Village Belle Chapter 138
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 138: She Enlightened The Clueless Xie Yuntang
Su Tao, "..."
She was concerned about the money, yet he was concerned about her face! How could her face be more important than two hundred taels of silver?
"Milksop, are you out of your mind? Hurry up and report it to the authorities! If you won't go, I will, and when we get the money back, it'll all be mine." After saying that, she hurriedly walked outside.
She was still thinking about the money, and Xie Yuntang grabbed her, his tone subconsciously becoming slightly harsher. "Sister Taozi, sit down. I'll report it to the authorities. Don't worry about it."
He usually went along with her, but he suddenly became serious, and Su Tao was stunned, feeling a little uncomfortable.
Milksop who had always listened to her since childhood was suddenly scolding her like an adult. No one would be used to that.
She opened her mouth, and finally managed to say, "Fine, I don't care. It's not my money anyway."
For some reason, she was angry.
Milksop actually scolded her...
Although it was a bit of an exaggeration, Milksop had never spoken harshly to her before.
Xie Yuntang knew she was angry from her tone. He bent down slightly to look her in the eye, and said nervously, "Sister Taozi, don't be angry. I was just worried about you."
Su Tao knew he hadn't done anything wrong. She glared at him for a moment, then reached out and pinched him annoyedly. "Forget it, I won't hold it against you. From now on, you have to go along with me no matter what, okay?"
She was Milksop’s boss.
Xie Yuntang's eyes crinkled slightly, and he nodded. "Okay, I'll go along with you."
"That's more like it."
Su Tao covered her face and hissed, then cursed, "Milksop, if that thief is caught, you must make sure he gets punished."
She was beautiful, yet she wasn’t the delicate type.
Hearing that she was in pain, Xie Yuntang instinctively leaned over to look. Su Tao happened to look up at him, and their lips brushed lightly.
They both froze. Xie Yuntang realized what happened, and as if ignited by something, his face turned crimson red.
He quickly moved back. "Sister Taozi, I didn't mean it."
Su Tao didn't take it seriously. She glanced at his face, and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Milksop, your face looks red like a monkey's butt."
"When you kiss your wife in the future, what will it be like?" She then winked at him.
Xie Yuntang was so embarrassed by her words that he almost wanted to dart out of the room. He quietly stopped her, "Sister Taozi, say no more..."
"What's there to be embarrassed about? You're all grown up now. Do you want me to tell you something? Although I've never kissed a guy, I've seen a lot, all kinds."
When Su Tao was in university, every night the area outside her dormitory was full of couples, kissing and cuddling.
Before she could say anything more, Xie Yuntang hurriedly turned and strode out, as if afraid she might say something embarrassing.
"Sister Taozi, I'm going downstairs for a while. You rest for a bit." With that, he closed the door behind him.
Xie Yuntang stood by the door, his heart pounding like a drum.
Inside, Su Tao burst out laughing. Milksop was still as easily embarrassed as he was as a child.
It wasn't surprising that Xie Yuntang was so innocent. All he did was study after all.
It would be strange if he wasn't.
Zheng Duoyin and Zhou Sheng, at their age, understood much more. Perhaps their families had taught them.
Suddenly, her face stung again. She clutched her face and cried out, "Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Instead of getting to eat the meat pie, she’d gotten punched instead.
Just thinking about it made her depressed.
……
Xie Yuntang went downstairs to find the innkeeper and told him about the stolen money. He drew a picture of that person's face and handed it to the innkeeper, angrily saying, "Find this guy. We won’t accept any settlement. Let the authorities convict him."
The innkeeper noted everything down, then called to the others and hurried off to handle the matter.
Xie Yuntang asked the kitchen staff to cook two eggs and some rice and vegetables, and to send them upstairs later with the lotus-scented chicken.
The door opened, and Su Tao knew who it was without even looking. She winked mischievously. "What's wrong? You want to hear more?"
"Sister Taozi, enough said. It's not good if someone else hears about it."
Xie Yuntang was afraid she would keep bringing up the topic, so he quickly changed the subject, "I had someone buy lotus-scented chicken."
"That's more like it, otherwise I would’ve been beaten for nothing." Su Tao pointed to her swollen face.
Xie Yuntang looked at her face and said remorsefully, "Sister Taozi, I'm sorry."
He kept failing at protecting Sister Taozi.
"It has nothing to do with you." Su Tao rolled her eyes at him, then added, "Just carry less money with you in the future."
Two hundred taels of silver. Just thinking about it made her heart ache.
After a while, the waiter brought the food. Su Tao was already quite hungry, so she reached out and tore off a chicken drumstick to gnaw on.
Xie Yuntang smiled and picked up some meat and vegetables for her. "Eat more. What else do you want to eat? I'll have them make it."
"I also want a braised fish." Su Tao didn't stand on ceremony.
Six or seven dishes were served, and in the end, only a tiny bit was left.
It was still early, and Su Tao peered out the window. It was quite lively. Lanterns were lit at the stalls, and people were setting off fireworks in the distance.
"Milksop, let's go for a walk. My stomach is so full."
Xie Yuntang glanced at her clothes. "Okay, wait for me." He then went out and quickly returned with one of his cloaks.
He handed it to Su Tao, saying, "It'll be windy and cold."
Su Tao glanced at him, took it, and put it on, sighing. "Milksop, your future wife will be the one enjoying life."
Xie Yuntang looked straight at her, very seriously, and said, "Sister Taozi, I'll marry you."
He had thought about it. He wanted to spend his life with Sister Taozi like how his parents did.
He liked that.
"Silly boy! Just go along with everything else, but not this."
Su Tao didn't take his words to heart. She knew him too well. He didn't have romantic feelings.
She glanced at the cloak that almost touched the ground. "It's quite warm. Let's go."
"Sister Taozi, don't you like me? Why don't you want me to marry you?" Xie Yuntang had wanted to ask her this last time. Why did she refuse to marry him?
He would treat her well.
Su Tao knew he didn't understand romantic feelings, so she patiently explained to him, "My feelings for you are different from those between men and women. It’s the same for you. You like me just because you want to hang out with me."
"Feelings between men and women... Well... how should I put it..."
She had never been in a relationship before and didn't know what it felt like.
After thinking for a long time without figuring it out, she said, "Oh well, it's different anyway. You'll understand in the future. When you like someone, just looking at her will make your heart race." She pointed to his chest.
"I don't experience that, and neither do you."
Xie Yuntang was stunned for a moment. He did. Sometimes when Sister Taozi looked at him, he would feel that way.
He had romantic feelings for Sister Taozi...
He felt a mix of joy and bewilderment.
But Sister Taozi said she didn't feel that way.
Sister Taozi had no romantic feelings for him...
That was why Sister Taozi didn't want to marry him.
Realizing this, he felt as if something had hit his chest, causing a sharp pain that made it hard to breathe.
"Come on, stop thinking about it. When feelings come, you can't stop them."
Seeing him standing still, Su Tao pulled him out the door.
She had no idea that she had enlightened the clueless Xie Yuntang.
If she knew, she would definitely slap herself twice.
