Rejected by the Campus Belle, I Find My True Love-Chapter 409 - 407 Teaching Bad Habits to My Girlfriend
Soon, Lin Xi had changed into the shoes. After standing up, she playfully jumped twice on the spot. "Auntie, I’m ready! The shoes are a perfect fit, and they’re so comfortable." They were in no way inferior to her custom-made princess shoes.
"Oh, good." Zhong Hailan was pleasantly surprised that Lin Xi could wear her size and, more importantly, didn’t mind doing so. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t delighted. "Follow me and don’t get lost. It’s still a bit of a walk to the vegetable garden."
"Okay, Auntie."
Lin Xi obediently followed behind Zhong Hailan.
As far as she could remember, this is the first time in my life I’ve ever walked behind an elder like this. The feeling is strange. And I’m all grown up, yet Auntie is still worried I might get lost.
As if on cue, Zhong Hailan would walk for a short distance before pausing to check if Lin Xi was keeping up. After this happened a few times, she stopped again with a small realization. "I’m so used to walking quickly that I sometimes forget you’re right behind me."
"It’s okay, Auntie. I can keep up."
"Oh, good."
Zhong Hailan continued on, and the two of them proceeded in this stop-and-start pattern. Along the way, it was inevitable that they would run into acquaintances from the village.
"Hailan, is this your family’s new daughter-in-law?"
Zhong Hailan stopped and made the introduction. "Aunt Ying, this is Xiao Yang’s girlfriend, Xiao Xi. Xiao Xi, you can just call her Grandma."
Standing beside Zhong Hailan, Lin Xi obediently called out, "Grandma."
Aunt Ying looked Lin Xi up and down, her eyes widening with each pass. The more she looked, the prettier she found her. That Xue family boy is so lucky. He goes off to university and finds himself such a beautiful girlfriend, and one with a big-city household registration, no less.
"Xiao Xi, city girls have such lovely names, and you’re so pretty and vibrant, just like a movie star. I heard your family has big-city household registration. Does that mean you get an assigned job after graduation? Or do you know of any job openings? My boy is at home right now, looking for work. It doesn’t have to be anything special. If you could find him any odd job so he can earn his keep, that would be great."
"Aunt Ying, we’re heading to the vegetable garden, so we can’t chat right now," Zhong Hailan interjected, trying to move things along.
"Hey, don’t be in such a hurry! Xiao Xi, it’s alright if you can’t offer a job. Do you have any sisters you could introduce to my boy? He’s just as handsome as your Xue Yang and very promising, too."
Seeing how persistent she was, Zhong Hailan’s expression darkened. "Xiao Xi, let’s go."
"Okay."
Lin Xi continued to follow behind Zhong Hailan.
"Xiao Xi, if anyone talks to you like that in the future, just ignore them," Zhong Hailan said. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was pitched just right for Aunt Ying to overhear. "Don’t be afraid. If they have an issue, they can come to me, and I’ll give them an earful and send them packing."
Sure enough, Aunt Ying’s face soured upon hearing this. Honestly! If she’s not willing, she could just say so. Why talk like that in front of a young person? Some people you just can’t afford to offend.
Hearing Zhong Hailan’s words, Lin Xi let out a soft chuckle. "I understand, Auntie."
She knew Auntie Zhong was protecting her, shielding her from these messy situations. This feeling of being protected is actually quite nice.
After another two-minute walk, they finally arrived at their destination.
"Xiao Xi, come here and spray on some mosquito repellent." As if producing it from a magic pocket, Zhong Hailan pulled out a bottle of repellent and handed it to Lin Xi.
"Auntie, what’s this for?"
"There are a lot of mosquitoes in the vegetable garden. If you spray this, they won’t bite you."
"Okay." Lin Xi took the bottle and began spraying herself.
"Use a little more, or they’ll bite you anyway."
"Okay."
Lin Xi obediently gave herself another thorough spray. "Auntie, aren’t you using any?"
"The mosquitoes here already know me, so they won’t bite. But since this is your first time here, they’ll be curious about a stranger."
"Auntie, you have a funny way of putting things."
Lin Xi understood that Auntie had prepared the mosquito repellent especially for her. How thoughtful. No wonder she was able to raise such a wonderful son like Xue Yang.
Xue Yang’s family vegetable garden was right beside the road, so cars and people passed by from time to time. When they saw such a beautiful young woman there, many couldn’t help but turn their heads for a second look.
"What a beautiful girl. She looks like a fairy."
"Stop staring. That’s Lao Xue’s daughter-in-law. I heard she’s incredibly well-behaved and respectful. She even brought expensive gifts for the whole family on her first visit."
"Wow, really?"
"She’s a big-city girl. They’re not short on money."
A chorus of sighs followed.
Zhong Hailan told Lin Xi to stand on a stone slab while she went to fetch water from the pond. "There are ants in the garden, so don’t wander around. Just stand here and watch. I don’t need your help. Be good now."
Lin Xi nodded obediently, watching as Zhong Hailan lowered a bucket into the pond. When she pulled it up, it was full of water. She repeated the process with another bucket on a shoulder pole, filling them both in less than two minutes. Lin Xi found it all incredibly magical.
So this is how the vegetables Auntie sends us are grown. No wonder they’re so delicious—they’re cultivated with so much care.
Next, she watched Zhong Hailan use a ladle to splash water onto each plant. The vegetables instantly perked up, their lush leaves waving as if to say, "Thank you!"
Lin Xi glanced around and caught a familiar figure in her peripheral vision. She focused her eyes and, sure enough, saw Xue Yang walking toward them.
She immediately waved to him. "Xue Yang~"
Xue Yang expertly unlatched the garden gate and walked over to her.
"Xue Yang, how did you know I was in the garden?"
"I ran into Xue Xing on my way downstairs."
After replying, Xue Yang walked over to a row of cucumber vines. He parted the leaves, plucked a tender green cucumber, rubbed the prickles off with his hand, bit off the blossom end, and started eating it right away.
Lin Xi stared, dumbfounded. "Xue Yang, you’re not going to wash that?"
Zhong Hailan, long accustomed to this, chimed in. "Him? He’s been tough as nails since he was a boy. He often eats things without washing them."
Lin Xi swallowed hard. "Then... I want to try one, too."
Xue Yang turned around. "Xiao Xi, don’t copy me. You’re not used to eating like this; you’ll get a stomachache."
But seeing how much Xue Yang was enjoying the cucumber made Lin Xi’s mouth water. Boo hoo... I really want to try it.
Zhong Hailan shot Xue Yang a disapproving look and pulled Lin Xi away from him. "Xiao Xi, pay him no mind. Auntie will pick a few more to take back, and we’ll make a cold cucumber salad. We won’t give him any. That’ll make him jealous."
"Great!"
Xue Yang took a crisp bite of his cucumber and said, "Mom, that’s not very nice."
"And what have I done now?"
"You’re leading my girlfriend astray."
"Who told you to be so thoughtless? You were too busy scarfing it down to think of Xiao Xi. Xiao Xi, don’t mind him. We’ll pick some more cucumbers to take back, and some bitter melon, too. Do you eat bitter melon?"
As she spoke, Zhong Hailan led Lin Xi over to the cucumber vines, pushed aside some leaves, and picked two more.
"I’ve never tried it."
