Chapter 1301 - 825: A Meddlesome Heart (2)

Gu Qinghong couldn't help but smile after hearing Du Heng's words, "Don't worry, I'll call and ask."

Du Heng responded with a hum and then walked with Gu Qinghong towards his office.

When they reached Du Heng's office, Gu Qinghong had finished the call, "I've asked, he'll be home at eight o'clock tonight, then we can go to his place and see.

Du, does this arrangement work for you?"

"Sure, there's no problem with that." Du Heng readily nodded and promised.

Gu Qinghong's eyes suddenly brightened, and her expression revealed a hint of excitement.

But when Du Heng looked over, she quickly restrained her emotions, "Du, you see it's almost six o'clock now, why don't we go have dinner first? By the time we finish eating, it will be about the right time, and then we can go straight ahead, what do you think?"

This made Du Heng hesitant again, glancing at Gu Qinghong and then quickly looking away, afraid she might notice something.

Gu Qinghong wanting to invite him to dinner alone was not a one or two-time thing.

Although they had eaten together before, those times included Zhang Shiping and others, which he could accept.

But eating alone, Du Heng had a bit of resistance to this idea.

His thinking was clear: he must refuse.

Regardless of whether Gu Qinghong and Wu Shengnan could really get along, that's a separate issue, but Gu Qinghong's personality was always a hurdle for Du Heng.

She's too petty, too serious, too self-centered.

And because of her personality, she fell ill without complete recovery, which means if anything is slightly wrong, her personality might obsess a little, potentially causing a relapse.

The relationship being too close, in case of a relapse, would be hard to manage.

So out of caution, he has always maintained his distance with Gu Qinghong.

He's good at treating illness, but changing a person's personality is something he cannot do.

However, looking at the time, Du Heng couldn't find a good excuse now.

Especially now, when he needs her help, it's even harder to come up with an excuse.

So when he looked at Gu Qinghong again, he nodded and agreed directly.

Joy flashed across Gu Qinghong's face briefly, and she happily started introducing places with good food and environments.

But Du Heng rejected them all, even somewhat strongly, by casually picking a noodle restaurant to solve the dinner problem.

However, choosing a noodle restaurant did solve the problem of being alone, but the speed of eating noodles was also quick. In less than half an hour, they had finished dinner and started wandering around the square outside the neighborhood.

But at this time, the small square was very lively, so they weren't just waiting with nothing to do and could wander around freely, treating it as a rare moment of relaxation.

On summer evenings, the most active groups in the square are two.

One is the unafraid-of-cold-or-hot weather square-dancing aunties; they split into many groups, some wearing red lantern pants, some clad in full-body sportswear, some wearing long dresses, while others in just regular home clothes.

They danced and twisted, full of joy.

However, the square-dancing aunties in the Capital seem to be... a bit wealthier than those in Jinzhou.

Their dance music isn't directly played aloud but instead, each carries a large Bluetooth headset connected to their group's radio.

So it seems like there are many groups, but it doesn't disturb others, each playing separately without interfering, which is nice.

Yet, watching these quietly dancing aunties, the scene is somewhat eerie.

And these dancing aunties, having many groups, severely compresses the activity space of another lively group.

And this group is those elementary school students just on vacation.

Now societal progress has occurred; students' hobbies and play content have evolved, and likewise, new parental education philosophies have changed.

They no longer ignore kids playing on phones or watching TV, consciously encouraging them to go outside, adding more outdoor activities.

Things like roller skating, skateboarding, small bicycles—these activities increasingly appear in these children's lives.

Moreover, some training classes seek enrollment, save money, and ease parents' convenience by directly teaching nearby, simply conducting lessons in front of each neighborhood's square.

The square-dancing side cannot be heard, but seeing a group of aunty synchronizing movements made Du Heng less appreciative and directly sit next to the roller skating teaching spot.

Smiling as he took a cold drink from Gu Qinghong's hand, he found a step to sit down, starting to enjoy these children's performances.

Obstacle weaving, bending under lines... watching made Du Heng beam with joy.

Watching these children, Du Heng couldn't help fantasizing that in three or four more years, he might have to enroll Du Wangyou in such a class.

In his own childhood, aside from normal studying, he was helping out his big brother for life.

No energy, no time, and especially no money, to learn some interesting skills or cultivate hobbies.

Now that conditions are better, Du Heng has already arranged for Du Yi, who is still little at home. There's martial arts and traditional Chinese medicine, living quite fulfilled.