Rejected by the Campus Belle, I Find My True Love-Chapter 412 - 410: Didn’t you say you don’t like eating egg yolks?
Lin Xi sent a message back to Si Wen and then told Xue Yang’s parents.
"Alright, I’ll get up early tomorrow and scour the market for something good," said Xue Yuanqing.
"Xiao Xi, what does Si Wen like to eat? Are there any foods she avoids?" Zhong Hailan asked. This is Xiao Xi’s best friend; we can’t be neglectful.
"Auntie, Si Wen’s taste is pretty much the same as mine. There’s nothing she specifically avoids."
"That means she’s not a picky eater. That’s good, that’s good. Now I know what to do," Zhong Hailan said, then turned to her husband. "Honey, let’s discuss what to make tomorrow."
"Alright."
Xue Yuanqing and Zhong Hailan went back to their room to discuss the menu.
After watching some more TV, Xue Yang and Lin Xi also went upstairs to the second floor.
"Do you want to go stargazing?" Xue Yang asked.
Lin Xi’s eyes sparkled. "Where can we see the stars?"
"On the roof. Follow me."
"Can we really see stars from the roof?" Lin Xi was skeptical. She recalled how they used to have to go to a mountaintop just to see a meteor shower. In reality, though, the stars hadn’t been very clear because the moon was too bright.
"We can see them from the yard downstairs too, but the view isn’t as good as it is from the roof."
"Don’t we need a telescope?"
"No need. This is the countryside; it’s different from the city."
"Really?" Lin Xi was still not quite convinced.
"You’ll know once you see for yourself."
Xue Yang led Lin Xi up to the rooftop. Their house had three floors. Xue Yang lived on the second, and while the third floor had a guest room, it had always been empty. The rooftop was effectively the third-floor level; half of it consisted of rooms, while the other half had been turned into a sky garden.
A large cactus grew there, along with scallions, ginger, and other things Mrs. Zhong enjoyed planting. Xue Yang had planted the cactus when he was a child. Zhong Hailan had initially been against it, feeling that any available space should be used for growing vegetables. But Xue Yang had insisted, so it was allowed to stay. It had been growing there ever since. Zhong Hailan was the one who mostly took care of it, and now it had grown to cover an entire wall. Occasionally, they could even pick cactus fruits to eat, though Xue Yang had never tried one.
As they reached the rooftop, a wave of hot air immediately washed over them, but it was quickly followed by a cool breeze that dispersed the heat. A country night had a feeling of utter tranquility. Combined with the chirping of insects, it felt as if one’s very soul was being purified.
"Wow, you really can see the stars here! They’re twinkling as if they’re trying to say something."
"What do you think? Beautiful, right?"
"Very beautiful."
"They were even brighter when I was a kid. There used to be a really big star right there, but I don’t know where it’s gone now."
"The Earth is always rotating, so it’s normal for things to change."
"Yeah," Xue Yang agreed.
"But I won’t change," Lin Xi suddenly said, looking at him earnestly.
Xue Yang stroked her head. "I won’t change either."
"Is this a cactus?"
"Yeah. The fruits are ripe. Want to try one?"
"Sure!"
Xue Yang carefully picked a fruit, peeled off the outer skin, and handed it to Lin Xi.
Lin Xi took a bite, and her little face immediately puckered up. "It’s so sour!"
Xue Yang tried a bite as well and found it was indeed very sour. "I didn’t expect it to be sour, either."
"It’s fruit from your own garden, and you’ve never eaten it?"
Xue Yang shook his head. "Nope."
After that little interlude, the two snuggled together, gazing up at the sea of stars.
"Xue Yang, let’s stay together forever, okay?"
"Aren’t we already together forever?"
Beneath the starry sky, their two shadows gradually drew closer until they were inseparable.
***
Early the next morning, when Xue Yang and Lin Xi came downstairs, Zhong Hailan had already prepared breakfast. It consisted of typical countryside food: eggs, sweet potatoes, taro, and freshly made soymilk, along with porridge and vermicelli noodles. The meal was nutritious and offered a wide variety.
"Xiao Xi, Xiao Yang, you’re up! Come and eat breakfast."
"Okay, Auntie." Lin Xi obediently sat at the dining table.
Xue Yang sat beside her and started peeling an egg. Lin Xi, meanwhile, paired her soymilk with a fried dough stick and also picked up a sweet potato to peel and eat.
"It’s so sweet!"
"My mom grew those herself. They’re from last year. Sweet potatoes get sweeter the longer you store them. There aren’t many left now."
"Auntie is amazing! She can grow anything."
Xue Yang placed the peeled egg in Lin Xi’s bowl.
"When I was a kid, I always thought my mom had superpowers. After I grew up, I realized my childhood assumption was correct. She really does have superpowers."
"Hahaha!" Lin Xi laughed, then separated the egg’s yolk from the white, putting the white back into Xue Yang’s bowl and keeping the yolk.
Xue Yang looked at her, surprised.
Lin Xi smiled sweetly. "Didn’t you say you don’t like egg yolks?"
Xue Yang was momentarily stunned, a wave of warmth spreading through his heart. This girl actually remembered what he’d said to Mrs. Zhong yesterday.
"Do you like them?" he asked.
"I don’t dislike them."
"Eat it if you can. If you can’t, we’ll just secretly throw it away. That’s what I used to do as a kid," Xue Yang whispered in her ear.
"What? Wouldn’t Auntie have spanked you if she found out?"
"I always threw it out on the way to school. She’d never find out."
"Hahaha!" Lin Xi could just imagine a young Xue Yang, forced by his mother to eat the egg yolks he despised, engaging in a constant battle of wits with her. It must have been amusing.
Xue Yang leaned back in his chair, feigning annoyance. "It seems you’ve discovered another one of my terrible secrets."
"So what if I know? Were you trying to hide it from me?"
"I just feel like I have no secrets from you anymore."
"Then I’ll tell you one of mine."
"What is it?"
"When I was little, I played with my dad’s pet goldfish until it died. Then I had Auntie Shen secretly buy a new one to replace it."
"Did your dad ever find out?"
"Of course not! Those fish were his treasure, more important than me. If he’d found out, he would have tanned my hide long ago."
Xue Yang gave her an approving thumbs-up.
"Now we each have a secret on the other. We’re even."
***
Not long after breakfast, Si Wen arrived. A Rolls-Royce sent by her hotel dropped her off.
It couldn’t have been more conspicuous after entering the village. Along the way, everyone was speculating which family the luxury car would stop in front of. The members of the village’s intelligence network even grabbed handfuls of sunflower seeds and followed the car, ready to enjoy the drama.
Their interest in the drama soared when they saw the luxury car stop in front of Xue Yang’s home. When a beauty, nearly on par with Lin Xi, stepped out of the car, the gossiping fervor reached an unprecedented high.
"Why is another one going to the Lao Xue family’s place?"
"And another beauty. Don’t tell me this is Xue Yang’s *real* girlfriend, here for a confrontation?"
"Probably not. More likely an ex-girlfriend who isn’t satisfied and came here to demand an explanation."
It had to be said, the village’s intelligence network had a real knack for summarizing a situation.
