MQSP - Chapter 71
Chapter 71
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the New Year was approaching.
Lin Yuqing discussed not going back for the holiday with Xiao Ye. As it happened, the little heartless one had the same idea, and the two hit it off immediately.
Lately, it was lively down the mountain. There was a market every day, and they heard that in the next few days, the various villages would be holding bonfire parties to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.
Ever since Lin Yuqing had briefly mentioned marriage that night, the little one had been thinking about it. Yet, no matter how she was asked, Lin Yuqing would stubbornly deny it, saying Xiao Ye must have been half-asleep and dreaming.
With this attitude of hers, Xiao Ye was at a loss. So, she'd gotten angry and hadn't spoken to her for several days.
Today was New Year's Eve. Lin Yuqing got up early, her first task, of course, being to wrestle the little one awake.
"Xiao Ye, get up. Let's go down the mountain to buy some groceries first, then go to the Flower Witch's place to cook. We can go see the bonfire party tonight, okay?" she said, nibbling on Xiao Ye's ear.
"Mmm~"
"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you." The little one looked resigned. Auntie Lin seemed to be getting clingier and clingier lately!
She stretched lazily, sat up, and rubbed her eyes. Lin Yuqing immediately brought her clothes over. While the little one was getting dressed, she even prepared water for washing her face, serving her with meticulous care.
Xiao Ye was quite pleased with herself. If I don't throw a little tantrum, you'll think I don't have a temper, won't you? I only gave her the cold shoulder for three days, and she's already this obedient. Auntie Xue was right, I can't always let her have her way!
Once the two were ready, they headed out.
"We should have asked Flower Auntie to come with us, so we could buy some dishes she likes," Baiye said suddenly as they walked down, thinking of the Flower Witch.
"As long as you're the one cooking, she'll love it," Lin Yuqing replied without hesitation.
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuqing smiled, grabbed the little one's hand, pressed it to her lips for a kiss, and then pulled her along as they strode quickly down the mountain.
The market was truly bustling today. Besides the locals, there were tourists from all over. The crowd was dense, and because there were so many people, the vegetable vendors had started to raise their prices on the spot.
Lin Yuqing held Xiao Ye's hand tightly, afraid she would run off again or get jostled by the crowd. As the two were moving slowly with the flow of people, they suddenly heard a cry of surprise beside them.
"Lin-Lin Yuqing! Are you Lin Yuqing?!"
Startled by the voice, Lin Yuqing turned her head and saw a young woman with black-framed glasses holding a DSLR camera. The moment she saw her, she was about to press the shutter.
Lin Yuqing was faster. She raised a hand to block the lens. "You have the wrong person."
She turned and squeezed out of the crowd with Xiao Ye. Standing by a nearby stall, she put on the scarf she had just taken off, then quickly pulled the little one's scarf up higher as well. Just as she was adjusting it, she heard a click next to her ear, like the sound of a camera shutter.
Lin Yuqing whipped her head around, annoyed. The person had actually followed them out and had taken a picture of her helping Xiao Ye with her scarf!
"Please delete that photo!" she said, glaring at the girl.
The girl completely ignored Lin Yuqing's angry expression. Her eyes scanned Xiao Ye up and down, then lit up.
"Wow, is this your lover? She's so beautiful! You're a perfect match, a truly perfect match!"
As the girl spoke, she raised her camera again.
Baiye turned her head to the side, covering her face more securely. Before she could react, Lin Yuqing pulled her behind her to shield her.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Seeing Lin Yuqing's wary expression, the girl slapped her forehead. "Please don't misunderstand, I don't have any ill intentions. Um… there are too many people here. Can we talk somewhere more private?"
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Qiao Zhen, and I'm a photojournalist—well, still an intern. I really, really like you! And by the way, I'm gay too~ But I'm not as lucky as you; I haven't found my ideal other half yet."
"I heard about what happened with you two, and I really admire your courage to publicly admit it. I never expected to meet you here. Could you please let me take a few more photos? Let me get a glimpse of your daily life so I can report on it and show all those anti-gay people that same-sex love is true love!"
Lin Yuqing frowned. "I'm sorry. I admire your sentiment, but we really can't help you. We also hope you'll give us some private space. Please delete that photo. I don't want my lover's picture getting out. Please understand."
"Please believe me, I really mean no harm. Personally, I'm very envious of your reclusive lifestyle, and I'm genuinely curious about how you two live." Qiao Zhen hugged her camera, holding it tightly, clearly afraid Lin Yuqing would delete the photo by force.
Lin Yuqing shook her head. "I believe you. Please delete the photo." Her tone was firm and left no room for argument.
Hearing this, Qiao Zhen fiddled with her camera, her eyes darting around. "If I delete this photo, can you agree to let me observe your lives up close? I want to write an article about it. I promise I won't mention your names!"
Lin Yuqing didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I won't even let you take photos, and you want to observe us up close?
"Hmm, delete it first," Lin Yuqing said.
Qiao Zhen's face lit up. She held the camera up for Lin Yuqing to see and deleted the photo right in front of her.
"Thank you," Lin Yuqing said, then turned and walked away, pulling Xiao Ye with her.
"Hey! You said you'd let me observe you!"
"I never agreed," Lin Yuqing tossed back over her shoulder. She led Xiao Ye into the most crowded areas, weaving and turning until they had shaken Qiao Zhen off.
"Auntie Lin, you're getting more and more mischievous," Baiye said with a wicked grin, feeling a strange pang of pity for the young reporter.
"Tsk, is that a word you should be using to describe me? You have no respect for your elders!" Lin Yuqing glanced back to make sure the person wasn't following them.
"Let's just buy a few things and go back. There are too many people and prying eyes; it's not convenient."
"Mmm~ My Auntie Lin, your popularity hasn't faded one bit~"
"Of course not," Lin Yuqing said, shooting her a look. She had an expression of smug showing off.
They had originally planned to see the bonfire party that night, but there would surely be a lot of tourists then, too. If they were recognized again… it was better to just forget it and not ask for trouble.
The two bought some vegetables, fruit, and a small leg of lamb, then headed for home.
"Auntie Lin, why don't we ask Flower Auntie to come down tonight? We can roast the leg of lamb together!"
The idea happened to coincide with Lin Yuqing's own. She nodded and immediately agreed. "You go ask her. You have more sway; you'll be able to persuade her."
Baiye pursed her lips. It wasn't that exaggerated. Flower Auntie was clearly very easy to get along with.
They first returned to their temporary residence. The little one wanted to give New Year's greetings to everyone and chat with Xia Nan. Since Xiao Ye wasn't going back, Xia Nan would likely be spending the New Year alone, which made Lin Yuqing feel quite guilty.
It was already afternoon when they returned to the wooden house. They had intended to go straight to the Flower Witch's place, but as they passed their own cabin, they stopped in their tracks. They saw that the bonfire pit outside had been lit, and someone bundled up like a bear was busy in front of the fire.
Just as they were wondering…
"Aiya, Xia Xiaozi, can you roast the meat first? I'm starving to death!"
"I know, you're such a glutton."
"Xiao Zi, remember to add some chili peppers~"
Lin Yuqing and the little one exchanged a look, completely dumbfounded. How… how were they all here…?
"Aun… Auntie?" Baiye hurried over and saw Xue Yuexian sitting on a small wooden stool, waiting for the meal to start.
"Hey! My little baby Xiao Ye, you're finally back! We've been waiting for you for ages!" Hearing her voice, Xue Yuexian looked over and immediately came to give the little one a big bear hug, pressing her cheek against hers, kissing and hugging her. Then she took half a step back to look her over carefully.
"You've gotten chubbier. You've filled out in all the right places. Mmm, not bad. Looks like Lin Yuqing hasn't been mistreating you!"
"Are they back?" A rustling sound came from inside the house.
Baiye looked over and saw Auntie Fang come out first, followed closely by Teacher Lu and Auntie Jiang. Director Su emerged from the kitchen.
"You… why are you all here?" Xiao Ye was overjoyed, unable to contain her excitement. She then hugged Xia Xiaozi, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, clinging to her affectionately. "Auntie, I missed you so much."
Xiao Ye greeted everyone one by one, giving each of them a hug and clinging to them for a good while.
"You two are living such a comfortable life here, I wonder if you even think about us," Fang Yi said, poking Xiao Ye's forehead and scolding the little heartless one.
"Mmm… that's not true… but, hehe, it is pretty comfortable~"
"Where's Lin Yuqing? Your dear Auntie is here, why hasn't she come out to pay her respects?" Xue Yuexian said, looking around for Lin Yuqing.
The little one walked behind a tree and dragged Lin Yuqing out. "Here, go say hello to Auntie."
"Tsk, you're ganging up with them again, aren't you!" Lin Yuqing was completely exasperated. If she married Xiao Ye, her seniority in this family…
Never mind all these aunties… up there… there was still a mother…
Dragged in front of everyone by the little one, Xue Yuexian and Xia Xiaozi stood before her like two great mountains, breaking into wicked smiles in unison.
Lin Yuqing didn't need to think to know what kind of mischief the two of them were plotting. This was going to be the death of her!
"Alright, alright. How about this: today, I'll be the one to cook and properly host all you elders," she said, bowing her head as if accepting her fate.
"Elder Xue would like a cup of tea from her niece-in-law."
You're so spoiled!
"Elder Su isn't so particular. She just wants a bite of the meat you're grilling!"
"Aiya, as for me, Elder Fang, hmm… my neck is a little sore."
"…" Lin Yuqing shot her a look. The more I let you talk, the more carried away you get!
"Elder Xia would like to state…"
Lin Yuqing glared.
"Elder Xia… has no requests."
"What are you afraid of? In front of us, does she dare to cause an uproar?" Xue Yuexian tossed her head, dissatisfied.
"Today, you must unconditionally obey all the requests of these elders. You can't just whisk our Xiao Ye away like that. How could we let you off so easily!"
"Lu Qing, Jiang Boyan, what about you two? Any requests?"
"I just can't stand the way you're taking advantage of the situation," Lu Qing said with a pout, shooting her a sideways glance. She walked over to Lin Yuqing and patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I have no requests whatsoever," she declared righteously.
"But I can certainly handle being called 'Auntie'!"
…Get lost! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
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