novelhk Chapter 189 Lu Xiaoxiao Comes to Visit
Chapter 189 Lu Xiaoxiao Comes to Visit
Zhizhi's eyes narrowed into slits with laughter. "Thank you, Aunt Wang! I love sweet and sour pork the most!"
When Jingyan entered the house from outside, she saw them busily working in the kitchen. Looking at the sky outside, she thought, "It seems like they just had breakfast. Are they already preparing lunch?"
Grandma said happily, "Zhizhi's best friend is coming to visit today and is begging Xiao Wang to cook something delicious."
Jingyan looked at Zhizhi: "Your good friends? How many people are coming? I remember you were quite popular at school. Is one table enough for us? Should we move the small table from the storage room over as well?"
Zhizhi… “Mom, I invited my best friend, not a classmate.”
“Best friends? Oh, that’s great. How many are there? I think we should go to the store and get a case of drinks. The orange juice with pulp is good; I think it’s quite delicious,” Jingyan said.
"Orange juice with pulp? You mean the kind with fruit pieces inside? It tastes good, but the bottle is a bit small. You finish a whole bottle in just a few sips. It's not as economical as the pear juice." Grandma said with a hint of disdain, but her eyes were full of anticipation.
Jingyan said helplessly, "Grandma, even if we bring it back, you can only drink one bottle a day at most. That stuff is too high in sugar, you can't drink too much."
Grandma nodded: "Okay, it's good to have a bottle to drink."
Jingyan called He Zhijun into the house: "Zhijun, go to the store and get two cases of orange juice and pear juice. If it's inconvenient, have Xiao Dou deliver them for you. Zhizhi has a good friend coming to visit today, so we need to prepare snacks and drinks. It's rare for her to invite guests, so we, as family members, must protect her pride."
Zhizhi looked on in bewilderment as her family busied themselves. Finally finding a moment to explain, she said, "I only have one good friend."
For a moment, it was as if the pause button had been pressed. The whole family was stunned. After a while, Jingyan finally spoke: "You've been in school for four years and only made one friend? When I went to the parent-teacher conference before, your teacher said that you were very popular at school."
"I'm popular because I can chat with anyone, but I don't have any close friends. They only like pretty clothes or cute hair accessories, which I'm not really interested in. Boys are just running around like crazy, there's not much else to it." Zhizhi pouted.
Jingyan… “Have your standards gotten higher since you started dating your older brothers? Kids this age probably don’t have much to pursue besides eating, drinking, and studying, right? Your requirements are really high. By the way, who is this friend of yours? Did you just make friends with him?”
"It's Lu Xiaoxiao, a transfer student who just arrived this year," Zhizhi answered calmly.
"Oh, that's the new classmate who's better than you in every way," Jing Yan added coolly.
Zhizhi… “Mom, I don’t want to talk to you anymore.” The little girl puffed out her cheeks and ran to the study. She wanted to seize the time to read more books, find her own strengths, and suppress Gu Xiaoxiao so that her mother could no longer discourage her.
Watching her run away, He Zhijun was a little worried: "Jingyan, won't you hurt Zhizhi's self-esteem by telling such a blunt truth? She's still young, we can teach her slowly."
Jingyan waved her hand: "Her pride isn't that fragile. If she were really sad, she would run to her room, not the study. If she goes to the study, she's going to find a book to read. Now that she has a rival, and they're friends, it seems there will be healthy competition in the future. What are you still doing at home? Didn't I ask you to get the drinks?"
He Zhijun immediately went out. He couldn't afford to offend any of the women in his family, so it was safer for him to stick to being a mover.
The food at home was almost ready. Around 10 o'clock, someone knocked on the door. Jingyan hurriedly went out to see what was going on. A bright-looking little girl stood timidly at the door. Jingyan's eyes lit up. This child was already so beautiful even before she had fully grown up. Once she did, she would definitely be a stunning beauty.
Jingyan felt this was very friendly to her eyes, so she asked politely, "You must be Gu Xiaoxiao, my Zhizhi's good friend."
The little girl nodded shyly: "Hello, Auntie."
Jingyan quickly stepped aside: Come in quickly, Zhizhi said this morning that some friends are coming to visit, and she asked us to make some snacks for her. Come in and have a taste, see if you like them.
The little girl followed Jingyan into the house, and when she saw her yard, her eyes widened: "Auntie, your yard is so big."
Upon entering the room, Jingyan shouted, "Zhizhi, your friend is here! Come out quickly!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhizhi darted out of the study on the first floor: "Mom, I'm here, don't call me anymore."
Upon seeing Gu Xiaoxiao, he immediately ran over and gave her a warm hug: "Xiaoxiao, why are you so late? I got up a long time ago."
Gu Xiaoxiao said shyly, "My mom said that you shouldn't go to someone's house too early, because it would be impolite to disturb their rest. My parents get up very late on weekends."
Seeing that the little girl was still a bit reserved, Jingyan said to Zhizhi, "Where are you planning to take your friend? Sister Wang will bring you snacks and fruit later, and drinks too."
Zhizhi grabbed the little girl's hand: "I'll take you to my brother Ci'en's room. He has a lot of books there, especially those related to astronomy and constellations. We can read them together. I often can't concentrate on reading when I'm alone."
The little girl stopped in her tracks: "Your brother's room? It's not appropriate for us to go there like this."
Zhizhi didn't react for a moment, but Jingyan, who was watching from the side, saw it clearly: "Ci'en has already gone to work in Beijing, but his room has been kept for him. It used to be his study, but later Ci'en moved in to prepare for his exams, so it became his room."
No one has lived here for the past two years. Only Zhizhi likes to go in when she has nothing else to do. The other kids in the family don't go there. You guys can go; it'll be fine without anyone else bothering you.
The little girl then followed Zhizhi upstairs. After they entered, Sister Wang carried a large tray with several small dishes of snacks, peanuts, melon seeds, candies, and of course, two small bowls of red bean dumplings.
"There's cut fruit on that tray inside, Jingyan, could you help me carry it over? We'll bring in a couple more drinks later, and that should be about it."
Jing Yan nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "Bring in another pot of water. The child will get thirsty after eating peanuts and melon seeds, and drinking only beverages won't quench his thirst."
When the two arrived at the door of the study on the second floor, Jingyan knocked on the door and then opened it. When they came in, the two children were still looking for books on the bookshelf. When they turned around and saw the food that the two were carrying, Zhizhi's eyes lit up: "Mom brought it over for me. I was planning to go down and get it later. Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Aunt Wang."
Jing Yan glanced at him with a smile: "Don't just talk the talk, eat less. Lunch is coming soon. You know we have sweet and sour pork today. If you eat too many snacks, you won't be able to eat lunch."
Zhizhi nodded repeatedly: "Mom, don't worry, we're just going to try it, we definitely won't eat any more."
After putting down the tray, the two left, closing the door behind them. Looking at the tightly shut door, Gu Xiaoxiao's voice was full of envy: "Your mother is really good to you. If it were my mother, she definitely wouldn't allow me to close the door."
Furthermore, she never knocks before entering my room, and she always says I'm her child and shouldn't have secrets from her. She also doesn't approve of me bringing friends home, finding it troublesome.
Zhizhi patted her like a little adult: "Then you can come to my house during holidays. My house has many rooms. Even if we're not in Ci'en's room, we can go to my room. Boys are not allowed in my room, not even my dad. This is a rule set by my mom."
Gu Xiaoxiao looked on with envy, "My house isn't actually that small, but my mom has a rather eccentric temper and doesn't like having too many people in the house. When I used to live with my grandparents, they doted on me."
But ever since Dad was transferred for work, it's just the three of us living here. Mom isn't a good cook and doesn't like to cook, so I almost always eat out.
Zhizhi's eyes widened: "My mom isn't a great cook either, but at least she has two decent dishes. So Aunt Wang cooks the most at my house. Why don't you come over for dinner sometime? I'll talk to my mom, and she'll definitely agree."
Gu Xiaoxiao... "Never mind, I can't come here all the time. Eating out is fine too. It's true that my mom doesn't like to cook, but she's not stingy with me. She gives me thirty yuan a week for three meals a day, and I actually eat quite well."
Zhizhi still felt sorry for Xiaoxiao.
The two girls chose their books and started reading together, heads close, until Jingyan knocked on the door and pulled them out of their books. "Little girls, come downstairs for lunch. After you eat, take a nap and come back to read when you wake up."
When they went downstairs for dinner, Gu Xiaoxiao was genuinely envious. The meal consisted of four dishes and a soup; it didn't look lavish, but the food was delicious, with flavors she'd never tasted before, and the portions were generous. Seven people eating together made it a lively and enjoyable meal.
Unlike her own home, where there are only three people, her mother doesn't like loud noises at home, so she rarely speaks. She also doesn't like to talk when she goes to her extracurricular classes because too many people like to surround her, and she dislikes the way they look at her.
Unlike Zhizhi and her family, she doesn't feel that her appearance is a burden. Here, she is just an ordinary girl, well, an ordinary girl who comes to visit.
After the meal, everyone didn't start eating right away, but began chatting casually, drinking water or beverages. Zhizhi spoke up directly: "Mom, Xiaoxiao's mom doesn't cook for her at home. She eats out every day. I was wondering if she could come over for dinner?"
Jingyan nodded lazily: "Sure, it's just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks. She can come and stay at our house. She can share a room with you, and you'll have company."
Hearing this, An'an looked up and asked, "Mom, am I not my sister's companion?"
"You're the older brother, not a partner." Jingyan's eyes were getting sleepy.
He Zhijun found her sleepy appearance somewhat amusing: "Alright, An'an, stop arguing with your mother. Can't you see she's almost asleep? I'm taking her inside for a nap. Sister Wang, could you please tidy up the dining table and kitchen?"
Grandma, you should go get some sleep too. Zhizhi, you take good care of your friend. If your friend wants, you can bring her home after school so she can have dinner at our house. I can take her home then. By the way, her house isn't far from ours, is it?
Zhizhi looked at Gu Xiaoxiao, and the girl shook her head: "It's not far, it's just next door in the family building, it only takes me five or six minutes to walk here."
He Zhijun nodded: "Okay, you two go to Zhizhi's room to sleep for a while, and then go to the study to read after you wake up. I have a lot of books at home, and you can come over often if you are interested." After saying that, he got up and pulled Jingyan back to the room.
Jingyan was already feeling groggy. She had been exercising a lot at night recently, and her spirits were not very good. She needed to go back and catch up on her sleep.
Soon, most of the people at the table had left. Gu Xiaoxiao followed Zhizhi upstairs to the room and was somewhat surprised by the furnishings: "I thought your mother spoiled you a lot, and assumed your room would be a princess room."
But your room is much simpler than mine. Just two wardrobes, a desk, a big bed, a shoe rack, and that's it?"
Zhizhi looked around, somewhat puzzled: "Isn't this enough? What else do we need?"
"Don't you have any dolls or other toys?"
Zhizhi shook her head: "Our toys, besides abacuses, are Luban locks, nine-linked rings, and the like. They are all things my brothers like. When they are done playing with them, they let me play with them. I don't really have any rag dolls. If I don't want them, my mom won't buy them for me. I have to tell her if I want something before she will buy it for me. Besides, rag dolls don't move. They are not as easy to pet as my two cats."
“I saw the two big cats sunbathing in your yard. They looked pretty lazy.” Gu Xiaoxiao spoke quite frankly.
"They're both teenagers now, old cats, it's normal that they don't want to move. Let's take a nap, then we can go back to reading. You can come to my house for meals from now on, and come home with me for lunch too."
"You don't have time for breakfast, so I'll bring it to school for you. My mom promised that Aunt Wang will include your portion when she cooks from now on. If there's anything you don't like, just tell me in advance, and I'll ask Aunt Wang to try not to cook it anymore." Zhizhi was still thinking about her meal.
Gu Xiaoxiao was silent for a while: "I'll give you an answer about this later. I need to go home and discuss it with my mother."
Zhizhi didn't say anything more. The two girls lay down on the bed together and fell asleep in no time. After reading a book in the afternoon and having dinner at Jingyan's place, He Zhijun and Zhizhi took her home.
Jingyan didn't know what the little girl told her family, but two days later, Gu Xiaoxiao's mother came to the door with gifts, asking her to let Gu Xiaoxiao come over for meals in the future. She also brought a white jade pendant of very good quality, saying it was a token of her appreciation. But no one was stupid enough to know that this was considered as payment for the child's meals at home.
Jingyan declined several times, but finally accepted it out of embarrassment. After the person left, she immediately sat down with her grandmother to examine the jade pendant: "Is this white marble?"