Rejected by the Campus Belle, I Find My True Love

"Oh, hello there. Um... remember to come to our house for dinner tonight. Xue Xing, be a good host, you hear? Don’t you go bullying our guest."

Yang Zhaodi left those words behind and then turned to walk toward the neighboring house.

The house next door wasn’t as luxurious as Xue Yang’s home, but for a rural home, it was quite decent.

After Yang Zhaodi left, Si Wen lost interest in teasing Xue Xing.

The two of them headed toward the storeroom at Xue Yang’s home to pick out some fishing nets.

Yang Zhaodi returned home with a heavy heart.

Xue Yuanming had just finished in the kitchen and was now sitting on the sofa watching TV.

"Old man, I just saw that Si Wen. She really is quite beautiful," she said.

"Oh."

Xue Yuanming switched the channel to Princess Liuhou TV and watched with keen interest.

Yang Zhaodi was used to her husband’s attitude, so she continued on, unbothered, "But guess what she was doing?"

"What?" Xue Yuanming asked without much interest.

In truth, he really wasn’t interested in what other people were doing.

"She was bullying our son."

Thinking about the scene she had just witnessed, Yang Zhaodi felt a pang of discomfort.

She hadn’t had the heart to spank her son even once since he was little.

Now, some other girl was whacking him until he yelped.

What was this all about? If she weren’t a guest who’d come from so far away, I would have gone right up and confronted her. But unfortunately, I accepted their gift, so I couldn’t say a thing.

"Could it be that Xing Zai said something he shouldn’t have again?"

Xue Yuanming knew his son quite well.

He’s a good kid, but it would be even better if he weren’t so loose-lipped. If only he were more like Xue Yang. Even if he wasn’t a perfect copy, being half like him would have been enough. A pity... he didn’t even take after him ten percent. Luckily, his grades were still good. In the entire Lao Xue family, his son and Xue Yang were the best students.

Thinking of this, Xue Yuanming felt a sense of relief.

"Your son is being bullied, and you’re not blaming the other person, but your own son?" Yang Zhaodi said indignantly.

"Stop looking for trouble every day. Have you checked on the stove? Don’t overcook the food. It’s one thing if it’s just for us, but if you mess up a meal for guests, we’ll lose a lot of face."

Yang Zhaodi hurried into the kitchen to check on the fire. She knew what she was doing when it came to things like this. Still, the incident weighed on her mind.

My future daughter-in-law can’t be like Si Wen, who’s always so fierce. She must treat my son unconditionally well, take care of him, and be filial to us elders... Otherwise, with someone like Si Wen, the whole family would probably get bullied by her.

The thought made her even more worried. She mulled it over, deciding she had to find the right opportunity to ask Xue Xing what was really going on.

The college entrance exams are next year; this is no time for romance. Yes, that’s right. That’s it.

Meanwhile, Xue Yang’s group grabbed the fishing nets, baskets, and other tools, changed into water shoes, and headed toward the stream.

Along the way, they inevitably encountered many elderly villagers who were out enjoying the cool evening air.

They exchanged simple greetings and continued on.

When dealing with the members of the village’s ’intelligence network,’ the best strategy was not to get too friendly, or you’d never get away.

Xue Xing, who was always cooped up at home doing homework, was practically buzzing with excitement now that he finally had a couple of days to play.

Soon, they arrived at the stream Xue Yang had mentioned the night before.

"Xiao Xi, Si Wen, you two wait here. We’ll call you over when we’ve caught some fish."

Lin Xi and Si Wen nodded at the same time.

But Si Wen couldn’t stay still for more than a few seconds before she walked over to Xue Xing and said, "Xue Xing, are you even any good at this?"

Xue Xing turned around and hushed her.

"Be quiet! You’ll scare all the fish away."

"Why are you blaming me when you’re the one who can’t catch fish? If you’re bad, you just need to practice more."

"Fish are very timid, don’t you know that?"

"Nope."

Despite saying that, Si Wen still quieted down.

Before long, thanks to Xue Yang and Xue Xing’s combined efforts, their net was full of fish. There were plenty of river shrimp, too.

"Xue Xing, you liar."

"How am I a liar?"

"You guys were clearly in the water driving the fish into the net, which made way more noise! But you still told me not to be loud because it would scare the fish. This stream is so small, where could they even run to?"

"We hadn’t even gotten in the water yet. The moment you made a noise, the fish would’ve definitely scattered. The stream isn’t wide, but it’s long, and it connects to the river up ahead. Where do you think they’d go if they sensed danger?"

Si Wen pouted, unable to come up with a retort.

"Si Wen, come and help!" Lin Xi called out. Faced with so many fish and shrimp, she was a bit overwhelmed and didn’t know where to start.

"Coming!"

Dumping the fish and shrimp out on the bank, they let Lin Xi and Si Wen sort through them while Xue Yang and Xue Xing waded back into the water to catch more.

After a while, they lifted the net again, but this time, the catch was smaller.

"See? After we stirred things up just now, there are a lot fewer fish and shrimp this time."

"I didn’t know, okay? I know now!"

Si Wen shot Xue Xing a playful glare and decided to ignore him.

Summer evenings are exceptionally long compared to those in winter.

At half past six, it was still quite bright out.

Having gathered all the fish and shrimp, the four of them headed back, their baskets full.

Xue Xing took half of the catch back to his house.

"Mom, we caught some fish and shrimp. You can cook them up tonight."

"Great!"

Yang Zhaodi took the bucket and deftly went to prepare them.

Meanwhile, Xue Yuanming went to prepare the spices and other ingredients.

The two of them worked together in perfect coordination, and soon everything was ready for the pot.

Xue Yang and the two girls went back to change into clean clothes.

After dark, dinner at Xue Xing’s house was ready.

The two families sat together, enjoying their meal in the air-conditioned room.

"Are you all from Yancheng?" Yang Zhaodi asked, starting a casual conversation since she didn’t know what else to say.

"Yes," Lin Xi replied.

"Yancheng is a big city. Big cities are nice. So many people from around here try to squeeze their way in, but it’s hard."

"Aunt Yang, I actually think it’s quite nice here too. For example, if you want to eat fish like these, you can just go and catch them. It’s not so easy to find them in the big city."

"You certainly have a way with words, Xiao Xi. Here, have some more."

"Thank you, Aunt Yang."

Yang Zhaodi smiled and nodded repeatedly.

Si Wen had expected to be offered some food as well, but by the end of the meal, the woman had barely paid her any mind.

She found it strange, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

It wasn’t until they returned to Xue Yang’s home that Si Wen remarked, "Why do I get the feeling that Xue Xing’s mom doesn’t like me?"

Yes, that was the feeling. Xue Xing’s mom kept subtly trying to keep him away from me. It really seemed like she disliked me.

"Si Wen, you must be overthinking it. Why would Aunt Yang dislike you for no reason?"

Lin Xi thought she was reading too much into it. They probably just weren’t that familiar with each other yet. After all, she herself had already shared a meal with Aunt Yang on the first day.

"Today... I think I was bullying her son right in front of her."

"..."