Chapter 263: New Friend

Chapter 263: Chapter 263: New Friend

"Alright, let’s go."

Hearing this, Lin Qiao calmed down and began to blush. What she had just said was truly inappropriate. To think she used to look down on Gu Nuan Nuan... but when something actually happened, she hadn’t behaved any better herself. Telling her to take the gift back after she’d already brought it over wasn’t just incredibly rude, it was petty.

The more she thought about it, the more ashamed she felt. She walked on with her head down for a short while, collecting herself before forcing her mind off it. She remembered what Gu Nuan Nuan had said earlier and began to explain, "The ’welcoming of the gods’ is usually in the afternoon—" Lin Qiao glanced sideways at Gu Nuan Nuan, sensing something was off. "Huh? Nuannuan, how come you don’t seem to know anything? Does your village not celebrate the Half-Dan Festival?"

"No, so I really don’t know much about it." Gu Nuan Nuan nodded, not thinking there was anything wrong with her ignorance. "It was only when I went home yesterday and mentioned it that my grandpa and grandma told me their village used to celebrate it in the past, but they haven’t done it for many years now."

"Oh—"

Lin Qiao looked very surprised. "I thought all the villages around here had started celebrating the Half-Dan Festival again. Our village started the year before last. I can’t believe yours hasn’t. Which village are you from? Were you at your grandpa and grandma’s house yesterday? Don’t you live with your parents? Are you living with your grandpa and grandma instead?"

Lin Qiao was confused at first, then a look of sudden realization, mixed with envy, crossed her face as she looked at Gu Nuan Nuan. "Did your mom marry someone close by? Are your parents from the same village? We have couples like that in our village. There are a lot of benefits to having your mother’s family nearby. At least your mom can go back to her family’s home whenever she wants. And with her brothers close by, your paternal grandparents wouldn’t dare bully your mom. It’s not like with my mom. When I was little, she was always complaining to me that my maternal grandma’s house was too far away. It costs money to take the bus for a round trip, so they visited less and less. So when my paternal grandma bullied her, she couldn’t just ask my uncles to come over and stand up for her."

Lin Qiao sighed, a look on her face that didn’t match her age. "Sigh... My mom has had it so tough. Her family was far away, so when my grandma bullied her, there was no one to back her up. It wasn’t until a few years ago when my uncle finally made something of himself and stayed in the city—we started seeing him a lot more—that my grandma finally backed off and didn’t dare to bully my mom so casually anymore. So, there really are a lot of advantages to marrying someone close to your family. I should probably find someone from one of the villages around here to marry in the future, too."

Seeing how seriously she was speaking, Gu Nuan Nuan couldn’t help but smile. "Do you have a boy you like already?" ℯℯ𝑙.

"Of course not! I’m still in school."

Lin Qiao denied it instantly, her eyes widening as she looked at Gu Nuan Nuan with great seriousness. "My mom says that if a young girl gets too close to boys, she’s the one who’ll suffer. Even if nothing happens, your reputation will be ruined, and it’ll be hard to find a good husband later. And if you are taken advantage of, it’s even worse. Your whole life could be ruined. People won’t say bad things about the boy. It’s the girl who gets drowned in gossip, so I’m not that stupid. My main goal right now is to focus on my studies, get into university, and make my mom proud. You have no idea how horribly my grandma bullies my mom for not having a son. My dad says it’s fine, but my mom told me he shouts about wanting a son in his sleep. There are already three of us sisters, and now my mom is pregnant again..."

As she spoke, her expression grew more and more downcast. "My parents are dead set on having a boy. But my mom secretly worries—what if she still can’t have a boy? That’s why she needs me to make her proud. As long as I can get into university, at least she’ll be able to hold her head up a little higher."

"Uh—"

Gu Nuan Nuan was left a bit speechless after hearing about Lin Qiao’s parents’ obsession with having a son. But it was their family’s private business, and she really had no right to question it or say too much. In that instant, though, she connected it to Lin Qiao’s earlier reaction and became lost in thought. ’Given Lin Qiao’s family situation, their finances are probably worse than average. And I just had to bring such a huge jug of oil. A jug of peanut oil like that is pretty valuable right now. Her reaction earlier was probably because she knows her family’s situation and was worried she wouldn’t be able to return a gift of this value...’

’What I did was really a bit thoughtless.’ She no longer felt like she owed Lin Qiao anything, but it was clear she had now burdened her instead. ’Looks like I need to pay more attention to these little details from now on. After all, while you shouldn’t bend over backward to please others at your own expense, you can’t just do whatever makes you happy without considering others, either.’