong sense of responsibility.

“It’s so good to be young. When we were young, we loved riding our bikes around.” Lin Zhiqiang said with a smile, not far behind them.

“This girl…” Meng Anhe sighed softly with a motherly smile, “Now, Old Xia is going to have something to worry about.”

Lin Zhiqiang curled his lips: "What is he worried about? He should be secretly happy. Those well-matched young men in Hangzhou might not be able to make Yao Yao smile."

“That’s right. Life can’t be the same no matter who you live with. Ying’s family are all people who don’t spoil the fun. If Xia Yao really gets together with Xiao Zhou, she’ll definitely have a good life.” Meng Anhe nodded, her smile particularly bright.

Back in town, Zhou Yan braked and looked at Meng Anhe and Lin Zhiqiang, saying, "Sister Meng, Uncle Lin, it's almost five o'clock. Why don't you come to our house for dinner? I'll go buy some meat and cook a couple of simple dishes, so you don't have to go to the canteen."

"it is good!"

"go with!"

Before Lin Zhiqiang and Meng Anhe could even speak, the Lin brothers, Jingxing and Bingwen, had already nodded eagerly.

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(End of this chapter)