Chapter 218: The Love of Youth
Translator: Lonelytree
Xiao Xinxin and Xiao Mingyang were walking out of the warehouse when they heard a familiar voice. Their bodies shivered instinctively, and then they asked warily, “Young Master Zeng, why are you here?”
Liu Chunhua heard their conversation and smiled. “Xinxin, do you know each other?”
“Yes, we do!”
“Not really!”
The first sentence was said by Zeng Yaozu, and the second sentence was uttered by Xiao Xinxin.
Liu Chunhua, “…” So they do know each other.
When Zeng Yaozu came to his senses, he asked, “Xinxin, have you not forgiven me yet?”
Liu Chunhua, “…” Is there something between them?
Xiao Xinxin, “…” Why would he say that? It makes things sound so suspicious.
Just as Xiao Xinxin was about to say something, she noticed Fourth Aunt Xiao’s curious gaze and thought. ‘Look, he has caused a misunderstanding.’
Xiao Xinxin took a deep breath and asked, “Young Master Zeng, why are you here?”
Zeng Yaozu scratched his head. His face was red, and he looked a little shy. He said, “I… I’m here to apply for a job?”
“Apply for a job?” Xiao Xinxin looked at Zeng Yaozu suspiciously. She asked again, “Young Master Zeng, you’re here for a job?
Xiao Xinxin was very doubtful. With his rich family background and his father being a high-ranking official, Xiao Xinxin could not believe Zeng Yaozu needed to work. Plus, if he wanted a job, he could find a job easily at the Labor Bureau.
Zeng Yaozu smiled and said, “Yes, I’m here to apply for a job.”
Xiao Xinxin said, “Young Master Zeng, our shop is too small for a big character like you. We can’t hire you!”
Even though Liu Chunhua didn’t know Zeng Yaozu’s real identity, she wouldn’t hire him due to his appearance. He’d scare away the customers.
Zeng Yaozu asked anxiously, “Why?”
Xiao Xinxin said, “Our boss isn’t here, so we can’t make the decision. Besides,” she looked at his outfit and said reluctantly, “Your way of dressing is going to scare off our customers!”
Liu Chunhua, “…” Why is Xinxin being so direct?
Zeng Yaozu, “…” So that’s why?
Zeng Yaozu scratched his head again and said straightforwardly, “Oh, you don’t like my outfit. No problem. I’ll change. Wait for me!”
With that, he ran away.
Liu Chunhua, “…”
Xiao Xinxin, “…”
Liu Chunhua watched the young man run away, and she asked curiously, “Xinxin, who is this boy? He looks imposing with his appearance, but he’s so shy.”
“…” Xiao Xinxin said, “Auntie Liu, that is the son of the director of the Bureau of Labor. He is also a member of the biker gang from that night.
“…” Liu Chunhua was surprised, “So, that’s him.” Liu Chunhua had heard about Xiao Xinxin’s adventure. She sighed, “Xinxin, it doesn’t seem wise for us to offend the young master.”
“Auntie Liu, we should tell Sister Lingyu about this.” Xiao Xinxin said.
Liu Chunhua shook her head. “We’ll keep this from her for now. She’s pregnant. She’s going into labor in about three months. We shouldn’t disturb her now.”
Xiao Xinxin nodded. “Okay, we’ll handle this on our own. If we can’t, then we’ll tell Sister Lingyu.”
“Yes.”
When Zeng Yaozu returned to the shop the next day, Xiao Xinxin and the others were shocked.
Zeng Yaozu’s hair had been dyed back to its normal black color. He wore normal white clothes. The strange gear was gone. There were no earrings on his ears either.
1
Zeng Yaozu was quite good-looking. He had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and tanned skin. He looked very healthy and handsome.
Seeing Zeng Yaozu dressed so formally, Xiao Xinxin’s face could not help but turn red. She muttered to herself, “Young Master Zeng is quite handsome. Why did he have to dress so weirdly in the past?” Xiao Xinxin was only 20 years ago. When she saw the handsome man, her heart skipped.
1
“Xinxin,” Zeng Yaozu called Xiao Xinxin again.
“Yes?” Xiao Xinxin was too caught up in the pleasant surprise that she didn’t notice Zeng Yaozu’s call of affection.
The silly and cute Young Master Zeng didn’t notice the effect of his charm on Xiao Xinxin either. He asked shyly, “Xinxin, I wanted to ask you, will you hire me now? I called you three or four times, but you didn’t respond.”
Xiao Xinxin’s face immediately turned as red as an apple. It was extremely cute.
Zeng Yaozu was stunned by her appearance. He blurted out, “Xinxin, you’re so cute!”
Xiao Xinxin’s face turned even redder. She stuttered helplessly, “What… What are you talking about? What… What are you talking about? I… I’m not cute.”
Auntie Xiao, who was watching from the side, suddenly realized something. She had been through this before. ‘This young man is trying to woo our Xinxin. No wonder he is acting so shy around Xinxin!’
“But you are cute!” Zeng Yaozu added.
Xiao Xinxin’s face turned crimson.
Seeing this, Liu Chunhua couldn’t help but burst out laughing. The two youngsters blushed when they heard Liu Chunhua.
Liu Chunhua asked with a smile, “Young Master Zeng, do you really want to work here? Or do you have another purpose?”
Young Master Zeng’s face was so red that it looked like it was going to bleed. He was flummoxed by the question. He opened his mouth to say something, but he did not know how to say it.
Liu Chunhua waved her hand and said very seriously, “Young Master Zeng, your background is really too hefty to work at a small shop like ours.”
“I… I…” Zeng Yaozu was anxious. “I really want to work here. I have no motive. Auntie, don’t worry. I can do anything. I’ll man the cashier and even clean the shop. I’ve asked around, and I know you are hiring people because you only have three employees, and your business is very good.” Then, he thought of something and added, “I don’t mind the salary. Auntie, you can pay me as much as you want!”
Liu Chunhua, “…”
‘So he is willing to work for free? Who would believe that he has no purpose working here?’
Liu Chunhua said, “Okay. I’ll ask the boss and get her opinion. What do you think?”
“The boss?” Zeng Yaozu frowned. “Do you mean Xin Xin’s sister?” He reminded the pregnant woman of that day.
Liu Chunhua nodded.
Zeng Yaozu thought for a moment and nodded. “Okay. Thank you, Auntie. I’ll come back tomorrow.” He knew that Xinxin and her family would go back to the Taoyuan Village every day. They had to restock the shop every day.
“…” Liu Chunhua nodded.
After Zeng Yaozu left, Liu Chunhua turned to Xiao Xinxin with a smile, “Xinxin, why do you think he wants to work here? Does he have any ulterior motives?”
Xiao Xinxin’s face was still red. She said, “Auntie Liu, how would I know? I don’t know even know him that well!”
“Oh.” Liu Chunhua nodded, but her tone was teasing, “I don’t think we should hire him either way. We don’t need to ask Lingyu and tell him tomorrow that we can’t hire him. What do you think?”
“Auntie Liu, that’s not good.” Xiao Xinxin shook her head. “We’ve already promised him to ask Sister Lingyu, right?”
‘It looks like our Xinxin is not completely uninterested in Young Master Zeng.’ Liu Chunhua said, “Alright, I’ll ask Lingyu then.”
After hearing this, Xiao Xinxin secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
…
Xiao Lingyu spat out the chicken soup she was drinking. She sat in the courtyard enjoying the sunset. Mother Xiao handed her the chicken soup earlier.
She asked again, “Fourth aunt, what did you say? That Young Master Zeng is interested in Xinxin?”
Liu Chunhua immediately came to find Xiao Lingyu when she returned to Taoyuan Village.
Xiao Xinxin stayed in the county town. Ever since her incident, she understood the power of knowledge. Therefore, she had been studying. Xiao Lingyu realized Xiao Xinxin had talent in management, so she had been finding related books for her. When the shop was closed, Xiao Xinxin would stay at Xiao Lingyu’s rental and read.
So, only Liu Chunhua came to find Xiao Lingyu to tell her about Zeng Yaozu.
Liu Chunhua nodded. “Lingyu, you have no idea how red these two’s faces were when they were just standing beside each other!”
Xiao Lingyu smiled, “Young Master Zeng’s father and grandfather did say that he is very shy around girls.”
Liu Chunhua chuckled, “I’m surprised that the handsome man would be so shy around girls. Has he never been in a relationship before?”
Xiao Lingyu shook her head and said, “I’m not sure about that! Young Master Zeng should be around twenty-four or twenty-five already.”
Liu Chunhua asked, “Lingyu, should we hire Young Master Zeng then?”
Xiao Lingyu thought for a moment and said, “But the way Young Master Zeng is dressed…”
“Aiz, how can I forget to mention this!” Liu Chunhua patted her head. “Young Master Zeng has dyed his hair back to black and changed his clothes back to normal. He is quite handsome, actually. Xinxin was dazed when she saw the changed Young Master Zeng.”
“Oh,” Xiao Lingyu said with a smile, “It seems that Xinxin is not completely uninterested in him.”
Love at first sight stories mostly involved handsome men and beautiful women.
Although Xiao Xinxin was born in the countryside, she was quite pretty. She worked in the supermarket and was not exposed to the sun. She was fair and pretty. It was understandable for Young Master Zeng to like her at first sight.
Young Master Zeng had once scared Xiao Xinxin. His gangster way had frightened Xiao Xinxin too. However, the man had changed.
Young Master Zeng was handsome, and Xiao Xinxin was pretty.
Liu Chunhua added, “That’s right. When they were at the shop earlier, I was drowning in their sweetness. It was too cute!”
Xiao Lingyu nodded, “Fourth aunt, let’s not rush this. If they are both interested, we can help them along, but…” She frowned and said worriedly, “There’s a big gap between the two families. One is the son of an official in the county, and the other is the daughter of a farmer in the countryside. They don’t belong to the same circle. We need to protect Xinxin so that she doesn’t get hurt.”
Liu Chunhua agreed. “Lingyu, you’re right.”
Xiao Lingyu added, “But Xinxin is still young. She has a lot of time to grow. Xinxin can work hard to become someone who can impress the man’s family.”
Liu Chunhua didn’t quite get that. Marriage was more than just love. It was a matter of union between two families. Marriages between mismatched families would lead to tragedies.
Xiao Xinxin was only a rural girl who had just graduated from junior high school. If she married Zeng Yaozu, then people would have things to say.
Xiao Xinxin’s parents wouldn’t say anything, but Zeng Yaozu’s family would have comments. They would look down on her. No matter how strong their love was, there would be cracks. Over time, the cracks would shatter the love.
However, if Xiao Xinxin worked hard and became someone as equally powerful as Zeng Yaozu, then her in-laws wouldn’t trouble her anymore.
