Village Belle Chapter 127
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 127: Sleep Separately
The next morning, at school.
Milksop was back, and Su Tao felt energized. Zheng Duoyin kicked her chair, and she retaliated with two slaps, making Zheng Duoyin scream and apologize profusely.
While the two were playing around, Wei Yan ran over to Xie Yuntang and sweetly asked, "Brother Yuntang, how did you do on your exams? Was it difficult?"
Su Tao stopped hitting Zheng Duoyin and glared at Wei Yan with displeasure. This girl was so annoying; she was always trying to steal Milksop from her.
Couldn't Wei Yan wait until she left before trying to steal him?
But even if she left, it wouldn't do. Wei Yan wasn't good enough for Milksop.
Instead of studying hard, she only cared about "marrying into a wealthy family."
If there was anyone richer than Milksop, she would definitely fawn over that person.
Xie Yuntang glanced at Su Tao and, for the first time, was impolite by not responding to Wei Yan.
They had bullied Su Tao before, so he didn't like the Wei family's children.
When he didn't speak, Wei Yan started talking again, her big eyes blinking beautifully. "Brother Yuntang, let's play on the swing at noon. I'll push you."
Before Xie Yuntang could say anything, Zheng Duoyin blurted out, "I want to go too. Wei Yan, you have to push me too. You can't just push Yuntang like Big Sister does."
"I'm not going." Xie Yuntang shook his head and refused.
Su Tao was very satisfied with his reaction. She deliberately provoked Wei Yan, resting her head on Xie Yuntang's shoulder. "Milksop, let's go together at noon. You’ll push me."
Xie Yuntang nodded happily. "Okay."
Wei Yan pouted, looking a little aggrieved. Zheng Duoyin didn't know the intricacies between them and thought it’d be more fun for everyone to play together. "Big Sister, let's play together."
"Pfft, who wants to play with you? I only want to play with Xie Yuntang." Su Tao glared at him angrily.
Xie Yuntang quickly chimed in, "I only play with Sister Taozi too."
His soft demeanor made Su Tao feel the urge to tease him, so she reached out and touched his cheek, saying in a lewd way, "Milksop, you're so good."
Xie Yuntang didn't dodge, letting her touch his cheek until it turned red. However, his hands hung at his sides a little awkwardly.
Xie Yuntang didn't speak, but Wei Yan grew anxious, probably because she was trying to win Xie Yuntang's favor, but Xie Yuntang only responded to Su Tao's advances.
She reached out and tugged at Su Tao's hand. "Su Tao! You're not allowed to bully Brother Yuntang."
"Wei Yan, Xie Yuntang hasn't even said anything yet. Why are you so anxious? Milksop, do you like me touching you?" Su Tao glared at Wei Yan, then stared at Xie Yuntang assertively.
Xie Yuntang nodded. "I like it."
"Don't pull Sister Taozi."
The last sentence was directed at Wei Yan, clearly still a little angry.
He hated people pulling Sister Taozi. It would hurt her.
At this moment, the teacher arrived, and the group of children quickly sat up straight. The teacher glanced at Wei Yan, frowned, and said in a deep voice, "Have you memorized the text I asked you to memorize yesterday? I'll pick two of you to memorize it."
"Wei Yan and Su Tao. Wei Yan, you go first."
Wei Yan stood up shakily. "The river..."
After a while, that was still all she could recite. She lowered her head, her eyes reddening. She was clearly a little afraid.
Although the Wei family paid for her to study, their real intention wasn't for her to study, but to build a good relationship with Xie Yuntang. Hence, naturally she didn't focus on the textbooks.
Her family didn't care about her studies either.
The teacher's face darkened slightly, then he looked at Su Tao. "Su Tao, stand up and recite."
Su Tao was much more confident than her, reciting clearly without any pause, "There are the Yangtze river, the Yellow River, the Huai River, and the Ji Shui River. These four rivers that flow to the sea are the great rivers of China. There are Mount Tai in the east, Mount Hua in the west, Mount Song in the central region, Mount Heng in the north and Mount Heng in the south. These are the famous five mountains of China. The ancient Nine Provinces are now reorganized into administrative regions, and there are thirty-five in total. There are scholars, peasants, workers and merchants. They represent the four important pillars of our society."
Zheng Duoyin, sitting behind, was dumbfounded and whispered, "Big Sister is really something."
Xie Yuntang looked at Su Tao with admiration, his eyes shining like stars.
Sister Taozi was truly incredible.
The teacher was satisfied and gestured for Su Tao to sit down. He then criticized Wei Yan, saying, "Since you've paid money to study, you should study hard. Whether you're a boy or a girl, it’d be best if you could read and write."
"I'm not asking you all to learn from Xie Yuntang, but at least learn from Su Tao. She couldn't read at first, but she diligently memorized at home and is motivated."
Su Tao was educated, but hadn't memorized classical Chinese texts before. She did diligently memorize at home every day.
At this point, Wei Yan began to sob. Girls were easily embarrassed, and being criticized in front of so many people naturally frightened her.
The teacher frowned slightly but didn't continue. He picked up his book and began to teach.
……
At noon, Xie Qing learned about Wei Yan from the teacher and asked Xie Yuntang after lunch, "Yuntang, has Wei Yan been inviting you to play with her these days?"
He wasn't against the children playing with Xie Yuntang. The main problem was the Wei family's motives.
Bluntly put, they just wanted to get benefits from the Xie family, and weren’t sincere.
Yuntang was naive and gullible. Being a nine-year-old child, he was innocent. It’d be bad if something untoward were to happen.
"Yes, but I didn't play with her. I don't like her. They bullied Sister Taozi." Xie Yuntang's serious little face showed a very firm attitude.
Hearing this, Xie Qing was relieved and didn't ask any further. Yuntang wouldn't dislike someone easily. If he said he didn't like someone, then he really didn't.
He got down to business and asked, "If you pass the prefectural examination, do you want to study in the prefectural city or have the teacher teach you in the village?"
He added at the end, "Sister Taozi can't go to the prefectural city. Uncle Su and Auntie Su will miss her."
Xie Yuntang gave it serious consideration. "Father, let's have the teacher teach me in the village, and Sister Taozi can study with me by then."
"Sister Taozi is very good at studying. She memorizes everything quickly. The teacher even praised her."
Xie Qing already knew about Su Tao's performance at school. The teacher had said several times that if Su Tao were a boy, she’d at least be a scholar.
He nodded. "Then you two will study together by then."
As long as Su Tao was willing to study, the Xie family would let her study, as a way of thanking her for helping Yuntang.
He quickly added, "Yuntang, you can't sleep in the same room as Taozi anymore. Taozi's reputation will be affected if word gets out."
When they went to the prefectural city, Xie Yuntang had stayed on his own, and his situation was stable.
He probably could adapt to living alone, and he had to adapt.
Although Xie Yuntang was reluctant, he obediently nodded. "Let Sister Taozi sleep next door."
He wasn't afraid anymore. Thinking of Sister Taozi every night made him feel at ease.
"Then I’ll have your mother clean up that room." Xie Qing smiled.
When Su Tao learned that she would have to sleep in a separate room from Xie Yuntang, she was even more unhappy than Milksop. Sleeping in the same room with Milksop was so much better.
If she needed water in the middle of the night, she could just call out and he’d pour it for her.
If she was afraid to go to the toilet, she could just call out and he’d keep her company.
Most importantly, she could sleep in Milksop’s big bed.
It was soft and fragrant.
She was only nine years old. What was there to avoid? She couldn't do anything anyway. Her body hadn’t developed yet and she looked almost like a boy.
Besides, Milksop was still just a clueless child.
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Author’s Note: P.S.: La, la, la, the story of their childhood was about to end. After a few more chapters, the time would forward to a few years later.
The female lead would be focusing on her career now, and then she'd bully Mrs. Su-Qian. Hahaha, fight, fight!
