Chapter 4 Untitled (Awaiting Recommendations)

  Can't help but want to bully Yu Daxin a bit...

  Thanks for the reward from the speechless and sulky classmate!

  ==============

  The bustling streets, the road surface has been cleared by snowplows, at this time in the midst of the vast expanse of silver and white, a faint black line stands out, snowflakes continue to fall on it, cars whizzing by, the thin layer of ice and snow melts away, turning into puddles of grayish-black water, splashing onto the sides of the road as the wheels roll by.

  At the entrance of a large supermarket by the roadside, a girl wearing a white down jacket and a white tiger hat was listlessly guarding several big bags of fruits and vegetables. The girl was very pretty, with a slender figure that was not yet fully developed, a thin face, big eyes shining like black gemstones, and a pure white outfit that stood out in the snowy landscape, like a delicate white lily blooming quietly.

  Such a beautiful and pure girl, alone guarding a large pile of things at the supermarket entrance, is obviously very eye-catching. The crowd coming and going from the supermarket can't help but pause for a moment on her body, with many glances filled with admiration and adoration, mostly from people around her age. Some bolder young boys will even intentionally enter and exit the door, trying to attract the girl's attention in this way.

  But this approach is definitely useless, the girl has been indifferent to the wandering figure and gaze, only squatting with her arms around her knees, pouting her small mouth as if sulking.

  A few bold ones, after going back and forth several times without seeing any effect, hesitated for a moment. One of the most confident boys pretended to be nonchalant and walked over, turning around beside him with a very enthusiastic attitude, greeting: "Classmate, can't move things? Do you want me to help?"

  The girl looked up, glanced at him, although she was a bit impatient in her heart, but the other person didn't do anything, just very enthusiastically wanting to help. She also couldn't directly drive him away, so she said: "No, I'm waiting for someone."

  But unexpectedly, after hearing her response, the boy's interest became even stronger, and he immediately started chatting: "Are you waiting for family or friends? Did you make a phone call? Do you want to borrow my cell phone?"

  Isn't this person annoying?

  The girl thought impatiently and hummed irritably: "Waiting for my husband!"

  "Huh..." The boy was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing: "Haha, haha, you're really humorous..." Although it's true that many girls in rural areas get married and have children at the age of 16, such situations are rare in big cities. Moreover, the boy didn't want to believe that this pure and innocent-looking girl could possibly be a married woman.

  As soon as the words came out, the girl rolled her eyes at him and burst into laughter: "Haha! Haha! Who's being humorous with you? I'm a mother of a child!" She pointed to the checkout counter inside the supermarket, where a man and a little girl were paying the bill. "That's my husband and daughter over there. What, do you like other people's wives?"

  “……”

  The boy looked at her with absurdity and terror, stunned for a moment, not knowing whether he was shocked by her sharp words or saddened by the fall of another little white flower. His face turned red and then pale again, his lips moved several times, but ultimately didn't say anything, and left in anger.

  The girl looked at his dejected back, then glanced at the tall and handsome man who was still paying at the cashier, playfully wrinkled her nose and hummed: "Hmph, stinky little Xian, stinky Junhe brother..."

  In the morning when I was sleeping soundly, I received a phone call. Thinking it was something good, I rushed over excitedly, only to find out that I had been called to do hard labor.

  You'll be in for it soon enough!

  Yoon-ah was grinding her teeth, clenching her jaw. Until Ahn Jun-hee and Soo-young finished paying at the supermarket and came out with their last bag of items, she was still pouting, Ahn Jun-hee found it amusing, reached out to pinch her cheek: "What's wrong? Your mouth is puckered up so much it could hold an oil bottle."

  "Hmph, I'm not talking to you!"

  "Still angry? Alright alright, just kidding, how could I let you carry things... Okay, sorry for disturbing your sleep too. Is that okay now? There's compensation, look at this!"

  She turned her head and took a glance, he held up a large box of pink Korean beef, sliced into neat pieces of steak, with marble-like muscle texture that seemed tender and juicy just by looking at it. Yun'er widened her clear eyes, like a little glutton, licked the corner of her mouth, and appeared to be drooling. However, in her heart, she was coldly laughing: "You think you can buy me off with just a few pieces of meat? You're underestimating Lin Yun'er!"

  But think about it for a moment, those steaks are stir-fried in oil until tender and juicy, brushed with chili sauce and cumin's thick flavor... cough...

  She clicked her tongue and suppressed the restless psychology in her heart, spitting out that she was really spineless!

  They bought a lot of things, and of course they couldn't just rely on manpower to transport them. An Junhe left the two girls guarding the door and went to find a car. When he came back, he saw a boy staring at him from afar with an angry expression, as if he had owed him a lot of money in his previous life.

  An Junhe touched his mask, thinking it was an anti-meal, and he was recognized. However, soon after, he found that when the other person's gaze frequently released anger towards him, occasionally glancing at Yoon-ah who was hugging Soo-young for warmth by the supermarket entrance. At that moment, the young man with a worried expression had an indescribable sadness on his face with acne.

  "What kind of mischief is this girl up to again?" He thought with a smile, and went back to ask Yuner. The little girl giggled and laughed loudly, telling them about the time she was hit on while waiting for them earlier.

  Then he slapped An Junhe with a loud slap: "You little devil, where did you learn so many messy things."

  "Xiu Ying jie jiao de a, ta shuo zhe xie gan xiang mo sheng nu hai zi da sha de ren, lian pi dou hen hou, xiang gon zou ta men jiu yao bi ta men geng bu yao lian, jie jie hen you jing yan o!"

  Translation:

  "Sister Xiu Ying taught me that those who dare to hit on strange girls have thick skin. To get rid of them, one has to be even more shameless than they are. Sister is very experienced!"

  “…………”

  What do these girls usually talk about when they're together?! An Junhe smiled wryly, looked again at the distant direction, and sympathetically gazed at the boys here, saying: "He must be very sad now."

  "Really?" Yun'er smiled mischievously and shrugged her shoulders.

  "Maybe he'll become desperate about life and jump off a building or something."

  Yoon-ah, who was helping to move things, thought for a moment and said: "That's great, I've never seen anyone jump off a building before. Tell your brother that when he wants to die, remember to tell me, I'll go watch."

  "So familiar with the poisonous tongue style, Ahn Jun-heo lazily let out a breath: '...You've really been spoiled by Soo-young...' "

  In the midst of laughter, the three people, along with the hired van driver, loaded all their purchases onto the vehicle and drove away into the wind and snow. As the car sped past, the young man standing by the side of the road gazed longingly after it, his eyes slowly disappearing from view. On this snowy day, the young man's heart sank in the cold.

  It wasn't until much later that another boy came out of the supermarket carrying two cups of milk tea and bumped him with his shoulder, that he finally withdrew his dazed gaze.

  "Zhe Yan, what's got you so absorbed."

  "There's nothing." The young man shook his head, feeling empty inside. The sweet and innocent girl had said something about being married and having children, which at first made him feel disappointed and angry that something sacred was being desecrated. But after calming down and thinking about it, he naturally didn't believe her. But what did it matter? Looking at how intimate she was with the man, speaking so boldly, it seemed like even if it wasn't true, it wouldn't be far off either.

  Alas, why have all the good things in this world been snatched away?

  With such worries, the young man's heart was shrouded in gloom. The cold wind blew with snowflakes, and a hanging icicle on the eaves of the shop behind him fell to the ground, shattering into thousands of sparkling fragments.

  Like a boy's fragile glass heart...

  ……

  A certain young man, still fuming with anger, arrived home a few minutes later and knocked on the door. When he opened it, Lin Xiujing's gentle smile behind the door left him stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "You're back?"

  "Uh-huh!" she replied, a few days after returning from Tokyo, the first time they met, the scene and dialogue were very dull, but her heart was irrepressibly happy, she was no longer a romantic little girl, she knew that the most solid emotions were not the passionate sparks that burst out, but were nurtured in the ordinary trickle of water.

  This might be a good start.

  However, this good mood became a bit uncertain when An Junhe entered the house with two girls following him.

  Two very beautiful girls, both in the bean sprout age, one wearing a Korean dress, when seeing her, she politely bowed and asked for good, the other was slightly older, under the thick down jacket, you can already see the slender figure, on the clean face without any makeup, the clear eyes are like autumn pool, even as a woman, seeing her for a moment, can't help but be surprised by such purity.

  "This is..." She looked at An Junhe.

  It is undeniable that at this moment she felt a sense of crisis in her heart.

  "Oh, let me introduce you. This is Xu Zhu Xian and this is Lin Yun Er. They are my junior trainees at the company, hehe, we're as close as sisters. Ahn Jun Heo, who was moving things in, smiled and pointed to Soo Hyun and Yoon Ah, "Soo Hyun, Yoon Ah, do I need to introduce you to Lin Su Jeong unnie?"

  Xiao Xian, who had already greeted her, bowed to Lin Xiujing again and asked seriously: "I really like the Song Encai played by Sister, can you sign an autograph for me later?"

  Looking at her serious expression, Lin Xiujing was taken aback for a moment, nodded in agreement, and then looked to the side, big eyes sparkling with curiosity, sizing up the girl who had been staring at her since she came in, named Lin Yuner, suppressing the strangeness in her heart, stretched out her hand: "Hello!"

  Yoon looked at the hand that was handed to her, hesitated for a moment, then shook it and smiled brightly: "Sister is good too!" Then she followed Ahn Jun-hee out to move things, Lin Xiujing was stunned, the girl's attitude couldn't be said to be cold, but it wasn't very enthusiastic either. Next, she heard the girl complaining vaguely outside the door.

  "Didn't you agree with me? From now on, don't call me sister, call me girlfriend!"

  "Go! Don't make trouble."

  "I didn't cause any trouble, humph, An Junhe, you don't keep your word."

  "Hey, I'm moving stuff, don't choke me..."

  Then came the giggles and disputes, only to hear laughter, as if it could outline a picture of joy outside.

  In the entrance hall, she lowered her head.

  It feels uncomfortable...

  In Korea, the traditional way to ward off disasters on Seollal is not only to drink ear-clearing liquor in the morning but also to eat dried fruits. In the past, people believed that the sound of biting into dried fruits could drive away disasters. Now, it's mostly about promoting the nutritional value of dried fruits, so it's also indispensable.

  The traditional dinner is mainly focused on the evening, and the dining rules are not complicated. Only need to prepare cold dishes and five-grain rice. The traditional cold dish is difficult to make, requiring wild vegetables and melons to be soaked for two days to enter the flavor. An Junhe did not prepare in advance, so he simply made a raw salad.

  After casually having lunch, while he was busy in the kitchen, several big and small girls sat in the living room, each snacking on dried fruit and watching TV.

  The atmosphere isn't very good...

  Yoon-ah was half-reclining on the sofa, snacking on walnuts with a pair of chopsticks, occasionally casting glances at Lin Xiu-jing. Compared to Yoon-ah's carefree demeanor, Lin Xiu-jing seemed much more reserved, sometimes looking at Yoon-ah and sometimes at Zhi-xiu. On the other side, Xiao-xian and Zhi-xiu had formed their own little group, peeling melon seeds and feeding each other.

  No one was chatting, and the only sound in the living room was the faint rustling of dry fruit shells, accompanied by the cheers celebrating the Lantern Festival on TV.

  At that moment, An Junhe came out to get something and sensed the somewhat awkward and distant atmosphere. After taking a brief look at the distribution of several girls, he knew where the problem lay.

  Whether it was Soo-young or Yoon-ah, eating at his place wasn't their first time. In the past when he wasn't home, they would often come over to keep Ji-soo company and chat with her. Their relationship had long been familiar, but for them, Jinsung's wife was a stranger, someone who only existed in his occasional mentions and as the character "Song Eun-chae" on TV.

  They hadn't spent time together before, and there was a big age gap between them. They didn't have any common topics to talk about, and none of the people present were the type to liven up the atmosphere, so they just sat there in awkward silence.

  He shook his head and called out: "Uh, Xiujing jie, can you come in and help me for a bit?"

  Lin Xiujing, who had been suffocated by the atmosphere for a long time, hastily responded and entered the kitchen with him.

  Watching the two figures disappear at the kitchen door, Yun'er's thin lips pouted slightly, and then she quietly got up and sneaked towards the kitchen.

  "Sister..." Xixi found her moving and stared at her with wide eyes.

  Yuner hastily gestured for her to be quiet and then beckoned the little girl over, whispering in her ear:

  "We listen to what they say, and that sister's gaze at Jun-hyuk oppa... hmm, it doesn't feel right..."

  "But eavesdropping..." The little girl hesitated.

  "What sneaking? We are openly listening outside the door, it's just that they can't see us so they can't blame us!"

  With this far-fetched excuse as cover, Xiaoxian was finally persuaded, and the two girls sneaked to the kitchen door, where they eavesdropped in the faint light that shone out from inside.

  The kitchen was shrouded in smoke at this time.

  An Junhe quickly poured the cleaned shepherd's purse and spinach into a pot of boiling water, steaming vigorously to disinfect them. Next to him, Lin Xiujing was adjusting the seasoning.

  "Don't mind what just happened, they're still not familiar with you, it's inevitable that they'd be a bit shy."

  "It's okay." Lin Xiujing smiled warmly, raised her hand to tuck a strand of fallen hair behind her ear, and then, as if thinking of something, said with a slightly shy expression: "However, Zhishou might dislike me a bit."

  "Huh? Why?" Ahn Jun-hee looked at her with a puzzled expression, as it wasn't like her calm nature to make Ji-soo dislike her.

  Lin Xiujing's cheeks flushed red as she stammered and told about the incident when she first arrived and accidentally knocked over the tea table.

  "Haha......" Ahn Jun-hee burst out laughing, seeing her expression becoming more and more embarrassed amidst the laughter. Only then did he laugh and say: "Alright, it's nothing, that wasn't her being annoyed with you... Of course, you almost broke the tea table, she must be a bit angry, but she'll forget soon, once you get to know her better, Jisoo is actually very easy-going."

  Outside the door, two girls also covered their mouths and giggled. To them, Lin Xiujing at first glance was undoubtedly beautiful, her unattainable maturity and charm were fully embodied in her. However, such a person could not make them feel close to her, she was too quiet, like a distant and cold orchid.

  It wasn't until then that I heard she would also make a fool of herself, and the distance between us suddenly seemed to narrow, and I had a slight good impression of her.

  However, the two people in the kitchen obviously didn't know. From An Junhe's mouth, it was clear that Zhishu didn't dislike himself, Lin Xiujing let out a sigh of relief, thought for a moment, and then asked again: "What does Zhishu usually like?"

  "Why ask this suddenly?"

  "I just want to get on her good side!" she said matter-of-factly, her gaze sweeping over him.

  An Junhe paused for a moment as he scooped up the vegetables from the hot pot, and a bitter smile gradually appeared at the corner of his mouth. He knew why she said she wanted to get along with Zhishu...

  "You..."

  Turning around, he looked at her with a complex gaze, and she gazed back softly. In that soft gaze, some words got stuck in his throat and couldn't be said.

  Outside the door, Yuan'er and Xiao Xian exchanged a glance. Xiao Xian's eyes were confused, while Yuan'er's eyes had a certain sudden realization!

  She peeked in, and the kitchen filled with steam, where two people were exchanging glances, this scene was just like what she had seen on TV before. The girl's heart couldn't describe the taste at that moment. Originally, discovering such gossip should have excited her, but for some reason, she felt more complicated.

  At this time, a mobile phone ring suddenly sounded, and Yun'er was like a startled little chicken, hurriedly pulling up Xiao Xian to run away.

  Two girls ran back into the living room for a while, and soon saw Ahn Jun-hee and Lim Soo-jung come out, directly taking over the remote control and switching the TV to KBS2 channel.

  Ji Hyeon-woo, who was engrossed in watching TV, turned around and looked at Ahn Joon-hee: "Brother, what's wrong?"

  "Hehe." An Junhe smiled and waved his hand, "Just wait a minute and you'll know!"

  As soon as the voice fell, after a TV commercial, the screen suddenly turned gray, and a melancholic melody played. The mottled wall gradually appeared in outline to this music.

  The moment she heard the music, Yun'er was surprised and raised her head: "Brother, is it 1 minute and 1 second?"

  "Ah, yes! The MV teaser!"