Village Belle Chapter 139
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 139: Milksop's Looks Were To Her Liking
The next day, Su Tao, dressed in a light blue dress, with a flower hairpin in her hair, stood at the entrance of the academy. Her delicate almond-shaped eyes blinked, looking lively and pretty.
As soon as she arrived at the academy entrance, people looked at her. Xie Yuntang naturally saw her and subconsciously reached out to grab Su Tao, feeling slightly nervous.
His father had taught him since childhood to think things through before acting.
He had thought it over seriously last night. He truly wanted to marry Sister Taozi. He wanted to treat Sister Taozi well.
When Su Tao looked over, the tips of his ears turned red, and he said gently, "Sister Taozi, I'll take you to the women's area later. Have something to eat."
Su Tao glanced at him a few times. She felt that Milksop was acting strangely today, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "Okay."
The women's area had set up a few tables in the pavilion. There weren't many people. Seven or eight women were sitting together talking.
Most of them were quite young, and each one was gentle and graceful, presumably so that it would reflect well on their husbands.
Su Tao didn't want Xie Yuntang to lose face in public, so she deliberately softened her voice and sweetly said, "Brother Yuntang, you go ahead."
Xie Yuntang loved it when she called him Brother Yuntang, and he couldn't help but smile. He then took out some snacks from his cloth bag: pastries, meat pies, and roasted chestnuts.
"Don't wander around. I'll be over there." He pointed to the open space opposite, where quite a few men had already gathered, chatting in twos and threes.
"Okay, go ahead."
Su Tao waved to him. After he left, she met the gazes of the others, her eyes crinkling as she pushed the snacks to the center. "Sisters, let's eat together."
The women were all easygoing. A woman in an emerald green dress unceremoniously picked up a piece of pastry and said with a smile, "I thought you two were a couple, but it turns out that you're siblings. You look very well-matched."
Anyone else would have been shy, but Su Tao wasn't. She nodded in agreement. "We’re siblings."
"You two are really good-looking."
A woman in a pale yellow dress chimed in, her gentle voice pleasant to listen to.
Su Tao was naturally pleased with the compliment. "Thank you for the compliment."
As she spoke, another girl about her age came over. She had a round, endearing face and looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen her before.
The two looked at each other, and the girl suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "Sister Taozi!" Then, without any hesitation, she came over and took her hand.
Su Tao glanced at her a few times, but couldn't quite place her. She asked puzzledly, "Who are you?"
"Sister Tao, I'm Lin Jiayu. We ate lotus-scented chicken together before on the day of the county exam. I even argued with you about my brother being better."
Lin Jiayu's eyes sparkled, and she reached out to pull her along, saying, "My brother's here too. He’s over there." She pointed.
At the mention of lotus-scented chicken, Su Tao remembered. Following her gaze, she saw a tall, slender boy dressed in green, but still less handsome than Milksop. Milksop was much more attractive.
His looks were exactly to her liking.
"I see him."
"Isn’t my brother handsome? Where’s your brother? Where is he?"
Lin Jiayu glanced around, then said happily, "Is that him? The tallest one? Sister Taozi, your brother is even more handsome than mine, but in my heart, my brother is the best."
Su Tao, "..."
Not to be outdone, she blinked. "My brother is the best in my heart too."
After saying that, they both laughed.
Others didn’t recognize Su Tao, but they recognized Lin Jiayu. The Lin family was quite famous in the county town, owning many shops and houses.
The others all respectfully greeted her, "Miss Lin."
Lin Jiayu nodded politely. "Hello, sisters."
After she finished speaking, she pulled Su Tao, as if she had found a companion, and rambled on, "Sister Taozi, where do you live? Can I come to your house to play? I asked my father, and he said you’re from the Xie family. You don’t live in the county town."
"My home is in the village. Brother Yuntang is from the Xie family." Su Tao didn’t hide anything.
Lin Jiayu said "Oh," and quickly added, "Which village do you live in? I'll come visit you when I have time."
"Xingtao Village. You'd better not come. You won't be used to village life. There are chickens, dogs, and ducks everywhere," Su Tao quickly dissuaded her. It wasn't that she was afraid of Lin Jiayu coming, but she was worried that Lin Jiayu wouldn't be comfortable there.
Lin Jiayu still wanted to go, though. "I'm not afraid. I'll call my brother along. He'll protect me."
Su Tao, "..."
She didn't say anything more. "Okay, if you come, I'll catch crabs for you to eat."
"Great, Sister Taozi, you're so kind! Are you engaged yet? What do you think of my brother? He's so nice, good-tempered, and a good person," Lin Jiayu said with a smile.
Su Tao, "..."
She felt her age. Everyone was talking about marriage, making it seem like she was left on the shelf.
She waved her hand and quickly changed the subject, "Do you want something to eat?"
After a while, the book club started over there, and Su Tao watched Xie Yuntang holding a pen and writing something, his expression focused.
Milksop had grown up and wasn't soft at all anymore. His features were distinct, his cheeks weren't chubby anymore, and his profile was well-defined.
"Sister Taozi, you like book clubs? If you like them, I'll invite you to join the women's book club."
Lin Jiayu met her beautiful almond eyes and was momentarily stunned, quickly blushing.
Sister Taozi was really beautiful.
When Su Tao heard about the women's book club, an idea suddenly popped into her head. Could she teach the girls in the village to read?
She wasn’t sure she could teach boys, but she could probably teach girls to read.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt it was possible, and she said with a smile, "Jiayu, thank you."
Lin Jiayu thought she was referring to the book club. "You're welcome."
After a while, the book club session ended, and Xie Yuntang turned and walked towards the pavilion. After entering, he said, "Sister Taozi, what would you like to eat?"
Before Su Tao could say anything, Lin Jiayu next to her said happily, "Sister Taozi, come to my house for a meal. My family's chef is very good. My father invited him from the capital."
After saying that, she sweetly called out to Xie Yuntang, "Brother Yuntang."
When Xie Yuntang paused for a moment, Su Tao knew he didn’t recognize Lin Jiayu, and explained, "We had lotus-scented chicken on the day of the county exam. She’s Lin Jiayu."
Xie Yuntang remembered and immediately bowed.
At this moment, Lin Jiasheng came over, and Lin Jiayu pulled him. "Brother, this is Sister Taozi and Brother Yuntang. We ate lotus-scented chicken together when we were little."
Lin Jiasheng glanced at the two of them, vaguely remembered them, and nodded politely.
Su Tao noticed that Lin Jiasheng was more handsome up close. His eyes were long and narrow, and his eyelashes were long, so she couldn't help but look at him a few more times.
Xie Yuntang naturally noticed this and felt a little uncomfortable. He refused Lin Jiayu's offer, saying, "Sorry, we can't go. We have something on, so we'll have to go now." After saying that, he took Su Tao's hand and left.
Lin Jiayu chased after them for a few steps, saying, "Sister Taozi, I'll come to visit you in a few days."
"Okay." Su Tao nodded as she followed Xie Yuntang.
